The Tenth Honeymoon is the Best One of Them All! - May '14 TR - COMPLETED 4/19

[nilla]

The stars appear!





The guy in the front in that last shot was a hot dog, and got the job of "guy who gets really, really wet".



Hold on, he's got a call:



And BOOM



See, I told you that would happen! The others aren't safe, either, though they seem to think they are:



Wait, what's that? Over there?



BOOM





The show goes on - water! Fire! Loud noises!

Disney Magic (tm) melds it all together into a film, and it's a MASTERPIECE. Great job, Kristin! And everyone! Ok, on to the rest of the tour!

 

[nilla]

This tour consists of a number of Hollywood staples:

Props:



Movie tie-in abominations:



Towers:



More of the same tower:



Different tower:



Kids:



Props:



Mice:



Kids:

 

[nilla]

No sooner do we get around the bend than the tour bus stops to help a disabled oil truck:



Man, now it's raining.



Doesn't matter - looks like we're here more to gawk than to actually, you know, help.



I hope there's no one insi-WHOA!



Anyone have water?





Whoa, ok! That's plenty. It missed the fire, though. Oh, well. Moving on.

Speaking of fire, there seem to be some common themes here. Perhaps "Backlot Tour" isn't a catchy enough name? How about "The Lights, Motors, Action, Fire, Water, and Loud Noises Tour?" What? Already taken? At least sort of? Alright, whatever. Again...moving on.

 

[nilla]

What is THIS?



Did they really Planesify Walt's plane? Boooo! Kristin's not happy, because you don't mess with Walt history. You just don't.

We get some outside shots of the actual Lights, Motors, Action showgrounds, since we won't be seeing the actual show this year:





More props:



We just saw "Flight of the Navigator" a few months ago. They didn't even try to mask that the ship was Pee Wee Herman. They might as well said "ship played by Pee Wee Herman".

But enough about that - Star Wars stuff!



After the tour, it's time for more props:



And the actual marionettes from my favorite scene of "The Sound of Music".



Yes, I have a favorite scene of "The Sound of Music". The puppet one. What else?

Next display...Mel!



Good, he deserves it. He works hard.

Well, that's it for the Lights, Motors, Fire, and Backlot Tour! Or whatever they're calling it these days.

What an adventure it was!

 

[nilla]

Moving on after what seems like an eternity on the Backlot Tour (but a fun eternity), we headed to the Muppets movie, by way of a place I didn't realize until about a year ago was from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"





Who knew? Well, probably everyone who had seen that movie prior to 2013, but not me!

We're taking the long way, because it leads us to this:



And this:



And that again:



And now this:



We're in Muppetsworld, or Muppetsland, or Muppets Street Morocco. One of those. Not the last one.

In we go, and Emily proves the sign RIGHT:





I only get one picture inside the attraction, and it's this:



Kids won't get that reference.

The movie is fun, and not really THAT dated. Not a top priority for us, but still a nice thing to see.

 

[nilla]

Afterwards, we all decide to ride Star Tours. Yes, we all. Including me. I think I'm up for it. Stomach's calming down, and there's absolutely no food in it anyway, so what can go wrong?

Normally, I make a note of what scenes we got, but this time, I'm just happy to ride something today! Besides the Backlot Tour, of course.

Anyway, we ride, I enjoy, and it looks like I'm back. Maybe not Tower of Terror back, but possible Rock 'n Roller Coaster back. But not yet. First, much to Dylan's dismay, we stop to see the Beauty and the Beast stage show.

He's a 12-year-old boy, so naturally, he wants to hate this. But it's cool. And parts of it are funny. Especially, "I'm the king of this castle! Rarr! Rarr!"

(if you haven't seen it, he really says "Rarr! Rarr!" He's not roaring, mind you, but enunciating. It's hilarious. To us, anyway.)

Great show throughout, by the way:



Oddly, we only really got that shot. Well, two others like it, but that's it. We have tons from other years. But trust us, it's a good show. See it!

Now, on to the Coaster!

Wait? Is that a good idea?

