Glass Slippers and wizards and DisBrides, oh my! A PHM trip report **Complete**

[librarygeek]

Great MK day so far!! I had no idea PP had such a cool queue because we only went on with FP+...I guess that might make it worth doing early in the am without FP+...next time for sure! Seems like you had some great character interactions too!

Yes, they just updated the Peter Pan queue recently so it's definitely worth checking out if you get a chance to head over there first thing! We had a lot of fun meeting characters. I think we ended up doing a lot of character meet and greets because so many of the ride lines were so long!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Your Magic Kingdom day looks like a great day! I love all the details they put in the queue for Peter Pan now. I think its awesome your husband actually wore that shirt. I sent my husband a picture and his response was like, no. I totally agree with the nephew's response to people that like snow

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Oh wow, I think these are the first photos I've seen of the PP queue. Very cool. I might have to brave the line next time (first thing of course).

Marty's response: "You're a freak!"

HA LOVE IT!!! That may be the best thing EVER!!

 

[librarygeek]

Your Magic Kingdom day looks like a great day! I love all the details they put in the queue for Peter Pan now. I think its awesome your husband actually wore that shirt. I sent my husband a picture and his response was like, no. I totally agree with the nephew's response to people that like snow

Haha it makes me happy that my husband will wear the shirt. I did a 5k at a local winery last weekend and he actually wore it for that too

Oh wow, I think these are the first photos I've seen of the PP queue. Very cool. I might have to brave the line next time (first thing of course).



HA LOVE IT!!! That may be the best thing EVER!!

I have a bunch more pics of the PP queue but they didn't come out that great. I highly recommend seeing it! They do some cool stuff too, not just how it looks but some "interactive" elements as well.

And yes lol! Especially just imagine him saying it in the Marty voice and it was hilarious!

 

[mdsouth]

LOVED the Update! You two are such a cute couple! I love how your hubby was game to meet all the characters. You can tell he is enjoying himself but the big smile on his face in each picture. I really liked the comment from Anna about your skirt being too short. It is just a perfect in character thing to say.

The Marty comment at Monsters Laugh Floor must have got lots and lots of laughs! Funny!

What did he think of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad? It is still my favorite roller coaster of all! Of course, I have only been on about five coasters in all my life. It was the first one I ever went on is still to this day my favorite.

 

[librarygeek]

LOVED the Update! You two are such a cute couple! I love how your hubby was game to meet all the characters. You can tell he is enjoying himself but the big smile on his face in each picture. I really liked the comment from Anna about your skirt being too short. It is just a perfect in character thing to say.

The Marty comment at Monsters Laugh Floor must have got lots and lots of laughs! Funny!

What did he think of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad? It is still my favorite roller coaster of all! Of course, I have only been on about five coasters in all my life. It was the first one I ever went on is still to this day my favorite.

Aww, thank you! my husband was a trooper to put up with all the characters, lol. He's a pretty good sport about everything and while characters aren't his favorite, we still had a lot of fun!

We both really like Big Thunder - and prefer it over Mine Train. We especially like riding Big Thunder at night, it's so much fun in the dark!

 

[librarygeek]

More Rides, Be Our Guest, and Wishes!

After we left the meet and greet with Anna and Elsa we decided to do Mickey's Philharmagic since it was right there - cute, as always! The lines for so many of the popular rides were just so long that we decided to something I had never tried before - the Magic Carpets of Aladdin. I figure it I want to check off every attraction, I need to hit the ones I haven't done at some point! It was about a 25 minute wait but we didn't have anything else to do, so we checked it out. Not much to say since it's just another Dumbo-like ride, but the views of Adventureland were nice.





And having just spied the Sunshine Tree Terrace, I knew it was time for my favorite Disney snack - a citrus swirl! This was back before they switched locations on me. The orange bird is one of my absolute favorites, so I'm glad I snagged a pic of him while he was still hanging out over here:


Not only did I get a citrus swirl, I also got the orange bird cup with lemonade in it. I'm so glad I did because next time I was back they weren't selling the cup anymore! And this has started my orange bird collection. I know have this cup, the ceramic orange bird figure, a magnet, orange juice glasses/a pitcher, and I just ordered the new shirt they released on the Disney Store website.




We had one more FP+ for the day at Space Mountain, so we headed there. On the way we stopped for some pics in front of the castle. The photopass photographer was really into it, and made sure to get some shots with my medal!



We then reached Space Mountain. As we were getting on the ride the CM noticed my race medal and congratulated me, and then gave us two freebie paper fastpasses!




