Post-Trip Report: Cate and James’ Simple Plan for Vacation Fun (May 2024)

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VIRGINIA: Welcome, you are listening to Where I Long to Be, a magical trip report podcast.

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VIRGINIA: My name is Virginia and I'm your host.

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VIRGINIA: If you liked today's episode, please take a moment to rate or review the podcast.

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VIRGINIA: Your feedback is always welcome and will help others to find the show.

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VIRGINIA: Today, I have the pleasure of sharing my post-trip interview with Cate and James, who you may know from Ever After Adventures.

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VIRGINIA: They are content creators from Toronto, annual pass holders, DVC members, and just all-around good people.

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VIRGINIA: If you didn't get the chance to listen to their pre-trip interview, this trip was scheduled for May 2nd through 19th.

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VIRGINIA: They typically road trip it from Toronto down to Orlando, so they had the benefit of having a car for the entirety of their trip, which helps when you're doing a split stay like them.

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VIRGINIA: All right, that's enough to get you caught up.

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VIRGINIA: Here are Cate and James.

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VIRGINIA: Welcome back to the podcast, Cate and James.

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CATE: Thank you so much.

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CATE: So happy to be here.

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JAMES: Yes, me too.

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VIRGINIA: So happy to see your faces and to hear all about your adventure that I've been seeing little snippets of here and there on Instagram.

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VIRGINIA: And I will very much look forward to seeing the vlogs that I know that you will be putting together on the parts of your trip you want to share.

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VIRGINIA: So let's get into all of the details.

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VIRGINIA: This was a long one.

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VIRGINIA: It was an epic trip.

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VIRGINIA: So lots to share.

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CATE: Yes.

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CATE: We will try to keep it as succinct as possible, but you know us and how chatty we get.

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CATE: So feel free to stop us and move us along whenever you need to.

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VIRGINIA: All right.

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VIRGINIA: Let's get into the road trip portion.

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VIRGINIA: We want to know how all that went, where you ended up stopping.

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VIRGINIA: Was it better than your previous stay in West Virginia?

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VIRGINIA: And how many sheets did you go to?

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CATE: Road trip was great.

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CATE: We had fantastic weather.

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CATE: The place that we stopped on the way down was the Red Roof Inn.

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JAMES: Plus.

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CATE: Plus.

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VIRGINIA: That makes a difference.

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VIRGINIA: Plus.

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JAMES: The better version of it.

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CATE: It was located in a very nice area.

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CATE: We felt very safe and very secure, but the bed felt like we were sleeping on a table.

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CATE: It was the hardest mattress ever.

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CATE: I got zero sleep.

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CATE: I think James got intermittent sleep.

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CATE: So we were exhausted.

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VIRGINIA: Oh, gosh.

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VIRGINIA: What state was this in?

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JAMES: Probably North Carolina.

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CATE: That's what I was thinking.

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CATE: I think North Carolina.

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VIRGINIA: Do you remember what town it was?

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CATE: I want to say Statesville.

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JAMES: That's right here.

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VIRGINIA: That's a town in North Carolina.

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VIRGINIA: Yeah.

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JAMES: That's probably, I believe that's it.

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JAMES: Yeah.

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VIRGINIA: Okay.

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JAMES: Very nice town.

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JAMES: Really nice people at the hotel.

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JAMES: In fact, the room was really, really nice, but the bed was just stiff as crazy.

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CATE: Terrible.

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VIRGINIA: So that makes a difference starting off your trip that way.

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VIRGINIA: So how did that affect your next day's worth of travel?

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VIRGINIA: Did you sleep a little bit later?

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VIRGINIA: What happened?

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CATE: So, and also to answer your last question, we hit zero sheets on the way down.

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CATE: It blew our minds.

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CATE: We were so sad that we did not hit up a single sheet.

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VIRGINIA: So where did you stop instead?

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JAMES: We got a Buc-ee's though.

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CATE: Yeah.

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VIRGINIA: Well, you have to stop at Buc-ee's, but surely you had to stop and charge somewhere.

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CATE: Exactly.

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CATE: And Buc-ee's is the best place to charge other than sheets, but it just kept on giving us like these random like gas stations or side of the road hotel things.

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CATE: Nothing really super fun.

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CATE: Yeah.

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JAMES: It didn't rain.

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JAMES: So that, quite honestly, that was the best part because I think that's the first drive we've ever had without rain.

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VIRGINIA: Yeah.

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VIRGINIA: That's amazing.

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VIRGINIA: How many times would you say you stop between Toronto and Orlando?

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JAMES: Six ish probably.

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CATE: No, I think more than six.

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VIRGINIA: I really, I guess I'm asking for charging purposes.

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VIRGINIA: Like you probably stopped for other reasons, maybe at different points.

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VIRGINIA: But like how many times do you have to charge on a trip that long?

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JAMES: Roughly every two and a half hours.

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CATE: Yeah.

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CATE: I'll tell you exactly.

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JAMES: She's good.

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VIRGINIA: You have your analytics.

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CATE: One, two, three, four, five, five on the first day.

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CATE: And then one, two, three, four, five on the second day.

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CATE: So ten stops over the whole trip.

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VIRGINIA: Okay.

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VIRGINIA: And each of those stops is on average, how long?

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JAMES: 20 minutes.

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CATE: On the low end, 20 minutes on the high end, like 40 maybe max, but usually not that high.

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VIRGINIA: All right.

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VIRGINIA: That's not too bad.

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VIRGINIA: And it gives you a little bit of a break from your driving, which if you're tired from sleeping on essentially a table, you probably were grateful for.

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CATE: We did also a lot of full self driving on the trip.

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CATE: So it allowed us to go a little bit later in the night because the car is basically driving you.

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CATE: So you still have to be sort of alert, but not as alert as if you're actually like commandeering the car.

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VIRGINIA: We're living in the future.

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VIRGINIA: It's like the Jetsons.

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VIRGINIA: I've ridden in a Tesla, but never when it's been self driving.

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CATE: We'll take you for a ride sometime.

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VIRGINIA: Oh, please do.

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VIRGINIA: Please do.

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VIRGINIA: Give a little stop here in New York or if we're in Florida together.

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VIRGINIA: All right.

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VIRGINIA: So what time did you end up pulling into Orlando after your Bucky's stop?

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CATE: We got into the Disney bubble at 640, but then we wasted a whole lot of time looking for a car wash.

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CATE: So we didn't get to Pop Century until 815.

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VIRGINIA: All right.

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VIRGINIA: Why did you need a car wash so badly?

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CATE: It was so gross.

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CATE: Yeah.

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CATE: Sugs.

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JAMES: We were worried about it caking on to the paint and all that because our car after would essentially just be sitting in lots.

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JAMES: We don't, we don't drive around a lot and is well, we didn't previously.

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JAMES: This trip actually that changed quite a bit.

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JAMES: We were thinking we weren't going to, but we actually did end up going to the parks every morning driving first.

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JAMES: We would drop off, take our nap and then use Disney transport later in the days.

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VIRGINIA: Okay.

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VIRGINIA: Yeah.

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VIRGINIA: When there's less of a line for the bus.

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VIRGINIA: Yeah.

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VIRGINIA: Got it.

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VIRGINIA: All right.

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VIRGINIA: So checking in at Pop Century.

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VIRGINIA: This was Friday, May the 3rd.

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VIRGINIA: Where was your room located?

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CATE: In the 70s section.

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CATE: We were in the Rubik's Cube.

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JAMES: Building eight.

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VIRGINIA: Okay.

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CATE: Maybe that's 80s.

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JAMES: 80s I think.

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VIRGINIA: I think that's 80s.

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JAMES: Yeah, our years.

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VIRGINIA: Yeah.

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VIRGINIA: I can't even remember what the 70s section.

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CATE: I think that's eight tracks now that I think about it because there was an eight track like right diagonal to where we were.

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VIRGINIA: Okay.

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VIRGINIA: Yes.

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VIRGINIA: Yes.

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VIRGINIA: I remember seeing an eight track.

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VIRGINIA: I can't remember which eight track it is.

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CATE: They're all super amusing.

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CATE: I took a bunch of pictures of them.

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CATE: Oh, nice.

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VIRGINIA: I don't think they're real songs though.

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VIRGINIA: Are they not?

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CATE: I don't think so.

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VIRGINIA: I'll have to look that up.

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VIRGINIA: Yeah.

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VIRGINIA: I don't know.

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VIRGINIA: I felt like I remember that, but you know how your memory changes things.

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VIRGINIA: All right.

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VIRGINIA: So the big first park day was Saturday, May the 4th be with you.

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VIRGINIA: And I have in my notes that you were meeting up with five different friends, Daina, Mark, Ariel, Kristina, and Bryan, and that you were going to be doing a little bit of Disney bounding for Star Wars, May the 4th be with you day.

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VIRGINIA: And I think, James, before the pre-trip episode ended, we had decided that your batu name was going to be Yamas, which is basically James, but pronounced differently.

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VIRGINIA: And Cate was given a batu name that she shared with me, but it was not decided the last time we spoke.

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VIRGINIA: So would you like to reveal your batu name?

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CATE: BB Cate.

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VIRGINIA: Which is perfect.

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VIRGINIA: I love it.

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VIRGINIA: I love it.

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CATE: So creative.

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CATE: Love my girls that thought of that for me because I never would have thought of that.

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VIRGINIA: Who was the person who helped you with that?

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VIRGINIA: Because we'll make sure to shout them out in the show notes.

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CATE: It was totally Krista, Canucks Who Disney, that gave me the nickname.

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VIRGINIA: Perfect.

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VIRGINIA: Shout out to Krista.

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VIRGINIA: All right.

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VIRGINIA: Well, how did you start your day?

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VIRGINIA: Give us all the details.

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CATE: We started our day by getting into a virtual queue.

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CATE: I didn't know this, but for merch on May the 4th, they have a special virtual queue that you have to join.

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VIRGINIA: I didn't know that either.

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CATE: Yeah.

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CATE: So, Daina was connected to all of us on her app, and she was able to get us in, and she got it for like 9 a.m., so first thing in the morning.

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CATE: So that's how we started the day was with shopping.

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VIRGINIA: Okay.

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VIRGINIA: Well, what did you end up getting?

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JAMES: We ended up getting most of the exclusive stuff.

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JAMES: So like a baseball cap, a sweater, a t-shirt, a couple of pins, some pins, and maybe like even a magnet or a sticker or something.

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JAMES: So we haven't gone through all our stuff, but the one thing I think we all kind of felt is it was a bit underwhelming for having a virtual queue because they were also selling a lot of other kind of cool, like the big thing this year was Darth Maul because apparently there's not a lot of Darth Maul merchandise that's been released over the 25 years.

