"I've never met a gravy I didn't like" - A Coworkers Trip to Disney World (February 2023)

[Tatum20]

… I was confused, since I had offered them to stick a suitcase in there, not have her 2 tween daughters and her husband hang out in my room without me there for 5 hours. To avoid being rude to the presenter (and to give me time to think about how I wanted to handle this), I left my phone in my purse and didn’t respond. As I exited the room and opened my phone to respond, she was walking toward me asking for my Magic Band to let her family into my room. At this point I was panicking. I am a clean, organized person so I knew my room wasn’t in shambles (I at least wasn’t worried about like dirty clothes on the floor or anything, but I DID have my pajamas & underwear for the night folded and placed at the top of my bed… so all I could picture was her tween daughters (or worse, her husband) flinging back the sheets and having my underwear fly across the room) but it was just WAY outside my comfort zone having a bunch of strangers in my hotel room without me in there. I didn’t really think they would climb into my bed but still, it was just weird. I felt a big lack of control and like I had been cornered- she just took my Magic Band and left.

Yeahhhh, not okay. Perhaps this was just an honest mistake (as far as misinterpreting, your kids can leave their luggage in my room vs. your kids can HANG OUT in my room) but the fact that she ambushed you, demanded your magic band before getting an affirmative from you, and she is YOUR BOSS- 100% not cool. I am sorry this happened to you.

 

[DVCjj]

Thoroughly enjoying your TR. I like the way you write plus the title really caught my eye because DH is a humungous Gravy person. I swear I've covered up many mediocre meals at home by simply putting gravy on it. Ha.

I also loved hearing about Coronado because I've never stayed in the 50 (yes, 50) years of WDW. Younger daughter stayed at CSR for business several years ago and kept referring it to a Conference Resort, so I avoided it. Instead, we did Dixie Landings (PO Riverside) or CBR and last many years have been DVC so I was intrigued all the more of your TR, hearing all about CSR. Looking forward to the next installment. Thanks for writing.

 

[TinkAriel111]

Day 3 (last day of the conference) - February 15th, 2023

This was the last day of the conference and I think by this point everyone in our group was ready for it to be done. We were learning a lot and the speakers were all wonderful, I think we just wanted to be done learning & wanted to be able to fully enjoy the beautiful weather and amenities being offered to us at Coronado Springs.

At 8:15 that morning I met F down in the QS cafeteria before walking to our first 8:30 workshop. This was F & her family’s last day and she had expressed to me some concern about what her family was going to do between the 11am checkout and their 6:45pm flight. She was scrambling a bit trying to get ahold of someone at the front desk to request a late check out and I could tell she was panicking so I offered that they could put their suitcases in my room if they needed to. We made our way to the morning's presentations, and at 10:30 I felt my phone buzz. Glancing at the message on my Apple Watch, it was a text from F saying “they won’t let us check out later, you sure you’re okay with the girls using your room?”.

… I was confused, since I had offered them to stick a suitcase in there, not have her 2 tween daughters and her husband hang out in my room without me there for 5 hours. To avoid being rude to the presenter (and to give me time to think about how I wanted to handle this), I left my phone in my purse and didn’t respond. As I exited the room and opened my phone to respond, she was walking toward me asking for my Magic Band to let her family into my room. At this point I was panicking. I am a clean, organized person so I knew my room wasn’t in shambles (I at least wasn’t worried about like dirty clothes on the floor or anything, but I DID have my pajamas & underwear for the night folded and placed at the top of my bed… so all I could picture was her tween daughters (or worse, her husband) flinging back the sheets and having my underwear fly across the room) but it was just WAY outside my comfort zone having a bunch of strangers in my hotel room without me in there. I didn’t really think they would climb into my bed but still, it was just weird. I felt a big lack of control and like I had been cornered- she just took my Magic Band and left.

literally me

All said & done and as I look back on it a week later, was it that big of a big deal? I don't know, but it really felt like it at the time. Fast forward to 11:30 that morning (an hour later), F texted asking to meet after my next breakout session to return my Magic Band – which surprised and confused me even more. They were done with the room already? What was the point of using my room at all, why not just give your luggage to Bell Services? When we met near the gift shop & she handed me my Magic Band, we chatted briefly about the plan for the day. She said she was nervous about the timing of the conference ending and getting to the airport on time for their flight, so she was contemplating skipping the last session. I told her I thought that was probably a good idea (which may have been for slightly selfish reasons- if the boss skips out, I felt like we can skip out too!) and she ultimately decided to spend the rest of the afternoon with her family at the pool. Before she left to join her family at the pool, she said she would text me when they needed to be let back into my room to collect their luggage.

I met up with the others where I filled them in on F’s plan to skip the afternoon’s session (giving us the freedom to skip as well) and we decided our vacation officially begun. Yahoo! We were all hungry & decided to head to Rix’s Sports Bar & Grill for lunch. We spent the next hour or two there, chatting as a group and playing a card game (What Do You Meme) at the table. I ordered the California Chicken Sandwich which was IMO spendy for a sandwich but still delicious.


