We did a little zigzagging after this. We rode Star Tours and then walked back to ride Slinky Dog.
There were two showings of Fantasmic tonight. Originally, I figured we would go to the last show. But we changed our minds and decided on going to the earlier one instead. The weather was getting so chilly, I didn’t want to chance it being so cold to sit there for the later show.
It was about this time that Ross got a phone call from Nicolas. Nicolas was running the business and went to the storage locker to pick up this week’s delivery. And unfortunately, the delivery was not there! That sent Ross into a tizzy. He had to make some phone calls and I had to send some text to the supervisors and shipping company to figure out what was going on and where the delivery was at. And the answer was no one really knew. The trucking company stated that they did not have enough drivers on this particular day, so with the shipment in limbo, his mood was shot. I do understand… my heart went out for him. Somehow, almost every time we’re away something happens with the business that makes him have to worry. Thankfully, it would resolve the next morning. And Ross would return back to his vacation mode. Nicolas is a trooper though. And it’s nice to know that we have someone reliable run the show when we’re away.
We walked into the Fantasmic theatre and found a seat. It was a completely filled show! We unpacked our warmer gear and loaded up and layered up. I was glad we had it because I was comfortable and I wasn’t so worried about Hope. Julia will always tell me when she’s cold or when something bothers her, but Hope will not.
The show was incredible as always. We noticed that the fire at the end was not working and Snow White’s boat was not there either.
When we were done, we headed over to RnR. The line was really long! It made sense though, since it was down all day pretty much. We joined the lightning lane with our return time and waited, and then the ride seemed to have gone down. The announcement started playing that they were experiencing delays.
Several people began to leave the extremely long line. While we were waiting, I was able to make a return time for ToT, which was also down for most of the day for some reason. But Hope wanted to stay in line. I told her that we were taking a chance because of RnR didn’t go back up, we wouldn’t ride either one. She stood firm and wanting to stay, so we did. Luckily enough, after about 20 minutes in line, it reopened and we were led right into the preshow room, but then told we were given backseat passes so we could just go on board the ride.
When we got off the time was 859. Ross was determined to get us on ToT, so off we flew. We arrived at tower at 9:01 when the gate was already shut, but they waved us in anyway, so we were the last to join the line for the day! This is one ride. I still don’t like. I can take any roller coaster almost but the feeling of just straight freefall still bugs me. We boarded and I put my bag around my legs and then I had the Sully popcorn bucket to deal with. I put my foot Through the loop and had it secured… or so I thought. Up, up we went… when the drop happened, all of a sudden, I realized Mike & Sully were flying up above me! I grabbed it and clutched it to my chest. How it’s not in the picture, I’m not so sure.
Ross and Julia said they wished it was in the picture. lol
We made our way towards the exit. Hope realized that the animation and firework show that projected up against the Chinese theater was going to go off, so we stopped and found a place to watch it. It wasn’t too crowded, so it wasn’t a situation like trying to watch HEA. We watched the show which wasn’t too very long and then made our way towards the exit. We were lucky because the last showing of Fantasmic was still going on. We made it to the Skyliner with pretty much no line. As we looked behind us, the entire park was rushing out!!
We walked over to AoA and had a quick bite to eat in their food court before walking back to Pop.
It was another great day and another night that we flopped into bed.
Today was our AK day – and I think most of you guys know that AK is not a favorite of mine. However, I was happy that it was a day without having to wake up early to make a VQ!
We took our time getting ready and then made our way out to the bus stop only find out that the AK bus was over
a half hour away.
Hope and I walked back inside so I could get some coffee.
As soon as we got back a bus that was “refilling its pixie dust” pulled up to the AK stop and off we went!
Hope and Julia were excited to see the Merry Menagerie, but unfortunately, I only got this picture!
First up was ITTBAB.
I am excited for Zootopia, but I’ll miss this show. I was happy to see Hooper working because he was out of commission the last couple of times we saw the show. (Terrible pic!)
After the bugs terrified the crowd, we walked over to Dinoland.
I had already heard that Dinosaur the ride would remain open for a while, we figured that it would probably be our last time walking through the entirety of the land.
We also had to pick up our postcard. (I would refer a magnet. Just saying… Not complaining…)
When we returned from our flight, we were STARVING!! I was so hoping to eat right there in Pandora, but Ross did not want to. He does not like the food here… several years back he got a little sick after eating at Satu’li Canteen… he called it the Pandora Poops, so he refuses to give it another shot.
We did all get Night Blossoms and 2 orders of the cream cheese egg rolls to split until we got better sustenance.
We all needed to agree on another spot to get some nourishment before we wanted to killed each other from hangriness. We settled on Flame Tree BBQ. Believe it or not, we have never eaten here before!