Once we got off the ride we hustled to the FP+ kiosk to get another one. I didn't realize you could only book one at a time after that, and you had to use a kiosk and not your phone. That seemed really inconvenient, especially since the kiosk lines were rather long and a lot of people were having issues with something or other so it took awhile to get up to one. But I grabbed a FP for Buzz later that afternoon and then we hurried to try and get spots for the Festival of Fantasy Parade. Even though it was 2:50 I managed to find a spot with a decent view in Frontierland. We both really enjoyed the parade. DH was especially impressed, and that's saying something as he usually isn't into parades! Here's some of my favorite shots from this one:















Since it was pretty warm and we were in Frontierland anyway, we decided to use our freebie FP for Splash Mountain. It had gathered quite a crowd after the parade so the FP definitely came in handy! And there was a great view of the crane from the top of the mountain:




But we totally got soaked this time! I know it's Splash Mountain, but usually it's not totally soaking wet. I've been on that ride so many times and have never gotten that wet, and I have to admit it was a bit uncomfortable. So at this point I just wanted to sit out in the sun somewhere and try to dry off. We went to get a LeFou's brew and sat on the fountain outside of Gaston's Tavern. I'd had one before but wanted to try it again since I wasn't a big fan of it the first time. Everyone compares it to butterbeer, but butterbeer is sooo much better in my opinion. This is fine but after trying it twice now I don't think I'd get it again.



We used our FP+ for Buzz, and then went to meet Tinkerbell since I hadn't done that before! She was very cute. We grabbed some Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom cards while we were down there, and then rode the Peoplemover. Ahhhh, relaxing.



Then it was time for dinner!



There was originally a group of about six of us who were going to eat here, but others cancelled so it ended up being just me, DH, and one of our friends who had run in the races as well. The food was delicious as always, but our waiter was a little all over the place. It took a really, really long time just for him to show up and take our drink orders. We actually had to flag down another server after about 20 minutes to ask if someone was going to come to our table! And then after taking our drink orders it took another 20 minutes to bring them and bring bread, and we were starving. Once the bread came out our food was there literally about two minutes later. Not well spaced out at all! At least the food was good.

Once we were done with dinner we went to get a spot for Wishes. Our usual favorite spot off to the side was closed off for FP+, so we found ourselves trying to get onto Main Street. I don't usually like being there with all of the crowds, but I didn't know where else to go. It was a nightmare with so many people so close. And then ocne the fireworks began extra people tried to cram in, and dads put kids up on their shoulders so you couldn't see. After a lot of effort I finally managed to worm my way into a decent spot with a view, but it was a lot of stress! I couldn't see almost any of Celebrate the Magic because of the kids on shoulders and spent most of it crying before Wishes started. Thank goodness I found a spot for the fireworks and was able to enjoy them.









Once that was over DH and I had one more thing we had to do, something that had become a bit of a tradition for us before leaving MK - late night Laugh Floor! We've noticed that it tends to be funnier late at night - whether that's because the CMs get a little more comfortable or the crowds overall are just more mature, it's usually quite good. The monsters focused on a woman and asked who she was with, and she literally couldn't stop laughing. After a lot of that she finally said, "My husband and my sister-in-law." I don't know what their story is but apparently something hilarious is going on! The monsters made quite a big joke out of her being on vacation with her little group, and it was very funny. Definitely worth going back for! Once that was done we headed back to POP to rest up for our early morning adventure - off Disney property!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

I have never done the Magic Carpets either. I suspect the best part is the views it gives.

The orange bird is one of my absolute favorites,

Me too. It's so weird how much I identify the Orange Bird with Disney. I used to have an old Orange Bird cup when I was a kid, but sadly, I'm not sure it's still around. I might have to do a look for it.

and then gave us two freebie paper fastpasses!

SCORE!!!

OH GOD I LOVE FESTIVAL OF FANTASY!!!!

 

[KathyM2]

What an awesome score of extra FP+...I guess those will be the hot ticket now that FP+ is such a thing. Too bad about the service at BOG...glad the food is good but sigh...that must have been annoying. Crowds during wishes are annoying...but sadly..not much to be done about it...You still got some good pics though! Good tip about the laugh floor at night...that's one thing I haven't done in a few years...

 

[mdsouth]

I would have been starved a little bit ticked if I had been you at BOG! Waiting 20 minutes just to order and 20 more just for your drinks was crazy!
Your photo of just your feet on the PeopleMover is cute. Sounds like you had a nice evening overall!

