The “Hurt So Good” TR or How You Can Feel Bad and Still Feel Good - UPDATED 10/17 COMPLETE!! About This Page:

[Nimros]

~ I’ve Been Bitten! ~

9/15 I was really nervous and really excited for today. We were going to Hollywood Studios for the morning and then to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party that evening. The excitement was for experiencing both of these things – especially MNSSHP, but I had to mentally put away my anticipation of MNSSHP in order to have fun at the Studios first. The nervousness came from all the horror stories I had heard about the mad stampede to get to Toy Story Midway Mania at opening…but I had a plan.

In fact, Cory and I sat down the night before with our map, like two generals planning their attack strategy for an upcoming battle! (Normally, Alexa would have been my Second Lieutenant, but Cory was doing a nice job filling in.) We would be on the first transport to HS in the morning. After reaching the turnstiles, I would proceed through and quickly make my way down Hollywood Blvd., commandeering a position at the ropes, waiting for the rest of my troops to reach the area, at which point I would collect everyone’s KTTW cards. At the appointed time of 0900, I would lead the charge to the Fastpass machines at TSMM where I would secure FPs for all of us. Second Lt. Cory would bring up the rear, making sure the rest of the troops safely reached the standby line where she would take position and wait for me to rejoin. Then we were through the line and enjoying our first challenge with Woody and the gang!

“Hollywood Blvd., go right around the Sorcerer’s Hat, Pixar Avenue, left at Voyage of the Little Mermaid, straight towards TSMM…” we chanted the directions again and again so we wouldn’t forget! Kevin wanted to know the plan. Even though I explained that since we didn’t have an entire day to be at HS and I knew this was one attraction we’d want to do more than once, we needed to get the earliest FP return time possible, I think he wasn’t convinced.

We woke up that morning ready to go. I did a quick check – Cold symptoms? No. Stomach ache? Nope. I felt great and on top of the world. What could possibly happen today?

We were on the bus to HS at 8:00am, with just a few other families on board. Bag check took just a bit longer this morning; today’s CM decided to open a few more of my zippers but finally had enough and wished me a good day.

We were one of the first families at the turnstiles – yikes! That meant we had about 40 minutes to wait until the park officially opened, and already the sun was beginning to feel blisteringly hot again. And HUMID!! We were beginning to feel like we’d just stepped out of a swimming pool.


Kevin had a ‘bug’ to find a clip or carbine to use for attaching his hat to his belt. He was tired of trying to stuff it in one of his cargo pockets when he didn’t need it. So he and Cory headed over to the gift shop at the entrance to see what he could find. He found a clever Mickey ears clip that did the job perfectly. And Cory saw another pin she desperately wanted – but she decided to wait and look inside the park first; we could always stop on the way out.

A huge crowd was already forming behind us. And many of the people who were first in the line were obviously getting ready to make the dash to TSMM the same as we were! (Fortunately, they were also conducting AI auditions over to the side of the entrance – and many people were here early for that.) I told Kevin I’d go first through the turnstiles and make my way to the rope at the end of Hollywood Blvd. – as soon as he and the girls were through they’d join me.

The CMs turned on the machines and we were off! Even though I was one of the first through the gates, people were already speeding up behind me. I heard a CM yell, “Walk, please! No running!” to a guest behind me - only to find it was Cory trying to catch up with me. (How embarrassing!)

I was one of the first to make it to the rope – and still people were pressing in around me, elbowing their way to the front. This was obviously going to be exactly the madhouse I heard it was. Kevin and Kelley finally made their way up to us. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a very scary-looking mob beginning to line up behind me. And no matter how close to the rope I got, someone was still trying to wedge their way in closer. CMs were manning the rope all along, joking with us and saying “TSMM is thaaat way…” pointing in totally the opposite direction.

Luckily, we were distracted by the opening show. A cute young “Just Married” couple (Shannon and Josh) were chosen to be the ‘stars’ – and we all had fun shouting our lines “Lights! Camera! Action!” Finally it was time for the Young Couple to drive off into the sunset…and rope drop!

But the rope didn’t drop. Instead, the CMs held the rope and briskly began to walk the growing throng of guests towards Pixar Avenue! I was greatly relieved – but still concerned, as people really began to try and inch their way forward to be closest to the rope – not hesitating to push others out of their path!! Several people stepped right in front of me while we walked, and Cory, who was desperately trying to keep up (even though I had instructed her to stay with her dad) got separated from me.

