That is such a great pic of DWF, DBF and the baby!
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Saturday 8/17
Day 4:
My original plan for this day was strictly rest and relaxation. It was supposed to be our recovery day after drinking around the world. Then about 2 weeks before our trip, Disney extended AKâs hours until 9:30pm and I scored FOP FPP for this day. So I figured we could rest until after dinner and then go ride a couple rides. In addition to FOP I also had booked Dinosaur and EE, all from 6:30pm on. So we slept in a bit, had coffee, watched a little TV. My mom texted me, checking in, wanting to know if we were planning on relaxing at all. So I sent her a pic.
Then we got bored. So we decided to head out a bit earlier than planned and check out Disney Springs. I havenât been there since they changed it from Downtown Disney, so it was all very new to me. We stopped in the Coca-cola store, met the Coca-cola bear, picked up a few souvenirs, and went up to the top to check out the bar. We chose not to do a tasting (itâs free in Epcot, so why spend the $??) but enjoyed the view.
Next we went all the way down to House of Blues to work our way back up. We hit all the stores that piqued our interest including T-Rex (Iâm a big dinosaur nut), World of Disney, The LEGO store (I wanted to get a picture of DBF with the LEGO dragon, as he loves dragons, but he just wasnât working with me lol)
and the Christmas store. We didnât really buy anything, although we had wanted an ornament for our tree this year, but nothing jumped out at us. In one of the stores we found a photopass booth and amused ourselves taking silly pictures.
In between shopping we stopped for lunch at Cookes of Dublin. Oh my lord, that burger was most probably the best burger I have ever had!
After lunch we stopped to sit on a bench and people watch for a bit. All of a sudden, I had a burning, itching sensation on my wrist! I look down and thereâs a spot. Iâm scratching at it, when DBF looks over and says âThatâs a bee sting!â Now my uncle is allergic to bee stings, my mother has no idea as sheâs never been stung before. So we waited a few mins and determined that I am not allergic. Thank goodness, because that certainly would have put a damper on our trip!
Once reassured that I wouldnât go into anaphylaxis shock, we headed for the boats that go to Port Orleans. I have never had a beignet and I felt after my brush with winged death, I deserved some beignets! We got there just as a boat was pulling up so we got on and sat back to enjoy the breeze. The captain was very entertaining and taught us all about the birds in the area and the history of the Tree Top Villas on shore. Very interesting! Turns out that originally the villas were intended for the college program kids. When they were moved elsewhere, Disney decided to open up the villas for DVC members. The villas are beautiful, circular (to withstand hurricane force winds), but very out of the way according to our captain. While listening we indulged in some silly selfies,
And before we knew it, we were pulling up to POFQ! We strolled through the resort and DBF informed me that it was MUCH nicer than our resort, and that when we came back he wanted to stay here instead lol. I enlightened him as to the price difference between the two resorts, and he said he would be ok with a shorter trip at a nicer resort. This info would have been useful while I was planning this trip lol! But I held my tongue and assured him that for next trip we could stay anywhere he wanted. I felt extremely diplomatic and made a mental note not to take him to any deluxe resorts!
We walked into Sassagoula and even I was blown away. The food court was so much nicer than Popâs. It was clean and quiet and had way more options. Hmm, maybe DBF had a point. I could definitely do a trip where I could have beignets for breakfast every day! We ordered and went back outside to sit at one of the tables and people watch. While we sat, DBF was trying to set up a time to see his sister. She lives a couple hours away and wanted to get together. He hasnât seen her in 18 yrs! We settled on Monday night to meet up, and with that settled, we headed towards the buses to hitch a ride to AK and my first ride on FOP!!!
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So he has become a Disney Doer now!