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JAMES: And so whenever stuff comes out where you can see a clear face of him or it's clearly him, that stuff sells out extremely quickly and is not to be found again for a long time.

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JAMES: They did not have any of that for the virtual queue.

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JAMES: The virtual queue is literally just made to for Disney sort of gear and it was not robust.

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JAMES: There was like one sweater and one t-shirt.

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CATE: All with the same design.

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CATE: So it was like R2 and C3PO.

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CATE: So you had to really like decide if it was worth it to invest in that stuff when there was other stuff elsewhere in the parks.

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JAMES: Yeah.

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VIRGINIA: I mean, that feels a little disappointing though.

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VIRGINIA: It feels, I don't know, I'm going to use the L word.

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VIRGINIA: It feels a little lazy.

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JAMES: It was clearly a money grab to get people like kind of in there and feel like the FOMO, like I have to buy it.

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CATE: And I will say it worked because we totally came out of that with more merch than like we probably should have given our feelings about it after the fact.

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CATE: Everything's super cool though.

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VIRGINIA: There's always eBay.

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JAMES: You know what?

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JAMES: All of it was embroidered, which is why I probably decided to buy it actually if none of it was embroidered, like the shirts, the sweater, like they all, even the hat, all the patching and the lettering was embroidered.

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JAMES: So that was a big reason why I bought it because Disney does not often do a lot of embroidered stuff and it typically just lasts longer when you get it.

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JAMES: So the main reason to get it, if it wasn't embroidered, I probably would not have picked up half of the stuff.

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VIRGINIA: Well, where did you go after your shopping excursion?

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CATE: More shopping.

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CATE: Yeah, so like a bunch of them went out to do some more shopping.

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CATE: Me and Ariel went out to Starbucks, to the trolley car cafe to get caffeination for everyone.

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CATE: And we mostly just spent a lot of time hanging out with each other rather than doing like rides or anything.

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CATE: So like after we did Starbucks, I think we went and got Ronto wraps and sat there for a long time.

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CATE: Like we just had fun being with each other and in our gear and all of that stuff for most of us.

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JAMES: Like quite honestly, there wasn't really anything that different about Hollywood Studios for May the 4th.

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JAMES: There was obviously more people there for May the 4th, but there was no special anything.

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JAMES: There was no unique characters that are not usually there with one exception, which we'll get into because there's a story with all that.

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JAMES: But for the most part, you could have won any day and it would seem like May the 4th.

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CATE: And also the other exception is really cool photo past photos that we did.

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CATE: Like they have this one that's animated with a lightsaber like lighting up.

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CATE: That was a really cool one.

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VIRGINIA: Well, I think that's partly what people are looking at in that day is the FOMO element and thinking what could there be?

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VIRGINIA: And I want to be able to show pictures that I'm there on the day.

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VIRGINIA: But now I don't feel quite so bad for missing it because it doesn't sound like it was all that exceptional.

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CATE: You could stand in a really long line for like Smuggler's Run if you really wanted to experience.

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VIRGINIA: Yeah.

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VIRGINIA: All right.

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VIRGINIA: Well, anything else in the morning for May the 4th before your 1 p.m.

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VIRGINIA: photo meet up?

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CATE: Nothing really in the morning, no.

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VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:13:12.295 --> 00:13:13.175
VIRGINIA: So 1 p.m.

00:13:13.195 --> 00:13:16.275
VIRGINIA: you met up with a bunch of Instagram friends to do a photo.

00:13:16.295 --> 00:13:18.675
VIRGINIA: So where did you end up taking that?

00:13:18.695 --> 00:13:21.715
VIRGINIA: Was it in front of the Millennium Falcon like you were thinking?

00:13:21.975 --> 00:13:22.755
CATE: It was, yes.

00:13:23.255 --> 00:13:24.775
CATE: There were a whole bunch of us.

00:13:25.035 --> 00:13:35.795
CATE: We all gathered around and a couple of us did like separate smaller magic shots together, but the group photo was everyone in front of the Millennium Falcon.

00:13:35.895 --> 00:13:36.455
VIRGINIA: Very nice.

00:13:36.995 --> 00:13:43.455
VIRGINIA: And then you were kind of staying with the same core group which you were, I don't even know what to call you.

00:13:43.475 --> 00:13:44.275
VIRGINIA: There were so many of you.

00:13:44.295 --> 00:13:46.555
VIRGINIA: I want to make up like a cool team name or something.

00:13:46.695 --> 00:13:47.255
CATE: The gang.

00:13:47.735 --> 00:13:48.315
VIRGINIA: The gang.

00:13:48.835 --> 00:13:49.395
VIRGINIA: The gang.

00:13:49.415 --> 00:13:53.055
VIRGINIA: The gang are the two of you, Daina, Mark, Ariel, Kristina and Bryan.

00:13:53.475 --> 00:13:54.595
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:13:55.015 --> 00:13:58.975
VIRGINIA: So you were continuing to spend time with the gang for the rest of the day, right?

00:14:00.395 --> 00:14:01.815
VIRGINIA: What else did you get into this day?

00:14:04.795 --> 00:14:12.655
CATE: So the special meet and greet, which was not advertised in any way, was Chopper, the little cute droid.

00:14:13.695 --> 00:14:14.475
VIRGINIA: Oh, the one.

00:14:14.495 --> 00:14:14.695
CATE: Yeah.

00:14:15.255 --> 00:14:16.015
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:14:16.035 --> 00:14:16.415
VIRGINIA: Sorry.

00:14:16.435 --> 00:14:17.835
VIRGINIA: I'm gesturing like I'm the droid.

00:14:18.135 --> 00:14:18.895
CATE: I did the same thing.

00:14:20.275 --> 00:14:22.635
JAMES: Disneyland always has Chopper, by the way.

00:14:22.655 --> 00:14:23.355
VIRGINIA: Does he?

00:14:23.955 --> 00:14:24.975
JAMES: That's why it's a big deal.

00:14:25.275 --> 00:14:28.555
JAMES: But Disney World has never, I think, had it.

00:14:30.375 --> 00:14:31.535
JAMES: No one knew much about it.

00:14:32.215 --> 00:14:48.175
JAMES: In fact, I still don't know if it's a continual character, but the word got around to just, I guess, regulars that he will be just appearing at no exact time within, you know, that area where you can...

00:14:48.195 --> 00:14:48.575
VIRGINIA: The launch bay.

00:14:48.595 --> 00:14:49.255
JAMES: The launch bay.

00:14:50.375 --> 00:14:52.795
JAMES: And so we hung out there for many hours.

00:14:56.155 --> 00:14:58.715
VIRGINIA: Inside the launch bay or just outside?

00:14:59.175 --> 00:15:00.895
CATE: At least we had some air conditioning.

00:15:01.255 --> 00:15:06.315
CATE: So that was preferable because, you know, it was really hot that day too.

00:15:07.855 --> 00:15:17.415
CATE: And at first, like a cast member kind of steered us a rye and told us, oh, well, he'll be coming out from this side.

00:15:17.435 --> 00:15:27.515
CATE: So he encouraged us to go down, but we were standing in a prime spot where he actually did come out and do meet and photos with people.

00:15:28.235 --> 00:15:30.535
CATE: But this person told us not to stand there.

00:15:30.555 --> 00:15:35.915
CATE: And then by the time we figured that out, they had closed off the area because there were too many people in that area.

00:15:35.935 --> 00:15:38.375
CATE: So that was pretty disappointing.

00:15:38.395 --> 00:15:39.635
JAMES: Like we were literally sitting.

00:15:39.655 --> 00:15:44.535
JAMES: We would have been like first in line with just where we were kind of we were sitting on the wall.

00:15:44.775 --> 00:15:45.155
JAMES: Yeah.

00:15:45.215 --> 00:15:48.475
JAMES: And then they basically are like, go down the stairs and he'll come out there.

00:15:48.495 --> 00:15:53.255
JAMES: And five minutes later, there's all of a sudden a huge lineup right where we were sitting.

00:15:53.715 --> 00:15:57.475
JAMES: But someone told someone in our group to go down and wait there.

00:15:58.155 --> 00:16:08.835
JAMES: And so whomever in our group got kind of pretty upset that they got misled by whoever was in charge of the lineups and chopper coming out.

00:16:08.995 --> 00:16:13.035
JAMES: So they did, I think later make it up to us by get now.

00:16:13.215 --> 00:16:19.095
CATE: They said that to make it up that they would allow us to be first in line.

00:16:19.815 --> 00:16:25.675
CATE: And instead, we sort of picked up on the fact that they were not organized at all.

00:16:25.735 --> 00:16:39.955
CATE: And so one member of our group stood in line and that's the only way that we actually would have gotten into that line to meet him because they closed off the line again and they were not going to let us in had we not had one member saving that spot.

00:16:40.555 --> 00:16:40.995
VIRGINIA: Oh, wow.

00:16:41.655 --> 00:16:43.595
CATE: Yeah, not fun, but it worked out.

00:16:44.055 --> 00:16:44.515
VIRGINIA: Right.

00:16:44.535 --> 00:16:47.495
VIRGINIA: At least you ended up getting to meet Chopper.

00:16:47.575 --> 00:16:54.375
VIRGINIA: And I have to ask, since you're in the launch bay, did BB Cate get to get a picture with BB8?

00:16:55.315 --> 00:16:58.415
CATE: Not on Star Wars Day, but later in the trip.

00:16:58.735 --> 00:16:59.415
VIRGINIA: Fantastic.

00:16:59.435 --> 00:17:02.695
CATE: One thing cuter in my outfit, but you know, you did what you gotta do.

00:17:03.115 --> 00:17:04.055
VIRGINIA: Yeah, exactly.

00:17:05.775 --> 00:17:07.975
VIRGINIA: Anything else on the stay to report?

00:17:09.295 --> 00:17:10.395
CATE: We went back for a nap.

00:17:10.495 --> 00:17:12.015
CATE: We came back around seven ish.

00:17:13.735 --> 00:17:16.955
CATE: We had a little snack and then we headed over to OGA's.

00:17:17.395 --> 00:17:18.415
VIRGINIA: Yes.

00:17:18.435 --> 00:17:21.795
CATE: And while we were waiting for OGA's was the lightsaber meetup.

00:17:21.815 --> 00:17:26.155
CATE: So we were just surrounded on all sides by lightsabers in the air.

00:17:26.455 --> 00:17:27.695
CATE: That was really cool.

00:17:28.355 --> 00:17:32.795
VIRGINIA: Were they playing any music as everybody's lifting their lightsabers?

00:17:32.815 --> 00:17:35.835
VIRGINIA: Was there any kind of difference in the music for the area?

00:17:35.855 --> 00:17:43.895
JAMES: There was definitely like a like a grand bearer, someone with a microphone kind of dictating what people should do.

