Trip Report “Parents please supervise your children, and children please supervise your parents” 2018 Graduation Trip Report! *COMPLETE*

Well, it’s been three days, but I’m back from “The World”. Still trying to recover and catch up on sleep . I was pretty exhausted, but we had a great time! The Disney depression has officially kicked in, but I’m hoping this TR will help alleviate some of the pain.

For those of you who are just joining and are wanting to know the Who, When, Where, and Why, feel free to read my PTR!

https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/the-captain-is-headed-home.940164/

This is my first TR, and the bar was set pretty high for first timers (cough cough @becca_ cough cough). Seriously, if you haven’t read her first TR, you need to! Anyways, I hope everyone bears with me and enjoys the 2,000+ pictures that I made, along with this TR!

Up next: Travel Day!

 

[becca_]

I really don't know why I'm crying about the wedding but how stinking cool that is!

 

[Captain Barbossa]

Leaving EPCOT

I absolutely love the F&G projection on the monorail station.

Had to take one more look at SE.

I didn’t want to leave at all. It had been such a good day.

I told EPCOT goodnight and that I’d be back one day, then I headed for the bus stop.

Thank God the line wasn’t insane like it was the other night and I didn’t have to wait long for a bus. I don’t remember much about the ride home except that we left EPCOT at 10:05 and that I had to stand.

It was about a 10min ride home. Since it wasn’t past 11, everything was still opened.

I soon made it to our room. It was nice to be back early and have time to take a long shower, then unwind and relax before going to bed. I stayed up til about 11:30-11:45 then fell fast asleep. Another early morning awaited me the next day.

Next up: Day 5 (last park day of the trip)

 

[Captain Barbossa]

 

[Captain Barbossa]

I really don't know why I'm crying about the wedding but how stinking cool that is!

Haha yeah. It was definitely cool to see. The way they had everything set up by the lagoon looked very nice. I think I now know where I want to have my wedding.

 

[Captain Barbossa]

Friday May 25th: Magic Kingdom

My alarm went off somewhere around 6:50, but I didn’t get out of bed until 7. I was a little slow getting started this morning, and wasn’t ready to go until 7:10-7:15. L was still getting ready, and M was still asleep, so I headed on out.

I had to wait forever for a bus, but eventually one arrived.

Traffic was moving fine and we were making up for lost time, until we reached the construction mess on World Drive. The bus came to a stop and we didn’t move for 10mins!! I was already in a semi bad mood for getting a late start, so at this point I wasn’t a happy camper.

Meanwhile, it’s 7:45 and EMH starts in 15mins! The bus began to move and we finally arrived at MK between 7:50-7:55. Somehow I made it through security quickly, and was waiting in line to get in. I got a better look at the CM who was working the scanners and realized it was our pal Henry. (sarcastic yay)

I tried to get a picture of him, but he rudely yelled at me and said that people aren’t allowed to have their phones out because it would interfere with the MB sending the signal to the scanner. Ok y’all, I was PO’d and knew I had to get back at him, so I grabbed my phone, waved it in his face, and yelled “watch this!”. Then, I scanned my MB, pressed my finger, Mickey turned green, and I was in. As I gave him a nasty glare, I could see his face start to turn red. And that’s the last I saw of old Henry. And I hope it stays that way.

I didn’t take any pictures of Main Street because I was in a hurry to get to SDMT. When I reached the checkpoint where they scan your MB, the guy just let me through and said he didn’t care if I was staying at a resort or not. I was like um ok. To make a long story short, the start of the line for SDMT was almost at the entrance of Storybook Circus, so I headed to Tomorrowland. I was gonna try Space, but it’s line was insanely long too, so I took advantage of a 5min wait for the Astro Orbiter.

Good decision!

I recently found out that a lot of people hate the Astro Orbiter. Not sure why. I’ve always enjoyed it, and the view is the best in MK. You can see everything at the top!

After my flight above Tomorrowland, I headed over to Buzz, which was a walk-on, to fight Zurg!

Once again my score was crap. No Galactic Hero this trip. I’m starting to think those “high point targets” that I read about weren’t “high point targets”.

It was time for a morning ride on the TTA.

I got excited because I caught Lilly approaching Tomorrowland Crossing while she was performing her morning dead run!

Up next: More MK!

 

[Captain Barbossa]

MK continued

Once I departed the TTA, L called to see where I was. She arrived at MK about 10mins after me. Her bus got stuck in the construction mess/traffic on World Drive too. I think she’d already hit up Dumbo, Speedway, and Pooh, but I could be wrong.

We were both gonna head over to Liberty Square, since it was approaching 9, so we could rope drop Splash. Along the way, I noticed SW was a walk-on, and I couldn’t pass that up.

By the time I got off SW, it was exactly 9, so I sprinted over to Splash.

