Trip Report *COMPLETED* No bouche for you! But do you want to build a snowman?

Hello all! We've been back for almost two weeks now, and while the holidays are still winding down, I still wish I was back in Disney so I figured I'd get this TR started! First the intros -

Who: Myself (Frank), my wife K, and our 4 year old princess C. This would be our second trip as a family in just as many years. I had been many times when I was younger with my family, and K had been a few times in the past. Once we hit college years we had stopped (for some reason), but after last year we were hooked (again for me).

Also joining for the first half were my in-laws, G & P. They prefer to not have pictures on the internet, so they won’t be visibly appearing in this report.

When: December 9 - 15th 2018 (G & P were the 9th - 12th)

Where: Caribbean Beach Resort, stayed in Aruba 4626. I've always wanted to try this resort, and when I saw the concept art for the renovations I was really excited. We knew it was a risk that construction could get pushed back (and I started getting really nervous in August/September), but with a free dining promotion it was a deal I couldn't pass up! I'll give my thoughts on the resort including the renovations in the report.

Why: I detailed this more in the PTR, but long story short - we're expecting a little mouseketeer in April, and wanted one more big trip just the three of us. Plus the past year had it's ups and down and we could use a good vacation to round out the year. 65 days out G&P asked if they could join, and while it meant re-arranging a bit, we figured the more the merrier!

What this trip report has in store for you: Transportation failures, face-stuffing and imbibing, magic band failures, scooter drama, seasonal merriment, DVC dilemmas (do we join? you'll have to find out!) and of course quite a bit of magic.

 

[Spash007]

We hooved our ways over to Norway, and quickly parked the stroller and made our way into the FP queue with 1 whole minute to spare. And yes, my beer was done by this point too (I didn't feel like leaving it out in the stroller).

We quickly made our way into downtown Arrendelle, which even with the cynic in me that says this doesn't belong, has to admit they did a nice job here.

While in line, C continued to play with her snowflake wand, which she realized made a Mickey on the ground as long as it wasn't in it's strobe light mode.

Soon enough we were in our boat, and off to visit the Queen. One of my favorite parts is when you first enter through the ice forest.

I always have found that this ride is one of the most difficult to get pictures of because of the projection faces.

C remembered the drop from last year, and was scared of getting wet, so once again I sacrificed myself and covered her for the fall. (So our picture is literally my back)

My thoughts on it are in line with most other people's. Parts of what they did are very nice. The Let it Go sequence is fun, the animatronic for Snowball is pretty neat. But there is a whole lot more they could have done (I'm looking at you empty black space after Let it Go). Combined with it's placement in Norway, it clearly was a rush job to get the profitable franchise in the park. While there though, I try to enjoy the good parts.

After this, we had a FP for Spaceship Earth, so we made our way back to FW. However, it was only around 2:45, and we had an ADR at GF at 5. If we went right on Spaceship Earth, we would get to GF too early to do anything, but not really have enough time to do anything else.

So, P & I decided to check out the single rider line for Test Track, while K, C & G would go get some Starbucks and relax.

The single rider was only 10 minutes, which was perfect, so we hopped on. It ended up being just a bit more which was fine. I hadn't been on Test Track in nearly 20 years, so I hadn't seen the update, so I have to admit I was impressed. While a thrill ride, I think it shows how Disney also adds all these details to add that fun element to everything.

In my car was another single rider, and then a father and his three kids. Watching this dad cheer for his kids after each trial was a lot of fun, and made me look forward to C's first ride. Sadly my ride photo didn't load, but if it did, it probably would've shown me trying to peek at the GotG and MS restaurant construction.

Once off, we met back up with everyone else, who ended up going to take a ride with Nemo instead. Starbucks was packed, and while Nemo is not our favorite, it was a slow ride they could enjoy.

We made our way over the Spaceship Earth, and got in the relatively short FP line. I think Spaceship Earth may be my favorite Disney icon, and I can't resist taking photos of it from different angles.

I believe on this ride C sat with P, which at first made us a bit nervous because last year during the whole descent she was scared of the dark and we distracted her with my phone. This year though she did just fine and was loving the on screen prompts.

 

[Spash007]

More Spaceship Earth photos.

I believe this lady being one of the most modern figures shows it could use an update.

After this, we decided to head over to monorail. We could have taken a bus, but we had time to kill and wanted to enjoy the ride.

