Trip Report I'm the Wizard and you look lost like Dorothy

This was my wifes third trip to WDW in less than 4 months. Her mother and her have visited twice this year (and planning a 3rd trip in May!) This was my first trip since August of 2017. Needless to say, my wifes Disney kung fu is much stronger than mine at the moment and it definitely showed throughout our trip as I made a few directional and beer cart mistakes, but C,(aka Bruce Lee) was there to guide me along the way, hence the title of this report. Just to clarify, I was Dorothy. By the end of the second day I was referring to her as "plaid vest", lol.

Our journey begins on a Friday afternoon as we prepped to leave. I dropped the dogs off and made a few stops for supplies (beer) and C went to get a Disney gift card.

Precious cargo!

We were all packed and planned to head out around 3 am which would put us in O-town by 10 am. I was up and ready by 2:45 but in true lady like fashion, C was taking her sweet time double and triple checking her bags. We finally hit the road an hour behind schedule, but it was no big deal.

It was smooth sailing all the way down with good weather. We have a tradition of listening to paranormal podcasts on the drive. For this trip we listened to an update on one of the most intriguing mysteries to us, which is the "Missing 411" series with David Paulides. He investigates the completely bizarre circumstances surrounding people going missing in national parks. Definitely worth checking out if your into that kinda thing.

Around 11 am we left reality behind and entered the bubble!

Within 2 miles of being on property I had my first "Dorothy" moment. C (the Wizard) told me to stay to the left when the lane split and it would lead us to the Epcot resorts. I went right and assured her it was the correct way. A few minutes later we ended up here:

This was my first mistake of the trip, nor shall it be the last........

We passed through the entrance and got back on course an soon after we arrived at BWV and we were home!!

We had not received any message for the room being ready but I went to front desk just to make sure. I had a fun exchange with the CM's at the desk when I told them It would be perfectly fine for them to upgrade us to the Steeplechase Suite (largest suite at BW), they chuckled and I (jokingly) told them I was gonna get George Kalogridis (President of WDW) on the phone. She replied with "I'll just call Bob Iger and over ride him". They were very sweet and we had a good laugh. Our room wasnt ready but they also said I did not have a card on file for magic band charging. I found it odd because I had just updated my info and checked before we left. Oh well, I had them update it but this would be the first of several magic band charging issues.

We had made FP's at Epcot so we cold stay close to the room when it was ready.

Soon we were in Epcot! The weather was great and we headed to pick up our AP F&G magnets.

With our magnets secured, it was time to get the party started!

We headed to The Land for some food and brews. The new turkey sandwich is good, but we still prefer the previous version. It was a great lunch and Jai Alai IPA was by far the best choice of beer that Sunshine Seasons offers.

Day one was off to a great start! Thanks for following along and ill get part 2 up soon.

 

[MegRuss626]

Day 1 contd...

Please excuse the lack of photos for the first part of this. I used my Sony (GoPro style camera) for the pics and we can not find it since we got back. We double and triple checked the room before we left but its not in any of our bags. Ill be calling BW today to check. Ill be brief with the descriptions since there is no photos for the first part.


We arrived at MK and it was great weather and low crowd levels. We were on monorail Gold for the ride from Poly to MK and we could both not help but notice how bad it was not only for the interior but the ride itself. Very clunky and loud. As it came to a stop, one of the panels on the door was shaking so rapidly I was waiting for it to fall off. It was great news to hear this morning that they will be getting all new monorails for WDW! The Mark IV's have had a great run and will always be iconic to me, but its time to upgrade!

We had made FP for BTMR using our floating FP. We decided to head towards HM first and work our way around to Big Thunder. HM had a wait time of 15 min but we walked right on. As we exited and were walking down the covered path, there was a CM standing there with the door open that leads back into the queue area (the area after you exit the stretching room). She told us it was pouring outside and we could cut through and ride again if we wanted. Of course we did! It was pretty coo to get to walk through that hallway. It was not anything special but we had never been through there so it was fun for us.

After our second ride the rain had let up. We headed to POTC. Another walk on! It was my first time riding with the new red head scene. While I think they did a great job in terms of aesthetic, it definitely seems a bit silly and takes away from the overall story line (IMO). We enjoyed our ride and when we exited we decided to ride again since it was still a walk on.
We used the @Longers technique and chose the back row and dabbed on them haters (ya, I know its not BTMR, but hey, cut a guy some slack,lol). The lady in second sitting next to the two boys looks so sad.
View attachment 281622


We got to BTMR and even though we used our FP, it was another walk on. We decided to make it a complete six pack and ride twice since we did the same for HM and POTC. We issued the "6 pack challenge" to our family after completion. You must ride three rides, each one twice during EMH to complete the challenge!!! Feel free to give it a try.

