PassedTheEndorMoon
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 9, 2018
Day 8: Nick doesn't feel comfortable in hammocks
We woke up this morning a little sad with the realization that we only had two days left in the bubble before having to head back to reality. We didn’t stew on that too long and vowed to make the most of our last two days.
We arrived at MK by 10 AM and very quickly found ourselves hungry.
We both had protein bars while waking up in the room, but we needed some proper sustenance. We found ourselves at the end of Main Street and in front of Sleepy Hollow. We were intrigued by the menu and got the Nutella waffle to split.
This was really delicious and felt like a light and refreshing start to the day. We enjoyed it while sitting on a bench on the pathway on the side of the castle with the sun peeking through some clouds. We lingered a while, took some pictures and people watched. The hustle and bustle some families display is kind of unreal to us. I can totally understand the “park warrior” mentality, but it is not our touring style. Life is busy and has enough hustle and bustle that, even though we are Disney people in our free time, we take it at a pace slower than many. It was a really great start to another Disney day.
We then walked over to our first FP of the day at 7DMT. Still a great ride the second time through and I like our on ride photo a little better this time. My notes from this day say “Excellent ride with a ridiculous standby line”
We then headed back into Fantasyland for our first visit to Mickey’s PhilharMagic. While waiting for the next performance we ended up swapping our Splash Mountain FP for one for Winnie the Pooh. We had walked by that ride a few times and noted how the wait times were much higher than what they were for our version back in California, so we wanted to see what the hype was about. But, it was another chilly day and getting wet did not sound fun.
PhilharMagic was super fun! We both really enjoyed it, despite the poor quality of the film that left us both cross-eyed and worried about getting a headache. We actually just got PhilharMagic in DCA and it was a much cleaner film! The duck butt was broken though!
We exited PhilharMagic and headed directly over to Winnie the Pooh. The line was surprisingly backed up and we had a decent wait even with a FP+. We got the sense that this was going to be a busy day. We had a great interaction with a very chatty CM at the load point who we talked with about the sheer size of WDW and how different Disneyland is. She congratulated us on our marriage and sent us into the Hundred Acre Wood. Pooh, as an attraction, was different enough that it felt fun and novel to us. We often find that when we go to Disneyland on a random afternoon, and it’s much more crowded than we expected, we go on Pooh because it’s really tucked away and has a short line. It’s cute!
We to this point had not been further into Adventureland than the Citrus Swirl cart, and so headed deeper into the jungle.
We spotted the spring roll cart and Tory really wanted to get an order after hearing so much hype from different bloggers and contributors. I was super skeptical of these as they seemed to me to just be fried greasy egg rolls you can find anywhere.
We bought a pair of the cheeseburger ones and hopped in the Tiki Room line. One bite completely changed my mind on these. Yes, they were greasy, but the filling was insanely delicious. I immediately found it similar to the flavor from an In N Out burger (for those of you who have been lucky enough to visit the California institution). It had something to do with the onion and spice mix added to the beef. Every bite was better than the last. I devoured my roll and found myself wishing that we had bought another pair! They were that good!
We were quickly inside The Enchanted Tiki Room, which I described in my notes as “the same but with poorer sight lines.” It also felt like we were crammed in there more tightly. Our second sign that this was going to be a crowded day.
The third sign of the crowds , and one that we could not ignore, was the return line for the Jungle Cruise. We were shocked to see a CM standing in the middle of Adventureland with a sign that marked the end of the FP+ line. We hopped in and ended up waiting roughly 20 minutes to get a boat. To pass the time we took a survey from Disney that we had gotten regarding our day at Hollywood Studios. We also did some eavesdropping/people watching. There was a very grumpy family in line behind us and another in front of us. It’s amazing how much preplanning and strategizing you really need to do to have a successful vacation to the World. We overheard many conversations over the course of the trip that suggested that we had done more homework than many others, including return visitors.
The Jungle Cruise is my favorite ride at Disneyland (As you might remember, I did the skipper routine for a talent show in high school). Also, when it was closed for refurbishment a few years ago out on our coast, I made a point to go to “Skipper School”, a little show the Skips put on outside the attraction. So you could say I’m a Skip at heart at this point.
The WDW version of the Jungle Cruise might be even better than the Anaheim one! We got an excellent skipper who really went over the top and made it a great cruise. I had no idea that there would be a tunnel. Our Skip made a joke that we were headed into a gift shop because what Disney ride doesn’t end in a gift shop?
We had 20 minutes before our final FP+ of the day, and it was crystal clear at this point that the crowds were going to be rougher today. Instead of trying to find a short line, we found a spot across from the Pirates of the Caribbean entrance and enjoyed some people watching in the sun. Also, Tory channeled her inner pirate and love for rum in this photo.
Pirates of the Caribbean was different enough to be enjoyable, but it’s short. We turned a corner and then all of a sudden we were at the unload point. It doesn’t feel like it wraps up like the Disneyland version. The photo they take is very jarring as well. The WDW version just doesn’t have the same charm that ours has. I found myself missing the bayou looking out towards the Blue Bayou or the very end that goes right by the queue line.
We got off PoTC and decided it wasn’t worth it to brave the crowds any longer. I know it was probably relatively not that crowded (I just saw some your photos from Spring Break, whoa!), but we weren’t keen on lines and peoples. It was early afternoon at this point, and we didn’t have a proper meal in our bellies (we split a waffle and had a spring roll). So, we headed to the bus stop with no real plans other than a need for sustenance. We got to talking and agreed that we were curious about the Port Orleans resorts and wanted to check them out for a potential return trip (Note: Coronado Springs won out as our return trip hotel for September). So after a short wait a bus for Port Orleans Riverside showed up and we hopped on board!
