MEP Crew at Walt Disney World | EP 62

[00:00:06] Speaker A: Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Mouse. [00:00:09] Speaker B: Ears podcast, where we talk about all. [00:00:12] Speaker A: Things travel, but mostly Disney, brought to you by fairy tale journeys travel. Hello, everybody. Welcome in to another episode of the Mouse Ears podcast. My name is Kelton. I'm one of your hosts for this week's episode. If you're watching on YouTube. Hello, first off and welcome in. Definitely make sure to go ahead, click the like button, subscribe and smash the little bell for any and all of your vip passes to be notified for every new episode. But thankfully, you're not. [00:00:57] Speaker C: Smashed. [00:00:59] Speaker A: This is a Disney episode. [00:01:07] Speaker D: Wow. [00:01:07] Speaker A: Turn your volume down. Right? So hopefully that didn't just blow the speakers out of y'all's car, just hopefully. [00:01:14] Speaker C: Just blew your mind. [00:01:18] Speaker D: Smashed it, actually. [00:01:19] Speaker C: But let's pivot from that. [00:01:23] Speaker A: The episode. [00:01:24] Speaker C: Yes. [00:01:24] Speaker A: So as you guys can obviously now tell, it's not just me here. I've got Brooks with me as well. [00:01:32] Speaker C: Brooks. [00:01:33] Speaker A: Hello, sir. [00:01:34] Speaker C: Heidi ho. Kelton. And hello, everyone in Radio land. [00:01:42] Speaker A: And along with Brooks, we've got Steph here as well. [00:01:46] Speaker B: Steph, hello. [00:01:47] Speaker A: Welcome. [00:01:48] Speaker D: Hi. Hi. Hi. [00:01:50] Speaker A: So it is just the three of us. Unfortunately, the three, Jen had so much fun when we were at Disney last week that she has fallen ill. So she will not be joining us on this episode. [00:02:07] Speaker D: Feel better, Jen. [00:02:08] Speaker A: We will miss you always, Jen. So, before we get into anything else for this episode, because our topic tonight is really something rather simple, to the point where we don't have anything written on our document for tonight's episode, because. [00:02:28] Speaker C: It'S going to be special. [00:02:30] Speaker A: It is. All we are doing is just kind of going, what happened? Going on about our trip last week to Walt Disney World in Orlando. So before we dive into that, we are going to go ahead and go on over to our favorite segment of the Mouse Fears podcast, the new news. [00:03:07] Speaker C: Well, hello there, Calton. I am your anchor, Chris Shambrugz, runner. All right, so we're going to go into the new news. So first off, everyone, grab your seat belts or grab your life jackets, because the Disney Destiny inaugural season is open to all four booking. So contact your FTJ agent for all your DCL needs. You can reach out to one of us, you can reach out to the queen herself, Laura, or anyone out in the fairytale journeys land. Then going on, do you remember the 21st night of September? On September 21, guests visiting Epcot will be able to listen to September all day long on Guardians of the Galaxy cosmic rewind. For those that don't know, you can jamming over there. Yes. Do you remember the 21st night of September fire. Say, do you remember? [00:04:28] Speaker A: We could totally be part of the dapper dance. [00:04:31] Speaker C: Yes. [00:04:33] Speaker D: It's honestly such a catchy song. [00:04:35] Speaker C: It is. So I think real quick, I think all of us rode cosmic rewind when we were down at Disney last week. Right? Okay. What songs did y'all get? [00:04:49] Speaker A: September. [00:04:50] Speaker C: You really. [00:04:51] Speaker A: I got it. [00:04:53] Speaker C: What did you get, steph? [00:04:55] Speaker D: I don't remember. I can find out for you in, like, two minutes if I. [00:05:00] Speaker A: Is it the conga? [00:05:02] Speaker D: No, it wasn't the conga. [00:05:03] Speaker C: So that. So the first, I've only written it twice. The first time I got conga. The second. And this time, I got. And I run. I run so far away. [00:05:16] Speaker A: We could do this for the episode and not in the new news portion, but. [00:05:22] Speaker C: Which remind me, I do have a funny story with Kelsey when we. Yes. We're going to pivot back to the new news. That's a way for Kelton to keep me back on. Get me back on track. So go. Keep on going inside out, too. Is coming to Disney on September 25. I just saw this today as we logged into Disney plus. So if you have not seen it yet, get your popcorn ready. And I wish they would still do those watch parties. They don't. Disney plus doesn't have that option anymore. Or else I would say we would have a mouse Ears podcast watch party. But we could. We. We could try to coordinate it where we say, okay, three, two, one. Hit play. [00:06:09] Speaker A: Old school. [00:06:10] Speaker C: That's right. So moving on. Something that was available pre Covid that Disney is bringing back guests can splash into Disney Water park fun again in again and again with the Disney waterpark. Seasonal pass. This returning offer is valid for visits on September 4 through May 23, 2025. For, get this. A price tag of only $79 plus tax. There are some blackout dates, but they're very minimal. Blackout dates will apply on April 12 through the 20th of 2025. So pretty much for the price of a one day ticket you can go for most of the year. So that. That is a great deal right there. Such a good. [00:07:04] Speaker D: Especially. [00:07:04] Speaker C: And then, yes, we were. [00:07:09] Speaker D: We'll talk about that heat at the water park. And then you take a nap. You go back to your room, take a nap, have, like, an early dinner or, like, a late lunche, and then hit up the park. You might this. What might be the way to tackle Disney during, like, these months, because it is way too hot. You've got the afternoon storms, but you still want to go to your park. Hmm hmm. With a seasonal pass. All right, sorry. Continue. [00:07:35] Speaker C: Oh, no, you're fine. And then lastly, as of Monday, September 9. So when this comes out, last Monday, the Tron light cycle run in the Magic kingdom has moved from virtual queue to a regular standby queue. You can still get your lightning lane, but they will now have a standby queue. And I think, steph, you were looking at the wait times on the opening day and did it get up to 70 minutes? [00:08:08] Speaker D: So. So here's the crazy stuff. I was at Walt Disney World for the first couple of days that it was standby queue. The morning of September 9, it opened up with 100 plus minutes. But of course, that's probably because there's a lot of people who are trying to rope drop it. And we're expecting the wait time to be high. Now, we all know that Disney is progressing with, like, how they are queuing up people and how fast they're going through it. And we know that ride is relatively fast to begin with. Well, let me tell you guys, by the aft. By the late morning, early afternoon, you have like an average wait time of like 45 minutes. It was not bad. And then, I mean, 70 minutes was probably like mid morning. And then I was seeing 45, 50, 60, which I feel like for Tron, for like, what would be a, you know, one of the only three real attractions at magic kingdom. Not bad. I mean, we've had flight of passage be an average of 90 to 120 minutes. Still to this day, you know, and it's been how many years since that's been at Pandora? Well, then I managed to go to Magic Kingdom on day two of the standby queue. And which just so happens to be a party night with Mickey's not so scary, let me tell you. That. Wait time fluctuated between 30 minutes to 60 with an average which with the majority of the time, it falling in between 30 to 45 minutes. I did that wait time, 40 minutes went by super quick. Toasty outside, I will say that. But like the line, they have the ropes that keep go all the way around like that. That, um, not that bridge. That kind of bridge area all the way down to where the sign is. Yeah, I never saw the line go all the way back down there. In fact, I am pretty sure that I've done the line a lot longer via virtual queue, so. [00:10:27] Speaker A: Oh, absolutely. [00:10:29] Speaker D: In hindsight, this was actually a fantastic thing. It moved by super quick. The line wasn't that bad, and you're able to ride it multiple times without having to pay for it. I think it was fantastic. I highly still recommend people to go to Magic Kingdom on party days because I was able to ride space mountain twice back to back walk on. I did seven dwarves mind train 30 minutes, followed by the 30, 45 minutes. 