 

[librarygeek]

I have never done the Magic Carpets either. I suspect the best part is the views it gives.


Me too. It's so weird how much I identify the Orange Bird with Disney. I used to have an old Orange Bird cup when I was a kid, but sadly, I'm not sure it's still around. I might have to do a look for it.



SCORE!!!

OH GOD I LOVE FESTIVAL OF FANTASY!!!!

Yeah, I just love the orange bird - it makes a lot of sense to me to choose it as a favorite because citrus swirl is my favorite treat, and orange is my favorite color! And he's so adorable! I can't wait to get the t-shirt.

What an awesome score of extra FP+...I guess those will be the hot ticket now that FP+ is such a thing. Too bad about the service at BOG...glad the food is good but sigh...that must have been annoying. Crowds during wishes are annoying...but sadly..not much to be done about it...You still got some good pics though! Good tip about the laugh floor at night...that's one thing I haven't done in a few years...

Yeah the extra fastpasses were an awesome bonus. The crowds during Wishes are so tough. I don't even mind being off to the side but I couldn't find any place on the side where they would let me stand!

I would have been starved a little bit ticked if I had been you at BOG! Waiting 20 minutes just to order and 20 more just for your drinks was crazy!
Your photo of just your feet on the PeopleMover is cute. Sounds like you had a nice evening overall!

Yeah I probably should have complained but I'm pretty non-confrontational. Especially with restaurants, because it's so hard to tell sometimes if it's the server's fault, or something else is going on in the kitchen, or they were just given too many tables to serve, etc. Unless I can pinpoint exactly what the issue is, then I will say something. All I wanted was some bread and I would have been fine!! lol

Haha thanks! After walking around all day it's nice to put your feet up on the peoplemover!

 

[NinePoundLemon]

I just got caught up on this whole TR! Congratulations on completing the Glass Slipper Challenge! Your outfits for both were awesome! And seriously - how do you look so...normal after so much running??? I think I turn redder and get sweatier than you after I like, go up a flight of stairs, and you ran a half marathon!!

I LOVE Living With the Land (obviously...my DIS name is from the ride) and I did the Behind the Seeds Tour as well a few trips ago. I think we might do it again next time, I really enjoyed it! I like that you can almost always just walk up and join the next tour or at least one later that day, it doesn't take a ton of planning.

Sounds like a good decision to take a cab back after your late dinner. Definitely saved a lot of time for you guys. I've always been a bit apprehensive to take a cab in Disney, just because I don't know a lot of the back roads and I'm always nervous they're going to take a roundabout way so that I have to pay more, and I won't even know it's happening (I had a few cabs try to do that to me when I was in university, so it made me paranoid). But I've heard about a lot of people taking cabs in Disney and everyone always seems happy with them, so I guess I should get over my stupid paranoia.

Too bad you missed the opening show on your MK morning. I'm not usually a rope-dropper but I always try to make it to MK for the show at least once per trip. It always seems to be a struggle though! Last year, we were taking the bus from the Beach Club, and we made sure to be at the bus stop super early. A bus came pretty quickly and we were excited that we were going to make it with lots of time to spare....until our bus broke down at a red light. Within like one minute there were 2 police cars behind us with lights flashing (I guess so no one ran into the back of the bus?) and after what seemed like forever, another bus pulled up beside us, and we were lead single file into the new bus by a police man with these flashing stick things....it was pretty funny. We still made it juuuust in time, but we had to run from the bus stop! Then on our last trip, I told my husband what time to set the alarm for, but he somehow set it 20 minutes later....so again, we made it, but we had to rush to get ready and then run and I was snarky towards my poor husband the whole time. SO next trip - hopefully we have better luck and see it without issues!

Sorry for the super long comment....I promise I won't let 10 updates go by without commenting next time!!

 

[librarygeek]

I just got caught up on this whole TR! Congratulations on completing the Glass Slipper Challenge! Your outfits for both were awesome! And seriously - how do you look so...normal after so much running??? I think I turn redder and get sweatier than you after I like, go up a flight of stairs, and you ran a half marathon!!

I LOVE Living With the Land (obviously...my DIS name is from the ride) and I did the Behind the Seeds Tour as well a few trips ago. I think we might do it again next time, I really enjoyed it! I like that you can almost always just walk up and join the next tour or at least one later that day, it doesn't take a ton of planning.

