Disney World 2025 Day 1- Sunday, May 18

A Salute To All Of Our Return, But Mostly The Functional App

We arose excited (yet full of anxiety) at Stupid O’clock in the morning, with the lack of any traffic allowing the limo driver and his Escalade to arrive ahead of schedule in our driveway. We locked up, battened down and hauled out three backpacks, two suitcases and a carry on. (In a pear tree.) There was some shoving of various types of protein bars into our faces, and Rosa stashed some Gluten Free travel snacks in her bags and pockets per usual.
 
Traffic continued to be nonexistent, allowing us to reach the airport well before we needed to and print our luggage tags. Proving that Anabelle and I do not have a monopoly on pre-flight panic, Rosa affixed her tag to the suitcase handle and promptly disposed of her claim checks. A brief bit of trash can diving later, (Why do the start of our Disney Trips always have trash can diving?) and we were all on the short baggage check line. In spite of my doom filled premonitions, ID checks were rapid and painless, sending our bags on their way.
 
We reached the main security entrance and learned, for reasons unknown but likely due to a credit card, our tickets allowed using the “Premier Security” line. We breezed through the shortened wait security check station.
Well…
They breezed through the shortened wait security check station.
I had a note stating I needed to leave my isolation boot on to protect my ankle when I walked through. Therefore, security scanned me with it on and then made me sit down and remove it.
Then they made me continue to sit there for an extended period while they carried the boot back and sent it through the conveyor belt with other people’s stuff. Rosa and Anabelle were kind enough to shuttle me the rest of my x-rayed accoutrements, allowing me to reassemble during the footwear scan. They were also kind enough to wait before walking faster than I could to the gate. (clomp clomp clomp)
 
At the gate, I dug into my favorite of the Dune series: God Emperor of Dune. Rosa (Italian) and Anabelle (French) worked on continuing their Duolingo streaks. I asked how to say French Fries in Italian. Before Rosa could answer correctly, Anabelle said *insert obvious Italian hand motion* “French-a-fries.” This insured I will never remember the right answer. And people wonder why I suck at languages.
(Foreshadowing- I will laugh about this forever when I see French Fries.)
 
Switching to the later flight got the two of them seats together with marginally more leg room, and me into the “reserved for broken people” front row of our section with a bunch of extra leg room. Our carry on was touching first class. (Oooh! Fancy!) There was a weird little spot in front of me that I didn’t think my backpack would fit into, but since I was old enough to have reached the level of indifference required to not bring my work laptop on vacation for the first time in my adult life, it fit fine. YAY!

 
Before we needed to disconnect from each other in airplane mode, Anabelle texted me a “There’s something on the wing!” joke. That’s my girl!!!
 
The plane was loaded extra fast, we pulled out ahead of schedule and cut the planned thirty minute taxiing time in half. We also landed twenty minutes early because even at Stupid O’clock in the morning, time is linear. (Rosa and Anabelle’s neighbor had a later flight the day before and there was a five hour delay. Gah!)
 
No matter if there is schedule changes, a lack of air traffic controllers, injuries or generalized anxiety- Take the Early Flight to Disney, Kids!!!!!
 
Because of no seats in front of us, the tray table was in the side of my seat. Seasoned traveler that I am, I ended up needing help from the clearly experienced business traveler to my right. This was not only to find the thing, but also because she eventually got frustrated with my fidgeting and reached across me to pull the table out. Whoever you were- Apologies and Thank You!
 
Anabelle originally planned to watch Wicked while Rosa was going to watch Paddington 2. It didn’t matter that we would all watch it together later, as there was minimal likelihood of Rosa remembering anything about it after seeing it at that time of the morning.
 

Anabelle realized her initial choice was too long for the flight and chose (what else?) Singing in the Rain. She also reported, that having gotten even less sleep than the negligible amount the other two of us pulled, instead of her chosen film, Rosa watched what Anabelle described as, “A fat ass nap.”
 