30, 40 minutes wait for Tron, and then, like, Peter Pan, 30, 40 minutes. I mean, that was, like, the average for most rides. Like, the highest wait time. So it was just fantastic. We were able to do so much. Anyways, sorry. Got a little off on a tangent there. But, Brooks, I did want to add one more thing to the news that's not on our document. [00:11:26] Speaker C: Okay. So would you call this breaking news? [00:11:31] Speaker D: Um, it's breaking news. [00:11:35] Speaker C: Thank you. [00:11:36] Speaker D: You're welcome. So, from September 15 through October 15 of this year, Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World will be celebrating hispanic and latin american heritage month. So, basically, we're going to be experiencing, or having the opportunity to experience a whole bunch of different hispanic inspired cuisine at both coasts. So definitely take advantage of that. If you're in the parks, I know at Epcot, we currently have food and wine, which we will dive into that. But obviously, if you've been listening from the beginning, you know that I am hispanic. So I'm very happy to see that Disney, you know, does take different cultures into consideration with all their cuisines and the things that they do at the parks. There's a huge, huge, huge community of Hispanics that go to Disney anyways on both coasts. So this is really cool. Just a cool tribute and something that they do. So absolutely happy they're doing that. Figured I'd let you guys know. Well, that's going on for about a month at both sides of the United States of America. All right, now I'm done. [00:12:48] Speaker C: All right. And with that, that's the end of new news. We send it back over to our trivia master, Kelton. [00:13:04] Speaker A: I sure do love being the trivia master. I cannot wait till we do our next trivia episode to see if Stephanie Hefner can hold on to that trophy. [00:13:16] Speaker C: She will not. [00:13:19] Speaker A: Come on, Robbie. Here's your chance. [00:13:21] Speaker C: All right. That's right. [00:13:22] Speaker B: So today's trivia question, or this week's. [00:13:26] Speaker A: Trivia question, I should say, of course, is brought to you by the Magic candle company. The next time you want a disney inspired scent to fill your home or office, whether it may be a candle room spray or more, make sure to use our special promo code, mouse ears, for 15% off. If you don't know how to spell it yet, that's mo usears. 15% off of any of your future magic candle company purchases. So today's trivia question, shockingly, is nothing related to the theme parks at all. I full on went random, and these two just let me slide. I don't. I don't know why, but today's trivia question, how many zip codes are in the United States of America? How many zip codes are in the USA? Do you want to know the answer? [00:14:28] Speaker D: This by any chance? Because I have no idea. [00:14:30] Speaker A: No. Nothing inspired it. [00:14:33] Speaker D: Nothing inspired it. [00:14:34] Speaker C: Nope. [00:14:34] Speaker A: I just googled most random trivia questions, and I found a webpage with 276 of them. So I picked number 31, and there it was. [00:14:47] Speaker D: I like it. [00:14:47] Speaker A: So, if you want to find out the answer to this random trivia question, make sure to stay tuned to the end of the episode. [00:14:57] Speaker C: Okay, I have. I have a quick question with that website. Real quick. Is the question to number 42, what is the meaning of life? And the answer is 42. [00:15:12] Speaker A: No, actually, that one is what is the largest island in the world? [00:15:17] Speaker C: Okay. [00:15:19] Speaker A: Do you know 42? [00:15:20] Speaker C: Do you know that reference? [00:15:22] Speaker A: I. Yes. It is the medium of life, I believe. [00:15:26] Speaker C: Yeah. Well, the hitchhikers got to the galaxy. Yeah. [00:15:31] Speaker A: So shall we get on with this week's episode of the Mouse Ears podcast? [00:15:40] Speaker C: I think. I think we shall. [00:15:42] Speaker A: Fantastic. We had our first ever meetup of the Bouncers podcast at Walt Disney World. Kind of focused around the international food and wine festival, per se, at Epcot, which was a fantastic time, if I do say so myself. I mean, but like you said it, y'all, it was hot. [00:16:11] Speaker B: Just a tad bit toasty hot with three teas hot. [00:16:17] Speaker A: If you're watching on YouTube, as red as Brooks's room is right now, hot. [00:16:25] Speaker C: I mean, if you saw, I mean, Kelton went live on tick tock for how long? It was a couple of hours. [00:16:33] Speaker A: Yeah, it was almost like 2 hours. I. Yeah, I couldn't. [00:16:35] Speaker C: As hot as your phone got, I. [00:16:37] Speaker A: Couldn'T charge my phone for 30 minutes because it needed to cool down. [00:16:41] Speaker C: Yeah. So that poor. [00:16:43] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:16:44] Speaker C: And it was, uh. But let me tell you, if you get a nice iced, uh, coffee from Joffrey's, it is refreshing on a moist Florida day. [00:16:57] Speaker A: So. Absolutely. Poor Laura. [00:17:03] Speaker D: Poor Laura with that shout out to Laura Greco. [00:17:06] Speaker C: Yes. [00:17:07] Speaker D: Queen of the Mouse Ears podcast. She came out, she answered the FtJ slash Mep back call, as she calls it, and not only made sure that we got group pictures for our website, if you haven't checked out mousiersblog.com podcast, we do have a website you can check out and find all of our podcasts, episodes there, and, of course, our blog articles as well. But anyways, she came out. She lives close to the parks, made sure we got our pictures, was there, made us laugh. We went around the world with her. [00:17:49] Speaker C: And bought me an egg roll. [00:17:51] Speaker D: Yeah. A special shout out to her because she made sure I didn't burn. I was standing and I'd just be like, guys, um, I feel like I'm burning. I literally feel my skin singing. And what does she do? She whips out some sunscreen from her backpack and just starts spraying me. And I swear I am spraying everyone color because of her. So thank you. Because I could have been a lobster and not, not the fun kind. So she was awesome and more. On that note, super, super, super excited. Not only that, we are got to meet in person for the first time, but we also got the incredible chance to meet some other podcast guests and fans. So we mentioned Laura Greco, Stephanie Hefner. She's been on the podcast for Sandals and as well, our trivia winner from season two. That was amazing, meeting up with her in person as well. Now that I think about it, I don't think we got a picture with her. And now I'm freaking out because that should have happened. It was really hot. [00:19:02] Speaker A: Guys. [00:19:02] Speaker C: Should have got a picture of the two of us just. [00:19:07] Speaker D: And then we also met another FTJ agent, Christine Siobhan. She hasn't been on the podcast, but she's a fan. And I guess, well, as well, also an FTJ agent. We also were able to give out a couple of stickers to some fans who came up with us, or we just struck a conversation and hello, now you're a fan. It was awesome. And then, of course, the best part was that we all got to meet each other. But not just each other, our families. That was awesome. [00:19:41] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, it was. [00:19:43] Speaker D: I must say. So, yeah. In the wise words of Casey, aka Calton's wife, the MEPs or Mouse Ears podcast support group. Support group or spouses? Spouses. [00:19:58] Speaker A: Whichever way you wanted to go. [00:20:00] Speaker D: Exactly. Thanks to them, we were all able to do this and gave us the opportunity to hang out and enjoy ourselves as best as we could, you know, while melting. And I do genuinely mean that because we were able to go live. We were able to take some pictures and stuff, but we really were present in the moment, having conversations, hanging out, you know, interacting with other people. It was just so