California Chicken Sandwich

Grilled Chicken Breast, Applewood- smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, and guacamole with a roasted garlic horseradish. Served with French Fries or choice of side.
$19.50


Halfway through my meal, around 1pm I glanced at my phone and realized I had missed a text about 15 minutes prior from F asking to be let back into my room. I quickly responded, apologizing that I missed her text and telling her that I was in the middle of lunch. I asked if they could wait 15 more minutes but she said they had already started walking and were almost to the room. Oops! So I had no choice but to abandon my half-eaten lunch and power-walk a half a mile across the property to let them in. This day was NOT going in my favor I let them into my room, where she didn't say it out loud but I surmised they planned to use my shower (ignore my razor & toiletries scattered in the shower, I guess…), get dressed, and depart earlier than planned. By the time I rejoined the group at Rix’s, F had sent a message to the group chat bidding us all farewell, that her and her family were headed to Port Orleans to get some beignets before catching their flight.

After lunch, we all went to our rooms (me having some curiosity as to what my room would look like…) to change into our suits and meet at the pool so we could spend the afternoon in the sun. My room was just as tidy as I left it, except for a pile of used towels in the corner of the bathroom. She also left me their reusable popcorn bucket to use in the parks the next day and return to her when we came back to work the following week. I imagine this was a small token of appreciation from F for me letting her family use my room, which I was thankful for! Changing into my suit and feeling considerably less bitter than I was a few hours ago, we spent the next 3 hours lounging around the pool and just chatting and soaking up the sun.

View attachment 742623

We had an ADR for 6:45 that night at Maya Grill, so around 5pm I left the others at the pool and headed back to my room so I could shower/get ready and try to pack up my things a little bit in anticipation for my new roommate that night. Since we opted to stay an extra night after the conference was over, we were on our own to fund Thursday night’s hotel stay- so S and I had planned to cozy up together & split the cost of a room. Knowing we would be in the parks all day Thursday, I gave S a plastic key card to my room (which I picked up at the front desk when I checked in) & asked her to bring her suitcase to my room at some point later that night so we wouldn’t have to deal with it at 6:30am as we’re racing out the door to rope drop. I also packed & prepared my park bag for tomorrow- filling my giant backpack (it’s actually my old Sarah Wells pump bag and it is ahhhhmazing. So many zippers and compartments, I swear I’ll use this thing til it falls apart) with my walking sandals, poncho, empty coffee mug, reusable water bottle, mini misting fan, portable phone charger, sunscreen, Kleenex, wipes, my sweatshirt, and an umbrella. I also prepped my fanny pack with some chapstick, Dramamine, my sunglasses, gum, and hand sanitizer.

Dressed and ready to go to dinner, I made my way to Maya Grill and was the first to arrive. I checked us in but they told me they wouldn’t seat us until the entire group was there. A few minutes later, J & S2 arrived, but no sign of S. I texted her around 7:00 asking for her ETA and she said she was on her way, that she had just dropped her luggage off in my room. As she arrived, we noticed she was sans-scooter… no wonder it took so long! I could tell she was in pain and regretting her decision, as it really is a long walk. About 30 minutes late for our reservation, we were seated. I felt bad (if you remember from my September 2022 TR, I am a Type A, organized, rule following people-pleaser who does NOT like rocking the boat), but the restaurant staff truly didn’t seem to mind. Maya Grill is nice, like a high-end Mexican restaurant with beautiful Aztec-like architecture. The table ordered fresh guacamole & chips (Guacamole:
Fresh Diced Strawberries with House-made Crispy Tortilla Chips $13.00) to share, and S got a tequila flight (seen in the top left corner of my picture below)- I think a bit of medicating for her painful knee situation! I ordered the margarita flight and a chicken fajita for dinner - it was all delicious!

View attachment 742624

​

Traditional Margarita Flight​

La Clasica, Blood Orange and Horchata

$21.00


We had a great time chatting amongst the four of us and stayed at the restaurant til 9:30. On our walk back to Casitas, we went over the rough plan for the next day – our first (and only) full park day! S & I were going to rope drop DHS (reiterating to S our plan to meet at 6:45am to walk to the bus stop together), and J & S2 would meet us around 9:30/10am, then park-hop to Magic Kingdom at 2pm. We had two ADRs that day- Oga's Cantina at 1pm & Be Our Guest at 6pm.

By 10:00pm I had said goodnight to Matt, but I couldn’t fall asleep. I had started to feel a little sick: sharp stomach pains & slightly nauseous. Tossing and turning & not able to fall asleep, I turned on the TV, flicking through the channels until I settled on “Behind the Attraction”. I watched that for a while, hoping it would distract me from my upset stomach enough to fall asleep. Eventually the stomach pain had subsided but no luck falling asleep - I glanced at the clock and noticed it was already 12:02am, ugh! At that time I figured “meh, may as well buy Genie+ since I’m awake” so I did that and then was able to fall asleep around 12:30am. Not at all part of the plan, knowing my alarm was set for 6:15 and I had a full day of Disney ahead of me- rope drop to close!


