Strange Things

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Since it the weekend, which means no update for at least two days, which means it is prime hijacking time, I will post a better Strange Things video than Alanis Morrisette ever thought of: 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_F2Fl17RX8

 

Now, that is a good song!

 

BTW- the Alanis Morrisette song was about ironic things, not strange things.

 

What a long strange trip report it is . NTM

 

We are just getting started with the strangeness.

 

Oh , and hi TCD , more good work .

 

Thank you.

 

Hand delivered spikes and booze pops?

That, my friend, is why they call you a rock star.

 

True.

 

Funny you mention the plastic apparatus of the booze pop.

Now that's strange.

I mean come on. That thing could use some repackaging.

That's all I will say. Because I'm a lady.

But I know I'm not the only one. It's the elephant in the room and no one has said anything.

But again, that's all I will say.

 

OK, I'm confused.

 

I don't know what your talking about. But that's OK, I don't think I want to know.

 

I agree about the American booth the burnt ends were good and the slider was big. As Disney prices go I would call them a value that taste good. And those big Yellow trees were pretty. There not yellow in November.

 

That BBQ booth is a must-do for us.  That and the violet lemonade.

 

Yup, what she said.

It's a male elephant in the room :rofl:

 

?

 

A male elephant?

 

I am really confused.

 

I thought I knew what Brandy was alluding to, but now I don't think I do.

 

And, to reiterate, I'm fine with that.

 

My halo and wings prevented me from saying anything.

 

See the comments above.

 

I'm staying out of this conversation!

 

Me too.

 

In late, but I am here!  Miles from Tomorrowland = strange?  Dunno.  After having a generation of kids that grew up with Ren and Stimpy, Invader Zim, Angry Beavers (who comes up with this stuff?), Beavis and Butthead?  I miss Wyle E Coyote and Bugs Bunny.

 

Yeah, that's some weird stuff there too.

 

My kids didn't watch the ones you mentioned, but there were some strange ones on Nickelodeon as I recall.

 

But nothing as strange as a flying ostrich robot.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

The yellow trees are tabebuias- they come in yellow, a bright pink and a lavender color. They are only pretty for 3 weeks then they lose all the flowers which look like slime on the driveways and sidewalks and then grow huge seed pods that are ugly. Then the rest of the year they are just a boring green color. I'll take a crepe myrtle over them anyday.

 

Thanks for that info.  I thought I saw a sign posted by the trees calling them a Yellow Trumpet Tree-which I guess is the common name, but tabebuia is the correct name: http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/extensionservices/adults/horticulture/english/article387.aspx

 

TCD - speaking of strange things, ask one of the TCD twins what's up with all the black hair elastics on the rocks at the top of Expedition Everest (or maybe you know already).

 

I know I'm a few pages late on asking that, but that was a question we all had after riding that last month.

 

Those mysterious hair ties were discussed a few weeks back in lklasing's current TR:

 

So, here’s my new find on Everest!  Has anyone ever notice that apparently it’s a thing to throw your hairbands over to the right when you’re at the broken track?  I hadn’t, but apparently I’ve been missing out on an opportunity to get rid of some ponytail holders.

 

 

 

Weird, huh?

 

Which prompted me to share this old post:

 

And, BTW, did you notice all the girls' hair ties that are thrown up there on the water tank platform? :

I don't know how this fad got started, but look at all the hair ties!

A couple or three of them belong to the TCD twins, and I may or may not have thrown one up there to. We are followers.

TCD

The discarding of hair ties in strange places is, indeed, strange.

TCD

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

I wish you'd get one of the twins to do a cameo and explain those Alex and Ani bracelets.  I'm kind of living under a rock these days and I just can't figure them out.  I really like them though.  Do you buy the bracelet by itself?  Where are all the charms?  Can you get Disney charms just at Disney?  Are there other charms like from other places?  There website doesn't do a very good job of explaining! 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I wish you'd get one of the twins to do a cameo and explain those Alex and Ani bracelets.  I'm kind of living under a rock these days and I just can't figure them out.  I really like them though.  Do you buy the bracelet by itself?  Where are all the charms?  Can you get Disney charms just at Disney?  Are there other charms like from other places?  There website doesn't do a very good job of explaining!

Good question. From what I've seen, each of the charms is already attached to a bracelet, and girls just wear multiple bracelets on their wrists.  There are tons of Disney charms, and I believe there are non-Disney ones as well. 

 

That, unfortunately, is the extend of my knowledge.  I'll ask the girls more about them the next time I see them.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Alright, let's continue with the strange things.

 

If you think there's no more strangeness coming, think again.