I plowed through a hundred pages of Dune and two Ghost Rider comic books. It’s the only way to fly. Most of the flight was filled with turbulence, which the captain apologized for regularly as he tried going over, under and around it. Naturally, the violence of the shaking increased when I visited the inverse TARDIS tiny bathroom. It was hard not to feel sorry for the Pilot, constantly expressing regrets for having to turn on the seat belt sign.
 
The only contact with the rest of my family was them hearing me reconnect the Velcro straps on my isolation boot. I was told to fly with it open but needed the support to stand and clomp across the aisle to the rest room. I would say being next to that location was a plus of the already helpful seat but considering the general smells and sounds that emanate from that teeny room, “a plus” is not what comes to mind.
 

We landed, (early, YAY!) I grabbed the carry on, and shot out of the plane, (clomp clomp clomp) to avoid being further in my next door flight neighbor’s way, allowing a photo of the rest of my family triumphantly reaching Orlando. We crossed the green rug Anabelle feels compelled to always bring up, “Remember when Morgan threw up here?” and took the little tram.
 
Anabelle established herself as a true adult on her first twenty-one year old visit to Disney by hauling both suitcases off of the carousel. YAY! (Cheer from my back.) Over at the Mears stand, the “square thingy” as Grandma calls it was scanned and allowed us into the line for “Animal Kingdom Resorts” – the three All Stars, Animal Kingdom Lodge and, of course. Colorado Spraaaaangs.
 

 Anabelle was “cooking” on the generalized trivia on the screen where we waited, giving me a brief respite from her constant Disney Trivia requests. Leaving the terminal to enter the bus, the one down side to East Coast Disney hit us brutally in the face… the humidity. Rosa remembered the bus driver was the same as last time because, “I remember Latin people.” The bus still had the Magic Express design seats. Alas.

The transportation luck of the morning continued. Take the early flight to Disney, kids! We were going to be the first stop!!! YAAY! Also, the driver showed Moana 2 allowing Anabelle to “lock in.”
 

They focused on the screen, making me the only one getting excited about Disney World signage, at least until we reached the official entry arch, where Anabelle scored an excellent picture with her newly discovered “Portrait Mode.” 

Then the excitement gripped us all.
DISNEY BUSSES!!!!
PURPLE SIGNS!!!!
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!!
 
The bus stopped, we collected our bags and entered the All Star Sports Lobby. I’ve talked a great deal about the “Main Street Sigh of Relief.” However, the “Magic Begins Moment” of entering the air conditioning of the resort for the first time is equally important- especially for this trip where I truly believed we were not going to make it on so many occasions.
 

That was how I greeted the Cast Members when it was our turn at the desk. “WE MADE IT!
I really didn’t think we would this time.” The more experienced of the two quickly answered, “Of course you made it.” YAAAAY!!
 
The “Earning My Ears” Cast Member was Awesome and Happy but focused on getting us checked in correctly. The other one had also just graduated college, was going to grad school and swapped notes with Anabelle while getting her celebratory button. This is where we learned Disney has been systematically lying to us for years about the shelf life of Magic Bands. Rosa and Anabelle’s old ones would work fine for paying, meal plan, hotel door opening and Park entrance. It was only the long range powers of the Bands that die with the battery. With a Key to the World card in their wallets, that feature was covered as well. We were happy to learn our room (4124) was on the ground floor (as my gimpy self requested) in the Tennis section (with bonuses of being one of the closest non-preferred rooms AND having statues of Donald and his Nephews outside) and was ready. YAAAY!
(Foreshadowing- Those ducks turned out to be really important.)

 
We set up a location for our bags in the End Zone Food Court and decided to eat before bringing our stuff to the room in a rare (for this trip) anti CrazyHungryLand decision.
(Foreshadowing- Also: so we didn’t die.)
 
Rosa stayed with the bags, anticipating her first un-gluten conversation with a Disney chef. Anabelle and I engaged in a debate that included running back to Rosa to select our mug colors. (Those who know, understand the gravity of this decision.) Rosa went with pink, Anabelle blue, and (while not a favorite color) the translucence of the green lid steered me to that one. The two of us loaded up our trays with the first Quick Service meal…
And the ENORMOUS family checking out before us had no idea what their pin number was.
 
