Aimee and Lauren's Split Year Split Stay- Disney August 2016- Day 9

[xAimeex]

Hi guys! Yet again I can't apologise enough for the delay in posting this day.

There are a couple of reasons this time, one being just life in general again getting in the way and the fact that I massively underestimated how long this day was. When I started writing it I had it down as a bit of a quiet day but it's around 8000 words long and has 250 photos in it!

Which beings me nicely on to the disaster that is photobucket! Those that have seen my post on the index for the report or read the other posts on the Dibb regarding photobucket will know that they now want to charge $399 a year for the privilege of 3rd party hosting i.e posting to formus/blogs etc.

Unless you pay this fee all the photos currently posted to sites now come up with an error message in their place, ruining goodness knows how many trip reports on here and other posts all over the internet.

One saving grace has been that those with an account that is already paid for (there are various plus accounts that give you extra strorage and bandwidth limits with up until this point reasonable charges) will be allowed to keep their photos visable in posts until December.

I have 3 photobucket accounts for my photos. My second one is an account that I pay $30 a year for. It is my largest account and the one that I've used to host the majority of my report pictures on. This means thankfully that for the time being most of my reports are still ok and I've been able to go through and screenshot each picture so I at least have a record of which photos I used and where they went so at least when the time comes I can save those reports. The ones affected are my very first report from 2012 and Day 5 onwards of this report. I have uploaded thousands of photos for my reports though so it's going to be a time consuming process to re-upload them elsewhere.

I digress I'd just spent a lot of hours uploading all the pictures to this day to my 3rd (free) photobucket account and the day I'd started to add them into the writing was the day I found out about photbucket!

So I would have had this day up sooner had it not been for the fact that I then had to upload all 250 photos to Flickr!

As you can imagine its pretty frustrating and I think photobucket are having a laugh if they think people are going to fork out $400! I'm not against paying for the service at all as obviously for my 2nd account I already did. If they'd released the changes at a reasonable price then I'd have considered it but obviously I don't have $400 to spare and even if I did I don't think I'd want to on principle!

Ok I've rambled on a lot so I'll let you get to the actual report now hehe. Hope you enjoy it!


Day 9- Monday 22nd August 2016- Epcot, Teppan Edo lunch, Hollywood Studios and Star Wars Dessert Party!

Lauren and I got up at 7 today. This was the first morning where it felt like a bit of a struggle to get up so Lauren downed a strawberry milk and I grabbed a large handful of mini daim bars from the box I'd bought at the airport!


We soon felt better once the sugar kicked in hehe.


Mum and Dad woke up not long after and decided they'd get ready and join us for rope drop at Epcot today!


Once we were all dressed and ready to go we left the villa at 7:55.

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Lauren’s top is from the parks a couple of trips ago and her retro Minnie ears from Ears by a Princess on Etsy

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My Epcot icons top was from Red Bubble and my Epcot ears are from Modern Mouse Boutique on Etsy


We were granted some bus luck today as an Epcot bus turned up at 8 on the dot!


We got stuck behind another bus for ages up at Hospitality House and once it had pulled away and we could pull in nobody got on the bus anyway.


We eventually left Old Key West at 8:10 and as it's only a short drive from there to Epcot we were pulling in at the latter at 8:20! Nice and early for rope drop!


We walked over towards the park and were pleasantly surprised to find there was no wait for bag check!

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Epcot's entrance area is so much calmer on a non extra magic hours day!


I had my Ariel backpack today and when I handed it over to the security guy he said "hmm this looks fishy" haha.


He found my go pro stick in my bag and checked to make sure it wasn't a selfie stick. He told me it was good that it wasn't extendible as that meant I got to keep it, I told him I play by the rules hehe.


Once we were through bag check only Mum was selected to go through the scanners. There was another funny security guy who joked that she had to go through as she looked very dangerous!


The lines weren't too bad to get in as we were nice and early!

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Today marked 1 year since the Shoreham air show disaster. This is very close to where we live and we'd actually been in Florida at the time it had happened and had a worrying time when we weren't sure if some of our family were at the event (thankfully they weren't).


At 13:22 U.K. time they were holding a minute's silence to remember the 11 men who lost their lives. We'd planned to do it at 8:22 US time but we'd been at bag check then so we did our minute's silence a few minutes late.


The people in front probably thought we were a bit weird standing silently but it was really important to us that we did it.


The lines built up behind and around us and they eventually opened the tapstiles at 8:40! They said hello in lots of different languages which was a nice touch!


Again the Epcot entrance procedure was inconsistent today as for our past few visits to Epcot (including last trip) they had held everyone near the Fountain of Nations but today we were allowed to head straight to the rides.

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Epcot ear selfie!

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Obviously everybody was heading to their choice of tier 1 ride that they hadn't fastpassed.


We had a fastpass for Frozen Ever After later so our choice of rope drop ride today was Soarin' as we prefer it to Test Track.

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Heading to the Land Pavilion!

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We were soon making our way inside the Land Pavilion! I love it in here, it's so relaxing (although not so much when you're rushing to Soarin' first thing though hehe).

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The standby wait was 10 minutes at 8:50 so we jumped in line!

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Sorry not a great photo but these are the updated interactive screens in the line

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We pretty much walked through the line until we were sent towards concourse A.

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The legend that is Patrick!