 

We found a huge dose of it in the MK that evening, which is where we will eventually end up in this update.

 

For now, though, we need to back up to our leaving from Epcot.

 

There's another guest with a selfie stick, and I have officially lost count of how many we have already seen just from this brief one day trip:

 

 

Speaking of strange-why are the Chip and Dale topiaries in this display so small?  In the parks, when you see those chipmunks, they are taller than Donald- so why do they need to be so tiny here?:

 

 

From here, we exited Epcot, and headed over to the Port Orleans bus stop.  The two resorts share a bus stop here, but that wasn't a problem for us today- as our bus was there and waiting for us.  It probably took us less than 5 minutes to make it to the first stop, which was the Port Orleans French Quarter bus stop, but then we headed right to Riverside.

 

The twins each got the make your own pasta.  I was planning to get that too, but then I saw someone with a turkey dinner, and I went for that instead. This isn't the greatest photo, but it shows the generous size of that meal, which I thoroughly enjoyed:

 

 

Hitting a resort while park hopping is a great way to have a meal in a much more peaceful environment than in the parks, and this little break was perfect for us.

 

Port Orleans Riverside still has there monitors with bus wait times posted. These are great, as you know exactly how long it's going to be until the next bus arrives, and it makes things less stressful:

 

 

Since we drove right past the Fort, I had to snap a couple of photos, This is the closest we got to the Fort on this visit.  Don't worry, I paid the Fort a visit the very next weekend, and will have some fresh photos for you before this strange TR is done:

 

 

 

Before we even got into the MK, there was more strangeness.  Check out this dude wearing Ugg boots:

 

 

I've never seen a dude wearing Ugg boots.

 

And, to add to the strangeness, it was a hot day. This was the temperature in the afternoon, and if anything, it had gotten warmer before we ran into this dude:

 

 

When we got in to the MK, it wasn't long until we saw some strange things based on what day it was.

 

No, I'm not referring to the fact that today, March 14, was "Pi Day," although we saw a few shirts referencing that fact.

 

It was another day today too.

 

Dapper Day.

 

I haven't seen Dapper Day discussed much on this board.

 

But, it's a thing.

 

Which explains why these people are dressed up:

 

 

If you want to know more about Dapper Day, there's a website that explains things:

 

http://dapperday.com/spring-2015-wdw-fl

 

And, here's a promotional ad from that site:

 

 

We just so happened to be in the MK last spring when they had Dapper Day.  This year, there seemed to be way more guests participating.

 

And, they were all getting their photos taken.

 

Like this really tall "girl" with some guys:

 

 

Everywhere we looked, there were guests all dressed up:

 

 

We could see that the Partners statue was freshly out of its box today:

 

 

But, other areas of the hub were still behind construction walls:

 

 

They changed the little wall around the Partners statue, and apparently made it a comfortable place to sit.  I don't remember guests plopping down and parking their butts around it like they were doing today:

 

 

 

Good luck trying to get a photo of the Partners statue without a bunch of strangers in it.

 

For now, it only looks like they are adding two planters around the Partners statue.  The areas where two of the old planters used to be are paved over for now:

 

 

But the conceptual video published by Disney back when this project started shows four planters in the finished product:

 

 

The walls immediately around the Partners statue have since come down to reveal two planters. This one was still fenced in on March 14:

 

 

Although those walls are down, there are still walls up around big areas closer to the castle, where work on this project, which has now been going on for over a year, continues:

 

 

Another wall:

 

 

There's another one of those trees with the yellow flowers on the way to Adventureland:

 

 

The newish smoking area is over there on the right-I am not a fan of having to walk past it on the way in to Adventureland.  I wish they'd move it to a less trafficked area:

 

 

Here's some more dapper people. The guy has a toy rifle.  I have no idea why:

 

 

More strange dapper people:

 

 

 

 

 

We didn't know it at the time, but the dapper people were all congregating around the carousel, because they all planned to ride it together at 8 pm- you can see that on the schedule I posted above.

 

Coming up- a whole mess of dapperness.   And I do mean mess.

 

TCD

[BuckeyeFortFan 35]

Hipsters. 

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

The derby hats are cool. In fact DS was wearing a Notre Dame derby hat this morning.

[The Troll 67]

Our modern society is incapable of being dapper, even when it tries.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

And by the way....I failed to comment on this in my first response....THAT'S JOSH??

So many questions.

I don't see what Kelly sees in him.

[Memphis 105]

To keep the Parteners Statue current someone needs to tape a selfie stick in Walt's hand.  

 

I am not a fan of the new partners lounge. 

 

Please tell me all these strange Dapper folk are NOT going to sing.  I would hate to stumble apon a video somewhere.