Fortunately, another line opened next to us, because Disney Cast Members are Awesome and Happy, and we returned allowing Rosa to begin her first Disney forage. I went back to Grilled Chicken due to the fascination of Disney Dining with “pickle slaw” on their Impossible Burgers. However, the marinade, fresh mozzarella, arugula and tomato with a basil aoli pumped it up a bit. (No, I have no memory of that level of detail. This is one reason why I make the menu lists.) Anabelle had the pre-made Greek Salad with chicken and insisted I mention the pepperoncini peppers were a spiritual experience. YAAAY!
(Foreshadowing- She was so jazzed by them, they have been a staple in the fridge since we returned home.)
 
Rosa, forgetting we had a buffet lined up that evening, returned carrying a roast half chicken with fries and vegetables. We enjoyed our first Disney meal, triple focused to make sure we didn’t throw anything important away and stepped out into the near solid and superheated air to find our room.

(Foreshadowing- Some of Rosa's meal became the "gluten free leftovers" referenced later.)
 
Anabelle gathered her decorated and Tiny Donald toting backpack while Rosa and I grabbed our packs. Following Rosa out I realized that all versions of the Manly Fairy Backpack and Manly Princess Backpack had not survived, and we were using a plain black backpack. The fact that this trip was the first time since before Middle School I was in Disney World with boring footwear did not help. Alas. (But we were there. YAAAY!)
 
Not counting when I forgot them completely, this was a vacation record for my “emergency pills.” I had finally transferred them into one of the little plastic cases I had used for years but ran out of. That fell out of my pocket somewhere on the way to the room, and I was forced to return to using the back up “plastic bag” method yet again for the trip.
 
We reached our room, taking the obligatory incorrect and round about path guaranteeing the first time there took three times as long as it should (clomp clomp clomp) and prevented us from having any idea where our room existed with respect to the rest of the resort.
(Foreshadowing- Given my completely exhausted state during any return to the resort on these trips, that remained my mind set on most days.)
 
We entered and basked in the new Mickey Short Themed decorations. (The decorations were there last time, they are themed to the New Mickey Shorts… which debuted over a decade ago meaning they aren’t really new anymore. Any suggestions for a better name would be appreciated.)
 
There was no moldy cheese. YAAY!

Even better, there was a graduation gift pack of pins, snacks and a photo album for Anabelle. YAAAY! Perhaps they do feel a bit guilty about regularly raising the prices on EVERYTHING! Our name was on the television with Italian Flag colors! YAY! How did they know?

Anabelle checked out the “Hey Disney” Alexa like device. It was immediately annoying, and she transitioned quickly from trying to figure out how to limit its interaction - to simply unplugging it. YAY!
 
I planned to use the standard boot only for flights and “The Robocop” (as we dubbed the patented RecoverX isolation boot that fit over my hiking boot) every other day in the Parks.
(Foreshadowing- This would change later.)
For this day, I swapped out the self-inflating boot that had squeezed the snot out of my calf during arrival activities for The Robocop and was ready to go.
 
We adjusted the “Park stuff” into the two backpacks coming with us and took the more direct route to the Main Building and the Good bus stop. (The Good bus stop takes us to the Parks; the Bad bus stop takes us back to the airport.)
(Foreshadowing- the Bad one is not only a “bus” stop.)
 

Our first Disney Bus trip was on a double length one, providing plenty of room for seats. Haunted Mansion music played during our journey, welcoming us. It got a little cloudier to keep up the theme. (Those Imagineers think of everything!) Because it is an actual, impressively sized Castle, we could see it through the trees on our approach, heightening all of our enthusiasm! YAAAY!  Honestly, we were getting more excited about seeing the various characters painted on the Disney Busses then we did about all of Disneyland. We were definitely back in our home Parks.
 
We sped through the new single lane security… and Anabelle was selected for a bag search.
 
