Trip Report The No Rain, Red Card, Vanna White, July JOURNEY! *COMPLETED*

So my most recent trip report was 44 years in the making ~ this one has taken only a month . And for any of you keeping score, this is my 5th trip report. This year. I have been to WDW five times in 2016 and have plans to return in September. And October. And December. (Please don't hate me.)

Those of you who are tired of reading about my Disney escapades can exit now, no hard feelings. Those of you who have read any of my other reports know what you're in for and I hope I can keep your interest. I really appreciate your kind comments.

To that end I will start by playing tag ~ @TrolleyFollower91 @Doc Disney @TheMouseFan @MinnieM123 @Tiggerish @BWK05 @Gabe1 @samantha788 @coachwnh @Figment Forever @figmentfan423 @epcotisbest @Zipitidoda @MerMom1981 @LisaBelle @Matty30 @Courtney6682 @bee @lostpro9het @cgersic @sheriffwoody @blgauger @meganwdw @fractal @MississippiBelle @jrogue @ScarletBegonias @LadyBelle @disneypearl @Tony the Tigger @tcool123 @prfctlyximprct @Longers @gwhb75 @Beckett @Ciara @ajrwdwgirl @FlaggNL @mishel635 @myhappyplace

If I have omitted anyone, please forgive me and know it was not intentional! A great big thank you in advance to everyone who follows along .

"Now give me a little intro there, Gomer" (I clearly have seen the Country Bear Jamboree way too many times...)

Cast: Tuvalu and Em, a girls' summer getaway!
Date: July 23-27
Resort: Polynesian Village (surprised? Didn't think so...)

Did all our wishes come true? You'll have to wait and see.

 

[Tiggerish]

Yay for Em's TSMM win! And she was the more accurate as well--I usually notice that the high scorer is less accurate, so double win!!

Starring Rolls should definitely stay open until dinnertime.

 

[epcotisbest]

How long are you here for this time? Are you staying close?

Just a quick getaway. Here until Saturday Staying offsite. Went to SeaWorld today. I am not as dedicated to Disney as our friend @Tuvalu

 

[epcotisbest]

Now don't get me wrong, I admire Tuvalu and family and enjoy her trip reports, I just am not as infatuated with WDW as I used to be. I think we will still enjoy the resorts, but spend less time at the parks. We went to DS last night and sorta got bored. The Coca Cola place probably one of the most useless wastes of time in all of Orlando. Maybe I was expecting something similar to Atlanta.

 

[Tuvalu]

Sorry to hear EM was not able to get her cupcake. I will see if DD or DS has one for her in the coming weeks.

Please post a pic if you do.

So I'm not the only one who found the fries to be "meh"? The smores shake looks good though.

Fries = bad Shake = yum

This is my FAVORITE cupcake in all of WDW!!! I must have one each time I visit. (I don't recall exactly when they first introduced the Darth cupcake, but I do know it's been available at DHS for at least a few years now.) My "go to" spot for this (with a cup of coffee) is Starring Rolls Cafe.

Darth was introduced several years ago as a "specialty" cupcake during the Star Wars weekends time frame. Em, being a huge choc/PB fan, instantly fell in love. When Star Wars weekends were discontinued, Darth became a "regular" cupcake and Em was delighted! So it is especially sad if Darth has gone back to limited-time availability.

Yay for Em's TSMM win! And she was the more accurate as well--I usually notice that the high scorer is less accurate, so double win!!.

I am starting to suspect that Em is your favorite....

 

[gwhb75]

Please post a pic if you do.
Darth was introduced several years ago as a "specialty" cupcake during the Star Wars weekends time frame. Em, being a huge choc/PB fan, instantly fell in love. When Star Wars weekends were discontinued, Darth became a "regular" cupcake and Em was delighted! So it is especially sad if Darth has gone back to limited-time availability.

It is still a regular cupcake at Backlot Cafe (at least it was when we were there in August). Maybe they just ran out the day you were there.

 

[Scoppin]

It is still a regular cupcake at Backlot Cafe (at least it was when we were there in August). Maybe they just ran out the day you were there.

This is good to know. This is where I am planning on having lunch while at HS.

 

[Gabe1]

It is isn't just Your luck with the monorail @Tuvalu monorails down most of the afternoon, errrr

but at least the Epcot loop was up

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Thanks for the tag! I'm super late to the party!

I hate to bring it up again, but the vomiting man on the monorail makes me want to cry!!! At least he got off in time! I have a really bad vomit phobia, so that would have ruined my day.

You and Em look like you're having a great time! Can't wait to read more!

 

[Tiggerish]

I am starting to suspect that Em is your favorite....

Haha, you know I'm equally fond of both of you.