Bye Epcot, (for now (hopefully))

But I have to say - that ramp up to the monorail is a killer! K was starting to feel the effects of walking all of WS in about 2 hours, but this is what really did her in. Luckily, the monoral was mostly empty and we were able to grab seats while we enjoyed the view.

Soon enough, we were at TTC, and switched over to the resort line. Just as quickly, we got to GF.

As impressive as the lobby always is, at Christmas it really is something else to see.

We walked around the upper floor a bit while taking turns getting changed for dinner.

I couldn't wait until after dinner to see the Gingerbread house up close

 

[Spash007]

I apologize ahead of time as this will be text heavy, since our dinner was rather eventful. But I'll try to keep it entertaining (which it was!)

Going in to this trip, G&P wanted to have a nice dinner out with us and since they love Citrico's we decided to go there. We though were worried about bringing a 4 yo to a sig. C is normally fairly well behaved in restaurants, but it can get tiring to make sure she is entertained, yet not disruptive and acting appropriately. Since she never took a nap this day, we were ever more nervous. We had a 5:05 reservation partially because it worked with plans, but also because she won't be as tired, and we figured earlier it might be less formal.

As nervous as we were, as soon as we were all dressed, C seemed to be on board with a fancy dinner. She LOVED her dress. It's back needed to be laced up by hand (which normally we don't get outfits like this) and she just loved being done up.

She asked me to walk with her like a princess, so in we went to the waiting area with me escorting her on my arm.

I checked us in, and we sat for a bit. C was acting like a little lady, and we were very proud of her for acting so much older than she is.

But then, pandemonium broke loose. I'm not sure if I'll be able to really capture it appropriately, but there were 3 boys (ages ranging probably from 4-10) who were running amok in the waiting area.



Screaming. Climbing furniture. Pummeling and tackling each other. The dad was sitting there on his phone, and we all (including C) were just watching in stunned disbelief. At one point, they came over to the Christmas tree next to me and started poking at the ornaments and swatting at the branches! I'm weird in my admiration for Christmas decorations (if you can't tell by all of my decoration posts), so I grabbed the tree to make sure it didn't fall.

We were sitting there trying to decide if it was appropriate to say something to the dad, or to the CM, or what. Even C asked "why are they so loud?". After a bit, the grandmother showed up and called them over, which calmed them down for a minute. But soon enough they got back to their hooligans.

Well, then their mother came out, with fire shooting out of her eyes. She called them over, and then slapped (yes, slapped) the husband on the leg and yelled something in another language. I'm guessing it was along the lines of "how dare you let them act like this." She got them somewhat under control, even though they were still climbing on the chairs. I believe one of them fell off, and we may have snickered a bit.

Soon enough our name was called, and we were led back to our table, really hoping we would not be seatted next to the Sanderson brothers.

 

[Spash007]

For the meal, I'm going to jump around a bit to save some time/text. I also cannot find pictures of our food/drinks even though I swear I took some. I'll add them later if I find them.

First off, we met our waiter Rony. He was hands down the best service professional I have ever encountered. Helpful with the menu, polite, yet comfortable with C. If C wants to order her own food, we usually let her. But in a lot of cases, it can get uncomfortable as waiters don't really know how to talk to her. Sometimes she'll overshare, and they just kind of look at us. Rony though, was on point. For example, he asked how she liked her day so far and what did she do. She went to explain about Soarin, that she was scared, she would never go on it again, but she really liked the elephants and the whales. He just rolled with it, and kept asking questions. He brought her meal out first, which was great because she likes to take breaks, and helped her decorate her ice cream sundae for dessert. When we were there I looked up how to best recognize a CM, and saw you can contact Disney via twitter, so I did that. I really hope he got the feedback because he was amazing. Here's some of him interacting with C:

For drinks, I got a seasonal one that essentially was a Manhattan with caramelized pecans on the brim. It was delicious. Rony warned me it was strong on the whiskey and pecan flavors, but since I love both of those, I told him to bring it on. It was a little sweet for a dinner drink, but that didn't stop me.

For dinner, C would have gotten the mac n cheese. She always says she wants pasta or pizza. But she actually eats other stuff better if we just give it to her, so we got her the steak. Since that came out first, we each tried some of it, and it was delicious (see a trend here?). It really set up our expectations.

K I believe got the lobster risotto, and even though I'm not a huge lobster fan, it was really good for the taste I had. I got the short ribs. The adjectives to describe this wouldn't be allowed on this forum. To be a little NY, it was friggin' amazing. It was by far the best thing I've eaten. I can hardly get short ribs anymore because the whole dish was melt in your mouth delicious and set my expectations way too high. I did take a picture off of disneyfoodblog to include

Dessert I believe I got a cheesecake that was also good, but the short ribs were by far the star.

