Chunkymonkey and Chubbyhubby Feed the Force!! A May 2015 TR - Update 10/29 Trip Epilogue!

[Tatania]

I can't believe I stayed up until 4 am to read the entire TR - but it was great. I've been a regular visitor to WDW since 1976 and in the past years the actual experience hasn't lived up to the memories. I mean, doing the same ride for the umpteenth time just wasn't as much fun as it used to be. Most of the time, if there is any sort of queue, I don't even bother anymore. The first Saturday of March 2014 in the MK (my last visit) had crowds so bad (Spring Break, I guess) that I just ended up sitting on a bench and taking a nap. There really wasn't much else one COULD do, LOL, however, you're enthusiasm is really contagious and actually has me considering another visit.

You and your sis are not only adorable (and not at all chunky - though I love the nicknames) but you also have the cutest wardrobes. I couldn't wait to see what you'd wear every day - though I did wonder how CS managed to keep her sweater on over that red Minnie dress when it was SO hot.

Thanks also for the pics of the new Poly. WDW has changed incredibly since I first went and many changes have been great, including all the themed resorts. But I'll sure miss the original Poly lobby. First time we stayed there was in 1998 (for $96 as night - which seemed a splurge at the time) and the waterfall/rainforest lobby decor never got old. It made you feel you were in the tropics in a way the new Tiki statue doesn't. But then, I still miss Discovery Island with the up close and personal wildlife encounters, Chef Mickey's Village Restaurant with the meatloaf my son loved so much, The Extraterrorestrial Alien Encounter - the most hair raising ride Disney ever produced, River Country where the kids spent many a happy afternoon....just to name a very few. It's really a shame "One Man One Dream" will soon be added to the list as it's arguably one of the most interesting attractions at DHS. I can't even fathom why Disney World wouldn't want a permanent exhibit to Disney and all his innovations.

 

[summerw]

Did you pick up one of these from AoA to match the butter knives? We got one on our last trip. Love it.

http://www.easywdw.com/reports4/loiujhasjkad70.jpg

 

[Angeejoe]

Did you pick up one of these from AoA to match the butter knives? We got one on our last trip. Love it.

http://www.easywdw.com/reports4/loiujhasjkad70.jpg

What are they? Pens?

 

[summerw]

What are they? Pens?

Yes, but they're even cuter in person.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Ugh, just reading about how hot it was that day takes me back to our recent WDW vaca from June too! It would be great if there were some sort of outdoor cover to protect from the sun when waiting in lines to see characters. We waited in line for almost 30 minutes to see Pluto, at the front of MK. The sun was so powerful, and we were melting. Honestly, the pics came out awful, we looked like a hot mess express! Thankfully, I was able to salvage 1 photo by cropping it to feature just DS and Pluto -- so, like you said, the time spent would not be for naught... haha!

I hear you...this trip in May wasn't even the hottest. That had to be last year over labor day weekend. It was just stifling. Soo muggy and hot. Sweat dripping down your face and it's only 9am. I do agree they need some designated areas with covered lines to help ease some of the wait pain. LOL.

thank you for your trip report! we are having our first family disney trip in nov! your outfits are so cute! what kind of sandals do you have? i've been searching for some after having to toss my beloved sandals of many great years out. thanks!

Hi!! Welcome and thanks for reading! My sandals from from FitFlop. It's one of the few shoes I can wear all day in the parks. I don't wear sneakers because I like my feet to breathe.

This sounds like such a fun time! I love ochestral music, being the band geek that I am! I also love the outdoors!

You'll love Tanglewood! Get a bunch of friends and go picnic at the concert. It's so much fun.

This place you stayed in looks super cool! I love the way breakfast looks and just the way the place is decorated is really neat!

Yeah! It's hard to find places that aren't expensive during the summers in the Berkshires. Even some low priced chains like Fairfied Inn and Hampton Inn were charging serious money just for the summer weekends. Ours was much more reasonable, and super modern and chic.

I love french fries too! When I was younger, my nick name was "French Fry"!

Haha! Good name! Mine was Sushi. Yes I do like Sushi so luckily the name was fitting.

That would have been so awesome to hear live! We played it in Wind Ensemble when I was in High School and being in the brass section, it was really fun!