00:17:43.915 --> 00:17:44.735
VIRGINIA: Uh-huh.

00:17:45.815 --> 00:17:48.255
JAMES: I don't think there was just the regular music.

00:17:48.275 --> 00:17:49.335
JAMES: Like there was regular.

00:17:51.375 --> 00:17:51.795
JAMES: Yeah.

00:17:52.175 --> 00:17:52.575
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:17:53.555 --> 00:18:04.915
VIRGINIA: I guess when I've seen videos of that sort of thing happening, people edit it with like swelling Star Wars music and it becomes this grand moment.

00:18:05.535 --> 00:18:08.195
VIRGINIA: And of course, I know that they've put sound on it.

00:18:08.215 --> 00:18:09.695
VIRGINIA: They've added their music or whatever.

00:18:09.715 --> 00:18:13.695
VIRGINIA: But in my mind, I was like, I wonder if they do that there in person too.

00:18:14.215 --> 00:18:27.675
CATE: So the other thing is, it might have just not happened while we were watching because while we were out in that area, it was like just people walking around with lightsabers in the air, like a massive cluster of people.

00:18:28.075 --> 00:18:37.555
CATE: So there might have been something while we were in Ogas that they did that photo op specifically that we maybe just didn't see.

00:18:37.595 --> 00:18:41.015
JAMES: Because when we came out of Ogas, it was a ghost town.

00:18:41.095 --> 00:18:44.355
JAMES: Like there was all of a sudden, it was not the same at all.

00:18:44.375 --> 00:18:46.375
JAMES: It was really empty and you could walk around.

00:18:46.755 --> 00:18:48.815
JAMES: And I was kind of, and we weren't even there.

00:18:48.835 --> 00:18:52.095
JAMES: They were being really kind of tight on timing.

00:18:52.335 --> 00:18:56.875
JAMES: So like, I think we pretty much had one drink and that was it.

00:18:57.415 --> 00:19:01.795
JAMES: And yeah, when we went back out, it was just kind of regular Hollywood Studios again.

00:19:01.815 --> 00:19:04.495
JAMES: It wasn't as if they were there doing it.

00:19:04.915 --> 00:19:11.655
JAMES: So it literally went from, imagine you're at a concert and you're standing on the ground floor at front.

00:19:11.755 --> 00:19:17.955
JAMES: It was like that when we went in and we couldn't even really move to get to the lineup of Oguz to coming out.

00:19:18.295 --> 00:19:21.995
JAMES: And it's as if the concert ended and you can freely roam.

00:19:22.015 --> 00:19:23.715
JAMES: It's essentially, yeah.

00:19:24.295 --> 00:19:25.315
JAMES: So it was pretty interesting.

00:19:25.335 --> 00:19:37.615
JAMES: I was like, wow, like I wonder where everyone went because I thought it was still pretty cool here to hang out till like 10 or 11 and take like photos here and there and but I guess there were still people around.

00:19:37.735 --> 00:19:39.515
JAMES: It was just regular crowd.

00:19:39.515 --> 00:19:39.815
JAMES: Yeah.

00:19:40.895 --> 00:19:41.955
VIRGINIA: How was Oguz?

00:19:41.975 --> 00:19:43.595
CATE: It was awesome.

00:19:43.975 --> 00:19:44.955
VIRGINIA: What did you end up getting?

00:19:45.395 --> 00:19:48.655
CATE: I have the Jedi mind trick and I had the fuzzy Tonton.

00:19:50.015 --> 00:19:55.695
VIRGINIA: And you had mentioned in the pre trip that you thought that the fuzzy Tonton had changed a bit and it was a little less nummy.

00:19:55.715 --> 00:19:58.775
VIRGINIA: Can you confirm that you felt that way again?

00:19:58.795 --> 00:20:00.715
JAMES: It was a little less nummy this time.

00:20:00.735 --> 00:20:08.095
JAMES: I believe I asked her and she did say they changed it a little, but it was definitely less numbing this time.

00:20:09.895 --> 00:20:10.335
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:20:10.475 --> 00:20:24.575
VIRGINIA: So let's get into Sunday, May the 5th, which is exciting as May the 4th is, I have to admit, May the 5th was the day I was looking forward to the most because you said you were going to be doing a Girls vs.

00:20:24.595 --> 00:20:26.155
VIRGINIA: Boys scavenger hunt.

00:20:26.975 --> 00:20:28.095
VIRGINIA: So what happened?

00:20:28.395 --> 00:20:32.355
CATE: May the 5th was the day that the exhaustion from the road trip caught up with us.

00:20:34.775 --> 00:20:39.955
VIRGINIA: So I need to know before we move any further, did you end up doing the scavenger hunt on a different day?

00:20:41.175 --> 00:20:41.535
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:20:42.055 --> 00:20:46.635
VIRGINIA: Did you organize the scavenger hunt so that you could come back and do it on another trip?

00:20:47.095 --> 00:20:49.495
VIRGINIA: Like had you already planned how you were going to do this?

00:20:49.795 --> 00:20:50.635
JAMES: We did not know.

00:20:51.255 --> 00:20:51.655
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:20:51.695 --> 00:20:52.095
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:20:52.115 --> 00:20:52.595
VIRGINIA: You know what?

00:20:52.615 --> 00:20:55.135
VIRGINIA: That's something else to look forward to in the future.

00:20:55.155 --> 00:20:55.735
CATE: Exactly.

00:20:56.915 --> 00:20:57.735
JAMES: We needed a break.

00:20:57.855 --> 00:20:59.155
JAMES: We were both...

00:20:59.615 --> 00:21:00.375
CATE: Just exhausted.

00:21:00.395 --> 00:21:03.555
JAMES: We just hit a point where we just needed some time.

00:21:03.715 --> 00:21:04.235
JAMES: We didn't...

00:21:05.295 --> 00:21:09.955
JAMES: You know, the weeks leading up to the trip, we did not do our work-life balance properly.

00:21:09.975 --> 00:21:19.875
JAMES: We were working late every night and it just hit us that morning that we just kind of needed a day to not do anything really.

00:21:20.195 --> 00:21:22.855
CATE: We walked around Pop and Art of Animation.

00:21:22.875 --> 00:21:23.755
CATE: We went to Ulta.

00:21:23.775 --> 00:21:24.995
CATE: We got some face masks.

00:21:24.995 --> 00:21:30.115
CATE: We got some pub subs from Publix and basically had a self-care day.

00:21:30.715 --> 00:21:31.475
VIRGINIA: Perfect.

00:21:31.695 --> 00:21:32.295
VIRGINIA: Perfect.

00:21:32.415 --> 00:21:33.055
CATE: We needed it.

00:21:33.475 --> 00:21:35.995
VIRGINIA: I love a face mask at Disney.

00:21:36.015 --> 00:21:40.535
VIRGINIA: I frequently will throw one into my suitcase because they don't take up any space in the luggage.

00:21:40.555 --> 00:21:41.175
CATE: That is smart.

00:21:41.235 --> 00:21:41.575
JAMES: Yes.

00:21:43.835 --> 00:21:55.795
VIRGINIA: And when I was staying at Wilderness Lodge in February, I also packed some fizzing bath bombs that I'd gotten on a previous trip because I was like, I am using that bathtub.

00:21:56.215 --> 00:21:59.455
VIRGINIA: So just something to consider as you're packing for a trip.

00:21:59.475 --> 00:22:05.015
VIRGINIA: Do not forget those little things that, you know, maybe even you don't end up using them, but it's fine.

00:22:05.095 --> 00:22:07.595
VIRGINIA: It's not like they weigh a lot or take up a lot of space.

00:22:07.695 --> 00:22:08.375
VIRGINIA: So totally.

00:22:08.395 --> 00:22:11.635
JAMES: And you'll be thankful if you want it and it's there.

00:22:12.015 --> 00:22:12.775
VIRGINIA: Exactly.

00:22:12.795 --> 00:22:13.595
JAMES: Having it.

00:22:13.615 --> 00:22:13.875
JAMES: Yeah.

00:22:14.435 --> 00:22:15.035
VIRGINIA: Exactly.

00:22:15.055 --> 00:22:15.855
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:22:15.875 --> 00:22:21.615
VIRGINIA: So this was the day that you actually checked out of Pop Century and moved over to Saratoga Springs.

00:22:22.115 --> 00:22:22.595
JAMES: Yes.

00:22:22.615 --> 00:22:26.535
VIRGINIA: So tell me about your room at Saratoga Springs.

00:22:26.555 --> 00:22:27.315
VIRGINIA: Where was it located?

00:22:27.335 --> 00:22:35.795
CATE: It was located in the carousel section, which is probably one of the furthest sections from anything interesting or fun.

00:22:36.335 --> 00:22:42.115
JAMES: Like basically when you drive into security, the first building you could throw a rock at, that's right there.

00:22:42.415 --> 00:22:43.575
JAMES: The first left turn.

00:22:44.515 --> 00:22:44.855
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:22:44.875 --> 00:22:46.715
VIRGINIA: That is quite far away from the main building.

00:22:47.135 --> 00:22:47.435
CATE: Yeah.

00:22:47.615 --> 00:23:08.695
CATE: Overall, we had a pretty disappointing stay with DVC and we left a lot up in the air in terms of questioning of whether it's worth it for us, what we're going to do with our points, if we're going to just rent them out, if we're going to end up selling them, like it was disappointing.

00:23:08.715 --> 00:23:14.615
JAMES: Yeah, and that's for us for the style of trips we like to have.

00:23:14.975 --> 00:23:17.355
JAMES: We are very much half and half.

00:23:17.375 --> 00:23:23.915
JAMES: We very much like resorts and doing things at resorts as well as in your room and also going to the park.

00:23:23.975 --> 00:23:45.395
JAMES: So for some people, DVC totally makes sense because you see it as just kind of somewhere to lay your head down and really it's just facilitating your sleeping for you to have the energy to go to the park, whereas we're kind of more in the middle where we like to enjoy stuff with our room and resorts as well as half the time go to the park.

00:23:45.435 --> 00:23:56.915
JAMES: So everything DVC problems that we had, we think it's very possible just could be to the style of how we like to do our vacations.

00:23:57.315 --> 00:24:02.575
JAMES: So this might not apply to anyone or whatever else, but yeah.

00:24:03.375 --> 00:24:04.315
CATE: We only speak for us.

00:24:04.355 --> 00:24:04.735
JAMES: Yes.

00:24:05.135 --> 00:24:05.455
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:24:05.475 --> 00:24:26.155
VIRGINIA: I mean, I'm a DVC member, so I'm curious as to what specifically about Saratoga Springs, because I'm thinking that if you had used your points for a stay at a resort that is not specifically only DVC, that probably would have made a difference for you.

00:24:26.375 --> 00:24:26.695
JAMES: No.

