A Poutine Less Trip Report: Four Days of Zoology, Deluxe Resorts and Lots of Rain

And so I am back. While I do love typing up these reports, to do so means that you have to be back from your trip . However this was another successful trip and my 10th to the World. So it is official, I have now hit double digits! So may consider that a bit much but I say the more the merrier.

Tim was at home this time, which was a bit of a bummer after introducing him to the World. Everything that we did, I wished he was there and wanted him to experience everything that we were. It just solidifies how much I want him to be by my side for all trips. However, he was extremely supportive of me needing a much needed break from what is currently my reality and the stress that is flooding my life. He had jetted out to Vegas a month or two prior and knew how much fun I would have down there. When the opportunity presented itself to have a mini getaway with one of my best friends, he did not hesitate at all. He told me to have fun, not think of work and enjoy myself.

So on this trip, we had myself. To refresh of those who don't really know me, here's a brief bit of info:

I work in Food & Beverage, am a massive Foodie, a HUGE kid and lover of all things Disney. Mary Poppins is my all time favorite Disney character and Disney movie, followed closely by Toy Story and then UP. I am also a big Star Wars and Pirates fan. I am by no means a girlie girl and would rather by a pirate then a princess any day.

Although Tim could not join me for this trip, I had the absolute next best option. I re-introduce to you...dah dah dah dah... Jennie!

Jennie and I have been friends for almost 15 years. We met at our Dance School and have stayed such great friends throughout the years. She dropped in during my last trip in October several times with her boyfriend and this time was a ladies trip! Jennie left for the Disney College program 8 years ago and had been bitten by the Disney bug ever since. She is now a cast member and loves all things Disney as well. Like me, a giant kid and the biggest Star Wars fan I have ever met. It is completely her fault that I am the Star Wars fan that I am. She took three days off to hang and play with me. It amazes me and thrills me that she still enjoys playing in the parks as much as I do. Thankfully she put up with my craziness for these days and all the photos that came with it.

So here we go! Because this here is the wettest wild in all the wilderness!!!! :sohappy:

 

[tiaragirl]

All those cupcakes.. I'm glad my sister made cake for Mother's Day yesterday, because I am now craving icing and yummy cake.

Although we both had snacks, we wandered into the Writer's Stop to oogle goodies and check out the books. It kinda makes me laugh. The store is surrounded by photos of and from the show "Castle", but they don't sell the Richard Castle books in there. Kinda odd.

Um, where are my pictures of Rick? I LOVE Castle.. I may own Heat Wave.. plus, Stana Katic is just a babe.

 

[HollyBelle]

Um, where are my pictures of Rick? I LOVE Castle.. I may own Heat Wave.. plus, Stana Katic is just a babe.

OMG... Castle is totally my "guilty pleasure" tv show! How's the book?!


And I'm anxiously awaiting more awesomeness from this trip report, Karen!

 

[MillerPoppins]

All those cupcakes.. I'm glad my sister made cake for Mother's Day yesterday, because I am now craving icing and yummy cake.



Um, where are my pictures of Rick? I LOVE Castle.. I may own Heat Wave.. plus, Stana Katic is just a babe.

She is a babe...I love her hair this season! But it's about time they kiss...I mean they keep showing it to tease us! It's total crap! I didn't get shots of Castle this time since I just took the shot last time. However, here's another one for good measure...

OMG... Castle is totally my "guilty pleasure" tv show! How's the book?!


And I'm anxiously awaiting more awesomeness from this trip report, Karen!

I don't know about the books Hol. I got them for my Mom this past Christmas..I'll have to see how she's liking them. The awesomeness is coming! Work has been super crazy lately with my schedule. But the rest is coming tomorrow, I promise!:wave:

 

[cathyy]

I absolutly LOVE Castle!! I think it is one of the best shows on TV right now!! I agree they just kiss already!! Did you see it last week when they were in the hotel together... I hope it is coming!!

