To Infinity and Beyond: A May 2011 Pixar Weekend Trip Report

MEyeSeeKayEY · Nov 4, 2011

Great report so far, Holly! Your pictures are excellent, as always! Can't wait for more!

TakeMeThere81 · Nov 4, 2011

HollyBelle said:
Day 2 continued...

Where were we? Ahh, yes... headed to a melting ski slope!

Snow Stormers anyone?! God Bless America!

Yay!! I love the water parks! It totally gives me warm and fuzzy feelings when I read a TR that includes them, as they have become a huge part of our Disney traditions!! And this picture...HollyBelle you have crossed over to the "crazy pics of WDW guests" darkside! Muhahahaha!!!

HollyBelle said:
And, of course, the number one draw of any water park… the lazy river. Cross Country Creek, I could float down you all afternoon and be perfectly content with my life!

Oh man, you're not kidding!! I love the lazy rivers at both BB and TL!! It is wonderful just floating along, listening to Jimmy Buffett, warm breeze. Heaven.

HollyBelle said:
After dinner we walked outside to see that it had apparently rained quite a bit while we were in the Comteporary. Determined not to let it spoil our fun, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom. We didn’t move the car to the MK lot. Tsk Tsk! This is the one Disney rule that we often break… but hey, at least we take the time to eat at whatever resort we are parked at - we never go there just to park.

Haha, we have been known to park at WL, eat there and then head to MK or something. :drevil: I know, I know, not really supposed to do that...but we DID eat at the resort!!

Great TR so far Holly! Life has been crazy busy/stressful so thank you so much for letting me 'escape' a bit in your Pixar weekend adventure!

Lastly, I'm so glad you got to see the characters you hoped for! Can't wait to read the rest of the TR!

HollyBelle · Nov 4, 2011

MEyeSeeKayEY said:
Great report so far, Holly! Your pictures are excellent, as always! Can't wait for more!

Thanks, Jon! More to come shortly.

TakeMeThere81 said:
Yay!! I love the water parks! It totally gives me warm and fuzzy feelings when I read a TR that includes them, as they have become a huge part of our Disney traditions!! And this picture...HollyBelle you have crossed over to the "crazy pics of WDW guests" darkside! Muhahahaha!!!

Yeah... I debated not posting it. But, uhh... some things just beg to be shared due to their status as comedic gold! :lookaroun :lol:

The water parks rock! And it was so great because we were able to utilize them for nice little two hour afternoon breaks because of the premium pass!

TakeMeThere81 said:
Oh man, you're not kidding!! I love the lazy rivers at both BB and TL!! It is wonderful just floating along, listening to Jimmy Buffett, warm breeze. Heaven.

Yes! Yes, yes, yes - I love that they play Jimmy at the water parks.

TakeMeThere81 said:
Haha, we have been known to park at WL, eat there and then head to MK or something. :drevil: I know, I know, not really supposed to do that...but we DID eat at the resort!!

You know, years back when we would drive up to the security guard at a lot of the resorts (namely the Poly), they would give us a paper pass to put on the dash that had a time frame on it (usually it spanned a solid two hours). Ever since they stopped doing that, we started keeping our car parked there while we head off to the parks. Usually it's just for a morning or an evening based on our touring style. But, like you, we always eat at the resort - we don't just go there to park.

TakeMeThere81 said:
Great TR so far Holly! Life has been crazy busy/stressful so thank you so much for letting me 'escape' a bit in your Pixar weekend adventure!

Lastly, I'm so glad you got to see the characters you hoped for! Can't wait to read the rest of the TR!

I'm so sorry to hear life has been a whirlwind for you lately. And even sorrier to know that you're no longer joining us for the girls cruise. Makes me sad! But I hear it's because exciting waters are ahead for you and the fam, so that's always good news!!

HollyBelle · Nov 4, 2011

Day 4 – Sunday, May 15: DHS/Typhoon Lagoon/AK/DTD/Epcot (here, there, and everywhere)

Wowza… looking back through our pictures I had to do a double take – I’m not sure how we fit all that in, in one day. We fall into the category of folks who are happy to have access to their own vehicle while at Disney World, especially as often as we like to skip over to various resorts for meals.

Anywho… we started off the morning with a sit-down breakfast. We just couldn’t help ourselves.

Seeing as how we didn’t have ADRs anywhere, we figured Kouzzina would be a safe bet, and we were right! We were seated in a near empty restaurant around 8:00am.

We like Kouzzina. We had dinner there almost two years ago and it was good, but I actually think breakfast is where the restaurant shines. We're big fans... case in point:

Kouzzina gets points from me for providing some breakfast options that you can’t get anywhere else. And personally, I’m a big fan of both the chicken and turkey sausage. My two favorites entree items are the vegetable flatbread pizza and the orange pancake with blueberries and granola. :slurp: :slurp: Seriously, this pancake is divine (and something you won’t find anywhere else).