00:24:27.415 --> 00:24:27.775
CATE: No?

00:24:27.795 --> 00:24:33.335
CATE: But our next week was at Animal Kingdom and we still did not love our stay there either.

00:24:34.955 --> 00:24:38.995
VIRGINIA: Are you able to elaborate any more on what it was about it?

00:24:40.695 --> 00:24:47.575
JAMES: So for starters, we actually came, so check-in is four o'clock actually, not three, I think.

00:24:49.175 --> 00:24:51.155
JAMES: And that might only be Saratoga.

00:24:51.175 --> 00:24:52.155
CATE: No, I think it's all DVC.

00:24:52.855 --> 00:24:53.175
JAMES: Okay.

00:24:53.535 --> 00:24:54.875
JAMES: So check-ins are four.

00:24:55.115 --> 00:25:01.715
JAMES: So we specifically came there, in fact, at five just to give them buffer, make sure everything is good.

00:25:02.355 --> 00:25:05.535
JAMES: Right when we get in, the room is still not ready for us.

00:25:06.135 --> 00:25:13.075
JAMES: We can't check in through any electronic means because the whole trip, in fact, they're...

00:25:13.955 --> 00:25:20.095
JAMES: Like I'm a developer and they should kind of be embarrassed about it, but everything about it was bad.

00:25:20.115 --> 00:25:22.135
JAMES: Their website, logging in.

00:25:22.175 --> 00:25:27.015
VIRGINIA: Wait, you couldn't check in through your My Disney Experience because I always link mine.

00:25:27.215 --> 00:25:29.735
CATE: The resort check-in feature was broken.

00:25:29.755 --> 00:25:30.675
VIRGINIA: Oh, that whole feature.

00:25:31.295 --> 00:25:33.615
CATE: So every time you tried to...

00:25:34.135 --> 00:25:37.095
CATE: You hit the button that says check in now.

00:25:37.655 --> 00:25:44.455
CATE: For a week leading up to it too, it kept saying, try again with the little circle thing.

00:25:44.575 --> 00:25:55.735
CATE: And I found out the middle week that I could have checked in on my laptop because I did check into something via the actual browser, but on the app, it was broken the entire time.

00:25:57.055 --> 00:25:57.775
VIRGINIA: That's annoying.

00:25:58.935 --> 00:26:09.295
CATE: And then at check in, they told us, oh, your room is just going through final checks, hang around the lobby and you should get your text right away saying that your room is ready.

00:26:09.615 --> 00:26:16.875
CATE: So we hung out around the lobby for a good 45 minutes and there wasn't, there's not that much to do in the Saratoga lobby.

00:26:16.895 --> 00:26:18.055
JAMES: Actually more like an hour or a day.

00:26:18.595 --> 00:26:22.575
CATE: Well, no, because then we went out to the car, I was going to say, for the last part of that hour.

00:26:23.895 --> 00:26:31.395
CATE: And not only that, but she didn't, the person who checked us in didn't give us any sort of map, didn't tell us what the features of the resort were.

00:26:31.595 --> 00:26:36.515
CATE: So we had no idea like where you go to get food, what the pools are, anything like that.

00:26:36.535 --> 00:26:39.335
CATE: So we had, we were going into this completely blind.

00:26:40.175 --> 00:26:48.035
CATE: And so then we were sitting in the car because we were tired of just sitting in the lobby and we were going to like call our rep or something.

00:26:48.055 --> 00:26:56.755
JAMES: And then finally he called, he called at six, I guess, give him buffer to make sure we're checked in and everything.

00:26:56.775 --> 00:26:58.155
JAMES: And he's like, so how's it going?

00:26:58.175 --> 00:27:00.455
JAMES: And we're like, well, we don't know our room's not ready.

00:27:00.475 --> 00:27:01.575
JAMES: They still haven't checked us in.

00:27:01.595 --> 00:27:08.995
JAMES: And he's like, oh my God, like you should go in and talk to a manager because it should be ready when they claim it should be ready.

00:27:09.995 --> 00:27:15.535
JAMES: And so we'd literally get up, get out of the car to start walking in to just figure out what's going on.

00:27:15.635 --> 00:27:20.755
CATE: And then also while we're sitting in the car, though, we got an email saying, your room is not ready yet.

00:27:20.815 --> 00:27:22.335
CATE: Here's what you can do instead.

00:27:22.355 --> 00:27:28.475
JAMES: A minute later got it is ready email, okay, while we're walking up.

00:27:28.475 --> 00:27:34.635
JAMES: So we were like, it was like 6 15, we're like, you know what, forget going in and talking to someone.

00:27:34.655 --> 00:27:41.095
JAMES: Let's just go find where our room is, get our stuff on time to end, you know, just see what we're dealing with here.

00:27:41.295 --> 00:27:49.515
CATE: But because we didn't have a map, we ended up driving around that resort for at least 30 to 45 minutes just trying to find our spot.

00:27:49.815 --> 00:27:51.795
VIRGINIA: Oh, my goodness, very clearly labeled.

00:27:51.815 --> 00:27:57.935
VIRGINIA: Yeah, I feel like when I stayed at Saratoga Springs, I remember being given a map and they like circled it.

00:27:57.955 --> 00:28:00.775
VIRGINIA: They're like, go this way, turn into this parking lot.

00:28:00.795 --> 00:28:04.155
VIRGINIA: That's where you're going, like circled it and everything.

00:28:06.835 --> 00:28:11.795
JAMES: Pop Century is fantastic for that, but not, sadly, not Saratoga.

00:28:11.815 --> 00:28:16.655
CATE: And then when you get to the room, like, first of all, like the showerhead was calcified.

00:28:16.675 --> 00:28:21.495
CATE: So you had like pieces, streams of water, like just going every which way.

00:28:21.515 --> 00:28:22.995
CATE: There was zero pressure.

00:28:23.015 --> 00:28:25.795
CATE: And so we're like, okay, it's fine.

00:28:26.035 --> 00:28:35.675
CATE: Then the next day or the day after that or something, James was finally like, okay, we're going to go get cream so that at least we can make coffee at our resort and that'll make our stay better.

00:28:36.075 --> 00:28:37.235
CATE: So we went out and got cream.

00:28:37.255 --> 00:28:38.315
CATE: We were super excited.

00:28:38.795 --> 00:28:42.655
CATE: And then the next day we make coffee and the coffee maker is calcified.

00:28:42.875 --> 00:28:48.835
CATE: So imagine having your first cup of coffee in the morning that just tastes like plastic.

00:28:50.175 --> 00:28:51.435
CATE: And that was the last straw.

00:28:51.455 --> 00:28:55.355
CATE: So that was what triggered us to go speak to a manager.

00:28:55.795 --> 00:29:09.475
CATE: And like that manager that we spoke to actually did a really good job at listening to us, understanding our concerns and making things a lot better for us for the last couple of nights of our stay.

00:29:10.455 --> 00:29:15.875
CATE: But if we hadn't done that, we would have been stuck in this just kind of mediocre room.

00:29:16.255 --> 00:29:21.295
CATE: That's more like a room that we would rent off the side of the highway than a deluxe Disney resort.

00:29:22.315 --> 00:29:23.095
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:29:23.115 --> 00:29:25.375
VIRGINIA: Yeah, I'm so sorry that you had that experience.

00:29:25.675 --> 00:29:31.435
JAMES: The manager, I got to say, above and beyond because we're nice people.

00:29:31.455 --> 00:29:33.335
JAMES: We're not big complainers and stuff.

00:29:33.355 --> 00:29:35.815
CATE: This is literally the first complaint we've ever made at Disney.

00:29:35.835 --> 00:29:36.235
JAMES: Yeah.

00:29:36.255 --> 00:29:37.715
VIRGINIA: I know, and I had to pull it out of you.

00:29:38.055 --> 00:29:38.355
JAMES: Yeah.

00:29:38.675 --> 00:29:42.715
JAMES: And so we went in, we didn't want anything.

00:29:42.815 --> 00:29:51.015
JAMES: We just really wanted to kind of voice our experience and our main goal was really like other people shouldn't have to go through this.

00:29:51.035 --> 00:29:57.235
JAMES: So we went in and really kind of voiced the coffee thing, the check-in thing.

00:29:57.555 --> 00:30:05.595
JAMES: Also with the poor check-in experience, we ran into an incident at the park with our magic bands and they can't fix it at the park.

00:30:05.615 --> 00:30:13.455
JAMES: So we actually had to leave a park to go to a hotel to get our magic bands fixed because it was not linked to us properly.

00:30:13.475 --> 00:30:17.015
CATE: Being able to pay for stuff using your magic bands.

00:30:17.015 --> 00:30:17.495
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:30:17.795 --> 00:30:18.795
JAMES: To do a lot of things.

00:30:18.835 --> 00:30:24.335
JAMES: And on top of it, there was like, they were telling us at the park, like, your magic bands aren't activated.

00:30:24.355 --> 00:30:25.875
JAMES: And it's like, I used it to get in.

00:30:25.895 --> 00:30:27.355
JAMES: They're like, well, it's not activated.

00:30:27.375 --> 00:30:28.695
JAMES: And so freaked us out.

00:30:28.715 --> 00:30:32.135
JAMES: And that's why we ran to guest services and were like, no, you got to go to a hotel.

00:30:32.155 --> 00:30:33.395
JAMES: We can't fix it here.

00:30:33.975 --> 00:30:48.075
JAMES: And so we had to go to a hotel, but he took the time not to just listen to our problem, but he sat down and he did an expert job of just calming the situation.

00:30:48.095 --> 00:30:52.095
JAMES: And he sat down and got to know us and told us about himself.

00:30:52.135 --> 00:30:58.555
JAMES: And he was a past DVC member and all the kind of honest things about DVC.

00:30:59.055 --> 00:31:01.875
JAMES: And so we probably spent a good hour and a half with him.

00:31:02.455 --> 00:31:07.015
JAMES: And he felt, you know, he felt very empathetic to our situation.

00:31:07.075 --> 00:31:10.075
JAMES: And he was like, okay, so what do you guys want?

00:31:10.215 --> 00:31:14.435
JAMES: And this was the funniest part because Cate and I looked at each other more like, we don't want anything.

00:31:14.455 --> 00:31:15.875
JAMES: We said to him, we don't want anything.

00:31:15.895 --> 00:31:27.095
JAMES: We just want to make sure like you're aware and to not kind of have other people have this experience because we go to Disney all the time and you know, not every time is going to be perfect.

00:31:27.175 --> 00:31:32.635
JAMES: And so we just chalked it as, you know, this is one of a bunch of hotels we're going to stay at.

00:31:32.655 --> 00:31:33.055
JAMES: So.

00:31:33.395 --> 00:31:36.695
CATE: So he ended up refunding two nights worth of points.

