We. Are. CHUNKY! DISBoards Epic Girls Trip May 2019 THE END! Epilogue: Dream Cruise, Club 33 and a new TR!

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Your MK evening with the girls sounds like a lot of fun! I've only done one big Dis meet before back in 2008 but it was nothing like what you guys organized. So fun!

 

[docsoliday1]

Su-Queen and I thought that today was a good time to check out the Character Warehouse since my sister wasn't' going to a park anyways. So we headed out and Uber-ed over to the one on Vineland which is closest to Disney.

For future trips, pay a little more to go to the one on International. It's better.

I think she must have gotten this drive a lot! It was sort of in the back of the stores and no particular signage.

Yeah, the one you went to is near the back of the outlets and if it weren't reserved for valet parking, the back would be the closest walk.

The guys shirts had good selection. The women's stuff was hit or miss, but i did get this t shirt for myself:

Ironic. Every time I've been there I've seen a bunch of women's shirts and wished they had a men's version like it.

I found one and checked and the label still said full price on them so she didn't want them. They were definitely in the wrong spot because I then spotted a whole stack of them and they were 1.99 each!

For future reference (again)...they leave the original labels on them, but they have signs with outlet price. If you don't see a sign, don't expect to pay the "label price".

So CS and I went to the dock and waited on line then hopped on the next boat to springs. Then I got this text message from @Lesley Wake "Text your sister I see her from the boat!" I turned around and there was Lesley on the boat behind us! It also docked at POFQ. She didn't see that I was with my sister too, so I was wondering why she texted "I see your sister" but not me! Haha. I caught Lesley's attention from the other boat:

I saw this on @Lesley Wake TR. Still funny she saw Su-Queen, but not you.

I'm not big on themed dresses. Actually I'm not big on dresses period, although DW likes them.
This is a cute picture though.

We arrived at Morimoto and asked if they could seat 4 of us instead of 2 and they said sure! Yay for impromptu Dismeet Dinners!

Yay! Dismeets are great. Impromptu, even better.

I thought I'd give those Donald Butt Ears a try again but I didn't really like the way they fit me so I ultimately passed.

Okay, Su-Lynn, you keep showing us the duck butt ears. Quit teasing us and buy 'em already!

Steve didn't make it to the Springs as he had fun on Toy Story Mania. I think he just rode it twice on standby and called it a night. He likes to practice so he can try to beat me when we play together #crazyDISasian

As good as I am on Buzz in MK, I wish I could be that good on TSM. I think the firing mechanism on TSM is what causes me problems. I get focused on aiming and I think sometimes I forget I have to pull the cord like a madman.

 

[sommergirl25]

Hi everyone! OK an update on my ankle, it's NOT broken or fractured, just really badly sprained. It is still a little painful but much better than before, I'm back to walking around (with a strange swagger/limp) but at least it is not broken so no cast. It'll take me a few weeks in a brace and some PT to strengthen my ankle since this is my 2nd big injury on the same leg and I need to get it strong enough that it won't happen again! Thanks for all the well wishes! Fingers crossed there will be no more injuries on this leg!

Day 5 Part 2: The Plant Paparazzi

We rested in our room at the Swan before changing and heading out. We decided to walk through Epcot and grab some eats from Flower & Garden booths before heading into MK to meet up with our dessert party buddies. CS and I took the boat while I think Steve walked, not sure why but I think he just wanted to keep moving rather than wait.

We met Steve inside and took some pictures at the bridge.

My sister promptly ran away to Mexico to get pictures with Donald (because she was in her Aztec-inspired dress), while I ran over to France to get one of these babies:

The La Vie en Rose!

I spotted Steve checking out...some plants.

Caught him red handed! Well maybe not, I guess green-thumbed?

Now I just want to let you all know that Steve rarely takes pictures of anything, but he promptly takes his phone out on LWTL and also during Flower & Garden is no exception, LOL.

I just enjoyed my La Vie en Rose while he acted like the Plant Paparazzi 🏵☘

We managed to get Soarin' FPs but they weren't until a little later so we had some time to eat.

At Morocco I saw the deep fried cauliflower and thought it sounded really good. From Taste of Marrakesh: Fried Cauliflower with Capers, Garlic Parsley and Chili Ranch Sauce

OMG this was amazing! The sauce was really spicy but I thought this dish was wonderful. I love crunchy deep fried veggies. I makes me believe I'm eating something healthy and unhealthy at the same time, which is better than just being downright unhealthy right? Hahaha. If you don't like spice, the cauliflower without the sauce is still plenty tasty. Definitely don't forget the capers as it adds that extra salty tangy kick!

From Hanami booth in Japan: Chilled Soba Noodle Salad with Pan-seared Tuna and Wasabi Dressing

This was ok, the fish was fine, but overall I thought it was a bit bland.

We walked a bit further to Italy and got from Primavera Kitchen: Pomodori Verdi e Mozzarella: Fried Green Tomatoes, Mozzarella Cheese, Balsamic Reduction

This was amazing too. I just love everything on this, fried green tomatoes, mozzerella and balsamic. The tomatoes were freshly fried, crunchy hot and the cheese was cool and smooth. The contrasting textures plus the sweet balsamic just tied everything together, so yummy! The portion was also huge, but at 8 bucks it was good for sharing!