Total steps: 10,265

Up next: Day 4 (Hollywood Studios + Magic Kingdom) – February 16th, 2023

I am right there with you on being on time not rocking the boat! My best friend who is always late to everything knows and it on time for EVERYTHING at Disney. I never finished it but you should check out the PRE-TRIP Report (https://www.disboards.com/threads/i...1-is-it-time-yet.3733992/page-2#post-60697359) and Trip Report (https://www.disboards.com/threads/b...ugust-2019-trip-report.3826506/#post-62702048) from her first trip. I have created a Disney addict LOL

 

[elaine amj]

Enjoying your report and can’t wait to hear about your full park day

How awesome to have a conference at Disney! I kept hunting for an appropriate one for my industry but sadly, came up empty handed.

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Yeahhhh, not okay. Perhaps this was just an honest mistake (as far as misinterpreting, your kids can leave their luggage in my room vs. your kids can HANG OUT in my room) but the fact that she ambushed you, demanded your magic band before getting an affirmative from you, and she is YOUR BOSS- 100% not cool. I am sorry this happened to you.

That is exactly was what J & S were saying - definitely not okay since she is in a position of power and I am under her, what was I going to do, say no to my boss?!

I mean it's over & done with now but at the time I was FUMING and just sooooo uncomfortable!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Thoroughly enjoying your TR. I like the way you write plus the title really caught my eye because DH is a humungous Gravy person. I swear I've covered up many mediocre meals at home by simply putting gravy on it. Ha.

I also loved hearing about Coronado because I've never stayed in the 50 (yes, 50) years of WDW. Younger daughter stayed at CSR for business several years ago and kept referring it to a Conference Resort, so I avoided it. Instead, we did Dixie Landings (PO Riverside) or CBR and last many years have been DVC so I was intrigued all the more of your TR, hearing all about CSR. Looking forward to the next installment. Thanks for writing.

LOL me and your DH would get along then!

I 100% recommend checking out Coronado! The property is so beautiful, and QUIET! I guess that's a perk of being the "Conference Resort" as your daughter put it- lots of business folks with early morning meetings (so they go to bed early) and hardly any kids!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

I am right there with you on being on time not rocking the boat! My best friend who is always late to everything knows and it on time for EVERYTHING at Disney. I never finished it but you should check out the PRE-TRIP Report (https://www.disboards.com/threads/i...1-is-it-time-yet.3733992/page-2#post-60697359) and Trip Report (https://www.disboards.com/threads/b...ugust-2019-trip-report.3826506/#post-62702048) from her first trip. I have created a Disney addict LOL

ooh catching up now!!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Enjoying your report and can’t wait to hear about your full park day

How awesome to have a conference at Disney! I kept hunting for an appropriate one for my industry but sadly, came up empty handed.

This one was amazing, highly recommend if you have ANY sort of training/instructional design role???? Maybe we can make it suit your industry, lol!

 

[Tatum20]

That is exactly was what J & S were saying - definitely not okay since she is in a position of power and I am under her, what was I going to do, say no to my boss?!

I mean it's over & done with now but at the time I was FUMING and just sooooo uncomfortable!

I don't blame you. Honestly wasn't going to say anything since this is a Disney trip report, not an HR investigation, but as someone who lives in MN and is closely linked with HR at work, and therefore sees a fair bit training/discussion on what is appropriate manager/subordinate boundaries, your boss pushed the envelope at least twice that I could count even before the borrowed room fiasco. If that got back to my HR, the manager would be pulled in and asked to use better judgment in the future.

 

[MamaMouse0920]

I don't blame you. Honestly wasn't going to say anything since this is a Disney trip report, not an HR investigation, but as someone who lives in MN and is closely linked with HR at work, and therefore sees a fair bit training/discussion on what is appropriate manager/subordinate boundaries, your boss pushed the envelope at least twice that I could count even before the borrowed room fiasco. If that got back to my HR, the manager would be pulled in and asked to use better judgment in the future.

For sure!!! In her defense I imagine it's a tough spot to be in, as a supervisor who wants to be friends with their subordinates... But at the end of the day there ARE boundaries you have to adhere to and unfortunately it just comes with the job!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Day 4 (Hollywood Studios + Magic Kingdom) - February 16th, 2023

When my alarm went off at 6:15am I was glad to be feeling much better- no stomach pains at all! I immediately hopped in the shower and got ready for the day, snacking on a granola bar & sipping my in-room coffee. I texted S around 6:30 asking if she was up- no response. Texted her at 6:40 saying I was about to head out the door- no response. I texted her at 6:45 saying I was walking to the bus stop & that I hoped she was up! No response. I called a couple times, no answer. As I approached the bus stop outside Casitas, there was a bus heading for Hollywood Studios pulling up- perfect timing! I didn't have to wait at all- hopped on & grabbed the first seat in the bus. I kept glancing out the window, hoping to see a frantic S speeding toward us, but alas, never happened. The bus left barely a minute later and I was on my way to Hollywood Studios all by my onesie. I felt a smiiiiiiidge guilty leaving her behind but 1) I did my due diligence with the texts & calls. It's not like I'm going to bang on the door of an adult woman who had ample reminders, demanding she wake up and 2) I made it no secret to any of my teammates- when it comes to Disney I am A-OK with navigating the parks by myself and you can just meet me whenever you decide to. Just because I'm a rope-dropper doesn't mean you have to be!