00:31:38.235 --> 00:31:42.415
CATE: He offered us a one bedroom instead of the deluxe studio in a better location.

00:31:43.375 --> 00:31:47.255
CATE: He said, you'll have a much better time and you'll get the real DVC experience.

00:31:47.915 --> 00:31:52.335
CATE: And then he also surprised us because we were totally okay with both of those things.

00:31:52.355 --> 00:31:54.435
CATE: So we went off to the park and we had a good day.

00:31:54.615 --> 00:31:57.995
CATE: And then when we came back from the park that day, there were two little gift bags.

00:31:58.575 --> 00:32:02.975
CATE: And inside one of them, there was a thing of coffee and a mug.

00:32:02.995 --> 00:32:06.515
CATE: And inside the other one, there was a thing of chocolates and a mug.

00:32:06.535 --> 00:32:09.835
CATE: And then on the counter, there was a brand new coffee maker.

00:32:10.495 --> 00:32:12.035
JAMES: They literally bought a brand new one.

00:32:12.055 --> 00:32:13.295
CATE: For the resort, not for us.

00:32:13.735 --> 00:32:14.475
VIRGINIA: Right, right.

00:32:14.495 --> 00:32:19.355
CATE: It was just showing that he really listened to us and understood what the problems were.

00:32:19.835 --> 00:32:22.555
VIRGINIA: Well, I'm glad he did his best to make it right.

00:32:22.995 --> 00:32:26.275
VIRGINIA: I'm imagining you were very glad you had your car at Saratoga.

00:32:26.735 --> 00:32:27.415
CATE: Definitely.

00:32:27.635 --> 00:32:29.555
CATE: We drove a lot that trip.

00:32:29.575 --> 00:32:30.595
JAMES: We walked a lot too, though.

00:32:30.615 --> 00:32:33.675
JAMES: We walked into Disney Springs quite a bit.

00:32:33.935 --> 00:32:37.835
JAMES: I think one of the first things we did is we just walked all of Saratoga.

00:32:38.275 --> 00:32:38.575
VIRGINIA: Mm-hmm.

00:32:38.855 --> 00:32:39.195
JAMES: Yeah.

00:32:39.355 --> 00:32:42.315
JAMES: Because a lot of people, so I'll give you that.

00:32:42.335 --> 00:32:47.415
JAMES: A lot of people talk about how far everything is and this and that.

00:32:47.435 --> 00:32:53.795
JAMES: So we wanted to try our shot at our way and clock some times and all that.

00:32:55.315 --> 00:33:00.235
JAMES: At the end of the day, we like walking, so we actually found it fine.

00:33:01.575 --> 00:33:04.535
JAMES: We were probably at literally one of the furthest rooms.

00:33:04.555 --> 00:33:06.695
JAMES: It was about 15 minutes to Disney Springs.

00:33:07.195 --> 00:33:08.355
CATE: Yeah, so it wasn't bad.

00:33:08.635 --> 00:33:15.675
JAMES: We did figure out how to scam the walking, though.

00:33:15.695 --> 00:33:22.955
JAMES: If you're staying on that very first part, walk all the parking lots straight across and then you get up right to that path.

00:33:24.095 --> 00:33:26.135
JAMES: Whatever bus stop gets you to Disney Springs.

00:33:26.155 --> 00:33:30.875
JAMES: So that turned into an eight-minute walk, so cut it in half.

00:33:30.895 --> 00:33:32.595
VIRGINIA: Which is not bad at all.

00:33:32.935 --> 00:33:33.335
JAMES: Totally.

00:33:34.215 --> 00:33:36.455
VIRGINIA: So, checked into Saratoga Springs.

00:33:36.475 --> 00:33:45.175
VIRGINIA: The next day, Monday, May the 6th, you were planning on doing your first extended evening hours at Epcot.

00:33:45.575 --> 00:33:49.655
VIRGINIA: So what did you do with the main part of your day before that extended evening?

00:33:50.035 --> 00:33:51.215
VIRGINIA: Or did your plans change?

00:33:51.495 --> 00:33:56.335
CATE: So we went into the park and as mentioned, we had the issue with our magic band.

00:33:56.355 --> 00:34:00.615
CATE: So the first thing we did was try to buy coffee and we could not.

00:34:03.315 --> 00:34:09.235
CATE: So we spent the first probably two hours of our day just sorting out stuff.

00:34:09.255 --> 00:34:10.855
CATE: We went over to Yacht Club.

00:34:11.135 --> 00:34:22.655
CATE: I actually filmed a full grounds tour of Yacht Club and got it up on our YouTube channel, I think the same day or the next day because it just took so long to get everything done.

00:34:22.675 --> 00:34:27.215
CATE: But then once that was sorted, we came back into the park.

00:34:27.295 --> 00:34:32.675
CATE: We got some food from Le Haul, which is my favorite of all the quick serves.

00:34:32.775 --> 00:34:36.255
CATE: So that definitely brightened my spirits.

00:34:36.375 --> 00:34:42.955
CATE: We went over to the AP Lounge to eat and we met Abu there, which was really cool.

00:34:43.715 --> 00:34:45.215
VIRGINIA: So how was the AP Lounge?

00:34:45.235 --> 00:34:47.815
VIRGINIA: Just really quickly, because I know a lot of people this will not apply to.

00:34:47.835 --> 00:34:52.295
VIRGINIA: There's not everybody who listens is an AP, but I'm just curious.

00:34:52.555 --> 00:34:57.135
CATE: Beautifully decorated, like thoroughly Moroccan themed.

00:34:58.415 --> 00:35:01.195
CATE: It was nice air conditioning, lots of places to sit.

00:35:01.475 --> 00:35:10.915
JAMES: They give free water and tea and snacks, kind of like Chex Mix and nuts with bananas.

00:35:10.935 --> 00:35:12.795
JAMES: Yeah, berries.

00:35:13.175 --> 00:35:14.735
JAMES: So it was really good.

00:35:14.835 --> 00:35:16.195
VIRGINIA: Cate, you don't like bananas?

00:35:16.835 --> 00:35:18.415
CATE: I detest bananas.

00:35:18.655 --> 00:35:21.455
VIRGINIA: Okay, she wrinkled her nose.

00:35:24.875 --> 00:35:27.575
VIRGINIA: Had either of you eaten at the Moroccan restaurant before?

00:35:28.315 --> 00:35:28.995
VIRGINIA: Pre-pandemic?

00:35:28.995 --> 00:35:29.295
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:35:29.595 --> 00:35:30.035
CATE: Have you?

00:35:30.215 --> 00:35:30.775
CATE: Was it good?

00:35:31.115 --> 00:35:32.415
VIRGINIA: I ate there one time.

00:35:33.535 --> 00:35:35.175
VIRGINIA: I remember liking the food.

00:35:35.515 --> 00:35:38.035
VIRGINIA: I don't specifically remember what I had.

00:35:38.035 --> 00:35:49.035
VIRGINIA: And I remember they were belly dancers and Alex must have been seven or eight and they had all the kids come up and like learn how to belly dance.

00:35:49.075 --> 00:35:49.715
VIRGINIA: And that was cute.

00:35:49.875 --> 00:35:51.275
VIRGINIA: So that's what I remember of it.

00:35:53.375 --> 00:35:53.755
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:35:53.775 --> 00:35:55.335
VIRGINIA: So what was after the AP Lounge?

00:35:56.515 --> 00:35:58.335
CATE: We rode guardians.

00:35:58.815 --> 00:36:00.355
CATE: We took some photos.

00:36:00.555 --> 00:36:02.855
VIRGINIA: Wait, wait, back up.

00:36:02.875 --> 00:36:03.695
VIRGINIA: What song did you get?

00:36:03.715 --> 00:36:05.495
JAMES: Oh, what song did we get?

00:36:06.295 --> 00:36:11.635
CATE: There was one time that we got a new song and then one time that we got a song that we had already had.

00:36:11.995 --> 00:36:14.735
CATE: Was it Conga or Disco Inferno?

00:36:15.795 --> 00:36:17.675
JAMES: It might have been Disco Inferno, actually.

00:36:18.955 --> 00:36:19.955
CATE: Yeah, maybe that was it.

00:36:20.635 --> 00:36:22.315
CATE: We still have not gotten September.

00:36:23.795 --> 00:36:25.995
VIRGINIA: I cannot believe you have not gotten September.

00:36:26.395 --> 00:36:32.915
VIRGINIA: And you're not the only person that I have spoken with who say I consistently cannot get September.

00:36:32.935 --> 00:36:39.275
CATE: Someone I spoke to said that they have ridden like 97 times and only got September once.

00:36:39.595 --> 00:36:41.555
VIRGINIA: I don't know how that could possibly be.

00:36:41.715 --> 00:36:43.255
VIRGINIA: That is crazy.

00:36:43.275 --> 00:36:45.995
CATE: I feel like there's maybe one car that plays it.

00:36:46.275 --> 00:36:46.775
VIRGINIA: Maybe.

00:36:46.815 --> 00:36:49.375
VIRGINIA: I don't know because I don't know how many times I've ridden it.

00:36:49.395 --> 00:36:52.035
VIRGINIA: I ride it every time I get the opportunity.

00:36:52.055 --> 00:36:53.815
VIRGINIA: If I can ride it twice in one day, I will.

00:36:54.035 --> 00:36:54.975
VIRGINIA: But I don't live there.

00:36:54.995 --> 00:36:57.475
VIRGINIA: So it's not like I've ridden it 97 times.

00:36:58.055 --> 00:36:59.415
VIRGINIA: And I've gotten every single song.

00:36:59.415 --> 00:37:00.415
VIRGINIA: So I don't know.

00:37:00.955 --> 00:37:01.755
CATE: Lucky you.

00:37:02.355 --> 00:37:06.735
JAMES: I think we've even done three times in one day and still not got it at Christmas time.

00:37:06.975 --> 00:37:11.275
VIRGINIA: Well, at Christmas time, don't they well, at least a year ago, they played different songs.

00:37:11.455 --> 00:37:12.315
CATE: Run, Run, Rocket.

00:37:12.395 --> 00:37:12.715
CATE: Yeah.

00:37:12.935 --> 00:37:19.515
CATE: After that, we just did sort of like a leave the park, go get showers, go to Target.

00:37:20.175 --> 00:37:22.655
CATE: And then we came back for evening.

00:37:22.735 --> 00:37:25.475
CATE: So we met up with Daina, Mark and Ariel again.

00:37:25.495 --> 00:37:31.895
CATE: And we got the only food that we tried from Flower and Garden Festival on this trip.

00:37:33.375 --> 00:37:33.895
VIRGINIA: What was it?

00:37:34.935 --> 00:37:38.695
CATE: The shrimp tempura and the key lime wine slushy.

