Trip Report An Engagement is Just a Shameless Excuse for a Trip to WDW

CAPTAIN HOOK · Jun 3, 2015

Waiting for Day 2........................

fractal · Jun 3, 2015

good stuff!

FlaggNL · Jun 4, 2015

Great report! Thanks for sharing!!

James O. Incandenza · Jun 4, 2015

Day 2 - the Magic Kingdom - Part 1

Everyone knows that no matter when you arrive at WDW, the trip doesn't really begin until you're standing at the entrance in front of the train station at the MK. It's (satis)factual. We departed from Coronado Springs pretty damn early as we had a 8:05 reservation for breakfast at Be Our Guest. We'd had dinner at BOG last spring and loved both the food and the experience. Since breakfast was launched after I'd already made a BOG rez for lunch, we wound up eating at BOG twice in one day.

Getting to the MK for pre-opening breakfast isn't that hard to pull off but very few castmembers seemed to know how to pull it off upon inquiry. The easiest non-Uber option seems to be to take the resort monorail or get to the Contemporary and walk on over. The boats from Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wildnerness provide early morning transportation to the Contemporary which we found helpful later in the week.

Truth be told, we were using the morning reservation at BOG as an excuse to roam around Main St. and Fantasyland with fewer guests around and then sneak a few rides on 7DMT before rope drop. We snapped some morning sun-drenched photos of the castle and then strolled towards Nu Fantasyland. We'd ordered our food about a week before we arrived and were given our Red Rose Pager Thing upon entrance to the Beast's castle. We found a table in the main dining room and our food was brought out a few minutes later. I had the open faced bacon egg and cheese and Joelle had the charcuterie plate. We both thought the breakfast was good including the pastries as perfunctory as they were.

We were done with breakfast by about 8:45am and rushed over to the 7DMT where we got to ride twice in a row with no line whatsoever. It was marvelous and completely justified the money spent at BOG. Having only rode it once before on it's opening day, it was much more pleasurable this go-around. It is one of the best attractions at the park and just a smidge too short and dazzling for it's own good. Much like the songs of many punk rock bands whom I hold so dear, the brevity leaves you wanting just a bit more every time, in a good way.

We then scurried over to Peter Pan's Flight so we could experience the new queue before the line got out of control. In all honestly, it's a pretty amazing addition to the ride especially since the old line was pretty depressing. The interactive shadow effect was especially great although much like the other queue entertainment it seemed to bring out the worst in certain guests. The amount of folks taking flash photos of a shadow effect produced by a light was mindbogglingly high. Regardless of this reminder that humanity is overwhelming dimwitted and doomed, PPF still hits all the right notes for me. It's incredible that the ride has held up so well over time despite it's simplicity although there's certainly an argument to be made that it's simplicity is part of it's beauty and staying power. Proof of this is that the ride is nearly identical to the model of the original Disneyland ride that can be found in the One Man's Dream exhibit at DHS.

From here we headed over to Adventureland (with stops at the Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Railroad, because of course) where we tackled Pirates and the Enchanted Tiki Room. POTC was supposed to be closed for refurbishment during our visit so it felt like a real coup to be able to partake in some "yo ho." The Tiki Room aka proto-Trader Sam's is still charming and delightful as ever. While the "clicking" of the animatronics can be distracting at times there's something moving about the old-fashioned nature of the show. Still a classic in my eyes although this is likely not a very controversial opinion round these parts.

The one thing we noticed is that Splash Mountain was having some pretty serious issues. The ride stopped for an extended period of time three times with boats piling up quickly each time. The last time it got stuck we were vertically climbing for the big drop which was terrifying not in the thrill ride fun type of way. We wound up burning up about 35 minutes on Splash Mountain which is way too long considering we only waited 5 minutes to board with a FP+ reservation.

The rest of the morning was a delightful blur of activity; we rode the Walt Disney Railroad around the park and consumed a Dole Whip and took the Liberty Square Riverboat around the river and admired the details of New Fanstasyland, especially the area around Gaston's Tavern. Pretty sure we partook in some LeFou's Brew which is frankly, a weak substitute for Butterbeer. We strolled around Pete's Silly Side Show and the delicious bakery under the Big Top and then after a few more dark rides and another trip to the 7DMT, it was back to BOG for lunch.

