Trip Report Beauty & The Beards Reunited: LIVE! Sponsored by Smoked Turkeys

And it has begun! :D

Ok so if you didn’t see our pre-trip report which explains the title and everything about the trip, here’s the first post:

A long time ago in a magical galaxy (and something something darkside) there were two Disney Twins who were separated at birth and kept apart by the evil Atlantic Ocean (darkside!). They grew up not knowing of each other’s existence, yet their twin-ness continued on. They both grew up loving all that is Disney and knowing Walt Disney World was there home. Both got a tattoo of their favourite line from Beauty & The Beast and dreamed of Adventures in the Great Wide Somewhere. Both fell in love with their bearded, tattooed soulmates and then one day, by a miracle created by Walt himself, they met on WDW Magic and noticed their similarities. They also realised that they both had upcoming trips at the same time. A meeting of fate was about to occur in December 2017...

Ok so we weren’t quiiiite separated at birth! :joyfull: Seeing as our birth dates are a couple years apart also... but that bit doesn’t matter! Alisa ( @dclfan ) and I are Disney Twins! Literally from the moment my husband Russ and I met her & her fiancé Jerome for a drink at La Cava del Tequila, we got on like we’d known each other for years. I was nervous to meet up as I can be a bit socially anxious but it wasn’t awkward at all. I even messaged Alisa 5 mins after we’d met to say how much fun it had been and about how I’d been nervous. And she replied straight away saying exactly the same, she has social anxiety too! But we’d both felt comfortable straight away. That never happens for the both of us. Disney magic! :happy:

It’s crazy. We have the most ridiculous amount of similarities and things in common. Interests, general likes and dislikes, dreams, outlook on life, right down to tv shows and other little things. Even stuff from our childhood and things we did and liked back then is similar! Let alone the fact we both have the same tattoo in the same place and both fell in love with guys who have beards and tattoos.
Alisa’s also getting married to Jerome in a small wedding abroad this year, in December- aged 29. The same age I was when I got married to Russ in December in a small wedding abroad- when I was 29! :jawdrop:
We still keep finding stuff that we’ve both done, or like, or our other halves have done or something they like that’s the same and being like “OMG we did that/we like that/that happened to us too!” It’s so much stuff now we kind of just shrug it off when something new pops up, like “Well, of course. We’re twins! Duh!”

And even better- Russ and Jerome got on like a house on fire too! In fact at first, those two were chatting away more than us! It was the best trip in December last year. We ended up meeting another 4 times and hanging out. We had such a blast. It really was like we were all old friends. When we said goodbye it was as Alisa & Jerome were going to the Galactic Nights in DHS & it was about 15 mins till the park closed to the public (Russ and I didn’t have tickets) and we all just group hugged in the middle of Hollywood Blvd for like 5 mins ha ha! :joyfull: We didn’t want to say goodbye. People must have been like what are these bearded guys & girls with Minnie ears having a giant hug about?! It’s crazy now thinking how we technically have only met for a total of about 6-8 hours. As Alisa and I have literally messaged back and forth every day since we got home. We all Skyped each other on New Year’s Eve for hours (and several times since then too) and have been totally hyped and pumped about meeting up again. We feel so far apart!! Finding a new best friend that lives in America when you’re from the U.K. is noooooo! :cry:

And so with that... this is what this pre-trip report is all about! WE’RE GOING TO BE REUNITED!!!!

I am SOOOOOOO excited to see you again Alisa!! These are the only photos of us (I don’t know how we were so lame in the photo taking over 4 days- we were having too much fun I think!) but I love these photos as they show the fun we were having.

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And the one group shot of us all!

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And a couple Skype shots :joyfull:

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Note to selves. Lots more photos this time!! Ha ha I bet we’ll now be the total opposite and take waaaay too many photos!