At 6:58 (still on the bus) I closed out of my other apps and made sure MDE wasn't going to boot me out (as she sometimes does) and immediately began refreshing with Slinky Dog Dash selected for easy pickings when the time came. At 6:59:58 I pulled down to refresh, and! ......My app froze. Just sat spinning and spinning for at least 8 seconds. Now non-Disney people will think "8 seconds? so what?" but I know my true friends (aka YOU) are saying this right now:

Thank you. I am a poor thing. My return time for Slinky Dog Dash was 12pm. Waaaah! But there was no time to be sad, I needed to immediately buy an ILL for Rise of the Resistance! Which, unfortunately, didn't work out too well in my favor either - the earliest I could do was 1:50pm. Now as a reminder, we had an ADR at Oga's Cantina for 12:55 and wanted to be on the first bus out of DHS heading for MK at 2:00pm... so the LLs/ILLs/ADRs were going to be tight, but doable. As for heading out of the parks by 2... not likely.



By the time I had dried my tears & sent a few well-chosen curses to Disney's IT department, S had texted me saying she overslept (duh) and that she was going to start getting ready and eventually make her way to DHS. I imagine she had a little bit of anxiety having to navigate her ECV + Disney transportation + entering a Disney World Theme Park completely by herself for the first time ever, but she never complained

By 7:15 I was through security and waiting in line at the Tapstiles- with only two families in line before me. Huzzah!





While waiting for the "rope to drop" I finished my coffee & FaceTimed with Matt & the kids, as well as chatted with the guests in line behind me. We were all delighted when the CM announced they'd be letting us in to the parks 15 minutes early!

So, at 7:45 I scanned into the park and was among the very first people power-walking down Hollywood Boulevard. Majority of the crowds were veering to the left, headed no doubt into Galaxy's Edge, or straight and to the right, intending to go to Toy Story Land, meanwhile myself and a handful of people in front of me turned right immediately and headed down Sunset Boulevard. They had us form two lines - the line for ToT on the right side of the street, and RnR on the left. I was 6th in line for Tower of Terror. Yes - 6! I was so proud to get to ride in the very first elevator of the day




Sadly I wouldn't be staying for Fantasmic this night Maybe during our September trip the kids will be troopers and stay up late??



Speaking of the September trip.......... while waiting in line for ToT a few minutes more, I quick FaceTimed the kids one last time, and the conversation went like this:

DD4: Where are you mom? (the kids knew I was on a "trip" but didn't know I was at Disney)
Me: **flips camera around and shows her Tower of Terror** Do you know what that is?
DD4: That's Tower of Terror!!!
Me: Yes it is!
DD4: Mom? How come you're having lots of fun right now and we're not? **cue instant mom-guilt**
Me: Oh honey I know, I'm sorry. But you know what? When we all go together in September we're going to have lots of fun!
Matt: BETHANY!

Momentary lapse in judgement........ I had completely forgotten that the September trip is a surprise, and spilled the beans LOL! Matt could have kicked me if I wasn't 1,500 miles away! We tried to brush it off and just quickly change the subject which was the best we could do. Lucky for me, it wasn't long after my slip up that the CM started to lead us to the tapstiles so I said "gotta go!" and began weaving my way through the queue. The ONLY down side to walk-ons is that you don't get to enjoy the intricate theming and details of the queue/attraction! I barely had time to snap this picture as I was walking:



And bypassed the pre-show altogether. Soon we were in our respective seats & on our way to the Twilight Zone. It was a blast, as usual! Tower of Terror is one of my all-time favorites and I squeal and giggle the entire ride. What a happy bunch, check out our ride photo!



After surviving my quick trip to another dimension, I'm sure you can guess where I was racing next....



I'm currently waiting to hear back from Disney because I never got a ride picture for Rock'n'Roller Coaster! Hopefully they're able to find it for me, I had no one seated next to me and knew the exact time I got on so I'm thinking it will be easy for them to spot me and send me the picture, but who knows. Use your imagination for now

After Rock N Rollercoaster I made my way for Toy Story Land since Toy Story Mania only had a 15 minute wait (timestamps of some videos I took show I was entering Toy Story Land at 8:31 and took a video of Mr. Potato Head at 8:34, so not even 5 minutes!)



As you can see I totally CRUSHED my partner I guess that's a perk of being a solo traveler! Automatic wins for TSM Around 9am (30+ minutes after the park being open to offsite guests) S had texted that she'd arrived at Hollywood Studios and asked if the plan was still to ride ToT and RnR first, asking if she should head down Hollywood Boulevard to meet me.

The wait times for both attractions were now well over 45 minutes and as much as I like S.... just, no. So instead I met here near Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway (which was closed almost all morning, boo!) and we walked through Toy Story Land and snapped a few selfies along the way.

I'm out of picture space and have to hop off anyway, I will try to finish this TR tomorrow!