I was very happy with our entree from Italy. Usually their offerings don't entice me much since I'm a New Yorker and fantastic Italian food is had at every corner, but this dish was unique!

Who's else is excited about the live action Lion King coming out next week?

We made our way around World Showcase and Steve had some fun with Thor.

Also CS got her pictures:

As we made our way towards Future World, CS and I spied Daisy so we had to stop!

Then I spied my favorite....the sugarcane shrimp!! Also a favorite of @ariane37 's Steve. My Steve is not as infatuated with these shrimp as he is with 'Ohana shrimp though so he let me have this one to myself.

From Isla Fresca: Sugar Cane Shrimp Skewer with Steamed Rice and Coconut-Lime Sauce

So yummy! I love this stuff!

I had some fun trying to capture Spaceship Earth inside my ears.

Then we went and did our FP for Soarin' - on the way there I spied these flowers and promptly tried to make them into ears. @Tracy161 did I succeed?

After Soarin' we made our way out of Epcot to the monorail.

We grabbed some a pic at the entrance.

As we were leaving we spotted a rainbow!! #dadswatchingoverus

While waiting for the monorail we got a really good view:

Some more pretty views from the monorail:

I love seeing the sun's rays like that. I had a lovely moment back on our Feb/March trip where I saw that and it just reminded me of my dad. I see them all the time at Disney but I guess it's much more meaningful now.

Coming up...EPIC-LY EVER AFTER!
​

Where does your sister get all of her adorable dresses?

 

[Steppesister]

it's NOT broken or fractured, just really badly sprained.

YAY!!! Good news!

At Morocco I saw the deep fried cauliflower and thought it sounded really good. From Taste of Marrakesh: Fried Cauliflower with Capers, Garlic Parsley and Chili Ranch Sauce

That was one I wanted to try, but just didn't make it there.

I saw that and it just reminded me of my dad. I see them all the time at Disney but I guess it's much more meaningful now.

Awww.

Those were SO EPIC and mind is hanging on my pin board right where it belongs.

(although I think she was blocked by a very large...bush)

Ummm. LOL!

(Although I did ask Sarah how her kids were and she doesn't have any kids, doh, LOL, that's just me being a spaz as usual.)

LOLOLOL

Totally something I'd do!

but I guess when a guy is down on one knee you kinda know what's going on...

Haha, I guess!

That one is so darned cute and of COURSE, I love (and approve) of the ChunkyDumps! Done properly, I see!

As you can see Sarah and Molly are doing the cutest little Chunky Dumps, but with much less flair than @Steppesister, Don't worry at tommrow's event you will see the Chunky Dump the way it was meant to be done, courtesy of Liesa.

... .with flair. Perfection!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Sorry (not sorry) but I decided to skip that one. I'm so glad I didn't change up my plans that morning to come and see it.

Yeah good move!

Those fried cauliflower look delicious! CS always looks so cute in her character pics, I don't know how she manages that in the heat! And I love that you have those moments seeing the rainbows and think of your dad; very sweet and how special is it that Disney has lots of those moments for you!

The cauliflower was so good I ended up getting it 2 or 3 times during our trip! Definitely a new favorite!
Yes, my sister is a character. She is a slave to fashion and getting the perfect shot!
Definitely very poignant when I see rainbows or something pretty in the sky. Just lets us know that our loved ones are thinking of us and we of them

Those fried foods look really good. I think I got those fried green tomatoes from Italy; they were good. However, I haven't met a fried green tomato that I didn't eat Glad to hear about your ankle. Hope it heals soon.

Haha well I definitely met a fried green tomato that I did NOT enjoy during the festival...that is coming up later.
Ankle is getting better and better each day. Just have to remember to look when I walk!

Thinking you possibly always walked with a bit of a swagger? "Hey y'all… I'm going to Disney. Jealous? You should be." <swagger, swagger, swagger>

True, I do have Disney swagger.

You guys look great.

Thanks!

Hot plants? Hot-house plants???

Well it was definitely hot that day.

How's his hydroponic garden coming? Still dismantled?

Yup, and mudroom still not finished. What else is new?

Darn! I wanted this one... but was too full!

NExt time you have to make room!

He needs a hammer...

Yes he does.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Oh I'm so glad to hear it! Although... I sprained something when I was a kid (don't even remember what now ) but I do remember the doctor saying it would have been easier had it just been broken - so, my point is that I can imagine how painful it's been because a bad sprain can be just as bad as a break (if not worse!) - at least according to my very foggy childhood memory of a trip to the doctors

Yes! A sprain has longer term effects. Like the tendons get weaker and weaker each time you sprain it! So sad that this is possibly something I'll have to deal with the rest of my life.

Priorities, right?

Exactly!

Mission accomplished - and what a cute photo, too!

Thank you!

Yes! You sure do have quite the knack for this!

Haha I know! This one was deliberate though!

Just ask any PP photographer, right?

You know it!

Great news! I'm so glad you didn't break your ankle. The PT should really help to get you going again...

Thanks! It's feeling much better now.

I love Steve's Tomorrowland tee (I have the same one). LOL!

It's such a cute tee and I got it at the character warehouse! It was 12 bucks I think!

I would love this!! Sounds/looks so good!!

It was delicious!!

Love all the pics!! SOunds like such a fun night between the fireworks and the dessert party!!

So much fun!!

Soo cute! Way to go Billie & CS!

