Help Me Smithers! A trip with Barista, Swimming Babies, Unseasonably Cool Weather, But Still Lots of Magic. (updated 8/29/20)

Okay, where were we? Ah yes. Jason had taken a nap, the girls and I had gotten some snacks, and now, feeling refreshed, we were headed out to MK for Extra Magic Hours. We got over to the park and stopped right away for a PP (of course).



After that, we headed into Tomorrowland. The girls wanted to ride Buzz Lightyear Spaceranger Spin. I'm terrible at this ride. I just shoot randomly. I never know what I'm actually hitting because of all the red laser lights flashing everywhere. Jason somehow always manages to get some obscenely high score. We did get some ride photos. Poor Maura. You can't even see her little head.





Now as you can see, Jason is wearing his winter wool pea coat. He hadn't brought a sweater or sweatshirt, so he was stuck with that. Spoiler alert: he found a Target or something nearby later this night and got a zipper sweatshirt. The pea coat was kind of bulky and impractical, but he didn't want to be freezing either. Usually we go to Florida in September when it's hot all the time and we don't need sweaters.

Here's a few pictures I attempted on the ride.



This one actually looks kind of cool.







Since we were in Tomorrowland, we decided to hit up the Speedway. I know not everyone loves this ride, but my kids like to drive their own cars, so we always do it. Last summer we went to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, and they have 2 drive your own car rides. We rode them an obscene amount of times because the kids just loved driving them so much. So, as long as they enjoy it, we'll ride it. I was with Maura, who hugged the guard rail by swerving back and forth incessantly. She looks like she may have been crying before this, but if she was I can't remember why. Obviously, if she was, she's over it.



Since Maura had the wheel, I decided to take a terrible picture of Jason and Lucy who were behind us.



We decided to start walking over to Fantasyland next. The kids wanted to ride everyone's favorite, IASW. We walked by Mad Tea Party though and the girls wanted to ride. I have to pass on this ride, or much like Primeval Whirl, I might barf. I used to love and tolerate all spinning rides, but after having 2 kids, I think my equilibrium is off because I can't do them anymore. But, Jason still enjoys them and he can spin those things so fast! The girls love riding with him anyway. I stood off to the side and took pictures. These are obviously blurry, but in a good way!

Okay, well the first couple aren't, but once the ride starts moving, they get blurry.



This ride is pretty at night.







Notice how it looks like they're spinning faster than anyone else!





You can see Lucy smiling in this one!



After spinning into oblivion, there was a PP taking really pretty pictures outside the ride. Of course we had to stop for one.



Finally we were at IASW and there was no line, so we walked right on.

I'll only share a few pictures. You've all seen it!



I always have to take a picture of the dancing ladies in France, because of the pink poodle. The first time Lucy ever rode this, she fell in love with that pink poodle and so we always have to acknowledge the poodle and take a picture.









I love these guys!







Because we were so close to it, we went over to HM. I'll never complain about riding this one over and over again. Only 1 picture, just to prove we rode it.



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After riding MY favorite ride, we went back into Fantasyland for a meet and greet I had been waiting for for a long time. We went over to Princess Fairytale Hall. There were 2 ladies there we could meet. One we'd met before, but the other would be new to us and she was the one I was most looking forward to!

First up was Rapunzel. Now she was great. So funny and talked a lot and was really engaged with the girls. I'll be honest though, I wasn't paying that much attention. My focus was all on who was up next! But I'll share some pictures with Rapunzel first, because she really was cute and nice. The girls adored her.





I don't know what they were talking about here, but Rapunzel's face is great!









See how sweet she was? I wish I would have paid more attention. I really do like Rapunzel a lot.