It's pretty amazing to me that with the one million email reminders to book your BOG lunch ahead of time that such an overwhelming amount of people do not do so and are forced to wait on yet another line to order off a screen in a room to the side of the main dining room. The slightly worse part is that even if you do order your lunch ahead of time you're forced to wait on a portion of that same line so you can pay for lunch. Once lunch was paid for we took our Red Rose Pager Whatever to the West Wing and snagged a table right near the wilting rose. I had the Tuna Nicoise salad and Joelle had the Croque Monsieur and we thought both were excellent. Unsurprisingly, we tried the grey stuff and it was delicious, no opinions from the flatware were evidently necessary.

At this point we were pretty zonked and headed back to CS for a trip to the pool beneath the Mayan Temple. It sounds pretty ridiculous but that temple is good vibes all around. Nothing much else to report here although I did really like the Disney trivia being played at the pool.

Later today- Trader Sam's!

James O. Incandenza · Jun 5, 2015

Day 2 - Trader Sam's/The Magic Kingdom in the Evening

After some pool time and a refreshing shower we headed back to the TTC to monorail over to the Poly to check out Trader Sam's. We went at about 6:45pm and we were seated immediately. When I say seated immediately, I mean we were let in and awkwardly fumbled to find seating. The vibe of the bar is basically a mash up of the Enchanted Tiki Room and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Initially the location of the bar, all the way in the corner of the lower level of the Great Ceremonial House, seemed a little out-of-the-way but as we sat in TS with only video "windows" predominately illuminating the space there was an otherworldly vibe that I really dug. The drink menu is terrific too, especially the way there are no prices whatsoever. Joelle started things off with the Dark and Tropical Stormy and I had the margarita. I don't really dig on rum drinks so I was at a bit of disadvantage given the selection of cocktails is 90% rum based. We also had the dumplings and lettuce tacos which were solid and maybe a little disappointing because they tasted like Costco samples.

For our second round Joelle got another D&TS and I got the Polynesian Pearl, my candidate for best cocktail of our trip. It basically tasted like boozy cinnamon cereal milk, a description that has you salivating or nauseated. Trader Sam's is the type of experience that can be slotted next to Whispering Canyons and 50's Prime Time Cafe where how much you enjoy yourself is based on your tolerance for a raucous time. Unlike those places, you won't suffer personal humiliation but witness the humiliation of others as the bartenders and wait staff have a designated "routine" that is performed every time certain drinks are ordered that involves all types of lights and noise, some of which go on for way-too-long. The noise may be stemming from the truly impressive sound system or the mouth of your waiter, you never know which way it will go down. All I know is one drink definitely has two shots of rum in it since this was shouted repeatedly. With all of that said, we thought TS was a great time and a fun way to pre-game with some adult beverages before heading over to the dry county known as the Magic Kingdom.

We monorailed over to the MK basking in the sensory delight of Main St. in the night time as we headed towards... I'm not entirely sure where we headed. One of my goals for this trip was to soak in a bit more of the ambiance of the parks and we definitely succeeded that evening. I will say that I wasn't surprised when I later read that the parks were much more crowded than predicted - the posted times for most rides post-Wishes were way high with most kids up way past their bedtime.

We saw Wishes from Fantasyland, near the Tangled restrooms and eventually ended up at Casey's Corner for a late night dinner of Chili Dogs and Corn Dog nuggets. We were completely delighted when "Celebrate the Magic" started right in front of our table at Casey's Corner at around 11pm. Although Wishes is a pretty excellent show, there's something about CTM that I dig slightly more. The technology is more impressive, for one, but it's also perfectly paced and shines a light, literally, on a few Disney films that don't get as much theme park love as they should or do get some theme park love but only in the form of a themed restroom.

The walk down Main St. departing from the Magic Kingdom was melancholic and beautiful. A trip to the Main St. Confectionery always dulls the slight ache in your bones telling you that your day at the MK is complete. We snagged a peanut butter cookie that weighed roughly 3 pounds and a gingerbread Mickey Mouse with frosting and headed back to Coronado Springs to prepare for tomorrow's brief reprieve from the Disney bubble, our one day trip to Universal Studios Florida.