[lklasing 16]

Love love love the bus arrival time things at POR.  That was so great when we were there in January.  Kidani had one as well.  I'm hoping that they expand them to all the stops everywhere.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

People sitting around the partners statue SMB.

I like dapper day. I rember Devores posting pictures of it.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

I may be the odd one out.... but I love the idea of Dapper Day.  My mother use to tell me that when she was little, going to Disney was a big deal.  You wore your Sunday best.  I wish we still had that respect.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

People sitting around the partners statue SMB.

I like dapper day. I rember Devores posting pictures of it.

 

You were posting, while I was typing.   See... I knew I liked you :)

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

 

 

Speaking of strange-why are the Chip and Dale topiaries in this display so small?  In the parks, when you see those chipmunks, they are taller than Donald- so why do they need to be so tiny here?:

 

I would assume because in the cartoons, Donald is much larger than Chip and Dale:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEuK7RybAYM

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Please tell me all these strange Dapper folk are NOT going to sing.  I would hate to stumble apon a video somewhere.

No singing, but here is your video:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlPhqkQmbDE

[BuckeyeFortMama 43]

I've enjoyed catching up on this trip report while Marty's "Strange Thingd" addition played in the background.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Hipsters. 

 

Yeah.

 

Terrible.

 

The derby hats are cool. In fact DS was wearing a Notre Dame derby hat this morning.

 

Congrats on the Irish's (women's) Final Four appearance!

 

Our modern society is incapable of being dapper, even when it tries.

 

Sad but true.

 

I don't see what Kelly sees in him.

 

The dude apparently has some hidden source of wealth.  It seems chicks dig that.

 

To keep the Parteners Statue current someone needs to tape a selfie stick in Walt's hand.  

 

I am not a fan of the new partners lounge. 

 

Please tell me all these strange Dapper folk are NOT going to sing.  I would hate to stumble apon a video somewhere.

 

LOL.  And Mickey could be holding a Brazilian Tour Group flag.

 

Love love love the bus arrival time things at POR.  That was so great when we were there in January.  Kidani had one as well.  I'm hoping that they expand them to all the stops everywhere.

 

It's kind of crappy on Disney's part to not install these monitors at all the resorts- they obviously have the technology, so they should do it.

 

People sitting around the partners statue SMB.

I like dapper day. I rember Devores posting pictures of it.

 

I agree about the new set-up around the partners statue.  It looks terrible having people sitting all around it like that.

 

I don't remember Devores' photos of Dapper Day.

 

I may be the odd one out.... but I love the idea of Dapper Day.  My mother use to tell me that when she was little, going to Disney was a big deal.  You wore your Sunday best.  I wish we still had that respect.

 

I like the idea of Dapper Day, but I feel sorry for anyone who wanted to ride an attraction that dapper people were commandeering for their fun and games.

 

You were posting, while I was typing.   See... I knew I liked you :)

 

Look- a Gator fan and a Dawg have found common ground.

 

I would assume because in the cartoons, Donald is much larger than Chip and Dale:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEuK7RybAYM

 

Fair enough.  So, my question really ought to be why are the chipmunk characters we see in the parks and at the Fort so big?

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

No singing, but here is your video:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlPhqkQmbDE

 

Holy guacamole, that girl in the green dress almost bounced right out of it.  Shameful.  I had to watch the video several times to make sure she didn't.  I found it very offensive.

 

I've enjoyed catching up on this trip report while Marty's "Strange Thingd" addition played in the background.

 

That's a great idea.

 

And, speaking of strange things, let's press on with the report.

 

TCD

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

We shall be watching the Lady Irish Sunday evening.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Let's move along and wrap up the March 14 day trip.

 

We left off in the MK.

 

Remember, this impromptu trip was supposed to be just me and Twin #2, but Twin #1 crashed the party.  I had made two sets of FP+ reservations for the two of us- 3 attractions at AK, which we used successfully, and then 3 at the MK.  But, they were for only two people.  And there were three of us.  The last few times we tried to bluff a third person on when we only had reservations for two, we got grief from the CM's, and none of us were particularly in the mood for grief.  So, I volunteered to let the twins use the FP+'s and I would people watch.