L was way ahead of me in line. Matter of fact, I believe she was on the first 2 or 3 logs to go out. I didn’t wait long though. Maybe 10mins.

Or 3 folks per row? Hmm

Up next: More Splash!

 

[MinnieM123]

Curious about the last row in Splash--did you get soaked? I've only ridden the front and middle sections before.

 

[Captain Barbossa]

Curious about the last row in Splash--did you get soaked? I've only ridden the front and middle sections before.

That time I didn’t get real wet, but I have ridden in the back before and gotten soaked. You never really know what’s gonna happen in the back. It just depends.

 

[Captain Barbossa]

Splash continued

After I got off Splash, I called L to find out her location. She was at the Frontierland Shootin’ Arcade, so I headed on over.

We did some shootin’ for a few minutes before we got a call from M. She was on Main Street and was heading towards Sleepy Hollow, which was my next destination.

I’d never gotten anything from Sleepy Hollow before, so I decided to try it for breakfast. Originally, I was gonna get the waffle with fruit and nutella, but my eyes went wandering. (never a good thing)

Mickey waffle with strawberries and whipped cream.

When I saw a picture of this on the menu, it was topped with fresh cut up strawberries, not this liquidy crap with like 2 or 3 pieces of strawberries. I tried to drown it in syrup, hoping to improve the taste, but it didn’t really work. I should have stuck with the nutella waffle. L and I grabbed a table and M soon joined us. (M nor L got anything)

While I ate, we discussed some FP changes. Last night I got rid of my Buzz FP at 10:30 and replaced it with Pirates, also at 10:30. M and L were in favor of dumping their Buzz FP too, so they got one for HM around the same time as mine for Pirates. So I finished the waffle and made my way towards Adventureland.

Since it was 10:15, and I had some time to kill, I decided to hit up the Swiss Family Treehouse.

Up next: More Treehouse!

 

[Captain Barbossa]

Treehouse continued

Love this view

After I went through the Treehouse, I still had 10mins til my FP. I went ahead and walked over to the gift shop. I’m glad I did, because right as I past the Tiki Room, the bottom fell out!

Five minutes later, it wasn’t showing any signs of letting up, so I made a run for it.

George’s hangout spot

Up next: More Pirates!

 

[MinnieM123]

So happy to see that you included a few photos from the treehouse. This is one of my favorite, classic attractions. Many people just walk by it, not realizing what a gem it is.

 

[winstongator]

Friday May 25th: Magic Kingdom

I tried to get a picture of him, but he rudely yelled at me and said that people aren’t allowed to have their phones out because it would interfere with the MB sending the signal to the scanner. Ok y’all, I was PO’d and knew I had to get back at him, so I grabbed my phone, waved it in his face, and yelled “watch this!”. Then, I scanned my MB, pressed my finger, Mickey turned green, and I was in. As I gave him a nasty glare, I could see his face start to turn red. And that’s the last I saw of old Henry. And I hope it stays that way.

Up next: More MK!

Phones interfere with other electronics whether they are in or out of your pocket. It's how close that matters. What would be worst is if you had Apple Pay open and your phone's nfc system started transmitting. 'Regular' phone communications uses frequencies much higher than the passive RFID of the touchpoint, so it's less likely to interfere. Now, waving your phone in the CM's face? That's a different type of interference. Everyone having their phones out at the 'turnstiles' would definitely slow things.

There's real magic in those bands. links for those interested: First one is best.
https://atdisneyagain.com/2014/01/27/making-the-band-magicband-teardown-and-more/
https://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=69&doc_id=1320977
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9177375
https://learn.adafruit.com/magic-band-teardown/inside-magic-band
https://www.wired.com/2015/03/disney-magicband/

 

[Captain Barbossa]

Pirates continued

“Here kitty, kitty, kitty! Have a nice little tot of rum with Old Bill, eh?”

Thankfully the rain stopped and the sun was shining when I got off Pirates. M and L also encountered the rain after HM. When it started to slack off, they made a run for SW.

Since they were on SW, I headed for Frontierland Station.

A couple minutes later, Lilly arrived.

Up next: More WDWRR

 

[Captain Barbossa]

So happy to see that you included a few photos from the treehouse. This is one of my favorite, classic attractions. Many people just walk by it, not realizing what a gem it is.

Glad your enjoying them! I didn’t take many pictures when I went through it on our first day at MK. I have to do the Treehouse multiple times each trip.

Phones interfere with other electronics whether they are in or out of your pocket.

Yeah he was just being a pain in the butt, like he was the other day.

I’ve never heard any CMs say anything about phones being out since MBs were introduced. If it’s that big of a deal, CMs would/should be routinely telling people not to have their phones out when scanning their MBs. (not that it would do any good) People constantly have their phone in their hand when scanning their MB, whether it’s getting into a park or redeeming a FP. It mustn’t be much of a problem.

