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:

 

[MillerPoppins]

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:

That's so awesome! I have always wanted to do a Star Wars weekend but I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to handle the crowd levels. I get your unicorn reference, my friends say I straddle the fine line between tom boy and Mom of the group. Thanks for reading! :wave:

 

[MillerPoppins]

After this, we made our way down Sunset Blvd towards RNRC. It was time for us to use our fast passes!

We headed in and in minutes we were racing to the concert! I love this ride SO MUCH!

Unfortunately, we only got to do it once but at least we got to do it. That was the important part. I don't do TOT so I for me, we were good. I got to do everything I wanted to.

Next up, we decided to hit up a viewing of Indiana Jones. We found a spot and within minutes, I was chosen as a volunteer!

 

[MillerPoppins]

Jennie now went camera happy since she took over...

Being a huge Star Wars fan, Jennie is a MASSIVE Harrison Ford fan. Harrison Ford to Jennie is Julie Andrews to me. However Jen has not been fortunate enough yet to meet him. We discussed earlier in the trip how if she ever met Harrison, she couldn't promise who she'd carry herself. LOL

In the mean time, she went nuts with photos.

My grand entrance...

It was great because the majority of extras with me had never seen the show and had no idea that there was a "plant". It made it even more enjoyable to me.

Tim was excited to hear when I got home that I got to be a volunteer also since he was one last time we were down. He was happy that we had both done it now. I had to remind him though that this was actually my second volunteer appearance in the Indy show. However, it was still as fun as always! I love how campy this show is.

 

[MillerPoppins]

We finished up our awesome time in Chiro, and then wandered around a bit. I had never been in the little shop outside of the exit of the show. That was a surprise to see something I never saw before.
And why is this closed?

We headed back down though by way of Star Tours. Jedi Training was going on so we watched that for a bit. It was really cute, I had never seen the whole show before!

Can I just saw how excited I am for the new Star Tours!? God I want to go now!

So we played a bit more...yeah can you imagine?

Jennie's turn!

Next up...cheesy photos of American Idol!

Like I said, at this point, I had done everything I wanted to do in the park except get a red velvet cupcake. I knew I couldn't eat one of those on my own, so that was out. But attraction wise, I've was satisfied. So we went to do some more pin trading in the hat. I got a few more pins I wanted for Tim and we decided to make our way back to the Backlot Tour for something else to do. En route, we found this little guy living under the hat!

How cute?! "Where do you live Bunny?" "Oh under the hat in Hollywood Studios." LOL

Awesome!

 

[HollyBelle]

Okay... the American Idol shots totally beat out the Singing in the Rain shots for the next best Smart Water ad! "Drink Smart Water and you, too, can be an American Idol!"

 

[MillerPoppins]

Okay... the American Idol shots totally beat out the Singing in the Rain shots for the next best Smart Water ad! "Drink Smart Water and you, too, can be an American Idol!"

Hahaha...you know, I never even thought of that with any of those pictures. It's cool having people point out new things that you never notice. Now I'll always think of that when I look at these! :lol:

 

[oommggitskait]

Hahaha. I love all the cheesy photos; so totally something I would do.
And thanks for the red velvet cupcake talk... now I'm CRAVING one!

 

[MillerPoppins]

Hahaha. I love all the cheesy photos; so totally something I would do.
And thanks for the red velvet cupcake talk... now I'm CRAVING one!

I'm CONSTANTLY wanting one since I got back. Big regret...

 

[MillerPoppins]

So onwards we went to the Backlot Tour. I'm not gonna lie...this doesn't really do anything for me anymore. However, it's not Prince Caspian or anything which I totally think it is a waste of time. But, it does pass time and show some movie fun which I am always up for. I love movies...everything about them...how they are made, what they are about, special effects, costumes, makeup, all of it. So if I get little glimpses into that world, I'll take what I can get. So onwards we went.

There was a minor line but not a big deal at all. I took some more shots while we waited. And of course, the best parts were all the Pirates props.

Plus, I'm a fan of all things Pirates...well...most stuff. Except that pink pirate princess stuff they have out now.

I don't know how I feel about Pirates 4. They'll win out because I'll go see it and they'll get my money. But it should have ended at Pirates 3. To be honest, I would have been happy if they stopped at 1. Because the first is still the best.

So in we went, to watch the wave drama and the loading in of trams. It was then on to Catastrophe Canyon, where we had so much fun watching first time folks taking it all in. I will say that I'm not a fan of the new voice over tour. It was better when there was individual tour guides. Personal preference...