wonderful. And I'm sure I speak for all of us, you know, thanks to the maps for allowing us the opportunity. [00:20:42] Speaker C: Shaking my groove thing with Laura. [00:20:46] Speaker A: Man. [00:20:47] Speaker C: I still have not seen that video. I don't know if I want to see that video. [00:20:51] Speaker A: I think everybody should see that. [00:20:53] Speaker C: No, I don't think I want to see that video. I don't think it needs to be on TikTok. [00:21:02] Speaker A: So. So we can start with. Because we're already 21 minutes in now. We can start with kind of the beginning. So we all kind of showed up very much at different times. So I was able. And stayed all at different places. I mean, so, because I was able to come in, because we. I had originally stated, okay, we're just gonna go in for the weekend. [00:21:31] Speaker B: Right? [00:21:31] Speaker A: And then it turned into, okay, well, we want to do three parks, but if we're gonna do three, we want to do magic Kingdom and studios, and. And Kenny likes animal Kingdom, but we have to do epcot. So I guess we're going for four days. And then I didn't want to waste my magic kingdom day, so we flew in. Like, it was to the point where I had a late. A meeting run a little bit later at work. So I got. I left the office at three, parked in the parking lot by 03:07. Then I forgot that I had my pocket knife in my pocket from work. [00:22:05] Speaker B: So I had to take. [00:22:06] Speaker A: Get off the bus at the next stop, run it back to my truck, get back on the bus for a 430 flight. So, yeah, it was crazy. But we got in Wednesday night. It was great. We stayed at pop century. I know you. You know, we had Jenny up there at club level, at the contemporary. I don't know why we didn't go rate her food. We should. [00:22:30] Speaker C: For real. [00:22:31] Speaker A: Um, but I tell you, I mean, it was. It was a great time, and I stayed at pop century, especially with the refurb going on in the food court area, y'all was not bad one bit. But I will say the biggest. Two big takeaways, of course, number one being to get with everybody at the podcast and some other people. But if you can stand the heat, like, if you can really stand the heat, that week, the week after labor day is the day to go, and I judged it solely on how long of a line Peter pan had at the magic kingdom. And I'm talking for. Because we did Magic kingdom on a party night or, sorry, on a non party night. Because, you know, I wanted. I wanted happily ever after. I. [00:23:24] Speaker B: All of that stuff. [00:23:27] Speaker A: The longest Peter Pan got was 45 minutes, and we did it first thing in the morning, and it was a solid 40 minutes wait. But it moved. I mean, thankfully, it moved a little bit, but, I mean, that is. [00:23:41] Speaker D: Sure, for Peter Pan. [00:23:42] Speaker A: It's short for Peter Pan and everything else was. I mean, everything was kind of averaging 30 minutes. Thunder Mountain haunted mansion. I did finally get to go on Tron, which was excellent. And Casey said I had the biggest smile on my face when we got off that. I mean, it. That is such a cool attraction. [00:24:03] Speaker D: So I hadn't realized you hadn't been on it yet. [00:24:07] Speaker C: No. [00:24:07] Speaker D: That's awesome. [00:24:09] Speaker A: Nope. So that was. That was a lot of fun. And then lucky enough to get September on guardians of the galaxy when we rode in Epcot, uh, so it was a very, very successful trip. And then I cannot wait for Brooks and I get to talk about the stake we had at Mama Melrose, because that one, I mean. Well, I'll save that one. I'll let you know. Brooks can bring that one up. But. And then, of course, the sad part, the way to end the trip, at least for, you know, for us, was getting five minutes into Fantasma, and then it getting canceled for weather that. [00:24:50] Speaker C: It was just teased. It was a tease. [00:24:55] Speaker A: Oh, we. You know, we got. Kenny got to see Mickey there, at least, so that. [00:24:59] Speaker C: Yeah, that helped a little bit. [00:25:01] Speaker A: But I telling you, I had a. I had a great. We didn't. We didn't use, you know, the talking about the lines being so low, we didn't even use get the lightning lane multi pass. I mean, we didn't feel like we needed it, which. Yeah, you know, I guess if we would have got it, I mean, we probably could have done a heck of a lot more. But also, I'm running around with a four year old, y'all. Like, I'm not gonna, you know, pin my day down like that. [00:25:30] Speaker D: Here's where I wish we would have had. The lightning lane. Yeah. Food lines for food and wine on Saturday. [00:25:38] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:25:39] Speaker D: Where we would have needed it, because those lines I. Disney. [00:25:42] Speaker C: Are you listening that? [00:25:44] Speaker D: Any of the rides. Oh, my gosh. [00:25:47] Speaker A: Well. But we hit it with a trifecta. It was a Saturday, and the weather was gorgeous. The locals. You. You're a local person, per se. I guess the Orlando, central Florida locals were there. I mean, and you knew they were there because Orange county was walking around. [00:26:12] Speaker D: It was. Yes, it was a beautiful day, but, by golly, was it hot. I was. There was a cooling towel involved. There was a fan involved. There were as many AC breaks involved, and it was just still not enough. It was brutal. Brutal. But it didn't rain. And for Florida during this time of the year. Yeah, that'll. [00:26:39] Speaker C: No, it just all saved it for Sunday, pretty much. Yeah. [00:26:43] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:26:44] Speaker C: But it. [00:26:45] Speaker A: I mean, and I broke my cardinal rule of not drinking sugary drinks. But that welsh dragon from the UK pavilion, that rose crown pub. Oh, man. Did that hit the spot. That was a cold drink. [00:26:59] Speaker C: And one thing too. I mean, with Epcot, there isn't, like, there's some shade, but when you're walking around that world showcase, you don't have a lot. You don't have a lot of shady spaces and you really don't. And. Yeah. [00:27:22] Speaker D: Bit. [00:27:23] Speaker C: So. [00:27:24] Speaker A: Which may not be a bad. I mean, if you actually haven't gone into, you know, explore, like, the wine cellar place that we went into in Italy. Do you know how many times I have been to Epcot? I did not. I didn't know that was there. I mean, you actually have to go back and really dig deep into those countries. [00:27:47] Speaker D: How about that chocolate shot, Kelton? [00:27:51] Speaker C: Apparently, and I had never. [00:27:52] Speaker A: Yeah, you're not supposed to take it like a shot. Well, nobody told me that. [00:27:57] Speaker C: And I had never been into Germany, so. [00:28:00] Speaker A: Deutschland the motherland. [00:28:02] Speaker D: Yeah. No, no, it was honestly, like, what was fantastic is as soon as we. We all met up, the first thing we did, and I probably say within the hour of us getting to the park or the park opening for the general public, we were meeting up and we did a five minute wait for spaceship Earth. [00:28:25] Speaker A: Gotta thank the Phoenicians. [00:28:27] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:28:27] Speaker D: Thank you. Absolutely. And then from there, we got. We ended up going to the seas, finding Nemo immediately. Immediately. We need an AC break. And that's one of the best places, Epcot, for an AC break. We reconvened and got ready to take our group pictures with Walt. God bless Walt. [00:28:51] Speaker C: And even he was hot. [00:28:54] Speaker A: Yeah, we were warned, don't touch him. [00:28:56] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:28:58] Speaker D: And then from there, we were able to start making our way through Epcot, through the. And we didn't get to do everything. We did go out slower, leisurely pace. That's fine. We were chatting, we were enjoying the weather. [00:29:12] Speaker A: We did start in Mexico for the people wondering. Yes, you always start in Mexico. [00:29:17] Speaker D: Yes, we did. I mean, um, but, you know, we had, like I said, we had a great time. Thanks, Laura, for being out there and joining us and keeping us on our toes. Um, and, yeah, what, what Kelton was