 
Aside- While at home, Anabelle hunted down a type of heavy-duty foam to put her trader pins on. Rosa helped with the shopping and cutting to size, and I helped looking up options online. The foam was sized to fit in a thicker, freezer proof, Ziplock, and she had a plan for carrying the pins she wanted to swap on the trip. This ALMOST worked. There were a couple of pins that kept falling out no matter what she did, leading to a shift in strategy later on. This was also before she figured out taking the pins out of her backpack could prevent her being pulled into the bag check line.
(Foreshadowing- Maybe. We never really did figure out the pattern for that.)
 

We had several discussions about what we would do first, almost always settling on the small world. One of these was while we performed the Main Street Sigh of Relief to the sounds of the Main Street Marching Band. AAAAAAAHHHHH!
 

Elena of Avalor was in the Main Street meeting area where Snow White used to be as predicted by our extensive (some may say insane) research. There was almost no line. Starting with a Princess is very us and was very much “on theme” for this adventure as “All The Princesses” was a key side quest. She and Anabelle discussed having fun with cousins, various bits of Avalor lore, and Rosa made sure to say a few things in Spanish as we left. YAAAY!

 
Still planning to do the small world first, we noticed Mickey only had a ten minute wait, and realized meeting him first (as the accidental outside meeting doesn’t count) would also be awesome. On the way in, we met a Cast Member who was a huge fan of Rosa’s Boys and complimented her on her Chipmunk shirt and jewelry.
 

We met Mickey! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!! Welcome to Disney World!!! HUGS!! YAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!
He stalked us out, leading to a jump scare as we turned around directly into his face when we were opening the door to leave.
Um, yay?
 
We had several other discussions about whether or not we would watch the Parade on the first day, stretching back to well before we were packed up until our recent lunch. The overwhelming consensus was, “No, we’ll use that time the first day to take advantage of short lines.”
Then we exited the Mickey meeting, heard the Parade was coming soon, and decided to watch it. YAAY!
 
The Magic Band Plus was vibrating madly any time I was near the first Main Street circle. I eventually broke down and asked some Cast Members for help as a new user of this technology. The Golden Statues placed all over the Parks had various audio cues recorded in them, and waving the Magic Band Plus in a vigorous circular motion towards them activated it. To let the wearer know that the statue is nearby, the band vibrated. The range of this varied from right next to the statue (for many of them) to ANYWHERE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA, for the Lady and the Tramp statue on Main Street. While waiting for the Parade, I turned off the Band’s vibration.
 

Mary Poppins, Bert, and the first sighting of a Penguin since Anabelle was a wee tot wandered up Main Street, waving to the crowd before the Parade arrived. YAY!
(Foreshadowing- Apologies… Mary Poppins does not “wander.” They strolled up Main Street.)
 
Anabelle was once more thrilled to be in our Home Parks when she heard the announcement that there would be no crossing of the street while the Parade was approaching and running. YAY!
 

We were together on Main Street and the Festival of Fantasy was approaching. I think there were so many risks and disasters before this trip, that the true feeling of “Holy Crap We Made It!” didn’t really hit us fully until this moment. We all let out an even larger Main Street Sign of Relief, dripping with sincerity, joy and thanks.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!
 

There was a huge amount of waves to and from the characters. That was a fitting kick off to this very character focused trip. (Yes, another “start.” Also… shut up.) Chip saw Rosa’s shirt and waved back at her. Anabelle held her hand up like a hook, getting recognition from the appropriately named Pirate Captain. “Stinky” followed him and did a little dance for us. YAAAY!!!

(Foreshadowing- Based on reasons no one will ever know, Anabelle named Mr. Smee “Stinky” on her first visit. I will not be explaining every one of the near infinite inside jokes we have at Disney World, but this one is particularly out there. I guess this is more like “aft-shadowing.”)
 

We learned standing to the left of Rosa in a parade setting is a poor choice. She gets caught up enough in the action, the waving and taking pictures that she tends to list heavily to that side while flailing her arms. The more you know…

(Foreshadowing- This location was still about a hundred times safer than sitting next to her during the Lion King show.)
 

Up at the end of Main Street was THE HUUUUGE CASTLE!! YAAAAY!!! We walked through its center, taking in the Magnificent Mosaics. YAAAAY!!! There is almost always someone in that hallway for the first time, and it is always a joy seeing the images through their eyes. YAAAAY!!!

