Trip Report Double Double Dip Trip June 2017 (Completed!)

PacNWTigger · Jul 14, 2017

Please take a pic of my beloved Matterhorn Macaroon so I can sit at my desk and drool while I'm at work daydreaming about my next Disney vacation!! :hungry:

ajrwdwgirl · Jul 15, 2017

PacNWTigger said:
Please take a pic of my beloved Matterhorn Macaroon so I can sit at my desk and drool while I'm at work daydreaming about my next Disney vacation!!

I will try but I don't know if we will make it to the jolly holiday. Maybe Monday.

MissingDisney · Jul 15, 2017

ajrwdwgirl said:
Friday June 23
We went to bed late and got up early, that's just how we roll. At least Disney.
Up early for our Mickey waffle kids meal then off to the Magic Kingdom.
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With the security backups I had been involved in we made sure we got there super early. We were about 30 minutes early for the security line opening but there were about 20 other people waiting there too. Sure I was waiting but I wasn't waiting frustrated and not knowing why the line wasn't moving. Plus we had some nice chats with the security guards.
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This makes me smile every time.
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Then we were stopped here for awhile. At least I had an interesting view.
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Then we were let onto Main Street and as part of EMH we were routed over to the bridge that leads over to the Cheshire Cafe by the teacups.
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Lots of people were doing the surge to 7D or Space Mt, we were off to Neverland. It was a pretty empty walk as we back tracked on the path by the wishing well.
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I wish it was this empty all the time, but I guess if it was the place wouldn't have enough revenue to run.
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That's my friend driving the Fire Truck! Not kidding! :joyfull:

So happy I've finally found her in someone's photo!

MinnieM123 · Jul 15, 2017

Just got caught up here with your great TR. Been so busy this past week, that I completely forgot to check in!

So many amazing photos and commentary--can't wait to see what else you post. (Although I know you and Brad are at D23 now, so you're obviously occupied with that presently--but that's o.k. I'll read your TRs in any order, whenever you want to post them!) :happy:

Have fun at D23 today, and I hope you get into whatever panels, presentations, etc. you want to see.

ajrwdwgirl · Jul 16, 2017

HappyDisFam said:
That's my friend driving the Fire Truck! Not kidding! So happy I've finally found her in someone's photo!

That's pretty cool.

MinnieM123 said:
Just got caught up here with your great TR. Been so busy this past week, that I completely forgot to check in!

So many amazing photos and commentary--can't wait to see what else you post. (Although I know you and Brad are at D23 now, so you're obviously occupied with that presently--but that's o.k. I'll read your TRs in any order, whenever you want to post them!)

Have fun at D23 today, and I hope you get into whatever panels, presentations, etc. you want to see.

Thanks Minnie, I'm glad you enjoy the trip reports. I love reading your comments you are always to kind and complimentary, and always seem to notice details or have some insight.

blreinsel · Jul 17, 2017

So jealous that you got to go to D23!!!

ajrwdwgirl · Jul 22, 2017

Hello! Hubs and I are back from California and I think I have finally caught up on sleep and I'm back on Central time. I'm going to try to finish up this trip report and then I will do a little report on Disneyland and D23, both were a blast. And sorry @PacNWTigger we never made it over to the Jolly Holiday bakery so no Matterhorn Macaroon picture.

Hopefully you'll forgive me.

So I left off at the Magic Kingdom and we had been watching the Muppets show, learning about history but just the American parts.

So after the Muppets we went to ride 7D and then made our way to Main Street to bum around and ride the train.

We rode the train just until Frontierland and then we checked out the little shop by Splash Mt while we waited for our Big Thunder fast pass.

And tried on some hats...

Yep, I'm a nerd!

And saw interesting soaps.

ajrwdwgirl · Jul 22, 2017

A little Frontierland fun at the Shootin' Arcarde

We played 2 rounds of Checkers, Brad beat me both times. I hate checkers, I'm not very strategic.

Then time to explore mysterious jungles....

And enjoy some tikis

Then lunch at the Skipper Canteen. This seriously is one of my favorite restaurants at WDW. I like the food, the theme, and interaction with the cast members. Good times!

My first alcoholic beverage in the Magic Kingdom! It felt a little taboo.

No rum and Cokes at the Skipper Canteen so he went with a non-alcoholic Punchline Punch.

I got the tastes like chicken because it is. I was a little worried about the spicy sauce on it, but I loved it.

Brad got the lamb chops, he enjoyed them. I didn't try them.

ajrwdwgirl · Jul 22, 2017

We got a kungaloosh for dessert, Brad was pretty full so I got to eat most of it. Then we wandered around the restaurant for a bit and looked at some of the fun details. I like to look at the book titles in the library area, there are a lot of great pun.

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After lunch we headed back to the hotel and rested before heading out to Hollywood Studios. Just a random bus picture while we waited.