But finally it was time to meet MY favorite princess. Now, I should tell you, I was never really into princesses as a kid. I didn't hate them, they just weren't my thing. I wasn't a very girly girl at all. I was actually afraid of having daughters because I thought I wouldn't know how to be a good girl mom. Well, that's been proven wrong, and my girls liked princesses just fine. I actually like the princesses much more now than I did as a kid. But now it was time to meet my girl, Tiana! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Princess and the Frog. I love New Orleans. It's my favorite city anywhere. I love the music, the food, the culture, so you can see why I'd love this movie. And I love how independent Tiana is and how she went for her dreams. As we're waiting to meet her, I looked over at her and whispered "You're my favorite." But I let the girls meet her first. They were looking forward to this too, because they had yet to meet her. Look at her face!



I don't remember what they talked about either, but I know it was good conversation with Tiana too!



Both the girls listening to her intently.





My girls are both still so awe struck when they meet the characters. They always freeze up and don't know what to say, so I'm always grateful when the characters are able to engage them. They are really meeting a celebrity and just lose their voices!





And there was no way we were getting out of there without me getting a picture with her!

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We had just a really good time. Both ladies were so sweet, and spent a lot of time with us. It was nice that it wasn't so crowded at EMH so we DID have a chance to chat for a while.

After that fabulousness, the girls wanted to ride The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. I wasn't sure about this ride the first time I rode it, but it's fun and cute and I love the rain rain rain came down down down song especially. I guess we didn't get any pictures on this one, but we all enjoyed it for sure.


It was getting close to EMH ending, so we started heading to the exit, but we did take some pictures along the way. First, the most beautiful bathrooms anywhere.



We came across the wishing well and stopped to look for a minute. I wish I hadn't used my flash for these pictures. But, we did end up getting some cute PP here a few days later.





Okay, this one, either I was walking, or one of the kids took it. If I had been standing still, I would have made sure this was a decent shot.



Maura wanted to post with Casey on the way out so we stopped for that.



We were back on the monorail in no time, and we encountered some rude young men who were sitting and not offering their seats to people who might need them. And I don't mean us. My kids love standing on the monorail. There were some older people, and parents holding young children who would have appreciated the spots but the guys just started and kept right on sitting. It was pretty obvious to everyone else on the monorail that there were people who needed to be sitting, but these guys didn't care. I guess there's always going to be people who just don't get it.

Anyway, we were back at CBR in no time. I put in 26989 steps this day! Not bad! My mom couldn't believe it when I came home and told her how many steps I'd taken every day. She couldn't believe how many miles we covered.

I'll be back tomorrow with Day 6 as we finally visit the 4th park!
 
Day 6

We "slept in" until 9 this day. That's pretty late for us at Disney! But at home, I'd still sleep until 11 if I could. Not at Disney though. We'd had some pretty long days and late nights though, so the extra sleep was welcome. It was 57 degrees on this chilly March morning. What did the kids want to do? Yep. They wanted to swim. Dorks. But, the pool had opened at 9, so I took them over there. Jason met us in a bit, as he was still relaxing.

You can tell that we're from Wisconsin. The pool was absolutely empty except for my girls. The pool itself was of course about 90 degrees, so it felt like bath water. They didn't care. They went right in! Not me. I sat on the side and took a few pictures. It was like I was with Swimaldee and Swimaldum. (Maura just came up with that one.)





This was probably the one and only time they'd have a Disney pool to themselves, so they took full advantage. After maybe 30 minutes, another family came to the pool, but they were about ready to get out. Though the water was warm, the air was chilly. They said "Brrrrrrrr" but Crush the Turtle would say "Bruhhhhhhhh." (Another one from Maura)

We headed back to the room and got ready to visit the only park we hadn't visited yet. Hollywood Studios. We left about 11am to get there. We had a FP+ for Star Tours shortly after that. C3-PO told me that he did not use fast pass he used light years. We headed over there and enjoyed the ride, as usual. I don't recall what planets we had, but I know we all enjoyed it. If you haven't figured it out yet, all these zingers are coming from Maura, who is currently sitting right next to me instead of going to bed.

We did stop in the dump shop after the ride. Remember Lucy's deformed droid she made at Disney Springs on the first day? No? You don't? Here's a refresher.



Well, she was feeling regret that she didn't make it the other day to keep, so she made one this time. I just found it in my living room the other day, so it still exists!

The girls wanted to see the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, as they had never seen it before. They had seen a clip of it on the Disney Planning Video that Lucy had watched no less than 14 times and were really excited about it. Or as Puumba would say, "farteen times." But we saw funnel cakes and ice cream on the way over, so we had to stop and grab one. We hadn't eaten breakfast and needed something, and a funnel cake is kind of like a pancake and the ice cream was like milk, so it was basically breakfast. I didn't take any pictures though. Sorry.

We made it over to Indiana Jones and didn't have time to stop for pictures outside of the theater because they were already letting people in. We found some decent seats and then waited for the show to start. While we waited, Barista (the Barista in my title) was born. It's actually kind of a dumb story, but to us, it's hilarious. Lucy had a baby wipe that she was using to wipe the chocolate and ice cream off her face from the funnel cake. She poked a hole in the wipe, stuck her finger through the hole, and suddenly her finger was Barista wearing a baby wipe dress. Barista, Belle of the Ball came into our lives. She has a whole story behind her and she is STILL talked about today. She has a whole gang of friends. The girls were just telling a Barista story in the car the other day and cackling hysterically. Barista's sister is Belle Barista of the Ball, Barista's boyfriend, Loafy, and her best friend Shalafalina, who is Loafy's sister. I'm not making this up. They go on and on about these characters every time we're in the car for a while. I know they'll be making appearances on our upcoming trip. Sadly, I have no picture of Barista, but I'll try to get one the next time she shows up.

Finally the show started. The kids were disappointed they weren't old enough to volunteer for the show, but some day! I guess we all just enjoyed the show, because I have no pictures of it.

After the show, we decided we needed to meet some characters. We got a couple of PP on the way over though.





Here we are using the Force. Lucy is really into it.



Heading into the character meeting spot, we oohed and aahed over all the Star Wars artifacts while we waited in line.



Our first meet was actually pretty intimidating. We were going to meet Kylo Ren. He was tall and scary and so in character. He asked the girls if they wanted to join him in the First Order. Lucy shook her head and said no way, but Maura gave an enthusiastic yes. He liked her immediately. We managed to get some pictures. He allowed it.



I think he's asking them here. Look how scared they look!



I look pretty terrified myself here. He was a dark presence for sure. I mean, we were standing with the leader of the First Order.

He was done with us after this and said "Leave. NOW." While he gestured wildly to the door. We got out of there as fast as we could.

Our next meet was someone even taller, but much more gentle. We got to see Chewbacca! He towered over all of us, but was much more lovable. I asked Chewbacca what his favorite mode of transportation was, and all he could say was "Chew Chew." Hey, Chewbacca, what's your favorite candy? Wait, is it gummies? Because you can chew chew chew them. Guess who said that? Yep. Maura. I just sent her to bed. She was getting out of control.

Anyway, we went in to meet Chewy. He was seriously at least twice the height of tiny Maura.



I know he gave everyone a hug and had a lot to say in his Wookie way.





He was lots of fun! The last one was a total surprise. We didn't even know you could meet him! BB-8!

The girls though this was so much fun. They asked BB-8 some questions, and he asked them some and his handler answered so we could understand what he was saying.





Really cool and exciting surprise!

We decided we were hungry after this and headed over to the Commissary for some lunch. We didn't want to eat too much because we had an ADR for dinner, but we needed something besides the funnel cake and ice cream.

We ran into a PP outside Grauman's Chinese Theater and asked for some pics. She said she only had a fish eye lens. We said that was fine with us! Different pictures are fun! I think she was hoping/thinking we'd say no thanks, but not us! I like how these turned out.



You can see Link the Banshee is back. He hadn't really gone anywhere, but had been in the backpack and needed to make an appearance.



I call this one "Find the Children." We didn't get to ride GMR as it had closed by this time. We're looking forward to riding Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railroad though!



The Commissary was calling us now, so we headed over. Jason must have been really hungry, because you can see him walking ahead in this picture.



I know Hollywood Studios isn't known for it's QS restaurants, but we always like Commissary. We've had some decent stuff there. Nothing fancy, but it fits the bill to fill us up.

Looks like Jason and Lucy had chicken fingers and fries, and Lucy got a chocolate pudding cup, or whatever that desert is.



Maura and Link had a cheeseburger and fries.



Here's a better picture of the pudding. I know it was yummy.



I think I must have just shared with Jason and Lucy. We didn't want to get too full as we had a big dinner coming up.

Our FP+ was coming up for TOT, so we walked over to Hollywood Boulevard to get in line for that. Maura refused to ride this one too. She had ridden it before, but said she didn't like it because "her tummy felt funny." I know the real reason was the ghosts. Lucy was again fine with that, because she got to ride twice. We have told Maura though, no excuses. She's riding it this next trip! We did make her wait in line with us though, and just did parent swap when we got to the end. Maura was very concerned we were actually going to make her ride the ride since she was in line. She kept saying "but I don't want to get on." "Remember I'm not riding it." Yes, yes child. You aren't riding it.



Lucy either pretending to be scared, or actually annoyed at her sister for not shutting up.









Lucy and I rode first. Here's our ride photo.



We went to find Jason and Maura then, so Jason could go back up with Lucy. While Maura and I waited, she wanted me to take this picture.

"Help Mom, he's got my finger." Both my girls have a flair for the dramatic.



This was what Jason and Lucy were doing. They got the same seats as Lucy and I had!



We were hoping to ride RR, but the line was too long in Standby. Our dinner reservation was coming up and we didn't want to miss it. We did manage to get some PP outside the ride though.

See, Jason and Lucy are disappointed because we couldn't ride it.



But we can all turn it on when we need to.



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We started going in the direction of our ADR. This was Lucy's pick for this trip. We were going to 50's Primetime Diner. None of us had ever been there before, however, Jason and met at a restaurant very much like this called Ed Debevic's that we used to have in Milwaukee. We worked there together and the rest is history. Much like Primetime, we got to be sassy to our customers, and we also danced on the counters every 30 minutes or so. Ed's has since closed down, and we never got to show the girls where we met, but they've heard stories and so were excited to try 50's Primetime.

We checked in and had to wait for just a bit. We were a little early though. The girls used the opportunity to check out the waiting area and rest their feet for a bit. They really had no idea what they were watching, but if there is a TV, my kids want to see it.







We were seated after about 10 minutes, and our "cousin" Mary Jane quickly came up to us and started handing the girls the business. She put down the place setting and told Lucy to set the table.



She wasn't happy with Lucy's speed and told her to hurry up, we didn't have all day. Lucy got it done and Mary Jane took our drink order and told us to be ready to order when she came back! Lucy is getting ready to give it back to her.



Lucy got a shake and Maura got a root beer float. Lucy was super impressed the shake came in the tin they made it in!







Mary Jane had told us to keep our elbows off the table or we'd be in trouble. I was the one who kept forgetting and she had to remind me twice. The 3rd time she almost caught me, I realized it just as she glanced over and she gave me a side eye, but let it go. Soon our food was coming. Primetime has good old comfort food. Jason got the chicken pot pie with the pastry puff. This is exactly what the pot pie we had at Ed's looked like!



Maura got the (surprise surprise), mac and cheese. She picked carrot sticks as her side because she knew she'd eat them. She didn't want to be reprimanded for not eating her veggies.



Lucy and I both got the fried chicken. I got green beans and corn, and mashed potatoes and gravy. Lucy got double corn and mashed potatoes no gravy. She knew she wouldn't eat beans.