Afterwards, we headed in to the AFI Exhibit.

I have to admit, I'm a fan of this area. Again, because I'm a movie nerd. Wish it would be updated as the Villains exhibit has been there for quite sometime. But it's still great to see things that are used in some of my favorite movies.

Jennie's turn!

So in we went and paid our respects to the leader of the empire...

Jennie especially...

 

[MillerPoppins]

P.S-I may be a huge Star Wars nerd, but I still don't agree with all that went down in the series. Uhhh...Count Dooku? WORSE VILLAIN!

Darth Maul also could have had so much potential. Shame to see him go out when he did but I understand why.

Jen is a Narnia fan so she enjoyed the Narnia area where as I haven't seen them yet.

More goofing about followed of course as you can see this was the theme for the day...

We wandered through some more and made it into the following gift shop. One more hat photo was in order.

So we were slowly getting closer and closer to the 7pm ending mark. I had a few more souvenirs that I had to get of the food variety. So back we went to Sweet Spells.

Cookies, candy and some other goodies were bought as well as some more vinylmation being traded. Afterwards, we had a goal. The wait time had been 60+ minutes all day for Standby on TSMM. However, I really wanted to take another spin on it. Jennie had mentioned that on a previous day trip that they had gone in 5 minutes before closing and managed to be on the ride in 20 minutes. FP's are done being taken at exactly park closing time. So we wandered over to Pixar Place again and hoped for the best. It was now 20 minutes before park closing but we took a shot. This was the first time heading in the Standby Queue for me so I went a little photo happy.

This was hilarious to me. On the back of Zurg's box...

Especially considering Tim being Canadian and all!

We played a lot more through the Queue obviously.

 

[MillerPoppins]

I made mention through the queue as we waited that it would be nice if we were randomly selected again to be sped through the ride. This of course was a wish that was too good to be true, or was it?

Loved the queue area and it was moving along pretty well. Jen informed me that the Mr. Potato Head was down and not working. I didn't even know that he was there.

As we approached the glasses area, we each picked up a pair. As we were, a cast member asked how many were in our party. We told him 2 and yet again, we were shipped in a different area. This time, up the FP lane and cut ahead of the Standby folks. There was about 3 other parties ahead of us, and that was it! Totally awesome! :sohappy:

We both couldn't get over it!

So we whirled through toy land again and yet again, Jennie beat me. The girl lives down there...come on! Cheating advantage! We walked out and my heart began to sink. It was past 7pm. The park was now closed and that meant it was now time for me to head out of my Happy World and back to reality.

I soaked in every second of it as we wandered past the attractions, hat and the stores. As we walked out, I was so thankful for this time with Jennie and the much needed mini break from work.

I waved goodbye to Hollywood Studios and we made our way out. We had great weather (2 out of 4 days), a great time and added more fun stories and restaurants under the belt.

We got our last shot together before heading to the airport.

And with that, we headed out. Back to Jersey and back to Tim. Jennie dropped me off at the airport and we said our goodbyes. She's been such a good friend to me over the years. It used to be really difficult saying goodbye because I wouldn't know when I would see her next. Now I know, that although I wish I saw her more often, it's ok. Because we do get to hang out, it's like we never missed a beat. I headed in the airport to find my flight delayed by an hour and a half. Great.... After sitting and going over my pictures, we finally left and headed back to NJ.

Overall, great trip. The weather, not perfect but we made the best of it. Ponchos are your friends! Zoology is fun! And avocado margaritas are even better. I'm sorry this took so long to finish. Took me less time to write an 8 day report then this 4 day one. But thanks for keeping up and all the great commentary!

Edited to add: Saturdays walking total. 18097 steps 7.71 miles

Thanks for reading! :wave:

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Great trip report! I enjoyed all of it, especially the crazyness you two got into

 

[Sarabell]

this TR was really cool. I really want to try the avocado margarita, but I get tipsy with a beer, so I guess it wouldn't be such a good idea, I'll check if my mom will have half of it though, she doesn't like margaritas but it can't hurt to try.

I'm gald you got to spend some time with your friend. I love it when you have friends so close that you can stop talking for months and then when you talk again it's like you never got appart. It's so nice to be bale to take a trip with a friend!

Thanks for sharing your trip with us!:wave:

 

[HollyBelle]

Soooooooooo sad it's over. Your reports are great, Karen. That means you need to take more trips so that we get more trip reports.