We were the second family in line for the concourse so we managed to get seats in row 1 but in section A which seats you in one of the side sections of the ride. It's not as great as sitting in the middle section as from that angle some of the buildings look a little bent but we still had an awesome view with no feet dangling above us!


We loved it again and it was nice to be able to look out for all the details we hadn't spotted first time around!


It was 9:10 by the time we got off the ride and it was still listed as a 10 minute standby wait so we jumped in line again!


We were sent to concourse A again and when we got to the front there was room for us on row 1 again but it was the same Cast Member so she sent us to row 2 to make it fair which we didn't mind.


While we were waiting for Patrick's safety talk the little boy behind us was absolutely freaking out and begging his parents not to make him ride.


I was really impressed as after their encouragements didn't work the Mum took him out of the line leaving the Dad and sibling to ride without them.


We've seen children being forced on to rides by parents in the past and it's never nice to see but I can also appreciate what a difficult situation that must be, especially if you've waited in line a long time as it would be so frustrating to get out of the line. This child was really distressed and we definitely felt like his Mum made the ride decision as I doubt she'd have been able to enjoy the ride anyway with him so upset next to her.


Again it was an awesome ride! We were all finished at 9:30!


It had gone up to a 20 minute wait now which I still didn't think was too bad considering it was more than half an hour into park opening. The addition of the 3rd concourse did seem to be helping!


We had booked a Living with the Land fastpass for this morning but when we passed it it was a 0 minute wait so we decided to ride it now instead and change our fastpass to Spaceship Earth at 12:55.


We all love Living with the Land! It has to be one of the most relaxing rides in Disney along with the TTA!

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I love the smell as you go through the rainforest section and it's always fun looking out for the hidden Mickey's on this ride!

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We noticed as we left that although Sunshine Seasons had stopped serving hot items for breakfast they still serve drinks, fruit and pastries!


This made us happy as one of our favourite things is sitting relaxing in The Land eating breakfast and people watching! It's one of our favourite pavilions, I love the area music and how bright it is inside!

ETA: Since I wrote this and we’ve looked over menus it seems that Sunshine Seasons now serve hot breakfast again hooray! The croissant berry pudding (my favourite!) doesn’t seem to have made it back but there is a cinnamon french toast bread pudding that sounds delicious!


Today however we already had plans to eat breakfast at Starbucks so we made a note to come back later in the trip.


We left just before 10 and made our way over to the Fountain View Starbucks.

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Soarin’ was still only a 20 minute wait at this time!


I actually haven't made a note to say if we were using credits or paying out of pocket today but it came to $21.05.

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Drinks menu


We ordered a large vanilla bean frappe and a strawberry smoothie plus 2 sausage, egg and cheese breakfast sandwiches.

We'd fallen in love with these when we'd had them earlier in the trip so we were excited to eat them again!
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It was tastier than it looked hehe



We headed over to the Innoventions building next to Starbucks as they have a seating area sat up in there with tables and chairs.

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I think this is where the Epcot timeline used to be but it seemed to have been taken down as we could see the vague marks where it used to be.

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I think this is where it used to be



It was quiet in there but absolutely freezing cold which was a nice relief from the heat outside but we were getting a bit chilly by the time we left.


We shared it all between the four of us. The sandwiches were as good as last time, we could easily have eaten one each but we had lunch booked at Teppan Edo at 12 so didn't want to fill up too much.


Lauren loved the vanilla bean frappe but I decided I actually preferred the strawberry smoothie! It was absolutely delicious! I think it had banana in it though which I know puts some people off (including Lauren).


Lauren was wearing her retro Minnie Mouse themed outfit today so wanted to go to Character Spot. We didn't have a fastpass booked for it today but it was only a 20 minute standby wait so we headed over at 10:20.

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Mum and Dad used the time to finish the drinks before going to see the Disney Pixar Short Film Festival at the Imagination theatre that used to show Captain EO! This was perfect for them as it was a good opportunity to have a rest in the air con hehe but they were genuinely surprised by how much they enjoyed it! If it's still being shown and you're at a loss end at Epcot they'd definitely recommend it!


The wait wasn't too bad for Character Spot until we got to the front and realised we were stuck behind a large family group who wanted individual photopass photos of each of their 6 kids, then the grandparents on their own and then a whole group photo plus they had 6 autograph books for the kids!


Fair enough the autograph books but all the individual photos really got on our nerves! Nobody else was given that long! When it was our turn the photographers literally took a couple of quick snaps and then sent us on our way!


The photographer with Minnie was particularly rubbish so the photos didn't come out brilliantly sadly.

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He suggested we do this super awkward pose!



The family in front took so long with Goofy we actually skipped meeting him altogether . We were mostly there to meet Mickey and Minnie anyway but still.


The family were utterly oblivious to the fact they were holding up the entire line.

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We didn't get out until 10:55! We'd arranged to meet Mum and Dad outside Mission Space at 11 for our next fastpass so we headed there next.

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Continued below…

[xAimeex]

…Continued


They arrived at 11:05 and we headed on in. We're green team wimps and the standby wait was only 5 minutes for this side so it was a bit of a pointless fastpass but we expected it to be a bit busier at this time of day.

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Even with a fastpass it's still quite a long winded process getting onto this ride what with the pre-ride video (although we love this!) and then waiting on the spots to be given your role on the mission!