00:37:40.635 --> 00:37:41.395
VIRGINIA: They were both good?

00:37:41.755 --> 00:37:42.075
CATE: Yes.

00:37:42.395 --> 00:37:42.615
JAMES: Yeah.

00:37:44.175 --> 00:37:50.315
JAMES: And I'm not a wine drinker, but I got one of them because I smelled it and I was like, oh, wow, that even works for me.

00:37:50.315 --> 00:37:52.255
JAMES: So that was a very good drink.

00:37:52.655 --> 00:37:53.795
VIRGINIA: Key lime wine.

00:37:54.295 --> 00:37:54.835
JAMES: Yeah.

00:37:54.875 --> 00:37:56.695
VIRGINIA: That's hard for me to imagine.

00:37:56.915 --> 00:38:06.335
CATE: Like I feel like it's maybe like a Moscato or something that is like a white wine that is maybe a little sweeter mixed with a key lime or a rosé or something.

00:38:07.135 --> 00:38:10.455
VIRGINIA: Oh, so it was sort of like a frosé, but with a key lime twist to it.

00:38:10.475 --> 00:38:10.735
CATE: Yeah.

00:38:10.795 --> 00:38:11.215
VIRGINIA: Got it.

00:38:11.315 --> 00:38:11.615
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:38:11.835 --> 00:38:20.155
CATE: Then after that, we watched fireworks and we basically sat around talking for an hour into the extended evening hours.

00:38:20.395 --> 00:38:23.535
CATE: And then they were like, I'm so sorry that we took away your extended evening hours.

00:38:23.555 --> 00:38:24.875
CATE: And we're like, this is kind of awesome.

00:38:24.895 --> 00:38:26.835
CATE: So we're not in any way upset about that.

00:38:26.855 --> 00:38:29.395
CATE: Oh, and I think Kristina was there too.

00:38:29.615 --> 00:38:30.435
JAMES: Kristina was there.

00:38:30.455 --> 00:38:31.155
CATE: But Bryan was in there.

00:38:31.175 --> 00:38:31.175
JAMES: Yeah.

00:38:31.195 --> 00:38:31.955
JAMES: Bryan was not.

00:38:31.975 --> 00:38:33.115
CATE: So it was a gang minus one.

00:38:34.975 --> 00:38:36.955
CATE: So then they all went away.

00:38:37.655 --> 00:38:47.675
CATE: And the rest of extra evening hours, we did some PhotoPass photos, including the one that I've been dying to get with Tinkerbell in the Lantern and the English Garden.

00:38:47.955 --> 00:38:48.455
VIRGINIA: Yes.

00:38:49.135 --> 00:38:51.195
CATE: And we rode Remmys as a walk on.

00:38:51.295 --> 00:38:51.895
VIRGINIA: Perfect.

00:38:52.335 --> 00:38:52.835
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:38:53.275 --> 00:38:56.495
VIRGINIA: So it sounds like extended evening hours were a success.

00:38:56.995 --> 00:38:57.655
JAMES: Yes, they were.

00:38:57.735 --> 00:38:58.075
JAMES: Yes.

00:38:58.235 --> 00:38:59.915
JAMES: We love just walking around even.

00:39:00.495 --> 00:39:02.955
VIRGINIA: It's just so peaceful, especially with so few people there.

00:39:03.395 --> 00:39:03.695
CATE: Yes.

00:39:04.115 --> 00:39:09.555
VIRGINIA: I want to back up for one second just because I know that Luminous, this was your first time watching Luminous.

00:39:09.995 --> 00:39:11.175
VIRGINIA: I still have not seen it.

00:39:11.275 --> 00:39:12.795
VIRGINIA: I will be seeing it in a couple of weeks.

00:39:13.555 --> 00:39:14.995
VIRGINIA: What were your overall thoughts?

00:39:15.355 --> 00:39:22.255
CATE: I love how they blend traditionally like English songs that we know with other languages.

00:39:22.315 --> 00:39:31.755
CATE: That was like my biggest takeaway because I always love songs that have English and like French or Spanish or Italian mixed together.

00:39:31.775 --> 00:39:35.435
CATE: I think that's just like a really cool thing that I really appreciate myself.

00:39:35.615 --> 00:39:48.675
CATE: But hearing it mixed with fireworks and like seeing all of that come together and the themes of like community and togetherness and peace and collaboration, that was really beautiful for me.

00:39:48.815 --> 00:40:00.655
JAMES: I would agree and I would also say what I really liked about it is it's not like crazy and all over the place, so many fireworks that, you know, it's hard to pay attention and all that stuff.

00:40:00.715 --> 00:40:06.175
JAMES: It was more elegant, I would say is the better way to phrase that.

00:40:06.255 --> 00:40:09.895
JAMES: It was just beautiful and the music was great.

00:40:10.715 --> 00:40:11.975
JAMES: I personally really liked it.

00:40:13.635 --> 00:40:16.815
VIRGINIA: I am looking forward to it and I've been totally spoiler free on it.

00:40:16.895 --> 00:40:20.115
VIRGINIA: So like anytime I see something pop up, I'm like, no, no.

00:40:20.115 --> 00:40:21.975
VIRGINIA: Not going to watch that yet.

00:40:21.995 --> 00:40:23.335
CATE: I can't wait to hear what you think of it.

00:40:24.135 --> 00:40:25.255
VIRGINIA: I will definitely let you know.

00:40:25.275 --> 00:40:26.095
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:40:26.195 --> 00:40:31.835
VIRGINIA: Tuesday, May the 7th, which is James' mom's birthday and Cate's sister's birthday.

00:40:31.855 --> 00:40:34.395
VIRGINIA: So happy birthday to the two of them belated.

00:40:37.015 --> 00:40:39.075
VIRGINIA: What did you end up doing on this day?

00:40:39.095 --> 00:40:40.875
VIRGINIA: I know you had planned Animal Kingdom.

00:40:41.395 --> 00:40:42.735
CATE: We did do Animal Kingdom.

00:40:42.995 --> 00:40:45.235
CATE: This was the day that we actually spoke to the manager.

00:40:45.255 --> 00:40:47.755
CATE: So we were delayed in getting to Animal Kingdom.

00:40:49.035 --> 00:40:52.255
CATE: But we got to meet up with our friends that day.

00:40:52.815 --> 00:40:58.755
CATE: We met up with Rae, who is Disney Rainbow, and her partner, Tanisha.

00:40:59.535 --> 00:41:06.415
CATE: And the first thing that we did, actually, the very first thing that we did even before we met them was we saw Divine.

00:41:07.155 --> 00:41:07.875
VIRGINIA: Oh, you did.

00:41:07.895 --> 00:41:11.115
VIRGINIA: I had never seen her before.

00:41:11.135 --> 00:41:12.595
CATE: We hadn't either.

00:41:12.775 --> 00:41:15.855
JAMES: We saw her every time we went to Animal Kingdom this trip, actually.

00:41:16.435 --> 00:41:17.275
VIRGINIA: Where was she?

00:41:17.555 --> 00:41:19.795
CATE: Right in the front as you're walking in.

00:41:20.195 --> 00:41:25.715
CATE: You know how there's like the birds right in the middle there, right after you get the map?

00:41:25.975 --> 00:41:28.735
CATE: She was just right off to the side on the path that you take.

00:41:29.515 --> 00:41:29.995
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:41:30.015 --> 00:41:31.555
JAMES: The right path, not the left.

00:41:31.575 --> 00:41:32.755
JAMES: You can walk around.

00:41:33.015 --> 00:41:34.235
VIRGINIA: Got it.

00:41:34.235 --> 00:41:35.275
JAMES: On the right side.

00:41:35.575 --> 00:41:38.295
JAMES: She was there every time when we went.

00:41:38.695 --> 00:41:49.735
VIRGINIA: Maybe that's why I have not seen her because I feel that I traditionally, for whatever reason, walk towards the left when I go in and then I walk down the other path on the way out.

00:41:50.415 --> 00:41:50.655
CATE: Oh.

00:41:51.095 --> 00:41:51.695
VIRGINIA: I don't know why.

00:41:51.715 --> 00:41:52.715
CATE: Are you left-handed?

00:41:52.955 --> 00:41:53.255
VIRGINIA: No.

00:41:53.555 --> 00:41:54.075
VIRGINIA: Alex is.

00:41:55.575 --> 00:42:01.275
VIRGINIA: But I think it's also when you go for early morning entry, they usually do that on the left.

00:42:01.655 --> 00:42:03.895
VIRGINIA: And so I've just conditioned myself, go left.

00:42:03.955 --> 00:42:05.035
CATE: We're never awake enough.

00:42:05.875 --> 00:42:06.375
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:42:07.695 --> 00:42:10.615
VIRGINIA: You might not know this, but early entry starts over there.

00:42:10.635 --> 00:42:15.615
JAMES: We will never find out, probably.

00:42:19.495 --> 00:42:29.435
CATE: So after seeing her, the first thing that we did was head over to Dinoland USA because my big goal was to collect some of the plushies from there.

00:42:31.035 --> 00:42:45.115
CATE: And so Rae and T played some games with us, and on that trip, I won, but I wanted Minnie Mouse, which isn't the one that I wanted, but it was because there were only four of us playing.

00:42:45.135 --> 00:42:49.615
CATE: So I stuck with my Minnie Mouse and she's fine, but I really wanted a dinosaur.

00:42:51.155 --> 00:42:52.355
VIRGINIA: Which game were you playing?

00:42:52.375 --> 00:42:55.355
VIRGINIA: The basketball or the shooting the water?

00:42:55.375 --> 00:42:56.435
CATE: Shooting the water.

00:42:57.335 --> 00:43:01.895
CATE: So after that, we rode Dinosaur, and then we rode Everest.

00:43:02.095 --> 00:43:07.055
CATE: And then we all decided that we had enough of Animal Kingdom for right then.

00:43:07.795 --> 00:43:10.595
CATE: So we all went back to our separate resorts.

00:43:13.355 --> 00:43:15.115
JAMES: We went to the flame tree.

00:43:17.195 --> 00:43:18.295
JAMES: Really good as usual.

00:43:18.315 --> 00:43:30.215
JAMES: They have a salad there, like the pulled pork, whatever, but they use cornbread croutons, but it's actually just essentially big chunks of cornbread kind of toasted.

00:43:30.235 --> 00:43:31.995
JAMES: And I love that.

00:43:32.015 --> 00:43:33.035
VIRGINIA: That sounds so good.

00:43:33.055 --> 00:43:33.395
JAMES: Yeah.

00:43:33.415 --> 00:43:34.415
JAMES: It's so amazing.

00:43:34.555 --> 00:43:35.595
VIRGINIA: I love cornbread.