Sounds like a good decision to take a cab back after your late dinner. Definitely saved a lot of time for you guys. I've always been a bit apprehensive to take a cab in Disney, just because I don't know a lot of the back roads and I'm always nervous they're going to take a roundabout way so that I have to pay more, and I won't even know it's happening (I had a few cabs try to do that to me when I was in university, so it made me paranoid). But I've heard about a lot of people taking cabs in Disney and everyone always seems happy with them, so I guess I should get over my stupid paranoia.

Too bad you missed the opening show on your MK morning. I'm not usually a rope-dropper but I always try to make it to MK for the show at least once per trip. It always seems to be a struggle though! Last year, we were taking the bus from the Beach Club, and we made sure to be at the bus stop super early. A bus came pretty quickly and we were excited that we were going to make it with lots of time to spare....until our bus broke down at a red light. Within like one minute there were 2 police cars behind us with lights flashing (I guess so no one ran into the back of the bus?) and after what seemed like forever, another bus pulled up beside us, and we were lead single file into the new bus by a police man with these flashing stick things....it was pretty funny. We still made it juuuust in time, but we had to run from the bus stop! Then on our last trip, I told my husband what time to set the alarm for, but he somehow set it 20 minutes later....so again, we made it, but we had to rush to get ready and then run and I was snarky towards my poor husband the whole time. SO next trip - hopefully we have better luck and see it without issues!

Sorry for the super long comment....I promise I won't let 10 updates go by without commenting next time!!

Haha no worries, I know how hard it can be to keep up with TRs sometimes! And I like reading your comments

Thank you so much! I feel like I look worse in person than I do in photos after running. I know my face is bright red but for some reason it doesn't show as much in pics.

I did Behind the Seeds two years ago and really enjoyed it.

Yeah, I have always been hesitant about cabs... anywhere. I always felt like the idea of having a random person drive you was just kind of awkward lol. But totally worth it in this situation.

Wow, that's crazy about being evacuated of the bus! I never imagiend that happening in Disney. I'm glad you still made it! Sadly on my trip in APril I also missed the MK opening show. A couple weeks beforehand I had checked all the park times and MK was set to open at 9am on the day we were going. I guess they changed it the week before because we got there and the park was already open! They had opened at 8 that morning.

 

[elphie101]

Ahhhh Becky, how did I miss you have a new TR?! Well newish I guess, since it's been a few months! I loved reliving your race and once again I'm so jealous I can't do Princess Half anytime soon - it just seems like such an amazing experience, especially with the group!

Oh, I don't know if you realized this, but did you know that even though you have to book your 4th FP+ at a kiosk in the park, you can edit it on your phone? Both the ride and the time! We found this out on our last trip, we had to book a Figment FP for late in the evening and then on our phones we were able to change it to Living with the Land 2 hours earlier - the Land hadn't even been an option on the kiosk!

Off Disney property? Gasp! Tell me more!

 

[myrheille]

I had no idea there were characters and entertainment along the way for Disney runs! That seems like a fantastic time! And your costumes are just fabulous, I am in awe.

Late-Night Monsters Inc has a drawback - when the room is half-empty you're almost sure to get picked on! I had to do some "telepathy" with a monster last time

Great TR! Following along

 

[librarygeek]

Ahhhh Becky, how did I miss you have a new TR?! Well newish I guess, since it's been a few months! I loved reliving your race and once again I'm so jealous I can't do Princess Half anytime soon - it just seems like such an amazing experience, especially with the group!

Oh, I don't know if you realized this, but did you know that even though you have to book your 4th FP+ at a kiosk in the park, you can edit it on your phone? Both the ride and the time! We found this out on our last trip, we had to book a Figment FP for late in the evening and then on our phones we were able to change it to Living with the Land 2 hours earlier - the Land hadn't even been an option on the kiosk!

Off Disney property? Gasp! Tell me more!

I'm bummed you won't be able to come for princess any time soon either - it would be so much fun to have you there! Someday hopefully! Or maybe another race weekend

Oh, well that's good to know! At least there might be more options that way.

I had no idea there were characters and entertainment along the way for Disney runs! That seems like a fantastic time! And your costumes are just fabulous, I am in awe.

Late-Night Monsters Inc has a drawback - when the room is half-empty you're almost sure to get picked on! I had to do some "telepathy" with a monster last time

Great TR! Following along

Aww, thank you! Yes, the characters and the entertainment make Disney races the best!

LOL, one person's draw back in another person's advantage - I'd love to be "picked on"!

 

[librarygeek]

To Diagon Alley, Of Course!

