Former Cast Members Take Back the Parks! (A June WDW Vacation TR): Updated 2/12

Subscribing! I love seeing the world through your "insider" eyes! I see I am a little late but looking forward to coming back to finish

ETA: All caught up! I love all the back story you are sharing! I can't believe how badly some people treat the CM's.

Your MK day was amazing! 9 rides by noon. RD is really the key. I can see how FP+ can help you sleep in and still get to enjoy some rides, but I don't think I could let myself not do RD.

We tried that cheese roll and the bakery for the first time last trip. It was a big hit!

Jellybass said:

Thanks for this great report, I feel like I am there. We went to Universal and SeaWorld in August with no stop in Disney this time (except for a broef stay in Downtown Disney) and this feels like I had a trip to the homeland.

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We're glad that you're able to live vicariously through our updates. We've discussed planning a trip to Orlando to strictly spend some time in Universal. We didn't visit that side of town that often when we lived there, and lately I've been craving it. We've never done a trip that was strictly Universal, and we've yet to visit Diagon Alley.

ThemeQueen said:

This was my first time there and I am so in awe of how beautiful the park is! It was the wine & food festival and we were on a mission with our food passport, as were so many other people, it was so crowded we did not get to really "see" anything in world showcase besides our food & drinks.

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It's a gorgeous park with tons of intricate detailing, even though a few areas of Future World could use some TLC. Food & Wine gets better every year, and every year it attracts larger crowds. I would suggest visiting when F&W season is over to see the Showcase in its natural state.

chunkymonkey said:

You will love Japan. I lived there when I was a kid and visited Tokyo Disneyland many times when it first opened. Japan is a playground for all things cute and the kitchen stuff is just to die for. Everything has a function and they are just so cute too!

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Disney Sea is #1 on our list of international parks to visit. We'll hopefully make it out there one day. I've never left the country, so visiting a country where I don't know the language or the lifestyle is only a little bit less than terrifying, but I can't wait to start seeing other parts of the world. Specifically other DISNEY parts.

MAGICFOR2 said:

Your MK day was amazing! 9 rides by noon. RD is really the key. I can see how FP+ can help you sleep in and still get to enjoy some rides, but I don't think I could let myself not do RD.

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People seriously underestimate rope drop. We got so much done SO FAST. And we weren't even breaking a sweat. FP+ absolutely helps, but if you work the FP system along with rope drop, crowds and lines are seldom a problem. Even with the ridiculous summer crowds.

Tagging along! It's really fun to read about the parks through a Cast Member's eyes, loving all the insider knowledge!

Once we got back to Pop Century, we spent a while just hanging out, relaxing, and waiting for the rain to stop.


We decided to head back out to catch the Nighttime Spectaculars at Magic Kingdom. We took the bus again, and once we arrived it was already dark, and still misting/drizzling a bit.



We walked around looking for a spot and settled on a less than ideal view that was out of the way/less crowded. With the Hub construction going on, finding spots was somewhat difficult, or a bit more restricted, than a normal non-construction night. We ended up standing between two construction walls just left of center. Our position was a bit less than magical, but we wanted to stand somewhere close enough to see the projection show, Celebrate the Magic well.



It’s hard to even put in to words just how much Scott and I love Celebrate the Magic. On the occasion that Scott and I got off before park close and had a similar out time, we’d usually go change out of our costumes into street clothes just to simply catch the second showing of Celebrate the Magic. Not only is it an incredible show, it’s just “our thing.” I recall a few nights where they posted on The Hub that a new segment of Celebrate the Magic would be premiering that night and we would visit the park just to see it, full of so much excitement. I remember they premiered a Steam Punk style Villains segment and the Frozen segment while we were there.


If you are not a fan of the congestion and craziness of Nighttime Spectaculars at the Disney Parks, I completely sympathize and understand. I worked PAC (Parade Audience Control) a handful of times and I’ve visited the park during insanely busy holidays many times and even I find myself too stressed to enjoy a show occasionally. If that’s you, here’s what you need to do: enter the park before the fireworks, ride attractions around the perimeter of the park (focused in one area so you don’t need to traverse crowded walkways), use your rolling FP+ to really maximize your time (you can find FPs with start times just a couple minutes later at night), and then wait until the guests who watched Wishes have dispersed. There are two showings of the projection show each night, one directly before the fireworks, and another later that night after the masses have departed. In our experience, this second showing of Celebrate the Magic was typically quite light on crowds. You could walk right up, watch the show from a great spot, and then get out of the park before the second parade started easily, which is a good window to depart in to avoid backups on transportation.


