That’s Not Supposed To Happen

As I mentioned in last week’s post, I recently returned home from a lovely 11-day vacation. Yes, we did go to Disney World. Yes – again. We love Disney World. Every trip is different and fun. Although it started off really well, this trip was filled with lots of “what?” moments. Read on for the details, some good, some not so good.

First of all, I met up with my “conscience” and we had a little discussion about . . . things.

Me and Jiminy Cricket. Photo by Disney PhotoPass – February 2020

He set me back on the right path. I think. At least until it came time to eat. Then I sort of forgot about my conscience and just pigged out.

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We also met some lovely folks (at a special members only event) who you don’t normally get to see.

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We also got tangled up in the craziest and largest family photo ever shot. Apparently this family:

Unknown family @ Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Disney PhotoPass, February 2020

requested a family picture from one of Disney’s very obliging and friendly PhotoPass cast members. While they were posing and deciding how to stand, etc. another Disney cast member happened along and insisted that others join in. He started yelling at people to get into the picture. So, people were. About this time, we happened along. Here’s the result:

Largest family photo ever @ Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Disney PhotoPass, February 2020

You can kind of see us. If you start at the right hand side of the photo and work your way over about an inch and a half or so you can see my tall husband with his hands in the air. I’m standing in front of him. I’m wearing a dark blue fleece pull-over and I have sunglasses on. I’m next to a lady wearing a pink top (squatting down). You can see the family who started it all in the middle. The father is wearing the red “Incredibles” shirt. This was a crazy moment that doesn’t happen very often. And we were part of it!

Now, I think it should be known, that while eating, drinking and making new friends are all vital parts of any new adventure, while at Disney World, I take my ride experiences very seriously. Case in point: on the new Millennium Falcon, Smuggler’s Run ride in Star Wars Land at Hollywood Studios, I was assigned to be a pilot. I did not let my team down. The folks in the back only managed to smuggle aboard 1 package, but it wasn’t because I let them down in the flying department. Just sayin’.

I also managed to help save the entire universe from the evil Emperor Zurg with my exceptional shooting skills. I achieved a Level 3 score promoting me to a Ranger First Class. Woo hoo!!

Me and Corey saving the universe. Photo by Disney – February 2020

While we were enjoying ourselves, waiting to ride rides, waiting to use the bathroom, waiting to get a table at a restaurant, waiting for the bus, the boat, the monorail, etc. (do you see a pattern here?) I enjoyed people watching. Here are some quick observations:

1 – You never see a skinny person on a scooter.

2 – If you wait 90 minutes or more for a ride and you have 2 or 3 small children with you, when it comes time to actually board that ride, it is highly likely that at least 1 of those children (or maybe your husband) will refuse to get on.

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3 – At any given time of the day, at least one member of your party will want something to eat, even if you just finished a meal.

4 – If you are asked to “move all the way to the end of your row,” someone in every single row will stop in the middle and sit down.

But you guys probably already knew all of that stuff. Here’s the out-of-the ordinary stuff – I mean besides the crazy super-sized family photo – that happened while we were there.

1 – It was freezing. We did not bring winter coats (hey, it’s Florida!) and we should have. For 3 days in a row it was REALLY cold. We were not expecting this. Very unusual.

2 – One of the boats on the Jungle River Cruise sank. That’s right. It sank. During the ride. With people were on it.  Mid-way through the ride, the boat started taking on water.  We were not on the boat, nor in line to ride, but we heard about it. Crazy right? Here’s a picture someone took:

3 – One of the fancy resort hotels (The Beach Club) was on lock down for about 3 hours while police swarmed over the entire property looking for a possible gunman. We were at a park close by and heard some chatter about the security gates being temporarily closed, but it did not affect us in any way. Aside from being a bit unsettling for a bit.

3 – A woman jumped to her death at another fancy resort hotel (The Contemporary). This one we did come into contact with, as we were in a bus that had to make a stop at the hotel during that time. The normal bus stop was closed and we were re-routed. That’s when I saw a bazillion police cars. I asked someone who was about to get off the bus at that hotel if there were normally that many police cars there and she said no, she’d never seen any police at the hotel. That’s when we knew something was wrong. As a side note, apparently that’s not the first time someone has committed suicide in exactly the same manner at that same hotel. How sad is that? Someone chooses to end their life at the happiest place on earth? Needless to say, the rest of that day was kind of a downer.

On a happier note, we did get to see this really cool thing!! Walt’s original stuffed Mickey Mouse!! It was on display at the newest Disney hotel property, The Riviera! How cool is that?

Walt’s original Mickey Mouse currently on display at The Riviera Hotel – Photo by P. Rickrode, March 2020

No one seemed to be too worried about the coronavirus. Of course, this was before the media really went into hyper-speed and over-sensationalized this whole flu epidemic. (I’m not making light of it, but neither do I feel the need to constantly tell people how nasty it is.) The only thing that people were really concerned about was whether or not they were going to get a boarding pass to ride Rise of the Resistance in the new Star Wars Land at Hollywood Studios. And, in case you’re wondering, we did. We got up extra early to get to the park before it officially opened to join the virtual queue. We got boarding group 83. We were called around 3:30 in the afternoon to ride. It was interesting. Not so much fun or thrilling, as interesting. There’s really no way to describe the experience. I’ve posted a couple of photos but it was too hard to take pictures during the actual ride portion of the experience.

Rise of the Resistance – Photo by C. Rickrode, February 2020

Using the force. Disney PhotoPass – February 2020

But, we survived. We made it home in one piece, although we both had colds on the last couple of days. The weather went from extreme cold (for that area) to a record-blowing high temperature of 91 degrees in a matter of 2 days. No wonder we had sore throats. It didn’t dampen our spirits though. Here are some more shots of the crazy couple of weeks. Enjoy.

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So, there you have it. More about me and my Disney trip than you probably want or need to know. Has anything out of the ordinary happened to you while on vacation? Do you like to go to Disney World or Disneyland? Would you have joined in the “family” photo?”

We can all help prevent suicide. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

Word of the Day: Cabochon

Fun fact about me: Princess Tiana is my favorite Disney Princess, but Mary Poppins is my favorite movie.

Original post by Jansen Schmidt, March 2020. Images by P. Rickrode, C. Rickrode, Amy D. (Disney Food Blog), and various Disney PhotoPass cast members.

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