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We do all enjoy it though! I'd love to say that one day we'll be brave enough to try the orange side but hearing stories of people feeling sick all day after riding it does put us off a bit!


Our next fastpass was at 11:30 for Frozen Ever After! This would be our first time riding so we were really excited!


We cut across the bridge where the old Odyssey building is. This comes out near Mexico so cuts off a bit of the walk over to World Showcase.

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This cast member was spraying passers-by with a water fan to keep people cool!

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We wandered over to Norway and jumped in line. The standby wait was obviously really long at this time of day so it was still almost a 10 minute wait in the fastpass line!

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The Royal Sommerhus looked so pretty! We never did get round to popping in to meet Anna and Elsa this trip

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The wait time was never too crazy to meet the Frozen sisters though!

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From the outside it didn’t look too different to its Maelstrom days!


The line is beautifully themed though and it literally feels as though you're walking through Arendelle!


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Did this used to be here when it was Maelstrom?

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Although we didn't get to see the standby line this trip I think it has some good interactive parts!


It didn't help that just as we got to the front of the line the CM loading people on decided to pull the family behind us out of the line to fill a row of 4 on the boat. His reasoning- "Oh you have small children, you can go first!"


We didn't say anything but I thought it was a slightly un-Disney attitude for a CM to have! The whole point of these parks is that they are to be enjoyed by the young and the young at heart!


We waited for the next boat so it only added a minute or so to our wait time so no big deal but I do think it's a shame there are Cast Members who think like this.

*Pictures coming up if you don’t want spoilers!*












We were fans of Maelstrom so were sad to see it go but I have to say they have done a very good job of giving this ride a Frozen facelift!


And it really is just a facelift, the ride elements/structure remain exactly the same.


It's absolutely stunning visually though and the animatronics are great!

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One addition is a ride photo which is a nice added extra, especially if you have Memory Maker!

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*spoilers over*


We exited through the shop and were pleased to see that they still stock some Norway themed merchandise as well as all the Frozen paraphernalia!

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We’re just about out of the Frozen phase at work (thank you Moana!) but the 3 year old I look after would still go crazy over this shop!

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We finished here at 11:55 which was pretty perfect timing as our ADR for Teppan Edo was at 12!

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Continued below…

[xAimeex]

…Continued

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It was a bit of a trek over to Japan from Norway in the intense midday heat (World Showcase always feels so so hot) and we ended up checking in 5 minutes late but they're often running a bit late in here anyway as they have to wait until they have enough people to fill a table.


We were given a buzzer and sent up the steps and inside the building that houses Teppan Edo and Tokyo Dining (above Mitsokushi).

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Tokyo Dining

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The Cast Members are always so lovely and welcoming here! Teppan Edo is a must do for us due to the fantastic service and also the delicious food!


Our buzzer went off at 12:15 and we headed inside. We met the other party of 4 we'd be sharing a table with.


They were British too and it turned out they were all Cast Members from the UK Pavilion taking part in the cultural representative programme! What a cool group to have lunch with!


As we all sat down we had a bit of a small world moment when Lauren and one of the CM's Jenny recognised each other! She has an Instagram account too and we realised that we followed each other!


Another CM called Bethany was also on the Dibb, hello if you're reading!


Honestly we couldn't have wished for a nicer group of people to be sitting with!


The 8 of us chatted loads about what it was like being Cast Members! It was really interesting to hear about their experiences!


The lovely CM who showed us to our table warned us that the grill is heated to 500 degrees so to be very careful not to touch it!

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Above the table


She told us that on the dining plan we could have any entree or combo dish from the menu.

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We were also told that if we didn't want dessert on the dining plan we could switch it for edamame or miso soup! We all decided to stick with dessert today though.


Lauren ordered orange soda as her drink which she absolutely loved! We've never found it anywhere else in the parks.


We ordered our entrees next. I went for the filet minion as I'd really enjoyed the steak I had here last visit.


Lauren went for the steak and chicken combo which is the same as she'd ordered last time!


Dad ordered the chicken and shrimp combo while Mum ordered the steak and shrimp. This was their first time eating here after hearing Lauren and I recommend it so many times so they were really looking forward to the meal!


We were served salad to start. Mum and Dad really enjoyed this! Lauren tried hers but wasn't keen while I didn't touch mine as I don't do salad

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Our server was fantastic here! Quick with refills and happy to join our chopsticks together with an elastic band to make them easier to use (great if you have kids or like us can't use chopsticks hehe).

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She brought over our individual pots of sauces.


One was ginger, this contained ginger, soy sauce, onion and lemon juice. The other was called yum yum sauce but I'm not sure what was in this one! It was kind of like mayonnaise though.

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We were also served the yummy sticky beef rice! Honestly it's the best rice I've ever eaten!

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Our chef was called Ai and was also absolutely fantastic! She started the food show on the grill while we ate!


She started with the onion volcano and also made the Olympic Rings out of onions as Tokyo are hosting the next games in 2020!

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Oil Mickey!

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She cooked the onions and noodles with I think it was spinach rather than courgettes like we’ve had in the past. She sprinkled everything with salt which she said was pixie dust! She was so cute!

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One of the CM's had ordered a sushi dish called volcano roll. It was cool to see it being made! It was grilled sushi with scallops and shrimp in a spicy sauce.