 

[mamamouse]

awe I loved this report the whole way through and now it's alll done Booooooooo

 

[MillerPoppins]

Great trip report! I enjoyed all of it, especially the crazyness you two got into

Thank you so much! :wave:

this TR was really cool. I really want to try the avocado margarita, but I get tipsy with a beer, so I guess it wouldn't be such a good idea, I'll check if my mom will have half of it though, she doesn't like margaritas but it can't hurt to try.

I'm gald you got to spend some time with your friend. I love it when you have friends so close that you can stop talking for months and then when you talk again it's like you never got appart. It's so nice to be bale to take a trip with a friend!

Thanks for sharing your trip with us!:wave:

Thank you for reading along! I'm glad some folks enjoyed it! :wave: Yeah I'm lucky to have a few friends like that.

Soooooooooo sad it's over. Your reports are great, Karen. That means you need to take more trips so that we get more trip reports.

Aww thanks Holly! There might be another trip in my future...who knows. :zipit:

I'm loving reading your report! And I'm so glad the wedding came together so perfectly!

awe I loved this report the whole way through and now it's alll done Booooooooo

Awww thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

 

[plaz10]

love love LOVED your TR! Seemed like you guys had a blast! Now I think I need a girls trip to Disney and leave the boy at home. Ha Ha!

A few notes...

1 - I just got back from the World yesterday and I took your advice and got the avocado margarita...and WOW. You were 100% right. Delicious and so refreshing. An absolute must do for all trips. The boyfriend was skeptical at first even though he likes avocado but we tried it and it was fantastic!

2 - I think I saw Jennie at AK on my trip. I was walking through one of the trails and I was like "hey, she looks familiar." But I didn't want to go up and say "hey I creep on your friends TR on wdwmagic and saw you in one! Small world!" But I wasn't even positive it was her...but I was at AK on May 18 so you can ask her if she was there!

3 - Had the red velvet cheesecake cupcake at Starring Rolls - put that on your must do for next trip = AMAZING. I think it was the best sweet I had all week. :slurp: I could really go for one right about now.

4 - I could not agree more on the Star Wars villains thoughts. Dooku was so lame. Darth Maul was so bad@$$! I just didn't believe this old guy could be a crazy good fighter. I wish their roles were reversed. Maul looks so damn evil! I love it!

I'm hoping to post a TR of my own here soon and I have pictures of both the delicious margarita and cupcake. Along with lots of other food !

 

[MillerPoppins]

love love LOVED your TR! Seemed like you guys had a blast! Now I think I need a girls trip to Disney and leave the boy at home. Ha Ha!

A few notes...

1 - I just got back from the World yesterday and I took your advice and got the avocado margarita...and WOW. You were 100% right. Delicious and so refreshing. An absolute must do for all trips. The boyfriend was skeptical at first even though he likes avocado but we tried it and it was fantastic!

2 - I think I saw Jennie at AK on my trip. I was walking through one of the trails and I was like "hey, she looks familiar." But I didn't want to go up and say "hey I creep on your friends TR on wdwmagic and saw you in one! Small world!" But I wasn't even positive it was her...but I was at AK on May 18 so you can ask her if she was there!

3 - Had the red velvet cheesecake cupcake at Starring Rolls - put that on your must do for next trip = AMAZING. I think it was the best sweet I had all week. :slurp: I could really go for one right about now.

4 - I could not agree more on the Star Wars villains thoughts. Dooku was so lame. Darth Maul was so bad@$$! I just didn't believe this old guy could be a crazy good fighter. I wish their roles were reversed. Maul looks so damn evil! I love it!

I'm hoping to post a TR of my own here soon and I have pictures of both the delicious margarita and cupcake. Along with lots of other food !

Awww thanks so much for reading! I'm glad you tried the margarita, I could really go for one right now! Jennie goes in to the park frequently as she always has visitors and still goes in for fun quite often...very good chance it could have been her! The cupcake is a must for next time! I kick myself frequently for not getting it! Can't wait to see your pics!

 

[MillerPoppins]

Pulling this thread back up to show everyone something that took part in my rant. So the outside area of Nemo where kids are usually hanging all over and that I went off about in this trip report. Well...It's been fixed!!!

:sohappy::sohappy::sohappy:

 

[HollyBelle]

ZOMG!! It looks soooooo much better! Yay! :sohappy::sohappy::sohappy: