Lions and Tigers and CGI Bears, Oh My! June '16 - COMPLETED 6/4, page 22

nilla

Proud Disney Pixie Dust Snorter
Joined
May 23, 2008
Expedition log, day 173

After spending the last six months in the hostile, frozen wilderness of Penn's Woods, our party finally has received word of our return home. Though we are still 186 days away, even the smallest glimmer of hope is welcome. The wait will seem like an eternity, but the knowledge that there is a light at the end of this tunnel will keep us pushing forward.

Expedition log, day 178

Visions of home brighten the spirits of our otherwise weary crew. We're supplementing our drab diet with dreams of the feasts that await us back home, though disagreements over preference persist. Still, we relish every opportunity to discuss our post-return plans. My initial reservations about our planned feast at the Italian trattoria remain, but anything is better than what we are forced to endure now.

Expedition log, day 179

Discussions of the harvest that awaits us on the other side continue to make up the bulk of our free time. Today, we documented our decisions, setting them in the proverbial stone...at least, for now. We still await news from the skippers about the availability of their canteen, but we are patient. After all, up here in the cold, time is in abundance. In the meantime, we agreed to push aside concerns about the legendary beast, opting to be a guest at the famed castle all the same.

Expedition log, day 196

Boredom has once again stoked our fears, and we decided to avoid the beast, taking our chances with the foul-reputationed Tremaine family instead. We will be gracious for their generosity, though their demeanor could be a bit more accommodating. News from the skipper has not yet come.

Expedition log, day 199

The days continue to pass, and we have still not heard a word from the skipper. We are starting to give up hope.

Expedition log, day 201

The crew's morale in regard to the skipper has hit rock bottom. We have moved on. The canteen will not be included in our plans upon our return.

Expedition log, day 202

Travel plans for our return have begun to formulate. Traveling south west seems likely.

Expedition log, day 205

I am unsure if it is the extended absense from home, the cravings brought on by the continuous talks of our post-return feasts, or simple boredom, but I have grown to despise the administrative work maintaining this expedition log requires. Though we are still several months from the end of our expedition, I am officially closing this log. There will be no further entries.

 
...until now!

We're back, but without the ridiculous "expedition" gimmick. Back to standard Trip Reporting for the duration of our flight. Keep you seatbelts fastened, please continue to observe the "no smoking" signs, and enjoy our flight on nilla TR airlines.

And speaking of air travel, I am typing this ON THE PLANE. TO WALT DISNEY WORLD. Can you believe it?

Of course you can. After all, if there never was a trip, there would never have been this Trip Report. I mean, it would be a bit sad if I reported on a non-trip now, wouldn't it?

Of course it would. Let's not be silly.

Or let's be silly. Really silly. This is my TR, after all. It HAS to be silly. That sort of comes with the territory.

Now, where were we? Oh, the flight. We're on it right now. Did I mention where we're headed?

WALT DISNEY WORLD.

Of course we are. This TR is on the DISBoards. Where else would we be going?

So let's cut the nonsense (or, at least, reduce the nonsense), and get to the details. But trek lightly. There's danger afoot.

There are lions.

There are tigers.

And there are CGI bears.

Oh, my. What ever have they done?

 
That's the name of the TR, by the way. "Lions and Tigers and CGI Bears, Oh My!" Not the best title, I know. But it's relevant. Well, 2/3 relevant. And not until the second week of the trip. But nonetheless, it beats the other possible titles:

"I Was a Middle-Aged Haunted Mansion Elitist"

"How Long Do 9 Minutes Take?"

"'Name My Trip Report' Contest"

...and several others I won't bother to mention here. But since we settled on a title (which you already knew, because you clicked on the hyperlink from the main page), let's put it in bold. And large font. Are you ready?


Lions and Tigers and CGI Bears, Oh My!


(Oh, "Are you ready?" was another possible title. But let's not get into that. Yet.)

Anyway, here we go!


 
Who we are

If you've read any of my previous 5 TRs, you already know. And let's be honest - if you're reading this one, you probably read the others. My TRs are sort of like the Rolling Stones, Iron Maiden, etc...if you weren't a fan before, you probably won't become one now. And that's fine. I like my niche status. There certainly are plenty of valid reasons to NOT enjoy my TRs.

But if you do, and you've come back for more, thanks! You're the reason I write these. And I do love writing them.

Now, where were we?

Oh, yeah. Introductions. Let's start with me:



Jon. nilla. Software developer, Minnesota Vikings megafan, and Proud Pixie Dust Snorter (my avatar doesn't lie!). Also, evidently, NOT the rightful ruler of England.

I fell in love with Disney when my now-wife and I, then dating, went to see The Lion King in theaters 7 times, and haven't looked back since. Ok, ok. Maybe I strayed a bit during the post-Pocahontas years, but I'm back. And more than ever. Thanks to Walt Disney World.

I had been to WDW prior to our meeting, but it was our first Trip as a family in 2006 that really took things to the next level. I can't get enough of the place now, and love just about everything Disney. With the addtion of Marvel and Star Wars, it just keeps getting better.

Speaking of "just keeps getting better", here's my (arguably) better half:

Kristin. kristin_t. Substitute elementary school teacher, Perfectly Posh independent sales consultant, and the (arguably) most "normal" member of our family.



Yep, most "normal".

She keeps things running. She also loves Disney. Who doesn't?

She was instrumental in planning our first trip, and many subsequent trips, though she has turned some of those duties over to me recently. She still does the bulk of the work, though.

Now, the kids:



Dylan. 14 years old. He's the one in the middle, in case you were wondering.

Just finished 9th grade. Boy Scout, long-time mixed martial arts student, and video game addict. He loves Disney as well, but to nowhere near the degree the rest of us do. He's a ride warrior, though, so he's not about to turn down a trip to a theme park. Not that we'd let him, anyway.

Here's his sister:



Emily. 10 years old. Just finished 5th grade, and moving up to middle school next year. Where did the time go? She's also a non-competitive gymnast, and got the music appreciation gene her dad (me) has. Not the same genres, though...so unless Overkill, Bad Religion, or Slayer open up for Justin Bieber in the future, we're probably no going to any concerts together.

Oh, and that's the pose. You'll see that a lot. It became a joke later in the trip, as if it's not already.

And, let's not forget these two:



They're back. And better than last year.

Collectively, we make up the most hardcore group of Disney Park warriors you've ever met. Or, maybe not. This is the DISBoards, remember. But we're probably in, at least, the 98th percentile. Group photo!

 


The Trip

This is our 11th annual Disney vacation, and after taking a year off following a 5-year run at Coronado Springs, we're back to our "home" this year. We like Caribbean Beach, but Coronado is still #1 for us. We're excited to be going back!

This is also our 2nd trip in the summer, so we sort of know what to expect. School wrapped up the week prior, so our trip dates are from Monday, June 13th through Friday, June 24th. 12 days, including travel. Here's the daily breakdown, multi-purposed as our Table of Contents, eventually.

Day 1: Flight in, Maya Grill
Day 2: Magic Kingdom, 1900 Park Fare
Day 3: Hollywood Studios, Sci-Fi
Day 4: Epcot, Rose and Crown
Day 5: Magic Kingdom, 'Ohana
Day 6: Epcot, Biergarten
Day 7: Animal Kingdom, Boatwright's
Day 8: Epcot, Trattoria al Forno
Day 9: Hollywood Studios, Cape May Cafe
Day 10: Epcot, Coral Reef
Day 11: Magic Kingdom, Narcoossee's
Day 12: Disney Springs, Flight Home
 
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Since you last saw us

I'm trying to eat healthier now, and doing pretty good about it. Disney, of course, will probably see that all thrown out the window. You did see our ADR list, didn't you?

Kristin's Perfectly Posh sales consulting job has really taken off, and that's 100% because of the effort she put into it. She's attracted the attention of some of the higher-ups in the company, an was asked to perform an online training session for other consultants. For someone who once said she "wasn't made for working", she's really put a phenomenal effort into it. I'm impressed!

In more exciting news, she has become the first member of this immediate family to own a smart phone. Yes, that's right. The Flip Phone Family has finally come into the 21st century. We brought the usual camera on this trip, but plan to take the majority of the photos the phone.