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The rest of the meat was added after this was made. The grill was so hot that the chicken shook when it hit the surface! Ai called it dancing chicken! She said the shrimps were too shy to dance hehe.

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She managed to catch all the shrimp tails in her hat and wiped her forehead after and said "phew" hehe she really added to the experience!


Those of us having steak all ordered it medium rare which she said made it easier!

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New York strip steak at the back and my filet mignon at the front


The noodles and veg were drizzled in soy sauce before being served!

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They were so yummy! I thought the noodles were bigger than before which made them easier to eat!


The only small downside to Teppan Edo is that due to the way everything is cooked you do end up eating all the elements of the meal separately. We don't mind this though but I know it isn't the way everyone likes to eat.


The shrimp were cooked first and Mum and Dad said they were delicious!

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Sorry not the best food photo, it was hard to take them from across the table hehe

The chicken was covered with a pan lid for the final bit of cooking just in case anyone is worried about it not being cooked through. It is then covered in sesame seeds and if I remember right soy sauce. Dad and Lauren both really enjoyed this.

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Mum and Lauren's steak was ready first as they'd ordered a combo so theirs was New York strip steak.

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My fillet mignon was the last to be ready but it was SO worth the wait! It was perfectly cooked and tasted absolutely delicious, I ate every last bite!

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Our server came over with more drink refills and to ask if anybody wanted more rice or sauces. Honestly you just can't fault the service here!


We were all so full by the time we'd finished all the meat, noodles and rice but it was so good we couldn't stop eating!


The others were so full that they only fancied vanilla soft serve ice cream for dessert.


I always have room for pudding and I was excited to see they'd added a new dessert since we last ate here!


A mango mousse cake! It was absolutely delicious and so light! I really enjoyed it!

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Before our CM table mates left we all got a quick picture before saying goodbye, they honestly were the loveliest!

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Obviously with a meal like Teppan Edo you never know who you're going to end up sitting with (unless you're a party of 8) and it can obviously affect the dynamic of your experience so we felt very lucky to have been sat with such a nice group of people!


We sorted out our bill and tip. We used 4 table service credits but it would have cost $178.02 OOP and we left a $35 tip as the service and food truly had been impeccable!


We were so glad Mum and Dad had loved it as much as we do!


We left at 1:40 and every CM we passed on the way out smiled and said goodbye!

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They were starting to set up for food and wine already


We wandered back towards Future World which was tough in the afternoon heat so we stopped in club cool for a couple of drinks and the air con!

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continued below…

[xAimeex]

…continued

We managed to convince Mum to try the Beverly! She was aware of its reputation so she wasn't going in blind hehe. She said the first sip was quite bitter but after that didn't mind it and drank the whole cup!

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Love the sparberry drink!

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Bibo

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VegitaBeta, sounds gross but tastes good!


We had our last fastpass to use at Spaceship Earth so stopped there next!


We were disappointed as the picture they take at the beginning of the ride for the video of your 'future' at the end still wasn't working but we still absolutely adore this ride! It's another one of our favourite relaxing rides! We just love the music!

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It wouldn’t be a trip to Epcot without this photo!


We eventually left the park at 2:15.


After all the refills at Teppan Edo and the taster drinks at Club Cool Lauren, Mum and Dad were desperate for the toilet.


Luckily there are some on the way to the bus stops so they went in there while I carried on towards our stop wondering if I could think of an inventive way to stall the bus if it did turn up!


Luckily Lauren wasn't far behind me as she fast walked over just in case.


A bus arrived shortly after just as we saw Mum and Dad turn the corner! We beckoned them over but the very kind bus driver told them not to run!


We left just after 12:20 and we're soon back in the villa.


We were all really tired today and even I fell asleep!


We had a good couple of hours sleep and woke up at 4.


Lauren and I were planning to leave at half 4 to get to Hollywood Studios so we didn't have long to get ready.

There wasn’t enough time for outfit photos but I did get a picture of my Star Wars hair bow!

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A Yoda bow I wore


It was a bit of a rush but we managed to leave bang on time and were granted some bus luck as a HS one turned up at exactly 4:31 so it was worth getting ready quickly!


We left OKW at 4:40 after stopping at the other bus stops.


Traffic was busy today though so it took a little longer than normal so we didn't get to HS until 4:55. Luckily bag check wasn't too busy!


As we headed to the park entrance we spotted Character palooza a taking place to the right of the tapstiles!


This is an event at HS (daily I believe) where a collection of, often rare, characters come out for photos! It has changed location a couple of times and used to take place on Streets of America I believe.


Today it was happening just outside the park (although from what I've read it can change location to keep up the surprise element of it) and if you time it right it's a great opportunity to meet characters!


Today you could meet Max (Goofy's son), Dopey, Aladdin, Mulan or Tiana.

DSC03047 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Mulan


We really wanted to meet Dopey but his line had already closed so we decided to meet Max instead as his line only had 1 party waiting and you don't see him in the parks very often these days.


This ended up being one of our favourite meets (with a fur character)!


They don't have photopass photographers out during character palooza but the character handlers are happy to take a picture for you on your camera/phone.


I have to say Max's character handler took better photos than some of the actual photopass photographers this trip! I absolutely love this moment she captured!


DSC03048 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
I can't even remember what had happened to make us laugh but I just love this photo so much! It truly captured a moment!