Celebrate the Magic makes me tear up every single time, it’s just special. The effects are brilliantly done, the music is great, and the moments with Walt make you feel truly inspired, like standing there in that moment watching that show is a divine experience. So, needless to say, we thoroughly enjoyed Celebrate the Magic and then Wishes began.


Wishes…a Jungle Cruise Skipper’s best friend, or worst enemy. Typically the two park hours prior to close are extremely light at the JC, meaning, we don’t have to do as many trips for guests. If no guests show up during your boat’s time at load…well, you get a free trip around the jungle to just enjoy being alone in one of Disney World’s most classic attractions and not having to talk for awhile. So, late at night during Wishes, Skippers look forward to taking a trip around the Jungle…solo. But somehow, there will always be a family that runs up just as Wishes is starting and wants to ride. This is not a good time to ride the JC people, do not do this. The fireworks are extremely loud, but only visible once or twice throughout the ride. Your skipper will end up yelling just to be heard over the blasts, which drown out the ambience/background music/etc. of the ride. So I would say, hold off on riding until just after the Fireworks. You can even see the fireworks from standing outside the ride and then head in right after Wishes to still beat the guests flocking to attractions from the fireworks.


The music from Wishes will always be extremely special to me, being that I heard it almost nightly, and appreciated it all the while. I love that Wishes has a story, a narrator, and such a magical theme. So on this night we were enjoying Wishes but noticing that something was going on to the right of us. There were several CPs talking in hushed tones about a plan, and we could tell something was up. Well, in the middle of the fireworks, a guy to the right of us proposed to his girlfriend…in the rain…between the two construction walls. They were on a trip with her family and they then proceeded to full on make out for several, SEVERAL minutes surrounded by her whole family. Which, hey, different strokes for different folks but that’s not my style. I’m glad they made a great memory, and events like that are always very special in the parks, but I wanted to yell “NOOO, STOP, I could plan this so much better for youuuu!!! These pictures will last forever and they’re all rainy and the background is…a construction wall!!!” hahaha But, you know, good for them and I’m sure they look back on it fondly.


After the fireworks we fought long and hard to make our way into Fantasyland. We eyed the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train wait time at 45 minutes and decided to take our chances. I was weary because it was raining and Wishes crowds had just let out, but we ended up being on the ride in under 20 minutes. I was glad we had the experience of riding the attraction both during the day and at night, since it does have a different feeling. However, a few elements of the attraction weren’t functioning at that time, so it wasn’t quite as magical as our ride the previous morning.






After we got off the ride, we were starving and needed to find somewhere to eat. We might be a bit pickier than most, but we just aren’t in to the “1/3lb Angus Cheeseburger” sold at a lot of quick services around the park. We try to eat things other than chicken fingers and burgers (unless they feature something unique), because we eat those at home from fast food places. However, like anyone who has wandered around the Magic Kingdom late at night knows, your options for dinner are incredibly limited as many quick service restaurants/stands close earlier in the night. So of course, we ended up stumbling into Cosmic Rays and considering their options.



Well, they have the Chili Cheese Fries that Pecos Bill’s once had (they just recently changed their menu, it’s mostly fajita type meals now, warning if that’s one of your classic favorite places to eat in MK). The Chili Cheese Fries hit the spot and we enjoyed them, a perfect late night meal to pig out on vacation with. Being that it's the largest fast food restaurant in North America, Cosmic Rays is a surprisingly relaxing place to grab a snack late at night. And although many people say he's outdated, I rather enjoy the jazzy vibe provided by Sunny Eclipse. For someone who's been playing his Astro Organ all day every day in one of the busiest restaurants in the country for over 20 years, he never seems to tire of his job.


After our late dinner, we wanted to do one more thing before we left. We headed towards Peter Pan’s Flight to check out the interactive queue in more detail. We walked through the queue, which was basically abandoned, and had it to ourselves to play with the interactive elements! While we were there, everything still wasn’t functional yet, but what we saw was incredible! If you want to experience it for the first time yourself, then skip the next paragraph for spoilers.