But I didn’t know it at the time; I continued on until we turned the corner into Pixar Avenue. Then the CMs vanished and it was every man, woman and child for themselves! Unbelievably, I was the first to reach one of the FP machines. I grabbed our set of FPs and then turned around to try and find my family. Luckily, they were just walking by (Cory having relocated her dad) and we entered the quickly growing stand-by line.

The line was moving swiftly and we didn’t have time to really enjoy a lot of the theme-ing. Kevin did snap a couple quick photos.


The sisters were ride partners again, which left me to compete with Kevin. I can totally say we all loved, loved, loved this attraction! (It was Kevin’s favorite of the whole trip.) And once again, the ride stopped for a minute or two. The target points get blanked out and you don’t rack up any score – but it was perfect for practicing your shooting technique! Kevin royally ‘whooped’ us all with a score of 140,000.

We exited the ride all laughing (or fuming about our scores ) and looking forward to doing it again. And you should have seen the standby line AND the FP distribution line by now! Wow!

UP NEXT : The Tower Awaits…

[Nimros]

Originally Posted by Cam22

I definitely get the extreme heat and humid! Hope it cooled down some over your stay. Jack Sparrow was awesome! You all had an incredible first day (except for that early tummy trouble). Glad the girls were so successful in their pin trading, too. I can't wait to see your MNSSHP costumes and your new Mickey shirt. And that special lady will be very excited, I'm sure.

I have to admit, I think the girls looked exactly like two pixies in their costumes. Not sureif I ever got a good shot of my new Mickey tee - most of the time, I'm standing behind someone so you can only see part of it. It's a very whimsical scene of Mickey strolling down Main Steet.

Originally Posted by mcc0313

So glad that you were feeling better and got to enjoy the day. You got a lot done today, what a wonderful way to start off your trip. Just seeing you in LTT makes me miss the meal, we had skipped it this trip (the girls were upset about the characters) but I have always loved the meal, glad everyone enjoyed.

Can't wait to hear how everyone enjoyed the parade.

I wasn't sure what to expect dining-wise at LTT, but I think that it will become one of our favorites from now on.

Originally Posted by chezp

Wonderful updates - the pirate tutorial looked like a lot of fun and you got some great fireworks and Spectro photos.

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Glad you had a great night at MK! Your pictures of Spectro are amazing!

Originally Posted by mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince

What a great day! Glad you were able to find Cindy's horse! I know what you mean about wishing you took more photos; no matter how many pics I come home with, there are always some I know I missed! Your nighttime shots were particularly good; I still have trouble with those!

And just so you know, we saw the pirate tutorial in the exact same spot on our spring 2008 trip!

Originally Posted by KMB733

I'm all caught up. Sounds like you had a wonderful day at MK. Sorry to hear that your tummy troubles almost stopped you from going in the AM, but glad to hear it cleared up once you got to MK. Also, wonderful photos. More please

Originally Posted by goofysdtr

Another great update! Love the pictures of Spectro!

Originally Posted by Cam22

Spectromagic and Wishes definitely made for a grade finale to your MK day! Terrific photos!

Kevin did most of the photography in MK. He'll be glad to hear that.

[Nimros]

Originally Posted by B.M.

Sounds like a great day at MK! Glad the girls enjoyed pin trading; my kids got really into it last year also!

I'm not sure if we'll ever be able to skip a year now - the girls keep talking about what they want to pin trade for NEXT year!

[Nimros]

Originally Posted by Sandra Bostwick

AWESOME!

Loved the report and the photos, especially this one! Spectromagic always makes me smile.

I was pretty amazed that Kevin got this one, too. He said he timed it with the music.

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures! Glad you survived the Toy Story Insania morning rush!

[mcc0313]

What a wonderful end to your MK day. I am so glad that you got to see Spectro and enjoy Wishes as you had missed them your last trip. What a great bench Kevin found you guys, looks like you had a perfect viewing of the parade.

You had me laughing as you described your planning for DHS and getting to TSMM. Those lines are actually scary looking. Glad you had little wait in the standby and FP's for a second ride.