Anabelle let out a squeal of delight when we exited the other side of the Castle. “Eeeee! FANTASYLAND!!! I know where everything is, AND I can’t see it all from here!!!”
 
Right next to us was Princess Fairytale Hall with a short (twenty minute) wait time. YAAAY! Anabelle’s “Meet Every Princess” goal on her Stacy Like Must Do List had blossomed. With Elena out front, who had taken her place with Cinderella?
 
SNOW WHITE! EEEEEeeee!!! YAAYY!!!
And the Princesses were scheduled, with actual listed wait times! YAAAAAAAAAY!!!
 

Snow White asked about us and had never heard of New Jersey! We were truly home! Anabelle let her know that we did live in the woods. “Just like the Dwarfs!!!” Therefore, their conversation continued a bit. YAAAY!
 

Cinderella (listed, scheduled and expected, YAY!) was impressed with Anabelle’s fancy Alice in Wonderland autograph book. She mentioned that she was teaching Gus Gus how to write, but all he could do so far was “Gus” and “Cheese.” YAAAY!!!!!
 
As we came out, Anabelle began to realize the depth of her problems with the makeshift trading pin board. Alas.
 
However, the other residents of Fairytale Hall only had a ten minute wait, erasing all negativity for the moment. Anabelle sang the praises of knowing who was going to be met, and the fact that their line did not close as soon as it opened. Or as she referred to it, “The Dream.”
 
Tiana was yet another in a continuing line of joys. There was a slight hiccup before we reached her when she told the kids in line before us to head down to the bayou and look for Ray’s family. Anabelle’s childhood trauma at the loss of Ray resurfaced. I tried to comfort her by pointing out that she could be “mid-movie” Tiana, but Anabelle correctly noted. “That’s her end of the movie dress.” Alas.
 

We greeted the Princess, and she asked Anabelle her favorite color, the answer pink prompted Tiana to say Anabelle would get along with her best friend Lottie. (“This is accurate.” – Anabelle) I guess they can just tell she’s a dancer. Tiana started asking Anabelle about going out dancing, and if she knew the Charleston. My daughter kept quiet about her decades of dance experience (including teaching) and fell into step with the New Orleans Princess, knocking out a Charleston together. YAAY!
 

Rapunzel was super peppy and asked Anabelle what her favorite part of the Fairy Tale Hall was. Not wanting to insult her new long haired friend by stating it was meeting Cinderella and Snow White in the same room, she fumbled a bit and stated, “The air conditioning.” Rapunzel rolled with it, confirming, “Cinderella does have good A/C.”
 
Finally, it was time for a return to the REAL small world, where the characters are not fuzzy.
(Foreshadowing- While I have always been good at not capitalizing the title, I have recently learned the official name of this attraction is “it’s a small world” quotes and all. I will not be doing that.)
The scale is also significantly greater, meaning while some of the Dancing Dollies are closer to the boats, the displays have more depth to them as well.
“How could I have doubted?”- Anabelle.
She winked back at the hippo in triumph. One of the Can Can dancers was broken, meaning I proclaimed it “A Can’t Can’t”
A reminder that even with a damaged ankle, I am hilarious.
One of the hula girls is always broken, but this time was more disconcerting. Her arm didn’t move, but the position it was stuck in (under her hair) made it look like the arm was missing completely. Yikes!

The Magic Band Plus lit up in a rainbow in the “good bye” room. YAY!

The small world was a wonderful choice to start this trip. (Again- shut up.)
 
Over at the edge of Fantasyland we were discussing if the Haunted Mansion or the Ariel ride should be next. Anabelle used a logic we could not deny in choosing the Mansion.
“It’s right there, and I wanna ride.”
Who could argue with that?
We passed a leaving Peter Pan and Wendy as we entered Liberty Square, learning their return time.
 

The Mansion line was listed as thirty minutes, but as frequently occurs we were inside far faster. I pointed out, “It always feels a lot shorter, because the posted wait time is for getting in the Doom Buggy, not the stretching room.”
“You’re so wise.”- Anabelle
(Foreshadowing- This was a rare moment that needed to be documented.)
 