It was an 11th hour thing but glad they pulled it off!

Oh my goodness I love these! And I LOVE the balloon frame. I need to play around more with the frames on PhotoPass. There's so many cute options.

That one was actually a magic shot! We didn't put any borders on! I just don't have the time and I can't stand the photopass website, even after they made it better.

Come on Steve, get excited!

He's so over it.

Understandable. Sad, but understandable.

I guess that is a good indication that we enjoyed ourselves!

Like the effect on this one.

Thanks!

That picture is so... perfect!

It summed up our trip well.

Conversely, #disneyrookies

sigh, them rookies...

I've always been so pleasantly surprised with how comfortable I feel with DISers, so quickly.

We just let you believe that

I think I did something similar. Asked about a non-existent husband or something.

Haha, I would totally do that too.

Because they're concentrating on important matters. Dessert.

Right.

Tragic humiliation?

Begging for forgiveness as well.

Really nice shots!

Thank you!

I told you. Tragic humiliation. I just saw a video of a guy proposing to his girl... in a mall food-court (okay...). He even had a violinist. She walked out.

Oh, tragic indeed!

Great group!

We certainly are!

Unacceptable! I'll have to have a word with management.

Yes please do, don't get how they can't run the Peoplemover during EMH!!

 

[chunkymonkey]

That's good news although sprains can be pretty painful too. I hope it heals up quickly.

Ugh it's the worst having to walk in a boot/brace. But thankfully it's much better now.

Probably going to go see it with my Mom when I'm home visiting her.

So excited! Even just to hear the music again - but the visuals look great!

Another awesome one!

Thanks!

I'm pretty sure I was in the jewelry store right behind you guys at that moment.

Haha that wouldn't be surprising!

Yay! I was sad that I missed out on the first Chunky boat of the trip but was so excited to finally meet up.

Yes! Very excited we got to meet up early on in the trip!

I totally agree with this one.

We all just "clicked", it was so nice!

Because we were listening to the CM tell us about the proposal!

Haha and Lesley was playing late night lotto!

Drooling right now remembering all of that sugary goodness.

Yum, I really enjoyed that dessert party!

That's really funny! I do love all those pictures except for the one where I didn't follow directions.

That's what made it so cute!!

Sounds like such a fun evening! All the Dis ladies are so cute!

It was fun! We all had a great time!

I love that you witnessed a proposal during HEA and how fun that you got to be in on it a little bit.

Yes! It's so sweet to witness!

Poor young cheese cubes

RIP

You guys are so cute.

Haha, he pays more attention to plants!

This looks/sounds delicious! I just had lunch, but I really, really want this right now.

OMG it was delicious I hope they have it again!

Even CUTER!

Thanks!

So sweet! I once witnessed a surprise proposal and immediately teared up. And I'm not a sappy person (usually), but something about the preparation and earnestness was really touching.

It really is! I don't really cry at much either, but I cry at all Disney movies and at Disney in general, LOL.

Sounds like an awesome start to your epic trip! I really need to do the dessert party again. I think I did it on a bad night!!

My first HEA dessert party was a bust, it was super crowded and they ran out of food early on, but I think the key is doing the after dessert party. Loved it!

Can't wait to hear about the VIP tour!

Loved this on FB and still think it's so cute

Thanks! One of my favorites!

I likey like

Thanks!

 

[kastoney]

My sister promptly ran away to Mexico to get pictures with Donald (because she was in her Aztec-inspired dress), while I ran over to France to get one of these babies:

The juxtaposition of you two cracks me up every time. Are you sure you are sisters

Fried Cauliflower with Capers, Garlic Parsley and Chili Ranch Sauce

OMG this was amazing! The sauce was really spicy but I thought this dish was wonderful. I love crunchy deep fried veggies. I makes me believe I'm eating something healthy and unhealthy at the same time, which is better than just being downright unhealthy right?

How did I not know this existed! I'm a sucker for cauliflower. I totally sucked at Flower and Garden. I'd done no prep to see what I wanted and beyond the Steve shrimp I'm not even sure what I ate or drank. But I was with you all so goodness there!

This was amazing too. I just love everything on this, fried green tomatoes, mozzerella and balsamic. The tomatoes were freshly fried, crunchy hot and the cheese was cool and smooth.

And this!!! You are so right Italy offerings are normally a hard pass but this looks amazing!!! Our tomatoes are just starting to come in so we may have to try and give this a whirl at home

So yummy! I love this stuff!

Now this I know I had and I could not agree more

or in our case, Billie (@Elevationist) and Sarah (@IowaTater) were literally on Main St too!!

SCORE!!!!

EPIC.

EPIC doesn't even begin to describe it!!!

I love this framing. Is that from the Disney site?

My expression is genuine, y'all, I do this every day!

This is everything. And something tells me Steve and Chunkysis's expressions are very genuine as well

Apparently we are the only ones on this boat who know exactly where the ride camera is!! #disneyveterans

Except for the lady in front adjusting her neck. Don't forget her!

Oh and I tried to get some Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake:

Let's have a moment of silence for the cheese. They were young cheeses too, hadn't really aged nor were they mature. Poor little cheese cubes. I must say though that the Babybells were spared, they do not serve those at the dessert party.

