Next trip (May) I will definitely!
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Bono sang, “Ambition bites the nails of success.” And my ambition to finish this trip report has sharp teeth. It’s now 16 months since the trip, and I’m only halfway through the first of 4 days. It’s been months since my last post, so I think it’s time to admit defeat and call it quits.
However, I can’t leave this thread here without providing a little closure - if not for you, the reader, for me. So without further ado, I offer the rest of “The Trip of a Lifetime” as a photo report.
At least you’ll get to see DD’s Disney Bounding outfits.
Around The World at Snacking Speed
Friday, January 9, 2015 - 12:10AM Eastern Time
Leaving Future World behind.
Hola Amigos! Welcome to Mexico!
Margarita at La Cava!
Mi princesa bonita en un tiara.
The happy couple at La Princesa de Cristal.
Geeking out on Agent P’s Adventure: “I just made the volcano erupt!”
The world at your fingertips.
Snack #1: Churritos!
Hallo! Velkommen til Norge!
Norway Noobs.
Standing tall among the legends.
Maelstrom had recently been closed, so we stood at the barred exit in mournful protest.
Snack #2: School Bread!
Nǐ hǎo! Welcome to China!
My good fortune, indeed.
Snack #3: Egg Rolls!
Hallo! Willkommen in Deutschland!
This lovely young lady was set to leave for the real Germany one week later!
A quick tasting to tide us over 'til France.
Snack #4: Karamell Korn!
Ciao! Benvenuto in Italia!
Snack #5: Biscotti!
Kon’nichiwa! Welcome to Japan!
Snack #6: Edamame!
Murhaba! Welcome to Morocco!
Perhaps it was the sunset, but Morocco was easily our favorite pavilion.
Dreaming of Gruncle Stan.
We couldn’t find a snack in Morocco, so we decided to taste this candy post instead. It’s not candy after all.
Bonsoir! Bienvenue en France!
Dinner at Chefs de France!
DD manages to charm every young male in the place.
Celebrations all around!
Illuminations!
Cheerio! Welcome to the United Kingdom!
Found this lovely little room off the back of the UK pavilion. It’s used as a character meet and greet for Mary Poppins and Alice, I think, but it reminds me most of Christopher Robin’s nursery at the beginning of the Pooh movies. The door from the shop was unlocked and nobody was there to keep us out. I could have stayed here all night.
This iPhone is way to big.
No, it’s not a Tardis.
How’s it goin’, eh? Welcome to Canada!
Back in Future World, we squeezed in a little time for our imagination! It was less than 5 months since Mr. Williams passed away. This was kind of hard to see.
Having grown up without him, we were happy to finally be introduced to Figment!
We snuck into the character meet and greet just as they were closing up and enjoyed the last visit of the day with Mickey, Goofy, and Minnie. How is it that these simple things can draw out such real emotions?
With a final burst of energy, we raced over to TestTrack to see if we could get a better ride photo.
Mission: Accomplished.
Good night, Epcot. What an absolutely unforgettable day!
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Tinsel Town Troopers
Saturday, January 10, 2015 - 7:47AM Eastern Time
It’s a funny thing to visit a theme park based on your own hometown. Disney’s Hollywood Studios takes all the best of SoCal’s sights and sounds, throws out anything that resembles the less-than wholesome reality, buffs and polishes it 'til it shines like a star, and rolls it out on a brilliant red carpet.
With a late night in Epcot and the call of an early morning rope-drop, we were prepped, but not quite ready for the fatigue we felt. The plan called for a half day in HS and dinner at Be Our Guest, so, tired or not, we were all in.
Bleary-eyed but ready to take on tinsel town.
Ready for our close-up!
(Is there a better cliché for this shot?)
You know they love it.
Ready to rock at Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith!
This is the first big bummer of the trip. Being newbies to this roller coaster, we didn’t know when the take off happens or when they shoot the ride photo. Also, we’re not as young as we used to be. So this shot shows the moment DW’s back got tweaked… big time.
When the coaster shot forward, she felt something jerk in her lower back. For the rest of the trip, the pain would become increasingly difficult to handle. Advil and her great attitude saved the trip, but if we could have done one thing different, we would have been prepared for the launch.