Anyway, back to the trip! We’ve been planning and trying to make this happen since the day we left WDW. Russ and I have a trip booked for October but we couldn’t stay away that long- and Alisa wouldn’t let me! Originally we tried to make this happen for May, as my birthday is May 29th and over in the UK we have a holiday week at the end of May (in schools & I work in education so I get this too) and also Alisa & Jerome would be in their new Florida home & settled by then, so it was looking like the best time to plan a trip. But timing & finances just didn’t quite work out for May. Boo. So, we kept looking at another time soon that we could go & when Jerome would be home from touring. And it started to look like July could work. Seeing how much Russ and I LOVE America and that we have never been in July- let alone been there for AMERICA'S BIRTHDAY- a trip around July 4th became the plan! We're going to be visiting Alisa & Jerome in Tampa for July 4th before going to Disney World after! We are ridiculously excited. I am pumped to be there for July 4th which is new for us- and to finally be reunited with our Disney Twins! :inlove:

So... the details!

Who: Well I think you know by now- 4 crazy best-friends-within-hours Disney fans! And multiple Smoked Turkeys.

Russ & I (Sam):

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Alisa & Jerome:

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A smoked turkey:

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When: July 5th-10th (Alisa & Jerome)
July 5th-14th (Russ & Sam)

Where: Caribbean Beach! Yep, we know about all the "magical enhancements" currently happening there (as the CM called them upon booking!) but it's such a good rate and we know what we're heading into. Plus we're going to be spending so much time in the parks and hanging out, it's not about the resort this trip. But Alisa stayed there not too long ago anyway and said it's not really that bad if you're prepared. The newish rooms seem great anyway and we're really liking the look of the new QS at one of the pools! The menu looks great.

So you may also be wondering what all this Smoked Turkey talk is about. Well, back in December we discovered (of course) that this was Jerome & Russ' favourite Disney drink. On our last day hanging out this was what we decided to drink. But as detailed in my last trip report we went from bar to bar on the Boardwalk and no-one was serving them! It felt like a hidden quest to try and find one. So the guys never got to have their drink together. I mean, many other drinks were consumed (of course ;)) but no Smoked Turkeys! It's like all they talk about together now! :joyfull:

So this trip, MANY Smoked Turkeys will be found and consumed! Russ and Jerome are coming for you speciality cocktail menu, be warned! :cool:

So I think that's everything! We have a few ADR's booked and Alisa and I have already planned a years worth of plans to fit into our 5 days together in the world, so it's going to be a crazy, awesome adventure! AND WE CAN'T WAIT!

FP+ window is Sunday so that's the next step!

64 Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaays!!!! :eek::D:D:eek:

And the link if you want to read anything else in the pre-trip report!

https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/beauty-the-beards-reunited-sponsored-by-smoked-turkeys.940357/

And on to right now... we’re going to DISNEY WORLD! TOMORROW!!!! :eek: :D

So today Russ and I have headed to the airport to stay overnight at an airport hotel before we fly tomorrow. I woke up at 6am today when we didn’t need to leave until the afternoon! I’m just too excited!

On our way! Waiting for the train to London.

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Making our way across the city!

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Bye London!

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And hello airport hotel!

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We’re currently watching the planes take off (runway view from the hotel!) with drinks in hand. That will be us tomorrow!

We’re on our way Jerome and Alisa!!
 

Ariel1986

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
And we made it to Spice Road! (After a mishap with a romper/onsie zipper on the way... in that my entire zip broke at the front of Epcot & I had to quickly purchase a t-shirt to cover my modesty! :jawdrop:) I’m not going to complain about a new tshirt from Disney though! :cool:

So anyway, best view and awesome food!!

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Ariel1986

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So Morimoto was next, rounds of sake of course! And flowers in your hair, why not!

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We then grabbed a Minnie Van so we could make our FOP FP+ at Animal Kingdom! We had a really awesome driver, gave us tips and was totally down with the perhaps tipsy car inhabitants!

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Ariel1986

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Following along! Looks like such a good time! I was wondering if the bands we comfortable. They are really cute.

I have to say after the whole day they did start to ache a little, but much less than any other band we’ve had. Usually after an hour or so I get a slight headache but these lasted all day and felt much softer!
 