 

[MillerPoppins]

I absolutly LOVE Castle!! I think it is one of the best shows on TV right now!! I agree they just kiss already!! Did you see it last week when they were in the hotel together... I hope it is coming!!

I have to catch up...I have like 3 on my DVR currently. But did you see a few weeks ago when they were previewing for the episode where they were caught in the freezer? They keep showing a clip of them kissing!

 

[Tiggerish]

Count me in--another Castle fan here! Love that show.


And the trip report continues to entertain! That was a heroic attempt to get your arms around Mike Wazowski--very cute. I love MI (my antenna topper is Mike W!) and I'm with you on the absence of Boo--she is just the cutest thing. Hopefully, we'll get to see a picture of her with Holly in the Pixar weekend trip report (no rush, Holly, no rush...:lol: you've gotta finish the wedding report first)

 

[HollyBelle]

Count me in--another Castle fan here! Love that show.


And the trip report continues to entertain! That was a heroic attempt to get your arms around Mike Wazowski--very cute. I love MI (my antenna topper is Mike W!) and I'm with you on the absence of Boo--she is just the cutest thing. Hopefully, we'll get to see a picture of her with Holly in the Pixar weekend trip report (no rush, Holly, no rush...:lol: you've gotta finish the wedding report first)

... and the quick mom/daughter trip I took in April. :lookaroun That being said... I'm all over the hunt for Boo, Karen. But I know it just won't be the same for you to not meet her yourself. Maybe we can look at it this way, at least there's hope that she one day does meet and greets.

Castle rocks. My little shipper heart can't wait to get home from work today and watch last night's episode.

Okay, sorry for the thread drift - back to the Studios...

 

[MillerPoppins]

Count me in--another Castle fan here! Love that show.


And the trip report continues to entertain! That was a heroic attempt to get your arms around Mike Wazowski--very cute. I love MI (my antenna topper is Mike W!) and I'm with you on the absence of Boo--she is just the cutest thing. Hopefully, we'll get to see a picture of her with Holly in the Pixar weekend trip report (no rush, Holly, no rush...:lol: you've gotta finish the wedding report first)

It's funny, all these Castle fans on here and in my own life, my parents and I are the only people I know who watch it. They are the ones who got me hooked on it! You know, if time and money were not an issue, I'd totally be on my way to Pixar Weekend this weekend to see Boo. I want a photo with her THAT BADLY!!!! It's ridiculous!

... and the quick mom/daughter trip I took in April. :lookaroun That being said... I'm all over the hunt for Boo, Karen. But I know it just won't be the same for you to not meet her yourself. Maybe we can look at it this way, at least there's hope that she one day does meet and greets.

Castle rocks. My little shipper heart can't wait to get home from work today and watch last night's episode.

Okay, sorry for the thread drift - back to the Studios...

Listen Holly, if you manage or are able to get a shot with Boo, it will be like I'm half way there! You are right, if you manage to get it, then it may be possible for me one day! Oh and side note from your Wedding thread, the Mom Meet & Greet would be SO MUCH FUN! Not that I wouldn't want to meet Brett though... hahaha.

 

[MillerPoppins]

Ok so here we go...LONGEST trip report ever for the shortest visit I have ever had down there. I'm sorry people I know this is pathetic. But trust me in knowing that my work life is INSANE right now.

Excuses, excuses. Ok so here we go...onwards!

So we made our way back to the Streets of America and wandered around a bit. To be honest, other then Lights Motor Action and the Osborne Christmas Lights, this area seems like such a waste to me. There's nothing really to see. Sure the touristy shots are fun, but I feel like something needs to go there!

Jennie found the Singing in the Rain umbrella and of course both being former Dancers, we needed a shot.

It then started to rain. We had enough rain. Jennie's face pretty much sums it up in this shot...."Now what? Where do I go?"

I had better luck!

As we rounded the corner to head to Muppets, we found a completely empty queue for Lightning and Mater. I hadn't planned to hop in line for these two being that I've had shots the last two trips. But who can say no to an empty line? Plus, my niece STILL gets psyched seeing photos of these two. Take a guess who will be seeing Cars 2 opening day???