Up next: Where did we find sustenance? And what's all this about Nick not liking hammocks?
We woke up this morning a little sad with the realization that we only had two days left in the bubble before having to head back to reality. We didn’t stew on that too long and vowed to make the most of our last two days.
We arrived at MK by 10 AM and very quickly found ourselves hungry.
We both had protein bars while waking up in the room, but we needed some proper sustenance. We found ourselves at the end of Main Street and in front of Sleepy Hollow. We were intrigued by the menu and got the Nutella waffle to split.
This was really delicious and felt like a light and refreshing start to the day. We enjoyed it while sitting on a bench on the pathway on the side of the castle with the sun peeking through some clouds. We lingered a while, took some pictures and people watched. The hustle and bustle some families display is kind of unreal to us. I can totally understand the “park warrior” mentality, but it is not our touring style. Life is busy and has enough hustle and bustle that, even though we are Disney people in our free time, we take it at a pace slower than many. It was a really great start to another Disney day.
We then walked over to our first FP of the day at 7DMT. Still a great ride the second time through and I like our on ride photo a little better this time. My notes from this day say “Excellent ride with a ridiculous standby line”
We then headed back into Fantasyland for our first visit to Mickey’s PhilharMagic. While waiting for the next performance we ended up swapping our Splash Mountain FP for one for Winnie the Pooh. We had walked by that ride a few times and noted how the wait times were much higher than what they were for our version back in California, so we wanted to see what the hype was about. But, it was another chilly day and getting wet did not sound fun.
PhilharMagic was super fun! We both really enjoyed it, despite the poor quality of the film that left us both cross-eyed and worried about getting a headache. We actually just got PhilharMagic in DCA and it was a much cleaner film! The duck butt was broken though!
We exited PhilharMagic and headed directly over to Winnie the Pooh. The line was surprisingly backed up and we had a decent wait even with a FP+. We got the sense that this was going to be a busy day. We had a great interaction with a very chatty CM at the load point who we talked with about the sheer size of WDW and how different Disneyland is. She congratulated us on our marriage and sent us into the Hundred Acre Wood. Pooh, as an attraction, was different enough that it felt fun and novel to us. We often find that when we go to Disneyland on a random afternoon, and it’s much more crowded than we expected, we go on Pooh because it’s really tucked away and has a short line. It’s cute!
We to this point had not been further into Adventureland than the Citrus Swirl cart, and so headed deeper into the jungle.
We spotted the spring roll cart and Tory really wanted to get an order after hearing so much hype from different bloggers and contributors. I was super skeptical of these as they seemed to me to just be fried greasy egg rolls you can find anywhere.
We bought a pair of the cheeseburger ones and hopped in the Tiki Room line. One bite completely changed my mind on these. Yes, they were greasy, but the filling was insanely delicious. I immediately found it similar to the flavor from an In N Out burger (for those of you who have been lucky enough to visit the California institution). It had something to do with the onion and spice mix added to the beef. Every bite was better than the last. I devoured my roll and found myself wishing that we had bought another pair! They were that good!
We were quickly inside The Enchanted Tiki Room, which I described in my notes as “the same but with poorer sight lines.” It also felt like we were crammed in there more tightly. Our second sign that this was going to be a crowded day.
The third sign of the crowds , and one that we could not ignore, was the return line for the Jungle Cruise. We were shocked to see a CM standing in the middle of Adventureland with a sign that marked the end of the FP+ line. We hopped in and ended up waiting roughly 20 minutes to get a boat. To pass the time we took a survey from Disney that we had gotten regarding our day at Hollywood Studios. We also did some eavesdropping/people watching. There was a very grumpy family in line behind us and another in front of us. It’s amazing how much preplanning and strategizing you really need to do to have a successful vacation to the World. We overheard many conversations over the course of the trip that suggested that we had done more homework than many others, including return visitors.
The Jungle Cruise is my favorite ride at Disneyland (As you might remember, I did the skipper routine for a talent show in high school). Also, when it was closed for refurbishment a few years ago out on our coast, I made a point to go to “Skipper School”, a little show the Skips put on outside the attraction. So you could say I’m a Skip at heart at this point.
The WDW version of the Jungle Cruise might be even better than the Anaheim one! We got an excellent skipper who really went over the top and made it a great cruise. I had no idea that there would be a tunnel. Our Skip made a joke that we were headed into a gift shop because what Disney ride doesn’t end in a gift shop?
We had 20 minutes before our final FP+ of the day, and it was crystal clear at this point that the crowds were going to be rougher today. Instead of trying to find a short line, we found a spot across from the Pirates of the Caribbean entrance and enjoyed some people watching in the sun. Also, Tory channeled her inner pirate and love for rum in this photo.
Pirates of the Caribbean was different enough to be enjoyable, but it’s short. We turned a corner and then all of a sudden we were at the unload point. It doesn’t feel like it wraps up like the Disneyland version. The photo they take is very jarring as well. The WDW version just doesn’t have the same charm that ours has. I found myself missing the bayou looking out towards the Blue Bayou or the very end that goes right by the queue line.
We got off PoTC and decided it wasn’t worth it to brave the crowds any longer. I know it was probably relatively not that crowded (I just saw some your photos from Spring Break, whoa!), but we weren’t keen on lines and peoples. It was early afternoon at this point, and we didn’t have a proper meal in our bellies (we split a waffle and had a spring roll). So, we headed to the bus stop with no real plans other than a need for sustenance. We got to talking and agreed that we were curious about the Port Orleans resorts and wanted to check them out for a potential return trip (Note: Coronado Springs won out as our return trip hotel for September). So after a short wait a bus for Port Orleans Riverside showed up and we hopped on board!
Up next: Where did we find sustenance? And what's all this about Nick not liking hammocks?
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