Thanks everyone who is reading - I hope to add some photos over the weekend.

UnhealthilyObsessed · Jun 5, 2015

Loving this report! Your TR style reminds me of mine, which makes me a giant narcissist. Excited to hear about USF; we're going for the first time in September!

fractal · Jun 5, 2015

Great report! I typically don't bother with TR that don't included photos but in this case I'm glad I did; and now I have photos to look forward to.

I love and appreciate the quality of your commentary!

James O. Incandenza · Jun 5, 2015

So glad y'all are reading and enjoying. I've been perusing the forum for about a year or so and am very excited to finally be posting.

danheaton · Jun 5, 2015

Enjoying the report! Even with some fighting words from you on Horizons, it's been fun to read. Looking forward to the rest!

AliceJaina · Jun 5, 2015

Great report! Can't wait for more.

mrdrift · Jun 5, 2015

Wonderful report with detailed descriptions of all the events. Following along.

James O. Incandenza · Jun 6, 2015

Day 3 - Universal Studio Florida

Growing up coming to Orlando, before the Islands of Adventure and long before the Wizard Worlds, Universal Studios was almost always my least favorite day of family vacation. The tram tour was boring as hell and Jaws kind of scared me and the whole thing was barely redeemed by the Back to the Future ride, which I loved and still have tangible memories of waiting in line for in the scalding Florida heat. When my family visited in 2008 we checked out Islands of Adventure and were mildly impressed, if only perhaps because our expectations were so low. Since Joelle is a fan of H. Potter & Co. we lined up nice and early to check out the Wizarding World: Hogsmeade during our trip last year. We loved Hogsmeade, especially Butterbeer and the Forbidden Journey ride, and had a good time at the rest of the park utilizing their Not-A-Fastpass-Express-Thing where you pay money and cut lots of people on line who only spent a measly $100 instead of $150. We once again spent the extra dollars to grab a NAFET this year since we had a 8pm reservation at the Sci-Fi Drive in at HS that evening.

After a quick jog a few times around the Lago Dorado lake at Coronado Springs, we snagged breakfast from the Pepper Market and drove out to Universal Studios. After we did the walk of shame through the Universal City Mall Thing we arrived at the Studios entrance where we immediately headed to the right, past some weak looking Hollywood storefronts and past 3 cars from Furious 7 (this "attraction" was actually on the guide maps) and finally arrived at the new-ish Simpsons area. Like most 35 year old human beings, I grew up on and love the Simpsons and I cannot say that I did not geek out hard over seeing so many Springfield landmarks in person. Geeking aside, we kept moving to get to Diagon Alley to get on line for Escape from Gringotts. The subtle entrance to the Diagon Alley section was one of the early highlights of the day for us. You just slip in through a hole in a wall and the alley unfolds in front of you. Having such little attachment to the HP property I was surprised by how glorious and specific it felt to be standing in the middle of that corridor. Unlike the rest of Universal which feels like a theme park, just standing in DA felt like standing somewhere fantastic and it was stunning and exciting, especially once you discover Nocturnal Alley, DA's slightly hidden dark underbelly. While similar things have been said through the Interweb, it should be said again that it's amazing that Universal let them design DA to be so nuanced. Nocturnal Alley was much, much emptier than the rest of DA, likely because it was tucked away with no obvious signage. The mouse would not let this fly.

We waited about 20 minutes to get on Escape from Gringotts which is about how long it takes you to make your way through the queue. The lobby and the animatronics were incredibly detailed and frankly, pretty creepy and a little off-putting in a delectable way. The queue takes you pretty deep into the center of the bank and there's a serious sense of foreboding during the entire line. Once your group takes an "elevator" down to the mine shafts you get locked into a very uncomfortable seat in a huge mine car and you're launched on another adventure in which HP the boy wonder saves you from all sorts of terrible situations mostly always including Ralph Fiennes. What is Gringotts like you ask? Since this is Universal you know that you're going to be splashed with water and there are tons of screens involved. With that said, it's one of the best rides I've been on, a rough and tumble combination roller coaster and 3-D motion simulator that was truly exciting from beginning to end. The screens involved are tremendous IMAX size screens that give some serious weight to the ride's villains due to the sheer scale of it all. Not half as delirious as Forbidden Journey but still a really excellent experience.