It was Muppets time! I can honestly say that this is probably in my top 10 list of attractions in all of WDW. I never get tired of it. It still manages to crack me up, it's still funny after all these years and it's great seeing "newbies" experience it for the first time.

Piggy Fountain!

Love this Hidden Mickey!

And in we go! Ok so I'm going to reveal a secret here. I'm sure by now all the fanatics on this page have seen the sign as you enter on the right hand sign that the "Key is under the Mat". But who has actually looked under the mat?? Maybe give it a shot next time....

We were early to the show which means that we got to watch the entire pre-show. Cool!

 

[HollyBelle]

YAY... more trip report! The Singing in the Rain pictures look like Smart Water ads. :lol: I agree with your sentiments on the Streets of America... "meh" pretty much sums it up all times of the year EXCEPT Christmas.

 

[MillerPoppins]

We enjoyed the pre-show and I enjoyed wandering around snapping shots.

I adore this show. I truly, truly do. I could walk out, walk right back around and go right back in and still enjoy it. "It's a stunning three hour tribute to all countries but mostly America". LOVE IT! Afterwards, we made our way into the "Muppet Store".

I love the Muppets, they are so much fun and are so incredible for every age group, generation after generation!

More fun hats!

I particularly like these, I think they are super fun! So afterwards, it was time to debate a meal. Our pretzels and half bagels weren't cutting it anymore. Part of us wanted to go into Mama Melrose, have a nice lunch and enjoy some Sangria. But another part wanted to see as much as we could in the park and soak up as much as we could. So that side won out. Plus, one of my food requirements for the trip was "mass produced pizza". I LOVE THE STUFF!!!! Don't ask me why, I just do! So to Pizza Planet we went!

The lines were long at this point, but we were patient and made our way up in the line. One veggie and one cheese pizza later and we were on our way to find a spot to eat. We ended up standing in the same table spot that Tim and I had our meal at.

More food ! And a hidden Mickey!

Lunch was great, as always. We watched the child down the way from us scream bloody murder as her family and parents did NOTHING to stop her. Now grant it, I'm not a parent so I have no room to talk. And I am totally against feeding into tantrums. But if you are in a dining spot with other people, at least TRY to appease the child so that diners can enjoy their meal.

Afterwards, it was time for more pin trading and shopping. Jennie's fondness for Beaker won out with this hat...

And now, the time we were both waiting for...Tatooine Traders!!!!

I think I mentioned before that Jennie is the BIGGEST Star Wars fan EVER! She's the reason I am a big Star Wars fan. She waited in line for tickets and sat in line for hours until Episode 1 was released. Funniest thing is she can't do motion simulators. So although her biggest and most favorite movie is Star Wars, she can't do Star Tours. Her plan though is to go on the new Star Tours and have a bottle of water and some time on a bench waiting for her on the other side. She states she will do it once. However, Tatooine Traders? Always good! We goofed off for a bit before hand though...

 

[MillerPoppins]

And in we went! The merchandise is just so much fun to play with!

Jennie was bummed this hat wasn't available in MK when she was hat shopping! She totally would have rocked the Boba Fett hat!

Ok, so my absolute hands down favorite Star Wars character is R2D2. Without him, every episode would have failed. Think about it? If you saw each of the Episodes, you know that R2 has stepped in and saved some part of the series. Plus, he's loud and small....sound familiar??? :ROFLOL: I always love Artoo merchandise!

Ewoks!!!!

And Ewok bed!

Love the Darth Goofy's. I remember when they were SOOO popular when Episode III came out. Jennie had to fight to get me one and thankfully she did. Go figure they come in droves now.

On the way out, we got hit up by a survey taker on the state of Tatooine Traders. Then, we took a queue from Goofy and got a little Goofy ourselves.

 

[MillerPoppins]

By the time we finished up goofing around in Traders, it was time for our TSMM Fast Passes! So we made our way over to Pixar Place and wandered across the park. Once we got in, it was time for some photos!