saying was, when, again, those lines for the kiosks outside of each of the pavilions were very, very long. So, Saturday at epcot, you have to mentally prepare yourself for long lines. The food is all fantastic, the drinks are even better, especially with the heat, but be prepared to wait in line. And I'm sorry I was not gonna wait in a 30 minutes line with absolutely no shade cover for food. It's just, it was tough. So what did we do? We pivoted and went inside the pavilions and got some, some out of the normal. Thank you. Thank you. Which I think was just awesome. I feel like it was so on par with us. Just kind of rolling with it, you know, trying out other things, you guys trying some new things still just the camaraderie hanging out. I couldn't have asked for a better day. Again, the rain cloud stayed away, and then we ended up, I mean, in. [00:30:36] Speaker C: The area, they could have came a little bit to provide some shade, but just the clouds. Yeah, just the class. [00:30:43] Speaker A: So I do, since we were all there, and it is unfortunate that Jen is not here to talk about this as well, but just, I want to talk real quick, my favorite topic when it comes to just theme parks in general transportation, how did we. Because we all stayed at different places. I was a pop century. [00:31:08] Speaker C: Brooks, you were at all star sports. [00:31:10] Speaker A: All star sports. Steph, you were off property this trip, right? [00:31:14] Speaker D: Yep. Which is not normal for me. [00:31:18] Speaker A: And then Jenny was at the contemporary. So just, you know, real quick method of transportation, I don't know. You can give a rating. You're a random happy thought. I don't know. But. So I figure, Brooks, your method of transportation would you think, you know, time wise, what you got? [00:31:41] Speaker C: So mine was all bus. But I mean, one thing with those value resorts, they have a lot of buses come because that's typically the only mode of transportation. Unless you stay at pop century, then you also have the skyliner. But those buses were running. They were. If you see town, let's say it says it's going to arrive at 911. That's general. From what I saw, that was when the bus left. It was usually there a lot earlier than that, loading up. And it was, it was gone by the time it was, it said the arrival time. So they were on point running. I will say, though, so I had a little bit of a brain lapse after we ate from Steakhouse 71 Sunday. We were eating, we, we were all having a great time. We'll talk more about that dinner later on. But we were all heading back to Hollywood studios. Well, contemporary. The only way get to Hollywood studios, unless you take a minivan, would be the buses. Unless you took, unless you went around about a way to get there. It does take a long time with, with that bus. And then we went to get on and I realized I left my backpack at the restaurant and within the minute of me running back, grabbing a backpack and come and coming back, that bus was gone. And I literally had to wait about 30 minutes for the next bus. So that was one thing about. [00:33:34] Speaker A: Right. [00:33:35] Speaker C: And that's one thing I've never stayed at a deluxe resort, bingo's cross. Hopefully soon I can. But that was one thing I never actually considered was some of those, like, you know, especially, that would have the other most, like the monorail, the bus schedule. It may take longer than staying at, say, a value resort where they have more buses coming. Um, but no. Um, and then at the end of the night, uh, when we were coming back from, uh, that Sunday, the only day that we tried to close the park with Ellie, uh, no buses were still running good that night as well. So. [00:34:26] Speaker A: Well, that, you know, when we were at, uh, lunch at Steakhouse, you know, I've talked about it before. That was that magic window of when there's not very many buses running. And I. I mean, that. That's definitely a hard part. Yeah, but. And, you know, I'll talk about. Because more of that when it's comes to me. But. So, steph, you were off property. So you guys had your car? [00:34:55] Speaker D: Yes, we stayed off property. We drove to the parks. And so here's the thing. When you stay off property, we always, always, always rave about the perks of staying on property. And frankly, the only reason I would stay off property is if, you know, my grandfather's timeshare is available in. It doesn't happen often. I don't recommend it. I have an annual pass. Therefore, I don't pay for parking every time you park on property. At a park? Yes. At a theme park, it is $30. That's like a meal every day or two. [00:35:40] Speaker A: Unless if you have a car and staying on property, you don't get charged parking. [00:35:45] Speaker D: Correct. [00:35:46] Speaker A: Thankfully, they took that away. [00:35:48] Speaker D: Thank God. Yeah. So if you are staying on property and you do have your car, you're able to park at the theme parks without paying because you are a guest on property. So for me, I just don't recommend it. I go visit the parks enough that for me, it's not that big of a deal, because I don't feel like I have to rope drop. I don't feel like I need to stay there till the end because it is very, very, very tiring to have to drive back to wherever you came from at the end of the night after a very long day at the park, especially with the sun beating down on you. It doesn't matter if it's a five minute drive or a 25 minutes drive, it's taxing. So for that reason alone, I don't recommend it, especially if, like, you're not someone who frequents. If you don't frequent and you're there from, you know, open to close, it's a lot on top of, you know, parking, the fees that you have to pay. And then, you know, we've been on the topic of food and wine. If you're at the parks and drinking, obviously you should not be driving. So that's just another reason why staying on property is so fantastic. That being said, you know, again, I frequent the parks a lot. It's not, you know, for me, it's not the end of the world to not be there as soon as it opens or until it closes. And again, I don't have to pay for parking. But, you know, the only thing that I'll say is kind of nice is that staying and parking there, like, let's say I want to take an extra pair of jackets or an extra pair of shoes or socks or whatever if it's going to rain. Well, I have that in the car if I need to go and get it where, like, let's say if I am stay on property, you would have to get on some sort of transportation to go back to your room for that change, then go back out. So it's a little bit more of a hassle if. If you want to look at it from that perspective. But I. That again, let's say magic kingdom. If you're going to magic Kingdom and you have to park at the ticket and transportation center, or transportation and ticket center, you have multiple stops before you get to Magic Kingdom, which is honestly just annoying. One of the reasons why I don't always go to magic kingdom when I go. Like, if I stay on property, my bus or my monorail is going to take me straight up to the front of the. Of the park. But if I have to drive in there, I have to get to the TTC, and then from TTC, either the monorail or the ferry, wait for that to then take me over, and then, you know, it's just. And that's not even including the tram. The tram from your car to the hub where you go through security to get to the transportation. So just a lot more work. That being said, I took a car to Disney. Yeah. Yeah. That was my method of transportation. [00:38:56] Speaker A: I'd say there's definitely. There's positives and negatives to both, and especially with a vehicle, that one. And I tell my dad, this all the time because my. My dad was all about Disney transport until he took the wrong bus one day and it completely threw him off. Now he drives everywhere on property. [00:39:22] Speaker D: Get lost at Disney very easily. Even if you drive all the turns and the things, like, especially, like magic kingdom, you go towards Magic Kingdom, and if you're in the wrong lane, it'll take you to the four. It'll take you into magic kingdom parking lot or will take you to some other resorts, because that's happened to me. And then you're now doing