We alternate who we encounter the Haunted Mansion with, as we ride it frequently. Rosa went alone for the first run, and Anabelle and I shared a Doom Buggy. The Hat Box Ghost was a cool addition, even if it messes up the storyline by appearing before the séance. Attempts at getting a photo were disastrous.
In the graveyard scene, we were discussing how they had greatly slowed up the Poppy Uppy Heads…
And then one shot out at super speed, leading us both to scream like tiny children. Rosa thought it was a yell built into the ride. This is because it happened again right before the scene ended.

In a demonstration of how Anabelle must have been overly excited at being “home,” she decided she wanted to go back and see Peter Pan and Wendy. While she does love Wendy, Pan always has (and still does) terrify her.
Speaking of terrifying, the guy two people before us to meet them was wearing an enormous, crocheted pirate ship hat, and a Peter Pan outfit with crocheted versions of all the movie characters hanging from him.
 
In a demonstration of how tired I was, I did consider how I would respond to all the Princesses and Mickey if they noticed my Pirate hat and belt buckle…
I did not consider this at all when meeting the far more Pirate aware Peter and Wendy.
Oh boy, did they notice.
 

Wendy was greatly concerned, and Peter got right up in my face about it. Anabelle was not pleased with the extra attention. Rosa decided to hide behind the camera and avoid the altercation completely. Anabelle expected Wendy to be her “safe space” for this encounter. Therefore, she was startled when the lass, in her “School of Dick Van Dyke English Accent” yelled, “LET’S BE PIRATES!!” We took some pirate “eye patch” and “hook” pictures while they kept asking questions, such as, “Did I have a pirate ship.” Thinking of my car, I answered in a way that led Anabelle to yell at me. “You lied to Peter Pan!” 
I said, “Yes, a little one.” Prompting Peter and Wendy to propose all sorts of boat races. I thanked them as we left, leading to comments about me being a Pirate with manners. Peter said, “Bye girl!” directly into Anabelle’s face, restoring her usual levels of ire concerning the character.
 

Deciding she had made an error returning to Fantasyland, Anabelle led us back through Liberty Square into Frontierland to check out the updated Country Bear Jamboree.
It was a success!!!! YAAAY!!

The waiting area had fun, new displays cataloguing the Bears’ “performing careers.” The show itself was a hoot!

The bears were all cleaner with much smoother motions. It is a hair shorter than the recent, slightly cut down version of the original, but that meant more numbers with multiple bears performing to fill the space better. Most importantly, while still maintaining “a real old country rhythm” the kids in the crowd recognized the Disney songs and joined in singing, clapping and stomping! YEE- HAW!!!!!

 
However, I still think when we have the force of all nine of us there next time, we should lead the folks in the waiting area in a sing along of “Momma Don’t Whup Little Buford.”
 
Anabelle did some pin trading in Frontierland. (Imagine! Finding good pins!!!!) Rosa, feeling the weight of the previous couple of days, and the Stupid O’clock arising this morning, tried out one of the famous Frontierland Porch rocking chairs. Another “Aaaaaaaaaah” moment.

By this point, it was time for our dinner reservation at the Crystal Palace. The first REAL Disney food of the trip. YAAY!

 

They changed the meetings, Pooh stayed at the entrance for pictures instead of coming to tables, as befits a bear of his status. Anabelle changed into her Winnie and friends’ shirt and informed him she wore her best dress for the occasion. Mr. The Pooh was very impressed. YAAY!

At our table we met the Awesome Happy and very compassionate Chef Ted. The allergen list the waitress gave Rosa caused some confusion, and Chef Ted explained just how much was available, including some stuff that could be delivered directly to the table. YAAY!
 

Tigger bounded up first, clearly at the end of his shift. He was fun but visibly pooped. We expected him to “Pull a Piglet” and duck out right before reaching us. However, he did make one last stop with us before wandering off. Anabelle titled this action, “Pushing a Piglet.” I pointed to my boot telling him I broke by bouncer. Anabelle rolled her eyes, informing him I had been waiting a week to tell him this.
(More Aftshadowing- This is true, but it did net me an extra hug. YAAAY!)
 
