The Snarkiest Safari That Ever Sailed! An October 2018, Food & Wine Trip! Complete 4/26/19!!

Maybe when they start showing it on tv someday I'll try to see how it ends.
Maybe when Disneys own version of Netflix come out it will be on there.

Wait, what?? While I was on the DME on my way to the Poly, Mike was at the airport picking me up :sad2:
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Men just don't listen.

Except when we walked out the back to head over to the GF, we saw that people were already waiting in line for the new Trader Sam's mug that had recently been released
:scared1: what really that early? Do they still open at 4pm? We're hoping they will have some next May.

I think we waited about a half hour and the CMs came out and started handing out the wrist bands. They would only hand out so many per day and once they were gone you were out of luck….no mug for you!
Hoping you actually got to enjoy the cocktail in it this time.

With that all taken care of, we went BACK upstairs and hopped on the monorail again and headed off to the MK!
Yay

Or…did we???
Uh Oh

My favorite thing on here was the pot roast which I am a big fan of anyway
(I just made my own this past Sunday ::yes::)
LOL we did too.
 
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I'm in! I see you on the boards all the time, so it's about time I make it over to one of your TRs! Nice to finally "meet" you ;)
 
LTT looks really yummy. I am trying the dinner in May!

It's so good and I can't believe I'm only recently discovering this place. It was either never on my radar, or I was kind of ho-hum about it.

Yikes - maybe they are raising the price because so many people were paying for the early check in. Boo

They raised the prices depending on where and when you are flying, too. SO for us from CT on Spring Break it's outrageous >:(

I think this is universal in marriage. :laughing:

Makes me feel better that we aren't the only ones!

I'm glad they were able to accommodate your room request! Even if you did have to go back to do it haha

What a pain in the butt…next time, mental note…NO ONLINE CHECK-IN!

I spy @chunkymonkey Su-Lynn's copper pan Mickey ears!! :)

:rotfl: I love that picture! I should have made Mike stand up and take two steps left :P

We've never done LTT, but my husband would LOVE that meal!!!

It's definitely a man-pleaser…at least for mine :rotfl:

Yikes you had a lot to do. I think I would have sneaked off to the grocery store, bought some brownies and passed them off as homemade. ::yes:: Teenagers don't know the difference do they?

They don't…they'd eat anything as long as it's loaded in chocolate and sugar :crazy2: I guess I was being cheap and not wanting to spend triple the money for something I could make at home. I need to save all that money for Disney, ya know ::yes::

I always do Early Bird! I was a bit disappointed this weekend when I booked my flight for May.

I STILL haven't booked my May flight :scared1: I'm hoping for a sale soon!

his made me laugh so hard because it's exactly something Jim would do. He headed home earlier than the rest of us last month and went to pick up our dogs. He called me in a panic because the ladies at the boarding place said they didn't have their leashes or collars. I must have gone over it three or four times that the leashes and collars where on the kitchen counter and he needed to go home first to get them before picking up the dogs. o_O

Oh boy! I don't know how to change this either…if you can figure it out, let me know!



Joining in for another report. Great that you got an adults only F&W trip. I am hoping one day to be able to do this.

Welcome!

I love the trips with just Mike, and let's face it…soon enough that's all I'll be doing as I'm sure the kids won't want to come as much :sad2: It definitely makes for a different kind of trip, but way more relaxing in a lot of ways ::yes::

Following along.

Welcome!! Thanks for reading!

what really that early? Do they still open at 4pm? We're hoping they will have some next May.

TS still opens at 4 but because people were going crazy for those mugs, they only sold so many per day. You may be able to get one in May…sometimes they hide a few in the back. I got last year's mug that way.

I'm in! I see you on the boards all the time, so it's about time I make it over to one of your TRs! Nice to finally "meet" you ;)

Welcome!

Same! I have even lurked on at least one of your tip reports which isn't nice :sad2: I feel like sometimes I get so far behind and feel bad for not commenting! I'll be sure to say hello next time :P
 


We.marched into the Magic Kingdom 11/1 expecting at least one day of my favorite fall decorations. Nope. Nada. Christmas had already begun. I was sad.