When we entered the main room of the queue, the nursery, we dispersed to different areas. I stood in front of the projection screen in the front of the room. My shadow projected on the screen and a lantern appeared next to me. I raised my hand and used my shadow to hit the lantern and open it. Tinkerbell flew out of the lantern and into the bedroom area to the right! Tink flew around the room and rattled a few things around that interacted with her. It was incredible and so magic, you need to hit that queue late at night, like we did, so you can get a couple minutes to play around with everything on your own!





We left that room and entered the hallway with the pixie dust before you get on the ride. The last time we rode the attraction, the previous morning, I saw a bit of pixie dust on Scott’s back, but he didn’t get to see it. This time, the effect worked perfectly and we saw pixie dust surround our silhouettes on the wall along with that beautiful “pixie dust” sound effect from the movie. It was gorgeous and special.


We enjoyed our ride as always and then headed out of the park and back to Pop Century for the night!



Thanks for reading and we’ll see ya real soon!

Thanks for the tips! We tend to frantically leave the park before fireworks to avoid the crowds. Consequently we miss out on some great moments.

Fun you got to experience 7DMT at night. I love BTMRR At night. Sounds like this one is a must do also!

Wow so much PD in the PP qusue. I really want to play there nos!

Great night shots!

Love this report! Peter Pan's queue is amazing.

AlliGirl said:

Wishes…a Jungle Cruise Skipper’s best friend, or worst enemy. Typically the two park hours prior to close are extremely light at the JC, meaning, we don’t have to do as many trips for guests. If no guests show up during your boat’s time at load…well, you get a free trip around the jungle to just enjoy being alone in one of Disney World’s most classic attractions and not having to talk for awhile. So, late at night during Wishes, Skippers look forward to taking a trip around the Jungle…solo. But somehow, there will always be a family that runs up just as Wishes is starting and wants to ride. This is not a good time to ride the JC people, do not do this. The fireworks are extremely loud, but only visible once or twice throughout the ride. Your skipper will end up yelling just to be heard over the blasts, which drown out the ambience/background music/etc. of the ride. So I would say, hold off on riding until just after the Fireworks. You can even see the fireworks from standing outside the ride and then head in right after Wishes to still beat the guests flocking to attractions from the fireworks.

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A truer statement has never been made. One of the worst things that happened to me at Jungle was when I had a non-English speaking couple during the fourth of july fireworks! I tried to scream jokes over the loud booms for a solid 5 minutes before I realized that they didn't even understand what I was saying..and they just kept oohing and aahing at the fireworks they could see through the Jungle.

I couldn't agree with you more when it comes to Celebrate the Magic. It, along with Wishes, is my only MUST DO, no matter what, each trip. I love, love , love them both! I'm happy to skip Illuminations and haven't seen Fantasmic much at all in the past few years, but I refuse to miss CTM and Wishes. I dread the day that they announce a fireworks program change for the MK. Let's hope that doesn't happen for a long time!

The PP queue looks awesome! I will have to check that out next time (preferably late night).

I'm late joining as you're nine pages in but still on day two so there's still plenty left to read. What a great story of you both meeting during the DCP and sharing your love of Disney. I look forward to reading along.

WOW. SO sorry that it has taken us more than two months to post another update to our report. I hope that those of you who were following along are still interested in our trip and our tips, and if this is your first time reading this, WELCOME TO SCOTT AND ALLI’S WDW 2015 TRIP REPORT. This entry to the trip report will sadly not be written by Alli, per usual. Instead, I (Scott) am going to take the reigns on this one. Therefore, expect corny jokes and probably the occasional typo. So sit back, grab the popcorn, and enjoy the show! (Movie theater reference.. Because we’re going to Hollywood Studios today…? Ah you’ll get it…)


When we last left you, we were turning in for the night after a long day spent at Epcot and a long night at MK. The plan for today was to hit Hollywood Studios like a few pros, because this would be our only day here.

We started the day bright and early: 8 A.M. EMH.


FP+ Reservations for the day:


-10:30-11:30 Tower of Terror

-12:15-1:15 Toy Story Midway Mania

-2:00-3:00 Star Tours: The Adventure Continues


Lunch Reservation:


-1:45 at Sci-Fi Dine In Theater




"Wow our first time being here without that giant sorcerer hat obstruction!!..."



"..aaaaand terribly unattractive Star Wars Weekends stage "

We were in the park right at 8:00 and our plan was to head towards the only headliner that we did not have a FP+ reservation for that day: Rockin’ Roller Coaster. We were at the entrance to the RnRC not even 5 minutes later. Being that the park had just opened and it was EMH, we waited less than 10 minutes.