The character gap was sufficient to hit the buffet. We all loaded up, as starting the Disney Trip in a state above and beyond the normal exhausted state we frequently begin these in required fueling our bodies, even after the hotel lunch. Rosa tried the ratatouille.
(Foreshadowing- The focus on that dish would be another day.)
 

Our food in hand, and much of it in mouth, Eeyore came to see us. Anabelle stated she was going to take a “Point Five” and Eeyore clapped…
Meaning a fictional donkey knows more about selfie culture that I do.
For other old and clueless folks, the “Point Five” refers to the wide-angle lens on the phone, allowing a selfie to capture a larger area. However, its on the “non selfie” side of the phone requiring a skill in aiming without looking that Anabelle clearly has… and I never will.
 
The drinks arrived somewhere in here. Rosa tried the Island Fusion Punch, a mix of Rum, pineapple juice, lime juice and the POG (passion fruit, orange and guava) juice she liked from the Floridian. She was not a fan. Fortunately, a fan of varied rum drinks was seated nearby. (Hello!) Once she finished making her own concoction of the punch and my Coke Zero, I finished the glass. This initiated the trend of “medicating” the pain levels from clomping around the Parks in my various Boots. (clomp clomp clomp)
 
The waitress was a fellow fan of “Sally” the Haunted Mansion tightrope girl that inspired Anabelle’s Minnie ears, and they had a nice chat. YAY!
 

Piglet stopped by, thrilled by Rosa’s pink shirt… and not Anabelle’s shirt that had a picture of him on it. Perhaps he was tired too.
 
Chef Ted brought Rosa gluten free rolls and brownies, (“I love these people.” -Rosa) He pointed out he normally doesn’t like brownies (much like Rosa) but these were excellent. He was right! Anabelle got a selection of desserts and the two of them had a religious experience with their sweets. YAAY!
 
One of the desserts Anabelle was checking out was a “Honey Flan.” It had a small bee decoration on it. Was this the return of the dreaded “Bee Custard?”

 
While we pondered this, the Pooh-Cession started. Only Pooh and Eeyore danced through our section- a Half-Pooh-cession if you will. Anabelle pointed out we got the good ones. YAAY!
 
Based on the previous Bee Custard debacle in the Tusker House, and poor experiences with Crystal Palace desserts with her cousins, Anabelle was flabbergasted to learn the Honey Flan was excellent.
 
It yielded an immediate scouting report to the rest of the family:
“The bee custard is gone but has regenerated into the honey flan at the Crystal Palace.  
Maybe it will actually be good
wait
it's so good!!!”
Her cousins were doubtful of what Morgan dubbed “The Bee Flan,” but she doubled down:
“Bee custard just got an upgrade.
The chefs here must have seen Veronica and I literally almost throw up the last time we tried deserts from here because they are BOMB!!!”
 
Uncle Dave wanted to know if he could still have meat for dessert. Given the quality of the Roast Beef carving station with the horse radish cream sauce, the answer was a firm, “Yes!”
 
Full and happy, we exited while Anabelle posed the query, “What a good dinner! Who turned this family onto this restaurant?”
 
Exiting near the border of multiple lands, we saw Pirates had an only five minute wait listed. Oddly, as they’re really good about those things, it was longer.
(Foreshadowing- Based on later experience, I believe we caught it right after a break down.)
The line wasn’t a whole lot longer than that, though, and before we knew it, we were on my favorite ride… and the strongest sleep aid Anabelle has ever experienced.
(“Shut up, it’s not my fault!” – Anabelle)
 
She tried the opposite side she usually sits, the right side of the boat. She was already half asleep after the drop. However, she was conscious enough to notice we had made it past Barbosa’s ship without her getting hit. As we moved along the edge of the fort, one last cannon ball (where none of us thought there were any) erupted the water right next to her, dowsing her completely.
“Why does this ride hate me?!?!”- Anabelle
The Magic Band Plus flickered along with the fire, attempting to pull my attention from what I really wanted to see.
 