The ooey gooey toffee cake is probably my favorite dessert. Yum.
 
We.marched into the Magic Kingdom 11/1 expecting at least one day of my favorite fall decorations. Nope. Nada. Christmas had already begun. I was sad.

That happened to us last year, who is why we went earlier this year. I actually love the Christmas decorations too, but not in my "Fall Trip." I want to go back in either November or December for an actual Christmas trip in a couple years.

The ooey gooey toffee cake is probably my favorite dessert. Yum.

It might be mine now, too!
 
October 16, 2018
Mug Shots



We got off the monorail at the TTC and walked to our room…
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which was exactly what we requested.
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It was two doors down from where we stayed last year and we just love this location.

Some room pics:
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I was glad to see that the Poly hadn't transitioned over to the big bottles of shampoo..yet.
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I love these little cards they leave in the rooms now. We got a different one at AKL later in the week.
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Our standard view…
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Not too shabby ::yes::

We called Bell Services to get our bags and Owner's Locker delivered and then we unpacked and took a little bit of a rest. Mike actually took a nap but I'm a terrible day sleeper so I just read and relaxed a bit.

We finally made our way over to Trader Sam's around 9pm but of course the wait was terribly long so we put our names on the list but then went outside to the terrace and ended up having a drink there and getting our mugs.
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Mike ended up drinking both of these. I can't drink sugary drinks and honestly, I took one sip and it was way too strong for me anyway. I wouldn't have even ordered it but they get weird when you try to not order the drink…I found this out the hard way last April.

Afterwards we went and poked around the lobby a little bit and took some pictures…
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Mike nailed it :rotfl2:
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We had an early morning the next day so we were back in the room by 10 where we opened our mugs and had a mini photo shoot.
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UP NEXT, EARLY MORNING MAGIC AT TOY STORY LAND! HOW MANY RIDES WILL WE GET ON SDD??
 
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So glad you were able to snag a good room location after all.

I wouldn't have even ordered it but they get weird when you try to not order the drink…I found this out the hard way last April.

May I ask what happened? I often will not order a drink if something doesn't strike my fancy or if I just don't feel like it.
 
So glad you were able to snag a good room location after all.



May I ask what happened? I often will not order a drink if something doesn't strike my fancy or if I just don't feel like it.

I was with my mom and kids and I went to TS to get Mike a mug. It was late and I really just wanted to get back to BLT where we were staying, but the bartenders at TS(who are really super nice) were kind of insisting that I get the drink that comes with the mug but there was nothing I wanted less at the moment. I just finally insisted that they give the drink to someone else or drink it themselves and left with my mug. I guess it's unusual for someone to come in and pay $30++ for a mug and not get the drink that comes in it :confused3
 
Miss the Poly right now! Your room and location look great! Yay, getting your exact room request, always a plus.

Love the cool ghost mugs!
 
October 17, 2018
Toy Story Land Early Morning Magic



While planning this trip, more than any other day, I had put a LOT of thought into this day. I was SO excited to go to EMM at DHS and I had been following along with the thread devoted to it to try to plan a strategy.

Let me back up by saying I'm not the biggest planner on these boards. Typically, I choose park days based on the recommendations from Touring Plans, then I choose our ADRs based on those park days and then make our Fastpasses. Aside from that, I don't get into the minutiae such as what we'll wear or make step by step plans. I tried writing a PTR once, but I have since just thrown our plans into whatever report I'm working on at the moment.
But this day, I put a LOT of thought into. I read and re-read that thread and debated on whether we should drive ourselves to the studio since we had our own car. This was problematic because our plan was to go to EPCOT later in the day and I didn't want to have to then go BACK to DHS in the afternoon to retrieve the car. Another option a lot of people on that thread were choosing was pre-hiring a car for the morning of EMM. I believe they could do this through Mears. Or should we just take an Uber/Lyft (I will probably never take a Minnie Van-as much as I love Minnie and think the vans are super adorable, I think the price of them is absolutely outrageous…just my personal opinion.). Of course, taking Uber or Lyft would mean I had to re-download the apps and figure out when to call, where to wait, etc.
In the end, after thinking and thinking about all of these choices and not being able to decide, I did…

.
.
.
.
nothing.
Maybe this is why I can't plan down to the minute ahead of time…I can be super indecisive and I think in the end, it all works out.
And it did.
We headed out to the bus stop at the Poly at 6am. While I was walking I was checking the app for the wait time for a bus to DHS. I believe the app was saying there would be a bus along in about 10 minutes, but when we got there, there was a bus already waiting. We hopped right on and, as Tim Tracker would say, we were Kings of the Bus!