We had a fast pass for the first showing of Pixar Live. We really enjoyed the show although it was a little hot in that theater. I thought the live orchestra was a unique way to showcase the music of these movies for a theme park. I know some people didn't like having the characters come out but I think it was a nice way to break up the performance. I do think they wanted most of the people to be crying through the first part of the show, the scenes from Toy Story 3 and Up made me a mess for a little bit.

ajrwdwgirl · Jul 22, 2017

After the Pixar show we went over to Toy Story Mania (I had been able to get us a fast pass when we were seated for the Pixar show). Then we made our way over to the Yacht Club for dinner at our favorite restaurant at WDW, the Yachtsman Steakhouse. We had a nice boat ride over.

We always seem to be seated near this area and the windows, which is fine because I like the view and the ceiling area is fantastic.

Ceiling area

View from our table. For some reason my husband seemed super surprised that people were still swimming at this time of day. I don't know why he was so surprised, it was June and hot out and the pool here is fantastic!

Time for food!
My rib-eye

Brad's Kansas city cut steak and malt vinegar fries. (I had malt vinegar fries too.) And you can kind of see his serving of caramelized onions in the white dish.

We got two orders of the truffle mac and cheese (really my reason for eating here). Our server told us that the servings are shareable but we wanted extra for a breakfast of leftovers. I was a little worried it wouldn't taste as good reheated but it did.

ajrwdwgirl · Jul 22, 2017

No dessert for us at the Yachtsman, not with what was nearby. And what was nearby? Ample Hills Creamery at the Boardwalk!
I'm usually a chocolate only girl, but I really liked their oatmeal ice cream on the last visit, so I got that and a scoop of the chocolate milk and cookies. Both were good but again I LOVED the oatmeal ice cream. In a related note, Ben and Jerry's has an oatmeal ice cream now and while it isn't as good as Ample Hills it is a nice substitute, I may be stock piling some pints of it in my freezer.

Hubs got the peanut butter cup.

We relaxed on the Boardwalk and enjoyed the view before catching a boat back to Hollywood Studios to catch a bus back to the Pop.

While waiting for the boat, we saw some of the fireworks from the Magic Kingdom which was pretty cool.

We made it back to HS before the rush after their fireworks and had a nice bus ride back to the Pop.

ajrwdwgirl · Jul 22, 2017

Saturday June 24

Animal Kingdom day today. It had early entry there today, so we were there with the crowd nice and early. Our plan was to rope drop the River Journey because we had a fast pass for Flights of Passage later, but when we got to Pandora the river journey ride was down so we continued with the crowd to Flights of Passage. We had wanted to see the regular queue anyway, and we saw it but the line kept moving fairly fast so I slowed a little to take some pictures but some turned out blurry. Also Brad started talking to the people in front of us in line because they were wearing Cubs World Series champ shirts and it turns out the people knew Brad's sister and her family as they live in the same town and the kids all go to the same school. Sometimes, it is amazing of how small a world it really is.

So here are some scenes of going through Pandora and Flights of Passage line.

ajrwdwgirl · Jul 22, 2017

Still some more scenes from the queue

Ok, now for my little review of Flights of Passage. I enjoyed the attraction a lot. I think that the ride vehicle has interesting effects that happen while you are sitting on it that add the to sensation that it is a banshee that you are riding. I think the visual effects and film you watch while riding are really well done. There are other special effects of mist and smells that add to that as well. I could really let myself imagine that I was flying. I was able to ride it two more times that day and I enjoyed each flight. However, on the second ride I noticed the scent a lot more and I wasn't a fan (It smelled a little, to me anyway of a watermelon and rotten banana), it still didn't smell that good on the next flight. There were times where the dipping and movement during the flight made my stomach lurch a little and I never have any issue on rides. I could probably spin in the teacups all day and not get sick. I also felt the 3-D glass were too big and I felt like they were going to fall off, so that disrupted the flight a little too.

With all of that, I really did enjoy the attraction, I will ride again. It is very advanced compared to other types of that ride at Disney and it make me excited to see what Disney will do with the new lands they are developing. I had listened to and read reviews of the ride before going and many of them were so thrilled with the ride and the sensation of flying that they were moved to tears (literally) and that it was so emotional for them. I did not feel that way, no tears were shed by me. I did leaving thinking, "Boy, that is really well done and it will be fun to do it again." Next time I go to WDW it will be a priority to get a fastpass for it, because the lines get so long and it is fun to do, but not necessarily because it is my top ten favorite attractions.

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ajrwdwgirl · Jul 22, 2017

So with all the crowds flooding into Pandora we left to go over to Expedition Everest. This one is definitely in my Top 10, and by now it was about 30 minutes into EMH and the line was dead. I went on 3 times in a row (Brad 2 times because he gets motion sick after too many times in a row). So I was a happy girl, people can have their Flights of Passage, I will take Everest!

A wave to all the people standing in line for rides at Pandora!

When I got off the third time, Brad tentatively asked if I wanted to go again. It was tempting because it was still a walk on, but I had felt my blood sugar drop and I knew I should do something about it. We hadn't had the breakfast of leftover truffle mac and cheese as planned, we slept in a few more minutes instead of doing breakfast.

So we walked over towards the safari, I figured we could find something in Harambe, we walked past a Joffrey's coffee stand. Well I hadn't had my coffee yet either so we stopped and had coffee (for me), Coke (for Brad), and doughnuts. We shared the doughnut, as they are pretty big and I didn't want to spike my blood sugar too much.