[Nimros]

Now that we had one ride on TSMM under our belts, it was time to cruise on down to Sunset Blvd. and my all-time favorite attraction – Tower of Terror! Not to mention that we needed to pick up a set of FPs for a ride on Rock’n’Roller Coaster. (It had been down for refurbishment on our last trip, so this would be our very first time to experience it!)


Kevin of course, was not going on either of these. ToT took him out for an entire day last trip and he was fairly certain he wanted to take no chances on RnRC.

It took a bit of doing, but I convinced him to go ahead and look around while we rode instead of just sitting on a bench, waiting. I was going to get the FPs for RnRC first but a look at our TSMM FPs revealed that I couldn’t get another set for another 20 minutes! Instead of waiting, I asked Kevin to get them for us while we were on ToT.

The ToT was almost a total walk-on. In fact, I was amazed at how empty this section of the park was at this time of day. I was expecting the crowds to be equally dispersed by now, but I think by my description, you can pretty much guess where everyone was.

Kelley had been pretty scared to ride ToT on our last trip; and to be honest, she only went because her dad went, too. This time was no different. I could tell she was getting cold feet about the whole thing, and by the time we made it to the boiler room, she was saying, “Uhhhh…Mom, I don’t think I can do this.” Mean old mom told her too bad. Dad was not waiting outside, he was all the way back at Hollywood Blvd. and we couldn’t take her out now. Scared or not, she got in the elevator with us, sitting between Cory and I so we could hold her hands! I tried to get her mind off of the creepiness by reminding her we were all going to make crazy faces for the camera.

And we did! These came out even better than Splash Mt., but again – Mom forgets to buy the photo!!! (I will be so glad when they get these hooked up to Photopass like they do at Test Track.)

We called Kevin on the cell and he was already on his way back. We met him and asked if he got the FPs for RnRC. I was ready let him have it (in the nicest way possible!) when he said no – until he explained that we still had about 10 minutes until we could get them. I had no idea that we had gone through ToT so quickly.

This time, I waited at the FP distribution while Kevin took the girls to sit in the shade by Sunset Ranch Market.

All of us were ready to get back down to TSMM and use those FPs – so off we went. On the way, we stopped to get some Photopass pics made – and take a few of our own. You can see how empty it was on Sunset Blvd.





There was just a bit of a wait in the FP line – and then we were blasting our way through the midway. We were all beavers, but Kevin out-scored us all again with 169,000.

Outside, we saw one of the Green Toy Soldiers from “Toy Story” – and just had to get in line for a photo. The girls were shy again, even though I wanted them to tell him their brother was a United States Marine! (Tyler would definitely PT his sisters if he saw those salutes!)


We meandered on down towards Streets of America, figuring we’d make our way over to Echo Lake for our 11:10am ADR at that would be due shortly. Cory had to make the first bathroom stop of the day – which gave us some time to look around at one of the nearby stores. Yoda took time out to instruct me in my Jedi training!


The Power Rangers were out on Streets of America. Once upon a time, the girls would have thought this was totally cool – but now they weren’t interested in the least. We took our photo a la “Singing in the Rain” but actually had to hurry a bit as there was a line of people waiting to do the same thing.

Here I began to feel the frustration of only having one camera. Kevin was our ‘official’ photographer and Keeper of the Camera (meaning it stayed in one of his cargo pockets.) Yesterday at MK, I kept seeing photo ops and I know he felt frustrated with having to get the camera out whenever I suggested a photo. Today, I tried to keep my requests to a minimum.





We made it to Echo Lake and our early lunch ADR at 50s Prime Time. And what an experience it turned out to be!

UP NEXT : Finish Your Veggies and a Wish Come True!

[chezp]

Glad the commando approach paid off for Toy Story Mania. I dread to think what it must've been like to be caught up in those crowds.

[KMB733]

The rush to TSMM is my biggest fear from my trip. Glad you made it and were able to get FP's and use the stand by line. Sounds like you are enjoying your day at DHS. And great pictures too. More please!

[Nimros]

This was our first time at 50’s Prime Time – and we were hoping we’d get a CM who was really in character to make this a memorable meal. We were not disappointed! After only relaxing in ‘the living room’ for a few minutes, we were taken back to our own private kitchen and introduced to our server – whose name we cannot remember, even though we called her by it many times! (Right now we’re having an argument about what it was. Kevin says “Marge”, Cory swears it was “Cindy” and Kelley thinks it was “Suzy.”)