As for the Sanderson brothers, they were seated far far away. But that doesn't mean we didn't have our own little noisemaker near by! Nope, some couple thought it was appropriate to bring a just under 1 year old (if I had to guess) to Citricos. You know, the age where kids just kind of do what they want, and they only way you can control them is to amuse them or take them out? Guess what they weren't doing? This kid was banging on the table like he was Keith Moon, and babbling along at the decibel of the perimeter fireworks. I don't blame the kid, he was doing what kids do. But just because his parents wanted a nice night out shouldn't mean the rest of us have to deal. Maybe I'm a heartless jerk, but I feel like when you're a parent, you make certain sacrifices in order to be considerate of others.

Keith Moon aside, we had an amazing meal with even better service. C did great. One point she did start getting tired/antsy, and I brought up the Sanderson brothers and asked what she thought of them. I know I shouldn't ask her to compare herself, but it seemed like a good teaching moment about acting properly.

After dinner we made our way downstairs, to get some pictures taken, and decide on our plan for the rest of night.

 

[Spash007]

At this point we had a decision to make - MK or not to MK? Because of MVMCP, there were only two nights to catch HEA - tonight, or on Wednesday. Wednesday we currently had a no parks/rest day planned, but an early night was very tempting.

Counting we gave up a 7DMT FP on Wednesday to keep it as a no parks day (stupid probably, but we were able to get a Homecomin' ADR at the last minute so it made sense), we decided to stick to the plan. G&P though were ready to head back so we would go our separate ways after getting to MK. But first, how do we get to MK?

The line to get on the monorail was INSANE. It went well through the 2nd floor landing, pretty much up to the elevators. We were considering taking the boat, but figured everyone else would be headed there too. In the end we decided to try the monorail, and were pleasantly surprised by how fast the line moved (I think we lucked out with timing TBH).

Soon enough we were at MK, and said our goodbyes at G&P headed to the bus. We made our way through security, but when we went to scan our MBs, guess what happened? C's did not work, for a THIRD time. As the CM's hand went up and a manager came over, I was thinking we had an @Tuvalu in the making.

This one said it was a different issue, and that it was tied to her fingerprint. The proposed solution was to tie her MB to K's fingerprint. We lucked out that the solution was fairly quick (probably because she's a child and our MBs worked?) but I was wondering if this solution actually would keep working.

Soon enough we made our way to Main Street, where we joined a couple of our closest friends who also were there for HEA.

At this point it was about 8:15, so we figured with a little over an hour until HEA we could maybe get a ride or two in. K though was starting to hurt, so she was ok to grab a spot for the fireworks, while C and I got on a ride. C's request: Dumbo, and Barnstormer if possible.

First though, C saw an Elsa & Anna balloon and really wanted it. I gave in, and went to go in line to get this balloon. Of course though, the entire line of people were there to just take their pictures with the balloons. By the time I got to the front, I wasn't honestly sure if the CM was even selling the balloons or if they were a prop, so I asked if I could buy one. She seriously looked relieve someone was buying one She then told me it was $17 (I think) No wonder people just take their pictures with them! It's a balloon, I can't even take on the plane.

Anyway, with the balloon in tow, we made our way to the hub, and grabbed a spot right off of the roadway. C and I headed through Tomorrowland to make our way to Dumbo. When we were nearing the Speedway, my phone started going off. I got a bunch of texts from K: "HEA is at 9!! Not 9:30!" No idea how we missed this. At this point was around 8:35/8:40 and I was trying to work out in my head if there was any chance to get on Dumbo. Nope, not even close to possible. I felt horrible, but I explained to C we would be back, and I promised we would go on Dumbo together. She loves HEA, as we listen to the soundtrack in the car, so she was ok with it. We made our way back to the hub, where it was now a sea of people.

I'll admit I don't have a great memory, and trying to get through crowds makes me anxious normally, so if I didn't have C with me, I probably would've been in panic mode. I should've thought about this before stepping away, but I could not see K at all, and had no idea how to weave my way through.

As I started going through, I got a phone call from K saying she moved slightly to get a better spot, and was right next to the Mickey and Walt statue. Hmm ok. That should be easier? But as I got closer, I could not see her for the life of me. Then she had a brilliant idea - the balloon!