Up Next: Day 4 (Hollywood Studios + Magic Kingdom) - February 16th, 2023 (continued)

 

[elaine amj]

This one was amazing, highly recommend if you have ANY sort of training/instructional design role???? Maybe we can make it suit your industry, lol!

I am retired now so no longer an option for me lol! On the good side, I can come whenever I want and this winter I have been snowbirding with Annual Passes. Bliss!!

You knocked out a lot on your solo morning! It’s fun going with others but there sure are perks going it solo every once in a while I leave DH in the resort and hit the parks solo and I love it.

 

[MamaMouse0920]

I am retired now so no longer an option for me lol! On the good side, I can come whenever I want and this winter I have been snowbirding with Annual Passes. Bliss!!

You knocked out a lot on your solo morning! It’s fun going with others but there sure are perks going it solo every once in a while I leave DH in the resort and hit the parks solo and I love it.

Oh man, retired (Disney) life sounds like an amazing, albeit far away, dream for me!! My DH desperately wants to snowbird MN<>FL when he retires…. But he’s 10 years older than me! So I’m not sure the logistics on that one for now I will live vicariously through you!!

And this was my first time solo in the parks and I LOVED it. No one to slow down to match their speed (AKA no one slowing me down ), no one else’s wants to take into consideration, I had a blast! I missed the company but still had a great time!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Day 4 (Hollywood Studios + Magic Kingdom) - February 16th, 2023 (continued)

I don't know if S truly appreciated Toy Story Land as much as I wanted her to (seriously it's one of my favorite areas of all the parks) but she seems happy enough in these series of selfies!


posing with the green Army man that Matthew Luhn helped animate



By that point I definitely had some rumbly in my tumbly and was ready for breakfast, so I placed a mobile order for some brisket totchos at Woody's Lunch Box. Breakfast of champions, amiright? While we waited the 20 or so minutes for my return time, we went and got S a coffee at Market (where they sell Jack Jack's Cookie Num Nums, FYI) since the line next door at Joffreys was insane. We then headed back to pick up my breakfast, which I thoroughly enjoyed, even if the picture doesn't look particularly appetizing.



After inhaling my meal, we walked around Galaxy's Edge (S is a Star Wars fan, so I snapped tons of pictures of her with the various items), which was my first time seeing it in the daylight. Full disclosure, I've never seen a single Star Wars movie, so it wasn't a huge deal to me but it is still cool! I can appreciate the theming at least, that's for sure. Walking all the way through Batuu, we eventually found ourselves outside Muppets 3D so popped in for a quick show which I think S enjoyed- but first stopping for a picture with our favorite pig and leading lady!



2 hours after park open (10:30), I was able to make another LL selection. There was nothing before 2pm available at Hollywood Studios, and since we were hopping to MK that afternoon I decided my next LL would be for an attraction over there- so I made my LL for Jungle Cruise at 6:50-7:50pm. We had our ADR for Be Our Guest at 6:05 but I figured we would be done in plenty of time to make it to Jungle Cruise by 7:50.

Being a particularly busy day in the parks, all of the attractions had hefty standby times, so we continued to mosey around, and eventually settled for another show, this time Indiana Jones! I filled F's popcorn bucket and we found our seats (a perk of going with someone in an ECV, designated seating! Though unlike Beauty & The Beast, they're not right at the front- instead they are the highest row of bleachers), contemplated getting a beer but ultimately decided against it (it was only 10:40am, after all! ) but after a few handfuls of the salty popcorn I regretted my decision and wished I had something to wash it down with.



Just as the show began to start, I had a mom and her 3 or 4 year old son ask if they could sit on the handicap bench with me. I had no problem with it, and it was so cute hearing the kid's non-stop questions throughout the stunt show. "is that fire real?!" "is that rock real?!" "is that truck real?!" I kept giggling and giving the mom a knowing look- since I would for sure be getting those same exact questions from my 4 year old.

After the show ended, we continued to just wander aimlessly through the park, not going on any attractions but just walking around and checking things out. It was kind of refreshing, actually! Usually I am go-go-go but with the forced slowness of an ECV and horrendous wait times hindering our ride-riding abilities, it forced us to slow down and soak it all in. Eventually around 11:30 we decided it was an appropriate time for a beverage, and since we were near Municiberg we stopped again at Market- this time ordering a beer (Jai Alai by Cigar City Brewing) for me, and a margarita for S. Slowly walking and enjoying our drinks, we posed for these pictures:



Two INCREDIBLE women! get it?

I sent this picture to J, as an enticement to hurry up and join us:


Which he replied that they were on their way, yahoo! We tried to get in to Walt Disney Presents but I was nursing my beer (S had sucked down her margarita- it was a hot day!) so she went in without me. Meanwhile, I parked myself on a bench, applied sunscreen and Face Timed Matt while I waited for her. After she was done, we entered Toy Story Land again and started heading toward Slinky Dog Dash. The LL line was crazy long! I still had a few sips of my beer though so it was okay- gave me time to finish it.

My Instagram story caption was "the best line companion" with an arrow pointing to the beer

Even though the line looked daunting, it only was about a 5 minute difference between the picture above & the picture below, so not bad at all!



