The Magic Cure: Day 12 HS, Brown Derby and more delicious cocktails

[Niki T]

HS

I assume everything went as plan this morning and there is nothing notable as the first point I make in our book is that EMH are harder! Why I've noted that though I am not completely sure - perhaps it's as simple as it's getting later on in the holiday is becoming more challenging and I'd like a rest or perhaps I mean that they are busier? This year's plan we won't be hitting as many though, so it's probably a bit of both. We were in the park by 8am, before 9 am we'd ridden TSM twice, both times I won, which is unheard of! Not sure where you left your game this morning Mr JT? During the extra hour, we also managed a ride on TOT. It was in this queue I realised I'd lost my Minnie ears off my magic keeper , we'll come back to that after breakfast.

For the aforementioned breakfast we visited Min and Bill's which did breakfast burritos with bacon, egg, cheese, sour cream and salsa; it was served with tater tots and was delicious, J chose a cinnamon roll which was also nice, with drinks it was $20. It's worth noting this menu was not on the app so was a bit of a hidden gem for us.

After breakfast it still wasn't time to sort my magic keeper out as we went on ST. Here, we witnessed one of the most bizarre loading techniques ever. The CM asked the standard question: "how many?" to us and the party behind, we were both 2s, so 4. He then asked us to wait and shouted for a party of 3 or 5. Behind us a guy shouted they were a 4 and the CM replied, "I'll take the 4!" Being British with silently complained as the 4 pushed us and the other couple aside . Strange. We love the new Star Tours, but I wish they wouldn't use it to push the latest film, we definitely prefer it when you don't know where you are going.

Following this we tried to swap my magic keeper with no joy as there were only Mickey ones ; the CM gave me a credit note to use next time I saw a Minnie one and J promised we'd try at SSR later.

Happy with that, I went on my merry way, ponchoed up as it was now raining. We headed to RNR.

Then over to watch Beauty and the Beast, probably my favourite show on property. Does any remember the Hunchback show? I loved that one too. Here are some standard pics...

The guy a couple of rows in front of us looked the image of Ned Flanders! The seats directly in front of us were soaking wet so stayed empty, but Ned still managed to find his way onto most of photos so they aren't the best pics we've ever taken of the show. Once we left the theatre the sun was shining again .

After the show we used our Star Tours FP which still took 25mins; the queue was outside! I think losing the big crowd swallowers has really impacted wait times here. The park still has some of the best rides, so HS isn't to be missed. This ride in particular has definitely increased in popularity since the new films; it makes us very excited about the new land in 2019! We stopped for a drink and photopass at the Muppets. We got in the queue just before people were being directed outside to wait for the next show. Sadly, we missed the pre-show though - I love the bit with Rizzo the Rat - as went straight into the auditorium.

We also got this funky pic using a fish eye lens. I always take my fish eye, but have never photographed people with it, just buildings; I think it looks very cool.

Next was our ToT FP and today was a day of cute kids at Tower of Terror. Earlier we heard a little boy enthusiastically tell his mum, "When I'm 40 I'm going to ride ToT twice." On this ride there was a little girl who repeatedly asked if "We will be alive" after the ride. One day I hope to hear cute comments like that from our own children, not quite as excited about the tantrums, but I secretly look forward to the stories we'll tell of those too. And don't worry, we all survived. In fact, I seem to remember she was asking to go again as they exited.

After scanning our FP for ToT we booked another for TSM. While waiting for this we meandered around the park in and out of shops and the Launch Bay people watching.

J bought some HM mystery pins and got one he needed...only one to go now . As we paid for our purchase we chatted to the CM about DVC, she was currently trying to convince her boyfriend they should buy in. We've never regretted it and have definitely benefited from having holidays we otherwise couldn't have afforded. With the past few years of IVF and miscarriage it's really been a saviour for us - something happy to plan for.

It was now time for our Fantasmic Dining package at Hollywood Brown Derby; this has to be one of our top rated restaurants, although we are trying Mama Melrose this year as the paying out of pocket since the appetiser was removed doesn't feel as cost effective. We both had carpaccio of beef, followed by beef fillet (quite unlike me to have beef and beef, but they are both stand out dishes) then you get the dessert sampler.

Unfortunately, I can't eat grapefruit due to some medication I take for PTSD and anxiety (the last few years took their toll, thankfully much better now though) so I got an extra banana fosters . It was $178 incl. tip and was definitely worth it.

We really missed the drawing and Great Movie Ride which would have filled the hour after dinner. Instead we found ourselves looking in shops and checking pins. We were given a top tip to check pins of CMs who were "earning their ears" as they want people to chat to them so they refresh pins the most . One of the CMs overheard us asking about Lucky, the hidden mickey pin from this year we were missing and she tracked it down for us . Here they are in the case back at home

The candy apples were a previous year's.

Before heading into the Pixar music show, which was running as a special event, I bought a kahula choc milkshake for $12 which was AMAZING. It was from Min and Bill's.

The show was fabulous, we'd got priority seating with our dining package which was great too. For anyone who didn't get to see it was a live orchestra with visits from Pixar characters and clips from the movies - I cried during the Up bit, but we are Ellie and Carl in the flesh, especially her dream of babies then the hospital scene. Just devastating.

Following this we headed into the Frozen Sing Along, which we watched through someone iPad. It was still a good show though and one the filming family had better watch after ruining our view! No pictures as we were looking through an iPad

We then used out FP for TSM, were J got the high score of the houre= (What I am I doing, I have the keyboard...I got high score of the hour ).

We headed over to Fantasmic stopping for cocktails at Rosie's on Sunset Blvd. $16, pretzel and chips w/ dip $11. Despite warnings about inclement weather it was the perfect evening. Warm, not hot.

