The TCD gang Pops over to WDW

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

It's about time for another TCD trip report.

So, we popped over to WDW this past weekend.

We popped to the Pop.

Stayed a night, and then headed home.

I saw a few interesting things.

In fact, I will be sharing some of them in this very first post.

It was just TCD and the twins.

Again.

But, that's OK.

We had a lot of fun.

As usual.

We left home early, and checked in at the Pop at around 8:15.

Our room was ready.

But we didn't go there.

We hopped on the Hollywood Studios bus.

And we were walking in just a few minutes before 9.

No rope drop.

No stampede.

Just a brisk walk back to Toy Story.

We noticed that the big and expensive stage which has been in front of the hat on all of our recent visits is missing:

That's the first interesting thing. Star Wars weekends are just around the corner. So that stage will be back soon. I don't know why they left it up for as long as they did, or why they took it down now. But they did.

Here we are making our way to the ride:

We grabbed some Fastpasses and got on line.

It was already pretty busy:

But, we were on in less than 15 minutes, and then on to our next ride.

We had an hour before our Fastpasses would be good. That usually would be enough time to ride Tower of Terror and Rock N Rollercoaster, so that's where we headed next.

Rock N' Rollercoaster was maybe a 5 minute line.

I always enjoy the out of date posters they have in the queue:

What the heck is that Queen poster doing there?

Next stop, Tower of Terror.

That is, until we saw this:

That sign says the wait is 65 minutes.

That can't be right.

Usually this is a walk on early in the morning.

We watched for a while.

It looked like only one side was operating.

And, we walked up to the queue entrance to see if there really was a line.

There was.

Change in plans-

We head over to meet Phineas and Ferb.

We haven't met them yet.

As the girls waited on line, this poster caught my eye:

So, this is the Premier Theater. I didn't know where it was. A month or so ago, they were giving passholders free tickets to see the new movie John Carter. This event was held in the Premier Theater, which I had not heard of before.

This used to be an open-air theater. They had a Pocahontas show there. And, later, a Hunchback show there. Then they enclosed it. I haven't been in there since.

Here's what it looks like now:

Notice how the top of the Golden Gate bridge is up there.

Also, note that there's a website address on that poster. It says festivaldisney.com. This is some kind of music program for kids. Disney always has some angle to get folks into the parks. I didn't know about this one.

It looked like something was about to happen in that theater. And, sure enough, I noticed these kids walking toward the theater:

I call this photo Instrument Envy:

Some more band geeks musicians:

Check out this kid who is trying to get away with wearing shorts:

And, I'll bet both of those kids in the instrument envy photo felt inadequate when this girl came rolling in with her instrument:

Well, that was all interesting too.

Wasn't it?

After the girls met P & F, we headed to Star Tours.

On the way, I noticed one of those tree signs that I am the only one who notices:

This is what one of those trees looks like, in case you were wondering:

We spotted a beard in the queue:

Yikes.

I love the pre-show video here. Nobody pays attention to it, but it's really funny. And, it actually sets up the ride and what is about to happen. Here is how C3P0 ends up driving the ship:

Our favorite part of the pre-show video is where a young boy takes out a big camera and takes a photo of the creature behind him I tried to get a photo of it, but this is what I got:

You will need to look for that part yourself.

Then we headed back to Toy Story.

I had us head toward where the mermaid statue used to be. It was missing when we visited here just last month, and someone said it had been moved, so I wanted to look for it.

Well, I found it:

And here's how things looked last month (same place but at night) :

News Flash:

It didn't move.

That's right where it always has been.

It wasn't here last time, but it's back now.

In case you don't know why this is here, this sign tells you:

I can't believe Splash came out in 1984.

Wow, that is a long time ago!

Toy Story was a mad house when we went by.

But, we had Fastpasses, so we were on quick:

After that, we huddled up to discuss what we would do next.

We decided we should hop over to Epcot.

We wanted to eat lunch there anyway.

And we had talked about heading there for the evening EMH that night.

So maybe we could score a late Soarin' Fastpass that we could use that evening.

So we headed to the Hollywood Studios boat.

The boat was leaving just as we arrived.

So we had to wait.

But not for long.

Plus, we got to watch this family fishing with one of the WDW fishing guides right there at the dock. As we waited, one of the girls caught a fish:

And then the other girl caught one too:

That was cool.

Then our boat came.

And, I'm at my photo limit.

So we will pick this up at Epcot next.

Oh, and in case you are thinking that this is a TCD trip report that you can skip.