Poor cheese cubes. May they RIP somewhere on Main Street

And here it is all put together:

This is amazing! Looks like you all had a great night

 

[Tracy161]

Yes! A sprain has longer term effects. Like the tendons get weaker and weaker each time you sprain it! So sad that this is possibly something I'll have to deal with the rest of my life.

Ugh. I'm sorry to hear this. I'm hoping this won't be the case for you and that it'll heal up nicely and leave you alone!

Haha I know! This one was deliberate though!

 

[pkondz]

Well it was definitely hot that day.

It was summer-hot all that trip.

Yup, and mudroom still not finished. What else is new?

Well, he's building the world's biggest bench. That takes time.

NExt time you have to make room!

Must learn how to purge.

It summed up our trip well.

We just let you believe that

Begging for forgiveness as well.

ah yes! Quite right.

Yes please do, don't get how they can't run the Peoplemover during EMH!!

Inexcusable!

 

[annie170]

That's good news about your ankle! Ankle sprains can be really pesky. My sister had a bad sprain several years ago and it bothered her for quite a while. I hope yours doesn't give you any issues.

Those fried green tomatoes look fabulous! I'm drooling just looking at the photo!

What a great bunch of ladies on this trip! Your pictures on Main Street are adorable!

Can't wait to read about the VIP tour!

 

[suse66]

Hi everyone! OK an update on my ankle, it's NOT broken or fractured, just really badly sprained. It is still a little painful but much better than before, I'm back to walking around (with a strange swagger/limp) but at least it is not broken so no cast. It'll take me a few weeks in a brace and some PT to strengthen my ankle since this is my 2nd big injury on the same leg and I need to get it strong enough that it won't happen again! Thanks for all the well wishes! Fingers crossed there will be no more injuries on this leg!

Glad to hear your ankle is not broken. Hope you feel better soon!!

We rested in our room at the Swan before changing and heading out. We decided to walk through Epcot and grab some eats from Flower & Garden booths before heading into MK to meet up with our dessert party buddies. CS and I took the boat while I think Steve walked, not sure why but I think he just wanted to keep moving rather than wait.

love this picture!

At Morocco I saw the deep fried cauliflower and thought it sounded really good. From Taste of Marrakesh: Fried Cauliflower with Capers, Garlic Parsley and Chili Ranch Sauce

Mmmmm, had this in March and loved it!

We walked a bit further to Italy and got from Primavera Kitchen: Pomodori Verdi e Mozzarella: Fried Green Tomatoes, Mozzarella Cheese, Balsamic Reduction

I wanted to try this but ran out of stomach space....

As we were leaving we spotted a rainbow!! #dadswatchingoverus

And this classic picture. I don't remember if we told the photographer if we were on a girls trip, or if she saw our buttons but she told us to pose like this and it is the most hilarious picture ever.

Too funny!

I don't have too many pics of the fireworks, I have a few videos but you all have seen HEA so I will just post these favorites:

These are great shots!

It turns out they do not run the Peoplemover during EMH which is sad, so we went on Buzz instead. I am not a good Buzz player. I am usually quite dismal, but for some unbeknownst reason i was really good that night! I must have caught one of the secret Z without knowing it. When I looked at my score I was amazed as I've never gotten anything like this before.

Amazing score....I am so bad at these games!

 

[chunkymonkey]

This is definitely my favourite picture that came out of this trip.

Probably mine too!

Oh my goodness! Lovely! How cute is that!

Very cool to be proposed to at Disney World!

Good thing that wasn't the case!

Whew! I would have a very different story to tell!

I was wondering! Looks like a good spread at the dessert party

It was great! I am not sure what the DF GF version looks like but hopefully it isn't too shabby.

That's too bad! Travel days make me zonked and sometimes feel yucky too.

True, especially when travelling from far away!

Both of your expressions in this are awesome!

We obviously knew where the ride camera was (although I am probably blinking...on purpose of course LOL)

Your food from the F&G booths looks delicious, especially the fried green tomatoes and mozzarella dish from Italy. It also looks so large where most of the food booth dishes seem tiny!

Yes! It was a great find! And it was a huge portion! Good for sharing!

What a beautiful rainbow! I'm sure your dad was saying hello!

It certainly felt like it! He was telling us to be happy in our happy place

That picture of the four of you with Steve off to the side is HILARIOUS!

Haha everyone seems to agree!

The HEA dessert party looked fun! I love that they now include snacks along with desserts. (Also a grey stuff push pop? YUM!)

It was really good and definitely an improvement from our first HEA dessert party (which wasn't as enjoyable)

I LOVE all your Photopass pictures in front of the castle! What a great time!

Thanks! We were having a blast!

Now if only it really was Chris Evans...

A girl can dream...

Dunno-I was probably trying to work my magic with the Late Night Lotto!

Haha good call!

Ok, that was awesome! I think I remember you telling us about that!

I thought I would have the perfect "Voila, here is the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake" moment.

RIP cheese cubes.

And to perish so far from home-they were Swiss after all...

So tragic. We need to have a memorial for them on our next epic trip!

I was WAY behind ...... I mean PAGES behind!!! There is too much to comment on, just love following you around AND I am all caught up now!

Hi Karin! So happy you could join! I'm sure you are so excited it's summer and soon you will be at Disney again!

Love ALL your trip reports and specifically watch out for every time you go. I pretend I'm right along there with you.

Aww, that is so sweet! Thank you for reading and I'm so happy you can come along for the ride!