Tuesday was the day that I was super excited for (don't tell my Disney side!) - we were going to Universal Studios to see the Harry Potter stuff! I had been to Islands of Adventure a number of times when Wizarding World was open, but I hadn't been back to see the new Diagon Alley section. We were picked up pretty early - we had booked transportation and the choices from Pop were 7:20 or 8:20. With the park opening at 9 we were worried that 8:20 was cutting it too close to be there for opening, so we went with 7:20. The bus/shuttle was on time, and we got to Universal around 8 so we had almost a full hour to kill. We picked up our tickets and stopped at Starbucks for breakfast. Not my usual place, but after a later night in MK I needed some sort of caffeine!



Eventually we were in. First stop was Diagon Alley to get on the Gringotts ride, but that's kind of at the back of the park so I walked around talking some pictures at first. Then we got to the Harry Potter section. You first see the streets of "regular" London, and then you walk through to the wizarding section. The whole area literally took my breath away. It was just so well done and authentic that for a Harry Potter fan like me it created this moment of awe. Sorry Disney, but this was the best themeing I've seen anywhere in any theme park. Even the pictures don't do it justice, but I'll share some anyway!











After gaping for awhile we headed to get in line for Gringotts, which said it only had about a 20 minute wait. When you first walk into the lobby of Gringotts it is just incredible!





The line seemed to be moving pretty quickly... until the line stopped moving completely. After waiting about an hour we were finally next to board - lined up in the queue right before you get on the vehicle. And then the ride went down. Everyone evacuated and they gave us passes to come back later. I had been so pumped up about being there, and waited patiently for an hour, only for nothing... that I started to cry. But we went back outside and decided to do the other ride there, the Hogwarts Express. To King's Cross!



They did a really neat job with this, and it was very cool way to get into Hogsmeade. I won't spoil too much, but the effects are cool and it's a different ride in each direction so make sure you take the train back too.





Once there we of course had to ride Forbidden Journey, which had a much shorter line than we had seen previously, and the Dragon Challenge.



While there I had to get a Butterbeer too! My favorite!



Then we decided to make our way around Islands of Adventure before taking the train back to Diagon Alley. We mostly just walked around looking at everything, stopping only to ride the Hulk. Outside of Hogsmeade, in the mythological section (I forget what it's called) we stopped to watch some kids playing with an interactive fountain, which was highly entertaining. Then it was back on the Hogwarts Express to Diagon Alley. Once we returned we checked Gringotts but it was still down, so we went to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch. Then we explored some of the new shops, including Borgin and Burkes (for dark wizards) and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes (the joke shop).





Then finally Gringotts was back up! We got on pretty quickly with our passes, and the ride was really, really cool. Definitely a little intense, but very different and a lot of fun. I know most people still prefer Forbidden Journey, but I personally liked Gringotts better. And while we were in Diagon Alley of couse I had to try Florean Fortescue's ice cream! They had a lot of really unusual flavors, which is cool, but they wouldn't give out samples, which was a bummer because I didn't know if I would like some of the stuff. I took a chance and ordered Earl Grey and Lavender. It was okay, but the flavor was very subtle - it was more like vanilla with hints of lavender and I didn't taste much earl grey. Kind of a disappointment. DH had the apple crisp, which he loved.



After our ice cream we decided to explore the other stuff that Universal had to offer, and left the world of Harry Potter.

 

[elphie101]

Ahhhhh Harry Potter! Love it! I have to agree with you, the level of theming they have for both parts is just outstanding and blows me away. Kind of makes me wonder why they seemingly slacked off with the rest of the park! I loved Gringotts as well, though I don't think I could pick one or the other.

You really got a lot done in your day so far! We didn't make it to the ice cream parlor, so I guess I'll just haaaaave to make a return trip Oh, and I LOVE your shirt! Perfect for Universal!

 

[LindseyJo22]

Love love love the HP stuff! We may yet make it there, but it will be a while. The price difference between an add-on day at Disney and a two-park Universal ticket tend to get us to lean Disney more often than not. But I will go here someday!

The theming looks really amazing, and honestly a lot better than I remember from Islands of Adventure. Looks like you both got a ton done and had lots of fun! And I'm glad that you got to get on the Gringotts ride with minimal fuss after the frustrating first wait!

 

[KathyM2]

Wow!! Harry potter looks so amazing...all the areas I mean...so jealous. I think I'd want to try the Butterbeer ice cream since I liked the drink so much. Sorry yours was dissapointing. I wonder why they don't do samples? Maybe people would just taste all the weird ones and never order...who knows...I love your shirt too BTW.