I'm out of picture space so I'll pause here!

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Day 4 (Hollywood Studios + Magic Kingdom) - February 16th, 2023 (continued)






SDD was a blast, as usual, & S loved it! However after seeing the buttloads of people in the 120 minute standby line, she agreed she wouldn't be willing to wait 2 hours to ride it.

By the time we got off, J had texted that they were entering Toy Story Land so we met them & all made our way to Galaxy's Edge. I didn't know it before that day, but J is an even bigger Star Wars fan than S! He seriously was like a walking encyclopedia of Star Wars knowledge, and while I wouldn't say he was "geeking out" I think he was definitely in his element walking around all the props and stuff. We spent the next hour walking around, killing time before our 12:55pm ADR at Oga's Cantina.





I really wanted a Ronto Wrap but the line was long and I decided to skip it. In September I am making it a priority!!!! At 12:30 it was time to make another LL selection (highly recommend setting a timer for 1hr 58 minutes after each LL selection if it's a high-crowd day and you can't do the old 'Tap & Grab' method), picking Space Mountain with a return time of 3:40.

At 12:55 we entered Oga's, where we spent the next hour (rule breakers! But no one booted us out after the 45 minute mark so......) which was super fun. I didn't know they served free chips (are they chips? veggie chips? I'm not sure but they were tasty) with some sort of dipping sauce, so that was a pleasant surprise as I was getting hungry.


"and here we have all this Star Wars stuff, which I know nothing about!"

I can't remember what the name was of the drink S ordered, but it had dry ice in a closed-off portion of the bottom of the glass, so it was bubbling and steaming and looked pretty cool:



I got the Jedi Mind Trick which I thought was tasty, though IMO very weak.





We stood around chatting, and each ordered 2 drinks. After the waitress brought us our check, J sneakily paid the whole tab. He said it was his & S2's way of thanking us (me, lol) for planning and organizing the trip. What a nice guy! After we made our way out of Oga's, S and I headed straight for Rise of the Resistance, something I was really looking forward to experiencing! As I mentioned I've never seen Star Wars and neither has anyone in my family, so it would never be something we would prioritize (certainly not pay >$80 for the 4 of us) while at Hollywood Studios- but traveling with S (and J, even though he wasn't going to ride it) made it an easy choice to buy the ILL. We scanned in right at 1:50 and began the trek through all the pre-shows of the ride, snapping a few pictures along the way.




Don't come at me, but I was really underwhelmed. I think that maybe the hype around the ride was soooo much that I had too high of expectations? And was expecting it to be the best ride I've ever ridden?? Or maybe it's just that I've never seen Star Wars and can't fully appreciate it? Don't get me wrong, it was cool, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to ride it.... But I'd say it was comparable to Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway and considering I don't have to pay $22 to ride that one........ yeah I'm gonna go with MMRR and probably not do RoR again unless the wait time is crazy short.

Now that I'm sure I've upset some die-hard Rise fans, I'll step off my soapbox and get back to the TR. By the time we got off, J & S2 had already made their way to the buses and were waiting for us there. As we were walking, 2:30pm came around and I made another LL - this time Big Thunder Mountain for 5:15pm. Now if you're keeping track of my plans for MK, this is how it looked:

- Space Mountain (redeem between 3:40-4:40)
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (redeem between 5:15-6:15)
- Be Our Guest ADR at 6:05
- Jungle Cruise (redeem between 6:50-7:50)

Feeling satisfied with how our afternoon/evening was looking, we joined J+S2 and got in line for a bus to MK. Unfortunately it was a lengthy wait, and we weren't walking on to Main Street until 3:30. Oof! Only 1.5 hours behind schedule.

Continued in next post!

 

[Tatum20]

The wait times for both attractions were now well over 45 minutes and as much as I like S.... just, no. So instead we walked through Toy Story Land and snapped a few selfies along the way.

I am actually pretty impressed the wait times weren't longer by 30 min past general opening time...

 

[MamaMouse0920]

I am actually pretty impressed the wait times weren't longer by 30 min past general opening time...

You know, if I'm being completely honest they very well could have been longer. My memory ain't what it used to be I just know I looked at the wait times & said uhhhhh no and that was that!

 

[Tatum20]

Yeah, only a Disney newb would think you could just roll into the parks at 9 am and walk on the rides...

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Day 4 (Hollywood Studios + Magic Kingdom) - February 16th, 2023 (continued)

As we entered my absolute favorite park, we were headed immediately for Tomorrowland to scan in for our Space Mountain LL. Oh my gosh, did I feel bad for S. Space Mountain has an outrageously long queue, all uphill & downhill and twists and turns, and all in the dark. About halfway through I looked back over my shoulder and noticed S was no where to be found- likely miles behind! Whoops. I swear I have one pace and one pace only. Eventually we made it on the ride - me warning S a long time ago that there is point blank ZERO way to gracefully get in or out of this ride. Like literally it's just not possible, I don't care who you are- you're going to look ridiculous. You cannot enter or exit one of these cars (rockets?) and maintain your dignity.

Uncomfortable but at least safely seated, we were ready to take off!