I remember the chicken being good! Everyone enjoyed their meal. Lucy knew she wanted Mary Jane to mess with her, so she purposely didn't finish her corn and covered it up with her napkins. Mary Jane said she'd be checking under the napkins, and she sure did just that!



Mary Jane proceeded to feed Lucy her remaining corn saying we couldn't waste food.





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As you can see by her face, Lucy was absolutely delighted with this. She was so happy Mary Jane had "caught" her.





Both the girls absolutely loved this and still talk about this meal. The food was good, the service was even better. We had to get a picture of the girls with Mary Jane of course!



I know we got desert, but whatever it was we took it with us because by this point we needed to be rolled out of there. We settled our bill and were out. Mary Jane, thank you for such a fun time! It was nice our girls got to see a taste of what we used to do.

Our last FP+ this day was for Fantasmic. The girls had yet to see it, and Jason and I hadn't seen it since 2001! We didn't take any pictures and just decided to sit and enjoy the show. We had pretty good close seats and everyone enjoyed the show. We were glad we finally got to see it. We had a Fantasmic dinner reservation for this year, but we'll just have to do the dinner. We'll catch it next time!

We got this last PP after the show.



After the show, we wanted to try to get on TSMM before the park closed. Jason and the girls went to get in line, while I went back to Star Wars to get a shirt I had seen earlier in the day. We had been hoping to get on RR, but it was down for the night. Jason and Lucy were tired, but we really did all want to ride TSMM, so we wanted to make it work.

I quickly made it over to Star Tours and made my purchase. I got a text from Jason saying he couldn't find TSMM because the way he thought he was supposed to go was blocked. I think he put it in his GPS and it took him a way that wasn't open anymore. Meanwhile, I had made it over there. The ride was closing soon, and I told Jason how I had gotten there. He was getting frustrated because he couldn't figure it out and we were about to call it a night. A CM overheard my dilemma (we were on the phone with each other by this time, and I was trying to explain how to get there), and the CM said not to worry, even if the line was closed, he'd be sure we got on. What a nice guy! Thankfully, my family was coming around the bend and we went to get in line. The CM said oh no, we weren't going that way. We were VIPs. He walked us up the exit and got us on from the end of the ride! That was so nice of him to be sure we got to ride. We were all really thankful and had a nice ride. It was a great way to end our day at HS. We thanked the CM profusely and headed out.

Back at CBR, Lucy and I went to package pick up to pick up our items from Epcot the other day. Lucy made a couple of pin trades while we were there. She especially got really into that on this trip. They are both excited to trade next week! Back in the room, I did some laundry, and we started packing up. Tomorrow was our last day already. :(

This day wasn't as crazy as some of the others and I only got 16949 steps this day. We headed off to bed with mixed emotions. We only had 1 day left, but we'd be spending at at MK.

I hope to finish this up tomorrow! Good Night for now!
 


Well, here we are. L day. The day everyone dreads at Disney, or any vacation really. It was almost time to head back to the frozen tundra. BUT, we still had 1 more day at MK. Oh, also, I forgot to show you the purchase I made at HS the day before, when Jason couldn't find TSM. Jason and I had gotten these! They'll be joining us on our upcoming trip.




Nerds I tell you, NERDS!

This will be a picture light update. There will be some PP, but I guess neither one of us took many pictures this day. Well, I just found a few that Jason took, so there will be more than I originally thought!

We sadly packed up our stuff at CBR, did a final check of the room, and packed up the car. We were on our way to MK by 9am. We were parked and on the Ferry by 9:45. Once we were in the gate, we had to move fast to get to our first FP+. We made it, but barely. We were headed into Enchanted Tales with Belle. This is such a cute little show, but the casting of the audience members leaves something to be desired. My girls were NEVER chosen for the Beast, and they were clearly the best growlers. Don't say you're picking the best growler if you really aren't. :rotfl2:

But I'm getting ahead of myself. First was the pre-pre show in Maurice's workshop. If you've never seen this little show, it's pretty cool, and the picture frame opening up is a really cool effect.