That didn’t keep us from going on it twice in a row (no lines at rope-drop) and also snagging a rockin’ ride pic.
We don’t watch football on Thanksgiving. We watch the Twilight Zone marathon. This is our happy place.
You’re traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind.
Our terrifying ride video.
You’ve just crossed over into… The Twilight Zone.
A boy and his toys.
Light speed to Endor!
(or wherever this thing is taking us.)
Wookie face.
Why does Sister always gets to drive?
Pondering the pros and cons of joining the dark side.
We didn’t eat at Sci-Fi Dine-In, but we snuck in to check it out…
…and snuck a kiss, while we’re at it.
It’s had a lot of names, but for the locals it’s known as Grauman’s. We were really excited to experience The Great Movie Ride in all it’s early-nineties glory.
Another sad reminder of Robin’s impact. Note his nose print. Hilarious!
If we can make it there, we’ll make it anywhere!
Never underestimate the power of Frozen to make a teenage boy pout.
Tink sized at last!
Tuning in for lunch at 50’s Prime Time Café.
Elbows off the table, young man!
One man’s treat is another man’s gag reflex.
I’m a big-time Indiana Jones fan, so when Michael Eisner announced they’d be putting a Raiders themed stunt show in Disney/MGM Studios, my dreams were beginning to come true. I’d been looking forward to seeing this show for 25 years…
…and it didn’t disappoint.
The stunts keep on coming.
From the top of the Lights, Motors, Action! grandstand, we could see some of the now-shuttered studio tour. Kind of cool to see Walt’s plane in real life after seeing it in miniature in his office at Disneyland for so many years.
Singin’ in the rain!
We took this shot of Walt’s office to note the magical pen on the desk from Kingdom Keepers (the kids and I both read it). Little did we know that they’d be moving all these pieces back to it’s original home in room 3H of the animation building on the Burbank lot - AND that we’d get to visit it again in person before the year was done.
Check out my post on the adventure HERE.
Once it finally warmed up, we get a look at DD’s ‘Disney Bounding’ outfit.
Any guesses as to who her style is modeled after?
So long Hollywood! See ya real soon!
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Date With A Princess
Saturday, January 10, 2015 - 6:02PM Eastern Time
After a brief rest in our room, we set about getting all dolled up in our Dapper Disney Bounding outfits for dinner at the Beast’s castle. With a 7:00PM FPP for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and a 9:00PM reservation at Be Our Guest, we were going to need to get there quick!
Let’s just hope there’s not a giant crowd pressing back between the construction walls toward Main Street after viewing the lighting of the castle.
Magic Kingdom bus, please.
Keep your eye out for unsavory characters.
And we’re here!
They looked at us funny when we arrived at 7:05, but they still let us in the FastPass entrance. Phew!
What a ride!!
After all that rushing around, it was time for a snack. Popcorn and pretzels!
Off to Neverland!
There’s so much that we share…
Tale as old as time.
Song as old as rhyme.
We dined in the creepy West Wing.
Ever the romantic belle.
Our gracious host.
Turns out they swim in the same circles.
Donald just turned Goofy. Gawrsh!!
Still holding our breath.
Daisy and Minnie: BFFs
Donald and Daisy shutting this place down!
Mickey and Minnie: A romance for the ages.
Really? One more PhotoPass shot? Okay. Let’s get it over with.
The Martin Family Christmas Card… which we forgot to use.
Despite our fatigue and just a little pain, this day was as magical as they come. We’ll be back for more in the morning!
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Thanks for taking the time to finish this - your pictures are beautiful - as is your family! 
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Loved all the photos! a great way to wrap up a wonderful Trip Report!
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How did you manage to get pictures in an empty Be Our Guest castle-restaurant? Great pics throughout, wonderful writing, one of the best trip reports I’ve seen, thanks for posting this.
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In the write-up they indicate a 9PM BOG ADR so I’d presume that was the trick. Stay later than everyone else on a late ADR…
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Have really enjoyed reading your trip report 
The photos are brilliant and your writing style is very engaging, makes it all come alive for the reader. My DH was there at the same time as you running the marathon 
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