She let it go as high as possible, and I spotted it! If it wasn't as tight as it was, I would've taken a picture because this worked perfectly. Like a ship heading towards a lighthouse in a hurricane, we made our way towards the balloon and found K.

She was literally right next to the statue, how in the world did I not see her?

I agree this spot was a better view, and to top it off, we had a nice family in front of us that was started talking to. They had never been before, and didn't know much about HEA. We talked about our trips a bit, and it was a nice way to pass the time.

Soon enough the show started, and yes, we sang along. No shame.

Until now, I never realized the door of the castle became a keyhole, even after seeing the show before. Oops!

We all love HEA, but with how much we sing it, watch it at home, etc, it some reason is more than just another part of Disney for us. It's something special, and I'm glad that we bond over it.

I'm also glad that some of our favorite movies that don't get much love otherwise in the parks, like Hunchback, are featured.

At one point K turned around and started taking pictures of our reactions (probably queued by my off key singing). So much was going through my head at this point - happiness that we were all here, looking forward to bringing little man at one point in the near future, but also wondering how that would change things. I was just so happy though to be there at this point and enjoying it all together.

 

[Spash007]

A few more HEA pics:

How is this shot of the castle, with all the "stained glass" characters not a Christmas ornament? I would buy that in a heartbeat!

Soon enough, it was over and I was in my happy place. Until I turned around and we had to leave. We said our goodbyes to the family we met, and I wished them luck getting out. And then the slow walk began.

However, people kept trying to cut through. I get we're all trying to get out as fast as possible, but that doesn't mean you can try to squeeze past me in that inch of space (that is actually my foot) and go faster. We're all in this together. After being bumped, separated by K multiple times even though we were clearly together, I had enough when a stroller started ramming my side. Normally I'm not confrontational, but this guy with a stroller was trying to make me move over so he could get by. "You know if I could move faster, I would be." I finally said to him. He somewhat held back then, and probably just tried to go a different way.

Finally we made our way down Main Street, and I took one last picture on the way.

Unlike the guy trying to get out faster, under the bridge was a family just standing there, 2 across, plus a stroller, blocking a whole section. It was drizzling, very lightly at this point, and they decided their precious child needed his jacket. Does that make me a bad person for getting annoyed by that? Maybe, but I feel like its common sense to not block traffic.

Finally we made our way out, and I breathed a sigh of relief as we made our way to the bus. C had long been asleep in the stroller, and I couldn't wait for bed myself. It had been a very long two days, and I was glad that HEA actually was a half hour earlier so I could get to sleep sooner.

Coming up: The excitement isn't over yet, I break the bus!

 

[Rasstuss]

We were at that same HEA and in that mass of humanity exiting. I also had a stroller but I'm pretty sure I wasn't "that guy" and we weren't "that family" lol.

 

[Spash007]

We were at that same HEA and in that mass of humanity exiting. I also had a stroller but I'm pretty sure I wasn't "that guy" and we weren't "that family" lol.

Haha, I've been wondering if anyone on these boards ever complains about someone, and then that person they're complaining about were also on here.

All that is bound to happen during those mass exoduses of people,and for all I know, they had a good reason for it, and/or it wasn't as bad as it appeared to me in the moment

 

[Spash007]

Let's wrap up day 2. This report was almost titled "That time I broke the bus" and here's why:

So we make our way towards the bus, and start wondering why we seem to stay at hotels that are at the furthest spots. Maybe next time we'll stay at a resort based on bus stop location (more on that later).

Considering how crowded Main Street was, the wait for the bus was not bad and I believe we got on the first one that showed up. K got a seat with C sleeping on her, and I stood over by the handicap loading area with the stroller.

The bus was crowded, but everything went well until we got to Martinique. One of the things I don't like about CBR, is that while the multiple bus stops are convenient to be close to your room, it made standing room only bus stops difficult as I had to keep getting off.

When we stopped me and one other guy got off to let people pass, and then we went to get back on. However, another gentleman had decided to come down from his seat and stand there as well, and left only room for the other man with the stroller. I stood there for a minute and this guy just stared. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he was tired from a full day at the parks and was zoning out, so I finally said "excuse me". "Oh you want to get back on?" was his response. More benefit of the doubt that he thought I was waiting for someone.

Anyway, when he moved to make room, he really didn't give enough room for me plus the folded stroller (there was still plenty of space behind him), so I kind of squeezed in hoping I was all the way in. The doors close, and sure enough push the stroller into me (and into him). But they close! Good! Good? Nope.

The bus won't start after this. The bus driver opens the doors again, and re-closes them, and this time i make sure they don't bump me. But the bus still won't start. She made an announcement that she's getting some sort of message that the doors aren't closing and we'll have to wait for another bus to come get us.

I could feel everyone staring at me (granted no one actually was). Did I do it? I didn't mean to, I didn't really have another option. I did my best, I told myself. Could it have been something else? Maybe, but it seemed a little too coincidental.

A bus showed up pretty quickly afterwards, and we got off and I met up with K. She wasn't in the mood to get back on a bus, deal with going around all the stops, and deal with maneuvering a sleeping C on the bus (C is a furnace when she sleeps). We looked at the map to confirm Martinique is as close to OPR as we thought, and made the decision to walk.

Once we got out of earshot of people I turned to K and said "I think I broke the bus".

"What?? What do you mean, you broke the bus?"

"I think I was the reason it wouldn't go."



She just stared in bewilderment as I told her the story. I think we both didn't know whether to laugh, or slink off in shame. Since we were going to our room, it really didn't matter!

OPR at night:

I don't know what my obsession is with this light. (Not gonna lie I thought of @Doc Disney lol)

The walk really wasn't bad, and the weather was rather pleasant. On the way we discussed the ECV, and K said she would rather just walk than deal with the ECV. If she could do WS without a ton of pain, she figured it wouldn't really be necessary. We would make it a point to slow down a bit more, and we should be fine. Once we were back, I called ScooterBug and left a message to cancel, and got ready for bed.

Before bed I moved Trixie the elf this time. I believe this is when she was too hot so she decided to jump in the ice bucket to cool off

 

[Swissmiss]

People like the guy you described who stand in the doorway drive.me.crazy! I usually commute to and from work by bus and I am always amazed how many clueless people block the doorways - either keeping you from getting inside to the aisle where it is empty or keeping you from getting off. I have perfected the “I just have to readjust my large Dooney purse on my shoulder” (otherwise known as swinging it a bit wide) because “excuse me” said in a variety of languages doesn’t seem to have much effect. And don’t get me started on the people who think their purse/backpack/grocery bag has more of a right to a seat than me (or anyone else who has paid for their bus ticket). Just the other day I was flabbergasted to realize the woman sitting in front of me REFUSED to move her grocery bag when someone asked to sit down - in 20 years I’ve seen plenty of eye rolls and grudging motions to remove bags, but I had never before seen someone refuse! It was just too much rudeness for me to take so I decided to say something - you should have heard all the chuckling on the bus when I said “Pardon me ma’am, but did you pay for a second bus ticket giving your bags the right to use a seat too? Is that why you refused to let that woman sit down?”

 

[SandiSmiles]

I'm enjoying your trip report very much - thanks for sharing! And the picture of C in front of the tree is absolutely adorable!

 

[Spash007]

I'm enjoying your trip report very much - thanks for sharing! And the picture of C in front of the tree is absolutely adorable!

Thank you!

 

[Spash007]

December 10 - Day 3 - Animal Kingdom

The timing the day before worked pretty well, so we had a pretty similar plan this morning to be at the bus stop at 8:30. We packed a light breakfast to go since we had a breakfast ADR, and made our way down to the bus.

One thing I noticed, and I believe I read this in another TR at a different resort too, is that people just formed lines on the pathways, blocking them for other people. There was an actual hut to wait in, but I guess people thought if they stood towards the front they would get a better seat? I remember this day being pretty bad with people going to MK, because K remarked that she was glad she didn't have the ECV as we had to go around people on the grass.

We didn't have to wait long, and were at AK just before park opening at 9.

Going in, I was really curious to see how AK would be decorated for the holidays, and overall liked what I saw! The large ornaments on this tree are just so cool to look at.

We saw a lonely PP photog, and since our outlook this day was to take it slow, we stopped in for a photo!

Isn't this a cute couples shot with the trolls (who I don't understand why they're at AK...)? It wasn't supposed to be - you can see the front of the stroller sticking out from under the pyramid!

I would classify that as a Magic Shot fail...

This is better.

As you can tell with our jackets it was cold this day - the coldest of our trip. I believe this morning it was 45 degrees (F). I'd still rather have that than the heat!

More decorations while waiting in line to get in.

Now the moment of truth - would C's band work?

Yes, it did! C's band + K's fingerprint was successful!

Upon walking in I thought I saw something moving from the corner of my eye. Hard to see here...

There she is - it's Divine! An unexpected and fun way to start the day.

After walking through the Oasis, which I really want to explore more in a future trip, we had this beauty up ahead.

It was around this time I said to C: "What do you think of that tree? Pretty big isn't it?" C's response: "What tree?"

As everyone else was headed to Pandora, our goal was over in Africa for an early morning Safari. We weren't sure what the cold temperatures would mean for the animals, but we would soon find out!

First, one of my favorite views in DW:

 

[Spash007]

While we had a FP for a Safari in the evening, we really wanted to see how things compared to the morning. Mind you, when we made our FPs we were thinking it was going to be warmer and this would take advantage of the cooler temperatures.

We only waited about 15 minutes in line. One interesting part was where we met up with the CM to take the stroller. He directs me to the area to put the stroller, and when I get back in line, everyone else is gone. As I moved up the line they had pulled over, and told me that the CM insisted they keep moving and not wait for me.

Once reunited, we soon boarded Simba 1 right in the front. I don't remember our CMs name, but she was really good - not going too fast, giving us facts, etc. A good first ride!

When we boarded also, C remembered being nervous last year and was asking what animals we would see. We had to promise the lions would NOT come on the truck, and then she asked about flamingos. Normally we're pretty up to date with her latest obsessions, so it caught us off guard when all she wanted to see were flamingos. I guess they read a book in school about flamingos and had her psyched to see them.

A few highlights:

The hippos were up and about

There were a ton of giraffes and they were very active and friendly. Not to the point of giving birth (imagine being on that safari??), but we were held up while they exploring the truck in front of us.

The elephants were out an about, but looked to be hungry.

And finally the flamingos!

C was over the moon, and surprised us when she told us that flamingos are pink because of the food they eat. I don't think I learned that until I was like 10? And now they teach that in pre-k? All right then.

Overall this was one of the better safaris we had - the driving was smooth and well paced, and we saw a lot of animals. Really the only ones we missed were the lions, but we figured we had another chance later.

After we got off our safari, I went to grab the stroller. I cannot stand the way they do the strollers here. It's great you can bring them in line, but having no idea where they put them always turns into a headache.

It was only about 10 am and our ADR at Tusker House wasn't until 10:25 so we sat and enjoyed the atmosphere. The theming here is so well done and I love taking in the details.

I loved the creative ways the holidays were represented here.

Within a few minutes, some of the performers came out and we enjoyed watching them and the people dancing along. This is one of the reasons I now really enjoy AK, especially this section. There ALWAYS seems to be something going on, and it really adds that immersive element. Considering there are less rides, I find we get more downtime here between FPs and ADRs, and have time to just listen and watch.

These guys were great as always, and were trying to get people to dance with them. None of us felt like participating but a lot of other people did. Especially there was one lady who must have either taken a course in African dancing, or was VERY ready for the LSD trip of Navi (if you catch my drift...). Her arms were going around, her head was going in circles, and was really into it. It was actually pretty impressive. I never would have that confidence, but good for her.

The crowd was thinning and we had a feeling (aka fear) we were going to be pulled up to dance, so we made our way over to Tusker House a few minutes early to check in. Soon after my phone buzzed and we were led inside.

 

[Spash007]

I had to laugh as we were being led in, as the CM's tag noted she was from "Long Island, NY" (originally where I'm from as well). There's been discussion over the years that people on Long Island tend to think of themselves as their own state (there's a hilarious Comedy Central skit on this), with even my own grandmother putting "LI" instead of "NY" as her return address. It seemed like most other CM's have their city/town noted, but this is just "Long Island". Granted I guess maybe it's the metro area that gets noted on CM's tags. I'll have to look closer from now on.

We were led to a fairly small room on the side, and with being seated in the back corner, we were able to get ample warning if characters were coming. With no one in sight, I took C to the buffet to load up. I believe she had white eggs (hard boiled), cereal and a bunch of fruit. P tried to get her a Mickey Waffle, but C is not a fan (in full disclosure, I don't either ). I had a mix of everything - eggs, fruit, some really good chicken that I think was Tikka Masala (and really didn't go with anything else I had). We tend to like Tusker House because they have good, "basic" food, but then also a few more adventurous pieces that I'm more inclined to have.

Once we were eating, the characters came out -

First up was Goofy. C was very excited as she knows this is her Mommy's favorite.

Next, Donald.

He's always been my favorite, and I was tempted to get a picture, but felt awkward. There were some adults really getting into it, but I think with C there, I felt like I would be interrupting.