Here's just a plain ordinary (though beautiful) mirror/picture frame.



Here's some of the ambiance in the workshop.



Then suddenly this happens.



Then this:



Eventually, the whole thing opens up and everyone walks through it into the wardrobe room! This is always a cool effect, but the first time we ever saw it we were all in awe. This leads to the wardrobe room where Madame Wardrobe hands out the parts.



Lucy was cast as Maurice and Maura as a salt shaker. A salt shaker? My kid is at the very least the horse. Salt shaker. Where's her agent?

Jason was fortunate to get cast as a knight too much to our delight. You aren't allowed to take pictures in the library, but PP does and we got plenty!

Lucy as Maurice trapped in jail.







Jason the knight, guarding the palace.



All the kids who want get a picture with Belle at the end of the show. It's kind of a hug and shove and not a long meet, but the girls still enjoy posing with Belle, though Lucy looks like she's afraid of Belle.



Maura with Belle.



Jason and the other dad who were the knights.



I have a note that there was a bratty kid in the show. I don't remember all the specifics, but I do vaguely remember there was a kid who kept walking up and interrupting the show and yelling and such while the parents did nothing. Good times. I don't claim by any means to be a perfect parent, but I'd never let my kid pull something like that without getting involved.

The show was fun and we always enjoy this one, though my girls think they may be too old for it now. :(

Maura had been wearing her Oswald the Lucky Rabbit ears this day. Remember that. I was supposed to be holding them while she was in the show.

Since we were right there, we moseyed over to Gaston's Pub. Lucy loves the chocolate croissants and Maura loves the giant cinnamon rolls. Maura ate the whole thing herself. I got nary a bite, neither did Jason. I guess she was starving. We also had to post for pictures with the Yak Chair. My last TR (the one I still have to finish) was named after this chair, so we always have to have a photo op there.



Always the performers, these 2. How could one of them not get cast as BEAST?????





And of course Gaston's portrait is prominently featured.



After our snacks, we went to VotLM. The line was only about 20 minutes so we got in line. Jason got some pictures of the scenery first.







Before long, we were in our clams and heading under the sea. Scuttle was there to guide us.



Jason once again got some decent pictures on the ride.



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These might be not quite in the right order, but I'm doing my best!



Ursula. Definitely the most unattractive of the Disney villains. It's the black tentacles. Yuck.





Oh no! I've been had!





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Well that was fun! Back above the surface, they had a PP. You know we stopped. If you didn't know, clearly you haven't been reading along.





Why? Why do they hate me?



Fine. I'll play along this time.



And this is really who we are. I mean, I don't know what I've been hiding from. It's time to embrace the crazy.



a was so happy to have them back and it was my fault they had gotten lost in the first place. The CM told us though, that if they wouldn't have had them, we could go to customer relations and they'd replace them for free. That is so nice that they do that! Thankfully, we didn't have to replace them though.

Everyone happy again, we went off to our next FP+. Dumbo! We hadn't been on this yet this trip.





I guess we didn't get any pictures ON the ride, but we did get one OF the ride.



This ride really photographs well. Especially at night, but we didn't get any night shots this trip.

Dumbo is such a simple ride, but it was Maura's favorite her first 2 trips and you get a nice view of the castle on it, so we always ride it.

It was time for something a little wilder afterwards though, and our BTMRR FP+ was ready to go so we wandered over that a way. No pictures, but there was a PP at the end of the ride and that was a new spot for us so what do you think we did? Yep, you know.



Jason looks suspicious. He probably should be.



Aaaaaaaaand, there was another PP across the road from this one. HM was in the background, so duh, we stopped.

A little magic with the dork twins.