Once we got out we explored DA and got some of our beloved Butterbeer. Here's the drawback about DA: if you're not a fan of HP there isn't a ton to do other than pop in the the buildings and admire the minutiae that can be found on the second floor of the interior (and exteriors) of almost all of the shops. Without any interest in the merchandise itself we found ourselves walking in circles moderately quickly. We caught a little side show that consisted of four storytellers putting on a pretty good surprisingly tasteful puppet show. Joelle seemed bored by it but I think it was because she knew the story already. I may have been seriously influenced by my Butterbeer but I thought it was pret-tay good if not a little highfalutin. At this point we wanted to start tackling some other rides so we headed for Transformers the Ride.

If Transformers the Ride wasn't considered an "E" ticket type attraction, we likely would have skipped right over it. Neither of us really dig on the movies but we kept reading positive reviews of the ride and really had very little to lose since we were already in the park. While you did get splashed with water and there were a ton of screens, it was fairly exhilarating. It's very similar to the Spiderman ride at IOA except much longer and far more intense. The whole thing was pretty heart-pounding and much longer than would be expected but nearly ruined by having Optimus Prime speak to the riders at the end of the ride and tell us we're real American heroes. He isn't even from Earth, it doesn't feel like it means much and it really harshed my mellow.

We checked out the Revenge of the Mummy ride and it was surreal and bananas and a damn good time. The less you know about it the better so just go and try to forget that Brendan Fraser might pop up at the end.

We eventually headed over to Lard Lad Donuts in Springfield and shared a gigantic donut. It was heavenly and surprisingly fresh.

Much like Diagon Alley, Springfield was mostly just food and merchandise but my love of the Simpsons blinded me from caring very much or overthinking it. Walking into Moe's Tavern was just as fun as I imagined it would be (it felt very much to scale) and there is a life size Duff Man next to topiaries of the Seven Duffs, including Surly. Hard to be objective here. The Simpsons Ride, which is housed where Back to the Future once stood proud, is just as loud and sarcastic and detailed as you'd imagine if you're into the Simpsons. The ride is legitimately funny and makes some pretty specific jokes about the ye olde Mouse Haus and theme parks in general, most of it pretty spot-on.

From here we knocked out the other attractions we were the most interested in. We felt Men In Black: Alien Attack was sort of lame and not as good as we'd hoped it would be. The Animal Actor show was solid but doesn't even come close to the heights of Flights of Wonder at Animal Kingdom, a show that Joelle and I really dig on. The Twister Ride It Out experience was incredibly dated and more than a little embarrassing though Bill Paxton's hair and stance during the intro videos might be worth your time especially if you have the Not-A-Fastpass-Express-Thing working for you. The most high tech part of Twister is that the Not-the-Aerosmith-Rock-It-Roller-Coaster comes in through the roof of the queue.

Even though we're not quite as smitten with the Minions as the rest of the movie-going public, we thought the Despicable Me Minion Mayhem ride was a lot of good clean fun even as it had me longing for the Hanna Barbera ride that used to be in that building. Don't get me started about how I feel about the Alfred Hitchcock show being gone! Seriously, don't.

The Terminator 2 3-D show is basically a 15 minute short film that left us mostly cold with one good part at the end that doesn't really redeem the experience. We also felt E.T. Adventure was weird and dated. During the introductory video Steven Spielberg looks noticeably middle aged as he confidently blurts out way more exposition than should ever be necessary for a children's dark ride based on an already existing property.