Ariel1986

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Some more photos from yesterday afternoon:

We stopped at Nomad Lounge for drinks & a bit of food (though Alisa ordered the “Impossible Sliders” without any indication by the menu they were vegetarian... she’d been craving a burger all morning doh! The CM laughed when she’d eaten them and asked why they tasted like veggie burgers and said “oh yeah they are!”. Um... she wanted meat! Even on the check they said “vegetarian sliders”. We were confused why they didn’t mention it anywhere on the menu.)
So we still love Nomad Lounge... just not the sneaky sliders!

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Alisa pre-sliders :joyfull:

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I had the tuna poke which was good (and was tuna. Not fake tuna ;))

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Everest!

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Iridescent Ears on Everest! :joyfull:

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We actually got stopped a crazy amount of times being asked about our ears! Even CMs wanting to know where they were from and when we got them. We felt iridescent famous!

So this is where I should really change the Trip Report title to Fallen Patriot. I don’t know what’s going on this trip but once again I started to flail on the bus home. It was literally like a switch had flipped and I really didn’t start to feel good again. I tried to soldier through and we got a Lyft to the Poly for some drinks before After Hours. We then checked in to the event and watched HEA. I still wasn’t feeling great but wanted to push through, but after HEA and the start of the event... one ride on the People Mover and I knew I couldn’t last! :depressed: The People Mover of all things I couldn’t even manage! Russ and I told Alisa & Jerome to go ride stuff whilst I tried to get something to eat and see if it passed. I grabbed a banana and croissant from Starbucks and sat on the hub grass as the park began to empty. It was so beautiful and serene and I still can’t believe how empty it got- and that we had tickets to 2 more hours of an empty park to ride and I couldn’t get off the grass!

Anyway, we left Alisa and Jerome to it and headed home. Just one of those things! And I’m feeling fine today!! :facepalm:

It’s so alien to me to feel ill/tired most days in Disney! Hopefully from today all will be fine.

Here a few photos from before I bowed out & the empty hub as Russ and I walked out!

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Anyway, I think Alisa & Jerome still had fun! And today we have brunch at California Grill! Bring it on...
 
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Swissmiss

Premium Member
Love the ears. At least for the next three weeks I can hope that they have them at DLP ... until my hopes are dashed by reality. (Why can't they get better food and merchandise at DLP?!)
 

Ariel1986

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We had such an awesome day yesterday! We started with brunch at California Grill...

The food here is amazing and is a buffet of delicious treats along with the sushi & charcuterie you find at dinner- as well as then being able to choose an entree or two (plus a plate of bacon if you so desire!). It also comes with bottomless mimosas! For some reason they decided to put boba balls in ours this time instead of orange juice :bored: We ended up collecting them all in one glass :joyfull: and decided we wouldn’t leave brunch until the glass was full! (We actually probably were the last ones there- the musicians had packed up and all the food was taken away and being cleaned up as we paid the bill!)

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I had smoked salmon eggs benedict, Alisa & Jerome had Steak & Eggs (and a lobster eggs benedict) and Russ had fried chicken & waffles.

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Plate of desserts! Why not!

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So afterwards we decided to head to the boat dock to catch a boat to the Wilderness Lodge and grab a drink a Geyser Point! Despite the clouds in the pictures it was VERY sunny and VERY hot!!

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Ariel1986

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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Hello beautiful Wilderness Lodge!

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We grabbed drinks (well, I didn’t as I forgot any ID! It’s been really hit & miss being asked so I didn’t think to grab my ID when I switched purses this morning!) and then continued to explore. We all want to stay here! We grabbed a magic cookie bar from the QS for later & started heading to the bus stop though as we had a Slinky Dog FP+ to catch!

We expected to see @Tuvalu looking down on us here!

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Ariel1986

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Next up it was Hollywood Studios and Toy Story Land! We all LOVE this land! It’s super cute and I think it’s well done. The food in Woody’s Lunchbox is actually super tasty and Slinky Dog- oh my god it’s AWESOME! It really is! Much better than 7DMT- it’s longer, has bigger dips & turns and is just genrally a lot of fun. All the characters around the track and the animatronics at the end just make if extra fun. I wish we had more FP’s for it!

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Alisa was very excited to see Woody!

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Next up we headed to Baseline for some drinks and then Star Tours (twice as the standby was only 5 mins!) before making our way over to Epcot for some drinks and eats!

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