Straight after this we headed for the bus watching the SW fireworks over our shoulder. I've written yet another comment about SSR buses being rubbish although I don't expand, I imagine it was just a long wait watching lots of other buses come and go for other resorts. We gave up our seats for a woman and little girl and they chatted with us all the way home so the journey itself was pleasant and quick. Before heading to the room we picked up our packages exchanged my Minnie keeper and then fell into bed . Although we still love HS, its still missing an awful lot and we're definitely looking forward to the new areas. This year, we have planned a little more time there, but most HS days we'll pop out midday for DS, we think.

[mick]

Another lovely day

Joan

[Mexy02]

Another great day .
I have to ask Is is storm troopers heads on your skirt ? It looks great . What outfits do you have planned for your next visit ? I think Disney bounding is fun but subtle .
Beauty and the beast is an amazing show , I love the Disney shows though. Fantasmic though is not up there , I just don’t know why though , Illuminations is the same .:/
You have me searching for pins now to trade and making notes with your tips lol, you’ll be able to give me more as you will have been again before we go.
I hope your dream comes true for a family

[collybird]

That breakfast actually sounds amazing!

Haha at the little girl asking if she’d be alive after ToT, I feel the same kiddo! In line for Soarin’ last year a family had their little boy utterly convinced he was actually going to leave the building to fly over the world, he wasn’t scared, he was really excited. Then he asked the CM when he was doing the seat belt check if we were going outside and he told him not to worry they don’t really fly anywhere, he obviously thought he was helping a scared child, but I was so sad to see the magic spoiled for him.

I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in Mama Melrose, I love it, they steak with the mac and cheese is out of this world We’re doing Hollywood Brown Derby this year, I’ll likely go for the beef too.

I was so sad they only ran Pixar Live during the summer, I’d have loved to have seen it.

We get nachos and cheese at F! too, it’s our tradition. Bit stingy on the cheese this year though, you usually get those little pre-packed pots.

[Niki T]

Originally Posted by collybird

That breakfast actually sounds amazing!

Haha at the little girl asking if she’d be alive after ToT, I feel the same kiddo! In line for Soarin’ last year a family had their little boy utterly convinced he was actually going to leave the building to fly over the world, he wasn’t scared, he was really excited. Then he asked the CM when he was doing the seat belt check if we were going outside and he told him not to worry they don’t really fly anywhere, he obviously thought he was helping a scared child, but I was so sad to see the magic spoiled for him.

I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in Mama Melrose, I love it, they steak with the mac and cheese is out of this world We’re doing Hollywood Brown Derby this year, I’ll likely go for the beef too.

I was so sad they only ran Pixar Live during the summer, I’d have loved to have seen it.

We get nachos and cheese at F! too, it’s our tradition. Bit stingy on the cheese this year though, you usually get those little pre-packed pots.

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The steak with mac and cheese is what I've picked...mmm, can't wait. Enjoy BD, we do love it, but we've been every time for the last few years, so hoping we don't regret the change. We only booked MM this morning

How cute is that kid not being scared when they convinced him he's going flying...it must be hard for the CMs to know what to say.

Nachos is a must at F! Are you actually able to watch the show without them? I think I've convinced DH it's our "ticket"

Originally Posted by Mexy02

Another great day .
I have to ask Is is storm troopers heads on your skirt ? It looks great . What outfits do you have planned for your next visit ? I think Disney bounding is fun but subtle .
Beauty and the beast is an amazing show , I love the Disney shows though. Fantasmic though is not up there , I just don’t know why though , Illuminations is the same .:/
You have me searching for pins now to trade and making notes with your tips lol, you’ll be able to give me more as you will have been again before we go.
I hope your dream comes true for a family

See more...

Thank you, I'm sure we'll get there. Much more control over the adoption process than miscarriage - so fingers crossed.

I think Fantasmic and IllumiNATIONS are more nostalgic, that bit in IllumiNATIONS where they blow out the fire lanterns at the lake I could take or leave the rest of the show though.

I love bounding and yes, they are storm trooper heads on my skirt, I bought it at Disney in 2016. Next trip I'm doing:
Ursula
Malificent
MNSSHP we're going as Ellie and Carl
Minnie

As well as some faves from 2017:
Ariel (I now have red hair)
Lilo
Cheshire Cat dress is back on the list
The Epcot ball - which you've not seen yet in this report

Good luck pin trading, hope the tips help

Originally Posted by mick

Another lovely day

Joan

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Thank for reading Joan

[Forest32]

Great pictures. love the pin collection!

[a11mark]

agree with you on the HS missing alot, the new lands will certainly improve it. I just worry that when they open they'll need to upgrade everything else

[Niki T]

Originally Posted by Forest32

Great pictures. love the pin collection!

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Thanks for reading. Our pin collection has been definitely growing over the years, I was collecting pins back in the 90s pre-pin trading, but I lost my baseball cap with them all on in MK . Since pin trading took off though, there are hundreds to find

[MrsSilverStar]

DH and I saw Up at the cinema when we were having our own infertility problems - I think I terrified all the children in there with my bawling...still can't watch that montage without crying.

Love the candy apple pins!

[Niki T]

Originally Posted by MrsSilverStar

DH and I saw Up at the cinema when we were having our own infertility problems - I think I terrified all the children in there with my bawling...still can't watch that montage without crying.

Love the candy apple pins!

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Yep, been there, even though it was very early days for us days later I randomly cried in Asda after I remembered it . Disney are so good at depicting real life hidden in a fantastical story.

The candy apples are one of our fave sets, although I loved the dog bones and paw prints, they were my musts!