DSC03049 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Lauren and I were both wearing tops from Red Bubble. Lauren’s was Princess Leia and had the quote ‘I don’t need rescuing’ and my Yoda quote was ‘Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to Suffering’. Lauren’s BB8 ears were made by Field of Thread and my Yoda bow was from Hot Topic

By the time we'd finished meeting Max they'd closed off all the other lines too so we headed in to the park.


Our first stop was dinner. We had the Star Wars Dessert party booked for tonight (and we'd had a massive lunch) so we only wanted something small so we we're splitting a counter service meal at ABC Commissary as it's one we usually enjoy eating at.

DSC03050 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


We got to ABC at 5:10 it wasn't too busy in there at this time so we didn't have long to wait!

DSC03051 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
I’ve never noticed this before above the counters!


We ordered a cheese burger, large lemonade and an Olaf cupcake for dessert.

DSC03052 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


The previous year the Olaf cupcake had been carrot cake which Lauren doesn't like but they'd changed it to a chocolate cake with marshmallow topping so that was good as it meant we could share it.


We used 1 counter service credit but it would have cost Ł20.85.


We found a table easily and tucked in.

DSC03054 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


I have to say it wasn't the best meal we've ever had here. I don't know if it's because we'd had such good burgers at Sci-Fi the day before but the cheese burger was pretty average even for a counter service (although we have had really good burgers here in the past so it could have been an off day) and it wasn't particularly warm along with the fries.


Really we should have sent it back and asked for a hot meal but we had a couple of things we wanted to do before the dessert party so didn't want to waste time.


I also wasn't majorly keen on the cupcake as the frosting was so thick it was quite hard to eat. Lauren enjoyed it though but I definitely preferred it in carrot cake form!

DSC03056 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03057 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


Before we left, Lauren had a look to see if she could get us a fastpass for later. She saw Rock 'n' rollercoaster had a fastpass at 7 and asked if I was up for riding it again! Having been mostly ok on it yesterday I agreed hehe.


We finished here at 5:30 and headed over to the Launch Bay as we were both wearing Star Wars themed outfits so really wanted to meet Chewy and Kylo Ren (we'd been putting this one off as we were both secretly quite scared of him hehe).

DSC03060 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03062 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


As we walked in 2 Storm Troopers were patrolling the area. They came right up to us pointed at our t-shirts and shook their heads hehe. Up close you can just about see their eyes through the helmets which makes them even more intimidating somehow!

DSC03063 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Terrible photo but they were deeply unimpressed with our outfits hehe


They let us go with a warning! The standby wait to meet Chewie was 20 minutes but it didn't look too long and only took around 10 in the end.


He loved Lauren's ears and my hair bow!

STUDIO_LBLGHTSDECHAR2_20160822_7780677158 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

STUDIO_LBLGHTSDECHAR2_20160822_7780677161 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

STUDIO_LBLGHTSDECHAR2_20160822_7780677164 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


Next up was Kylo Ren! There was only a 10 minute wait listed for him. While we waited to go in we got chatting to the CM managing the line. He asked if we were Cast Members and we said sadly we weren't! Before we went in to meet Kylo he wished us good luck and said he hoped we made it out alive haha.


It was only a 5 minute wait in the end but we could have used an few extra minutes to build ourselves up as Kylo Ren is kinda scary and intimidating (as you'd expect).


We told him we were with the resistance and he literally got right up in our faces and said we should tell the resistance to expect a visit from him soon!


The only problem we had with meeting him was that it's quite hard to understand him through the mask which made it a little awkward! We just laughed nervously at him!


We also weren't quite sure how to pose for the photo! I don't think we've ever met a villain before so we're used to cuddling characters haha.

STUDIO_LBDRKSDECHAR1_20160822_7780685185 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

STUDIO_LBDRKSDECHAR1_20160822_7780685188 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

STUDIO_LBDRKSDECHAR1_20160822_7780685192 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Super awkward posing!


When we finished here we headed over to the shop where we'd seen the Eliot the dragon soft toy the other day but of course now he was gone. I asked a CM where it was in stock and she checked on her iPad only to find that it was sold out resort wide due to the popularity of the film! She didn't know when they'd be getting more in so Lauren was quite gutted about that.


I did manage to find the Alice in Wonderland pin I'd wanted the other day though so bought that. It cost $13.84.

DSC06091 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


I was really happy to have found it again but I felt bad that Lauren had missed out on the item she wanted.


Our next stop on our Star Wars themed evening was the stage show in front of the Chinese theatre.


It had been far too hot to watch it during the day on our previous visits so we'd decided to see the 6:30 show, it was still hot out but not as bad as during the midday hours. We grabbed a spot at around 6:20 so we didn't have to stand out for too long.


While we were waiting a family asked a CM to take their photo. Well they couldn't have asked a better CM!


He immediately started shouting "family photo, family photo, everybody in it" and making anyone passing by stand with this family to be in the photo!

DSC03064 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Family photo!


It was so funny and they ended up with about 20 people in their photo in the end! I love moments like this!


The show was really good! A definite must for Star Wars fans as it features loads of characters!


The stage is really well designed too as the screen for the video elements of the show rises up from the bottom of the stage while the show is on and is lowered again at the end so the view of the theatre is only blocked during show times!