Your MK evening with the girls sounds like a lot of fun! I've only done one big Dis meet before back in 2008 but it was nothing like what you guys organized. So fun!

The DISmeets are definitely getting more epic!!

 

[chunkymonkey]

For future trips, pay a little more to go to the one on International. It's better.

OK!

Yeah, the one you went to is near the back of the outlets and if it weren't reserved for valet parking, the back would be the closest walk.

Got it!

Ironic. Every time I've been there I've seen a bunch of women's shirts and wished they had a men's version like it.

Haha the grass is always greener...

For future reference (again)...they leave the original labels on them, but they have signs with outlet price. If you don't see a sign, don't expect to pay the "label price".

I know now that is the case!

I saw this on @Lesley Wake TR. Still funny she saw Su-Queen, but not you.

I'm invisible!

I'm not big on themed dresses. Actually I'm not big on dresses period, although DW likes them.
This is a cute picture though.

Thanks! I'm sure you'd look good in a dress. You and @pkondz need to model them on the next dapper day.

Okay, Su-Lynn, you keep showing us the duck butt ears. Quit teasing us and buy 'em already!

I actually did not like them after all!

As good as I am on Buzz in MK, I wish I could be that good on TSM. I think the firing mechanism on TSM is what causes me problems. I get focused on aiming and I think sometimes I forget I have to pull the cord like a madman.

Haha I am WAAAAAY better in TSM than Buzz.

Where does your sister get all of her adorable dresses?

She buys them from these groups on Facebook. One of them is called Spades Boutique. They have a website www.spadesboutique.com
You pre-order them and they take a while to make and receive (think a month and a half turnaround) but they are so cheap so you can buy a whole bunch.
She also belongs to other groups but they all make very similar dresses with the same prints.

YAY!!! Good news!

Thanks! Still hobbling but not as badly as before.

That was one I wanted to try, but just didn't make it there.

It's really good!

Awww.

Those were SO EPIC and mind is hanging on my pin board right where it belongs.

LOLOLOL

Totally something I'd do!

I was so out of it! How did I not know that!

That one is so darned cute and of COURSE, I love (and approve) of the ChunkyDumps! Done properly, I see!

You'll just have to show everyone how it's done next time, the Steppe way!

... .with flair. Perfection!

Exactly!!

 

[chunkymonkey]

The juxtaposition of you two cracks me up every time. Are you sure you are sisters

We may look alike but we are very different! We have different food tastes. She doesn't eat anything raw and eats well done steak. The horror!

How did I not know this existed! I'm a sucker for cauliflower. I totally sucked at Flower and Garden. I'd done no prep to see what I wanted and beyond the Steve shrimp I'm not even sure what I ate or drank. But I was with you all so goodness there!

Haha it was all good, I ate enough for the both of us. You don't remember when I ordered them during our drink around the world? I was sharing them with everyone!

And this!!! You are so right Italy offerings are normally a hard pass but this looks amazing!!! Our tomatoes are just starting to come in so we may have to try and give this a whirl at home

It was sooo good! One of the best things I ate during the festival.

Now this I know I had and I could not agree more

Shrimp party!!

EPIC doesn't even begin to describe it!!!

I love this framing. Is that from the Disney site?

It was a magic shot actually! We don't bother with the borders anymore so we were surprised it showed up in our account like this!

This is everything. And something tells me Steve and Chunkysis's expressions are very genuine as well

Yes you are correct!!

Except for the lady in front adjusting her neck. Don't forget her!

Pirates of the Chiropractic....a great ride!!

Poor cheese cubes. May they RIP somewhere on Main Street

Such a tragedy. I hope they didn't get stepped on.

This is amazing! Looks like you all had a great night

It was so fun!

Ugh. I'm sorry to hear this. I'm hoping this won't be the case for you and that it'll heal up nicely and leave you alone!

Thank you!! I hope so too!

It was summer-hot all that trip.

Yes it was!

Well, he's building the world's biggest bench. That takes time.

It's like the never-ending story

That's good news about your ankle! Ankle sprains can be really pesky. My sister had a bad sprain several years ago and it bothered her for quite a while. I hope yours doesn't give you any issues.

Thank you! Unortunately it looks like this ankle is going to be forever giving me problems

Those fried green tomatoes look fabulous! I'm drooling just looking at the photo!

They were amazing! I loved the combination!

What a great bunch of ladies on this trip! Your pictures on Main Street are adorable!

Thank you! We had so much fun and got along great!!

Can't wait to read about the VIP tour!

Coming up next!

Glad to hear your ankle is not broken. Hope you feel better soon!!

Thank you!

love this picture!

Mmmmm, had this in March and loved it!

So yummy!!

I wanted to try this but ran out of stomach space....

I was very full! But I sacrificed...

These are great shots!

Thank you! They were so fun!

Amazing score....I am so bad at these games!

I am regularly bad at Buzz but pretty decent at TSM!

 

[paradesintherain]

So I'm at home today because I fell and hurt my ankle...again! If you all remember in Jan 2017 I fractured my ankle 2 months before I was supposed to run the Princess 5k. Well, fortunately I was able to walk it, but unfortunately I fell in a similar fashion last Thursday, and I feel like it is fractured again.

Nooo, how unfortunate! Glad to hear it isn't broken though.

