Trip Report A Not So Splashy, Very Dashy, Somewhat Sleepy and A Little Frisky, Uplyfting Sept 2018 TR (Completed!)

Once again, it is so hard to believe that our adventure in WDW is over. I don’t understand how time goes so fast when we are there. Even though this was our longest trip ever, it still flew by.

We returned home around midnight on Saturday and I’ve been getting back to reality and catching up on reading other TR’s before beginning my own.

Just in case you may not know us…

Me: Mary/mom

Ross – Dad AKA Grumpy, but was acting more like Sleepy on this trip. (And yes – those Crocs came along with him.)

Julia – DD Sweet 16 this trip

Hope – My 9 year old princess whose diagnoses of Autism usually lends itself to some interesting tidbits for my TR’s.

Trip details:

September 6th – 8th at Art Of Animation (Room only)

September 8th – 22nd Pop Century (MYW Package Free Dining)

Yep- that’s a LONG trip – our longest EVER. Still it managed to fly by in the blink of an eye.

If you’re not familiar with my crazy crew or you need to catch up, feel free to check out my pre trip report here:

https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads...feet-a-september-2018-pre-trip-report.944145/

All caught up? Are you ready? Okay then, here we go!

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

@Rista1313 and @DisneyShe ....it's going to be a great post-Thanksgiving week in the parks for all of us!

 

[DisneyGigi]

Sounds like you'll be there about the same time I'm going.. what date are you going to Art's?

We are there 11/25-11/30. Doing Arts the 30th for lunch.

 

[Rista1313]

@Rista1313 and @DisneyShe ....it's going to be a great post-Thanksgiving week in the parks for all of us!

I'll only be in DS on Nov 20th this time... this is not a Disney trip.. booo.. But my countdown to the next Disney trip is 366 days!

 

[Rista1313]

We are there 11/25-11/30. Doing Arts the 30th for lunch.

Shoot I'm a week earlier Nov 20th

 

[DisneyGigi]

Shoot I'm a week earlier Nov 20th

My math and weeks are totally off a bit lol. It has been crazy at my house. I am 28 days away. I don’t know how I thought it was 25. Gigi brain with a toddler every day I guess.

 

[Figment Forever]

WHAT A FUN MORNING! I noticed when we ate at CRT the Princesses seemed rushed and not so interested in having a conversation, albeit even a short one. I understand this is a "job" to them, but it's exciting for guests and it would mean a lot if they could show some genuine interest. I've had some great princess interactions, though. I'm glad Hope did, too at Arendale!

I love the Frozen meet and greet pics. The girls both look so happy in them.

It was an awesome day! It's funny how some characters spend so much time interacting and then others rush through. I think this was the first time that it really felt rushed - but Hope didn't seem to mind so that's all that matters for me.

I have wanted to try Art Smith’s for awhile now. I have it booked for our trip in 3 1/2 weeks, but on the day we leave. B is not so into doing it because he knows I have to go by the outlet for Disney outlet and Yankee Candle before we head home- hopefully I can hit that first though because that chicken looks soooo good!

Loving the report
Not much luck with character breakfast

Oh my gosh - it was soooo good! Julia and I definitely want to go again. Ross - not so much! He doesn't get the love for fried chicken! lol

I must say that I commend and respect your approach to your daughters condition with regard to the bus situation at the Halloween party.
You use the pass to allow her and the family to enjoy the park but do not overuse it to get onto an earlier bus
Well done.

Max

Thank you Max - we try our best. My goal is to make her stronger every day. I don't want her to rely on people changing the rules just for her. But I do concede that sometimes she needs modifications. It's funny and amazing how our Disney trips have shown us how much she has grown and areas where she still needs to focus on. I will say that for the first time during this trip, I did have the bus driver strap her in like a wheelchair. I felt super awkward about it, but it was a lifesaver for those few nights.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Figment Forever]

We left WS and headed over to FW. We decided to make a quick stop at Club Cool to consume some liquids. It was already boiling hot out!