I was SO excited! I heart this attraction! And so does Jennie!

As we wandered in, we grabbed our glasses and a cast member asked how many were in our party. We replied with "2" and we were told to follow a ramp to a separate entrance way that neither of us had ever been down. I snapped an additional photo and we headed down the ramp.

Turns out we were scooped up to go in through the Handicapped Accessible entrance. A party of 6 was already loaded in and they just needed two more people to finish up their group. Sweet! The loading area was away from the standby and FP area. We jumped in and we were off.

We were both so excited!!! Not that a long wait was ahead of us but we still got a huge jump to get in faster!

Jennie defeated me in this one, unfortunately. I was not happy about this. But as always, had a blast!

 

[MillerPoppins]

After playing some super fun carnival games, we headed over to Meet The Toys!
The line was mildly crowded but we figured, Hey! It's the Toys! I never get tired of meeting Woody & Buzz. They are just so much fun! I've always love meeting characters, maybe that's why I love HollyBelle's trip report so much! I'm so insanely jealous that her and Brett are down at Pixar Weekend this weekend and have the chance to see Boo & the Up Characters...characters that I have been DYING to get a picture with. Maybe Boo will come back out with Monsters Inc 2 coming out next year. However, from what I hear of the story line, it's Sulley and Mike back in the College years. I don't see how Boo can be a part of that... .

Anywho...we made our way in and of course, started with the photo ops!

Anyone who saw my Halloween Costume this past year knows how much I love me some Little Green Men. I would say behind Mary Poppins, they are my favorite.

As we were entering, we were told that Woody was out now but would be going back in a few minutes. Buzz would be coming out next. Hmmm....I had never been in the toy meet and greet that both characters weren't out. Now grant it, it was around lunch time.

Each time I had gone before, it was just as it opened. Oh well :shrug: we'll be fine meeting Buzz!
More picture fun!

Oh Stinky Pete!

Ok so Jennie had a brilliant idea as we were standing and waiting. She wondered if we could ask to see Spanish Buzz? What would he do? We'd have to try. So finally, our turn came and there was Buzz, in all his space ranger glory!

As we approached, Jen asked politely if we could see his spanish mode. He immediately stepped into character, flinging his arms about and twitching his head! It was awesome!!!!

For anyone who has multiple pictures with Buzz over the years, this is a great way to switch things up. He totally went with it and played along. Something we also noticed in TSMM is that the end sequence when you are getting your score and prize on the final screen, Buzz is in complete Spanish Mode. SO MUCH FUN to watch! And as always, Buzz was a total flirt.

Love me some Space Ranger.

 

[MillerPoppins]

Next up, we decided to hit up the Animation Building. Last time I was quite surprised at how short the actual presentation was. I remember from years younger that you actually walked through animator areas and got to see one of them draw something. Now, you are just watching Moo Shu jump around spastic ally. Now don't get me wrong, I do think the current presentation is cute and fun, just not what I remembered from before.

Upon going in, we found this super cute Winnie The Pooh poster. If you are following along, this is right up Tim's alley as he is a huge Pooh fan! The picture did not come out great because of the glare, but you get the idea.

In we went, with a short wait and then ready for the show. It was cute as always, but I get excited to see who characters are on the other side.

This time of course, the featured movies were Winnie the Pooh and Cars 2. Both films that will be featured in house holds of ours given Tim with his Pooh love and my Niece and her Cars Obsession!

You know it's a real shame that Jennie is so camera shy...

More Pooh!

Love the Oven Mitt on Pooh's Head!

And then there was some Cars...

Now I love me some Pixar with all my heart. I really, really do. The only time I feel they missed the mark was with Ratatouille. Those of you following along know my reason why and it's personal. It was well made through but it is just a horror movie to me for the Culinary and Sanitary Reasons. And we know Pixar has knocked them out of the park continuously now for the past 16 years. But just as Pixar states, they have to fall at some point. Not every film can be a masterpiece blockbuster critically acclaimed gem. I have my hesitations with Cars 2. Part of me thinks this is going to be the fall from grace. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's the fact that it's going SO FAR from it's original place of origin with Route 66 now moving to the other side of the globe. Listen, it didn't work for SATC 2 with going from NYC to Abu Dabi. I just hope it works out well for the Cars Family. Because God knows which ever way it goes, that movie is going to be on continuously for the next few years in our house.