Brett had his usual go-to breakfast meal… the French toast. And they definitely do it up right at Kouzzina, with thick challah bread.

HollyBelle · Nov 4, 2011

As we were leaving the Boardwalk, we stopped in the entryway. I was trying to get a picture… but as you can see, SOMEONE, was more interested in seeing if the interwebs were reporting a soft opening of Star Tours 2.0.

Apparently, there had been a preview the previous day, and word was it may happen again that morning. So, where do you think we went?! :lookaroun

That’s right! The Studios.

First stop… you guessed it! Star Tours 2.0 – still NOT open. However, this time when we strolled by there was a line of people forming outside the attraction. CMs kept coming out and encouraging folks to go and enjoy the park. And to come back next weekend when the ride officially opened. :lol: They seemed to legitimately not know if/when the ride would be performing another soft opening. My guess is the news is sprung on the front-line CMs just before it actually happens. Of course, what made us leery of walking away was the sheer number of suits hanging out nearby – they were everywhere. Just waiting for something to happen it seemed.

As we were walking away we came across this chick:

To me, seeing her was a sign that they may be opening the ride sometime that morning. No doubt, she was probably out and about “practicing” for the first of many Star Wars Weekends, as the beginning of the craze was only one week away.

HollyBelle · Nov 4, 2011

I suggested we watch the Muppets and then swing back through afterwards.

What do you know, when we got back to Tatooine, Star Tours 2.0 was still NOT open. :lol: So we headed over to Pixar Place to pick up fastpasses for TSMM. We still hadn’t decided where we would end our night, and I was making an educated guess that we’d likely be swinging back by DHS to check on other things. I wanted to be prepared. :animwink:

After we picked up our fastpasses, and were making our way towards the front of the park, I suggested to Brett that he check one last time. Head hung low, he told me we could go ahead and leave. I joked that we’d probably hear of it opening as soon as we left if he didn’t check. So he made his way back there while I took some pictures.

HollyBelle · Nov 4, 2011

After taking that last shot, I pulled my camera away from my face to see Brett waving frantically at me. Lo and behold, Star Tours 2.0 was FINALLY OPEN! Cue the angels! :lol:

By the time we got in line, it had an approximate wait of 10 minutes. And we were strictly forbidden from taking pictures of any kind… to the point where, they wanted me to put my camera away completely. No problem. I’m in the camp of folks who’s not really fond of simulators. My body doesn’t take well to them, and my head often hurts after riding. Luckily, we were seated in the third row, which made it that much easier for me. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. We were lucky enough to see both Darth Vader and Boba Fett. Since this first ride, we’ve ridden a couple more times, and none of those sequences have been as great as this first one, so I’d say we got a really great sequence.

By the time we exited Tatooine Traders the line was snaking through the entire outdoor queue. Great timing on our part! I’m not gonna lie, part of what made the ride so great for me was our quest to ride it during a soft opening. There’s something to be said for the buzzing excitement surrounding the place as we walked through the queue. You’ve gotta love small victories!

Afterward, we grabbed a coke from the Writer’s Stop, and picked up a character on our way out of the park. Cars is easily my least favorite of the Pixar films. Scratch that… Cars 2 was abysmal. That withstanding, we decided to add Lightning McQueen to our collection. Had we seen Cars 2 before this, we may have left him on the shelf. :lookaroun Sad.

Peace out, Studios! We finally got what we came for!

With that we gave away our TSMM fastpasses and dared the weather gods to mess up our afternoon at Typhoon Lagoon.

HollyBelle · Nov 4, 2011

Duplicate post

HollyBelle · Nov 4, 2011

We arrived at the Lagoon just before noon and quickly grabbed a locker before rushing off to the Crush ‘n’ Gusher. And as you can tell, the crowds were light that day, which surprised me because we showed up at prime water park time.

We LOVE this ride – can you not tell by our expressions?!

It was funny, because after riding it a couple of times, Brett said it made him appreciate the Aquaduck on the Dream, for it’s leisureliness and lengthiness. Hah! We really are getting old. :lol:

HollyBelle · Nov 4, 2011

Hungry, we grabbed a chicken nugget meal from Leaning Palms to split and hold us over until dinner, whenever/wherever that would be.

After we ate, I stored the camera away in the locker for the rest of the afternoon.

I’m pretty sure we hit up every slide in the park, and the lazy river multiple times. The park was rather empty, probably because the sky had been going back and forth all day, threatening rain one minute and shining gloriously on us the next. An easy guess is that folks who would’ve had to pay a separate admission to get in the park were likely steering clear of it; for fear that this was the type of day that’d turn out to be a money waster.