I’m not the biggest fan of RnRC. It’s a super fun ride, and the theming inside is fantastic, but I’m not going to wait 100+ minutes in line for a ride that is over before I can say “Dude looks like a lady”. It’s a seriously short attraction, clocking in at a little longer than a minute. Hit this ride really early, really late, or get a FP. Just my personal opinion.


It was still not even 8:30 and we were right next door, so after we had our fun at the Aerosmith concert, we decided to drop into the Twilight Zone. (HA!)



I SERIOUSLY love this attraction. It’s the one of the only attractions in the park that makes me laugh uncontrollably while I’m on it. It’s soooo much fun and possibly the most immersive attraction on property, with more hidden Twilight Zone references than you can shake a stick at.



Keeps your eyes peeled in the lobby for the Mahjong table off to the left. In order to make the table appear as authentic as possible, Disney flew in the top 4 Mahjong players from around the world, had them play for an hour, and then told them to stop what they were doing so that they could preserve the tiles exactly as they were. It really gives the feel that the hotel was very suddenly abandoned, and it shows that Disney never skimps on authenticity.


Unfortunately, this trip through the Twilight Zone left Alli feeling less than awesome, so we decided to turn down the excitement level. The park still wasn’t even officially open and we’d already hit two of the most thrilling attractions in all of Walt Disney World. It was time to sit back and take a slow journey into the movies.



The Great Movie ride received a sliiiiight face lift since the last time we visited the old attraction. Instead of the cast members spieling the entire attraction, the majority of their spiel has been replaced by Robert Osborne, host for Turner Classic Movies. Other than Osborne’s spieling throughout the attraction, he was also added to the intro movie that guests watch while waiting in line.







Alli has never been a huge fan of GMR, but I’ve always enjoyed riding it. After the changes and additions made by TCM, personally our enjoyment of the attraction has increased. The intro movie is now much longer and better organized (Alli and I found ourselves wanting more time in line just to watch!), and the in-ride spiel by Osborne is, in my opinion, more enjoyable than a lot of the live cast member spiels we’ve heard in the past. The ride still retains its classic charm, but now it just feels… less clunky.


Things to look out for: The license plate on the car in the mobster scene reads “021 • 429" which is the date of the infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago, Illinois. February 14, 1929. Also see if you can spot Mickey and Donald in the Indiana Jones scene. They’re about halfway up the wall on the left side of the track.


Now I’m about to drop a bomb on you people. While working at the parks, we had a lot of time before work or on our days off to visit the parks. A LOT of time. What do you do with that much time? Gain an undeniable appreciation for and obsession with the American Idol Experience? Alli and Chrissy became INFATUATED with this attraction during our time there. They would often visit on their days off just to watch all of the shows throughout the day and the finale show at night. They knew the names of each host and judge, including their individual catchphrases and mannerisms. So it’s no surprise that when it was announced that the attraction was closing, they were both crushed. We decided to swing by and show our respects.





It was honestly a very somber moment. Tears were shed. But there was a cream cheese pretzel calling my name. It was nearly 10:00 and I hadn’t had breakfast!!


We got pretzled up (cream cheese pretzel, guys. do it. Not that Mickey Pretzel garbage. Cream. Cheese. Pretzel. You won’t regret it) and headed off to visit our favorite puppets.



Those wacky Muppets get me every time. Alli and I are big Muppet fans. She’s a classic Kermit fan and I love everything Electric Mayhem. Our outfits on this day even paid homage to two of our favorite characters from the Muppet gang. Can you figure it out?



Alli was reppin’ the Chef from overseas while I was paying tribute to all nations but mostly America… Our very first Disneybound and we decided on Swedish Chef and Sam Eagle!!





Notice when you enter the building that whoever runs the front office claims to have left a key under the mat. This is a true claim. Check for yourself. Also look out for a net full of jello in the main room (a tribute to Mickey Mouse club member Annette Funicello) and the pantsless toy soldiers in the finale.







After our trip into the mind of Jim Henson, we swung by the Red Trolley Café for a cup of joe and then headed down Sunset Blvd to FINALLY redeem our first FP of the day at ToT (10:30). Alli decided to sit this one out, still feeling queasy from the ride earlier in the day.