(They are quite dense and not hollow like they used to be.)

Less authentic that way! But the Mickey shape is pretty darn cute.

There were limited park maps and they also had buttons to hand out to everyone.

The buttons are so adorable.

Once we had used up all our FPs we didn't bother to stay at DHS since it was crowded that day

It got way less crowded in the afternoon. Think everyone was disappointed in the lack of offerings and left!

Beautiful!

My sister promptly ran away to Mexico to get pictures with Donald (because she was in her Aztec-inspired dress), while I ran over to France to get one of these babies:

I like your priorities!

This was amazing too. I just love everything on this, fried green tomatoes, mozzerella and balsamic. The tomatoes were freshly fried, crunchy hot and the cheese was cool and smooth. The contrasting textures plus the sweet balsamic just tied everything together, so yummy! The portion was also huge, but at 8 bucks it was good for sharing!

Looks way better than the fried green tomatoes from the Odyssey building.

Who's else is excited about the live action Lion King coming out next week?

Not me! I'm a party pooper about this movie, but The Lion King is my favorite movie of all time, and this is so bland in comparison. Maybe I'll be proven wrong... I ended up loving the live action Aladdin!

Love this!

Ooooh pretty! Looks like a fantastic location for the fireworks.

Love this photo!

I'm a huge fan of your gifs! Soooo cute!

 

[franandaj]

CS and I took the boat while I think Steve walked, not sure why but I think he just wanted to keep moving rather than wait.

I'd rather save my legs and rest.

I ran over to France to get one of these babies:

I like your choice better.

I just enjoyed my La Vie en Rose while he acted like the Plant Paparazzi 🏵☘

At Morocco I saw the deep fried cauliflower and thought it sounded really good.

Somehow I don't see myself ever saying that phrase.

OMG this was amazing! The sauce was really spicy but I thought this dish was wonderful. I love crunchy deep fried veggies. I makes me believe I'm eating something healthy and unhealthy at the same time, which is better than just being downright unhealthy right?

I can understand all of that, but I despise cauliflower, so not happening!

From Hanami booth in Japan: Chilled Soba Noodle Salad with Pan-seared Tuna and Wasabi Dressing

I'm sad I never got to this one, I think I would have liked it.

This was amazing too. I just love everything on this, fried green tomatoes, mozzerella and balsamic. The tomatoes were freshly fried, crunchy hot and the cheese was cool and smooth.

My parents got this one, and seemed to like it. I didn't want to try it after I didn't like the Fried Green Tomato Dish at the Arbor.

From Isla Fresca: Sugar Cane Shrimp Skewer with Steamed Rice and Coconut-Lime Sauce

I was wondering why I didn't try this, until I saw the Coconut-Lime Sauce....

 

[franandaj]

For most of the trip we were just posting in our Facebook group kinda what our location was at that moment, or we'd post a picture and usually someone would be like, "I'm in the same park!" or "I'm right next door!" or in our case, Billie (@Elevationist) and Sarah (@IowaTater) were literally on Main St too!!

Nice! Glad it all worked out for you! And you got the button too!

And this classic picture. I don't remember if we told the photographer if we were on a girls trip, or if she saw our buttons but she told us to pose like this and it is the most hilarious picture ever.

That's awesome! I think I saw that one on FB.

First of many Chunky boats!! I love Billie and Sarah's very excited expressions to be on a Chunky boat. We should all have that expression on Chunky boats! Steve is borderline bored of Chunky boats.

His expression is priceless!

Apparently we are the only ones on this boat who know exactly where the ride camera is!! #disneyveterans

I don't know, I kinda like the one who is scratching her head....

Soon we were joined by the rest of the dessert party ladies...Lesley (@Lesley Wake), Caroline (@disneyAndi14), and Molly (@Mollydolly334).

Fun!

Actually I think that was the PP photographer coming to tell us (in hushed tones) that the couple sitting in front of us, the guy was going to propose to the girl during HEA so not to be alarmed when she darts in to grab their picture.

We had the same thing happen when we watched HEA.

It was hard not to look at them when we knew the intel! I even felt nervous for the guy, he certainly looked very anxious! When he proposed and she said yes, we all cheered and clapped.

I bet, we didn't know it was going to happen and the guy had arranged for his own photographer. Maybe a friend.

As we were getting ready to leave, the CMs told us to take food with us, so we grabbed the to-go cups for the coffee, the ones with lids, and filled it with cheese, crackers, egg rolls, anything we could take. Steve put our stuff in his back pack.

Awesome! Breakfast!

Even though we only did one ride, we decided we needed some rest before tomorrow's big big day, so we headed out. I had texted Steve and my sister and they said all the rides were breaking down so they didn't really get to go on anything, hahaha. So much for EMH!

Ugh, so much for EMH!

And here it is all put together:

That's hilarious!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Day 6 Part 1: The EPIC VIP Tour

It amazes me what a community we have become on the DISboards, especially the Trip Report forum. I'd rather read a bunch of TRs than read all the Disney blogs, listen to podcasts, or see all the Disney-fluencers on Instagram. I like to hear real-life stories of families on vacation, how they planned, how their trip went, what magical times they had, or what sucked, it's all great and so honest! I love being able to read other comments, share my own thoughts, and form a little Disboard family. I have met many DISboarders in person over the past 10 years and have had some very special things happen - from free pins, fastpasses, free cotton candy from the Main St Confectionery, a certain visit to a special "club" in Disneyland, to the gifts I received during this trip (more to come later!), the generosity of others on the boards never ceases to amaze me. So when I was contacted by a Disboarder, let's call this person "Chunkydust" - who offered to take a group of us on a VIP tour at WDW....I was floored! So grateful for this opportunity and so humbled that Chunkydust would even think about sharing with us!