this in massive loop, and it's taking you another 20 minutes to get back around. So it can happen in any regard, honestly. [00:39:49] Speaker C: There's also around animal kingdom. You take the wrong turn, all sudden you're on a toll road. Happened to me once. [00:39:58] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:39:59] Speaker A: Parkway. [00:40:00] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:40:01] Speaker D: Pros and cons. But at the end of the day, I would rather not be driving if given the choice. But I think one other con, and this is like, a very loose con. Let's say it's raining and you're wet, and you get on the bus at the end of the night. It is freezing. Like, freezing. Oh, I've had some. Not so. [00:40:25] Speaker C: Well. I mean, your sweat's colder than the. [00:40:27] Speaker A: Florida weather, and so is the rain. [00:40:30] Speaker C: Yep. [00:40:32] Speaker A: So I can actually speak to that, because that was me Sunday night. So staying at pop century, we were at Hollywood studios. Of course, the rain can't. The weather canceled out. Fantastic. We were all heartbroken. We had a stroller that we had gotten for free from somebody at Disney. My mom had picked it up a couple of days prior when she was over there. I'll say, join the free cyclers Facebook groups for Disney. Great stroller. So, uh, we were gonna try to give it away, but I had it posted. Nobody was taking it. So instead of leaving it, friends of ours who are, uh, cast members said, hey, we'll just take it. Leave it in our garage. That way, when you come, you don't have to bring a stroller. We'll just, you know, they'll just bring it to us. I'm like, sweet, but they said, but you got to get it to us. I'm like, crap, how am I going to. I have no car, you know? So one of our best friends, it does work at the contemporary resort. [00:41:47] Speaker B: I. [00:41:47] Speaker A: So while Casey and Kenny took the Skyliners from Hollywood studios to Caribbean beach and then transferred over to the pop century art of animation line on the skyliner, I, soaking wet, froze on the bus from Hollywood studios to the contemporary, handed off my stroller to our to our friend walked. And then this time I finally put the poncho on because, you know, why not at the end of the night and then walked to the magic kingdom to get on the bus to go to pop center, to go back to pop century. So the only mode of transportation we did not do well, the two are autom automotive and the monorail. But telling you, we must have had some good luck on our side, because Thursday night we were, we left right after the fireworks just because Kenny was getting tired and the weather just was not. Yeah, it was starting to rain and whatnot. So we went and called it just like the other 20,000 people chose to as well. And we got to the line at the bus station and it was packed. I mean, just both stations were open. It was long line. [00:43:14] Speaker B: But I will say we continuously had. [00:43:17] Speaker A: Buses coming in back to back. So going back to Brooks's statement, the values were getting the buses that night. So we, now, we did wait about the 20 minutes, but it was just because we had that many people, you know, and, and those, but those single. [00:43:40] Speaker B: You know, not the accordion ones, but the single buses can hold up to. [00:43:45] Speaker A: 70 people, of course, with no strollers. [00:43:48] Speaker B: But, so that's a lot of people getting on those buses at that time. But I will say it worked out well. And even the skyline, the skyliner wait. [00:43:59] Speaker A: Was not long at all in the morning. [00:44:02] Speaker D: It's a long line because I've been in that line and it's like the line. So if you've ever been. The skyliner is way before the buses. And I've been in that line where it's wrapping around in zigzag by the skyliner. And then it wraps all the way around to the entrance of, like, the bus lanes. It's long, trust me, people. But it pops entry. [00:44:29] Speaker C: It moves. [00:44:30] Speaker D: Yeah, it is constantly moving. So it's a lot more, it looks more intimidating than it actually is. I'm a huge, huge fan of the skyliner for that reason. [00:44:40] Speaker B: One that's in that thing is because most of the time, especially in the morning, you know, you were getting put in there. You know, we, every morning we used it. We had, there were two or three parties in with us pending, you know, how big, but it was the two, three of us in a stroller. So we, we had another couple that was always in there. But it worked out, you know, worked out great for us. So, you know, if you're looking for, you know, to go to Disney for, you know, not wanting to spend all that money, you know, if you're just really, you're just using your room for a place to lay your head at night, y'all look at. Look at the values. I mean, and that's the. The pros of working with a travel agent is not having to worry about, oh, you know, I need to check because I got to get my discount to seeing if mine works for the discounts. Well, then I have to call that number and wait 2030 minutes to talk to somebody. Not when you book with FTJ. [00:45:46] Speaker A: Just. [00:45:47] Speaker B: Just throwing it out there. So I know that that worked for us. [00:45:52] Speaker D: I. So we talked about values and we talked about staying off property. Jen's not here. I do want to just a little bit highlight the pros of her stay, which was different than all of ours. And we will get to do an entire episode on staying club level at Walt Disney World because it merits it and there's a lot more. [00:46:17] Speaker A: Absolutely. [00:46:18] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:46:19] Speaker D: Think and even know it exists. So she has a family of five. Five adults. You go to any sit down restaurant, and I'm only mentioning this specifically because I know this is, like, the best thing for her and her family. And you guys spend a lot of money at sit down restaurants. It is what it is. And there's a lot of great, fantastic places to eat at Disney, if you know where to go, which is why we ended up at Steakhouse 71. And we'll talk about that next. That being said, when you're a family of five eating at sit down restaurants, it can cost a pretty penny. When you stay at club level, food and drinks are all included, and we're talking breakfast, snacks, what they consider dinner, they call hors d'oeuvres. And then, like, dessert, you can have an entire meal, basically, for breakfast and dinner and be completely satisfied. And the menu changes every night. So for them, that was the best option for them, because not only are you being treated excellent, above excellent, but you're also, in, in the long run, saving money and food, as well as just, like, the absolute convenience of having the monorail to be able to get to magic Kingdom and epcot. So, you know, just a really, really great option to consider if you want more of, like, that all inclusive feel, but as well, like, if, you know, you're someone who potentially will spend a lot of money on food and want to figure out an alternative, this is the route for you. And it's also something that we talk about a lot as agents, is, you know, the geological benefits of where you're staying. If you're someone who you're only going to magic kingdom. Well, then your best bet is to stay at one of the magic kingdom resorts. If your, you know, goal is just animal kingdom, then your best bet is to go to animal kingdom resorts because you don't want to spend an hour trying to get from one place to the next if that's, you know, your main reason for being there. Now, if you're going to all the parks and you don't care that much and you're staying for a week, you know, it's a different story. But those are all the different things that we think about, that we're always, you know, guiding our clients when booking. So. But anyways, so that I feel like if Jen was on, she would definitely mention that and just, like, the convenience of, like, again, she's an annual pass holder. But, like, if you want to pop in and pop out from Magic Kingdom, you have food at your hotel because your club level, it is so easy to do that. You don't have to wait for the line at the monorail at the end