This guy was scouting for food. I was good – I do not feed the wildlife, but many people did!
We found a spot to sit and then mobile ordered. Our meals were excellent – we were very satisfied.
I have to admit, I felt bad not tossing them a french fry or two, but I stood strong. We watched one family dump an entire plate of fries and they flocked to them!
Once our bellies were full and our crankiness was gone, we walked backed to Pandora to ride the glow in the dark boat ride. Sorry guys… I have no love for this one… but Hope loves it.
We had missed the earlier performance of FOTLK, so we made our way over to Africa so we could catch the next show. It was getting chilly, so it was nice to warm up in the theatre.
I figured Hope was too old to be picked for the parade at the end, so I was shocked that when the CM’s were picking kids from the audience, no one in our section wanted to join in. Ross told Hope to raise her hand and see if they would pick her and sure enough they did! She was soooo excited!
We hadn’t done the safari yet, so that was next on our list…. I was sad because there were no elephants or giraffes to be seen!! However I was excited to see the hippos out of the water! I don't think I've ever seen them when they were not submerged.
I want a hippopotamus for Christmas!!
The last thing we needed to do was to ride EE. This was my most favorite ride until GoG came along. It’s bumped to the number 2 spot for me these days.
I thought we were done for the day, Miss Hope had other plans…. She decided we needed to ride Triceratops Spin for a final time. Ross wanted nothing to do with it, so the girls and I took to the air one last time for Dino Dumbo.
After that we were done. Except Julia wanted to go to the Joffrey’s in Asia to get a Matcha. It was the only location that has Matcha – besides Starbucks, which she doesn’t like. Unfortunately, they must have taken it off the menu because they didn’t have it. Poor Julia! Lol. She settled for an ice tea instead. Hope got a lemonade and I indulged in a Peppermint Latte.
After Animal Kingdom, the plan was to go to Animal Kingdom Lodge, and check out gingerbread! On our way out, we watched the show on the Tree of Life. It was very pretty!
We headed out of AK onto a VERY crowded bus to AK Lodge. Once there, we admired the stunning displays of gingerbread.
Sorry guys... I got a bit distracted...
Hope was kicking off because after Animal Kingdom Lodge, we said we would go to Disney Springs to finish the Christmas tree trail. But I forgot the map she started at the room and she didn’t want a brand new one to start over. It took us a little bit to convince her that she didn’t have to do the Christmas tree stroll tonight. Thankfully, she lost her little attitude and we were good to go.
By the time we arrived at Disney Springs, we were all hungry. We talked about trying out something new, but in the end we ended up at our favorite…
After Blaze, Julia went back to the resort. We walked back to the Christmas store and Hope picked out her Monsters Inc. ornament with Mike Kozlowski as a snowball. Lol I don't know why I didn't take a picture of it - it was very cute and something Hope has wanted for a while.
I stopped at dockside margaritas and picked up one of their holiday pomegranate margaritas. It was very yummy. We walked around a couple other stores, including the art store. They have some really nice photos there. Then we hopped on a bus to go back to the resort.
I woke up under the covers, not quite awake. It’s one of those feelings where you wake up and you’re not sure exactly where you are. As I was lying there getting my bearings, I heard the word that no one wants to hear when you’re on vacation, let alone, Disney World. The four letter word, The S – –K word. “I’m sick. I don’t feel good.” But who was it? I jumped out of bed to discover the answer…
It would be Julia. I realized pretty quickly it was her sinuses flaring up.
I walked down to Everything POP to see if they had anything for her, but I was out of luck. As I was about to call a Lyft to take me to Walmart… I realized DUH – I had Instacart!!
I placed a priority order through Instacart for Sudafed and Vicks . And I made her a concoction of ginger, turmeric and cayenne pepper followed by some green tea and honey. ( Yes I travel with this in my first aid kit!). I told her to keep warm compresses on her forehead. As sad as I was that she was sick, I was a little relived knowing she wasn’t contagious.
My original plan for today was to go resort hopping and to admire all the gingerbread displays, the Christmas tree trail at DS and perhaps to play a round of golf.
I originally figured since it was Saturday, it would be wise to stay clear of the parks. However, Julia was looking forward to all of that and I didn’t want her to miss out, so I did some rearranging of our plans. Julia said she most wanted to spend more time in Epcot and HS and of course all the resort exploring. So that would leave MK for today.
At around noontime, Ross, Hope and I headed off to Magic Kingdom while Julia stayed behind to rest. And while I missed my baby girl, it was the best thing for her.
We headed into the Magic Kingdom around noon and hit up Laugh Floor followed by Buzz. Hope did amazing on the ride! She beat me!
We walked out into the most crowded MK I have ever seen. Even compared to last year, which was weird because it was the same time. I was guessing it being a Saturday afternoon was one of the reasons.