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Saturday 8/17
Day 4 (Part 2 - A.K.A The day when I completely traumatized DBF):
It was going to be about a 15 minute wait for a bus to AK. DBF had fun trying to catch a lizard while we waited. He was determined, and while after 6 years of living in Fla and knowing how fast those little buggers are, I didnât want to crush his dreams, so I sat back and watched his futility. Definitely amusing. Our bus came, and we discovered the one drawback of POFQ. It stops at all the POR bus stops too. And there were A LOT of stops. So it took us almost 30 mins to get to AK. I was super excited though, because out of all the parks, this is the one I had only been to once, and I couldnât wait to check out Pandora. We got the park icon photopass (another magic shot yay!!!)
and headed for our first FPP, Dinosaur. Iâve never been on it, always wanted to (dinosaur nut, remember?) and I hurried us along. Then came one of the best memories of our trip. DBF LOVED this ride! He was hysterical laughing the whole time! He had me in tears laughing because HE was laughing so hard! I thought it was a lot of fun, the way you get thrown around was great. I knew when we came back for our full day at AK, we would need to do this ride again.
We had gotten on at the tail end of our FPP window, so we were able to head straight on over for our next FPP, EE. I was worried about this ride, I wasnât sure if DBF would actually ride it. We walked up and watched the people coming down the big drop and I kept my eye on him, waiting to see what he would do. He seemed very nervous, but said he wanted to give it a go. So we got in the FPP line. As we waited, even I started to get a little nervous (it was a big drop), so I kept asking him if he was sure, that he could change his mind. He said no, as long as we werenât in front, he wanted to try. So we got up to the loading area, got the second to last row and climbed in. I kept glancing at him, and he was pale, but determined. Then we were off. Oh how much I loved this ride. I was terrified, but it was GREAT! Unfortunately DBF did not share my opinion of it. Halfway through (after the dark backwards part) I asked him if he was ok, and he shook his head, closed his eyes, and pretty much didnât move again till the ride was over. There is a backwards double helix on this coaster, which I didnât know about. I had thought RRC was the only ride that had you upside down. Apparently this was incorrect and DBF was completely terrified. We finished the ride (note the complete difference in reaction to crazy coasters in the picture)
and of course had to stop in the store so DBF could get a pin proving he went on the ride. (I think he was up to 7 or 8 pins by this point and they were all on his hat!) I told him that I would go solo on our next AK day, but he surprised me and said now that he knew what to expect, he would go again. (Spoiler alert: he didnât, nor did I get the chance to ride it againâŚoh well, next trip!)
It was now the moment I had been waiting for. Pandora! I was so excited to go on FOP and see Pandora all lit up! We headed back that way and wow, Disney Imagineering did not disappoint! That land is beautiful! We wandered a bit, looking at all the plants and lights on the ground. We got some photopass pictures and took a few ourselves.
Now, since FOP is a virtual ride, and there were no actual drops, I figured DBF would be fine to ride. Well as soon as we scanned in for our FPP, he started worrying. He didnât want to feel like he was going upside down again. We stopped and asked a CM, who said there was one barrel roll, but that youâd miss it itâs so fast. This did not make DBF feel better. Again, I told him he could skip the ride, but once again, that darn male bravado won out and he wouldnât back down. So we kept going. We got into the room and sat down on our make believe banshees. And then the ride started. OHâŚMYâŚGOD!!! That was the most unbelievable ride I have ever been on! It was amazing. I was in love. I wanted to ride it non-stop. DBF stumbles out looking a tad green. Obviously he did not share my enthusiasm. So now I was worried. I had more FPP for this ride on our next AK day. And after what I experienced, I wasnât giving them up! So I did what any good girlfriend would do. I told him, thatâs ok, Iâll ride with my FPP, then Iâll ride with your FPP and you can sit and have a cup of coffee!!
After the ride, it was pretty much closing time. We stopped on our way out to catch a bit of the Tree of Life Awakenings. That was so cool! Again Lion King is my favorite movie, so seeing it played out like that on the tree was beautiful! Other than the emotional damage I inflicted on DBF, it was a great day!
Steps: 22,745
8.8 miles
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I highly recommend this! Honestly itâs a fabulous resort and the beignets are the icing on the cake.
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POFQ doesnât usually share buses with Riverside - in 2 weeks we never did once in the way to the parks. We did twice on the way back but FQ is the first stop. I donât want you to be put off!
EE doesnât go upside down so you were right that RnRC is the only one. Itâs much more intense at the back - front row (or at least near the front) might have been better for DBF!
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Thatâs a relief, cuz that bus ride was LONG! DBF looked up EE online and it has a backwards double helix, which made him feel like he was upside down, even though we werenât. So I have a feeling, no matter what he says, that ride will be a no for him from now on
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We do it exactly once and thats enough. It can be a bit harsh on the stomach, lol.