DSC03069 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
The screen rising


We loved it and it got us really in the spirit for the Star Wars dessert party later!

DSC03073 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03076 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

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DSC03081 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

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DSC03087 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03091 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03092 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Darth Vader practising his Elsa ice hands pose!

DSC03094 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03095 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03098 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03099 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03103 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03105 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

Sorry for the photo overload there!


Just after it finished we met Mum and Dad as they walked up Hollywood Boulevard!


They were both wearing Star Wars tops too so we knew we just had to go back to Launch Bay to meet the characters again as a family!


We went to meet Kylo Ren first as he had the shortest wait again at 10 minutes.


It was funnier this time as he was really annoyed that we were pretty much all wearing t-shirts for the resistance! We told him the force was strong in our family! Not quite sure what he said back as that mask really does make it difficult to understand hehe.

STUDIO_LBDRKSDECHAR2_20160822_7780753812 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

STUDIO_LBDRKSDECHAR2_20160822_7780753814 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

STUDIO_LBDRKSDECHAR2_20160822_7780753815 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
The force is strong in our family!

continued below…

[xAimeex]

…Continued

It was 6:55 by the time we finished and Lauren and I needed to go over to use our R'n'R fastpass before we checked in for the dessert party but we'd really wanted to meet Chewie with Mum and Dad too. We realised there wasn't time to do both as Chewie had a 20 minute wait still.


As we stood discussing what to do an amazing CM called Ryan approached us!


He'd seen our t-shirts and did the most amazing impressions to match them!


We told him how good his impressions were and got chatting to him!


It turned out he was a part time impressionist who did voice over work when he wasn't at Disney!


Honestly he was one of the loveliest CM's we've ever met and we chatted for absolutely ages! He showed us a few more impressions and had us in fits of laughter! His name is Ryan Wiley, he's on Instagram so definitely check out some of his impressions!


By the time we'd finished chatting Lauren and I realised it was too late to make our R'n'R fastpass before the dessert party but we didn't say anything as it honestly had been so lovely chatting to him!


When Ryan asked what we were doing next we told him Lauren and I were off to check in for the dessert party and Mum and Dad were going to queue to meet Chewie!


Ryan was fab and said he was going to sprinkle some pixie dust and make sure we all got to meet to Chewie as a family!


He spoke to the CM's managing the line and had us sent straight through the fastpass line!


We felt a bit guilty as we walked straight in past the people who had been waiting but it truly was such a lovely sprinkle of magic and it really made our night as this was one of our best character meets!


Chewie recognised Lauren and I from earlier and was very excited when we told him we'd brought our parents to meet him as they were with the resistance too! He fist pumped the air haha.


It was so funny as Chewie started rubbing Dad's head and pretended to offer him some of his hair haha. We were all in hysterics and it was so lovely to see Dad laughing so much and getting involved saying "I need some of your hair Chewy"!

STUDIO_LBLGHTSDECHAR2_20160822_7780761341 (2) by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

STUDIO_LBLGHTSDECHAR2_20160822_7780761342 (2) by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

STUDIO_LBLGHTSDECHAR2_20160822_7780761343 (2) by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

STUDIO_LBLGHTSDECHAR2_20160822_7780761344 (2) by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

STUDIO_LBLGHTSDECHAR2_20160822_7780761346 (2) by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

STUDIO_LBLGHTSDECHAR2_20160822_7780761347 (2) by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


Truly an awesome meet and we were so grateful to Ryan!


We immediately went to thank him again when we finished and chatted some more! What an awesome example of a brilliant CM!


We were chatting with our backs to the room and we were so busy taking that we didn't notice the storm troopers creep up behind us haha we literally jumped out of our skins when we noticed them! It made us all laugh!


It was 7:15 now and Lauren and I needed to be getting on so Ryan kindly showed Lauren and I where we needed to go to check in as it was outside of the Launch Bay building.


We thanked him once again and said goodbye!


Mum and Dad hadn't wanted to spend $69 on the dessert party (which is totally fair enough as it is a lot!) so they were heading off to grab some dinner and maybe get in a ride on something before the fireworks.


They went to ABC too. They had a better food experience than us! They both picked the Asian chicken salad which they really enjoyed! They also both had strawberry parfait for dessert. They used 2 counter service credits but it would have cost $40.33 OOP. Sorry I don’t have any food photos.


Lauren and I gave our names to a lady with a clipboard and when she found us we were given paper wristbands.


We headed inside and found a table.


We did the Frozen dessert party at HS a couple of years ago and it was a similar set up here in that there are tall tables so no seating. Something to consider if you struggle to stand for long amounts of time although I'm sure they would be accommodating if you did require a chair!


It did feel a little more hectic than the Frozen party. I think this is partly down to the fact that it's in quite a small area so all the tables are very close together and the food is all in one corner of the space whereas the Frozen party was a lot more spacious and spread out.


This wasn't really a problem but it did make it feel quite a bit busier in there.


However in comparison to Frozen the variety of desserts here were just so much better and even included savoury options which was fantastic for Lauren as she has more of a savoury tooth than sweet.


We really enjoyed everything we tried! Rather than list everything I managed to get photos of pretty much everything on offer with the exception of the hot drinks which were coffee and hot chocolate I believe.


Prepare for a bit of a photo overload here!