[POST=52813419](next update)[/POST]

 

[mmeb144]

What? A cliff hanger? How long will I have to wait to find out what happens? Help!

 

[Clarf]

Whoa, nice update! We've not yet done Animation Academy at Hollywood Studios, but they just had a Disney exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, and they had an Animation Academy there. We drew Olaf. It was tons of fun and is definitely on our list for next summer!

Glad to see you were feeling a bit better. Yay that Kristin got picked to be in the show on the backlot tour. Looks like she had fun!

Love all your pictures. What a fun day!

 

[nilla]

What? A cliff hanger? How long will I have to wait to find out what happens? Help!

Probably about two months

Or tonight. Ok, tonight!

Whoa, nice update! We've not yet done Animation Academy at Hollywood Studios, but they just had a Disney exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, and they had an Animation Academy there. We drew Olaf. It was tons of fun and is definitely on our list for next summer!

Glad to see you were feeling a bit better. Yay that Kristin got picked to be in the show on the backlot tour. Looks like she had fun!

Love all your pictures. What a fun day!

It's so much fun! We got "how to draw" packs from the gift shop, so Emily teaches Animation Academy at home on occasion. Not the same, though

Backlot tour looked like a blast! I would've loved to have done it, but I'm even more happy she did. And she was a star!

Alright, onto another update!

 

[nilla]

So?

Did I ride it?

Well, is this proof enough for you?



See, I told yo-wait, what? "No"? As in, "No, that's not enough proof" for you?

Well, I DID ride it. So THERE. And I didn't puke. So THERE, too.

You know who didn't ride it? Kristin and Dylan. Wimps. They were probably sitting on a bench eating sno-cones or something*

*Kristin and Dylan were on Tower of Terror.

What, don't believe me?

I'll prove I WASN'T on Tower of Terror.



At least at that moment. Or this one:



Which was really the next moment, with zoom enabled. Anyway, Kristin and Dylan rode that, and Emily and I rode the other thing. And I didn't puke. Not sure I want to ride it again right away, but small victories!

 

[nilla]

With that under my belt, what can I try next? I know - how about eating! And what better food to settle a stomach than fried crap from the Sci-Fi Dinner Theater?*

*Most foods would be better.

But before we do that, we have a small matter of walking there. And getting distracted along the way.



Villains in Vogue is a great store. Lots of Haunted Mansion merch. None which I bought, for some reason. I'm cheap.*

*Except for the whole yearly trip to Disney thing.

Oh, shoot. I forgot that there might be people reading this TR for the first time. Why they'd be starting on Day 9 I have no idea, but nonetheless, for their benefit, we are at



The kid with the bad posture is, too.



And here's the logo:



And here are the Goldbergs:



LOVE that show! If you were over 10 in the '80s, watch it.

Alright, finally here!

 

[nilla]

Rode Rock 'n Roller Coaster: check
Didn't puke: check (so far)

Time to eat! I don't know how much I'll eat, but remember, the only thing I ate and kept down in the past 20+ hours was a Cliff Bar. So I'm ready to take a stab at it.

Hey, where did the car go?



This ADR didn't come easy. First, it took the revelation that we really weren't getting excited about the Wave, coupled with the kids' LOVE for this place, and we decided to give it a go. Trouble was there were no ADRs for that date, since we changed our minds rather late in the game.

So we waited. And we checked the website. And we waited some more.

Then, one day, I decided to check and BOOM - open slot! Grabbed it, and in we were!

Of course, the line was literally out the door, even with our ADR. And this would be a problem were we not inside, because it just started to rain. Hard. We hardly ever get rain on our April/May trips, but we usually get a heavy downpour for a short time on one of the days. Last year, it was immediately after getting off Kali River Rapids, but for some reason, we still looked for cover. This year, that cover was in the packed lobby of Sci-Fi.

Finally, we're seated. How can anyone NOT love this place?



Sitting in the front-facing cars is the only way to go, IMO. I know it's only two to a row, but it's fun.

Here 3/4 of us are from the front:



Place is only partway full which makes no sense when you consider the wait. Those seats must've just opened up. I hope.