It's a great concert! Definitely try to go one year. You would really enjoy it.

I need to get to GG! Everything I always see from there looks delicious, fresh, and just up my alley as far as food goes!

It was one of our favorite meals of the trip! Definitely try it if you can (and have a large appetite)

I am super intrigued by the 24 hour day! We may be partaking in 2016.

It was hot and crowded. If you're ok with that then I say, do it! LOL

I love the Knights! Oh My Disney! They are always coming up with some pretty neat "Hidden Gems!"

I know! We didn't know they speak so it was fun to discover.

I can't believe I stayed up until 4 am to read the entire TR - but it was great. I've been a regular visitor to WDW since 1976 and in the past years the actual experience hasn't lived up to the memories. I mean, doing the same ride for the umpteenth time just wasn't as much fun as it used to be. Most of the time, if there is any sort of queue, I don't even bother anymore. The first Saturday of March 2014 in the MK (my last visit) had crowds so bad (Spring Break, I guess) that I just ended up sitting on a bench and taking a nap. There really wasn't much else one COULD do, LOL, however, you're enthusiasm is really contagious and actually has me considering another visit.

You and your sis are not only adorable (and not at all chunky - though I love the nicknames) but you also have the cutest wardrobes. I couldn't wait to see what you'd wear every day - though I did wonder how CS managed to keep her sweater on over that red Minnie dress when it was SO hot.

Thanks also for the pics of the new Poly. WDW has changed incredibly since I first went and many changes have been great, including all the themed resorts. But I'll sure miss the original Poly lobby. First time we stayed there was in 1998 (for $96 as night - which seemed a splurge at the time) and the waterfall/rainforest lobby decor never got old. It made you feel you were in the tropics in a way the new Tiki statue doesn't. But then, I still miss Discovery Island with the up close and personal wildlife encounters, Chef Mickey's Village Restaurant with the meatloaf my son loved so much, The Extraterrorestrial Alien Encounter - the most hair raising ride Disney ever produced, River Country where the kids spent many a happy afternoon....just to name a very few. It's really a shame "One Man One Dream" will soon be added to the list as it's arguably one of the most interesting attractions at DHS. I can't even fathom why Disney World wouldn't want a permanent exhibit to Disney and all his innovations.

Thank you Tatiana! Always happy to provide people with reading fodder until 4am. Hope you didn't have to wake up early!
Thank you for your kind comments. We do try and make an effort to dress up a bit because we know these pictures will be around forever. So we try. Doesn't always help, though, especially when the weather makes our hair all frazzled and we're sweating buckets.

The term "Slave to Fashion" seems to be made just for my sister. She hates her arms and legs and never shows then until she'ss forced to. LOL. She did end up taking the sweater off and some point but we weren't allowed to take pics of her then. Although I always snuck a few. Haha.

Yeah WDW has been changing. I'm being optimistic because I think the change is for the better in terms of modernizing and crowd efficiency. But there are parts of me that love old-school Disney. It reminds me of when I was a kid and we road tripped form New York to Florida - there were no fast passes, no ADRs etc. It was a lot of fun but we also used to wait in line for hours to ride attractions. I don't miss that. I totally remember the Alien Encounter. I hated that ride! Because of that, I never ride Stich's Great Escape. It's still essentially the same attraction just toned down a bit.
I do hope they find a new permanent home for the One Man's Dream exhibit. Maybe in Disney Springs? Huge changes there.

Did you pick up one of these from AoA to match the butter knives? We got one on our last trip. Love it.

http://www.easywdw.com/reports4/loiujhasjkad70.jpg

No I didn't!! I didn't see these!!
Now I'm sooooo gonna get one!!! Thanks for letting me know about them!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

We realized that there were some Disney Channel celebrities who were brought in for the 24 hour day. Here you may recognize the blonde actress who plays both twins in Liv and Maddie. I wasn't sure who the other girl is but I assume she's in another sitcom or something.

If you say so..... But then, we are more in the disney junior set in this house right now.

It was funny because they were talking with Gaston, and he thought the film crew was there for him.

They also didn't seem to sweat in the 95+ degree weather, I therefore believe they are aliens.

