"I LIVE Here! I Know What I'm Doing!" A Family Reunion for a Very Disney Christmas (COMPLETE)

Me, trying to catch up on two very large updates as if I've always been on top of everything going on here:

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One Man's Dream :( I don't talk about this a lot, but I don't think there was an experience more cathartic in all of Walt Disney World than walking alone inside an empty OMD. That's the one place in WDW where I sincerely felt "close" to Walt. I loved walking up and down and looking at all of the precious artifacts and models and imagining what it would have been like to meet him.

Also, those posters (Sleeping Beauty, Bambi, and Peter Pan) are stunning and I want prints of all of them.

YOU PUT INTO WORDS HOW MOANA MADE ME FEEL DURING THE PROGRAM UGHHHHH I MISS FALL 2016. "How Far I'll Go" soothed me when nothing else could and her M&G was just precious. A quiet morning meeting Moana, grabbing a carrot cake cookie, then going back to my apt for lunch and a nap, then taking a bus to the Orlando Mall and doing retail therapy = my dream December day off.

Can you believe it is September Year of Our Lord 2017 and there's still no permanent M&G for Moana. Yes, she meets at the Halloween parties and yes they're talking about placing her in Adventureland but it's NOT. GOOD ENOUGH. Work faster WDW, Disneyland has talking cars in Halloween costumes for crying out loud.

OMG YOU DANCING WITH MOANA IS PRECIOUS!!! THIS WAS SUCH A PRECIOUS MOANA M&G AND I'M SO HAPPY YOU ARE SHARING IT WITH US

Sarah Snitch making a cameo in this TR... Perfect.

I think my ONE regret from the program is that I didn't spend enough time at Launch Bay. Your pictures make me miss it SO much.

'Kay, so Disney QS pizza is not for me so I took a rain check on Pizzerizzo but the dining area looks SO fun! I might have to suck it up and order some 'za just to sit there and take photos of the disco ball.

Also, your comment on the restaurant being an embodiment of Rizzo's dry, NY-based humor is spot on. Wow. Disney theming at it's FINEST.

HAPPY SNOWMAN.

I just love when you and Olaf collaborate on a M&G. You guys are just... perfect.

YOU MADE OLAF SAD AND NOW I'M SAD

AMAZING UPDATES PLEASE GIVE US MORE
 
Me, trying to catch up on two very large updates as if I've always been on top of everything going on here:

3601511_orig.gif


One Man's Dream :( I don't talk about this a lot, but I don't think there was an experience more cathartic in all of Walt Disney World than walking alone inside an empty OMD. That's the one place in WDW where I sincerely felt "close" to Walt. I loved walking up and down and looking at all of the precious artifacts and models and imagining what it would have been like to meet him.

Also, those posters (Sleeping Beauty, Bambi, and Peter Pan) are stunning and I want prints of all of them.

YOU PUT INTO WORDS HOW MOANA MADE ME FEEL DURING THE PROGRAM UGHHHHH I MISS FALL 2016. "How Far I'll Go" soothed me when nothing else could and her M&G was just precious. A quiet morning meeting Moana, grabbing a carrot cake cookie, then going back to my apt for lunch and a nap, then taking a bus to the Orlando Mall and doing retail therapy = my dream December day off.

Can you believe it is September Year of Our Lord 2017 and there's still no permanent M&G for Moana. Yes, she meets at the Halloween parties and yes they're talking about placing her in Adventureland but it's NOT. GOOD ENOUGH. Work faster WDW, Disneyland has talking cars in Halloween costumes for crying out loud.

OMG YOU DANCING WITH MOANA IS PRECIOUS!!! THIS WAS SUCH A PRECIOUS MOANA M&G AND I'M SO HAPPY YOU ARE SHARING IT WITH US

Sarah Snitch making a cameo in this TR... Perfect.

I think my ONE regret from the program is that I didn't spend enough time at Launch Bay. Your pictures make me miss it SO much.

'Kay, so Disney QS pizza is not for me so I took a rain check on Pizzerizzo but the dining area looks SO fun! I might have to suck it up and order some 'za just to sit there and take photos of the disco ball.