I could have sworn the first time I rode EE it went upside down. Even after the second an third. I refused to believe DW when she said no, but then had to apologize after I looked it up
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My DH has never ridden it and never will!
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Enjoying your report. I also have an ex husbandâs second ex wife who was good to my kids and have been friendly with at family events though not as close as you two are.
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You are correct; the double helix is relatively flat, and never banks more than about 45 degreesâŚ
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I had the meatball sandwich at pop and it was great! I love meatballs in general but these were excellent. Go Pop!
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I also found EE to be really rough. We could have gone on 2x (We had my wife and momâs FP and neither wanted to ride), but I felt too queasy after 1 ride to try again.
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I would have gone again in a heartbeat (roller coaster junkie), but I didnât want to leave DBF after his trauma lol
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I get that!
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Sunday 8/18
Day 5:
This is the day we started majorly departing from all of my plans. Which was good. The plans werenât working for us. First of all, we are not morning people. Getting up to be at the parks 9-10 was doable. Any earlier was laughable. So with a heavy heart, the night before I did the bump and cancel with our 8am PPO BOG reservation. I did it with the reassurance that we still had a lunch reservation there on our last day, so I WOULD get to see Beasts castle. Second, after 4 days of Disney reality, we discovered we are definitely mid day break people. Which opened up the possibility of more park hopping! I mean, weâre leaving the parks during the day anyway, might as well switch it up when we go back! So what was planned as a full day at MK, turned into just the morning. We woke up about 745, got ready, got coffee and headed for the buses. I had still wanted to get there as early as possible, we had a 9:30 FPP for 7DMT and I wanted to ride PP before that. Originally I had FPP for 7DMT, WTP, and SpaceM that day, but since we had already ridden WTP on our first day, I cancelled that one and decided to book our 3rd in another park once we tapped into 7DMT. So we got to the park around 9, waded through security, tapped in and headed up Main Street. We stopped at a photopass as we hadnât gotten a daytime photo in front of the castle yet, and the photographer was great, having us do different poses and all.
After our photos we speed walked over to PP. Posted wait was 30 mins, Lines app also had it at 30 mins, it was about 9:30am. I figured we had plenty of time to wait, ride and get over to 7DMT. Silly me. We got on line, and I was excited to see the new queue. Last time I rode PP, the line was just switchbacks outside the ride. The new queue is really cool! I loved the detail, and waiting in A/C was very welcome. We met a really nice lady in line with her two daughters, maybe 5 and 12. They had come down on a spontaneous trip, and were a bit overwhelmed. I spent quite a bit of time looking over her plans, making suggestions and helping her rearrange her FPP. It felt good to share a lot of the tricks I learned from this community! DBF was very impressed, and listened closely. How closely, I would soon discover.
So the line was moving, but not fast enough. What was supposed to be a 30 minute wait was stretching to 45 minutes, and we were getting a bit anxious. It didnât help that, with the new queue setup, I had no idea how much longer we had to wait. 45 minutes passed and we still werenât at the boarding area. 15 minutes later (for those of us keeping track, we were now at double the wait time
), we rounded the corner and saw we still had at least 20 minutes to go. So we made an executive decision, and monkeyed our way through the bars and out of the line! We actually got quite a few claps from other line-waiters while we did it too lol! We ran (yes, ran) over to 7DMT and tapped in only 5 minutes after our FPP ended. Breathing hard, we waited about 5 minutes, before loading into the coaster. Itâs cute. Thatâs about it. DBF wasnât even much impressed, he liked SDD a lot better. But it was cute.
Once we were done, there was no way we were trying for PP again. I logged into MDE and started hunting for our 3rd FPP. DBF really liked HS, so I figured Iâd check for TSMM or SDD as he really liked both of those. As I hunted, DBF was looking over my shoulder, watching my progress. I nabbed a TSMM for late afternoon, and we continued on our way. The only other thing in Fantasyland we wanted to do was Philharmagic. We walked over (5 min wait) and headed in. I love this show. I wasnât lying when I said Donald was my favorite. DBF really enjoyed it too. It was a nice break. Once it was over we headed over to Tomorrowland. DBF wanted to see the castle, so we took a few mins to walk through (love the murals) and I wanted to take the path that has the wishing well. As weâre walking I spy Peter Pan himself ahead of us. I yelled out âHi Peter!â And waved. He stopped at the wishing well and leaned over, looking in. When we got up to him he told me that he was looking for gold coins, but he thought that Tink had hid them all. He asked me to be on the lookout, and to let him know if I find any. He was adorable. I wish I had been able to get a picture, but he darted away so fast. DBF did get one of me by the wishing well though.