I was pretty sure no one in our group had done a VIP tour before, and I was going to surprise them and tried to be all cryptic about it, finding out who was going to be in WDW that day, what their plans were, and if they were ok with abandoning said plans to meet me at a certain time for 7 hours...I knew they were all wondering, but could I keep my secret?

I believe Billie @Elevationist was the first to call me out, immediately asking if we were going on a VIP tour...and then I just couldn't hide it any longer! So much for keeping it as a surprise but it was really hard, logistically, to contain it!

So I announced:
YES WE WERE GOING ON A VIP TOUR!!!

All the ladies were truly surprised and just as amazed at the generosity of others. Well ladies, our combined 57 or so Trip Reports and our love of Disney has finally given us some pixie dust!

After a few logistical back and forths, we settled on a date and time. Initially we were supposed to meet at DHS but because Liesa @Steppesister brought up the good point that the Blue Angels were going to be flying over Epcot that morning, we decided to start in Epcot during their EMH and work our way around to all 4 parks! We made a list of all the rides we wanted to hit, and away we went!

We woke up bright and early to get into Epcot from International Gateway. We were lucky because it wasn't crowded on that side, but other ladies were not as lucky and ended up in long security lines at the main entrance. Epcot's bag check is the worst! Huge bottle necks and very few bag checkers. I assume the big renovation will take care of that (and also have a dedicated line from the monorail to Epcot without a bag check, like MK has).

We walked over to IG from the Swan as we did not see any boat in sight, and grabbed some scones and coffee at Boardwalk Bakery for sustenance.

We made our way over to Guest Relations near Spaceship Earth, which was our designated meeting spot. It was there that we got to meet for the first time: Kara @paradesintherain, Liesa @Steppesister, Kelly @buzzrelly, Jackie @missjackiemcg, Jenny @Jenny Sanders and her DH Joe, Fallon @fallonkendra and her hubby Luke, who gifted us all with delicious Canadian candies and chocolates. Yay more sustenance! And of course we cannot forget our lovely host Chunkydust, who although won't be in pictures, was there to share in the reverie or our wonderful VIP tour! It was the first VIP tour for all of us, and we were super excited!

Here are pictures from our tour. I'm ending with a video I put together.

EPCOT

Here we are on Test Track:

96 Power! That's all me.

During our tour all our ride photos were so random, and we'd get each other's ride pics but not our own, so I didn't get our own but I ended up with the car that Kari, Liesa, Kelly and Molly were on!

After TT our wonderful guides led us to an area in the middle of future world so that we'd get a good view of Spaceship Earth to watch the Blue Angles. I've seen them once before over the Hudson river, but having them fly over Disney was just awesome! I'm glad we watched them! The video of their flyover will be in my video at the end.

As we were waiting I had to record this video of @Elevationist who received some other Canadian goodies:

After watching the amazing Blue Angels, it was time for Frozen Ever After. I'm so happy we got to do this as I rarely get to ride it :

Then Soarin'

@Jenny Sanders hadn't seen the new movie yet and so she screamed loudly during one of the transitions with the bird. It was really funny!

We got a group picture in every park, here's us after we did Soarin':

Hollywood Studios

We were whisked off to DHS in our first private van ride. There are no pictures of the backstage areas as we were driving but it was really cool to see some of the behind the scenes sights including Food and Wine Festival booths which are in "storage" for the season. When we arrived at DHS we were offered chilled bottles of water and snacks. This is the life. We then headed straight to Slinky Dog!

Our group was so big, we literally had an ENTIRE train +1. Now THIS is how you ride Slinky Dog! An entire ride full of Chunkies!! Welcome to the Chunky Dog Dash!
Sarah rode with our amazing tour guide, Jon (I have opted to remove his last name for privacy purposes), who was so awesome, you just mention him, and magical things happen! LOL

Due to time, we decided to just do 2 rides on Chunky Dog Dash instead of heading to another ride. So Chunky Dog x2 it was!

And here is our group picture:

It was here that Liesa coined the term "Chunkydump" because she said, oh look at my pose, it looks like I'm taking a massive ****!
So the term Chunkydump is now HERS and I'm so happy she's owning it like a BOSS.

Animal Kingdom

We headed to our next park, AK! We were told that we'd stop for lunch at Satuli and we could order food from Satuli via mobile order but not to submit it until we were right about to get on the ride in Flight of Passage. That is a good idea, so you minimize the wait times and have your food ready when you exit. I'm going to have to remember that!

So for all the rides we went through the FP queue. During FoP we made a detour to one of the indoor caverns where Jon pointed out some Navi art on the ceilings.

Right as we were in the 2nd chamber before we get into the ride vehicles, we all placed our mobile order. Very excited for food after our ride!
Since we had an entire room for our party, we had fun in the pre-shows and did immature cool stuff like the wave to pass the time.
The ride was excellent, and I believe it was both Molly and Jenny's first ride on FoP and they loved it!
A few people don't ride FoP so they rode on Navi instead and it's nice they had let the group split up for those who don't ride certain things.