We ended our day with the Don't-Want-To-Miss-a-Thing Rock It Roller Thing that you basically watch in the distance throughout your day at USF. It wasn't as good as the Incredible Hulk coaster at IOA but it was still an over-the-top thrill ride that was soundtracked by the Beastie Boys "Intergalatic." For the unaware, you get to choose your soundtrack before the ride starts from about 30 or so songs. The ride is about 4 minutes long (six hours in coaster time), kind of jerky and totally great and worth-it if you like intense thrill rides. By the end of the ride we were feeling pretty banged up and wanted to spend one final afternoon lounging by our favorite Mayan pool before heading to Hollywood Studios for our 8pm ADR at Sci Fi Dine in.

We definitely had a really good time on the rides at USF but neither one of us felt that it was a very enjoyable place to hang out outside of the Diagon Alley and Springfield sections of the park. Most of the other areas are pretty boring and non-descript and the New York area is just as if not more offensively corny than the New York area at Hollywood studios. The Universal Corporate Synergy City Walk feels punishing coming and going and always kind of depressing since we've never been there past 3pm when it's all really empty as opposed to the evening time where presumably people must eat in these restaurants since they remain in business and continue to build new ones. At some point I'm hoping there will be a new attraction that will motivate me to buy a joint ticket to USF and IOA so we can check out the Hogwart's Express but it's such an expensive proposition that I can't imagine the train ride could ever deliver in a way that would be justifiable to the cost.

Tomorrow I'll post some pictures from my phone and blurb about our evening at the Studios and dinner at Sci Fi Diner. One thing to note is that we brought a Fuji Mini Max Instant camera this trip so a lot of our photos are the miniature Polaroid types. It was a seriously fun idea that really paid off - we have about 35 little photos of us in WDW floating around our apartment.

Thanks for continuing to read this tome of a TR!

prfctlyximprct · Jun 6, 2015

Can you call my boyfriend and tell him to propose to me in Disney?? Haha!

But anyways love the report thank you so much for sharing

James O. Incandenza · Jun 6, 2015

prfctlyximprct said:
Can you call my boyfriend and tell him to propose to me in Disney?? Haha!

But anyways love the report thank you so much for sharing

To be fair, we didn't get engaged IN Disney... just celebrated the engagement. As the title suggests, it was kind of a flimsy excuse but my lady was good with it.

James O. Incandenza · Jun 7, 2015

Day 3 - An Evening at Hollywood Studios

After one last lounge by the Mayan pool and a slightly mad rush to pack our bags for our impending move to Wildnerness Lodge the next morning, Joelle and I were on our way to the Disney MGM Hollywood Studios.

My two cents on DMGMHS: The Studios catch much flack round these web parts and in many ways these complaints are Timothy Olyphant caliber justified. The jist of the complaining seems to be that there are less rides than ever before and that is leading to absurd wait times at the three main rides and everyone is real upset that they have been shuttering other shows and attractions to save money without immediately opening other attractions. The money saving is clearly leading to something and that is most likely more Star Wars rides and a Pixar expansion which could be an undeniable coup for Disney and park goers since those brands are astronomically popular and for the most part pretty great and the shuttered attractions* were universally considered weak sauce. Yet this lull between Disney Studios 1.5 and 2.0 seems to be driving most Disney Parks fans mad with frustration and anticipation. Yes, Disney can probably afford to build the new attractions they have planned but they're making us wait which makes sense since Bob Iger has promised the Star Wars attractions will be based on the new films. The Force Awakens needs to be the biggest movie of all time before they make these kinds of announcements, kids.

As someone who was about 10 when the studios opened I'm just enjoying the last days of this iteration of the park, flawed as it always was.

One thing that is seldom mentioned in all the complaining is that Hollywood Blvd and Sunset Blvd are evocative and artful fictional recreations, perfectly synthesizing a bygone era into two warm corridors. The glowing neon lights softly lighting the surrounding palm trees in the evening still works today and will be an ideal entrance to any future version of the park. In the meanwhile DHS still has plenty to offer visitors, even if it's a bit of a hodge podge of rides, shows and restaurants.

*Sidebar about the tram tour, one of the aforementioned shuttered attractions: the tram tour was never really good, there was just more novelty when it opened because most people at that time had less access to basic behind the scenes Hollywood secrets. Think about it: the stops on the tram tour were basically exactly like the 10 minutes featurettes that were ubiquitous on DVDs when people actually bought and watched them.