Feeling the need for another short break (you’ll notice we took a lot of breaks this day) and knowing what our next move would be, we decided to wait out the time until our next FP inside of One Man’s Dream.

This attraction is never too crowded and it’s truly spectacular. It’s filled with rich history and amazing scale models. Knowing that the park would soon be hit with major renovations, we knew it was only a matter of time before they began cutting away at One Man’s Dream, so we decided to soak in as much of the exhibit as humanly possible.









The movie shown at the end (which has since been replaced by upcoming movie previews) was always very moving. We could never sit through it and leave with dry eyes. This time was no exception.


It was just about time for Alli’s favorite attraction: Toy Story Midway Mania!







We walked up for our FP right at 12:20 and we were rubbing our sore shoulders, off to our next adventure by 12:40. And.. oh yea.. WE DIDN’T HAVE TO RACE TO THE ATTRACTION AT 8:00 A.M. FOR OUR FASTPASSES. Seriously, I cannot figure out what FP+ naysayers are talking about. We were able to leisurely enter the park without worrying about fighting the crowd to get a TSMM FP for late in the afternoon. I honestly cannot get over the convenience.

We knew we had a lunch reservation approaching, so we decided to head over to the Writer’s Stop and relax before our time slot rolled around. If you’re looking for a place to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee and a sweet snack, the Writer’s Stop is the place to go. Red Trolley will forever be packed and Starring Rolls only has external seating. Writer’s Stop is indoors, quiet, and packed with interesting books to read.



Next time: Our review of Sci-Fi Dine In theater, our trip to a galaxy far, far away, and Chrissy’s brief encounter with a rock star.

Yay - glad there's an update! I really enjoy reading your trip reports!

Yea... an update! You guys pack the greatest tips in your Trip Report. I'm still laughing to myself about John Kerry being in Spaceship Earth

I'm so happy you guys are continuing with the TR!!!

I'm loving the latest update and the cute pictures!
I too love writers stop and usually get some sort of coffee drink and take a break in DHS.

Excited to hear all about your Sci Fi experience! We had such a great time there during SWW!

automaticsoap said:

Yay - glad there's an update! I really enjoy reading your trip reports!

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Thank you! Your comments are what keep us motivated to write them.

BlvInMagic said:

Yea... an update! You guys pack the greatest tips in your Trip Report. I'm still laughing to myself about John Kerry being in Spaceship Earth

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Kerry is one of my favorite hidden gems. There are a lot more that we probably forget to put into our reports, but we're doing our best to share the really good ones.

chunkymonkey said:

I'm so happy you guys are continuing with the TR!!!

I'm loving the latest update and the cute pictures!
I too love writers stop and usually get some sort of coffee drink and take a break in DHS.

Excited to hear all about your Sci Fi experience! We had such a great time there during SWW!

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I love to sit and check out the different Disney books that they have available. And I heard nothing but good things about the SWW Sci Fi dining experience. I seriously hope to see more enjoyable Star Wars experiences in the future with the addition of the new area.

BlvInMagic said:

Yea... an update! You guys pack the greatest tips in your Trip Report. I'm still laughing to myself about John Kerry being in Spaceship Earth

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FreddyMercury said:

Kerry is one of my favorite hidden gems. There are a lot more that we probably forget to put into our reports, but we're doing our best to share the really good ones.

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Oh yeah, this was great!! My friends and I got a big kick out of finding him in Spaceship Earth back in November.

Love the info about John Kerry. Definitely looking for him. And went and found the go picnic stuff. So good!

Pesky said:

Love the info about John Kerry.

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It's our personal mission to make Robot John Kerry a Disney legend.

When we last left off, we were hanging out at the Writer's Stop, resting and waiting for our reservation at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. I (Scott again.. Hey Everyone!) honestly did not know how I was going to feel about this experience. On one hand, I've never heard a bad word about Sci-Fi. Everyone seems to seriously love this restaurant. But on the other hand, I always assumed that the menu consisted of basic American food that I could get at any other restaurant. While visiting the parks, Alli and I like to try interesting things that we'd be hard pressed to find at other eateries, so I didn't expect the food to be anything too exciting. I have to admit that I was very wrong on that front, and I fell in love with this place as soon as I walked through the door.

Alli here, I’m going to chime in too . I also had not eaten at the Sci-Fi Dine In before, and I loved the atmosphere as soon as I stepped inside as well. I absolutely loved how dark, cool, and quiet the restaurant was. You would think the restaurant would be loud because it’s such a large space and the video clips are playing, but I think the screen encourages most people to just relax and watch. In the middle of a hot park day, this restaurant was an oasis.