Let me let you in on something . . .

We had a visitor on this short trip.

It was one of my relatives.

A certain cousin whom I have not seen in a while.

And as luck would have it, we had a giant construction project going on right next to our hotel.

Something called the Art of Animation resort.

Have you heard of it?

I have some interesting photos of that.

Which we will get to when we get to the next morning part of this report.

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

First!!!! Woo hoo!!!

So should we expect a visit from Yuri??

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Cool!!! Another quick weekend for the TCD Gang!!

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Yeah!! First Page and no limited internet!

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Yuri? Did I read that right? Sweet!!!

[Live4FW 30]

Also, note that there's a website address on that poster. It says festivaldisney.com. This is some kind of music program for kids. Disney always has some angle to get folks into the parks. I didn't know about this one.

It looked like something was about to happen in that theater. And, sure enough, I noticed these kids walking toward the theater:

Some more band geeks musicians:

That will be DD in about a week. Not fair she gets to go but I don't!

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

I'm here too! Waiting for more! :popcorn:

[We4mickey 6]

Woohoo I made it on the first page! Can't wait to see what this trip brings.

[SCTigerCock 171]

:jumpforjoy :jumpforjoy :jumpforjoy

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

I made it on the first page! Can't wait to see what the relative discovered!

[caveat lector 181]

I haven't even read the TR yet. Saw it listed and just wanted to be on page one.

Now it's time to settle in with some green tea and enjoy the ride. :)

[rdancemom... Pam 113]

That will be DD in about a week. Not fair she gets to go but I don't!

Starla participated in Festival Disney with her show choir in high school. The band went too. The kids had to ride down on the bus & stay with the group at ASMusic but a lot of parents who didn't want to chaperone traveled down on their own. After the competition was over and the group headed home those of us there kept our kids to enjoy a little extra family time.

Part of the competition for the bands at the festival involved a parade thru DHS. Thank heavens I wasn't a chaperone b/c I'd have embrassed everyone as I stood watching & wiping tears as the parade went by...

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

Another TCD report! TCD, make sure to check my last post complete with sweet photo on your Spring TR.(proud of myself for how quick I figured out the photo add process) You will love it. Back to enjoy another TCD TR!

[ajcjmom 8]

I'm in!

[momof3kids-Yvonne 594]

Yeah another TCD trip report :jumpforjoy

Doodle, May I have some popcorn please?

[caveat lector 181]

Yuri might make an appearance. WOOHOO!!! That dude is always snooping around.

[Marilyn 19]

:popcorn:

[Lil Lisa 53]

Woo hoo! I'm in!

[stefa70 205]

I'm always up for a TCD report!

Instrument envy........ :rofl2:

I'm still searching for the beard. You can't possibly mean that 5 o'clock shadow that CM is sporting.

That is not "Stef standard" beard. Then again, I don't think they'd allow that type to work at WDW.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Congratulations to all who made it in on the first page!

Now, I have some comments to respond to:

First!!!! Woo hoo!!!

So should we expect a visit from Yuri??

First?

Wow!

Yuri?

What made you think that?

Cool!!! Another quick weekend for the TCD Gang!!

Yep.

It was another quick weekend.

Yeah!! First Page and no limited internet!

Nicely done!

Glad to hear you have unlimited internet!

Yuri? Did I read that right? Sweet!!!

Yes, you read that right.

That will be DD in about a week. Not fair she gets to go but I don't!

Awesome!

Good for her!

Is she doing this program at Hollywood Studios?

I'm here too! Waiting for more! :popcorn:

I will be working on that as soon as I get these comments done.

Woohoo I made it on the first page! Can't wait to see what this trip brings.

Wow!

First page.

That's good for you!

:jumpforjoy :jumpforjoy :jumpforjoy

I'm glad that you're so happy to be here.

I made it on the first page! Can't wait to see what the relative discovered!

Yes. First page.

We will be getting to the discoveries in a bit.

I haven't even read the TR yet. Saw it listed and just wanted to be on page one.

Now it's time to settle in with some green tea and enjoy the ride. :)

Green tea?

Really?

Isn't that a hippie drink?

Why don't you make that a beer?

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Starla participated in Festival Disney with her show choir in high school. The band went too. The kids had to ride down on the bus & stay with the group at ASMusic but a lot of parents who didn't want to chaperone traveled down on their own. After the competition was over and the group headed home those of us there kept our kids to enjoy a little extra family time.