Actual Trip Report for the Evening: We had a 8:05 Sci-Fi Drive-In reservation. Joelle had never been to SFDI and while I'd been with my family twice it had been as many as 15 years since I'd last been to the SFDI. Last year we opted to go for the 50's Prime Time Diner and the Brown Derby so this was for the DHS restaurant three peat. We had a FP+ for Tower of Tower so we headed that way admiring the setting sun. The perfect green and purple mood lighting for the TOT queue was just coming on as we passed a whole bunch of people on the stand-by line and headed in the lobby. Is there any reason for me to get into how perfect Tower of Terror is? Probably not but it's still incredible. It's amazing how weirdly sadistic the ride is now - our elevator was tossed up and down the elevator shaft three or so times with a whole bunch of fake outs. We then walked onto to Stars Tours, another favorite of ours. We were extra stoked since the planets and characters were completely different from our last trip. We wound up going on many times during the week and we got a whole bunch of really impressive iterations of the Star Tours story. Once we rode Star Tours twice, we headed to the SFDI.

Brief tangent about ADRs: Easily one of my least favorite things about the WDW ADR system is the fact that waiting with a pager seems to be a mandatory part of eating at a WDW restaurant. Sometimes this is because the reservations are running a bit behind but other times we'd see a number of open tables when we checked in, sometimes the same table we'd be brought to after we waited for 5-10 minutes with a pager. Sure, this might seem to like pretty griping but there is something deflating about having to make reservations months in advance only to never be walked right to your table.

Would it surprise anyone reading this to know that we were handed a beeper when we got to the Sci-Fi Drive In? After a 10 minute wait we were led to our car. There's just something deeply romantic about that soft blue "night" sky and the intense kitsch of the cars. We'd heard pretty weak reports on the food at the SFDI but we immediately spotted a "must order." One of the appetizers was a buttered popcorn soup with boneless buffalo wings. Yes, please. We ordered that to start and I got a Oreo milkshake with some sort of booze because vacation. For dinner Joelle got a turkey sandwich that was "meh" but came with an "excellent cucumber salad." Since I'd had a burger at Krusty Burger earlier I was daring and got some kind of chicken and pasta dish which I knew at the time was a stupendously silly decision but went with it anyway. I was not rewarded for my boldness as the pasta dish was as flavorless as the SFDI is fun to sit inside of. What was incredible was that the pasta seemed to absorb the salt and pepper so that nothing could fix it. Thankfully the buttered popcorn soup/buffalo nugget dish and boozy milkshake made up for the sub-par entree and the SFDI experience itself was the same as it ever was, which is to say, one-of-a-kind.

From there we walked over to Toy Story Midway Mania for our FP+ reservation. This was only my second time ever on TSMM and I thought it was incredibly fun. The queue and loading area are remarkably themed, playing on the same nostalgia for my generation that a place like Main St. likely conjured for previous generations. Looking forward to riding this more when they add the new track and a FP reservation isn't the only reasonable way to ride. Also, after losing at Buzz Lightyear's Dream Flight Spin and the MIB Shoot the Silly Puppet game, I finally beat Joelle at TSMM while also aggravating a shoulder injury. The struggle at work.

Next: Day 4 - More Hollywood Studios, Club Level at Wilderness Lodge, Downtown Disney and the Magic Kingdom!

Mickey2422 · Jun 8, 2015

We enjoy the immersive experiences of Simpsons and Harry Potter as well. The theming in the new Harry Potter is amazing! Love the donut as well - it's a must get for us :joyfull:

Weather_Lady · Jun 8, 2015

Loving your trip report! The wit, the wisdom, the clever snark! Right up my alley.

bethymouse · Jun 9, 2015

Pics are great!

James O. Incandenza · Jun 11, 2015

Day 4 - Part 1 - Hollywood Studios morning

Since it's been exactly two weeks and feels like two years since Joelle and I were at DHS at WDW, I figured today would be a good day to pick this back up. For our last morning at Coronado Springs we ate by the Mayan Temple Pool since the pool bar restaurant started serving breakfast at 7am over there. Unfortunately, the pool doesn't open until 9am so it's a bit of a strange scene, if not surprisingly tranquil - with the exception of the squirrels.