We had not ridden BTMR in the dark in a long time but I must say that we fell COMPLETELY in love with the ride all over again. We have always enjoyed it but somehow this trip it really latched onto us.

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Finally a picture!! On our way back towards Fantasyland we saw Peter Pan had a very short line so we jumped in .

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The ride stopped for about a minute or so directly over the city scene and it was great to look around at all the small details.

After Pan we took some photos in FL

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We walked over to Big Top Treats for a snack. C went with a chocolate chip cookie and I got my fav, the marshmallows on a mickey straw!

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I had never tried this one with the sugar coated mickey design. I would not get it again as the granules of sugar were a bit overwhelming. Still good, nut the m&m is my favorite.

We enjoyed our treats and walked around enjoying the mostly empty park on our way out. We could have rode a few attractions but we took advantage of being able to soak in the atmosphere sans strollers and people everywhere. It was definitely the right choice.

We hopped on a bus and headed home for the day. Great first day! good weather and good crowds!

Up next....Breakfast at Boma and noticing the psychological issues with some Disney Marathoners.

So fun story about the HM hallway....in 2015, we left my grandma on her ECV to watch the electrical parade while my mom, my husband, my sister, her fiancé, and myself rode HM. Upon exiting the ride, we encountered the same option to go down the hallway to ride again because it was a torrential downpour. We were just as excited until we got halfway down the hallway and we all stopped and went “oh ”.....grandma was out there in the monsoon with no poncho We sadly left the hallway to play frogger to get to Momento Mori to buy ponchos then to the hub to save grandma! We still crack up thinking about her face when we got back to her

 

[ScarletBegonias]

I'm in !

 

[wdisney9000]

Trying to recreate some Baseline Taphouse action and I snagged some Green Flash beer. I went with the Soul Style Bright and Tropical, 6.5% , 75 IBU,

And some Mellow Mushroom pizza on the side

Buffalo Chicken, and a Veggie pie. I realize that Base House does not sell pizza which renders my presentation innaccurte, but they do serve Green Flash beer and that makes it somewhat official. Work with me here.

 

[MinnieM123]

That pizza looks delicious, but still not as good as the one your wife made (referencing a photo you posted of a pizza she made in a cast iron skillet, about 2 years ago). That's right--I still remember that photo--can't get it outta my head. (Good food always makes an indelible impression in my memory!)

 

[FlaggNL]

Thanks for sharing, following along!

 

[bee]

Trying to recreate some Baseline Taphouse action and I snagged some Green Flash beer. I went with the Soul Style Bright and Tropical, 6.5% , 75 IBU,
View attachment 281855

And some Mellow Mushroom pizza on the side
View attachment 281856

Buffalo Chicken, and a Veggie pie. I realize that Base House does not sell pizza which renders my presentation innaccurte, but they do serve Green Flash beer and that makes it somewhat official. Work with me here.

Now you've got me craving Mellow Mushroom! M and I went there fairly often in college and got either "Magical Mystery Tour" or "Mega Veggie" (which don't seem to be on the menu anymore).

 

[DisneyJeff]

I'm following along!! I don't know what it is, but something about your trip reports always makes me very thirsty!!! Love It!!!

 

[amjt660]

Following along

Love the extremely simple packing of the suitcase

White Tshirts and shorts

You going commando for the whole trip!!!!

Max

 

[wdisney9000]

Day 2 contd...


We arrived at AKL and headed down to check in at Boma. We were given a pager and told it would be appx 15-20 minutes. We went back upstairs and out to the Savanna to see if any animals were roaming about. The only animals out there were humans. It was still a very beautiful morning so we enjoyed the weather as we roamed around.

I did spot a wild hot momma and was quick enough to get a photo!

I always get some extra love when I take her to Boma, lol.

And oh ya, I found my Go Pro camera. Well, C found it in one of the bags that I had checked but somehow missed. Shocker, lol. I wasnt able to see the quality of the pictures it took until I hooked up to the computer and transferred the files. All in all, its not a bad camera. It takes great photos and videos in the proper light. But a majority of the pictures in low light do not look good. I perhaps could have played with the settings a bit more but I hadnt really looked over the manual. I paid about $80 for it on Amazon and it came with a bunch of attachments It can easily fit in your pocket and switches from camera to video quickly. I am pleased with it.