DSC03106 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03107 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03108 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03110 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03111 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Table decoration

DSC03115 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03116 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03117 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03118 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03124 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Sorry not a great photo but they also had Mickey ice cream bars and Strawberry ice cream bars too

DSC03140 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
There was also vanilla ice cream that you could add toppings to


Particular highlights for me were the bread pudding and the nitro-frozen Nutella truffle! It was quite sickly but oh so good! If you're a Nutella addict like me, this was just amazing! It was frozen on the outside and then kind of mousse-y in the middle! I picked raspberry sauce on top of mine but you could also have chocolate.

DSC03119 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Bread pudding!

DSC03128 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03120 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Toppings

DSC03135 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03133 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Freezing the Nutella!

DSC03139 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


Everything we tried was yummy though! I liked that the soft drinks came in cans as it meant we could grab a spare to take away for later in our backpacks. We also wrapped up a few of the storm trooper cookies in a napkin and took them to share with Mum and Dad.

DSC03123 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Soft drinks on offer

I know some people will frown upon this and normally it's not something we'd do (we haven't at previous dessert parties we've done) but we didn't feel too guilty considering the price of this party was $69 each but I'll get back to that later.


We also tried a couple of the cocktails. The Galactic Punch was nice but quite strong (although Lauren and I are total lightweights so don't take our word for it hehe), it was a bit like alcoholic jungle juice! We preferred the Cosmic Citrus Twist cocktail!

DSC03121 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
The bar

DSC03125 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03126 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Galactic Punch

DSC03127 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Cosmic Citrus Twist


I went up to get the drinks and this was the only place where I was actually told that they wanted to see a copy of my passport along with my UK driver’s license. He said it was ok this time but that in future to have a print out of my passport. He also suggested taking a photo of the passport details page on my camera as that is accepted too.



The non-alcoholic drinks on offer were nice too. We of course loved the Jettison juice as it is our favourite mix of orange, passion fruit and guava juice, aka POG juice or as it’s most well known in Disney jungle juice.

DSC03122 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03112 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


There was a cast member called Eddie who was working over near the toppings bar chatting to all the guests.


When I went over to get a serving of the bread pudding nearby he started chatting to me about what kind of car I drove, when I told him it was a Peugeot 3008 he told me lots of information about Peugeot cars and how they used to be sold in the US but not anymore. He asked me my favourite character so I told him it was Ariel so then we spoke about mermaids for a bit before I said I needed to get back to my sister.


When Lauren went over for ice cream a little later he asked if she knew Ariel aka Aimee and wanted to know all about her car too and then where she was from. He asked if he could see a picture of the beach we live near but Lauren didn't have one. We think he might have been on the autistic spectrum perhaps (Lauren works in a school for children with additional needs so is very aware of some of the traits) as he was asking Lauren to email him a picture of the beach and she had to explain that she couldn't.


He was really lovely but a couple of things he asked were a bit beyond what a CM should be asking.


One of our highlights of the party was the Storm Troopers walking through! It wasn't a character meet but they were mingling and interacting with the guests telling people to move along and telling anyone that answered back to "calm down citizen". Although it wasn't an official photo opportunity if you caught them at the right moment it was fine to get a photo with them!

DSC03129 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

When we asked, one of them replied with "permission to take photo granted", only he didn't say photo but I can't remember his exact wording, it made us laugh though!


It was quite hot at the party (again as you are all quite close together) so we look a bit shiny but we were so glad we got pictures with them!

DSC03113 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03114 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr




They really made us laugh. We think it was the same ones who'd spotted our t-shirts earlier as they came over and pointed and shook their heads again. We told them we were still with the resistance and they shook their heads again. Lauren said "they're cross with us now" and one of them said "affirmative" hehe honestly the storm troopers need their own meet and greet as they're so in character! We've definitely turned to the dark side a little when it comes to them haha.


By 8:05 we literally couldn't eat another bite! There really was a fantastic selection of food and drink!

DSC03131 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Not a great photo but this shows how kind of packed in you were at the party. As I said it felt a little more hectic than Frozen but it didn’t affect our enjoyment

The only part of the party we found a little stressful was knowing where to wait to be led out to the firework viewing area.


We knew it was over by the stairs near the character meet and greets but it was quite a large area and people hadn't really formed a line or anything.


Along with a few other people we waited near the stairs quite early but of course you got people waiting to the last minute and shuffling round everybody else to the front.


The Storm troopers didn't start leading us out until 8:20 so we probably did waste 10 minutes or so of the party waiting by the steps but we wanted to try and get a spot at the front of the roped off area for the firework viewing.


It was so cool marching out with the Storm Troopers! They held up a lightsaber and we all had to follow it!

DSC03147 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Following the Storm Troopers to the viewing area!


Obviously at this time lots of people were already out saving spots for the fireworks so this did make it feel even more 'VIP'.

DSC03149 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


The viewing area is about a 3rd of the way back from the theatre. It's a totally different viewing area to the Frozen fireworks but obviously the Star Wars Galactic Spectacular is a lot more projection based so this area gave a perfect central view!


They do allow people to stand in the area between the theatre and viewing area but it's taped off a little way in front so it doesn't affect the view of the fireworks or projections.

DSC03156 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Our view


One thing that really impressed us about this viewing area was that they had roped off a separate section at the front just for children! Obviously all of the adults could still see standing behind them but their view wasn't impeded either! It also meant that the children on shoulders scenario was avoided! Such a good idea!