We got a return time for Soarin and then rode LWTL.

Julia is in a book club that meets ever 1st Monday of the month, but since September was a holiday, they decided to meet today. Julia didn’t want to miss it, so she was going to do a phone conference. I knew she would need a somewhat quiet place and I thought the area outside the Figment bathrooms would work. Since it was getting close to that time, we headed that way.

We were sad to see Figment was not running. So we walked into the gift shop to look around. I was hoping that I could find something I saw in another TR – a Figment backpack purse. I was very excited to see they had it! I purchased that along with a couple of other items and had them sent back to the resort so we didn’t have to carry them around. We played a little bit. Since the ride was shutdown, it was completely empty inside.

 

[Figment Forever]

We walked around to the bathroom area and settled Julia at the bench. Hope and I were going to watch the Pixar Film Festival while Julia was chatting with her group. But first she asked if I could get her a lemonade and a pretzel. Hope and I went off to purchase the treats. When we returned, we found Julia not really able to hear. It wasn’t that it so too loud, but a bad connection. So she had to hang up. She was sad, but only for a few minutes. Then we were all off to Pixar Film Festival. The girls both LOVE this. Funny, because I realized that we can watch them on Netflix. Lol

When we left the theatre, we were going to go to TT, but we saw that Figment was back opened, so we went in to ride.

We left and started our on way to TT, but Hope had something else she wanted to do first - a construction wall! "RIP Universe of Energy!" she exclaimed.

We thought about walking through the Festival Center, but decided against it since we wanted to hop to HS soon.

 

[Figment Forever]

When we got to TT, I used the bonus FP that I got at Ohanna. As we entered the design room, there was a family of six in front of us. They were instructed to use 2 of the screens. But when we got in the room, they decided they each wanted to design their own car which meant there was no space left for us! Thankfully a CM saw what was happing and shuffled us all around. It ended up that Hope and Julia each got to make their own car.

I noticed a new play area. It looked nice. I thought they put it in a weird place, but I think its great to have these play spaces in the parks.

Then it was time for us to leave EPCOT.

We were off to HS and Toy Story Land!!!

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

I'd enjoy exploring the FIGMENT building even if the ride was down, but I'm glad you got to go and ride it! Bummer about Julia's call but at least she tried!

 

[Figment Forever]

I was happy to see a direct bus to HS. We hopped on and off we went. It was a pretty empty bus and soon we were there! Hope was so excited to see the skyline coming together!

Wow - what a walk to the park entrance!!

We walked in and headed right over to Toy Story Land. Of course, we stopped for a pic first!

It was pretty cool! The crowds were heavy; it reminded me of what Pandora was like last year. I had made a fast pass for the aliens so I got a return time for Slinky Dog. We looked around a little and then decided to go get something to eat since we were all starving.

 

[Figment Forever]

We walked over to ABC Commissary. Hope got chicken and Julia and I got ribs. Once again, Julia and I did not learn our lesson – we could have and should have shared this meal! We all thought it was pretty good. Julia loved that they had steak fries.

With our bellies full, we returned to Toy Story Land.

Our FP time for Aliens was open so we started there. I didn’t know what to expect, but it was a really fun ride. We all managed to sit in one saucer and have a great time.

The music is fun and whimsical adding to enjoyment. Of course, I guess not everyone agrees with the ride, as we were exiting, they had to shut it down for a bit because someone threw up.

We headed to Slinky Dog. Hope could barely contain herself.

I love seeing her so excited! It was fun too!

I'm not sure what's up with the photo on the ride? For our entire trip, we got the photos from the entire train show up on our Memory Maker! And none are really that good!

Hopes favorite part was when the ride pauses, backs up and then shoots ahead. She loved hearing Slinky says, “Here we go!” It completely cracked her up and for days after, she would just bust out laughing and say, “Here we go!” (Which actually got a little annoying after a few thousand times.)