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We were literally the only people on it. The bus driver didn't even sit and wait for more people. She closed the doors and off we went. I was really happy at this point that I didn't waste money on hiring a car or a uber since we had a private bus ride :banana:
We got to DHS wayyyyyy early, which was really just fine by me. I'd always rather be early than late.
There was a little bit of a walk to the gate and it's still very much a mess over there with all the scrim and skyline construction going on.
At least there were cute signs along the way...
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Mike and I tried taking some selfies in front of Sorcerer Mickey. You can see how well that was going...

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But then a very nice couple walked over and asked us to take their picture and then they offered to take ours..
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You can see this couple standing to the left of Mike in the photo...

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We were literally the only people there for a bit and we got to chatting with them because they had shirts on that I thought said, "4 parks in one day," but when I asked them about it they pointed out that it wasn't 4 parks in one day, they were doing 6 parks in one day! They were starting with DHS, then going to EPCOT, MK and AK before flying out to Anaheim and doing DL and DCA. They became somewhat of celebrities for doing this and of course, I looked them up on the boards when I got a chance cause I knew anyone crazy enough to do that just HAD to be a member of DisBoards :goodvibes She is…sorry, I forgot her user name, but if you do a search for 6 parks in one day it's easy enough to find and it's really cool how they managed to pull it off! I myself have no desire to ever do that, but good for them! I'd be up for 4 parks in one day, but the thought of flying cross country in the middle of that seems like too much pressure to me :scared1:
Anyway, we had a bit of time to pass…a CM offered to take our pic...

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and then I took some of a completely empty park and my favorite palm trees.

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They started letting us in at 6:50 and led us towards breakfast first at the ABC Commissary. Sorry, these are somewhat blurry because I was walking...
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We got some coffee and some food from the continental buffet, but neither one of us was all that hungry yet, so we shared this..
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And I got some greek yogurt..
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We went back outside and they started letting us into TSL at 7:19.
So y'all know by now that Mike doesn't fly. He also doesn't go on any coasters or drop rides. So I headed off to ride SDD and he just poked around TSL checking it out.

Ride number 1, for me..
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Oh my gosh, this was such a fun ride! It was actually way more fun and definitely more scary than 7DMT! It's certainly not as intense as RNRC, but it's not for the faint of heart…or Mike. I was glad he didn't attempt this because he would have hated it.
After my first ride, I walked out to find Mike on what would henceforth become known as "Mike's Bench."

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I could have gotten right back on SDD, but I didn't want to just leave him on his bench all morning so we went over to Alien Swirling Saucers
Sauce
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A*S was cute but kind of a one and done for me…and Mike, as well. SO it was time for my second ride on SDD.
Of course, by now there was a little it of a wait. Not terrible but maybe 15 minutes which kind of stinks and was very different from what we experienced on 7DMT during EMM in April. We would literally walk off and walk back on with zero waits.
Also, while I was waiting, there was a family behind me…a mom and a couple of kids and one of them was in a wheelchair. Well one of the other kids (maybe 12-13 years old) was pushing the wheelchair and pushed it into my ankle. I kind of hopped forward to give them more room and after a couple minutes she did it a second time. I kind of gave her a look but again, moved forward a little more as much as I could without getting too close to the people in front of me. A couple more minutes goes by and…you guessed it…she did it AGAIN. Ugh. I get it…I'm a nurse, I'm a mom, I have a LOT of empathy for anyone in that situation, but seriously, be careful and know your own space. After the third time I gave the girl pushing a hard stare and she finally figured out that I wasn't happy and backed up a little bit. So yea, this 15 minute wait was a little annoying.
I finally got to the front and this time I asked to wait for the front row...

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The front was even better and I totally forgot about being annoyed in line ::yes::

I got off and found Mike waiting on his bench again..