We took a few minutes to relax by the fire pit upstairs and a few minutes later our pager went off. It was time for Boma!

It was packed, but that was expected. We got a great table by the window. We wasted no time and got our first round of food

I was excited to try the corned beef hash and the goat cheese eggs. They did not disappoint!! The Jungle Juice was awesome as well.

Th buffets at Disney can be a bit irritating as people linger and take their time looking at all the food. I have no problem skipping past them and grabbing what I need. There are certain rules of etiquette people should follow while at WDW. Skipping around someone in the buffet line is acceptable if you are quick and grab what you need and get back in formation. As we were moving along I started noticing a pattern and this is when I began taking note of the mentality of some of the Disney marathoners.

I saw two Distinct types of marathoners. Group A (what I refer to as "normal") would be wearing a normal outfit with their Disney Marathon shirt to display they took part in the event. Group B (I refer to as "Attention seekers") looked as if a Disney marathon merchandise store vomited all over them. I completely understand the fun and excitement that can go with participating in a major event such as a Disney marathon, but it seemed like the people from group A were actual marathon runners because they were much more "physically fit". Group B fell more on the side of people who paid Disney to be able to get a medal and wear it around all day, along with their Disney marathon shirt, hat and even keeping on their marathon runner number (the piece of paper they pin to their shirt w/ runner number). I even saw a few (from group B) that had clearly taken a shower, changed into fresh Disney Marathon clothes and then pinned their runner number tag back on their fresh shirt. I mention this because I continued a notice that some people had little/no buffet etiquette and were cutting in and gumming up the works. The common denominator was Marathon Group B folk. I suppose they treat the buffet the same way as the marathon, which is they paid money and dont respect the actual process and feel entitled. And dont get me wrong, just as many non marathoner people at Disney act the same way, I am just pointing out the difference between what I felt was the two types of marathoners. I hope nobody takes offense. I am aware that many people are trying to get in shape and a Disney marathon is a great motivator to keep pushing harder. But if you just finished the race and now you're at the buffet which offers many healthy selections but your plate has more doughnuts and cupcakes than fruit, then I dont wanna hear it.

We took out time with our first plates so we could savor the certain items we had been looking forward too. For our second plates we went wild and loaded up on favorites.

We talked it over and figured two plates was enough and we would grab some dessert. Then we decided we could squeeze in one more plate each. We knew it was a risky game were playing since we would be walking around AK most of the day and the chances of what we call "Boma go Boom Boom" could happen. It was a risk we were willing to take.

Shortly after, our waitress brought out a birthday cupcake for C. Her actual birthday was a few days before we arrived, but were celebrating still.

She was kind enough to give me a bite

We finished up breakfast and headed to the bust stop to get to AK. We love the metal plate of Africa with animals on it that sits in the entry way. A small group cleared out and we got a quick picture of it.

Boma was excellent as always. It was our first time there for breakfast and we will definitely be back.


Up next...AK

 

[Plowboy]

Day 2 contd...


We arrived at AKL and headed down to check in at Boma. We were given a pager and told it would be appx 15-20 minutes. We went back upstairs and out to the Savanna to see if any animals were roaming about. The only animals out there were humans. It was still a very beautiful morning so we enjoyed the weather as we roamed around.

View attachment 282034

I did spot a wild hot momma and was quick enough to get a photo!

View attachment 282033

I always get some extra love when I take her to Boma, lol.

And oh ya, I found my Go Pro camera. Well, C found it in one of the bags that I had checked but somehow missed. Shocker, lol. I wasnt able to see the quality of the pictures it took until I hooked up to the computer and transferred the files. All in all, its not a bad camera. It takes great photos and videos in the proper light. But a majority of the pictures in low light do not look good. I perhaps could have played with the settings a bit more but I hadnt really looked over the manual. I paid about $80 for it on Amazon and it came with a bunch of attachments It can easily fit in your pocket and switches from camera to video quickly. I am pleased with it.

We took a few minutes to relax by the fire pit upstairs and a few minutes later our pager went off. It was time for Boma!

It was packed, but that was expected. We got a great table by the window. We wasted no time and got our first round of food

View attachment 282040

View attachment 282037

I was excited to try the corned beef hash and the goat cheese eggs. They did not disappoint!! The Jungle Juice was awesome as well.