00:43:35.615 --> 00:43:40.115
JAMES: And it's a salad, so you get kind of a good balanced meal there, too.

00:43:40.335 --> 00:43:41.535
VIRGINIA: So it's healthy.

00:43:42.695 --> 00:43:43.575
CATE: Totally.

00:43:43.575 --> 00:43:44.495
VIRGINIA: Thinking air quotes.

00:43:46.855 --> 00:43:48.995
CATE: It's one of my favorite salads in all of Disney, actually.

00:43:49.035 --> 00:43:50.175
JAMES: Highly recommend.

00:43:51.055 --> 00:43:52.655
VIRGINIA: We'll definitely have to give that a try.

00:43:52.755 --> 00:43:53.115
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:43:53.155 --> 00:43:57.135
VIRGINIA: So after your resting time, what did you do next?

00:43:57.515 --> 00:44:03.175
CATE: Then we met up with the gang, plus Rae and T in Disney Springs.

00:44:04.395 --> 00:44:05.475
VIRGINIA: So nine of you total.

00:44:05.755 --> 00:44:08.035
VIRGINIA: What did you do together at Disney Springs?

00:44:08.655 --> 00:44:10.715
CATE: We ate some chicken guy.

00:44:10.735 --> 00:44:16.855
CATE: We went to Gideon's and it was before the whole Gideon's meltdown controversy.

00:44:16.875 --> 00:44:17.615
VIRGINIA: Controversy.

00:44:17.635 --> 00:44:17.955
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:44:19.215 --> 00:44:27.375
VIRGINIA: I haven't admittedly, I don't totally understand what's going on because every time someone posts about it, it is pages and pages long.

00:44:27.995 --> 00:44:32.555
VIRGINIA: And I'm like, I don't have the brainpower to sit here and read through.

00:44:32.695 --> 00:44:34.135
JAMES: I would just say, don't worry about it.

00:44:36.075 --> 00:44:36.375
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:44:36.395 --> 00:44:36.615
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:44:36.695 --> 00:44:38.595
VIRGINIA: Just enjoy the cookies and be done with it.

00:44:39.715 --> 00:44:40.075
CATE: Got it.

00:44:41.335 --> 00:44:43.115
CATE: And then after that, we just went shopping.

00:44:43.875 --> 00:44:44.655
CATE: And it was awesome.

00:44:44.875 --> 00:44:45.575
CATE: We love shopping.

00:44:46.115 --> 00:44:46.475
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:44:47.095 --> 00:44:47.835
VIRGINIA: Sounds good.

00:44:47.855 --> 00:44:49.215
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:44:49.235 --> 00:44:54.875
VIRGINIA: So Wednesday, May the 8th, you actually had tickets to the Keys to the Kingdom Tour.

00:44:54.895 --> 00:44:55.955
CATE: We did.

00:44:56.395 --> 00:44:59.275
VIRGINIA: Am I remembering that this was your first time doing this tour?

00:44:59.575 --> 00:44:59.955
CATE: Yes.

00:45:00.275 --> 00:45:00.635
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:45:00.655 --> 00:45:06.935
VIRGINIA: But I remember when we spoke before, you said that you knew people who recommended to do the tour multiple times.

00:45:06.955 --> 00:45:11.795
VIRGINIA: Don't think it's a one and done because it totally varies based on who's leading the tour.

00:45:11.815 --> 00:45:14.815
VIRGINIA: So tell us about your Keys to the Kingdom Tour.

00:45:16.655 --> 00:45:18.535
CATE: So the day started out not good.

00:45:18.555 --> 00:45:19.775
VIRGINIA: Oh no.

00:45:19.955 --> 00:45:20.975
JAMES: It started out fine.

00:45:21.135 --> 00:45:21.355
CATE: No.

00:45:21.375 --> 00:45:21.975
CATE: We were just...

00:45:23.575 --> 00:45:29.655
CATE: So this was the day, remember how I said the manager James offered to move us into a one bedroom?

00:45:29.915 --> 00:45:30.395
VIRGINIA: Yes.

00:45:31.235 --> 00:45:45.015
CATE: So this was the day that we were allowed to move into the one bedroom, which meant that we had to pack up our entire room, leave everything just sitting in the doorway and someone would come and pick it up and move us and move it into the room.

00:45:45.335 --> 00:45:47.975
CATE: And then we would be elsewhere.

00:45:49.435 --> 00:45:54.315
CATE: All of that took way longer to get coordinated than it needed to.

00:45:54.755 --> 00:46:01.195
CATE: And then when we were going out to the bus, I guess we started out, no, we started out thinking we were going to drive.

00:46:01.655 --> 00:46:04.035
CATE: Then we decided driving would take too long.

00:46:04.355 --> 00:46:08.275
CATE: Then we went to the bus stop and the bus took way too long to get there.

00:46:08.295 --> 00:46:09.395
CATE: So we were like, let's drive.

00:46:09.795 --> 00:46:11.335
CATE: We're never going to make it on time.

00:46:12.235 --> 00:46:17.295
CATE: Driving to Magic Kingdom is disastrous because you have to either get on a monorail or a ferry.

00:46:17.315 --> 00:46:20.055
JAMES: Which we forgot about till midway driving.

00:46:20.075 --> 00:46:26.735
JAMES: And we're like, wait a second, even if we waited for the bus, it would have been better because it would take us right to the front gate.

00:46:27.155 --> 00:46:27.735
CATE: Oh no.

00:46:28.555 --> 00:46:34.035
CATE: All that to say, by the time we actually got in the park, our tour had already departed.

00:46:34.055 --> 00:46:35.335
JAMES: Like 40 minutes earlier.

00:46:38.915 --> 00:46:46.515
JAMES: But you know what, we're on the ferry, we're already 30 minutes late, and we just looked at each other and said, you know what, it is what it is.

00:46:46.515 --> 00:46:50.435
JAMES: So we're just going to have a fun day in Magic Kingdom if nothing can be done.

00:46:51.215 --> 00:46:55.235
CATE: We went straight beeline for the check-in area.

00:46:55.255 --> 00:46:57.115
CATE: She said, go over to City Hall.

00:46:57.135 --> 00:46:58.675
CATE: I swear the group just left.

00:46:58.755 --> 00:47:00.115
CATE: See if you can catch up with them.

00:47:00.475 --> 00:47:00.835
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:47:00.855 --> 00:47:02.415
CATE: So we went over to City Hall.

00:47:02.435 --> 00:47:03.515
CATE: They rushed us ahead.

00:47:03.535 --> 00:47:04.975
CATE: They gave us the menu for lunch.

00:47:04.995 --> 00:47:06.395
CATE: They're like, pick what you want right now.

00:47:06.735 --> 00:47:13.615
CATE: And barely without a second to look at it, I'm like, I want the lobster roll, because I already knew what I wanted because it was at Harbor House.

00:47:13.955 --> 00:47:16.675
CATE: And then they radioed ahead.

00:47:16.815 --> 00:47:25.515
CATE: And basically, by the time we joined the tour, we had only missed a few of the windows on the first side of Main Street.

00:47:25.535 --> 00:47:32.135
JAMES: And maybe the circle at the front gate of Main Street, you know, the turnstile or the roundabout.

00:47:32.855 --> 00:47:35.615
JAMES: And I am sure they talked about some stuff there.

00:47:35.855 --> 00:47:43.675
JAMES: But from the feeling we got when we joined, it was kind of like we probably missed a lot more of the admin sort of things they have to go through.

00:47:43.695 --> 00:47:47.435
JAMES: So it actually like we were like, okay, this is, you know, good.

00:47:47.455 --> 00:47:50.935
JAMES: We're having missed much and no one was upset.

00:47:50.955 --> 00:47:51.775
JAMES: We showed up late.

00:47:51.775 --> 00:47:56.675
JAMES: So we're because they actually offered they're like, we could just reschedule you for a different time.

00:47:56.695 --> 00:48:00.295
JAMES: And, you know, we're the type of people are like, you know, this was our fault.

00:48:00.355 --> 00:48:07.215
JAMES: So just slot us in, like as long as you guys are okay with it, just slot us in and we won't be anyone's burden any further.

00:48:07.215 --> 00:48:09.315
JAMES: Just, yeah.

00:48:09.455 --> 00:48:15.355
JAMES: And so one walked us and filled this in on whatever we kind of missed while they got us to the group.

00:48:15.515 --> 00:48:22.955
JAMES: And when we got to the group, we just slotted in and they give you an earpiece so you can hear them from a pretty decent distance.

00:48:24.055 --> 00:48:26.275
JAMES: And yeah, we got in fine.

00:48:27.795 --> 00:48:30.075
CATE: One other side note, though, don't go late.

00:48:30.955 --> 00:48:31.575
CATE: Don't go late.

00:48:31.795 --> 00:48:40.795
CATE: But the other side note that I have for us personally is with all of the chaos of the day, both of us forgot to take our ADHD medication.

00:48:40.975 --> 00:48:41.395
JAMES: Oh, yeah.

00:48:41.655 --> 00:48:42.215
VIRGINIA: Oh, gosh.

00:48:42.615 --> 00:48:44.175
JAMES: We didn't have it with us too.

00:48:44.195 --> 00:48:50.575
JAMES: So we're both like, this could be really bad because we're probably not going to remember.

00:48:51.115 --> 00:48:58.515
CATE: I was writing notes as much as I could in between the times where I was allowed to have my phone out.

00:48:58.535 --> 00:49:09.235
CATE: I was just trying to remember as much as I possibly could from that tour because I knew that if like if I let my brain do what it wanted to do, I would just not retain any of it.

00:49:09.815 --> 00:49:10.315
VIRGINIA: Squirrel.

00:49:10.415 --> 00:49:10.695
VIRGINIA: Yep.

00:49:12.975 --> 00:49:19.755
JAMES: Like no joke, there was times where she would say something and then I would just start thinking about what she said and all the other stuff.

00:49:19.775 --> 00:49:22.155
JAMES: And then I'll be like, wait, no, you got to listen, you got to listen.

00:49:25.595 --> 00:49:28.555
VIRGINIA: What would your rating for this tour be?

00:49:28.695 --> 00:49:29.435
CATE: 10 out of 10.

00:49:29.455 --> 00:49:30.395
CATE: Can't wait to do it again.

00:49:31.435 --> 00:49:32.575
VIRGINIA: Oh, and you rhymed.

00:49:35.875 --> 00:49:46.615
CATE: Yeah, we actually did learn so much from it and it really gave a brand new appreciation to everything that Walt sort of dreamed of for this park.

00:49:46.695 --> 00:49:51.515
CATE: And then all the ways that Roy focused on making Walt's dream come to life.

00:49:52.455 --> 00:49:55.735
CATE: And that carried me through just the rest of the trip.