Here's Kristin, with some kind of a shake:



The shakes are really good, but I can't remember the flavors. Some quick research reveals the following: "Sci-Fi Specialty Shake, Oreo Cookie, Chocolate, or Vanilla." Don't remember what the specialty was. Normally, I'd get the Oreo one, but I didn't want to push it and got a Coke instead.

Hey, it's Walt!



As for the meals, Kristin got the New York Strip Steak:



Pardon the awful lighting in the photos, please. I got the All-American Burger, complete with sliced hot dog:



Yeah, I know. But I like to live dangerously. Not milkshake dangerously, but sliced hot dog on a burger dangerously. But only half-dangerously, since I could only get down about half of it.

Anyway, Dylan got a Turkey Sandwich...



...and Emily got.....you guessed it.....Mac and Cheese!



And Goldfish! The meals were really good. In fact, better than we expected for this place. And it was fun. We gave up a Fantasmic! dinner package at the Brown Derby (sorry, MEK) and the Wave to get this and Artist Point, and with the exception of the drama at AP, it seems like the decision panned out.

Especially when you factor in the desserts:



Kristin got the "House-made Sci-Fi Candy Bar", which Disney's website describes as "White and Dark Chocolate Mousse layered with crispy Pearls sandwiched between Spong Cake and dipped in Chocolate Gananche". She loved it. I got the Turtle Cheesecake:



I ate some of it. But I ate really well, in spite of the start of the day, and it feels good to be back in it. One more shot of the now-busy-again restaurant in poor lighting...



Now, let's go ride some more!

[POST=52830254](next update)[/POST]

 

[Clarf]

I just posted almost this exact same picture on my TR!

So much in this update made me LOL. "The kid with bad posture." The Goldbergs re-creation!

Glad you were feeling well enough to eat! I really liked Sci-Fi Cafe the one time I ate there back in 2001. I love the atmosphere. One day we'll get back there, but our girls are all about the character meals right now, so we'll stick with that until they are older.

I'm not sure about that burger you had. A hot dog. On a burger. I'm sure my husband would love it. It's right up his alley!

 

[nilla]

I just posted almost this exact same picture on my TR!

So much in this update made me LOL. "The kid with bad posture." The Goldbergs re-creation!

Glad you were feeling well enough to eat! I really liked Sci-Fi Cafe the one time I ate there back in 2001. I love the atmosphere. One day we'll get back there, but our girls are all about the character meals right now, so we'll stick with that until they are older.

I'm not sure about that burger you had. A hot dog. On a burger. I'm sure my husband would love it. It's right up his alley!

That reminds me - I really need to read your (and other's) TR! Thanks for reading mine

I like pretty much anything wacky on a burger. A restaurant near us had "World Cup burgers" during the soccer tournament, and the Germany burger had a pork chop and sauerkraut on it. Not as good as the South Korea burger with raw tuna on it, but still good!

Ok, let's close out Day 9.

 

[nilla]

After dinner, we hit up this ride:



Which ride?

Sheesh, THIS ride!



Did I really have to shout it? Anyway, we rode, and this was a GREAT ride on a Great MOVIE Ride. Why?

First off, someone pointed out a Hidden Mickey in the Gangland area that we had never seen before...





...but moreso, the mobster who hijacked the ride this time pronounced his "ur"s as "oich"s. And as anyone can tell from the dozens of photos I have of Youse Guys Moichendise, we're very easily amused by that. Since our tour guide was making oich-bombs rain like confetti (e.g., "Hey, I'm woiking this part of town", and "I'll see youse guys in choich"), Kristin and I were quite amused on this particular ride.

Afterwards, we still had split FPs for TOT an RNRC, so we headed over in that direction. We'll be heading up to Fantasmic! right after that, so we scheduled those well!

 

[nilla]

As usual, Kristin and Dylan rode TOT, and Emily and I rode RNRC, and honestly, if it were not for some serious determination on my part, my day could've ended in a gastric disaster. Not during the ride (thankfully), but afterwards. But I avoided the bathroom, and all was well. Man, I hope this all goes away by tomorrow.