Nope just people with a Posse to make them look like they don't sweat.

Some of them would doze off and we'd say "Wake Up!" and they would stutter, then another knight would chime in.

THey interact with people when you talk with them?

he pastries were pretty standard, nothing to write home about

yeah kinda what I figured.

I actually was nice and brought my sister a LeFou's brew while she was waiting.

Well aren't you a good sister!

 

[chunkymonkey]

If you say so..... But then, we are more in the disney junior set in this house right now.

I honestly had no idea who they were. I assumed they were Disney Channel celebs so I had to google them.

Nope just people with a Posse to make them look like they don't sweat.

I NEED a posse to follow me around WDW!!

THey interact with people when you talk with them?

I haven't figured this out exactly. I think they respond to noise when you say something to them. But they say canned phrases and aren't exactly responding to you. We heard one of the knights snoring, and we said "Wake up!" and he did...but not sure if it was because we just said it at the right time he was going to wake up anyways. Will have to experiment with this if we're ever on line again.

yeah kinda what I figured.

I find that the case with all pre-breakfast pastries at WDW. Even at Cinderella's castle, and Sci Fi dine-in.

Well aren't you a good sister!

I didn't want her to suffer from heatstroke! LOL
But it was still an uncomfortable walk in the heat to get her the LeFou's Brew.

 

[cajunfan]

Those butter knives are stinkin' cute!

 

[Elevationist]

It was funny because they were talking with Gaston, and he thought the film crew was there for him.

Oh, that's Gaston!

Even though we had an ADR, we still had to get on line to order food. I guess you could pre-order now but I am never sure what I want to eat sometimes until the very moment. I can hem and haw about a menu prior to the trip but sometimes I am just in a mood for something else, ya know?

To avoid that kind of crowd, I'm more than happy to pre-order and make up my mind in advance. When I did lunch here in April, I loooooove just sauntering right past this line and heading right to a table!

It's such a pretty room, and it's well-lit too, no dim lighting to contend with when taking your food shots!

Oooh, I never consider how much better lit it is for photos! Definitely something to keep in mind!

My sister and I both got the:

Open-Faced Bacon and Egg Sandwich
Poached Eggs, Applewood Bacon, Brie Cheese, and Arugula on a toasted Baguette served with Fresh Fruit

My sister LOVED this. It has all her favorite things, eggs, bacon, brie, baguette. She was all over it! She did not care for the arugula but I really liked it.
I too really enjoyed this dish. I poked the yolks of the eggs to have them ooze out a little bit as a sauce for the cheese, bacon and bread. It was awesome.


DH got the:

Eggs Florentine
Puff Pastry Shell filled with Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and fresh Spinach served with Country Ham, Roasted Plum Tomatoes.

He thought it was pretty good. The eggs were cooked nicely in a soft scramble and served in a puff pastry shell. It was similar to what he had at Sci Fi dine in for breakfast but a lot simpler.

Ya'll picked the two things on the breakfast menu that I am the most interested in trying! Yum!

I think this is the same puff pastry shell that they use for the seafood entree they have during dinner.

It is. (That seafood dish is DELICIOUS, by the way!)

You lost your Minnie ears!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Those butter knives are stinkin' cute!

They are! I love them!

Oh, that's Gaston!

To avoid that kind of crowd, I'm more than happy to pre-order and make up my mind in advance. When I did lunch here in April, I loooooove just sauntering right past this line and heading right to a table!

I may do this next time!

Oooh, I never consider how much better lit it is for photos! Definitely something to keep in mind!

Yup, it's much better than the west wing, that's for sure!

Ya'll picked the two things on the breakfast menu that I am the most interested in trying! Yum!

It was yummy! We enjoyed breakfast here.

It is. (That seafood dish is DELICIOUS, by the way!)

It is! My sister had it 2 years ago and it was really good!

You lost your Minnie ears!

Er...yeah um...you'll see in my next post...

 

[ekruze]

WOW! THANK YOU for taking the time to write your TR's!!! They are fantastic! I am new to the DISboards and we are going on our first DCL cruise on the Dream feb 2016. I read your Cruise report and then couldn't stop reading until I was thru with this TR! I was excited for our cruise but now....
I. Can't. Wait.