of the night after happily ever after, you can just walk, and it's a max, a ten minute walk. Does it suck if it's raining? Yes. But honestly, it could happen to you at any park, any hotel, anywhere. So on that note. So we talked a little bit about where we're staying. We talked a little bit about our time at epcot. I think we should talk a little bit about Sunday and why we ate at Steakhouse 71 and, you know, just what our Hollywood Studios day looked like. [00:50:06] Speaker C: Yeah. Um, so I'll. We ate at steak. I was. I would just say we ate at Steakhouse. Oh, and so if you listen to, uh, last season, with our March Madness episode, Ohana won our, um, bracket, however. Yeah. Yeah. The March Madness bracket episode, however, getting a reservation for party size of 14 at Ohana is a tad bit difficult. Even 60 days out, still difficult. So Steakhouse 71 was right up there. It was causing potential breakups. So we felt like it was a very good consolation. And I would just say I. We. So we went for lunch. Um, and if you're watching on YouTube, that is the video. That is the picture that's on the tv right now, is the picture of the four of us in front of the steakhouse 71 sign. I should have realized then when I took the picture, I did not have my backpack on, but neither here nor there. Uh, but, uh, I was. I will say that was my first time ever going to Steakhouse 71. That would definitely not be my last time going to Steakhouse anyone? That meal. The food was amazing. The service was amazing. The company was amazing. [00:51:49] Speaker B: Um, we were the company. [00:51:51] Speaker C: Yes. [00:51:52] Speaker B: It was us. [00:51:53] Speaker C: Yes. So, I mean, I had a night. I had a nice view of Kelton's gorgeous face. I had a nice view of sticky Mike. Uh, yeah, I mean, he was the hero. Steakhouse 71. [00:52:12] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:52:12] Speaker C: But story for another time when he's on, uh, when we have the Meeps episode. Uh, but I mean, it was. I just. I'll just say this. I don't know what out, what we'll talk about. I was doing a second, I don't know what I was expecting when we were all getting together. I mean, we've been doing this for over a year and a half now. Um, I mean, my expectation. Yeah, my expectations was high. Exceeded my expectations, I'll say that. Um, so the fact that we walked around Epcot on. I know we're about to talk about Hollywood serious, but the fact that we walked around Epcot on Saturday and this, this is bad. I guess we can say contact creators, because we were trying where we said, we said before we hand, we were going, we were, this was going to be a content heavy day. We were going to grab all this stuff. The fact that we forgot to get food there just because we were having such a great time talking. [00:53:27] Speaker B: And we are horrible content creators. [00:53:31] Speaker C: Yes. I mean, page of Mister Morrow makes it look easy. [00:53:36] Speaker B: It's not easy, people. [00:53:37] Speaker D: It's not. Especially when you're sweating, you can't even see the screen in front of you, and then your phone's dying because it's so hot. [00:53:46] Speaker B: We do need to also, and, steph, I think it was you had that, had the picture earlier. We need to post that picture of it almost looks like. I am interviewing Brooks, doing a live review of. What was the coffee that you got? [00:54:03] Speaker C: Uh, that was the banana cream coke, banana pie, coconut cream iced coffee from Joffrey's in the America pavilion. Say that five times fast. But, but I would say it was absolutely delightful. [00:54:22] Speaker B: One, what is it? One taste. You know the rules. [00:54:24] Speaker C: Oh, one sip, everyone knows the rules. [00:54:26] Speaker B: One sip, everyone knows the rules. [00:54:29] Speaker D: So I do want to say, though, that, like, yes, we've been doing this for a year and a half, and yes, this was the very first time. [00:54:38] Speaker C: We'Ve met in person for the first time in forever. [00:54:42] Speaker D: Brooks, you're saying you didn't know what to expect at one point. [00:54:45] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:54:45] Speaker D: All those for everyone listening. And you, you wonder, you know, our. Is our banter. Genuine? My laughter, because I'm always laughing and just everything about, like, our genuine friendship chemistry. It is 100% real, guys. It is as real as it is in person, as it is on, you know, electronically on the computer from our respective homes. Like, we had such a great time. We, all of us, between. [00:55:17] Speaker C: I mean, we talked about going on vacations outside of Disneyland. [00:55:20] Speaker D: Mm hmm. So, you know, I think that was, like, the highlight is. I don't know, that realization, hey, we are friends for real, outside of our phones and computers. And we all got along so well. You know, us, our families, our partners, spouses. It was just amazing. [00:55:41] Speaker C: We really were. We really are all in this together. Did I just ruin it? Staff. [00:55:52] Speaker D: But steakhouse 21 was just absolutely fantastic. Real quick, I had the stack burger, which is like steakhouse anyone's signature meal. Okay. It is weird. I looked at the menu, and I like to try new things. I like weird stuff out of the normal stuff, and this was just, like, not something I would order. It was not. But I've heard so many great things about it. I'm like, I cannot not try this. And for those of you that don't know, Steakhouse 71 has a different menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Not always the case. For most restaurants, lunch and dinner is typically the same. Breakfast is breakfast, but. And then there's a lot of places that have a lot of lunch and dinner menu items for breakfast. So Steakhouse 71 is unique in that regard. And when I tell you this burger was probably top five best burgers I've ever had in my life, it was just delicious. Delicious. I would absolutely delicious have it again. And, you know, I was just so happy. I finally got to go to Steakhouse 71 with Michael and, of course, with. [00:57:00] Speaker C: All of you guys for the first time. [00:57:04] Speaker D: Yeah. Yeah. [00:57:05] Speaker B: Now y'all don't have to get divorced either. [00:57:07] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:57:08] Speaker D: You know, thank God, because he wants to keep coming back to Disney with you guys. [00:57:13] Speaker C: Hey, let's do it. [00:57:15] Speaker B: It was a lot of fun, so. Well, I was gonna say, I also. I did not get a steak either, for Steakhouse 71 when I should have. When I have this weird thing, when I see a club on a menu, I. For some reason, I'm like, that's what I'm having. I had the turkey club. Now I did split it with Casey. Casey got the stag at the Stackhouse burgers because I wanted to try it too. Last time, I had the prime with prime. Wow. [00:57:45] Speaker C: Prime. [00:57:47] Speaker B: Prime rib sandwich. Boy, that was tough. Which Brooks, you said you had, correct? [00:57:56] Speaker C: Yes. I'll talk about that in a second. [00:57:58] Speaker B: Okay. So, uh, the burger, like Steph said, top notch. Absolutely. Top five burgers on, uh, on property. Not number one. Currently number one is, uh, beaches and cream. Love you guys over there. Um, but definitely, easily top five club sandwich. Excellent. Excellent. Kenny had a kid's burger. It was. It was great. I love steakhouse. Rest in peace. Oh, absolutely. But rest in peace to the wave. I remember you then. I'll never forget you. But I'm happy Steakhouse 71 is here. [00:58:37] Speaker D: And I just want to say, don't be deceived by the name. There are plenty of delicious options and accommodations for any dietary needs, including vegans and vegetarian and pescatarians. So please do yourself the service of just going and trying it out. [00:58:57] Speaker B: Shout out to Peter, to our waiter from. [00:59:00] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, he was great. [00:59:01] Speaker A: Or London. [00:59:01] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [00:59:03] Speaker C: So. And then I had the prime rib sandwich, which just like Kelton, if I see a prime rib sandwich on a menu, I have to get it typically. And typically, if