She was from New York, and after talking with her for just a second, you had no doubt about that! She wasn’t the 50s ‘Mom’ type, but she definitely was the wise-a**, take no back-talk waitress you might find at a late-night eatery!

Kevin ordered the fried chicken with mashed potatoes and greens, I had the meatloaf with mashed potatoes and garlic green beans (note the emphasis on garlic, because this will be important later) Kelley ordered the stacked sandwich with fries and Cory had the kids’ version of the meatloaf with mashed potatoes. We watched TV while we waited for our food to arrive – heaven on earth for my husband, who, despite our irritation, likes to watch television while he has dinner.



I think these are the only food photos I took during this trip – which goes to show you how hungry I must have been as it never occurred to me until AFTER I had eaten. And I cleaned my plate.

Kevin, however, had not eaten all of his greens (which were delicious, by the way.) When our server came to clear away our plates, she said, “Everyone done? Good job, Mom – you ate everything. I see Dad didn’t eat all his vegetables, did he?”

At that, she turned around and announced loudly to everyone else there, “Does everyone here know how to make the airplane noise? Because Dad needs some help finishing his vegetables.” So with the whole restaurant making Rrrrooowwwww noises, she picked up Kevin’s fork and fed him the last bite of his greens! I was laughing so hard, I missed the actual shot by mere seconds…but here’s the result.


I had my second-favorite dessert of the trip here. I was so full after a heavy meal of meat and potatoes that nothing rich sounded good for dessert. So I ordered the mini sponge cake with fresh fruit and berry compote. It was absolutely divine – mostly because every single strawberry, blueberry and raspberry were perfect and sweet. Every single one! Yummm!

Kevin had yet another apple crisp, Cory a ‘build your own sundae’ and Kelley ordered a milkshake that would have served four people!



We were all completely stuffed when we walked back out into the hot Florida sun. I had not counted time-wise on the fact that eating table service would take a large chunk of time out of our day at DHS. We would soon need to hop back on the bus to the resort and get ready for MNSSHP – and I still had TONS of things I wanted to do here!

Still on the must-do list was to see a show, do Star Tours and Jedi Training Academy and pick up our ride on RnRC.

I asked Kevin if he would rather see Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage or the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. He said either was fine with him – mainly because he knew I loved Indy and wanted to see it again (such a sweet husband!)

I approached the CM at the entrance to find out when the next show would take place, and she said in about 10 minutes. We got in line and found our seats in the stands and enjoyed whatever breeze the ceiling fans would send our way. As it got closer to show time, the CMs went through the stands encouraging people to move in closer to one another to make room for more guests entering. I don’t know about you, but sitting shoulder to shoulder with sweaty strangers in 90 degree heat and humidity does not make for the most pleasant experience.

Our Harrison Ford stunt double was a bit disappointing this time. The stunts and action sequences were still exciting – but without a good double for Indy, the show just seemed lacking in that special magic. I left wishing I had chosen a different show…

The girls and I had talked about the Jedi Training Academy, too – and both of them said they’d try to show their strong life Force so they could be chosen. Even Kelley wanted to try; she knows how much her mom loves Star Wars! But we had to time it right to do Star Tours and then JTA.

Kevin was adamant that simulators really bothered him – and I was a bit disappointed as I was sure with the VitaMotion-S spray he’d be fine (after all, that’s why we got it)– but he didn’t want to chance it. He walked through the stand-by line with us so he could enjoy the details along the way. There was probably a good 15 min. wait. When we got to the loading area, however, Kelley told us she had to use the bathroom – NOW and so Kevin was able to exit with her and have a perfect excuse not to look like he wimped out!

Cory and I enjoyed our tour – and decided that we’re really glad they’re going to revamp this attraction.

I could have stayed in Tatooine Traders for several long hours, but we needed to find Kevin and Kelley and see about JTA. When we came out, we saw that the JTA was already in progress! Grrrr! How I had miscalculated, I’ll never know – but Cory was pretty upset that she had missed her chance. I snapped a couple photos and watched a little of it, but Cory didn’t want to see anything and ‘ruin’ it before she had a chance to participate. I didn’t want to upset her at the moment, but I knew we wouldn’t be able to catch the next show….Hopefully next trip…


We had about an hour before we were scheduled to leave – so much left to do!! I asked everyone if they would mind walking down to Animation Courtyard – because there was someone I wanted to see.