Gangplank Falls anyone? Yes? It's the big family raft ride and easily one of the “wildest” rides in the park, in my opinion. Most of the tube rides are pretty tame, but if you ride Gangplank Falls, be prepared. There’s pretty much a guarantee that you’ll get a whole bucket of water dumped on your head… and as you’re trying to recover from that, some twist or turn will throw you across the gigantor raft and into one of your unsuspecting family members… who is likely choking from their own unexpected dousing of water… and completely unprepared for the fact that your flailing elbow is about to clock them in their right eye socket. I may be exaggerating a bit, but not really. This is what makes the ride fun. Right? Right.

So why do I bring this up? Well, there was a couple in front of us with probably a six-month-old baby in tow. You see where I'm going with this, right? Credit to them, they did at least ask the lifeguard at the top if she thought it would be too much for the baby. The lifeguard’s response: “Nah, not if she doesn’t mind a little water misting on her.” Huh?!

Sweet lord, we saw the family exiting the ride in front of us and that poor baby was drenched and screaming like a banshee. I’m pretty much shocked that the CM was so blasé about the amount of water involved!

About the time we got off Gangplank Falls, the sky was really becoming a menace, so we headed back to the lockers to dry off a bit and go grab an adult beverage before heading out. Typhoon Tilly’s, I’m disappointed in you. Seriously, bud and bud light? That’s all you have to offer me. No thanks.

Luckily, or maybe unluckily, we found a full service bar over by the wave pool. Brett indulged in a bloody mary, and I ordered a margarita. Don’t you just love the washed out, “is there really a margarita there,” picture from my P&S?

Unfortunately, the margarita tasted about like it looked. It was practically flavorless. Ugh. Even the bud light would’ve had more flavor, and that’s saying something. :lol: It was about as disappointing as those snow cones from my childhood. You know the kind… a few quick slurps and the flavor has disappeared and all you’re left with is a bunch of ice.

After housing our drinks we went back to the locker to change and leave the park. We caught this guy on our way out:

And this guy!

All in all, it was a very fruitful day at the Lagoon.

HollyBelle · Nov 4, 2011

We took quick showers back at Sports and were at the Animal Kingdom by 3:30pm. Apparently, Erin (erstwo) and her adorable family were in the area, but we unfortunately missed them. Hopefully, next time.

First up… food. We needed another snack to hold us over until dinner. So we headed off to the Flame Tree Barbecue to see what the offerings were. Not super impressed with the meal choices, we opted to split a basket of onion rings. They turned out to be quite tasty.

This is what a hungry bear looks like when you make him wait until after you've taken pictures of his food :lol::

The best part about this little snack break was easily the Flame Tree Barbecue seating area. OMG. It’s gorgeous down there. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever been down there before. Maybe I should consider counter service options more often.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that we had the whole area to ourselves.

HollyBelle · Nov 4, 2011

In the distance I could hear faint barks, growls, screeches, and roars, and they were getting closer! It must be my favorite parade!! Back up on the pathway we waved at Rafiki as he got the party started, and watched as a few of the first floats rolled on through. Then we hung a left towards Dinoland, USA.

I find it humorous that one of my favorite takeaway shots from this trip happened to be this little beauty from the kitschy Dinorama:

Before walking on Dinosaur, we stopped for a quick picture with Pluto and Goofy. Oh backdrops – you’re killing me.

Next up… Expedition Everest via the single rider line.

After which we strolled through Africa. You could tell the park was really starting to empty out after MJJP rolled through.

HollyBelle · Nov 4, 2011

Oh yeah, and lest I forget… I finally started Vinylmation trading while we were at the Animal Kingdom. I was a little hesitant about it at first but the trading aspect turned out to be a lot of fun. Most of the CMs seemed to enjoy it, and it was a great way to interact with them. I think the “rules” state that you are only allowed two guesses, and you have to take one of the two that are pulled. It was funny because a few of the CMs were very strict on this. And then others practically showed us everything in the box! Some of the CMs would even play hot/cold to lead you to a certain Vinylmation. Anyhow… I traded two or three times while we were there and on our way out of the park I had Naveen in hand:

And here’s a picture of the box they keep the Vinylmations in for trading – it can be found at the cash wrap areas in some of the shops (there’s a participating list of shops online, I believe). We started referring to it as The BOX! The BOX! So mysterious, I know. :lookaroun :lol:

We decided The Earl was in order for dinner that fine evening. How had we not eaten there yet this trip?! So, off to DTD we went. No pictures of our food. Shocked? Me, too. But I’m pretty certain it was delicious. After dinner, we wandered around the shops... trading Vinylmations. :lookaroun Nerd alert!

Philoctetes

Muppet in space!