Also, your comment on the restaurant being an embodiment of Rizzo's dry, NY-based humor is spot on. Wow. Disney theming at it's FINEST.

HAPPY SNOWMAN.

I just love when you and Olaf collaborate on a M&G. You guys are just... perfect.

YOU MADE OLAF SAD AND NOW I'M SAD

AMAZING UPDATES PLEASE GIVE US MORE

Oh wow. This is going to be undertaking, but for you I WILL respond to this monster comment.

It really is a catharsis in there. I relate so much to everything you said. I need to go back, even if they changed it a bit but THE SAVING MR. BANKS COSTUMES ARE THERE AND I'M READY TO BE GAGGED BY EMMA THOMPSON'S SLAYING FROCK ASFGZGJTYIBIYKHH

Same. That Peter Pan one needs to be in my apartment NOW. RIGHT NOW.

She was seriously the icon of our program. I MISS OUR MONTENUI SIS ESPECIALLY SINCE WE NEVER MET HER TOGETHER. :sad: :sad: :sad: Also I basically did that on Thanksgiving (got up early, went to Disney Springs, got a Holiday Turkey from EoS, went to watch Moana for the first time, left after that to go to Studios just to meet her, left Studios and went to work (so not exactly a day off but close)).

I KNOW RIGHT?! Ridiculous. But like I've said, Elena had a few pop-up meets in PFH before they made her officially part of MVMCP then they made her officially apart of Fairytale Hall not long after that sooooooo maybe that's the direction Moana is heading in for Adventureland (although I'm still not sure where they could squeeze her in...).

You are so sweet. I was so awkward. I'm glad you at least thought it was adorable. :lovestruc:lovestruc:lovestruc

If we're talking about pretentious Disney fans, Queen Sarah will make an appearance FOR SURE.

Launch Bae was a poppin' place. We could've become BFFs with Jawas if we actually hung out at Studios tbh

I'm not a mega pizza person, as you know, but I knew I had to have something and pizza places have Meatball Subs so there we go. But literally that Disco Ball room... that's the whole reason for going to PizzeRizzo tbh

It was BRILLIANT and I relate to Rizzo so much now lol

Olaf is such a babe. I miss him. The one thing about Frozen I will ever truly miss. :upsidedow And same @ the crying.

I will update again ASAP! It will come!
 
"On October 3rd, he asked me what day it was..."

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Happy National Mean Girls Day everyone!

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Here's the update:

Give Me That Christmas Soul-to-Soul... Bird-to-Bird... Acappella... Sounds Good to Me!
December 21st, 2016

Typical that my last day in Studios would involve me traversing across the BoardWalk as I had done many many times before, including the first night of my program. Probably why I'm getting emotional talking about even though it was always quite the journey yet I was way way too impatient to wait for a boat. Still, nothing beats walking between Epcot and Studios via the BoardWalk. There's always something going on over there and if there isn't, it's perfectly quiet and GORGEOUS. I'd love to stay there or Yacht & Beach one day (lol throwback to almost staying at Beach Club on my first trip). I mean, the amount of weddings or wedding receptions I'd pass by... omg like this is really the hidden gem of Disney let me tell ya and just as much a memorable part of my program as the parks it connects.

Anyways, I was dead set on getting to Epcot. I picked a pretty good time to go there from Studios because International Gateway was pretty empty and it can get REAL cramped over there so that was a nice positive. It also made me getting on a game plan fairly easy. I was going to get one last ride in on the Gran Fiesta Tour, maybe meet Anna & Elsa or see Julenissen and Sigrid again, see the Voices of Liberty and then catch Pére Noël, the one Holidays Around The World storyteller I hadn't seen yet.

Let's go!

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Voices of Liberty were my main priority because Voices of Liberty, but I had just missed their next show so to Gran Fiesta Tour it was. It was a trek, but I kinda already did everything else I needed to do in Epcot so it wasn't much of a loss. It also let me go see what the tea was on Alice in the UK. Ever since the Christmas season set in in Epcot, she stopped meeting regularly in Epcot. It was very odd. Today was no different, she wasn't there.

Curiouser and Curiouser.