 

[Figment Forever]

We had a FP for ToT, but before we headed over, I got a return time for TSMM. We stopped to use the bathrooms by Launch Bay and of course Hope had to make another stop for a construction sign. As we walked over to get a picture, a CM who was there in front of the now closed line looked confused. I had to explain that Hope just wanted a picture in front of the signs.

Disney Jr. actually had its final show just a few days before we arrived. Hope was sad. We all were. But she was excited for the Disney Dance Party, so that was good too.

Then we made our way to ToT. I hate ToT – I hate all free fall type rides. Spinning and going upside down does not bother me – but free fall – I just hate the feeling.

 

[Figment Forever]

After we escaped the Twilight Zone, back to Toy Story Land we went. We entered the line for TSMM. We walked through admiring all the new details. As we got near the area where you take the glasses, a woman walked past us to join the group of eight in front of us. She was carrying a platter of the beef brisket from Woody’s Lunch Box. It looked rather good, but I questioned her timing to have food while so close to getting on a ride. She proceeded to share it with her husband. As we approached the next CM, they were told they needed to discard the food. They responded to the CM by pretending not to know English. (I know they spoke English, because I was hearing their conversation.) I could see the CM was flustered by them and gave up trying, so they just walked right by and kept going along with the beef brisket. Soon it was time to board. By now, Julia and I were completely engaged and waiting to see what would happen next. Sure enough, as they reached the CM who told them what rows to stand in, there was still a half of sandwich and a few tater tots left. The CM told them they needed to throw out the food before they got into their rows. The woman told him not to worry that she would just take the food on with her. But the CM was stern and said they could not take food on the ride motioned for them to throw the food out. When they realized they were not getting on the ride, the woman shoved the sandwich into her mouth and took the biggest bite ever. Then she shoved the rest of the sandwich into her husband’s mouth, plopped the tray which still had a couple of lonely taters on it into the hands of the CM and walked onto the ride!

I looked at the CM who was just standing there with the tray in his hand. I told him I couldn’t believe what just happened. He was very sweet and proceeded to throw out their garbage into the trash can which was only a few feet away.

During all the brisket commotion, I realized that Hope decided she didn’t want to ride. Yep, she decided it was like an omnimover. I quickly took out her i-pod and hung it around her neck. That seemed to calm her and off we went. I rode with Hope and Julia rode by herself.

As soon as the ride started, Hope was fine and having a great time. She actually got a pretty awesome score!

Unfortunately, just as we were approaching the unload area, we stopped. Hope started to freak a little. She knew the ride should not stop there. I reminded her she had her i-pod to use. I looked ahead to see what was up and sure enough the brisket people were refusing to get off the ride!

The woman, who was riding with her husband and granddaughter, would not get off. Finally, the woman got out, but the little girl, who was probably around two, started crying. The woman told the cast members that it was her birthday so she should be able to ride again. By now, there were four CM’s over by the commotion. Thank goodness one of the other group members, I assume her son, who had gotten off the ride with no problem walked over to her laughing and said, “Come on, they are not going to let you do it here.”

With that they finally got off the ride and it started again. We got off and I had to fill Julia in on what she missed.

 

[Figment Forever]

We wanted to see Fantasmic!, but still had a little bit of time to spare before getting there. Julia wanted to see Walt Disney Presents so that seemed like a good choice.

We took our time and then did something we had never done before – we met Starlord and Groot. (I think that’s who they were.) It was perhaps the oddest meet & greet, but a few days later, we found out it would end, so we were glad we did it. Although we can’t wait to meet Mike & Sully again!

We walked over to Fantasmic and found a seat. It was crowded tonight. We were not there for five minutes when the raindrops started. Now remember, it wasn’t supposed to rain today, so Julia & I had NO PONCHOS!!! I got Hope settled in her stroller and zipped up her plastic cover. I also gave her my phone to hold onto and keep dry. Julia and I put on our sweatshirts, which were soon saturated because the sky opened up and started to downpour! I tried to decide what we should do – but suddenly, I realized the entire theater was making a mass exodus.