We relaxed at a table by the Yak and Yeti and enjoyed our little breakfast. There was some interesting signage on the walls. And I think someone in the decorating department of Animal Kingdom must have a thing for shoes, stay tuned....

Then we made it over to the safari for our first fast pass of the day once the park had officially opened.

becca_ · Jul 22, 2017

That donut looks delicious.. might have to add it to my snack list for January :hungry:

ajrwdwgirl · Jul 22, 2017

It was a pretty good safari, good driver who knew the spiel but wasn't annoying, did the right amount of talking.

It was just a regular safari, hippos, wild dogs, giraffes becoming "close" friends!

After the safari, it was hot and Brad didn't want to do the trail so we went back over to the Asia section for our Everest fast pass. On the way we passed this signage by the Harambe market. Again about shoes....

ajrwdwgirl · Jul 22, 2017

becca_ said:
That donut looks delicious.. might have to add it to my snack list for January

They are pretty good, I know they have them at the Joffrey's kiosk at the front of Epcot and I am 99% sure they are at the Joffrey's kiosks in Hollywood Studios by Tower of Terror and Toy Story.

ajrwdwgirl · Jul 22, 2017

We stopped at a Photopass location with the Tree of Life, it was a pretty spot by the river and kind of hidden.

And we rode Everest again, and did a photopass.

I was trying to do a baby Groot dance pose, it was semi-successful. I think Brad was trying to do his Moose pose, but I guess the moose only has one antler.

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And we were yetis!

Back over to Pandora and we were a little hungry, the doughnut only goes so far! So we decided to try the Satu'li Canteen again, this time we got the beef bowl with a base of rice and the cream herb dressing. It was fantastic! I'm glad we got one to share, it was a lot of food and we were both full afterwards.

We also shared the chocolate cake. I thought it was really good. Brad said the chocolate was too dark and bitter and didn't eat much so I got most of it.

The inside of the cake.

And some canteen decor.

ajrwdwgirl · Jul 22, 2017

Inside the Canteen

Brad decided not to use his Flights of Passage fast pass and let me use his band for back to back rides. So there isn't a whole lot to see in the fast pass line past the initial start of the line but here are a couple pictures.
This might be a hidden Mickey, maybe a bit of a stretch but kind of...

And the pre-show....this guy really needs a shave. So much for the clean cut Disney look here!

Shortly after my 3rd flight of the day, we needed to head over to Disney Springs and to the Lake Buena Vista Wyndham to pick up our car rental, we were taking a car to the cruise port the next day. Our plan was to take a bus to Saratoga Springs and walk over, but by the time we got out of the turnstiles at AK it was hot we didn't feel like waiting, so I clicked on Uber and as we walked up to the meeting spot for Uber our driver was there and waving to us. We had a great ride, it was a retired lady who loved Disney, she was super fun!

We picked up our car and decided since we were close, we checked out the Disney Outlet at Vineland. We got a few things, including a Pirate shirt for Brad that he could wear on Pirate night on the cruise but it was packed! And we had to head back over to Disney Springs to meet up with our cruise group for a pre-cruise party at Paradiso. We were part of the WDW Radio group cruise, it was our first group cruise and it turned out super fun. I know WDW Radio has some lovers and haters but overall it is a fun podcast and after hearing them talk about other group cruises they had done we thought it would be fun. So we did the pre-party at Paradiso and that was cool and did a little shopping at Disney Springs. It was nice just to load up the car with our purchases.

I did a "little" Basin shopping. Okay, I probably bought too much, but it didn't make me go over the weight limit for my checked bag so it's all good! And how cute are these soaps!?!

bee · Jul 22, 2017

ajrwdwgirl said:
And we had to head back over to Disney Springs to meet up with our cruise group for a pre-cruise party at Paradiso. We were part of the WDW Radio group cruise, it was our first group cruise and it turned out super fun. I know WDW Radio has some lovers and haters but overall it is a fun podcast and after hearing them talk about other group cruises they had done we thought it would be fun. So we did the pre-party at Paradiso and that was cool and did a little shopping at Disney Springs. It was nice just to load up the car with our purchases.

I'm a fan of WDW Radio. I think Lou is a great host and he always has knowledgeable guests. I will say that in the last year it feels a little bit like he's running out of things to talk about, but I still listen every week and really enjoyed the recent interview with Lee Cockerell.

Trip Report Double Double Dip Trip June 2017 (Completed!)

PacNWTigger

Well-Known Member

ajrwdwgirl

MissingDisney

Well-Known Member

MinnieM123

ajrwdwgirl

blreinsel

Well-Known Member

ajrwdwgirl

ajrwdwgirl

ajrwdwgirl

ajrwdwgirl

ajrwdwgirl

ajrwdwgirl

ajrwdwgirl

ajrwdwgirl

becca_

Well-Known Member

ajrwdwgirl

ajrwdwgirl

ajrwdwgirl

ajrwdwgirl

bee

Well-Known Member