Back en route to the Gran Fiesta Tour it was! Now, there's not much to say about a Gran Fiesta Tour trek experience or line experience since THERE IS NO LINE EVER. Instead, I'll just let you enjoy a journey with Donald Duck, Panchito and José Carioca through Latin America.

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I just adore Gran Fiesta Tour for all that it's worth and I loved that they updated that ending with the animatronics. However, I do think it needs an update and if Coco turns out to be as good as it seems to be, that would be a good, more culturally conscious replacement. All that aside, no I'm not for Epcot having more characters. We don't need a second Magic Kingdom. I could go further, but I'm sure you wouldn't want to hear my overly lengthy and verbose explanation as to why I think Disney's starting to shoot itself in the foot... oh oops.

Moving on...

It was now almost time for Voices of Liberty. However, I noticed that Pére Noël's last showing was happening soon and ended just in time for me to scoot on back over to the American Adventure to catch VoL. In interest of time, Pére Noël was the optimum choice. I made my way of over, seeing that I missed Julenissen and Sigrid, but also that Anna & Elsa's line was WAY too long so I wouldn't go say goodbye to them, not that it was a big deal, I'm not a fan of Frozen. However I came upon La Befana, the Italian "Santa Claus", another one of my favorite storytellers. I'd already missed Julenissen and Sigrid so why not catch La Befana? Give some respect and love to my Italian heritage. She was almost finished, which means it was the sad part of her story. I won't spoil her story for those who haven't experienced all of the Holidays Around The World storytellers, but La Befana's story is very very sad however she turns it around and it's honestly the most beautiful Christmas legend from around the world. Highly recommend her along with Julenissen and Sigrid in Norway. 10/10.



I lost track of time listening to her finishing up her story and so I was booking it to make it to Pére Noël in France. When I got there, he was about in the middle of his story, another really sweet tale, however far less biographical. He was really funny though. I caught quite an ironic moment on my snap story.

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Pére Noël ended just in time for me to make it to the American Adventure for Voices of Liberty. All was going along perfectly to plan. I got to the American Adventure right on time for the Voices of Liberty. I ended up having a little bit of time so I just wandered around the main floor, taking in all the Christmas decor that was still up. When I came by the Gingerbread replica of the White House and the Washington Monument, I could hear VoL warming up. It was really neat to hear, even just warming up, they all sounded unreal. I mean, I've heard Kelly Clarkson warm up, but this was just as crazy. I couldn't have been more excited to listen to the Voices of Liberty slay with them vocals one last time. I was sad they wouldn't be doing one of their normal sets since it was still Christmastime in Epcot, nevertheless it was going to be and was a lovely experience. Take a look:

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Ah, Voices of Liberty. I swear Epcot, if you DARE touch them and take them out, you'd have a lot more heat than Sense8 got after cancelling on Netflix and we know they were brought back. Don't even try it.

My apologies, I'm getting very protective of my fave things in Disney World after all these rumors about certain faves getting torn down or changed. Yeah, I understand progress and change is the name of the game at Disney World, but so is artistic integrity. Of course, that's thrown out of the window when it comes to money-making juggernauts like Frozen.

Ok, I need to stop with bringing my Twitter rants to the DIS. I had finished my plan of action in Epcot and it was about time to head back to Studios to catch all of the nighttime action. The Star Wars fireworks were happening earlier than normal and I COULD NOT miss my favorite fireworks in all of Walt Disney World. Elated by the musical beauty that is Voices of Liberty, I skipped happily out of Epcot, back across the BoardWalk all the way to Studios for a very magical evening.

Stay tuned!

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Glad you were able to squeeze in some Epcot time! Seeing some storytellers, riding the Gran Fiesta Tour, and watching VoL sounds like a great time! One day I would love to get to Disney in December to see Epcot all decked out for the holidays!
 


Happy National Mean Girls Day everyone!

Thank you! Happy belated Mean Girls Day!

I just adore Gran Fiesta Tour for all that it's worth and I loved that they updated that ending with the animatronics. However, I do think it needs an update and if Coco turns out to be as good as it seems to be, that would be a good, more culturally conscious replacement.