Green Army Man!

I picked up some essentials at Basin and then we headed out.

HollyBelle · Nov 4, 2011

We decided to spend our last evening at EPCOT. We’re smart like that!

My last shots of the Flower and Garden Festival topiaries – they had welcomed us to Epcot three trips in a row. By my next trip, I actually missed the smell of strawberries at the entrance.

Somewhere, maybe the Art of Disney, we stopped to trade our Vinylmation. We were a bit unsure of this one, but when Brett declared it was Pluto (in a sweater), it instantaneously became a whole lot cuter. But not cute enough to keep – sorry Pluto!

In Mexico, we floated through the ol’ river of time. Welcome mis amigos to friendly Mexico…

HollyBelle · Nov 4, 2011

Then we headed back to Future World to ride Test Track. It’s a ride I never get super excited for, and yet, I always enjoy it tremendously. Plus, single rider has made it forever walk-on; thereby, increasing it’s re-rideability factor.

After the ride we swung through MouseGear to trade our Vinylmation again. I stopped expecting a whole lot from the trade while we were at DTD at some point. Here’s the thing, once you start trading, you realize that a lot of the exact same VMs are in every trading box. Likely these are the less popular ones, and ones that must have a higher percentage rate of appearing in the series’. Somewhere along the way we started discussing who the “end game” character would be. I knew it’d be a character, because I’m really not a fan of the cutester or urban series’, which are just plain weird, if you ask me. But, there was only one character that I knew for a fact was end game. And that was Stitch. But I was also pretty certain that he would be one of the most elusive and difficult to find.

All of this to say, when the CM pulled a completely random character out of the box, Brett yelled, “Prince John!” I didn’t even recognize the phony King of England at first, but it was pretty clear to see that he was our end game. Gotta love a good villain. And a surprise Vinylmation – I think it was at this point that I became hooked.

Of course, now that I was hooked, I figured I needed to pick up another VM to trade throughout the next day. Only problem was, when I opened the package and saw this one inside… I knew I couldn’t trade him. Sigh. Vinylmation trading is going to be tough on the wallet. :lol: Oh, Disney, you’re so smart with the money-making schemes! I applaud you.

After stowing the villains away, we hit up Spaceship Earth.

We contemplated staying for Illuminations, but decided against it so we wouldn’t have to fight the crowds leaving afterward. We still had to pack and it was going to be an early morning and a long drive home the next day.

Next... we spend our last morning at the MK!

HopLow · Nov 4, 2011

I'm exhausted!! You guys accomplished so much in one day! I'm extremely impressed.

I'm so glad your Star Tours stalking paid off. And I'm even gladder(?) to know that you get the same headache that I do after simulators, and you braved it anyway! Everyone's had such good things to say about the new ST, that I might just have to try it next trip... and bring some extra aspirin, just in case.

Stop with the super cute vinylmation photos! I DO NOT need another collection to spend money on! I'm pretty excited about that Prince John one though... Good call on end gaming.

BringMeHome · Nov 5, 2011

I can say i've eaten at Studio Catering Co. more than once in my time. Sadly whenever my family gets hungry we always end up being closest to that quick service. It's nothing special but you can't complain when your starving.

Great trip report! I can' imagine fitting so much into one day. Seems impossible.

Disneyfalcon · Nov 5, 2011

Oh my word, you did a lot that day!! I'm so glad Star Tours didn't disappoint!

Your vinylmation trading was awesome. My kids goal in trading is to get one they don't have, and nothing to "girly" for Ds.:lol:

Great pictures as usual!

jhoff3405 · Nov 5, 2011

Just caught up, and WOW...you guys know how to do it right! I can't believe everything you did over those few days.

Two of my boys and myself are heading down for a long weekend in December, I only hope we can squeeze as much in.

My "older metabolism" screams with jealousy at all of the great tasting food you guys eat. Sigh...I must apparently live vicariously through you and others that post all the food pics!

diddy_mouse · Nov 5, 2011

Whew! What a jam-packed day.

I must say I admire your Star Tours 2.0 stalking. I remember doing this for Spaceship Earth back when it had it's refurb. Glad to know you had a good ride even though you're not fond of simulators. (Can't wait to ride this in February!)

Gypsy and Slim looked so awesome! When I saw the picture of Slim for some reason it wasn't what I expected. I figured he might be as tall as say, Goofy rather than the size of the Tapestry of Nations parade characters. Still -- very, very cool! I think also the fact that Gypsy and Slim are rare to see makes them even cooler.

Oooh...you've been sucked into Vinylmation! You got some really good characters though. Hmm...maybe I should look into -- no, no, no...I'll stick with pins and WDW t-shirts. :lol:

To Infinity and Beyond: A May 2011 Pixar Weekend Trip Report

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