Part of the competition for the bands at the festival involved a parade thru DHS. Thank heavens I wasn't a chaperone b/c I'd have embrassed everyone as I stood watching & wiping tears as the parade went by...

From looking at the website, it looks like participants may be able to get discounted park tickets. Sounds like a fun time.

Another TCD report! TCD, make sure to check my last post complete with sweet photo on your Spring TR.(proud of myself for how quick I figured out the photo add process) You will love it. Back to enjoy another TCD TR!

Yes, I saw that photo.

You are going to fit in nicely here.

Welcome, again.

I'm in!

OK, I marked you down.

Page one, too.

Nice.

Yeah another TCD trip report :jumpforjoy

Doodle, May I have some popcorn please?

Yes, pass the popcorn.

No, wait, I need to write another update first.

Yuri might make an appearance. WOOHOO!!! That dude is always snooping around.

Hey, you made it on to page one twice.

Wow.

I'm glad somebody was excited to see Yuri.

Because I wasn't.

:popcorn:

Good.

More popcorn.

Woo hoo! I'm in!

Wow.

Lil' Lisa?

Glad to have you along for the whole trip!

I'm always up for a TCD report!

Instrument envy........ :rofl2:

I'm still searching for the beard. You can't possibly mean that 5 o'clock shadow that CM is sporting.

That is not "Stef standard" beard. Then again, I don't think they'd allow that type to work at WDW.

No, it wasn't much of a beard.

I hate to do this, but here's a closer look:

Kind of scruffy.

But the judges say that counts as a beard.

TCD

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

Another TCD trip report......YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heidi

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Alright, let's get this thing moving along.

Upon our arrival at the International Gateway, we noticed that they had planted a big garden here:

This sign explains what is going on here:

There were all kinds of plants. Over 100 according to the sign:

Some of the plants looked great. Some looked like they were struggling. It was a very interesting display to take a look at:

I liked looking at all the caladium varieties. I have had some luck growing these around my house, and they do pretty well all summer long. There were some varities here that I had not seen before:

I liked the combination of these flowers:

When we got in to Epcot, one of the girls checked the Mobile Magic app, and it said that the Soarin' Fastpasses being distributed then were good for from 4 to 5. We wanted to go later, and since they are now enforcing return times, we decided to head to lunch first.

We decided to go to the quick serve in Mexico. We like this, although I know there are several folks who belong to this board who don't.

We went around by England and Canada on the way to Mexico.

We hadn't seen the Winnie the Pooh topiaries yet, so we stopped for a look:

Make sure you don't miss the bonus Eifel tower and duck in that last photo.

As we continued around on our way to Mexico, we stopped to take in this view:

They have vegetable plants growing in one of the main displays:

(sorry for the mouse butt in that photo).

I have never heard of pumpkin on a stick, but now I have seen it with my own eyes:

These are artichoke plants. I guess an artichoke grows something like a pineapple, but I'm not sure:

These are sunflowers:

And here's Minnie:

We had a great lunch in Mexico.

And then headed over to Soarin'

We checked out the sand sculpture, which is in a different location this year:

I love to walk along this walkway toward Future World. There are flowers everywhere, and the scent of roses hung in the air:

We passed this giant flower bed on the way to the Land pavilion:

We went ahead and got our Fastpasses.

What a pain that process is here. I don't like how you have to walk all the way in to the pavilion and go down to the Soarin' entrance to get them. It was super crowded in there too. Test Track is closed, and it has caused Soarin' to be busier than normal.

They are serious about enforcing the return times now:

So, that meant we needed to be back between 7 and 8 for our ride on Soarin'.

We stopped by Club Cool to sample some of the odd drinks they have there.

Twin #1 asked me to take her photo double fisted drinking:

I think she learned that from the Jersey Shore or some other TV show.

Good grief.

So, we had eaten lunch and gotten our Fastpass for later.

Now what?

The girls wanted to do some shopping.

They were looking for something.

This:

Those are Disney Pillow Pets.

We have a few of these already.

Now we have two more:

And yes, Lotso smells like strawberries.

That sealed the deal.

We decided to head to the hotel to get our stuff in our room and to chill.

So we headed to the last bus stop in the parking lot.

That's where the Pop people have to go.

It's way worse than the Fort bus stop.

Next up, we check out the Pop.

And we dodge a big storm!

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Love the meteorologic tease at the end. I'm always a sucker for a big storm.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

I'm late, but I am here!

Am I the only one who found themselves inhaling deeply to see how the roses smelled?

I think I need a vacation before I completely lose my mind. LOL