Trip Report Volunteering by Day, Park Hopping by Night! - January 2018 **COMPLETED**

Hi, forum friends! I have been back home for about a week . Finally got my photos edited, and both @Doc Disney and @prfctlyximprct are ahead of me, so I better get started.

Here's a breakdown of the trip...

Who? Me and my friend L, who was with me on my friends trip two years ago.
Where? All-Star Movies. We spent no time at the resort, so I don't regret this, but...well you'll see.
When? January 19-23
Why? To volunteer at Give Kids the World. We did two shifts in the morning, and headed to the parks early afternoon.

Here we are


Ok, so I'll get us started in the next post. Here we gooooooooo......

 

[Songbird76]

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After our snacks, we headed to Tower of Terror to use our next FP.




They must have changed the lighting because I am super hot, but everyone else is in normal light. This was fun as usual! L was using both handrests, and the girl next to me was using hers, so I had nothing to hold on to. It made me frantic at first and I grabbed the hand of the girl next to me, but I calmed down



Grabbed a picture of the best bellhop around on the way out.

We considered doing standby for Toy Story but it was something like a 2 hour wait, so that was a no. I didn't end up going anywhere outside of Sunset/Hollywood Blvd, which has kind of become my MO.

We were already on the tram when I noticed how pretty the sky was, so I snapped a shot from my seat.



Then we noticed the woman getting on the tram a few rows up was the lady we talked to on the way in! So crazy. We moved up a few rows so we could chat with her on the ride back. We arrived back at our row pretty quickly, and thanks to our parking attendant, we remembered where to get out.

Soon we were on our way to the next destination!





I still needed coffee, so we walked toward Mexico and I grabbed some from Joffrey's. I just got cold brew with a shot of hazelnut. I normally don't get anything sweet in my coffee, but the last time I got Joffrey's cold brew, it was nasty. The flavor in it was super good. Unfortunately when it tastes like dessert, I drink it super fast



We went in the pyramid in Mexico and hopped on the Donald boat ride. I seriously don't know the name of it. Three Caballeros?





It's such a beautiful ride!



I love all the Day of the Dead displays in Mexico. Unless I completely missed something in the movie, these figures are not from Coco, they're just for Day of the Dead, which is very much a part of the culture in Mexico, so it fits perfectly. I didn't take time to look at the rest of the stuff, but I hope to soon. I thought Coco was amazingly done, and from what I have read, they did a great job representing the culture, which is RARE in films. It also left me a complete mess. I couldn't even speak after the movie...if I tried, I just started sobbing.

Anyway, we continued on and I decided I wanted more popcorn, so I stopped. L went down to France for a treat. The line was SO LONG. I wish I didn't have to stand that long line just for popcorn, since it's not in the case.




So pretty! I want to go to Germany so badly someday.

Up next: More F.Arts!

If you ever make it to Germany, depending on where you go, some and say hi. We live about 15 minutes from the German border. Did you know there's a Disney-like park in Germany called Europeland or something like that? I've never been there, but they've got a soarin' type ride, and a kali river rapids type, teacups, etc...

 

[sheriffwoody]

I have no idea who the Lost Bros are, but that's cool that you got to meet a kind of celebrity. And I have to say, it's also really sweet of you to think about him maybe not having an exit strategy and not wanting to make it weird for him. I'm always super consious of that because I have sort of social anxiety...I am always afraid people won't like me and that they will be too polite to say anything and especially with DS....he's a chatterer and with his Autism, he doesn't see the cues that people aren't interested in his latest Roblox game, or his chess strategies. Kudos to you for thinking of that. I love your character pics from before your shift! Is Give Kids the World actually run by Disney? Are the characters there from the Disney Parks? Or do they hire their own? I ask because you mentioned how great Mary Poppins was and I know the Disney characters get LOTS of training in staying in character, down to hand gestures and facial expressions, and even signatures so they are all the same...I wondered if the ones at Give Kids the World are the same.

No it's not run by Disney, but Disney and the other parks (or at least Universal) send characters over once a week for meet and greets. Monday's are Disney characters, and they come with their own handler who makes sure they get the breaks they require. I have seen the same Mary Poppins at WDW.

Give Kids the World has a lot of support from the big area tourist spots! Universal does quite a bit for them as well.

 

[Songbird76]

No it's not run by Disney, but Disney and the other parks (or at least Universal) send characters over once a week for meet and greets. Monday's are Disney characters, and they come with their own handler who makes sure they get the breaks they require. I have seen the same Mary Poppins at WDW.

Give Kids the World has a lot of support from the big area tourist spots! Universal does quite a bit for them as well.

That is amazing....so cool that they do that!!