 

For those of you interested in such things, I was able to make two individual overlapping FP+ reservations for the Mine Train for this semi-busy Saturday on the night before.  And those were up first.  When we got there, Twin #1 said she would let Twin #2 and I go, as she had something she wanted to take a photo of (this is when she went to the Cinderella fountain and took that photo of her Alex and Ani bracelet).  So Twin #2 and I rode.  When we came out, Twin #1 was heading in- she had been invited by a couple she didn't know who had a rider switch pass to ride with them.  So, she got to ride anyway.  This photo is supposed to show the Mine Train standby time, but it didn't come out.  I think it was 90 minutes:

 

 

While we waited for Twin #1 to ride, Twin #2 and I took a seat along those new castle walls. From here, we could see the long line of dappers who were getting ready to ride the carousel at 8 pm, as per their schedule:

 

 

The sun had set and it was getting dark, so this photo came out blurry, but I think you can see that the line for the carousel is all the way out to the entrance to New Fantasyland:

 

 

and it curved around there, and went all the way back to the bridge at Be Our Guest.  That's a lot of dapperness:

 

 

After our Mine Train FP+'s, we had Space Mountain.  Twin #2 volunteered to sit that one out, and Twin #1 and I went to ride.  We didn't make it past the entrance, though, as the ride was down, and the CM's there had these tiny signs telling guests with FP+'s that they could ride the other listed attractions:

 

 

As you may know, guests are supposed to get an email when an attraction goes down and they have a FP+ reservation for it.  To my surprise, I got the email a few minutes later.  It would have been nice to have been told before we hoofed it all the way to the entrance, but they are making progress at least.

 

Since we now had a FP+ we could use on any thrill category ride we wanted, we decided to head to Big Thunder Mountain.  On the way there, we had to first stop for a Dole Whip from the new Aloha Isle location.  The menu:

 

 

There have been suggestions made in posts here and elsewhere that moving the location of Aloha Isle to a new location will improve service, but I don't think it will- while they have more cash registers, they still have just two Dole Whip machines:

 

 

By the time we got done with our Dole Whips, we decided to skip Big Thunder for now and instead report to the Fireworks Viewing area for what was originally our third FP+ reservation.  Again, I was able to score Wishes FP+'s the night before our visit.  There was speculation that these would be hard to get, but so far, they really haven't been.  We had the same problem with only two FP+ reservations for the three of us.  This time, I volunteered to sit out and let the twins go in.  I had a plan I wanted to test, and if it didn't work, I thought I'd watch the fireworks from someplace else in the new areas that have recently opened.

 

So, I gave one of the twins my MB, and in they went.  I had an extra MB in my name, and I waited about 5 minutes, and then used it.  The CM looked at her iPad and said "Oh, you have already been scanned- welcome back," and in I went.  She figured I had left to use the restroom or something and was coming back in.  So, there's a simple FP+ hack you could try if you ever are short a FP+ for Wishes.

 

This was a very nice Wishes viewing experience.  All the guests in the FP+ area remained seated, and everyone had a nice view:

 

 

They still let guests outside of the FP+ area stand in front of it-but the view from in the reserved area is still OK, even when those guests put their brats on their shoulders:

 

 

But, don't miss the fact that those guests have a more unobstructed view of the fireworks than the guests who wasted a FP+ choice to sit on the fake grass.

 

And, then there's the light pole situation:

 

 

 

These light poles are a strange thing- they build the great new area for guests to watch fireworks- and then obstruct the views with these big poles and speakers.

 

This is the last photo I have from March 14, and, appropriately, it includes a selfie stick, in case any of you are not convinced that they're an epidemic:

 

 

Even though we still had a FP+ to use, we decided to head out at this point.  The MK was having EMH's that night, and it was crowded.  We needed to drive home, and decided to get on the road.

 

So, that ended up being it for the 14th.

 

We didn't know it at the time, but we would be back the following weekend.  And this time we would be spending a couple of nights.

 

So, don't go away. The strangeness will continue.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Enjoying all the strangeness.

 

I may be the odd one out.... but I love the idea of Dapper Day.  My mother use to tell me that when she was little, going to Disney was a big deal.  You wore your Sunday best.  I wish we still had that respect.

 

I love the idea too.  Reminds me of formal nights on cruises.  A lot of people hate them, but I'd do formal every night on a cruise if I could.

[The Troll 67]

Holy guacamole, that girl in the green dress almost bounced right out of it. 

 

Wow! I was thinking the same very thing! You and I think so much alike.

 

 

Shameful.  I had to watch the video several times to make sure she didn't.  I found it very offensive.

 

 

 

Oh, wait. No we don't.

 

 

that girl in the green dress

 

Green? It looks yellow to me.

 

Uh, oh. The internet is about to crack open again.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

The Aloha Isle/SST thing SMB.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

 

I like the idea of Dapper Day, but I feel sorry for anyone who wanted to ride an attraction that dapper people were commandeering for their fun and games.

 

 

I guess I didn't read enough about it... I just thought people dressed up to go.