Our first stop was Slinky Dog Dash! This was Rachael's first time riding it!
It was bright but we had to get a picture of Woody in his scarf!
So cute!!
There were some fun holiday decorations!
Here he comes!
Rex also had on reindeer ears!
Alien ornaments!
Hamm sugar cookie!
Rachael with Hamm
Me with Hamm
After seeing Toy Story Land, we realized that some characters were around and naturally we went over to find Chip and Dale who were decked out in their holiday colors!
So cute!
When we wrapped up with Chip and Dale we decided to go see the Beauty and the Beast show before figuring out our lunch plans!
When there's an opportunity to take your shoes off and relax your feet, you take it!
This show is a classic.
Wonder how this will end...
Oh right - just like the movie.
We decided to try out ABC Commissary for lunch. I haven't eaten there before and I'm not sure I realized it was a restaurant... have I ever really walked that way before? I'm not sure!
Chicken Club - was tasty!
Rachael was feeling a little off so she took a very brief rest here.
During her rest, I used snapchat filters to make my face look way better than it actually does!
We decided to find out what frozen things do in summer!
After seeing Olaf, we got in line to see Mickey and Minnie. We were playing Heads Up on my phone throughout the trip and mostly using the Disney Parks stack. By this point in the trip, we were going back through the same cards over and over. So we changed it up and played some other decks including a 90s deck which brought a lot of joy to our lives.
While we waited for Mickey and Minnie we played a friends deck and this couple behind us was sort of watching and sometimes playing along. By the time we got inside, we had switched to the 90s deck and I was guessing while Rachael gave me clues.
She gave me a clue saying, "Okay, these were those big obnoxious things we put in our hair." I couldn't get it; but the man behind us said, "Like this!" and he picked up his wife's (we don't know this for sure - we assumed they were married) ponytail and exposing her SCRUNCHIE! The word I needed to guess was SCRUNCHIE! And Rachael had just accused this lady of putting something obnoxious in her hair. We all cracked up laughing for about 5 minutes. Seriously, we all laughed so hard I almost thought they were going to tell us to quiet down. It was VERY funny.
The lady was a good sport about it. She agreed to let us take a picture. Indeed, she was wearing a SCRUNCHIE! This was such a good laugh!
We got inside and I was able to show off my polka dot nails to Minnie.
I like this photo spot a lot!
We always love seeing Sorcerer Mickey!
Alright so after seeing Minnie and Mickey, and nearly peeing ourselves over the scrunch debacle, we were collecting our thoughts when a lady from DVC (Disney Vacation Club) came over to chat with us. Now let me say this. We knew that we wanted to see some of the projection stuff in the evening and see Toy Story land at night if we could. But the fact was we had some time to spare. So after a few minutes of talking about what a tour would entail, Rachael and I told the woman we'd think about a tour and let her know. It was explained to us that we'd be picked up backstage at the park and we would be driven in a van to the DVC Tour Center where we'd meet with someone who would take us through what becoming a DVC member would entail. We'd also be shown some rooms and then we'd be brought back to wherever we wanted to be dropped off. We'd also get 3 fast passes to anything at any time (excluding things in Toy Story Land) and we'd each get a $25 Disney gift card.
Once Rachael and I discussed going on the tour (and we agreed that we each had one job - not to let the other one buy into DVC) we got registered. So we had some time before we had to report for our tour so we went over to use our fast passes for Midway Mania.
There was a VERY tall man in line in front of us. To give you an idea of how tall, here's a picture of Rachael standing behind him.
We also rode Tower of Terror and then got ice cream before checking in for our tour. We didn't know we'd be getting free ice cream at the end of our tour.
Poor Rachael was squished. We were in the front row. If you can't see me, it's because my whole face is just bright white from the sun.
Love this ride.
While we were in line Mickey said, "Take my picture! Oh boy!"
Amanda, watch how I balance in this tree!
This ice cream cone was amazing.
Okay so here's what happened. We went over to the DVC booth on Sunset Blvd where we met with the lady who booked our tour. She walked us back behind Rock n' Roller coaster where we went into a backstage area where a Disney Van picked us up. They drove us to the Saratoga Springs resort where there is a DVC Tour Center. We got registered and given name tags before they brought us to a reception area with lemonade, water, and some cookies.
After a few minutes, they called us back to a small room where we met with a DVC guy. This whole thing was VERY low pressure. He asked about our park habits and how often we visit, where we stay, etc. He explained the basics of DVC to us (there are still a couple of things I'm unclear on) and then offered to show us some rooms. So we left the small room and went down a hallway where we could see show rooms of resort rooms from the Polynesian Resort, Aulani, and a couple other places. It was pretty neat to see how nice the rooms are and to see the level of detail in a deluxe resort.
We went back into the small room where, again, under no pressure, the guy basically said, "it doesn't sound like this is the right time for you to invest in DVC but it's an option." He gave us a big accordion folder of information and his business card. Then he walked us into an ice cream parlor where we were given about 6 options of ice cream flavors. Once we wrapped up, they emailed us the gift cards and a man driving a Disney Van took us back to the gate we came in behind Rock n Roller Coaster.
Overall, again, it wasn't a bad experience. I think it would be great to be a DVC member someday but it doesn't make sense for me right now.
We came back in with our "tap and go" fast passes but already had a fast pass booked for Rock n Roller coaster.
This is Rachael's favorite - I think. She'd ride it again!
We then rode Tower of Terror twice in a row with our tap-and-go fast passes!
We're in the middle row on the left side here. Look for me in my red shirt!
In this we're on the right side - once again, me obnoxiously showing off my nails!
After our two rides on Tower of Terror, I was done with sloshing around my stomach. Rachael used the third tap-and-go fast pass on another spin on Rock n Roller Coaster. While she did that, I got comfy and started taking pictures of the Jingle Bell Jingle Bam projection show on the Hollywood Tower Hotel.
Hollywood TOY Hotel!
Gingerbread House - can you spot the Muppets? Kermit, Miss Piggy, and then Fozzie Bear is on the side!
Between each projection, a short video would play and then a snow machine and lasers would come on - which produced this effect!
This would be wrapping paper
And it would unwrap to show the sky from Andy's room in Toy Story
TA DA!
Muppets again
Can you spot the Mickey?
Loved this picture!
I like this one too - need to crop out the street lights at the bottom!
Love this view
I took so many pictures - it was just so cool!
After our last couple of rides, we went into some shops to spend our $25 gift cards from the DVC tour. We also took a couple of pictures by Echo Lake, but our photo pass person, Miranda, didn't let us know we were ready for picture time... so the pictures sucked.
Love the lighted, floating ornaments!
Even Sorcerer Mickey and the brooms were in the Christmas spirit.
And, well friends, that was the end of our ThanksDisneyGiving trip. We went back to our hotel, packed up, and drove back Saturday morning. We had such a great time and left with some unplanned souvenirs. Rachael hadn't been feeling well for the tail end of our trip; and Sunday I started feeling sick which led me into about 4 weeks of sickness and two courses of antibiotics.
While this trip is over, there is MORE blog to come! Not only do I have a short trip coming up this weekend that I will recap, but I have plans to show you my Jiminy Cricket collection, my pins, and do some reviews of Disney movies! Thanks for reading along and see ya real soon!
