Trip Report: Tomorrowland Fun, Day 2, Part 2 (December 2019)

If you missed the last update, you can find it here.

Our next fastness was ready when we finished lunch. So, we headed to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain.

The CM who makes sure your lap bar is secure loved my shirt. He was super-pumped. He gave me a high-five and told me to eat all the pretzels. I'm sure CMs feel the pain because a lot of them are also childless millennials (or Get Z) who love Disney.

Next, we rode one of the best rides: the TTA. Who doesn't love the TTA? I also check what other fast passes were available and got one for Little Mermaid. I never remember what it's called-I just know the name is crazy long.

Since we were in the area, we decided to check out the Carousel of Progress. This is another attraction I haven't done in awhile. I also apparently am the least observant person. I never realized that each scene centers around a different season/holiday. Like I knew the last scene was Christmas, but I never put it all together.

I do really like COP. I don't feel the need to do it every trip, but I would be devastated if it went away. It's a little piece of Walt. 

We still had some time to kill before out Mermaid FastPasses, so we checked out Buzz. The posted wait time was 30 minutes, but we decided to get in line anyways. It ended up being about 15 minutes. And I won!

Then, our FastPasses were ready. So, we headed under the sea to see Ariel, Flounder, and friends. 

We started to head out after that. We had reservations for dinner at Hoop-Dee-Doo. Even though it's just a boat ride away, we like to build in extra time.

The Dapper Dans were performing by the Emporium so we stopped to watch. This is one of the reasons having extra time is good. It wasn't a problem for us to stop for a few minutes to see something we hadn't planned on.

Up Next: Hoop-Dee-Dooing It

Trip Report: Childless Millennial, Day 2, Part 1 (December 2019)

If you missed the last update, you can check it out here.

The plan for today was to have a late morning. This way we could catch up on some sleep. I woke up before my alarm, but around 8:30 so it was definitely some extra Zzzs.

I took a shower and got dressed while my dad still slept. He eventually got up and showered so I could be a little louder. I decorated our window for Christmas. 

We left the room around 10. Before hitting the bus stop, we checked the food court for the holiday mugs. They still weren't there.

Then, we went to the bus stop to go to Magic Kingdom. The screen with wait times didn't have one for Magic Kingdom, but the wait ended up being about 20 minutes. Be sure to plan for waits like this-especially if you have a reservation to make.

Oh, and since we were going to the flagship park today, I decided to wear my "Childless Millennial" shirt. Because I am, in fact, a Disney-loving childless millennial.

My MagicBand definitely scanned purple at the touchpoint this time.

Our plan was to go to Big Thunder, but the Trolley Show was coming down Main Street when we got there. This is one of my favorite things so we had to stop. An older woman (maybe in her 60s) stopped me and said she liked my shirt. Perhaps childless boomers and childless millennials can bond over this.

After the show we continued our journey to Frontierland. Again we got sidetracked and stopped at the Liberty Square ticket office. I wanted to get a birthday button. I didn't know this place was even here. It's very cute. There was a family already being helped and they were talking about the AP slider for the MagicBands. I completely forgot about those. I asked for them, too. They had like 4 left so we were lucky. 

The CM helping us also liked my childless millennial shirt. It's a crowd favorite.

Then, we hit up Big Thunder with our FastPasses. This is just one of my favorite attractions.

We stayed in Frontierland, and went to Tom Sawyer Island. I don't even remember the last time I went over there. We decided to just wander around and check out all the nooks and crannies.

Some of the caves are tight squeezes. But as two bigger people we made it through. The barrel bridge is quite the adventure! We kind of let ourselves get lost. 

I highly recommend going over there. It's a nice and relaxing place. The feel is so different from the rest of the park. You can relax away from the loud crowds. 

Eventually, we made our way back to the "main land". We didn't know what to do next and just started walking. They were saying the next showing of Country Bear Jamboree was starting soon so, of course, we went in. It's a classic! And the show was pretty full which was nice to see. It makes my heart happy to see this show appreciated.

When we got out it was time for our Pirates of the Caribbean fast passes. A kid sitting behind us got scared. It's easy to forget this can be scary, but it's dark and full of fire and loud noises. Just be aware of what your kids can handle. I felt bad for that little boy.

After that we were hungry. We did mobile order for Peco Bill's. We got our food pretty quick. And it wasn't too hard to find a table. It is hard to talk to my dad in this restaurant though. Even with his hearing aids he struggles when there's a lot of background noise. We took our time to eat and rest a little.

Up Next: Tomorrowland Fun

Trip Report, Day 1, Part 3: Pandora!

Date: November 30, 2019

If you missed the last post, you can check it out here.