Love the food pics!!!

Again, thanks. The TR's really help us newbies. Have fun planning your next trip. I'm sure I will learn lots more from you and your WDW and DCL experience that I can plan for my family!

Take care

 

[natebenma]

Just read your review of Garden Grill and I have to admit, the meal sounds amazing! Plus the character interactions look like they were very good, and Chip and Dale are my favorites, so I will forgive you for giving up La Hacienda.

Wow! So scary about the boy who was bitten by the spider. I wonder if the family knows what kind or if they have to be concerned with a spider-bite allergy.

I really like your spot for Illuminations. Great preshow pictures and the videos are fantastic!

:

 

[natebenma]

Just read the first part of your 24 hour day. That is funny that it was announced after your trip was booked. But cool!

I like the bus picture and don't think you look overly tired.

I can totally understand why you didn't want to wear costumes, and I don't really see any in the photos you have posted so far.

I cracked up at the flower picture in pixie hollow, or wherever that is. What does DH think. I'm guessing he is a great sport!

Looking forward to reading about your Be Our Guest meal.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Real Life Update! Introducing my nephew, Bryan Benjamin!​

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Before we start the final few posts on this TR...just wanted to share that I'm an aunt again! My sister, Chunkytwin1 had a baby boy on October 1st 2015. He weighted 6lbs and 4oz. Mommy and baby are doing really well and he's going home today. He is the first "boy" in our family because I only have sisters and nieces. I can finally buy him all the cool star wars merchandise and ourfits and teach him the ways of the force. ​

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Bryan Benjamin! Welcome to the world!​

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Now onto the regularly scheduled TR post....​

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Day 8 Part 3: A Pirate goes to Arendelle...​

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When we last left off we were getting ready to go to our FP+ to meet Anna and Elsa. This is when I realized that I no longer had my Minnie ears. (You caught this one @Elevationist)! Well, rather, my SISTER's Minnie ears. I looked everywhere and finally concluded that I must have left it at Gaston's tavern or BoG so I backtracked to look for them...to no avail. They were gone. I had CMs look everywhere for me, lost and found etc. but they could not find it. Sigh. I think I took them off at breakfast and never put them back on again so left it on the seat or table. I guess someone must have took them or they turned it in much later. It is not a big deal as they were not expensive ears according to my sister. I offered to buy her some new ones but she didn't really like the ones at the park so I promised I'd get her new ones when we got home. ​

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So now, sans ears, we headed into Princess Fairytale Hall for our meeting with Arendelle royalty. Standing in line in front of us, was the most amazing cosplayer I had ever seen. Captain Jack Sparrow. His costume was so detailed and he even moved and acted like Jack Sparrow. It was really cool to see him interact with Elsa and Anna.​

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Pretty cool huh? I just couldn't help but think he must be sweating profusely under all those layers and wig. Oh and boots. I don't think I could subject myself to such torture in the 95 degree weather.​

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Here's us with the princesses in much more summer-y attire.​

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After we got out, we headed for our FP+ for 7DMT, but not before getting in line for a pictures with Cinderella's carriage. It's not as elaborate as the one at DHS though. The line was this was usually pretty long throughout the day but we saw a break when the line was half as long so we just got on it. I think we waited close to 15 minutes which wasn't fun in the heat but at least it was no where near as long as Peter Pan's line.​

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After riding 7DMT one last time, we headed to Tomorrowland!​

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My sister headed for a photo op with Stitch while DH and I battled each other in Buzz Lightyear.​

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Coming up...the last few moments of our trip! Why do we have to leave!?!​

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[soniam]

Congratulations on the new nephew! He's beautiful.

 

[chunkymonkey]

WOW! THANK YOU for taking the time to write your TR's!!! They are fantastic! I am new to the DISboards and we are going on our first DCL cruise on the Dream feb 2016. I read your Cruise report and then couldn't stop reading until I was thru with this TR! I was excited for our cruise but now....
I. Can't. Wait.

Thank you so much for reading! I enjoy writing these TRs as it keeps the magic alive until our next trip! Hope you decide to do a PTR or TR too! It's fun to follow along!

Love the food pics!!!