Afterwards, we made the 17-mile trip up to the Fastamic! theater and got a decent seat for not having the Fantasmic! dinner package. Ok, maybe not THAT long of a walk, but the theater doesn't even fit on the map. It's out there.

(tangent - it's annoying that Fantasmic! has that exclamation point at the end of it. You never know when the sentence REALLY ends when talking about Fantasmic!

See? That sentence is done, but you probably were looking for more. And no, I was not that excited to say that, but it sounded that was, because of that darned exclamation point. Grrrr!)

Here's the theater:



Not center, but we've never been in the center, even with the package.

We're seated long enough to see day turn to night and a half-filled theater reach near-capacity.



Kristin outsources the photo duties for the rare full-family shot!



Alright, showtime!

 

[nilla]

As you all know by now, our camera's not the best at night, so photos are limited. But before we get into the photos we do have, let me point out how much of a rip-off of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" this show is.

Wait, what?

Sounds crazy, I know. But think about it. Mickey falls asleep. He's haunted by the Wicked Queen, who has no power to harm him outside of his dreams. Sure, ANOES has Johnny Depp meeting a bloody end when sucked into a mattress and Fantasmic! has a completely irrelevant Pocahontas scene, but beyond that, the similarities are striking. Total ripoff.

Speaking of Pocahontas, that was pretty much the movie that killed Disney animation for Kristin and me until the Pixar revival. Sure, we liked Pocahontas, but nothing could top the Lion King at that time - we saw it at least 6 times together, and she saw it at least once without me - and let's be honest, a lot of what came after that was crap on the non-Pixar side. First movie I took Dylan to was Home on the Range, and boy was that a stinker. Not a reference to be found in any of the parks, unless I just haven't seen it. Rosie O'Donnell....grrrrr!

But back to the show! Our story will be told in the form of blurry pictures:











Not to spoil it, but Mickey ultimately defeats Freddi- um, I mean, the Wicked Queen, and then it's explosions! Fireworks! Water cannons! Fire! "Some imagination, huh?" And "please exit to your left". Great show! I used to not be impressed by it at all, but it's really grown on me.

And, to be fair, the Nightmare franchise DID rip this show off with the whole recruiting-other-famous-villains-to-do-your-dirty-work thing in "Freddy vs. Jason", so we can't go suing Disney just yet.

Alright, show's over now. Get out!

 

[nilla]

Out the park we go, and the Star Wars nutjo- I mean, fans, are camping out already! Now THAT is dedication. Only time I ever did that was when Jenn (our friend we met at Cape May Clambake earlier in the TR) and I staked out a department store to meet Fabio. But that's a story for another day.

Onto the bus, and back to CSR. Another great day at DHS, and we still have two, if not three, more park days to go!

Palm tree shot:





I think I failed to mention that there were mystery fireworks the previous night in the area of DHS/AK that we could see and hear from our room, but we later found out that they were warming up for the Star Wars Weekend show. Thanks for the info, Disboards!

Alright, we're at the room. But wait, there's someone blocking our path!



Never mind; we can get around him. Goodnight, snail, and goodnight, readers!

(Up next, it's back to Epcot!)

 

[mmeb144]

Nice snail shot! Must be nice to have your house with you all the time.

 

[Clarf]

That reminds me - I really need to read your (and other's) TR! Thanks for reading mine

You're welcome! I love your reports. And I'd love to have you at mine!

I like pretty much anything wacky on a burger. A restaurant near us had "World Cup burgers" during the soccer tournament, and the Germany burger had a pork chop and sauerkraut on it. Not as good as the South Korea burger with raw tuna on it, but still good!

Oh lord. Yeah, Jason (my husband) would probably like the Germany burger too.

Ok, let's close out Day 9.

I love Fantasmic!, but can you believe I haven't seen it since 2001?!?!?!?!?! The horror! We need to get on that.

Looks like you had a nice ending to the day. I'm glad you got on RnR without incident.

That snail looked huge!