S had similar sentiments to Matt's feelings on this ride: did not enjoy. She said maybe if she were in the first row (where I was) and could slightly see where the twists/turns/drops were be before they happened she may have enjoyed it more, but overall her stomach did not agree with this ride. Bummer, cause it's one of my all time MK favorites!

Parental discretion advised for the following attraction photo. You are about to see an image you cannot un-see. But I'm going to share it anyway, cause YOLO



I feel like it's important to note that I am short. Like, 5'3 on a good day when I very first wake up, short. With short little legs. And my legs? MY LEGS DO NOT FIT ON THIS RIDE. How S (who I would estimate is like 5'8?) managed to scrunch her long legs in there is beyond me, because as you can see from that photo I am forced to splay mine out & look like I'm about to give birth.

After (ungracefully) debarking Space Mountain, we didn't know where J & S2 were but we knew we needed an iced coffee PRONTO. So we stood in an outrageously long line at the Joffreys cart outside Space Mountain until we were given the goods and re-joined the land of the living.



Properly caffeinated and after a brief glance at the MDE app, we headed toward Pirates since it only had a 15 minute wait. As we passed the bathrooms, S decided to change outfits and switched to a Belle tank top (appropriate for our Be Our Guest ADR!) and Little Mermaid ears. We rode Pirates of the Caribbean via Standby (which was about 15 minutes, so the listed wait time was accurate) and again didn't receive our ride photo- which was probably a good thing because even though I know where the camera is, I AM NEVER READY. Like never, ever. And this ride was no exception, I guarantee that if/when Disney sends me back the missing ride photo I will look like this:

literally 99.9999999% of my Pirates ride photos look like this, so really we're not missing out on much. In fact maybe Disney is doing me a favor by keeping it from me? Who knows.

After Pirates it was time to redeem our 5:15 Big Thunder Mountain LL, and after the 10 mile trek into the depths of Space Mountain, I decided to be proactive and ask the CM if there was a special handicap-accessible entrance we could use? They said yes and directed us toward the exit of the ride, which was thoroughly off-putting but we did as we were told. As we approached the CM waiting for us, they asked S a series of questions ("are you able to transfer?" "are you able to walk a short distance?") and we parked her ECV there, as instructed, and waited for the most recent batch of riders to be let out and then walked the direction they came from, which brought us to the other (exit) side of the coaster tracks. It was so bizarre! I'd never done this before so I felt like every single person waiting to board was staring at us as the CM showed us where to wait and eventually which car we were to be going into.

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention- thinking back to when we were in line for Guardians, S had expressed concern about sharing a row with me, since the lap bar would have such a vast difference from her lap to mine. I explained to her that GotG doesn't have a shared lap bar, in fact the only one I could think of that did was BTMRR and that if it would make her more comfortable we could definitely be in different rows. I said that I felt the same way when I ride with my toddlers- I feel like my size vs theirs hinders their safety (even though logically I know that it doesn't). I also told her that Big Thunder is the #1 (well.. maybe #2, with Alien Swirling Saucers being #1) ride for squishing your seat-mate with every twist and turn, and so we agreed that we would sit separately for that ride. Now, fast forward to our MK day..... yeah we both forgot about that conversation until the exact moment when we went to pull down the lap bar. Ooops. No going back now! I was the one who entered the car first (coming from the opposite direction of how guests normally enter the ride), so I was on the left hand side of the coaster. Free tip for those riding with differing body types/sizes- put the smaller person on the LEFT hand side of the coaster! 95% of the turns were left-handed turns, where the person on the left was forced into the lap of the person on the right, so it worked out perfectly for us! Only once did my butt leave the seat and never did I feel unsafe or that I was at risk of flying out (again, thinking back to my physics class in high school I know I was never truly at risk of being ejected). Only twice did S lean into me and I could tell she did her best to not crush me, though even if she had I obviously would not have held it against her, since I was squishing her the rest of the ride

After getting off the ride, they had moved S' ECV to the regular ECV/stroller parking spot, closer to Splash Mountain (RIP). Uh, what? What was the point of asking if she could walk a short distance to get TO the ride, if they were going to move her scooter so she had to walk a long way FROM the ride to get to it??! Seems silly, but in no time we were on our way to Be Our Guest to meet J & S2 for dinner. We checked in before the bridge and they told us that it would be about a 15 minute wait for our table to be ready, and warned us that this was a prix-fixe dining experience, which we knew. We used the time to walk around and explore the outer-parts of the restaurant (obviously not going past the host podium).



The 15 minute estimate was accurate, and soon enough we were seated in the main ballroom - so pretty!



The waiter came and handed us the menu, explaining again that this was prix-fixe (redundant, but I suppose they get angry guests all the time so they have to over-explain this aspect). The 4 of us immediately started looking at the beer/wine menu, since this was the only time we would be able to have an adult beverage in the park. The waiter stopped us in our tracks and said "don't worry about beer or wine yet, what do you want for right now? Coke? Diet Coke? Sprite?" He said it several times (maybe his way of letting us know that soda/pop was included in our 'prix-fixe'?) so S2, S, and I each ordered Cokes. J however was the last person the waiter took the order from and asked "I already know I want a beer, can I get it now?" so he ordered a Jai Alai. The waiter never again asked if we wanted wine with our dinner, which was super bizarre and none of the rest of us were served anything else to drink.