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We headed off to the only ride left at the shindig…TSM..
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I have always loved this ride, but I have to say it is no longer my favorite ride in DHS. That award dos goes to SDD, hands down. It was still fun though, and Mike beat me by a lot because my arm gets super tired pulling that string
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We tried out some of the new walls on the way out...

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And the big ball...

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And then I left Mike on his bench
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while I got my third ride on SDD...
This time I asked for the back row..
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which wasn't as fun as the front, but I'm glad I got to compare.
After my third ride, it was around 8:30 and we still wanted to explore and get some more pics before the crowds rolled in.
This Fisher Price Family Camper brought back so many memories that I didn't even know I had. I think they captured to theme of this place so beautifully.

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There was coffee and water set up in the land also, which was nice...

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Even the restrooms are so well themed..
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We got in line to meet Woody and Jessie and had a very pleasant conversation with a man in front of us from the UK. They were also DVC members and come for three weeks every year. He was telling us how much time they get off in the UK and we were shocked. That must be so nice!
While we were waiting, the hordes starting coming in. Yikes!

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When it was our turn, we said Hey Howdy Hey to Woody and Jessie...

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and then headed out of TSL.
It was getting super hot already, as you can tell by Mike's sweaty shirt...
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It was also super bright and neither one of us could keep our eyes open :rotfl:
It was time for some breakfast, and some AC!
We went back to the ABC Commissary and each ordered a couple meals.
Avocado egg and toast:

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Charcuterie Platter:

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We kind of shared those, though I didn't really like either one of them very much.
We both got the Mexican egg scramble and loved it:

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We also had more coffee and relaxed for a bit before heading out.
Our Photopass pics as we walked out:
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My final thoughts on EMM at TSL???
I loved it! I rode SDD 3 times and could have gotten in at least one more ride if I had wanted, though the line was getting longer towards the end of the event.
EMM at MK was far less crowded and the food was better, but this was definitely a good value and I'd love to do it again with the kids and my mom in April. I'm really hoping they add it on for Friday April 5th since that would be the only day we could do it. I think it's definitely worth the money not to have to rope drop and then still only get one ride.
I am slightly annoyed that none of my SDD pics showed up in my memory maker from this morning. I kind of forgot about the pictures then or I would have asked someone if I had to do something or to see if maybe they could find them.
It was time to put EMM and head to EPCOT for our first look, if not taste, of Food and Wine!
 
I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date :P But I guess better late than never, right?

Doesn't everyone make life decisions at the Chick-Fil-a?
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This is perfect. Though I'd question how many "responsible" life decisions are actually made there :-)

I'm totally kidding…I love them all. But next time we go to HH, Mike and I will leave them at the condo and we'll check-out Savanna by ourselves.
As you know Casey was much more tolerant of our time there, though I think I behaved more like your kids :P It was beautiful but not my favorite place.

Just two, old goof-balls having a blast in WDW!
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I love all these pics. You two should totally sign up for the Disney modeling Agency :-)

t just had a couple extra hours layover and got him to Deland, FL in about 29 hours instead of 25 hours. :crazy2: Ugh. I know.
That is crazy!!!! You could literally be on the other side of the world in less than that time!

It wasn't until I got almost to the front of that that I finally realized that the the line of people I was so boldly walking by were already in line for the TSA Pre-Check!
Don't you hate this? I so don't understand how this happens.

But then…we got the text that our room was ready…annnddddd
it was the exact opposite of what I had requested via my Touring Plans fax :sad:

I had requested Tokelau, Third Floor. We got Pago Pago 1113 First Floor :crazy2:

This is when I realized I should have just gone to the desk to check-in to reiterate my request.
:scared1::scared1::scared1: We tried touring plans for the first time on our last trip and had the same experience.

We did discover something on this day that was a nice little unexpected surprise. Because it was a party night, the crowds were super low. We tested this theory a couple of other days this trip and found it to be true again and again.
I love party days and the low crowds. It's become a must do for us because the wait times are so low.