 

[MillerPoppins]

Now it was about time for a trip to Sunnyside Daycare!

As we waited, we admired the lovely art work that lined the walls!

Can I just tell you how much I love Mr. Pricklepants? I wish so badly that he was in the movie more then what he was. But for what he was, he was awesome!

Finally it was our turn to meet the evil turned friendly strawberry air freshener himself. Super huggable, super fun and a good time! I'm sorry this photo didn't come out better.

Being that we saw Mickey at MK a couple of days before, we skipped the long line to see him and made our way out. On the way though, we spotted a short line for the Mr. Incredible and Frozone.

Afterwards, it was time to find a spot for the Pixar Parade. I was excited to see this, although I had seen the video online and knew that I was not going to love this parade like the Block Party Bash. Although part of me was super excited to see the UP characters. We got a prime spot on Hollywood Blvd with curb seats and everything!

It was time for the pre-show! And by Pre Show, I mean the Citizens of Hollywood.

And the pale duo!

We heard some rousing new songs with the Citizens of Hollywood. Including a new version of "Home School Musical".

"We're all here together...me and my brother, my sister and Mom who I will take to the prom!"

Finally, it was time for the show to start!

First up, the Incredibles! Mr. Incredible flew over pretty quick to be in that parade, huh?

 

[MillerPoppins]

He was shaking his groove thing pretty darn well!
And a Bug's Life!

I don't feel The Bug's Life costumes are all that attractive...but no one can say they aren't colorful!

Really do love me some Heimleich!

Ok I do not support this part of the parade one bit. We should all know at this point why. However, I took photos for you fine folks who have yet to see the parade.

Ok enough of that French Rat.

BRING ON THE BOO!!!!!

There she is!!! I was screaming again like a 5 year old!

 

[MillerPoppins]

She went by so quickly though, I was quite bummed. I got as many shots as I could though. And of course one with George and his sock. Love it!

More of the Monsters Inc Crowd!

And finally, what I had been waiting for...

Russell & Dug!!! SO EXCITED!

Forgive me, but I took a ton of UP character shots because it was the first time I was seeing them in person. UP has quickly become one of my favorite movies and I wanted nothing more then to get a photo with them. But we all know, that wasn't possible. So these were going to have to do.

UP Dancers!

And Mr. Fredrickson!!!

He dances really well for a 70 something year old!

 

[MillerPoppins]

Next up...Toy Story!

Here comes the Gang!

Woody!!!

Lotso wouldn't turn around, but I gotta admit, I do like his little tag on the back.

Caught a shot of this little guy...

And with that, it was over.

Although this has more movies and characters featured then the Pixar Block Party Bash, it doesn't come close to being as good. It doesn't come close to being as exciting, fun or interactive as the Block Party. This one, the characters sing and dance just like BP but there is NO interaction AT ALL from the characters. We literally screamed like little girls at Russell and there was nothing. Even the Magic Kingdom parades, the characters show some sort of recognition to the crowd, playing and fussing over the guests. There was nothing at all like that. They danced down the street and that was all. It's fun to see, but unless you are a die hard Pixar fan, it's not a huge miss if you don't see it.

 

[Fashionista007]

I'm finally getting all caught up in my TR reading and I really enjoyed this! In fact, I enjoyed it so much when I got to page 12 I was disappointed that it was the last page in the thread

I'm also a Friends fan and I can pretty much recite every episode line for line Your quip about the Jam had me rolling!!

I love all the Star Wars and anti Princess talk! My guy friends tell me I'm what they call a "Unicorn". A girl gamer who likes Sci Fi In fact, I'm going to my first Star Wars Weekends in just 3 days!!! :sohappy: