Trip Report **COMPLETED** The Tail of Slinky Dog

Hey everyone!
We have been back for a week now so I suppose it is time to start our TR!

Who
Just my Mom and I (Mary and Megan)
This is a picture from our last trip!

When?
July 9-July 16 2018

Why?
To celebrate my 30th Birthday

Where?
The Grand Floridian - thanks to a pretty good bounce back or AP deal (I can't actually remember which one )

The title?
We are obsessed with Slinky Dog Dash - plain and simple

Day 1 July 9, 2018
I had to work most of my usual day before we headed to the airport. Why is this day of work always the LONGEST day of work?
My Dad was actually out of town for work so he couldn't drive us to the airport, but my brother in law Nick kindly offered to drive us (thankfully)
I was super stressed about leaving on time (I thought our flight was earlier than it was ) hence my flushed cheeks

Oh hey Nick

Of course we made it to the airport, checked our bags and made it through security in little to no time
We decided to eat dinner at our usual airport dinner place - Anchor Bar

We shared the appetizer sampler and some fries. Wings, boneless wings, mozzarella sticks I realize now this isn't the best of pictures to actually show the food

After our delicious dinner we headed to the gate to wait to leave.
Petey was ready to go

Soon enough we were on the plane!

Next up: finishing Day 1 (quick day!)

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

Toy Story Land looks amazing!! I'm glad you were impressed! That means I will probably love it!! I'm impressed you guys were up soooo early!!! I MIGHT be able to do that if I knew how short the lines would be....I will say Disney makes me MORE of a morning person, but it's still a stretch!

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your day!

 

[Doc Disney]

Toy Story Land looks amazing!! I'm glad you were impressed! That means I will probably love it!! I'm impressed you guys were up soooo early!!! I MIGHT be able to do that if I knew how short the lines would be....I will say Disney makes me MORE of a morning person, but it's still a stretch!

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your day!

We are morning people but that still was a bit of a stretch It was super cool seeing Toy Story Land with barely anyone in it You are going to love it there!

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 3 continued
We headed to Starbucks for some breakfast
My Mom got a cupcake. I think it was red velvet and she said it was good.

I had a sausage, egg and cheese sandwich. Yummmm....I haven't had one of those in forever !

I never understood how people were obsessed with Starbucks until I started drinking it I never let myself have it at home so its always a treat.
Then we wandered around bit waiting for out first FP window to open.

We decided to stop by and meet Olaf!

When we got out of Olaf we walked by the Mickey and Minnie line and it was listed as 5 minutes so we walked in. There was actually no wait - Minnie was waiting for us!

Next up: more HS

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 3 continued

We headed back to Toy Story Land for our first Fast Pass....Alien Swirling Saucers.
But...of course we took a few more pictures

Look how cute this bench is!!! Dominos!!!!

Our last name starts with W so we posed with the W block

Next up: more Toy Story Land

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 3 continued
There is a very great view of Galaxy's Edge from Toy Story Land but it is a bit weird that there is essentially just a small fence that separates the two. I'm sure its not permanent.

Alien Swirling Saucers! Tons of Pizza Planet references in the line and ride

The Aliens all talk at the same time like the movie and keep saying things like "LISTENNNNNN" when the safety instructions play It is super funny.

We had a blast on this ride as well! Super fun with cute this details everywhere. Super similar to Mater's Junkyard Jamboree in DCA and we loved that ride too.
After our ride we headed out of Toy Story Land but we definitely did not want to leave! We knew we would be back later in the week though
We passed by One Man's Dream and they were showing an Incredibles 2 preview so we watched it (good AC break). The movie looks cute - I just haven't seen it yet!
Our next Fast Pass was for Aerosmith so we headed over there!
We ended up sitting in the back which I feel is the worst spot! It gets rough back there!

We decided to skip our last FP and head out of the park since we felt like we had lived a full day already since we got up so early
We took the Friendship Boat over to the Beach Club (way too hot to walk!) because I found us a lunch reservation at Beaches and Cream!
I was worried we were going to have a hard time finding it but it was super easy. The restaurant wasn't actually open yet so we sat and waited while I stared longingly at Stormalong Bay Someday I will stay there!

Next up: Beaches and Cream

 

[LeighM]

In March, I had to wake up at 5am so that I could be at the bus stop at 6 when AK opened at 7. Only in Disney can I wake up that early LOL. But seeing Pandora with no crowds and in the dark was totally worth it.

 

[sheriffwoody]

Just found your report (I'm way behind...clearly). Love your early TSL morning! Also love your California Grill dress!

 

[DisneyGigi]

Day 3 continued
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Even the garbage cans are adorable
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My Mom and my uncle both love Yatzee so we sent this picture to him
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I was a bit giddy if you can't tell from the picture
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Here he comes!!!
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On ride selfie!! In total we only waited 17 minutes! Woohoo!
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I mean...honestly. What can I say about the ride other than we loved it!!! I think we laughed and giggled through the entire thing...maybe with a few tears mixed in because of how nostalgic Toy Story is for us! The whole ride is just so clever! Its really hard to explain until you ride it. The actual rollercoaster part of it was better than I expected too - definitely more intense than I thought it would be. We both said we felt like we did when we road Radiator Springs Racers for the first time in that we literally could not wait to ride it again! The wait was up to about 50 minutes by the time we got off though so we went along our way

Next up: more TSL

I am soooo excited to see the land! I love Toy Story so much. It was my kid’s favorite. I bet that is so cool when Slinky Dog comes rolling in before you board! 32 days, I cannot wait!

 

[Think Tink]

Joined in late but loving your TR so far!

 

[Doc Disney]

In March, I had to wake up at 5am so that I could be at the bus stop at 6 when AK opened at 7. Only in Disney can I wake up that early LOL. But seeing Pandora with no crowds and in the dark was totally worth it.

Definitely. If I have to get up that early here for work or something its torture

Just found your report (I'm way behind...clearly). Love your early TSL morning! Also love your California Grill dress!

Thanks

 

[Doc Disney]

I am soooo excited to see the land! I love Toy Story so much. It was my kid’s favorite. I bet that is so cool when Slinky Dog comes rolling in before you board! 32 days, I cannot wait!

You are going to love it! Its adorable!!!!

Joined in late but loving your TR so far!

Thanks for reading

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 3 continued
As soon as Beaches and Cream opened we checked in and we were seated quickly. It was our first time there and it was so cute inside and much smaller than I excepted!

I ordered some chili cheese fries

And my Mom got the grilled cheese

We then ordered an old fashioned vanilla sundae with caramel. It came out with flashing lights as they wished me a Happy Birthday

We realllyyyyy wanted to like Beaches and Cream since everyone else seems to love it but we just didn't. I know we didn't order the typical stuff but the food was mediocre at best. The grilled cheese especially was just an odd mix of cheeses (we don't even know what kind) and neither one of us cared for it. We both decided we probably would not go out of our way to come back
We decided to take a Minnie Van back to the Grand Floridian so we wandered around the Beach Club a bit before heading to pick up the van.

Some lights for you.

Our Minnie Van quickly arrived! Our drivers name was Scott and when he asked where we were from we said Buffalo. He was like "oh I know people from Buffalo!" We never expected we would know the same people but turns out we did It was crazy! He knew my one friend's wife and her whole family. Also his partners went to high school with my Dad! It was nuts
We took a picture to send to my friends

Next up : pool time

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 3 continued
We came back to not one but three towel animals

We headed down to the pool for a nice break. At some point an ambulance came and EMTs had to take a woman out of the pool area. It looked like she was there for a wedding and the heat just got to her. I'm actually not sure how she ended up in the pool area.
Anyway, we got some cocktails at the pool. A froze for me and a Pina colava for my Mom.

After our pool time we relaxed in the room for a bit then got ready to head to Disney Springs!
The bus literally would not stop saying "we are on the way to DS" with the announcement about Disney Springs

We wandered around a bit and did some shopping

I actually didn't feel well so I did a whole lot of sitting around while my Mom did the shopping It occurred to me the cocktail at the pool (without food) was a bad idea for me because my heartburn was horrendous. Like....I've never had it that bad before I just couldn't wait to eat! But, I was happy to munch on some crackers and sit in the sun anyway

Next up: dinner

 

[Doc Disney]

Day 3 continued
It was finally time for dinner so we checked in to Chef Art Smith's. The hostess asked us if we wanted to sit outside and we both just started at her and we were like ... no. It was SO hot...there was no way I was going to eat outside!
We had a fairly long wait to be seated (probably because we said no to outside). Why is it when you are just desperate to eat something that it is always the slowest!

The service was also super slow this day. We were getting more tired by the minute which is the only reason I think we noticed

We split the fried chicken with macaroni and cheese

It was super yummy as usual! I'm glad we carved out some time to get back there for dinner. After dinner we headed out and back to the GF. My Mom gave me a Birthday gift (one of many - she spoiled me too much) that she got at DS while we were there

So pretty!!!!!
Anyway, we were exhausted so it was early to bed for us!!

Next up: Day 4 - Epcot

 

[DryerLintFan]

Ps. quick life update
I bought a house!
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So please bear with me since it will probably take me forever to write this TR

Hey that's HUGE!!! Congratulations!!

 

[DryerLintFan]

Day 2 continued
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They said it would take about 15 minutes - took about 2
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These pictures are showing the henna before the top layer peeled off.
Cost?: $30 total; Worthwhile?: nope Within a few hours you could barely even see my Moms and mine lasted only a few days! Oh well - at least we got a Disney check!
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Our next FP was for Navi River Journey so we headed to Pandora
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A light fixture AND a hidden Mickey ?!
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We always say we enjoy the NRJ but would never actually wait in line for it

Next up: more AK

Henna has a special treatment to it when used in humid places, and you really have to leave the top layer on for hours and hours if you want the stain to last. I think they're really cute, but definitely not worth $30! A whole bag of henna and everything needed to prepare it costs less than half.

 

[melmel89]

I'm late to the party but i'm in! Congratulations on the new home and the big birthday I hit the big 3 0 in March and i've already started freaking out about it!

 

[Punzle]

I'm new to reading the trip reports but I'm loving yours. And I'm from Buffalo too!

 

[DryerLintFan]

I'm all caught up! Is it bad that when I catch a report this late in the game, I'm secretly hoping it's been completed??

 

[mlegerto]

It just looks so sad and empty! I can't wait till there is some life in this area again.

The Aliens all talk at the same time like the movie and keep saying things like "LISTENNNNNN" when the safety instructions play It is super funny.

THAT.IS.SO.COOL. I hadn't heard that from anyone else yet. It's all in the details!

We then ordered an old fashioned vanilla sundae with caramel. It came out with flashing lights as they wished me a Happy Birthday

O.M.G...what I wouldn't give for something like this RIGHT NOW HAHA. **drool**. My pregnancy senses and tingling! Sorry to hear that you didn't like BnC, we really enjoy it and try to make it there every trip (even just for a dessert). I will admit that we've been going here since I was a little kid, so I do agree that there is a nostalgia factor involved for me personally.