The establishment, in true Hollywood Studios fashion, is set up to resemble a sound stage. When you enter, you appear to be backstage on the set of a Hollywood science fiction movie. The host ushered us down a narrow (oddly narrow) corridor into the main dining area.

I was speechless. It truly seems like we were transported to an old school drive-in movie theater on a warm summer night. We took our place at our table, which was where we encountered the only complaint we had about the entire experience. The tables are set up to resemble, obviously, cars at a drive-in movie. Because we had a party of three, Alli and I sat together, and Chrissy sat in front of us in the “driver’s” seat. It was as if Alli and I were two awkward teenagers on a date in the 50’s and Chrissy was Alli’s overprotective mother who wouldn’t let us go on a date alone. It was sad that we weren’t exactly seated together, but we were still close enough to converse.







Other than this tiny complaint, the experience was incredible. Alli and I ordered the Sci-Fi Popcorn Treat, which consisted of buffalo chicken wings and an oddly delicious popcorn soup. The waitress instructed us that were supposed to dip the chicken wings in the soup, so we knew we were in for an interesting run at this. And I gotta say… Not bad! I’d go as far as to say it was downright enjoyable. The soup was very bizarre, but I seriously enjoyed it. I cannot explain it other than it was a creamy, popcorn flavored soup garnished with pieces of actual popcorn. As of right now, the Popcorn Treat isn’t on the menu, but these things seem to change around somewhat frequently.



For our main entrée, we settled on the Sci Fi Signature Burger. Alli and I have a pretty strict “no burgers” policy when it comes to Disney dining, but this burger sounded delicious. And it was. Anything with barbecue pork is a thumbs up in my book. In addition to the pork, it was also topped with a generous portion of coleslaw and it was served with fries.



We split the burger and it was the perfect amount of food for us to leave full and happy. We left spending around $35 total. I thought the meal was a good value!


During our meal, we began to realize that our FP+ time slot for Star Tours was coming closer and closer to an end, and we began to worry that we wouldn’t make it. THANK YOU FASTPASS+ FOR BEING SO CONVIENIENT. While enjoying our meal, Alli logged onto the app and simply bumped our window back 15 minutes. It was SOOOO easy. We left with more than enough time to make our window.


We went from straight from watching cheesy sci-fi movies to being blasted into the KING of sci-fi movies. It was time for a visit to a galaxy far, far away.







Star Tours is a great attraction. The 3-D effects are some of the best on property, but the combination of the visual effects and the motion leaves me feeling queasy every time. It’s not enough to ruin my day, but if I were to ride it two times in a row, I would walk out looking as green as Master Yoda. If you have a problem with simulators, I’d suggest avoiding this one. If Star Tours is a must, ask if you can be placed in the middle of the theater, away from the doors. And keep your head straight. Turning away just makes it worse (for me, at least).


Alli again: This ride also makes me feel sick. I find that if I close my eyes for the transition blast off scenes, it helps me not feel as sick overall.


We were now on a hunt for our next FP+, and the only kiosks we knew of were across the park at TSMM, so we headed that way. Once we arrived, a cast member assisted us in picking out our next one. Because it was getting to be pretty late in the afternoon, we didn’t think there would be much available. Well wouldn’t you know, as she was scrolling through the options, the cast member noticed that a Toy Story Midway Mania Fastpass had JUST been dropped by another family, and she all but demanded that we take it. So we snatched it up and walked off happy as clams!! The Fastpass wasn’t until late in the evening, but it was still amazing luck!


Alli: I hate to go overboard on singing the praises of Fastpass+ but this experience wouldn’t have happened without it! Typically, when a party decides to leave the park early, their paper Fastpasses would disappear along with them, taking them out of circulation. Scott and I used to get an excessive amount of paper Fastpasses, simply by being very aware of the how the time restrictions on Fastpass pulling worked. We would often try to give extra Fastpasses away, if we decided to leave, or just wanted to give them to a family, but if you’ve tried to do this, you know it’s more difficult than expected! But when this party of three decided to leave the park, and get Fastpasses at a different park, BAM! They were back up for grabs and made our day! When paper Fastpasses were out, they were OUT, no room for adjustments. So hey, if you have a smallish party and there’s something your heart is set on getting a Fastpass for, try checking in a couple times to see if it has come available!