Dylan is FINALLY starting to "wake up" in terms of the effort required to succeed in school, but he's still got a lot of room to mature. He's got a good brain on him, but it just has to develop to fit the rest of him.

And man, has the rest of him grown. He's 5'11" now, and weighs a good 20 lbs. more than I do. Dude's huge.

Emily is still Emily. She's now addicted to the app "Musical.ly", which allows users to record video of themselves lip-synching popular songs, while adding effects. Our house is an eternal "hot set" - I can't tell you how many times I've been yelled at by a fifth-grader because I interrupted the recording of a Muscial.ly or YouTube video. I told her she needs to make a sign, so we know when the camera's rolling.
 
The Prep

This year was CRA




ZAY in terms of planning, as anyone who tried to plan a trip this year knows. When are the park hours coming out? What's going to be open? What's going to be closed?

And don't even get me started on "Rivers of Light". Rather than getting all long-winded about that, here are the notes I took leading up to the trip:

12/10 - book vacation
12/15 - switch to Trattoria
12/16 - ADRs - no Skipper yet - took BOG
1/2 - Switch BoG to 1900 - still no Skipper
1/5 - still no Skipper
1/7 - sticking with 1900
1/8 - Looking at flights - Southwest
1/20 - Book flight - JetBlue
3/7 - Personalized MBs
3/8 - Rivers of Light press conference - no dining announcement
3/14 - Awaken Summer deal (20% off CRS), BB8 Magic Band
4/5 - ROL opening delayed
4/8 - Finalize FP selections for 4/14 booking
4/10 - new FP booking system
4/14 - midnight booking. No first-day 7DMT, no illuminations
4/14 - morning tweaking - got 7DMT, got better times
4/22 - Soarin' FPs
4/28 - AK FP tweaking, Boatwright's ADR time change
5/3 - online check-in
5/? - MK hours extended to 11

See, I could have written 4 updates to cover all of that. Or a Pre-Trip Report. But I don't do the PTRs, so this is what you get. Besides, if I described the daily checking of the Disney Parks Blog for an update on RoL, or the wait to see if Frozen Ever After and Soarin' would be open for our trip, I'd probably give most of you flashbacks. And NO ONE wants that.

As it turns out, FEA and Soarin' WERE open for our trip, but not until the middle of the trip. So we actually got a possible opportunity to see both old and new Soarin' on the same trip.

Getting FPs was remarkably easy, though I didn't get the best times when I booked right at midnight. I was able to move to the times I wanted the next morning, however. Not sure if that means I should just skip trying at midnight, but things worked out nicely booking in the morning.

Alright, enough of that! Let's fast forward to the good stuff!

(Up next, Day Zero, The Last Day Before the Trip, the Day We Actually Left Home, or Whatever You Want to Call It)

 
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Following along! I can't believe it's already time for another nilla family trip report! Love your reports because they are always funny. Thanks for sharing!
 
:yay:Woohoo!! So excited you've started, Nilla! Just started reading but wanted to chime in and say hello. Can't wait to hear about this year's trip.
 
I'm in. Looking forward to your report. My wife is in direct sales as well, and it's a rewarding experience.
 
just to let you know, this is the first nilla TR for me, and I'm liking it already. You could say I'm a fan. Subbing! :)
 
I'm in from the beginning! I do like Kristin's idea that she "was not made for working." I keep telling my husband that but alas, I have to starting figuring out what to do when all of the kids are in school full-time soon.

And, wow, your kids have grown so much in the past year! (Spoken in that totally non-stalker, non-Hand that Rocks the Cradle way)

Can't wait to see what this trip has in store!
 
Joining in!

Congrats to Kristin on how well the job is going and Dylan really has gotten tall ... and that pose of Emily, and yeah, of all the poses out there, that is definitely one of them

I hear you about changing hours and things opening or not and everything - I am ~3 weeks out from our trip and just hoping more doesn't change
 
I'm joining in!! Can't wait to read all about this year's trip! I've been looking forward to this TR for a whole year now :)
 

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