Hmmm...this is an interesting thought! I wonder if they'll do this! I guess we'll have to wait for Coco's release to see how big it is...

I could go further, but I'm sure you wouldn't want to hear my overly lengthy and verbose explanation as to why I think Disney's starting to shoot itself in the foot... oh oops.

Haha oh no! I have a feeling this is a long and winding rabbit trail.

Ah, Voices of Liberty. I swear Epcot, if you DARE touch them and take them out, you'd have a lot more heat than Sense8 got after cancelling on Netflix and we know they were brought back. Don't even try it.

Bahaha I feel this! Voices of Liberty must stay! I also may have had this kind of very upsetting reaction when Mo'Rockin' left Epcot. I was soo attached to that act.
 
Now, there's not much to say about a Gran Fiesta Tour trek experience or line experience since THERE IS NO LINE EVER.

When my family was in WDW in May 2009, we got 11.5 inches of rain in a week (Orlando got 12 inches of rain throughout the entire month of May...yes that math really makes it as bad as it seems). Anyways, our Epcot day was particularly bad, and we ended up taking shelter in the Mexico pavilion due to thunder and lightning. Let's just say we rode the Gran Fiesta Tour close to 20 times.:rotfl:

I mean, I've heard Kelly Clarkson warm up, but this was just as crazy. I couldn't have been more excited to listen to the Voices of Liberty slay with them vocals one last time. I was sad they wouldn't be doing one of their normal sets since it was still Christmastime in Epcot, nevertheless it was going to be and was a lovely experience.

Okay, bypassing the comment about having heard Kelly Clarkson warm up (I'm sorry--WHAT?!), I love the Voices of Liberty, I bet seeing them at Christmastime was so fun!
 
Glad you were able to squeeze in some Epcot time! Seeing some storytellers, riding the Gran Fiesta Tour, and watching VoL sounds like a great time! One day I would love to get to Disney in December to see Epcot all decked out for the holidays!

It was such a nice way to detour. Epcot during the holidays is so lovely and one last little snippet was so necessary. I hope you get to see it one day, it really is great.

Thank you! Happy belated Mean Girls Day!

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;)

Hmmm...this is an interesting thought! I wonder if they'll do this! I guess we'll have to wait for Coco's release to see how big it is...

If Disney stepped up their PR game on Coco, maybe it would be an actual thing. :sad2:

Haha oh no! I have a feeling this is a long and winding rabbit trail.

Oh you don't want to get me started. I have a lot of feelings.

Bahaha I feel this! Voices of Liberty must stay! I also may have had this kind of very upsetting reaction when Mo'Rockin' left Epcot. I was soo attached to that act.

If VoL was cut, Disney would have some other level riot on their hands omg And I'd be there full strength. They are UNTOUCHABLE.

When my family was in WDW in May 2009, we got 11.5 inches of rain in a week (Orlando got 12 inches of rain throughout the entire month of May...yes that math really makes it as bad as it seems). Anyways, our Epcot day was particularly bad, and we ended up taking shelter in the Mexico pavilion due to thunder and lightning. Let's just say we rode the Gran Fiesta Tour close to 20 times.:rotfl:

That honestly sounds like a dream day. Bless it.

Okay, bypassing the comment about having heard Kelly Clarkson warm up (I'm sorry--WHAT?!), I love the Voices of Liberty, I bet seeing them at Christmastime was so fun!

They are amazing at Christmastime. And yes, I saw/heard Kelly Clarkson warm up for her feature on the Disney Christmas Day special. I have vids of it along with having seen Derek & Julianne Hough, Sofia Carson and Cameron Boyce doing their thing.
 


That honestly sounds like a dream day. Bless it.

It was something all right.

They are amazing at Christmastime. And yes, I saw/heard Kelly Clarkson warm up for her feature on the Disney Christmas Day special. I have vids of it along with having seen Derek & Julianne Hough, Sofia Carson and Cameron Boyce doing their thing.