Because we were in the area, we decided to visit the Animation Academy.



This was our first time being there since Hiro and Baymax from Big Hero 6 replaced Ralph and Venelope from Wreck-It Ralph. The Baymax character was impressive, and the garage set up was highly detailed.



Chrissy decided to take the “Which Disney Character are You?” quiz, and then we decided to check out my personal favorite part of the Animation building. No, not the drawing classes or the character meet and greets. If you follow along the left wall of the building, you’ll walk past a series of offices. These offices were, at one point, actual animation offices where animators would work on bringing Disney films to life while guests would peek over their shoulders. Stay along this path and you’ll enter a larger room with two glass display cases on either side of the room. I. LOVE. THESE. DISPLAYS. They’re always displaying concept art from an up and coming Disney animated movie. This time, it was Inside Out. The concept art is so fun to look at. I can spend an hour dissecting these displays.





By now, we were hankering for a sweet treat and a nap. We decided to hit up Min and Bill’s Dockside Diner for whatever milkshake they were offering. Min and Bill are always offering up interesting milkshakes. They change the flavor frequently, but they always sound fantastic. The milkshake available when we visited was a cinnamon churro shake, and it did not disappoint.



Pay attention to the nautical flags hanging above the ship. When spelling messages with these flags, square flags represent letters and pennants represent numbers, and the letters and numbers alternate. Starting with the first flag and reading every other flag, the square flags spell out D-O-C-K-S-I-D-E-D-I-N-E-R. Pretty neat. (Side note… The same system of nautical flag messaging can be found about the front gates of Typhoon Lagoon, spelling out “Welcome to Typhoon Lagoon” or something like that).



Milkshake in hand and rainclouds overhead, we decided to take a break inside the ABC Commissary. A very long break. We let the rain pass and I might have even fallen asleep at one of the tables.


Our next move was to head down Sunset to watch the Beauty and the Beast show. En route to the Theater of the Stars, we couldn’t help but stop to listen to Mulch, Sweat, and Shears. This live band is one of the only musical acts in Walt Disney World that I really enjoyed watching. The band hadn’t changed a bit! The lineup was still the same, and they put on a great show. In the past, the MS&S front man likened Alli to Taylor Swift (which we still can’t figure out) and pulled Chrissy into the show to dance with a pink, inflatable guitar. During the run-in on our trip, he referred to me as “bearded Ryan Gosling” and, once again, shared a moment with Chrissy. It’s truly sad that Disney pulled the plug on the act, but the band can still be seen performing around Orlando.







That’s all for now! Next time: Beauty and the Beast, the first time in history that Alli beat me at anything ever, and three former cast members who are far too familiar with the Fanstasmic! show.

Nice to see you two back here!
Great way to start your day. Sorry All wasn't feeling well. Fun tips! I have read a few of these but always forget when at the park. I have also wanted to try Writer's Stop but never seem to see it. Love OMD, sorry it is going away, I think? If you ever go to San Francisco, you need to visit the Walt Disney Museum. It is OMD on steroids. We spent hours there and at the end just spent time reflecting before leaving.

Nice score on the FP! I wonder if it would work on a busy day?

Love the Muppet tribute clothes!

Love it, been looking for a June TR since that's the only time we go nowadays. Love the little bits of info. Maybe I'll get DD14 on Haunted Mansion again and have her look for the birdcages as a diversion.

MAGICFOR2 said:

I have also wanted to try Writer's Stop but never seem to see it. Love OMD, sorry it is going away, I think? If you ever go to San Francisco, you need to visit the Walt Disney Museum. It is OMD on steroids. We spent hours there and at the end just spent time reflecting before leaving.

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It's just to the left of Sci-Fi. There's actually a door that connects the two! I read an article today that said it may be closing soon do the massive amounts of construction going on, so check it out before it's too late! We actually visited the Walt Disney Family Museum during spring break of last year and it was AMAZING. We spent sooooo long examining the Disneyland model. Alli and I both got a little teary eyed at the end.

bjscheel said:

Love it, been looking for a June TR since that's the only time we go nowadays. Love the little bits of info. Maybe I'll get DD14 on Haunted Mansion again and have her look for the birdcages as a diversion.

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We're full of useless disney information. Haunted Mansion is PAAAACKED with fun little tidbits. There's so much history and so many hidden details.