Th buffets at Disney can be a bit irritating as people linger and take their time looking at all the food. I have no problem skipping past them and grabbing what I need. There are certain rules of etiquette people should follow while at WDW. Skipping around someone in the buffet line is acceptable if you are quick and grab what you need and get back in formation. As we were moving along I started noticing a pattern and this is when I began taking note of the mentality of some of the Disney marathoners.

I saw two Distinct types of marathoners. Group A (what I refer to as "normal") would be wearing a normal outfit with their Disney Marathon shirt to display they took part in the event. Group B (I refer to as "Attention seekers") looked as if a Disney marathon merchandise store vomited all over them. I completely understand the fun and excitement that can go with participating in a major event such as a Disney marathon, but it seemed like the people from group A were actual marathon runners because they were much more "physically fit". Group B fell more on the side of people who paid Disney to be able to get a medal and wear it around all day, along with their Disney marathon shirt, hat and even keeping on their marathon runner number (the piece of paper they pin to their shirt w/ runner number). I even saw a few (from group B) that had clearly taken a shower, changed into fresh Disney Marathon clothes and then pinned their runner number tag back on their fresh shirt. I mention this because I continued a notice that some people had little/no buffet etiquette and were cutting in and gumming up the works. The common denominator was Marathon Group B folk. I suppose they treat the buffet the same way as the marathon, which is they paid money and dont respect the actual process and feel entitled. And dont get me wrong, just as many non marathoner people at Disney act the same way, I am just pointing out the difference between what I felt was the two types of marathoners. I hope nobody takes offense. I am aware that many people are trying to get in shape and a Disney marathon is a great motivator to keep pushing harder. But if you just finished the race and now you're at the buffet which offers many healthy selections but your plate has more doughnuts and cupcakes than fruit, then I dont wanna hear it.

We took out time with our first plates so we could savor the certain items we had been looking forward too. For our second plates we went wild and loaded up on favorites. View attachment 282043

We talked it over and figured two plates was enough and we would grab some dessert. Then we decided we could squeeze in one more plate each. We knew it was a risky game were playing since we would be walking around AK most of the day and the chances of what we call "Boma go Boom Boom" could happen. It was a risk we were willing to take.

Shortly after, our waitress brought out a birthday cupcake for C. Her actual birthday was a few days before we arrived, but were celebrating still.

View attachment 282039

She was kind enough to give me a bite

View attachment 282038

We finished up breakfast and headed to the bust stop to get to AK. We love the metal plate of Africa with animals on it that sits in the entry way. A small group cleared out and we got a quick picture of it.
View attachment 282044

Boma was excellent as always. It was our first time there for breakfast and we will definitely be back.


Up next...AK

When in doubt, always go with the third plate!

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

Following along! MY DH's birthday is always a few days before we go to Disney in November and he always wears his button! Celebrating for an extra week in Disney is super fun! There's something extra special about BTMRR at night! Lucky you got the short line for PAN and nice of the CM to let you down the haunted hallway!

The carving of Africa in the floor is incredible! We had a great experience at Boma in 2014!

 

[MinnieM123]

I always get some extra love when I take her to Boma, lol.

That's a sweet picture. I think you should get it framed and display it at home. (Then, if either one of you has a rough day at work, for example, you could look at the photo when you come home. Memories from the "happiest place on earth" would bring a smile to your face.)

 

[Sabrina1705]

Thanks for following along. I hope you like pictures of beer, lol!!!

As a Belgian how could I do not love beer

 

[blreinsel]

On our way to the bus we noticed a group of 4 female teenagers basically having a selfie photo shoot near the garden area of the bus stop. I can understand taking a few pics before deciding on a good one but these girls were way over the top. They were standing on the ledge of the posts and twisting their arms in the most painful looking positions to get a certain angle for the pictures. Then they began taking the "intentional candid" photos of themselves as they pretended to stare off in the distance like they were on the cover of a Christian rock band album cover. We watched for several minutes as they easily must have used 2 gigabits of memory on their phones with the all the pictures they took. It was good people watching for us, lol.

I absolutely HATE this.

I have ranted before about how much I LOVE the nachos at Captain Cooks and they did not disappoint!