That is amazing:flower1:
 
Timmy The Conqueror (of All Nighttime Spectaculars!)
December 21st, 2016

It was pretty dark by the time I got back to Studios, which was around 5pm, a little over an hour until Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular would be happening. Normally, I usually give myself an hour, but this was just about Christmas week so I immediately scouted out a spot and got comfy. The PAC cast members were pretty entertaining as always (one of my CP regrets was not picking up un-trained PAC shifts at Studios) and made the time go by. It wasn't anything to write home about because all I remember was that eventually the lights dimmed, the spots went up and...

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I was getting vid after vid, but it had been awhile since I last saw it so I didn't film the entire time, enjoying my favorite fireworks for the last time. *sadness*

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Even after the millionth or something time, the Star Wars fireworks still has me stunned to tears. For fireworks that only pay tribute to a portion of the Walt Disney company (albeit a pretty impactful one), they are pretty incredible. I didn't have much time to take them in as the first showing of Fantasmic was coming up and I couldn't miss it. There was a chance that they could fill up well before the show started so I raced over to the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater entrance.

The theater was pretty filled by the time I got there. I sat in my usual spot off to the side, but right up front. I ain't afraid of no splash zone, nuh-uh. I mean, you really don't get that wet. It's the kind of wet you need sometimes in Florida.

I chose that I'd livestream my last Fantasmic so I ended up not taking any photos. I also realized later it only recorded up until the beginning of the Princess section. I was pretty upset, but hey it still was a lovely final Fantasmic. Here's the link to it on my Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timmy.saun...001078299208/1311131478932783/?type=3&theater


To keep things short, yes, I did see Bert. He didn't see me, only I saw him but that was all I needed.

After Fantasmic ended, I quickly made a mad dash through the crowd to get out because my RnRC FP time was now and I knew that if I didn't beat this crowd, there'd probably be a huge line over there. I managed to crowd dodge fairly well and got to RnRC before most of the crowd. There was already a decent line forming in Standby, FastPass AND Single Rider. Standby was already out the front of the entrance sign to the ride. Eventually, all three lines were crowding up the ENTIRE RnRC area. I had NEVER seen anything like it. I was thanking my lucky stars that I actually got in line when I did although I still had a wait.

My only want for this last ride on RnRC (since there was no way I was getting back in line with the crowds) was that I got "Love In An Elevator/RollerCoaster". I'd ridden it many many times at this point and have gotten all of or most of the songs you can get. I'd primarily get "Nine Lives", which I was SOOO over by now so I was actually praying I didn't get that. Anything else, I'd be LIT for. Lo-and-behold, I DID get "Love In An Elevator" and had the ride of my life. My ride photo was pretty meh looking so I didn't save it. All that mattered was I got to say goodbye to the ride that allowed me to conquer my fear of launches and loops (and turned me into a thrill seeking monster... sorta).

As soon as I got off, it was already under an hour until Jingle Bell Jingle BAM so I ran back to Hollywood Boulevard to find a spot (which was front-and-center per usual. Bless being a solo park-goer!). I originally thought I'd skip this in favor of getting some shorter waits, but I knew with how the past few days were going at MK and at the other parks, that just really wasn't going to happen so I thought "Why not?" The park MIGHT clear out after since the last Fantasmic happens at the same time, but the park is opened for another hour.

*fingers crossed*

I'm not a big fan of JBsquared (yes, I just made that up), but the amount of obscure films they highlight during one portion of the show that made me cry I couldn't miss. Again, I'd seen this one MANY times so I decided to live stream. I think I got everything for this one: https://www.facebook.com/timmy.saunders.79/videos/vb.100001078299208/1311167732262491/?type=3&theater


I've literally been watching all these livestreams as I write this and it's still amazing how emotional I get about this. The PDCPD is real real REAAAAALLLL, even for things I wasn't even that attached to. I'm such a messy Disney fan omg

After Jingle Bell Jingle Bam ended, the night was still young and as I could see the crowds disperse back down to a snoaping Hollywood Boulevard, I decided to go on the road less travelled.

Wonder where it took me?

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What an excellent night! It's great that you got to see all the nighttime shows in one night - sometimes scheduling makes that really difficult. And I'm glad you saw Bert :lovestruc
 
You hit the trifecta of nighttime shows at DHS! I'm glad you were able to time everything right and see them all! AND that you finally got the song you wanted on RNRC!
 