C pointed out that Daisy was coming, and Donald just kind of shrugged it off which seemed weird. Later they were being playful together, so I guess it just wasn't the right time. I also had to hold back from telling C about the fluffy butts, even though I was *this* close. I'm sure C would have made it fun, but I was afraid of it coming up throughout the trip like @dryerlintfan

After Daisy came Mickey.

We some reason forget at first that Minnie to expect her. We realized our mistake, and C was a little upset, but told her she would be seeing her just a bit later.

Once the characters were done, I headed back up for "dessert" and noticed they had Krispy Kreme Donut holes . While I stocked up on other desserts for the table, I may have gotten 4-5 (or 7) for myself. I never eat Krispy Kreme's because I know how bad they are for you, but in Disney it doesn't matter, right?

For a character meal, this was really quick. We were done in less than an hour, by 11:20.

We knew we wanted to catch the next FotLK show at 12, so figured we'd explore the Gorilla Falls trail while we waited.

The gorillas were so active, and there were so many of them out. Being so close was really something special.

This guy looked like he was having a rough morning

Around this point it was 11:40, and I looked on the map in MDE to see we weren't even halfway through. There is no way that this part of the map in MDE is done to scale with the rest of the park. It was so much longer than we expected, and we ended up having to rush through the rest to make sure we got to FotLK.

We still did really enjoy it, and I am glad we did it, even with rushing the last bit. Next time we'll just build a bit more time in for it.

 

[Spash007]

We made our way to FotLK and found a fairly long line outside. I was a little worried about getting in to the noon show, but the group behind us asked the nearby CM, who said we would definitely get in.

Before long, we were headed in and found our seats in the Giraffe section. You have got to love when the CMs are saying "Go all the way over, no saving seats", people around you immediately say to each other "Save some space for so and so, they'll be right here"

I have to admit I did not know what noise a Giraffe makes, so that was an interesting tidbit to learn and try out.

The tumble monkeys are always my favorite, and this time I just wanted to watch their antics rather than try to get that perfect shot (which never is as impressive as they are in person anyway).

While I still enjoyed the show, I feel like the more I see it, the less special it becomes. Once I know what's coming, it's just not as great. I may be due for a break at some point soon.

Originally our plan was to catch the earlier showing, but we added the Tusker House ADR after FPs were already made. This meant we were closing in on our Navi FP. We figured it would be close, as the FotLK went until 12:30, and our Navi FP was 11:45-12:45. We did not count on the exiting of the FotLK theater to run as long as it did, so while K, G&P went ahead, I took C back to grab the stroller and make the walk over to Pandora.

This was my first time on this path, and couldn't believe how peaceful it was. I really enjoy that AK has these pathways that don't have attractions or even restaurants on them, so that you do feel secluded. I hope they keep it this way.

Soon enough we were making our way to Pandora for the first time, and I think we were all blown away. G&P went last year and saw it, but on our last trip we skipped Pandora so this was K, C and my's first time seeing it.

I'll admit I was in the "Pandora doesn't belong in AK" camp, and am still disappointed that the mythical land 10 year old me was super excited about is now focused on a sole IP. What Disney did here though is amazing, and the landscaping and theming really does make it feel like it fits within AK.

One thing that I feel like Disney went a bit too far on the "immersive" setting was the signs for the rides. Maybe they were fixing the signs, but the queue for Navi had no sign above it. Just the wait time and FP return time.

From the line, I took a few more photos of the floating mountains from what seemed like interesting angles.

 

[Spash007]

I thought the theming of the queue inside was pretty neat.

I was curious more than anything to see how this played out.

Overall, I was impressed. I think they may be because I had very low expectations going in, and there was more moving than I had expected. The little lizards on the leaves, the floating nymphs (or whatever they're called). This may be weird, but I also enjoyed the smell in there. It was just very relaxing. And the shaman was also a very neat animatronic.

That all said, I don't like the increasing reliance on projections, but I did think they were at least tied in to the scenery fairly well. I'm going to join in with everyone else and say I wouldn't wait more than 20 minutes for this ride, and with C likely being able to go on FOP next time, that will probably be getting our FP. I don't see doing two full days at AK, where we would use up FPs at both, so unless Galaxy's Edge has some impact on wait times here or day pf FP availability. I don't see going back on Navi anytime too soon (or Living with Pandora h/t @Tuvalu). The only real time I would probably be really in the mood for it would be a hot day to relax.