It was time for our SpaceM FPP so we tapped in. DBF was concerned about this ride, as itâs in the dark, and I reassured him that there were no big drops, it would just beat the heck out of us lol. We got to the ride and I sat behind him. I took my sunglasses off and my ears, but I had forgotten how wild that ride gets, and left my hat on. The hat that had the only pin I had picked out for myself on it. The ride started, I was loving it. DBF seemed to be enjoying himself as well. Halfway through I felt my hat slipping. I tried to hold onto it, but got thrown, lost my grip, and my hat went flying.
Not sure where the photo is, but I still had my hat at that point.
When the ride was over, I informed DBF of the missing hat. Now there is some debate in our house over who that hat belongs to. I thiefed it off my cousin, and then DBF thiefed it from me. However I still grab it back to wear now and again. So DBF was upset that I had lost âhisâ hat, and I was upset I had lost âmyâ hat. Debate aside, the hat was no longer on my head, so we stopped and spoke with the CM at the end of the ride. She told us a track walk through is done every night, and that we should go to City Hall the next day and ask if it had been found. We thanked her and went on our way. DBF decided after the hat stress, he needed a coffee, so we stopped. Looked at some pins (I was dearly missing my pin that had flown away with the infamous hat), and discussed what was next. We settled on COP, since DBF could discreetly bring his coffee with. There was no line, so we sat in the back, I grabbed a granola bar from our bag, had some water, DBF enjoyed his coffee, and we watched the show. I think I did this ride when I was young with my family, but I didnât remember it well, but it was really cool. DBF laughed at all the silly jokes, and we enjoyed just sitting in the A/C. After COP, we went back out into the heat. It was about 12:30pm at this point, and even with the A/C breaks, I was fading. Worse than our first day at MK. Between the heat, the walking, the blisters (bandaids were on, but the pain with every step was still felt), I felt like I was swimming through the park. DBF suggested BLYSRS to get me in the A/C again, and the line was only 15 mins, so we went in that direction. He was excited to beat me, but I did not share in his competitive enthusiasm, and pretty much stared glassily at the bright lights as we spun.
DBF noticed my total lack of energy and insisted we go back to Pop for a break. I thought I might feel better with some actual food, so I said I wanted to stop for lunch before we left. Caseyâs has always been my favorite food place in MK and I REALLY wanted a hot dog. So we mobile ordered (again, canât say this enough, mobile ordering is AWESOME), and DBF grabbed a table by the plaza. I went in to grab the food, and then made the treacherous journey across Main Street, trying not to either crash into the parade of people streaming by, trip over the tracks, or just collapse due to heat exhaustion. Not fun. Made it to the table and pretty much inhaled my food. What I tasted was excellent. DBF wasnât a fan. He had ordered the chili cheese dog, and it wasnât hot at all. The cheese wasnât even melted. Dispirited, we headed out of the park to catch a bus. We got about 20 feet past the taps, and I turned to DBF and let him know I wasnât gonna be able to do a bus. I could barely walk between the blisters and my entire body feeling like lead. DBF slowed WAY down and patiently walked me towards the ride share area. We called up an Uber and a gentleman in a minivan showed up to pick us up. I think I may have scared him with how crappy I was doing, because he turned the A/C up all the way, opened the back vents, and kept glancing back at me in the rear view mirror. We made it back to Pop (I was starting to feel more like a human being after the frigid A/C) and I tipped the guy big time and left a review saying he may have saved my life. I kinda wasnât kidding either. We made it (so very slowly) back up to our room, where I fell forward on the bed and was unconscious within seconds.
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Yikes! Hope youâre feeling better.
The photo is right at the beginning before you get into the coaster - youâd have been unlucky to lose it at that point
I hope you are feeling bettter