And see? The Oswald ears are safely back on her head!



We had gotten that extra paper FP after our long wait at Pirate's League on our first MK day, and we hadn't used it yet. We decided to use it for Splash Mountain since we were right there, and we all wanted 1 more ride on it, even though it was a little chilly. I guess Jason was bored.



We were starting to get hungry, and Pecos Bill's was right there. We'd never tried it and decided today was the day. Honestly, it was just meh. We had heard good things about the toppings bar, but it was much smaller than it used to be. (or what I'd heard it had been). There was no guacamole (travesty), and there was another guest there complaining that they'd had guac there just a couple days before when he was there. The CM said they charged for it now. There were also no grilled mushrooms which I was hugely disappointed in. I love them and was looking forward to them. We ate though. It filled us up, but was disappointing. It might be a while before we try it again.

On a better note though, we HAD gotten a new FP+ for Jungle Cruise. We walked over there and got right on. We had THE BEST skipper. She told Maura if she sat up front she might be used as a sacrifice. :rotfl2: The girls loved her! I wish we could remember her name, but here she is.



She just had such a dry delivery, it was fantastic. My kind of humor.





The hippo was laughing at her jokes too.





After that hilarious ride through the jungles, we went back up to the fire station for more Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom cards. We played a couple rounds, and then did some shopping. We went to Memento Mori first. Lucy got some earrings and books there. She really loved the books! They were about the Haunted Mansion, but stories. Then we went to the emporium. We got a ton of stuff there. I got a sweatshirt and t-shirt, Lucy got a sweatshirt, a whole bunch of souvenirs for friends and family back home. Guess what Maura got? 3, yes THREE new stuffed animals. She got a Lady, and a little Oswald and his girlfriend Ortensia.

We had to go back to Memento Mori, because Maura didn't find a sweatshirt she liked at the Emporium. She found one that glowed in the dark that she loved at Memento Mori. I also got some HM socks and a really cool HM print that now hangs proudly in our living room.

I have just a bit more left, but I'm saving that for tomorrow. I promise to finish before we leave in 30 hours! 30 hours! I can't believe it!
 
Okay, okay I never made it back to finish before we left. I got so busy (as one does the day before leaving on vacation) I just ran out of time. I had to get a few hours of sleep before getting up and driving all day.

So, let me finish this bad boy so I can start on our most recent trip and you can all hear about Disney during Covid.

After some shopping, we needed a snack. The girls had wanted to try a Cheshire Cat Tail at the Cheshire Cafe, so we obliged.



Here's a close up. They were quite tasty!



Jason decided he needed more than a pastry and got this bad boy. It came from the ice cream shop on Main Street USA.



Not to be outdone, and I guess because they weren't full, the girls needed ice cream as well. Looks like it was mint chip all around.



We caught some of the Festival of Fantasy parade while we snacked.





We waltzed on over to Philharmagic after that. Here we are waiting to get in.



We of course enjoyed it, because how can you not? It was getting close to our ADR time, but we thought we had time for 1 more thing before we headed over there. On the way, we got our almost final PP of the trip. We found a PP by the wishing well and got some fun pics.







We kept walking to our destination and THEN got our final PP of the trip. These are some of my favorites!







And then we walked over to Tomorrowland. We wanted to ride the Peoplemover one more time. It was getting close to the time we needed to get on the boat to get to our dinner destination, but we figured we had time.

Weeeeeeeeeeelllllllll, as luck would have it, the Peoplemover decided to just stop working right in the middle of the ride. I know that happens, but this time it REALLY stopped. Like they had to walk us off the ride. It was broken. We did get an extra use-any-time FP, but now we were pushing it to get to our ADR. We ran (okay, walked fast) to the front and out to the boat docks. We had to catch a boat to Wilderness Lodge. While we were waiting for the boat, we met some really adorable Disney ducks. And not just any Disney ducks, but Donald and Daisy! They were the real version. A male and female mallard. They wanted our popcorn. The CM at the boat dock said we could give them some and they took it right out of our hands! I can't believe I don't have a picture of this, but I looked and looked and couldn't fine one, so you'll have to imagine. It was really fun and cute.