The Squirrels of Coronado are some of the bravest and fiercest I've ever met. They sit on chairs. They borrow the Styles section of the Times. They are not hampered by the appearance of a tan, bearded man clanking a large metal chair in their direction. We both salute and fear them in equal measure. After breakfast we checked out but not before snagging a Coronado Springs coffee mug. The appearance of resort merch really warms my Disney loving soul. The coffee helps too.

We headed over to Hollywood studios and got there a few minutes before rope drop. We had FP reservations for Tower of Terror, Star Tours and Toy Story Midway mania so we dashed to The Aerosmith Indoor Roller Coaster. We spoke to a couple in front of us in the queue who were from the mid-west and seemed genuinely flummoxed by WDW. As a park obsessive, it's always very humorous and refreshing to speak to Disney newbs and hear their views and opinions. This couple felt the need for rope drop to get things done at the parks was exhausting but also commented that "getting out of bed everyday is a challenge" and that at times the man missed his job because he at least there he had "air conditioning and 15 minute water breaks" so clearly we were on very different wavelengths. They were real nice folks but we got separated as we entered the pre-show.

Snarking and watching the cheesy as hell pre-show in which Aerosmith is "recording" a 40 plus year old song while we walk in on them mid jam sesh. There's even a moment where Steven Tyler is whispering "directions" to the sound engineer, like "bring up the bass" etc. and it makes the whole thing embarrassing since there's no song being recorded and also because Gerald Ford was in office when that song was released. Still, I love every terrible minute of it. The only lousy part is that when the ride ended it didn't end on the sound cue "Love on a Roller Coaster," a slight lyrical tweak to their already existing and also very old song that really encapsulates what makes the Aerosmith Indoor Roller Coaster so bad/good.

From there it was off to Tower of Terror, mystifying and enjoyable as only it can be. With these two rides "out of the way" we explored Hollywood Studios for a bit. We visited the Trolley Car Cafe to snag a "You are Here" mug. We headed to Star Tours and rode a few times and checked in on the Muppets 3-D show, perhaps the most classic DHS show and one that I hope is never altered in any significant way. For a lunch/snack we went to Min & Bill's Dockside Diner and had the Churro milkshake and the hot dog in a pretzel roll, both of which hit the spot. The shake was cinnamon flavored with a churro sticking out of it, a bit thick but still delicious, and the hot dog was big enough to share as a snack. At some point we also grabbed some adult beverages and watched the Beauty and the Beast show. It was the first time either of us checked it out and we found it charming as hell. The costume changes and dancing were both super impressive and let's face it, those songs are downright irresistible in most settings.

We also headed over to one of our favorite spots in all of WDW, the One Man's Dream exhibit. The combination of old Disney memorabilia and theme park models are engrossing and this is the second year in a row where 45 minutes vanished in a flash hanging out, checking out the ride and park concept art. It really scratches the Disney history itch that creeps up all too often. If only the writer of Passport to Dreams Old and New was there to provide (a world of) color commentary. They removed the tremendous New Fantasyland model but the DisneySea model is still there and looked stupendous. From there, we took one last ride on TSMM, in which I rocked my dearest Joelle for the second straight time. We tried to take the drawing class at the Magic of Disney Animation but the current session had just filled up so we opted to check out the Disney Animation exhibit thing next door, maybe my new favorite exhibit at DHS. In a few rooms it showed the evolution and various visual motifs found throughout the Disney animated classics and also films such as Meet the Robinsons and Treasure Planet. A great place to cool down and admire the progression of Disney animation.

At this point we'd received both a text and an email that we should speak to a representative at Wildnerness Lodge about our room assignment and we were both concerned our room wasn't goong to be available. Typically, this wouldn't be a big deal but since we were staying club level in one of the Honeymoon suites, we were chomping at the bit to find out if ze ole' Mouse Haus had messed up our reservation.

For now, I must return to work but will provide the electrifying conclusion later!

Thanks for reading!

Trip Report An Engagement is Just a Shameless Excuse for a Trip to WDW

CAPTAIN HOOK

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James O. Incandenza

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