Our next fastpasses were for Na'vi River Journey. So we headed to Pandora via the bridge from Africa. 

Na'vi River Journey is a good attraction, but I wouldn't wait more than 15-20 minutes for it. It's just really short. The shaman animatronic is great, but only makes up for so much.

Then, it was lunchtime so we did mobile order at Satu'li Canteen. I ended up getting the hotdog kid's meal. I highly recommend kids meals. They are a great value. My dad got a bowl-I don't remember which one. We both liked are food. The hotdog was the best thing I ate today. And that's saying something because I'm not a huge fan of hot dogs.

Then, we were off to Asia. We went to my favorite trail-Maharajah Jungle Trek. I like both the animals and the overall theming/aesthetic. Unfortunately, there were no bats. This is the second time I've missed out on bats. I love them-they are the puppies of the sky.

When we finished up our FastPasses for Kilimanjaro Safaris were ready. I was worried the sun would be in our eyes because I've had that happened on afternoon safaris in the past. But it wasn't that bad.

There were tons of giraffes on the safari. The cheetahs were also very active. I'd never seen that before and it was very cool to see. 

Then, we did standby for Dinosaur. I love Dinosaur-the preshow is a gem. 

After that, it was getting dark so we headed to the Tree of Life. I wanted to see the Tree of Life: Awakenings. Our last trip there was a  downpour so we weren't able to watch it. We saw 2 shows-I think It was a little unclear how the structure of the show is set up.

Then, we decided to do stand-by for Flight of Passage. We've hard the line can be not that bad close to park close. Plus, everyone says the queue/lab is amazing. We ended up waiting about 90 minutes. the lab was nice, but a very small part of the overall queue. I don't think I would do standby again. It is a fun ride, but does really scare me. My dad says you have to just really through yourself into it. 

Maybe next time.

Then, we headed back to the hotel. They still didn't have any holiday refillable mugs.

We got 3 Mickey beignets to share from Scat Cat's. We got the regular ones, but they have flavors and liquor shots. People always rave about them. We were both a little underwhelmed. They were good, but not amazing. Both of us also almost died by choking on sugar. They put so much sugar on these. I would hate to clean those tables. 

We tried to use My Disney Experience App to find our room. It wasn't very helpful but we got there eventually. I unpacked, my dad soaked his feet in ice and I was out!

Steps Walked Today: 21, 851

Up Next: Day 2

Trip Report Day 1, Part 2: Animal Watching (December 2019)

Date: November 30, 2019

If you missed the last update, you check it out here.

After the show we headed over to Africa to check out Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail. This isn't my favorite trail, but it is still good. There were two young gorillas (brother I think) playing/fighting with each other. It was exciting! There was also a mom with a baby but she was sitting next to a post and a lot of people were trying to see her so I had trouble getting a picture.

Is there a process for this? I try to only stay near the glass for a couple minutes so others can get a good luck. But other people don't seem to care. 🤷

Then, we got on the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch/Conservation Station. I don't even remember the last time I went here. We did have a FastPass for the Animation Experience. This was actually a last minute FP. We replaced our Dinosaur FP with it. That was such a good idea, because this attraction was hopping.

We did still have some time to kill first. There was an animal care story soon, so we sat and watched that. We got to learn about a sheep. She was very excited to see her caregiver and show off. Disney doesn't teach tricks. They work on performing natural behaviors on command. This makes it easier to care for them.

Then we walked around the petting zoo area. I like that there are places for the animals to go if they don't want to interact with people. And there are tons of Cast Members keeping an eye on things.

I wanted to watch another animal care story and we still had time. this time it was a goat. She was an older goat so they really let her do whatever she wants.

Then, we went inside and looked at the other animal and lab stuff. There was a medical treatment earlier in the day. Someday I'll be able to see something. You do get to see things like how they feed them. Every individual animal has their own nutrition animal. That is amazing!

And it was time for the Animation Experience. They give you a pencil, lap desk, and a paper with some guidelines. There's an animator who walks you through the drawing and there are 2 large TV screens that show you what the animator is drawing. 

Before we got started, they showed us a video about an animal from the park that represents the character we would draw. We were drawing Tick-Tock, the crocodile from Peter Pan. The video was of one of the Nile crocodiles you see on Kilimanjaro Safaris. I think his name was Blue and he was one of the top-dog crocs.

It is definitely a fast experience-perfectionists be warned. Dad and I enjoyed it. We would definitely do it again. And it is worth the FastPass. My drawing isn't perfect, but pretty good considering I have next to no artistic ability.

Then, we headed back to Africa via the train. I was starting to feel the early morning flight, but I will push through!

Up Next: Pandora!