I see a prime rib, I am very tempted to get anything that's prime rib. That's probably my favorite food. Um, and then Kelsey got the steak fritas, so I got to actually try this steak, even though she did get it medium well. Uh, yeah, she likes hers. She likes hers a little more done than I typically like. But we'll say even medium well. That steak was chef's kiss. Or as Ellie goes, nah. But I do want to try next time. Go. Maybe that will be where we go every year on our annual. [00:59:57] Speaker D: We got new things. The people. I mean, us, to try and have reviews. [01:00:02] Speaker C: Maybe. Maybe. Maybe next. Maybe next year. La Sierra. And have a steak. Well, hey. Or we have a burger from beaches and cream. [01:00:15] Speaker B: We might. We might have to wait and see to what. Because I think we're gonna have to, you know, mix up the. Maybe we'll do, like, quick service. And let's just hope that I am not recording on a night that I'm going to the rodeo. [01:00:34] Speaker C: Okay, can we. Let's. Let's plan that better in advance next year. But, uh. But I will. I will say. We're speaking of burgers real quick. Yeah, we're speaking. We're speaking of burgers. I will say shout out to all the all star sports has a burger called the bases loaded burger. And the two nights that we went back before close, before park close, I ended up getting it both nights. And it for a burger and fries, it is $13.95, which is a good price regardless of where you go nowadays. But also, this burger has a onion ring beer. Cheese sauce and bacon jamden on it. Bacon jam. It is jammin. [01:01:34] Speaker D: That's right up my. [01:01:35] Speaker C: And it is. It is phenomenal, as. As Jim Rohn would say, phenomenal. But it. Yeah, so I. That I would say that's up there. It rivals deluxe burger. Um, again, I haven't had stack, and I haven't had beaches and cream, but it rivals deluxe as probably the best burger I've had on property. Um, we should be keeping track of this. Yeah. I mean, I'm all for a burger watch. [01:02:12] Speaker B: I could do a burger watch. [01:02:13] Speaker C: Yeah. But, uh. And we're talking about Hollywood studios real quick. We mentioned Mama Melrose. [01:02:19] Speaker B: Hmm. Shout out, mama Melrose. [01:02:22] Speaker A: Let's go. [01:02:25] Speaker C: I will say slightly disappointed in the steak. [01:02:29] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:02:30] Speaker C: Yeah, we should. We should have read the fine print with that. Uh, I mean, I hate to. I hate to talk bad, but that. That red wine sauce, and I prefer if I. And again, person preference for me. I like to season my steak. I don't. I do season a little bit when I'm cooking, but I prefer to taste it. And then if I need to add seasoning, to me, it was a tab. It salty, so. But, yeah, but at the same time, I went to italian restaurant and didn't get pasta. Kelsey got the chicken Alfredo, and she said it was top notch. So I will say the pasta that came with the steak was very good. [01:03:29] Speaker B: And that. And that was the. So the. So Brooks, you and I and families dined together for that one, for the fantasmic package for that. [01:03:43] Speaker C: That get rained out. [01:03:45] Speaker B: So disappointing. But, you know, life goes on. We're moving on, right? So I don't remember what Casey got. To be honest with you, I can't remember. [01:03:57] Speaker C: I think she got the same thing. [01:03:59] Speaker B: She got the stakes. She did get this. [01:04:00] Speaker C: Yeah. We all three got the steak, except for Kelsey. [01:04:03] Speaker B: So, I mean, so with the. Because the Alfredo was actually supposed to be with shrimp, the fettuccine Alfredo. So it never hurts people to just. If you want something to do a substitution or something, just ask, be polite. Cast members are people too. [01:04:21] Speaker C: Just. [01:04:22] Speaker B: That's all you have to do. So. And I wish that we would have readdez the fine print. I'm with you on or ask. [01:04:32] Speaker C: Because normally, when I see that, I expect it on the side, I don't expect it to be on top of it. [01:04:40] Speaker A: So. [01:04:41] Speaker B: So, yeah, growing up and, you know, born and raised out of Florida, I mean, I grew up medium well and ketchup to eat my steaks. And then I finally realized, what am I doing with my life, and especially being in Texas the last seven years. If I'm ordering a steak, give me some salt, pepper, slap it on there till it's medium rare. And put it on. Put it on the plate. I don't want anything. No, no sauce. I don't use any. A one, none of that. Because if I'm having a good steak, I just want that seasoning. [01:05:16] Speaker C: May maybe baste it with a tad bit of butter. Unsalted butter. [01:05:20] Speaker B: Absolutely. Base that. [01:05:21] Speaker C: Unsalted butter. Unsalted butter. That's the trick. [01:05:24] Speaker B: I will definitely agree that the steak seemed a little salty. I don't think it was not an issue for me, but I could agree that it was on the saltier side. I was disappointed in the red wine sauce on top. I would have asked for that, you know, hold the sauce. Just give me the stick. But Mama Melrose is a personal favorite of mine. I've been going, same here. I try to go, but I've had to give it. Give it up a few times. But personal favorite. I am getting a little worried on Monsters, Inc. When that starts to get developed. Where is it going? And if it's going towards the muppets, I am afraid of mama Melrose being taken out. So because it's you, y'all, that gift shop has gone back there. The Christmas store has gone back there. There's nothing back there anymore. [01:06:26] Speaker C: So I think they should open up a podcast studio back there. We can podcast back there. [01:06:32] Speaker B: And I'll just, like, plug in. Like, if I'm traveling for work in a hotel space, just plug in. [01:06:38] Speaker C: There you go. [01:06:39] Speaker B: Just record an episode. I think that would be great. If they did something for the content creators back there, I think they could bring it back. Come on, Disney. Listen, do you think that they would. [01:06:50] Speaker D: Put a hairy house in there if they put monster sink in that area? [01:06:56] Speaker C: Did. Did they show Harryhausen in the concept art? I thought they did. Okay. [01:07:02] Speaker D: It's just, like a thought because depends. [01:07:06] Speaker C: On how big of the land. Yeah, it depends on how big of the land there wanting to do. [01:07:12] Speaker B: It's gonna be interesting. Um, but then, so I don't remember exactly how far into our Hollywood studio stuff we were gonna go, but, uh, steph, how about you? What did you guys do for, uh, for food? Because you guys were off with Mike's family. [01:07:31] Speaker D: Yeah, we did not eat Kelton. That is the sad reality. [01:07:35] Speaker B: You didn't eat. [01:07:36] Speaker D: We had food at steakhouse 71, and then we were non stop and had coffee with you guys at Joffrey's, which was absolutely delicious. It was everyone who saw our episode on our top three, or top three, basically anything at Animal Kingdom and did a poll on Facebook, and I won. I did get my joffrey's coffee. It was delicious. That was my consolation prize. Yeah, I would consider that to have been my dinner, sadly. So, you know, sometimes when you're just on a roll and going and going and going, and then it's like, oh. [01:08:12] Speaker B: Well, call me butter, cuz I'm on a roll. [01:08:15] Speaker D: Yeah. So it didn't happen, but, like. But you guys family was there. They ended up leaving. We met up with you guys, and then that was just it, like, so not complaining by any means, not complaining, but I have no story on dinner for that night. [01:08:36] Speaker B: That is all right by us, I think. [01:08:40] Speaker C: So I would. I would say real quick, because I know we're getting ready to start wrapping up this episode. What would y'all say is y'all's was y'all's favorite thing about. About the trip? [01:08:55] Speaker D: I mean, I think we're all in agreement with meeting up with each other. I mean, that was the purpose of the trip before anything else. And that was the most exciting thing for me, honestly. [01:09:08] Speaker C: The fact. Yeah, the fact that friends, again, I. [01:09:12] Speaker