What an excellent night! It's great that you got to see all the nighttime shows in one night - sometimes scheduling makes that really difficult. And I'm glad you saw Bert :lovestruc

It was and I still don't know how I managed ALL THREE. The Disney gods were smiling upon me. And Bert too. *sigh*

You hit the trifecta of nighttime shows at DHS! I'm glad you were able to time everything right and see them all! AND that you finally got the song you wanted on RNRC!

I still don't know how I did it, but what a blessing it was. And I actually have gotten that song before (I've ridden RnRC to every track they have), I just hadn't gotten it in awhile and it was my favorite so I was really excited when I got it on my last ride. Bless.
 
!!! Happy Friday the 13th everyone !!!

Wookie Sobbing and Hooray for Hollywood-ing One Last Time

December 21st, 2016

I said before I booked it out of Hollywood Boulevard, well... I lied. I hung around outside the Great Movie Ride to enjoy the snoap and see where the crowds were headed. Then, I also took some pics in front of the Studios sign in front of Echo Lake.





After that, I ran out of Hollywood Boulevard to get to a galaxy far far away. Obviously Launch Bay was the first choice to start finishing off the night. I mean, I had to say goodbye to my Chewie, no matter how sad I knew it was going to be.

However, I hadn't seen the Star Wars Launch Bay movie so I went in there first.



It was pretty empty and I think I was nearly by myself for the few minutes I waited and then when we went in, I sat right up front all alone. The park really had emptied out as I expected and the CMs were living for it. Look at this!

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If you're not familiar with Star Wars or couldn't really catch the joke, it was about Anakin at the end of Revenge of the Sith when he *SPOILER ALERT* gets burnt alive and cut in half by Obi Wan, his mentor. A very off-color, dark humor type joke.

Anyways, I didn't film the film because yeah I'd get caught. It was really interesting. Kind of a nice plus to the Star Wars fireworks that celebrate aspects of the film, while this celebrates the making of the film, back when they first premiered on the scale of writing, production and all of the above. I'm a huge nerd for this kind of stuff so it was nice to take all that info in along with all the star commentary they had. After the film ended, we were let right out into Launch Bay.

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I went immediately into line for Chewie which was nonexistent. I still had to wait for some reason, someone was probably ahead of me or something. Eventually I was let in to the Rebel base where my favorite wookie was waiting with open arms.













Apologies for my weird face, but omg this was the perfect M&G to end my Studios night. I mean, Chewie M&Gs are always wonderful just for the hugs and curious nature, but this was just perfect. After I went in for the usual hug, Chewie noticed my ears and I told him that this was the last time I was seeing him. And... he Wookie sobbed. Like you know that awful screech he makes when he's sad, I heard that. Like break my heart into a gajillion pieces. Oh, it got emotional, but I got out of there before the water works started. It really made me smile though. I got a high-five and a kiss goodbye. All I needed from my favorite Wookie.

After I got out of the Rebel Base, I was back in Launch Bay and I decided to stop by the Cantina where, lo-and-behold, the Jawas were having their own little Jawas only party.

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The Jawas just gathered around me, the only person there, who was more than willing to trade, although we knew that wasn't going to happen. One of them really liked my tassel. I asked to take a quick selfie, which they happily obliged.



I didn't stay long with the Jawas, who wanted my phone, but all they did was fight over it so I took it back. I left and I still had a bit of time left in the night. I had covered everything EXCEPT the icon of Studios: The Great Movie Ride!

Studios was dead dead DEAD at this point. The line for The Great Movie Ride was nonexistent and I basically walked right on. Everyone who was left was also in pretty good spirits. No more salty, bitter guests. And the CM I got for a GMR host was THE BEST! It has been SOOOOO long since I got a decent GMR host and Matt was the best. I had hoped a friend I met during Custodial training would get to narrate my GMR ride, but he lost his proficiencies before I got to (sadness). Nonetheless, Matt was killing it and I also got a front row seat so this GMR ride was going to be so so LIT. Oh yeah, the magic was real!

Now, please enjoy my one last journey into the movies!

I'm not ready CB... not ready.