Before long, our boat arrived and we were the only ones on it! We arrived at WL with just a minute to spare. We speed walked over to Whispering Canyon Cafe and checked in. I guess we didn't have to rush because we had a short wait when we arrived. The girls took it upon themselves to build something with the Lincoln Logs in the waiting area.



I remember after they built this a little girl came over to them and started chatting them up. Her family got called for their table and she protested leaving because "I'm pwaying with my fwiends." She wanted to stay and talk to my girls. She was really cute and my kids still say this sometimes.

After a short wait, we were taken to our table. I didn't write down the name of our server, but I wish I had. He came over quickly and we could tell immediately he was going to be fun, as we saw him deposit a huge pitcher of ice water on the table next to us. We ordered quickly and the shenanigans started immediately. The stick horse parade was beginning, and my kids weren't about to be left out.

I have no idea who the woman is in this picture, but my kids are behind her table.



Okay, I have no idea who anyone is in this photo, except our server. He's in the right corner. I don' t know if I was trying to get a picture of him or not, but that's all I got.



This is a terrible picture, but Maura had built this huge straw because our server had thrown about 30 of them on our table. It actually took her a while and she was super proud of it. About 10 seconds after I snapped this picture, our server came over with a scissors and cut it down to the nub. - :rotfl2:



Poor Maura. She had worked so hard. We were all laughing hysterically and she couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. Finally she started laughing and started making another one, which our server let be.

I'm not sure what Lucy was doing here. Or if she did this to herself , or the server told her to. Regardless, it fits in with this place!



We got our food and dug in. Our kids knew to ask for ketchup, and of course this is what we got.



I heard they don't do this there anymore, which is sad. It's part of the fun!

Now that we had 37 ketchups on our table, we needed someone else to ask so we could re-distribute them. Someone tried to take just 1, but we said no way. They had to ask the right way! If you've never been, if you ask your server for ketchup, they will yell loudly "We need ketchup over here!" and everyone who has ketchup on their table will bring it to you. We got rid of all but one shortly after this picture.



We did order desert, even though we were stuffed to the gils. Lucy ordered fruit, because she had had a shake as her drink, and our fine server teased her about that, which she loved.

The meal was over and we settled the bill and left WCC. It's definitely a favorite of ours!

We had gotten those extra FPs from Peoplemover, but it was nearing 8pm. We decided to call it a night and head out. We had to drive to my in-laws that night and didn't want to arrive too late. We also had to make a quick stop at Disney Springs to exchange Jason's "I Know" shirt for a different size. We also had some snack credits left to use that we "spent" in Goofy's Candy Factory.

We were sad we didn't use the free FP, but we were all tired. With that, we left Disney for 2018. We were sad to go, but it had been a fun trip.

Overall, we enjoyed this trip, but it wasn't our best one ever. We had chosen early March, because it was way before Spring Breaks that year, so we thought it would be less crowded, and we thought the weather would be fairly warm. Well, it was the MOST crowded we'd ever been, and it was really cool. We were hoping for high 70's, but got mostly high 50's and low 60's for the trip. We all decided that even though it's so hot, we much prefer September. Sure, it's hot, but the crowds are less and that's more important. But, of course it was Disney so we had a good time.

We spent 3 days with Jason's parents, and then headed back to Wisconsin where we still had 4 months of winter left.:rotfl2:I laugh, but it's pretty true.

Thanks to all who read along! And Sorry it took so long. I promise I'll be more on top of the next one! Which I'm going to start right now! Stay tuned!
 


We love Whispering Canyon! Looks like you had a lot of fun!

Enjoyed your report and looking forward to the next!
 

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