 

[Captain Barbossa]

WDWRR continued

I successfully made a picture of Tumbleweed with one of the BTM trains passing by.

I got off at Fantasyland Station.

Then I walked down the “tobacco trail” to watch Lilly run by and caught a glimpse of the Tron construction.

I reversed my direction and went back to Storybook Circus where I found this marker on the ground that I’d never seen before.

At the top it reads, The Walt Disney World Resort, and at the bottom, Survey Marker. Anyone know what exactly this is? I’m very interested by it.

I got a text from L saying that she and M were at Tomorrowland Terrace, so I headed there next so we could regroup.

Next up: More MK

 

[MinnieM123]

At the top it reads, The Walt Disney World Resort, and at the bottom, Survey Marker. Anyone know what exactly this is? I’m very interested by it.

I've never seen one either, but I'll be that @marni1971 will know what it is--he's our Disney expert!

 

[marni1971]

Yep. A survey marker.

They place a laser on it once a year and bounce the beam off the castle. That way they can check if the park is expanding or still has room for more guests.

@Master Yoda may have more details.

 

[Captain Barbossa]

MK continued

I stopped along the way and waited for 7DMT to come by.

Then I passed this.

I don’t get it. Something must’ve been wrong because I didn’t have the urge to take 3,885 pictures in front of it. Actually, I saw more people taking pictures in front of the pepto-bismal wall next to Spaceship Earth than the purple wall.

I made it to Tomorrowland Terrace and found M and L.

Not sure if these golden retrievers were legit service dogs, but they were cute.

We all got something to drink and enjoyed the shade. This was probably the hottest day of the trip.

We then headed over to one of the most underrated attractions.

The theater was almost full. I don’t think I’ve ever seen CoP that crowded before.

Great show as usual. CoP is one of those attractions that always puts me in a good mood! As soon as I hear “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow”, I immediately go to my happy place.

CoP is a classic, and I look forward to it every trip! For those who don’t know, it’s rumored to be the longest running stage show in America.

Earlier I grabbed me a FP for Pooh, so I headed there next.

After my trip through the Hundred Acre Wood, I was ready for lunch! Or as Pooh would say, “I had a rumbly in my tumbly”.

M and L had just gotten off the TTA. L was going to use her Speedway FP, so M met me for lunch at Pinocchio’s, a place I hadn’t eaten at in a long time.

Originally I planned to get the chicken parmesan pasta, but when I saw how small the portions were, I went with the chicken parmesan sandwich instead.

Omg it was sooo good! The picture doesn’t do it justice, but it was very big. And I got a lot of fries too.

M got the tomato basil soup and the side antipasto salad and said that both were good.

L met back up with us as we were finishing up. She wasn’t sure what she wanted for lunch and insisted that M and I ride something while she looked.

Under the Sea was only a 10min wait, so M and I headed there next.

Up next: More Mermaid

 

[Captain Barbossa]

Mermaid continued

This definitely wasn’t a 10min wait. I think it turned out to be closer to 30min. The line would have moved faster if the people in front of us paid attention and stopped acting so obnoxiously annoying.

After our journey under the sea, we met back up with L, who had gotten something to eat from the Friar’s Nook, and headed to the Hall of Presidents.

Good God it was crowded! I wanted to look at the exhibits that have the personal items and outfits belonging to former Presidents and First Ladies, like I normally do, but I didn’t get a chance because there were so many people!

Thankfully it was time to go in.

I have mixed feelings about the new film. I’m glad the technology was updated, but I think I like the old one better. Also, I don’t really care for the new music. I miss hearing “Hail to the Chief” when the Presidents are introduced, and the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” during the finale. Oh, and I can’t stand Abraham Lincoln’s new voice. Why did they have to get rid of the Royal Dano recording?!

When we got out of HoP, it was time for mine and L’s Splash FP. M was gonna do some shopping.

We were met by a ridiculously long FP line, but it was back to normal after we scanned our MBs.

We were on in less than 10mins.

Really lady? Some people may want to see their own face.

After Splash, our next destination was Tom Sawyer Island. M was on her way, but told us to go on over.

As you can see, our raft was the Tom Sawyer.

First stop was Harper’s Mill.

Up next: More TSI

 

[Captain Barbossa]

TSI continued

Then it was time for the barrel bridge!

I lost count of how many times I walked across it. It’s so much fun and provides a great view of HM.

We ran into M, who successfully made it over, and went to explore the caves.

There was a CM in the cave who was telling people that this is supposed to be Goofy.

Not sure about y’all, but I’m not seeing Goofy.

I was super excited to see Fort Langhorn since it was refurbished back in the late winter/early spring, but I was crushed when we were greeted by this.

Why?!

Since the Fort was closed and we had done everything that was opened, we made our way to the dock.

Our timing couldn’t have been better because a raft was arriving as we walked up.

Next up: Leaving TSI