DSC03155 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
The kids section! They stood up once it started


As we entered the roped off area we were all given a small bottle of Dasani water and a souvenir Chewie drink stein which was including in the price of the party.

DSC03150 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03151 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

We liked the Chewie cup but it would have been awesome if you could have paid a premium to upgrade to the BB-8 souvenir cup!


The area behind the rope was filling up already but we managed to grab a spot next to a nice lady who let us stand behind her stroller.


There was a bit of a breeze out tonight which was really pleasant compared to the last few nights!


The fireworks started at 8:45 and my notes simply say 'amazing, amazing, amazing!'.


The whole thing truly is spectacular, especially if you're a Star Wars fan but equally they can be appreciated by everybody just by the sheer all-encompassing spectacular that it is.


I had goosebumps throughout the entire thing! The fireworks are just incredible, the music is epic and a perfect soundtrack for a firework display and the projections are so clear you forget you're even looking at the Chinese Theatre!


I really hope these are going to be a permanent fixture at Hollywood Studios seeing as Star Wars land is being built!

DSC03158 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03159 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
My new camera really did work so much better at night than other point and shoots I’ve had!

DSC03160 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

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Continued below…

[xAimeex]

…Continued

DSC03188 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

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These fire shooters went so high! You could feel the heat on your face even from this far back!

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DSC03230 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr



As soon as they finished the CM's started pulling back the ropes so Lauren and I made a quick dash and performed the firework dodge and weave power walk up Hollywood Boulevard! There's a walkway round the back of the shops that comes out in the gap between Keystone Clothiers and the Disney&Co shop. We took this route as it was really quiet down there and with our fast walking we managed to cut off quite a lot of the crowds!


We'd told Mum and Dad to go on without us as they'd been watching from further back and to get on an OKW bus if one turned up rather than hanging around waiting for us.


When we got to the stops though they'd only just got there. They couldn't believe we'd got there so quickly through the crowds so we told them about our short cut!


We waited about 5 minutes for a bus and were on our way back to OKW at 9:05!


The dessert party really was a brilliant night but as I mentioned above it is expensive at $69 for adults (not sure of the cost for children sorry).


In comparison to the Frozen Premium package which we had done the year before this, it didn't seem as good value for money.


The Frozen package was also $69 and included a fastpass to the Frozen singalong, access to the Frozen parade viewing area with ice cream and drinks, a dessert party and access to the viewing area for the Frozen fireworks.


Whereas the Star Wars dessert party is just that really with the added incentive of the Chewie Stein and the storm troopers patrolling the party (granted the food was better at this party too).


Both parties also included alcoholic speciality cocktails.


Despite this though I do think the Star Wars dessert party is worth the money even if I don't think it's particularly good value for money. But then these paid for extras never are really. You're paying for a special experience.


As I said the food here was just so much better with the inclusion of savoury options and the more unique items like the nitro Frozen Nutella truffle! Even the basic stuff was far better than the desserts on offer at the Wishes Dessert party when we did it in 2014.


The Chewie mug is an added bonus too and as I said we had an amazing view of the fireworks and projections.


So while it was expensive it really was a fantastic evening and we'd recommend it 100% especially if you like Star Wars!


We were back in the Villa at 9:30.

DSC03236 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr
Our evening snacks!


We didn't feel particularly tired yet and as it was a bit breezier tonight we decided to hit one of the quiet pools again!


We got ready quickly and walked over to the Turtle Pond pool.

DSC03238 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr

DSC03239 by Aimee Disney, on Flickr


Thankfully the water was much cooler than when we'd been in the night before.


It was really quiet when we first got there but then a large group of Americans arrived, consisting of 2 families. They were being quite loud and brash but we just went to the other side of the pool.


The 2 Dads were sitting on the side of the pool drinking beer while the Mum's were in the water, one was breastfeeding her baby (no problem with this of course) but she was going on and on very loudly about how tired her poor baby was and I felt like suggesting she put the poor thing in bed then seeing as it was getting on for 10pm!


What did bother us though is that all the parents were totally ignoring their 2 older girls who were doing handstands and cartwheels on the wet concrete ground next to the pool.


It's probably because Mum, Lauren and I all work with kids so we do tend to risk access everything but we were worried about one of them losing their balance or their hands slipping out from underneath them and smacking their heads on the concrete!


It won't be long before Disney have to put up warning signs for everything, no gymnastics by the pool perhaps!


The parents were quick to notice however when the girls jumped in the pool and started up a loud game of 'come and eat me Alligator'. Given the awful events at the Grand Floridian a couple of months before they did stop them playing this game.


We left around half 10 in the end and went back up to the room for quick showers before watching Stacey's must do's for a bit.


We eventually went to bed at 11.


Thanks for reading x

[EJSakaAnna]

Another great day, thanks for sharing . I'm not a Star Wars fan at all but totally agree, the fireworks are spectacular! The food at the Dessert party looks yummy, sounds like a great meal at Teppan Edo too xx

[mobeckwith]

what an amazing day,you did loads,saw loads,ate loads and had a semi relaxing end to the day,also met some fab people,this must be a stand out day mo xx

[Flimsey]

Another great report!

[emmabanana]

Another great day! The dessert party looks really good too.