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*Note: I wrote this update prior to the announcement about GMR closing down and the day it actually did, but I'm leaving it in its true form so you know that I DO love this ride and am going to miss it SOOO much*

A standing ovation well-deserved. I'm really praying and hoping and pixie-dusting and back-flipping and whatever else I can do to make sure this attraction isn't going under the gauntlet that seems to be coming down every which way in Studios. I'm willing to let go of certain things, but this... this going (and RnRC changing to a different artist than Aerosmith) would break me. It would be lovely with their TMC partnership ending to go back to the old spiel (RIP Robert Osbourne, but your narration done ruined GMR), not to take down the entire attraction. I love Mickey Mouse but he has NO place in the Grauman's Chinese Theater.

Anyways, when I got off, the park was nearly closed and I thought MAYBE I could make it over to RnRC for one last ride. Before I sprinted down Sunset, I had to get one last photo with my beloved GMR.



I started running, unfortunately by the time I got to Sunset, I realized I was much too late. Oh well. I did get one last ride earlier and it was wonderful so I had no complaints. Sunset's such an iconic area of Studios I had to get one last photo, especially with it being so empty and Tower looking so gloriously eerie.



OK not THAT empty, but the procession out of the park was scattered meaning it was just about to be empty. Back to Hollywood Boulevard it was.

On Hollywood Boulevard, I scouted out a Photopass photographer to get one last shot of me with the Studios icon. That was the goal to have one last look icon photo with each park. Studios was going to be no different.



My day ended there and I was out of the park, walking to the CP bus stop.

Studios had grown in my heart the most during the program. Before my CP, Studios was my least favorite park. Part of it was because I didn't go on most rides. Now I've ridden every single ride they have along with covering the majority of the shows and honestly, it's such a special place. It's unfortunate that it's starting to lose the "Hollywood that never was and always will be" vibe by being the place where Disney can promote movie after movie after movie. If I ever had a time machine, I'd love to go back to the park around when it first opened with the original Backlot Tour, the Osbourne Lights, the Hunchback of Notre Dame show, etc. etc. Still, I really discovered why so many call Hollywood their favorite and defend it. There's something so unique and special about Studios. I really hope in the coming years as Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land are being finished, they re-create the integrity that it still retains with those hot ticket lands in mind.

Until then, hooray for Hollywood and goodnight!

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RIP GMR. :sad:
We were just in Disney this past week and the week before. GMR was always one of our favorites, so the kids and I always stop out front and have a moment of silence in memory of what once was and should always have been.
Curse the ones who made the decision to end the greatness.>:(
 
RIP GMR. :sad:
We were just in Disney this past week and the week before. GMR was always one of our favorites, so the kids and I always stop out front and have a moment of silence in memory of what once was and should always have been.
Curse the ones who made the decision to end the greatness.>:(

Probably gonna be me here on out. I'm sorry but no matter how inventive that new Mickey attraction is gonna be I will ALWAYS be bitter about GMR. Yeah, A CURSE UPON THOSE RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS DEMISE.
 
Eventually I was let in to the Rebel base where my favorite wookie was waiting with open arms.


The love is so real and evident in this photo!! :lovestruc

After I went in for the usual hug, Chewie noticed my ears and I told him that this was the last time I was seeing him. And... he Wookie sobbed. Like you know that awful screech he makes when he's sad, I heard that. Like break my heart into a gajillion pieces. Oh, it got emotional, but I got out of there before the water works started. It really made me smile though. I got a high-five and a kiss goodbye. All I needed from my favorite Wookie.

No!! That's so sweet and sad! :sad:

*Note: I wrote this update prior to the announcement about GMR closing down and the day it actually did, but I'm leaving it in its true form so you know that I DO love this ride and am going to miss it SOOO much*

RIP GMR :sad1:...:sad:
 
Hi Timmy! Just wanted to say how much I've enjoyed your TR. My son is also named Timmy and he starts the Disney College Program at the end of January. He too will be in Custodial and is beyond excited!!!!! He was fortunate enough to get the extended program and we are looking forward to visiting him while he is there...We've already booked a trip for March, hoping to catch him for a bit while we are visiting...Any advice or wisdom you could offer would be wonderful!!!!
 

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