If you all remember, one of my goals for this trip was to finally meet Mickey Mouse. I love Mickey Mouse; he symbolizes to me everything that Disney stands for – and I know my giving him a hug will be the closest I could ever come to giving Walt himself a hug. And I was afraid I would miss my opportunity again if I didn’t follow through and make it happen.

Cory had another bathroom stop just as we got there and we talked to a lovely young CM while we waited, who told me yes, Mickey could be found inside The Magic of Animation and was happy to share her knowledge of what else was happening at the park that day. When she said they had scheduled a Fantasmic! for this evening, I was really depressed. We had decided to skip F! this year because it was only showing one evening of our trip and we wanted to avoid the crowds. Now that it was showing tonight AND it was our DHS day, it was making it doubly hard miss. But – we had MNSSHP to look forward to – and that was more important than F! to me. Just another reason to come back…

With Cory finished, we went inside MoA and I was really regretting the fact we had to leave soon. So much to see in here! Plus, I had wanted so much for us to do the Animation Class…

But then we round a corner, and I see a familiar Sorcerer’s Hat with a pair of ears sticking up beside it! Here was Mickey (my favorite Mickey, too!) and we ran over to the fairly short line. Fairly short until we rounded the corner, that is. It was LONG! The girls were beginning to give me a fuss about waiting (they wanted to get on to RnRC) but Kevin told them “This is important to your mom. Let her enjoy it.”

We waited and waited and then just as we were almost there, Mickey had to take a call from his agent. Rats! (no pun intended.) But he was back in just a few minutes and then – we had the most Magical Meet!

Of course, when you’re standing in line with two kids, everyone assumes it’s the kids who are most hyped about meeting the characters. Mickey and the PhotoPass guy did, too. So Cory approached Mickey first and suddenly felt shy, twisting her arms in front of her. Mickey imitated her perfectly. She gave a little giggle and then crossed her arms. Mickey did, too.


Then she smiled and reached out an arm to touch his shoulder. Mickey reached out an arm to touch her.


Then all of a sudden she was in his arms and hugging him and laughing – everyone in line and the handler and PhotoPass guy were laughing, too. Lots of by-standers were going, “Awww,” and even snapping photos! It was perfect!


Then Kelley ran over with her shining, happy face and giving Mickey the biggest hugs ever. And then it was MY turn. I gave the Big Cheese the most loving hug I could. Finally – a wish come true!



After this magical meet, it was time for a rockin’ limo ride and then we had to get the *bleep* out of Dodge!

We did stop for some more PhotoPass pics on the way – and our photographer wanted to take the ‘kissing’ scene I had seen Cam, Luke and Stefanie do. We couldn’t stop laughing long enough to kiss!!


The girls look like they're losing their lunch!



When we got to RnRC, Kelley complained of her stomach hurting and needed another bathroom break – so Cory and I went solo, while the other two headed down towards the entrance.

I was a bit concerned over how Cory would handle her first ‘big’ coaster with an inversion – but she screamed and sang the whole way. So did I. We wanted a photo when we came out and had to stand in line a looonnnnggg time for our turn. Love our wind-blown look.


We made it to the entrance just before the parade began, and stopped back at the shop there so Cory could get her pin - and then it was out of the heat for a cool bus ride back to the resort – and MNSSHP!!!!!!!

UP NEXT : It’s Not So Scary!

[Tawnya]

Great update. all the pictures! Cant wait to hear more.

[bsblady01]

more please

[Colexis Mom]

What a great time you guys had at DHS! Glad you finally got to meet Mickey too! Love all the pictures!

[Cam22]

Fantasmic day at DHS! Your battle strategy for TSMM was incredible. Glad you all were able to get two rides in. Your lunch at 50s Prime Time looks so I their meatloaf. Cory, riding RnRC. That's one I'll probably never do. I think your PP photos are great, and I especially like the kissing ones. We were laughing, too, which does make it hard to kiss.

[B.M.]

Great day at DHS, even if you were limited on time! Wow, I can't believe you managed to be one of the first to the FP machines for TSSM- I'll have to make a note of how you did it for our upcoming trip! Your dd sounds like mine, with the bathroom- more than once weve made it all the way to the front of the line, and then she has to go right then, nope can't wait 5 more minutes....... Can't wait to hear about the MK Party!