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This was all so good. My favorite thing on here was the pot roast which I am a big fan of anyway
(I just made my own this past Sunday ::yes::)
Yum!!! Glad to see you all enjoyed this. And in an odd twist i made pot roast last Sunday too :P

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Easily ties for one of my favorite dessert in all of WDW, and I ate more than I should have of this but it's just so good ::yes::
One of my favorites too!!!

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It was two doors down from where we stayed last year and we just love this location.
Glad you got it all worked out, but if they had your request open I wonder why they didn't just assign you that room to begin with. I wonder if they even read those faxes :confused3

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Mike ended up drinking both of these. I can't drink sugary drinks and honestly, I took one sip and it was way too strong for me anyway. I wouldn't have even ordered it but they get weird when you try to not order the drink…I found this out the hard way last April.
Ugh, I'm totally with you on the sugar drinks!!! We'll have to be on a no sugar drink quest in May.

I hadn't seen these. They are perfect!!!!!
 
Miss the Poly right now! Your room and location look great! Yay, getting your exact room request, always a plus.

I miss it too :sad:

:laughing:

What a lovely room! And the views were not too shabby at all :thumbsup2 I haven't stayed at the Poly before... but it's very high on my list of places I want to ::yes::

Honestly, before we stayed there I didn't quite get what all the fuss was about. Once I stayed there I was converted forever :P
 
But I guess better late than never, right?

Just glad you're here :-)

As you know Casey was much more tolerant of our time there,

Of course she was :D

I think I behaved more like your kids :P

Well, in that case, we're leaving you at home next time too!

You two should totally sign up for the Disney modeling Agency :-)

Oh! Is there a geriatric division??

You could literally be on the other side of the world in less than that time!

Oh. My. God. You're right and I never even thought of that :rotfl:

And in an odd twist i made pot roast last Sunday too :P

:laughing: It's definitely the perfect Sunday dinner!

Ugh, I'm totally with you on the sugar drinks!!! We'll have to be on a no sugar drink quest in May.

It's actually really hard to find drinks there without sugar, but if anyone can do it, I'm sure you can!:drinking1


OMG! I love Tim and Jen!!!!

Me too! They are adorable!
 
I guess it's unusual for someone to come in and pay $30++ for a mug and not get the drink that comes in it :confused3

I bet. If you are willing to pay, it shouldn't matter.

there was a bus already waiting

woohoo

I'd be up for 4 parks in one day

I would be up for 6 in one day if the other two were the water parks.

Sorry, these are somewhat blurry because I was walking...

No need to start lying now - we've seen your selfie game.:laughing:

"Mike's Bench."

:laughing:
 
Looks like I just missed your posts earlier....

Let me back up by saying I'm not the biggest planner on these boards.
And this is why we get along so well :-)

I will probably never take a Minnie Van-as much as I love Minnie and think the vans are super adorable, I think the price of them is absolutely outrageous…just my personal opinion.
And this too.....Given that an uber is usually half the price we'll never do it either.

nothing.
Maybe this is why I can't plan down to the minute ahead of time…I can be super indecisive and I think in the end, it all works out.
:rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2: That a girl!

But then a very nice couple walked over and asked us to take their picture and then they offered to take ours..
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I can't believe its morning in this picture. Totally looks like the middle of the night.

They became somewhat of celebrities for doing this and of course, I looked them up on the boards when I got a chance cause I knew anyone crazy enough to do that just HAD to be a member of DisBoards :goodvibes
Wow, that is so awesome that you got to meet them. Was it these folks? I'd seen this on People last month
https://people.com/home/couple-visits-all-6-disney-theme-parks-1-day/

After the third time I gave the girl pushing a hard stare and she finally figured out that I wasn't happy and backed up a little bit.
Wheelchair or not people's lack of self awareness, especially while at Disney, is just mind boggling

:scared1: Wow, that is insane Glad you got some rides in before the masses.

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We kind of shared those, though I didn't really like either one of them very much.
Sorry these weren't good. Totally look like something up my alley.

I am slightly annoyed that none of my SDD pics showed up in my memory maker from this morning. I kind of forgot about the pictures then or I would have asked someone if I had to do something or to see if maybe they could find them.
We never got ours either. I'm sure we'll never have this problem when they replace the photo pass peeps with a box :P
 

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