 

[Songbird76]

Day 2


We had a Boma ADR for breakfast at 8:50. I was up around 6:30 am and C was still sound asleep. I had some coffee on the patio and watched a truck load of strollers get unpacked.
View attachment 281633

I took my second cup of coffee and strolled around the resort while it was still quiet. I've always enjoyed morning walks around our resort. It's a great way to get a Disney day started.
View attachment 281634
I strolled over to the Boardwalk and caught some marathon action.
View attachment 281636

It was great seeing all the support the runners had from people on the sides lines.

Soon after I went back to the room and C was up and getting ready. We decided to get an Uber over to AKL to save time and left extra early as we wanted time to walk around the resort. That wound up being a good idea because we hit major traffic due to the Marathon and made it to AK with only about 20 minutes to spare.

As we waited outside for the Uber to pull up I watched a lady approach a CM and ask where the bus stops were. The bust stops are a very short walk from the resort entrance (appx 50 yards). The CM pointed to the path and told the lady it was directly around the corner. The woman scoffed and said "we have to walk there"? C and I were confused as to why she was upset about it and joked that she must have expected to be teleported to the bus stop. The woman then said "we had to walk all the way from our room and now we have to walk over there". It seriously is not far to the bus stops. Then the woman asks about the boats for transportation and I could not hear her but C said the woman was upset because they had walked to the boats expecting boat service to MK and we're frustrated about having to walk back to the front of resort. Either way, she have the CM an attitude that was completely uncalled for. I wanted to tell her that the young CM had nothing to do with the transportation set up and design and it was pointless to take her feelings out on her.

Our Uber pulled up and we're hopped in. It was smooth sailing until we hit the overpass. Traffic came to halt.
View attachment 281638
The marathoners had taken over the roads.

It didn't bother us and we were having a great conversation with our driver who had recently moved to Orlando with his family.

What was tragic were the completely rude drivers who were trying to use the turning lane to creep ahead and then switch back into the right lane. It made the traffic much more worse than it needed to be. Then a bus (not Disney bus) tried to sneak in and jump in front of an actual.Disney bus and nearly hit it. Kudos to the Disney bus driver who was not allowing the other bus to get over and to be quite frank, there simply wasn't enough room anyway for the bus to make it so the Disney bus driver did the right thing. Nonetheless the other bus kept trying and eventually forced the Disney to nearly jump the curb. It was insane. I started filming in the event there was an accident. It was seriously stupid what the bus driver did. Not only did the driver put his own passengers at risk, but also the Disney bus passengers.
View attachment 281642View attachment 281643View attachment 281644

These are just a few pics i snapped but it doesn't don't justice.

Eventually we got to AKL. It took appx 40 minutes to get there from BW.

Up next... breakfast!!!!

Wow.....that is insane! Did you report him? I get that you want to get your passengers to the destination in a timely manner, but so does every other driver on that road, and you won't do it by causing an accident and having to wait for police to show up to write a report, etc. What did the guy think he was going to accomplish? And how much faster did he think it was going to get him there?

Those nachos look so good!! What exactly is on those? It doesn't really look like nacho cheese, but I don't know what it is then.

 

[KBLovedDisney]

The hubs and I listen to StuffYouShouldKnow podcasts on our drive to Disney!

Yay! Other podcasts listeners!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

As a marathoner myself, I agree. After you've run a race, and showered, you should not be pinning your bib BACK on your clothes! Very odd. While it is a HUGE accomplishment to complete a full marathon, I believe that is over the top.

 

[lostpro9het]

Day 2 contd...
I I even saw a few (from group B) that had clearly taken a shower, changed into fresh Disney Marathon clothes and then pinned their runner number tag back on their fresh shirt. I mention this because I continued a notice that some people had little/no buffet etiquette and were cutting in and gumming up the works. The common denominator was Marathon Group B folk. I suppose they treat the buffet the same way as the marathon, which is they paid money and dont respect the actual process and feel entitled. And dont get me wrong, just as many non marathoner people at Disney act the same way, I am just pointing out the difference between what I felt was the two types of marathoners. I hope nobody takes offense. I am aware that many people are trying to get in shape and a Disney marathon is a great motivator to keep pushing harder. But if you just finished the race and now you're at the buffet which offers many healthy selections but your plate has more doughnuts and cupcakes than fruit, then I dont wanna hear it.

This...this right here is why we’re tamboooooooooo brothers for life!

 

[wdisney9000]

This...this right here is why we’re tamboooooooooo brothers for life!

 

[Gurt]

Just in case not enough people have mentioned it those nachos look delish!