Thanks!! I enjoy eating all the food I photograph!

Again, thanks. The TR's really help us newbies. Have fun planning your next trip. I'm sure I will learn lots more from you and your WDW and DCL experience that I can plan for my family!

Take care

Of course!! The DIS has been extremely helpful over the years especially when we started coming annually. Thanks for reading and following along!

Just read your review of Garden Grill and I have to admit, the meal sounds amazing! Plus the character interactions look like they were very good, and Chip and Dale are my favorites, so I will forgive you for giving up La Hacienda.

Hahaha, I knew you'd come around. It was a fun meal. I think the rotation part of the restaurant comes second to the character meets. Half the time I forget the restaurant rotates since it's very slow and there really isn't that much to see in that part of LWTL.

Wow! So scary about the boy who was bitten by the spider. I wonder if the family knows what kind or if they have to be concerned with a spider-bite allergy.

I know, freaky right? Luckily his mom was a nurse so I think she knew a spider bite when she saw it. I don't think he was allergic but it definitely needed to be checked out. Bummers. I hope it didn't spoil their trip too much.

I really like your spot for Illuminations. Great preshow pictures and the videos are fantastic!

:

Thanks! We were lucky that it wasn't too crowded that night and a lot of good spots were available.

Just read the first part of your 24 hour day. That is funny that it was announced after your trip was booked. But cool!

Yeah Disney has a way of doing that. Announcing things right before they happen. I'm lucky that we're even going to be there for the Season of the Force event next year. (well, speculative dates are Jan - March 2016 as of now.)

I like the bus picture and don't think you look overly tired.

Thanks, makeup does wonders at 6:30am.

I can totally understand why you didn't want to wear costumes, and I don't really see any in the photos you have posted so far.

I honestly didn't take that many pictures on that last day. But there were a lot of costumes that day. Some were really good!

I cracked up at the flower picture in pixie hollow, or wherever that is. What does DH think. I'm guessing he is a great sport!

He honestly does not care and knows that I won't stop until I get a shot so he just does it. He is a good sport and doesn't mind my endless picture taking although I'm sure inside he's rolling his eyes..."not another picture...again!"

 

[chunkymonkey]

Congratulations on the new nephew! He's beautiful.

Thank you!! He is adorable and so tiny! We love staring at him just watching him sleep.

 

[kadrachb]

or at least whatever makeup they were wearing.

How do they even keep that much make up on?!

I therefore believe they are aliens

Oh... thats it.

Open-Faced Bacon and Egg Sandwich

Looks delicious!

Think the wait was about 30 minutes posted, but I don't think we waited that long.

When we rode it there was about a 15 minute wait, but it was walk-on pretty much... It just takes forever to get through that queue...

 

[SimplyGoofy]

What a beautiful baby! Congratulations to your sister and the rest of your family!

That's a shame about the ears... a pair of Anika's sunglasses had the same fate.

I loved meeting Anna and Elsa! I thought they were really fun. I'm with you on Captain Jack Sparrow - it's an AMAZING costume but there's NO WAY I'd wear something like that in the Florida heat! I can't imagine how the characters do it!

 

[chunkymonkey]

How do they even keep that much make up on?!

I know...everything just melts off of me in about an hour in the heat.

When we rode it there was about a 15 minute wait, but it was walk-on pretty much... It just takes forever to get through that queue...

Yeah the queue is really long! Just like the Nemo ride in Epcot...usually no line but the walk to get to the ride is so long!

What a beautiful baby! Congratulations to your sister and the rest of your family!

Thank you!!

That's a shame about the ears... a pair of Anika's sunglasses had the same fate.

Yeah...sad. I actually broke a pair of sunglasses a few years ago. I think I sat on them.

I loved meeting Anna and Elsa! I thought they were really fun. I'm with you on Captain Jack Sparrow - it's an AMAZING costume but there's NO WAY I'd wear something like that in the Florida heat! I can't imagine how the characters do it!

I know! I keep thinking they must have some ice packs built into their suit...I think I'd collapse from heat exhaustion if I was in a big furry suit in the heat. I can't imagine being in those parades too. The Electric Parade is probably the best parade to be in because it's at night! LOL