After we existed we went to Satuli our orders were ready and waiting.

I ordered my usual chicken bowl with rice and the charred green onion vinaigrette. They have changed the rice up since last time, it's now a rice and black bean blend whereas before I think it was like a rice pilaf with wild rice, I mean it's still good but I kinda liked the rice from before even though I think this version is slightly healthier because of the addition of beans. It also had more flavor on it's own.

Steve was much healthier than me as he got a steak bowl with greens. He really enjoyed this, and I would probably eat this on any other day but it's probably a little too healthy for me during vacation. LOL.

And here's our group picture in Pandora! Liesa with the Chunkydump for the win!

We went over to the Safari and through the FP line. I think it took way longer than usual even for FP.

Magic Kingdom

After the safari we boarded our last van over to MK with more chilled waters and snacks as we arrived. By now it was close to the end of the tour time but our tour guides were super nice in that they did a last ride drop-off, meaning they "dropped" us off at the FP line for 7DMT at the end of the tour. Before we parted ways with our amazing guides some of us got a picture with Jon, who was the most awesome VIP guide. (He was the one to drop us off at the FP entrance, otherwise I would have gotten a pic with our other guide too!) The way he spoke about Disney you know that he absolutely loved it and loved his job. He also sounded like he's been working there for 20 years, I mean this guy knew everyone in each park, he hi-fived many CMs in passing and spoke of things "back in the day". So it was to our surprise that we found out he has only been working at Disney for 2+ years. But he must have had such an impact with his interactions as you can totally see how everyone loves him!

When we ended the tour we all got these very special VIP tour pins!

And then it was back to being "regulars" in the parks. #butwhyyyyyyyy

Here's our ride pics from Mine train:

So Chunkysis was mentioning throughout the tour how she'd love to be able to get a picture with Celebration Mickey and Minnie but their lines were long and we did not get an FP for them on our trip. Jon made more magic happen. He told us to go to one of the Guest Experiences kiosks and to say his name and that we were part of his VIP tour. We didn't believe that we could just say "Hey, we were part of a VIP tour with Jon, it's now over but we'd really like to see Celebration Mickey and Minnie with a FP pretty please with a cherry on top?"

But you guys, that pretty much happened!

It was me, Steve, CS, Kari, and Kelly. We walked up to the kiosk on Main Street near Crystal Palace. And like literally, all we had to do was drop Jon's name, and the CMs there were all in awe. "Wow Jon, that guy is a legend!" "You did a tour with Jon? He's the man!" They took our bands, scanned them and soon we were all recipients of FPs to Celebration Mickey and Minnie at Town Hall. What!

Yes it was that easy. No I do not recommend dropping Jon's name to get anything you want.
I mean, I'm sure it'll work, but it may not be so magical for you as it was for us!

So we went to our final final stop on the VIP tour, Celebration Mickey and Minnie! Now this line is regularly long because they do interact with their guests. It was interesting to watch the guy in front of us. I think he was Japanese but he could imitate all the voices of Disney Characters, like Goofy, Donald, etc. It was really interesting to hear! He did that for a while and Mickey and Minnie were going nuts over it. Finally it was our turn!

So when it was just Steve and I posing they saw our buttons and we told Mickey and Minnie that it was a girls trip but that Steve tagged along.
Well now, after hearing that news, Mickey pushed me and Minnie out of the way and had some solo shots with Steve!

#brosbeforehos

Minnie came back and grabbed my sister, Kari, and Kelly and we all had a girly moment!

Well then Mickey tried to crash!

Then off course Minnie couldn't let Mickey have the last laugh...

It really was some of the best Character interaction we've ever had! They really took the time to make each meet and greet fun!

Well that was the last of our VIP treatment!
Back to park hopping via buses and monorails, back to no chilled waters and snacks waiting for us at every destination, back to having FPs only in one park...back to being...just a regular person who goes to Disney

Our Epic Tour video is here!
I used one of those video templates and can't edit it much so some of my dialogue is cut off but it was much easier an faster than doing a fully customized video. I may work on doing a better one later, but for now I think this is pretty good.

Hope you enjoy the video!

I'd like to give a big shout out to our benefactor, Chunkydust who was with us the whole time and was equally, if not more excited, to be there.
Thanks again Chunkydust! This wouldn't happen if weren't for you . I speak for all of us when I say we had an amazing time, just traveling in style, doing the rides we loved the most , and hanging out with the best Disney fans ever. So thank you for everything!

Oh and we're all going back again October 2021 (MK's 50th) for the next Epic Trip!


Coming up....Dinner at Storybook Dining at Artist Point!
​

 

[paradesintherain]

I'd rather read a bunch of TRs than read all the Disney blogs, listen to podcasts, or see all the Disney-fluencers on Instagram. I like to hear real-life stories of families on vacation, how they planned, how their trip went, what magical times they had, or what sucked, it's all great and so honest!

I agree so much! I've gotten so many wonderful ideas from reading TRs.

It was there that we got to meet for the first time: Kara @paradesintherain,

hey, it's me!

You take the best selfies!

That lady on the left wants to join in our group photo! Or she's jealous of the chunky dump!

I think it took way longer than usual even for FP.

I agree, it took forever!

This is my favorite, so much fun!