We were budgeting time to arrive for the Happily Ever After fireworks and projection show. It was unceremoniously removed before our last vacation here, and then restored shortly after we left. Anabelle is still not over this. (“RUDE!” - Anabelle) Therefore, because it’s us, we crossed through three lands, (clomp clomp clomp) reaching Filmore’s Magic just before the theater doors closed. YAY!! We enjoyed the film, “In the big theater God intended for it.” I feel like the Disneyland differences left some emotional scars on Anabelle which will never heal.
 
After one of our favorite shows, we found one of the few open routes around the Castle and were instructed how to pack in together in front of it. I did decide to try turning the vibration of the Magic Band Plus back on for the night show. It wasn’t used, meaning I forgot it was on until it startled me again as we left.

I also figured out how to activate the PhotoPass pictures by myself using the App on the first day. Another triumph for the East Coast. Speaking of further disparaging the original Park, we all took photos of the Castle while we waited. You can’t help it. IT’S SO BIIIIG!!!
 

Ten minutes and five minutes before the show started, the Magic Band lit up and startled me. It flashed in sequence with about half the show… I think. I really didn’t want to look at my wrist while watching the magnificence on and around the Castle. Anabelle still had her noise cancelling headphones from the flight. She would like to pass along the excellent tip of using something similar to those easily overwhelmed by the high volume, who would still prefer to enjoy the spectacle.
 

I kinda feel like the idea behind these new Magic Bands is that the Band lights make the crowd flash in colors to match the show. Or it would if they were more popular, and almost everyone wasn’t filming which had the same effect anyway. That is- not counting when the morons used their video lights either:
A) Because they’re too stupid to know the illumination has no effect on the GIANT LIGHT PROJECTION COVERED CASTLE
or
B) They are trying to film their kids watching the show, meaning everything will be incorrectly lit and out of focus.
 

We were far too burned out to try to fight our way back into any attractions before the Park shut down in twenty minutes. Therefore, we rode the flow of humanity down Main Street towards the exit. Our passage was “helped” along by the many strollers ramming into the back of our legs. I bet those were the same people with the video lights.
 

We stepped out of the massive crowd to check out the non-racist movie themed window displays at the end of the Emporium. The song from Hello Dolly used in Wall-E was playing. Disney World, always perfect on theming, released a cockroach onto the Main Street sidewalk for thematic appropriateness. Yayish.

 
In what we thought was unusual…
(Foreshadowing- But would later learn was standard practice)
The line for the All Star Sports bus, and ONLY our bus, occupied and filled two full bus stops. The busses came in a pack and we got seats on the third one.
 
We staggered through the main building back at the resort, with Anabelle pausing for some quick pin checks. Taking the direct, much shorter route to our room worked out well. Right near us was a room door with a white board on it asking for a favorite Muppet vote. We had found our people.

 Anabelle lowered her Murphy Bed down before we had left, and we sorted out what we could.
 
Showing true evidence of being an adult in Disney World, Anabelle was the one who went on the mug run alone, establishing taking a nightly Point Five photo with one of the Ducks.
(Foreshadowing- This would complement her posed daytime pictures with Dewey one of us would take every morning.)

 
While she did that, I pried myself out of The Robocop boot and noticed that since it was lower than the standard boot, the way it deformed my leg was different, expanding my upper calf. Rosa never really trusted The Robocop until she saw it in use. This turned out to be good, not because it didn’t work, because it did very much so. But because the best course of action for the insane amount of walking (and therefore leg deformation) I was putting my healing ankle through was to alternate boots each day. I put the backup, non-inflatable sleeve in the standard boot, pulling one of the replacement straps from The Robocop to hold it in place.
 
We took turns washing up and passed out into impenetrable comas.
Note- Before passing out every night, I took the ice pack Rosa remembered to bring, because she is awesome, out of the “beverage cooler” (A fancy name for a mini fridge with no freezer.) and wrapped my ankle in it for a while.
 
18543 steps.  
6.8 miles

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