We joined them and left. We ducked into the gift shop at ToT to wait a little for the torrential downpour to die down a bit. Sure enough, about ten minutes later, the rain let up. Julia and I took off our sweatshirts. Luckily, we were a little damp, but not soaked. I checked on Hope who was bone dry and about halfway through my data for the month. I took my phone back and we were on our way out.

As we walked by the entrance to Fantasmic, I realized it still wasn’t 8:30 and they hadn’t officially canceled the show. Sure enough, people were walking back into the theatre. I looked at Julia and suggested we give it another try. We walked in, found a seat and a few minutes after we were settled, the show began! It was awesome!

When the show ended, once again, we joined the mass crowds leaving. We took our time since the entire park was exiting. When we reached the line for POP – it was tremendous. I suggested that we walk over to the Boardwalk and get ice-cream from Ample Hills. Julia was in, but Hope was having none of it. She wanted ice-cream from POP. Julia and I won out and we started our journey over to the boardwalk. Hope was complaining but I assured her she could get ice cream when we got back to POP.

We made it over to Ample Hills and got our ice cream. Hope stood her ground and refused, so Julia and I enjoyed our treat while Hope played her i-Pod.

When we were done, we walked over to the Boardwalk and went to the bus stop and waited for a bus to DS. Hope was just so cranky by now. She was lying down on the bench and complaining it was taking too long. (Well, it sort of was taking a little bit.)

The bus times on the sign kept changing. I told her she could play with my phone while we waited – hoping that would make her a little less cranky. At least there were no other people there. As we were waiting, Hope announces we should get a Lyft! Julia and I busted out laughing. I told her – no – not now. “Yes!” she replied. “Get a Lyft NOW!” I decided not to respond hoping she would settle down, but then I looked at her with my phone and realized she had opened the Lyft APP, typed in POP Century and was ordering us a ride! I grabbed the phone away and just in time. Thankfully, the DS bus pulled up and off we went.

Of course, what was I thinking not listening to Hope? She was right, we should have got a ride back to POP.

Instead, we got to Disney Springs and switched busses again and finally were headed to POP. Hope was sleeping by the time we reached POP, so I didn’t bother waking her for ice-cream. A decision that almost ended up disastrous.

Up Next: A last look at Project 89

 

[Doc Disney]

I'm late to the party but the girls look so grown up!!!! They have changed so much in a year
Also, totally got chills reading about you getting MNSSHP! I was telling my Mom about it this morning and she was saying how sweet it was for you guys!

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

What a fun day at HS!! You were smart to try for the second Fantasmic show! Man, some people at Disney are crazy. The food story....those people should have known better and shouldn't have fought it. Some guests are so incredibly rude. Sometimes, I feel sorry for Disney Cast Members. Adults are perfectly capable of throwing away their own trash!

I'm glad the IPOD helps HOPE.

Anyway, the walk over to Ample Hills sounded nice. We have a reservation for Beaches and Cream while we are there later this month and we think the easiest way to get back to the All-Stars that night would be a Lyft. I understand it adds up if we use LYFT a lot but once a trip shouldn't be too bad.

 

[amjt660]

Brisket Be-och and her family are everything wrong with the world of entitlement that we live in
I am glad the 2nd CM stood his ground on the food and that the team of CM stood their ground on the re ride
Hilarious that the brother called them out in public - as if this is something that had been trying all week!!!

Max

 

[Elizabeth Swann]

I can't believe those food people!!! They were crazy!

 

[Figaro Family]

The woman, who was riding with her husband and granddaughter, would not get off. Finally, the woman got out, but the little girl, who was probably around two, started crying. The woman told the cast members that it was her birthday so she should be able to ride again. By now, there were four CM’s over by the commotion. Thank goodness one of the other group members, I assume her son, who had gotten off the ride with no problem walked over to her laughing and said, “Come on, they are not going to let you do it here.”

so clearly she'd gotten away with it on at least one other ride!