For my appetizer I ordered the French onion soup (yes I had just had some 2 nights prior at Steakhouse 71- can never have too much, IMO!), and unlike Steakhouse 71, Be Our Guest's version was decent at best. In fact I think 'decent' is a bit of a stretch. It tasted like canned Progresso soup. I was so disappointed! We all ordered the filet (all of us requesting it be cooked medium) as our entrée, and I had much higher hopes for this part of the meal.



Looks good enough, right? Unfortunately mine (and only mine) was rare. Not medium, not medium rare, but RARE. I'm talking barely seared. I actually started feeling slightly sick halfway through the meal and only was able to stomach the very edges which were the most cooked. I also had a huge tendon/vein thing in the middle of the filet which only made matters worse. My tablemates urged me to send it back but I've never sent anything back before and I wasn't about to start here, with these hard working underpaid CM! So I just placed my napkin over my plate after a few bites and considered it a loss.

Dessert was a slight improvement, but overall underwhelming as well.



The only part of the dessert I enjoyed was the macaroon. I've made 'the grey stuff' at home during one of our themed dinner/movie nights and it was 1,000x better than whatever this was- it tasted like canned Betty Crocker frosting The truffle thing on the right was raspberry flavored and as a general rule I don't enjoy the whole fake fruit + chocolate combination so not my fav.

I hate hate hate sounding like a complainer but y'all this meal was so disappointing I swear I didn't have super high expectations (I'd heard mixed reviews), but for almost $100 for ONE PERSON you'd think I would have left slightly happier. In addition to the less-than-ideal food situation, the meal as a whole took way longer than I expected it to. When we left the restaurant (around 7:45pm) it was dark out and the crowds had almost completely disappeared! Either left the park or was staking out their spots for fireworks, I'm sure. J and S2 had also chosen to leave the park at that point, so we said goodbye to them and made our way to Jungle Cruise- knowing we missed our LL window. We stopped by a Blue Umbrella and they were able to get us fixed up (they were SO nice!! seriously I could have chatted with those CM all day- super happy and sweet), explaining that our ADR took longer than we thought it would. LL all squared away, we rode Jungle Cruise around 8pm.

S LOVED Jungle Cruise! She laughed so hard at all of the skipper's jokes. It didn't hurt that he was cute, too I think she wouldn't have minded staying on the boat for a second round!



After Jungle Cruise I had hoped to sneak on Seven Dwarves Mine Train since the crowds were so low I had guessed the wait time would be manageable, but as fate would have it the ride was down As I type this I am second-guessing my memory- maybe S declined my suggestion to ride? Either way, we headed to Haunted Mansion instead which was when the fireworks began. We got to see a few bursts of the fireworks during our walk there and while weaving through the outside portion of the Haunted Mansion queue, but overall we missed the majority of them which was fine by both of us.

After Haunted Mansion (a classic!) we decided to hop in one last show for the day, so we saw Mickey's Philharmagic which was cute as usual but really made me miss the kids It's such a hit with them, they still talk about it to this day ("remember when Donald crashed and his butt was sticking out of the wall?!"), so I snapped a picture and sent it to Matt asking him to guess where I was.



Being the true Disney Dad that he is, of course he knew right away but after my mishap that morning I don't think he shared the picture with the kids

After Philharmagic was over we wound our way through Fantasyland. I tried to convince S to go on It's A Small World which had a low wait time but no luck- she was ready for bed. 9am to 9pm though, I was still proud of her & her non-Disney stamina! I was impressed. Since she said no, instead we cut through the castle, snapping a few pics on the way:



So close & yet so far - only 2 pictures left for the day but of course I'm out of space! Curse you 10 photo limit!!! I swear only one more tiny installment and then I'm done for this day

Continued in next post

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Day 4 (Hollywood Studios + Magic Kingdom) - February 16th, 2023 (continued)




I'm not going to lie, I've been known to stall as I'm leaving Magic Kingdom for the last time on a visit.

"You want to stop in the Emporium? No? ok........................"
"ooooh doesn't that smell good, want to check out Main Street Confectionary? End the night on a sweet note? Oh, you're not hungry? Okay............."
"you have to go to the bathroom? You just went? oh okay..............."
"need a decaf coffee?????????"
"last minute pic of you with the castle?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!"

But S wasn't having any of it so instead I said a silent "see ya in 7 months" to my favorite place on earth, me possibly looking like this

and we made our way to the exit. The park closed at 10 but we left at 9:30, with another lengthy wait for a bus (this time the hold up caused by 2 ECVs in front of us- the buses only can hold 2 ECVs). We made it back to our newly-shared room around 10:15, and by the time I got out of the shower S was down for the count. Not long after so was I, with no alarms set for the following morning and a relatively late check out of 11am. We were off to dreamland!

Total steps: 21,314

Up next: Day 5 (departure day) - February 17th, 2023