Afterwards we explored a bit more, and Pandora did feel bigger than I expected. It still is a very small land (which begs the question of does it deserve it's own land in my head), but there's enough to look at and explore.

We had been planning on getting lunch at Satuli Canteen, but after having breakfast not that long ago, we weren't hungry just yet.

 

[Spash007]

We stopped for our obligatory PP picture to prove we really did go to Pandora.

After this we heard a CM interaction with a guest that had us gobsmacked. A somewhat older woman in an ECV approached a security CM and demanded (not asked, it was clear in her tone she felt he was obligated to serve her) "Where is Pandora?". I'll try to write this out, but a lot was in tone, so hopefully that comes across:

Guest (demanding, demeaning): "Where is Pandora?"
CM (dry, monotone, but polite): "You're in Pandora ma'am"
Guest: (audible sigh): "Ugh, no the ride." (inflexion on last word to get it across that she knows what she's talking about)
CM: "There are two rides in Pandora. Flight of -"
Guest (cutting CM off): "The one where we fly"
CM (still dry, monotone): "That is Flight of Passage, and it-"
Guest (loud sigh, starting to yell): "No, I want to ride on Pandora! Where we fly on the winged things. Ugh"
CM (still just dealing with it, but talking faster to end the conversation): "You are looking for Flight of Passage. It is right over there."
Guest goes off, mumbling to herself.

Meanwhile, we are just standing there. How anyone can treat another person like that is beyond me. The CM I thought handled it great, and was thinking of either giving him a high-five, or going to Guest Services to commend him. I was afraid though that because he wasn't "chipper" and was a little more dry in his response than maybe he should have, maybe it wasn't up to Disney par.

@Matt and Kelly did the DI course give any insight on how they train CM's to deal with difficult guests? I thought this one did great, but as a sarcastic person myself, perhaps the CM did show a bit of annoyance (granted the woman totally deserved it)

 

[Matt and Kelly]

We stopped for our obligatory PP picture to prove we really did go to Pandora.

View attachment 342538

After this we heard a CM interaction with a guest that had us gobsmacked. A somewhat older woman in an ECV approached a security CM and demanded (not asked, it was clear in her tone she felt he was obligated to serve her) "Where is Pandora?". I'll try to write this out, but a lot was in tone, so hopefully that comes across:

Guest (demanding, demeaning): "Where is Pandora?"
CM (dry, monotone, but polite): "You're in Pandora ma'am"
Guest: (audible sigh): "Ugh, no the ride." (inflexion on last word to get it across that she knows what she's talking about)
CM: "There are two rides in Pandora. Flight of -"
Guest (cutting CM off): "The one where we fly"
CM (still dry, monotone): "That is Flight of Passage, and it-"
Guest (loud sigh, starting to yell): "No, I want to ride on Pandora! Where we fly on the winged things. Ugh"
CM (still just dealing with it, but talking faster to end the conversation): "You are looking for Flight of Passage. It is right over there."
Guest goes off, mumbling to herself.

Meanwhile, we are just standing there. How anyone can treat another person like that is beyond me. The CM I thought handled it great, and was thinking of either giving him a high-five, or going to Guest Services to commend him. I was afraid though that because he wasn't "chipper" and was a little more dry in his response than maybe he should have, maybe it wasn't up to Disney par.

@Matt and Kelly did the DI course give any insight on how they train CM's to deal with difficult guests? I thought this one did great, but as a sarcastic person myself, perhaps the CM did show a bit of annoyance (granted the woman totally deserved it)

Oddly enough I experienced a somewhat similar guest/CM interaction in the Emporium during the August family trip. A guest was looking for rose gold ears and asked a CM where to find them. The CM politely responded, "we have many in stock, right behind you on this rack". The guest was adamant that those were not the rose gold ears and continued to ask where to find them. I watched, holding in laughter, as the CM continued to assure the guest that the giant rack of ears were, in fact, the rose gold colour she was seeking. It all ended with the guest huffing out and the CM looking dazed and confused.

To your question, they did talk about how they handle some of the interactions and most of it revolved around the courtesy key. Always be as courtesy to guests as possible while offering the correct information even if the guest doesn't want to hear it or, in your scenario, clearly has their facts mixed up.

Like all human beings, even CMs can be pushed to their limits I would imagine!

 

[fractal]

Continuing to enjoy your report and the detailed narration. Great idea using the balloon for guidance!

All your stories about interactions with other people confirm my long held opinion about the crowds at WDW. They can be very amusing, memorable and annoying. Usually it's a combination.