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

Haha, you know I'm equally fond of both of you.

She winked because she actually likes me better.

 

[MinnieM123]

She winked because she actually likes me better.

Well, I must be fickle, because I like all three of you!

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

Well, I must be fickle, because I like all three of you!

And we love you @MinnieM123

 

[MinnieM123]

And we love you @MinnieM123

Awwwww . . . I feel special now.

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Your smores shake... oh my goodness! Em's Darth vader cupcake, YUM! Your Mama's steak and mac and cheese... are you sensing a theme here?! Man, my food list is just getting longer and longer thanks to your trip reports! Poly again looks sooooo beautiful. I love the shot of the pool!

 

[Tuvalu]

Your smores shake... oh my goodness! Em's Darth vader cupcake, YUM! Your Mama's steak and mac and cheese... are you sensing a theme here?! Man, my food list is just getting longer and longer thanks to your trip reports! Poly again looks sooooo beautiful. I love the shot of the pool!

You are going to be in food heaven once you are finally in the world!!

 

[Tuvalu]

You're taking a long time to finish this trip report. Would you type something already??!!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

Ok, Kona, here we go....

Tuesday, July 26

Breakfast consisted of those highly-nutritious Entenmann's donuts again with some in-room coffee for Em....I was serious about not stepping foot in Capt. Cook's another morning!

Unfortunately, there was an annoyance we couldn't avoid. Raise your hand if you have a guess. Anyone?

If you guessed monorail, you'd be correct. See, Em and I wanted to be at Epcot for rope drop. Staying at a monorail resort should make that easy-peasy, right? After all, transportation to the parks begins one hour prior to park opening. Silly us assumed that would include the monorail.

As Buzz Lightyear would say, "Not today!"

We had to take a bus. A bus that dropped us off nowhere close to the entrance. But we still made it before guests were allowed through the turnstiles. The bald backpack man (below) and his family thought they were in line to board the monorail...they wanted to go to the MK! Once the line began to move, his wife noticed their error. Let's just say he was NOT happy.

Since the turnstiles had opened at 8:45 a.m., we were kept here for another 10 minutes:

No shade. And it was HOT! Em and I were going "old school" this morning, heading for Soarin' without a FP. So were most of the guests you see here. But the CMs kept the crowd under control as they set the walking pace to the Land.

The standby queue has a new interactive game.

This was so much more fun than the former game! There were multiple choice questions and it was similar in format to the "Fastest Finger" segment of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. You don't need to use a phone unless you want your score counted.

Our wait passed quickly and soon we were airborne. Neither of us had previewed the new film and we had no idea what to expect.

In a word ~ Amazing! I loved it!

The quality of the old film was so poor that the new scenes really popped off the screen. The use of CGI did not bother me a whit, as I was enamored by the beauty of the images. Yes, the scene changes are not quite seamless and I miss the original soundtrack (though the new one has some "Soarin-esque" elements to it) but I came off wanting to do it again and again...something I have not felt with the original for a very long time.

 

[LadyBelle]

Your smores shake... oh my goodness! Em's Darth vader cupcake, YUM! Your Mama's steak and mac and cheese... are you sensing a theme here?! Man, my food list is just getting longer and longer thanks to your trip reports! Poly again looks sooooo beautiful. I love the shot of the pool!

I can vouch for the food. I just got back today and am already missing the food!

 

[Tuvalu]

Whenever we tour the parks, I always enjoy reading other people's t-shirts. I saw one that Em (and probably some of you other millennials) could really relate to:

I Can't Adult Today!



So we decided to be children and go visit the gang.

Mickey!

Goofy!

And Minnie!

Then we went to Mickey's store (MouseGear, of course!) where Em purchased the cutest Minnie pj outfit for her niece-to-be.

 

[Tuvalu]

When was the last time you rode the Universe of Energy? Can't remember? Neither could we. While we always enjoyed the Ellen/Jeopardy version (much more engaging and entertaining than the original) it does require a hefty time investment. We have difficulty making it "fit" into our touring.

But with the announcement of the impending UoE closure, Em decided we needed to see it one last time.

Feel the flow
Here we go
Through the Universe of Energy
Feel it grow
See it glow
It's the Universe of Energy!

(To which my then 2-year-old son would add, "STINKS!" We have a recording of him singing along to the original theme song, concluding with a very loud "STINKS!" When I need a good laugh, I dial it up on my iPod. )

When we entered the theater, the pre-show was nearly over. Ellen called us out for being late. Since we wanted the full experience, we opted to hang back and wait for the next show to start.

We had a bench to sit on so waiting was not a hardship. (And we were comfortable watching the pre-show.)

Sorry Em, but I needed proof that we actually rode!

Dinosaurs are cool!