D: Wish I had more time. [01:09:13] Speaker C: The fact, too, that most everyone's family was there, too, because my, my brother and my sister in law were supposed to be down there that weekend, too. And it just. So, like, the way it all worked out that, you know, not only did we meet, did we meet each other for the first time, but, like, kelton, we. We met your parents, and. [01:09:34] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:09:37] Speaker C: And steph, we met part of your family, too. And, and Jenny had all of her family there as well, and Aunt Donna and shout out to. And, yeah, so it was crazy. [01:09:51] Speaker D: Like, there was a lot of moving parts, which is fabulous. It was just so cool. Just goes to show how integrated, you know, this podcast is in all of our lives. The support system, the friendships, and, you know, work. But, yeah, I mean, hands down, it was meeting you as in person. I mean, y'all, I can honestly say, I said I was going in for the hugs. I went in for the hugs. Yeah, I I ran. I ran to all of my co hosts and their family members and made sure I got the biggest, best hug ever. A year and a half worth of, like, a hug. [01:10:30] Speaker C: And Ellie went in for the hugs, too. [01:10:32] Speaker D: Oh, yes. Sweet, sweet. She gave me a hug. No stranger danger there. No, it was fantastic. So, you know, I. What. What other answer is there for my high? I mean, if you guys have a different answer, that's fine. I won't be insulted. [01:10:49] Speaker C: No, I mean, that's. I'll definitely say that's the highlight of the. Of the trip as well. Um, but, like, it's. And it was just interesting to. Because of the time. Kelton mentioned it earlier in the podcast with the time of year and the wait times, like, uh, Friday when we were at animal kingdom, we literally. And we just, uh. It was, you know, Kelton. It was you, me and Josh besides, so. [01:11:21] Speaker B: Yep. My friends Josh, Aaron and their son were there, plus my parents, too. [01:11:26] Speaker C: Right. So we were walking by Everest, and Everest was what? Like 1520 minutes? [01:11:34] Speaker B: Minutes, yeah. [01:11:35] Speaker C: Stamp standby. And Everest also has a single writer. [01:11:38] Speaker B: So what do we do? [01:11:39] Speaker C: So. So me, Kelton and Josh, we've. We. And Casey. Did Casey go with us the first time? [01:11:47] Speaker B: The first time, yeah. [01:11:49] Speaker C: First time we went to the single rider. Walk on. Now, the only thing with single rider, you don't get to see the queue, but literally walk on road got out and then the three guys went back again. Walk on. I'll say we rode twice within 15. [01:12:16] Speaker A: Minutes, I would say. [01:12:19] Speaker B: And that's. And that's 15 minutes of. From the. When we first entered the first time. [01:12:24] Speaker C: Right. [01:12:24] Speaker B: The attraction itself. I mean, because like you said, I took longer to walk through the. That short cue. [01:12:31] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:12:32] Speaker B: Than it did us waiting to get on the ride. [01:12:35] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:12:36] Speaker A: That was crazy. [01:12:38] Speaker C: Yeah. And I've never experienced that for the line. Just. And we were even joking. It's like, should we do a challenge on how many times we can do this in 30 minutes? [01:12:50] Speaker B: And we should. [01:12:51] Speaker C: But we did twice. We did it twice and then got to ride dinosaur. I'm proud. Maybe for the last time, depending on when they start doing that. Was a little disappointed that my ride photo. My. I felt like Mike Wazowski. My face was cut out. [01:13:08] Speaker B: I forgot about that. [01:13:10] Speaker C: I mean, I'm in the corner and it's just like. You just. My head is gone. Oh, that dinosaur got me. [01:13:19] Speaker B: We got our Dino. [01:13:20] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, it got. It got my head. So. [01:13:26] Speaker D: And then, you know, just a side note, we did that episode on, like, you know, your 5000 budget. [01:13:37] Speaker B: Mm hmm. [01:13:39] Speaker D: Three of us chose September, I think. Yeah. Three of us. [01:13:43] Speaker C: Yeah. For a reason. [01:13:44] Speaker D: For a reason. [01:13:46] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:13:46] Speaker D: The deals, the wait times. Yes. The heat and the storms are not your friend. But hopefully you listen to our park bag essentials episode because a lot, if not everything that we covered was probably in use, especially the change of socks for me. [01:14:06] Speaker C: And I'll say, too, because we were in around the same time last year. It wasn't that hot last year. Yeah, I mean, it's very hit or. Yeah, it's very hit or miss. You could have, like we had this weekend where you walk outside your door and just. You're like, yeah, say about 95% humidity at 08:00 a.m. or you could go and it's like, okay. It's a. It's doable overcast. [01:14:43] Speaker D: Yeah, a bit of a win. So I really just hope that we get to do this again next year, and hopefully. [01:14:52] Speaker C: Oh, there's. There's no. There's no hope we will do this again. [01:14:56] Speaker B: Do or do not. [01:14:58] Speaker A: There is no true. [01:14:58] Speaker C: No try. [01:15:01] Speaker D: And on that note, any. Any last minute thoughts or things to add to this epic mouse Ears podcast, first ever reunion. We did our shout outs to our spouses. We did a shout outs to our FTJ fam. We did a shout outs to some fans that we met who hopefully got some stickers. We talked about Joffrey's, we talked about Steakhouse. We talked about the rain. We talked about the parks and the wait times. We talked about transportation in our hotel stays. Mandev. What a jam packed episode we've had. [01:15:36] Speaker B: I think there's one last thing to talk about, and that's our trivia for today. So, if you guys remember how many zip codes are in the United States. [01:15:50] Speaker D: Of America, I wouldn't even know what number to guess. [01:15:52] Speaker A: I wouldn't, either. But don't worry. [01:15:54] Speaker B: I'm about to give it to you. There are a 41,642 zip codes. [01:16:03] Speaker C: So I think if you knew that answer, you have way too much time on your hands. [01:16:09] Speaker B: Heck, I'll give. [01:16:11] Speaker C: Or you work for the postal service. [01:16:13] Speaker B: If you came within 500, you know, did you have that number? [01:16:18] Speaker C: We'll do the prices, right. [01:16:21] Speaker B: It's got to be. Can't go over. So, yeah, if you haven't been. If you weren't sick as a millennial, you had no idea what I'm talking about. [01:16:29] Speaker C: Um, it's on now. Of course, you have to shoot me. [01:16:33] Speaker B: Now, but it's not true. [01:16:34] Speaker A: It's true, Carrie. [01:16:35] Speaker B: It's not Bob Barker. I don't have my ginger ale, my saltines. It's a little different. [01:16:41] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:16:41] Speaker B: And also, I'm an adult. I have to go to work. [01:16:44] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. [01:16:46] Speaker B: So, uh. [01:16:48] Speaker C: But. [01:16:50] Speaker B: Well, folks, that just about does it for this week's episode here on the mouse ears podcast. Friendly reminder, don't forget to join us over on Facebook and the Mouse Ears podcast, Facebook group. Check us out on TikTok. We are on YouTube now. Shout out to that and of course Instagram over at the Mouse Ears blog to stay up to date with all things travel but of course mostly Disneyland. If you are interested in having a fairytale journeys agent book your next trip, please make sure to visit them [email protected] and let them know that the four of us at the podcast have sent you. And lastly, if youve truly enjoyed our weekly episodes here on the podcast, we would love for you guys to leave us a review at wherever it is you may listen or watch or watch now. So don't forget as always on YouTube, like subscribe comment if you got, you know, if you want to see something you know as well, share it out to all your family and friends. But until our next episode, thank you everybody. Have a great week and we'll see you next time. [01:18:09] Speaker C: Bye.