00:49:55.755 --> 00:50:02.715
CATE: That feeling stuck with me so deeply and it gave me just an overall appreciation, especially for Magic Kingdom.

00:50:02.955 --> 00:50:03.535
JAMES: I would agree.

00:50:04.955 --> 00:50:06.155
JAMES: It was amazing.

00:50:06.815 --> 00:50:08.035
VIRGINIA: I cannot wait to do it.

00:50:08.295 --> 00:50:16.555
VIRGINIA: I mentioned on the pre-trip, I have to wait until Alex turns 16 because he will murder me if I do not make sure that he's with me the very first time.

00:50:17.595 --> 00:50:18.595
CATE: Make sure that you're on time.

00:50:19.155 --> 00:50:19.515
VIRGINIA: Yes.

00:50:21.275 --> 00:50:21.655
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:50:21.675 --> 00:50:27.675
VIRGINIA: So this evening, you had extended evening hours at Magic Kingdom that you could have taken advantage of.

00:50:27.775 --> 00:50:29.315
VIRGINIA: Did you utilize those?

00:50:29.915 --> 00:50:30.475
CATE: We did not.

00:50:31.035 --> 00:50:31.395
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:50:31.475 --> 00:50:32.295
VIRGINIA: What did you do instead?

00:50:32.455 --> 00:50:39.515
CATE: We decided to walk to Disney Springs and we got an absolutely delicious meal from Eat.

00:50:39.695 --> 00:50:40.355
VIRGINIA: From where?

00:50:40.595 --> 00:50:40.815
CATE: Eat.

00:50:41.175 --> 00:50:41.935
JAMES: The Indian.

00:50:42.055 --> 00:50:43.395
CATE: The Manich...

00:50:44.575 --> 00:50:45.895
CATE: I don't know how to pronounce it.

00:50:46.115 --> 00:50:49.595
CATE: You probably shouldn't even try, but it was just such good food.

00:50:49.615 --> 00:50:52.335
CATE: And it's right at the entrance when you're walking in.

00:50:53.635 --> 00:50:54.215
VIRGINIA: Got it.

00:50:54.975 --> 00:50:56.375
JAMES: It's beside the Christmas shop.

00:50:57.095 --> 00:50:57.435
VIRGINIA: Got it.

00:50:57.475 --> 00:50:57.795
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:50:57.815 --> 00:50:58.095
VIRGINIA: Yes.

00:50:58.475 --> 00:51:03.895
VIRGINIA: I'm not a huge Indian food person, so it's probably why I've never really paid attention to it.

00:51:04.495 --> 00:51:08.955
VIRGINIA: But I know exactly where you're talking about because I nearly always visit that Christmas shop.

00:51:09.735 --> 00:51:28.715
CATE: I will say, if you're not an Indian food person and you want to become one, this is probably the most easygoing, non-threatening way to get into Indian foods because the spices in terms of the flavor profile are all there, but the spice in terms of the heat is not.

00:51:29.155 --> 00:51:34.115
CATE: So it's a very accessible entry point into really good Indian food.

00:51:34.355 --> 00:51:37.255
JAMES: And it's also gastropub style.

00:51:37.315 --> 00:51:41.875
JAMES: So I would say they do put a very much American spin on it.

00:51:42.715 --> 00:51:56.055
JAMES: And it was, I think one thing we got, like we got this interesting salad and we'll have, I think at some point, some review of this, but it was like nothing we ever ate.

00:51:56.115 --> 00:51:59.555
JAMES: And you could see that we're like, I don't even know what to say about it.

00:51:59.575 --> 00:52:05.535
JAMES: Like it's good, but I don't know how like the textures and the flavors, like it's just odd.

00:52:05.555 --> 00:52:06.175
JAMES: It was different.

00:52:06.295 --> 00:52:14.575
CATE: And what was most interesting about that salad was we like to try like pieces individually of meals that we eat.

00:52:14.595 --> 00:52:16.555
CATE: So like, what does this taste like?

00:52:16.575 --> 00:52:17.535
CATE: What does that taste like?

00:52:17.555 --> 00:52:29.355
CATE: And in the salad, every, all of the pieces didn't taste amazing on their own, but when you blended them all together, it was a completely different flavor profile.

00:52:29.595 --> 00:52:32.255
JAMES: If you don't have the dressing, you're just not going to like it.

00:52:33.655 --> 00:52:33.915
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:52:33.935 --> 00:52:35.655
VIRGINIA: I like some Indian flavors.

00:52:35.695 --> 00:52:40.635
VIRGINIA: It's just overall, it's not my favorite style of food, but I mean, I just, I had some curry yesterday.

00:52:40.655 --> 00:52:44.575
VIRGINIA: It was at a Chinese restaurant, but it had, they had a curry sauce and I was like, yeah, I'll take it.

00:52:44.615 --> 00:52:47.255
VIRGINIA: Just put it on the side because I wasn't sure if Alex would like it.

00:52:47.275 --> 00:52:48.415
VIRGINIA: And it was so good.

00:52:48.435 --> 00:52:49.695
CATE: I love a good curry.

00:52:49.995 --> 00:52:50.315
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

00:52:50.475 --> 00:52:50.975
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:52:51.395 --> 00:52:52.135
VIRGINIA: What was next?

00:52:52.715 --> 00:52:57.375
CATE: So next was May 9th, which was technically our rest day.

00:52:58.195 --> 00:53:01.575
CATE: We had breakfast at 1900 Park Fair.

00:53:02.335 --> 00:53:03.355
VIRGINIA: How was that?

00:53:04.015 --> 00:53:07.135
CATE: So first big surprise, we were early.

00:53:09.055 --> 00:53:10.375
VIRGINIA: Well done, you two.

00:53:10.835 --> 00:53:11.515
CATE: Thank you.

00:53:11.535 --> 00:53:13.995
CATE: I feel like we needed a gold star or something.

00:53:14.015 --> 00:53:14.555
VIRGINIA: You do.

00:53:15.975 --> 00:53:21.015
CATE: So we got there early and we were able to walk around Grand Floridian and just soak in all those vibes.

00:53:21.035 --> 00:53:22.375
CATE: And then they called us in.

00:53:23.115 --> 00:53:25.615
CATE: All of the food was phenomenal, I would say.

00:53:25.635 --> 00:53:27.575
CATE: I really enjoyed everything that we ate.

00:53:28.815 --> 00:53:31.835
CATE: Characters were all absolutely on point.

00:53:31.935 --> 00:53:40.355
CATE: Everyone was like nailed their mannerisms and their vocal tones and it was just amazing.

00:53:40.375 --> 00:53:42.575
JAMES: There was a switch on one of the characters.

00:53:42.595 --> 00:53:42.915
CATE: Yep.

00:53:43.335 --> 00:53:47.835
CATE: So we did not get Tiana in her Bayou Adventure outfit.

00:53:48.475 --> 00:53:49.095
VIRGINIA: Oh, okay.

00:53:49.195 --> 00:53:51.055
VIRGINIA: So was she wearing something different?

00:53:52.015 --> 00:53:53.135
CATE: She was just not there.

00:53:53.155 --> 00:53:53.955
VIRGINIA: She was just not there.

00:53:54.175 --> 00:53:54.515
VIRGINIA: Okay.

00:53:54.535 --> 00:53:57.295
CATE: Replace her with Snow White for the morning, at least.

00:53:58.575 --> 00:54:02.955
VIRGINIA: I guess since it's Wish themed, that makes sense if you're going to have to pull on a replacement.

00:54:03.275 --> 00:54:05.735
VIRGINIA: I know that you were very excited to see Mirabelle, though.

00:54:06.035 --> 00:54:09.375
CATE: Mirabelle was there, did not disappoint.

00:54:09.695 --> 00:54:12.395
CATE: So it was really hot the week that we were there.

00:54:12.755 --> 00:54:20.195
CATE: And so what I talked to her about is, Mirabelle, we got to talk to Diabeba because this weather is out of control.

00:54:20.435 --> 00:54:22.995
CATE: And she just took that and ran with it.

00:54:22.995 --> 00:54:24.415
CATE: And it was amazing.

00:54:24.515 --> 00:54:26.295
CATE: And we just had so much fun talking.

00:54:26.315 --> 00:54:30.095
CATE: And she talked about my hair and my glasses and how I kind of look like her.

00:54:32.595 --> 00:54:34.515
VIRGINIA: Aw, that's sweet.

00:54:34.915 --> 00:54:40.255
JAMES: The whole thing was really awesome, as well as the wish card thing they do.

00:54:40.275 --> 00:54:43.575
JAMES: You write a wish on a little postcard they give you.

00:54:44.055 --> 00:54:46.615
JAMES: And they have a ceremony where you wave it up.

00:54:46.635 --> 00:54:50.915
JAMES: And I think they pick someone to get a little more time with a character or something.

00:54:50.975 --> 00:54:51.835
CATE: I don't remember that.

00:54:53.055 --> 00:54:57.515
CATE: I think they just make you wave things in the air and then you go, when you're so big.

00:54:58.395 --> 00:55:01.075
JAMES: And we had the soup, the strawberry soup.

00:55:01.095 --> 00:55:02.155
VIRGINIA: The strawberry soup.

00:55:02.175 --> 00:55:03.375
VIRGINIA: Okay, what did you think of that?

00:55:03.775 --> 00:55:04.375
JAMES: It's yogurt.

00:55:05.615 --> 00:55:06.535
JAMES: It's strawberry yogurt.

00:55:06.555 --> 00:55:09.455
VIRGINIA: I think it's more like a smoothie than yogurt.

00:55:09.475 --> 00:55:09.875
VIRGINIA: I don't know.

00:55:09.895 --> 00:55:11.615
VIRGINIA: It doesn't have the tang of yogurt to me.

00:55:11.635 --> 00:55:14.315
JAMES: It was thicker though than a, like, yeah.

00:55:14.355 --> 00:55:16.515
CATE: It was the midpoint between yogurt and the smoothie.

00:55:17.215 --> 00:55:18.195
JAMES: It was really good.

00:55:18.495 --> 00:55:22.355
JAMES: Yeah, all the food there was really exceptional.

00:55:22.375 --> 00:55:23.715
CATE: And gummy bears for breakfast.

00:55:23.735 --> 00:55:24.775
CATE: Like, how can that be beat?

00:55:26.375 --> 00:55:26.995
JAMES: It's true.

00:55:26.995 --> 00:55:27.755
VIRGINIA: It's so true.

00:55:28.455 --> 00:55:32.195
VIRGINIA: You were also planning to try to get over the character warehouse this day.

00:55:32.215 --> 00:55:33.335
VIRGINIA: Did that end up happening?

00:55:33.715 --> 00:55:34.275
CATE: It did.

00:55:34.955 --> 00:55:37.355
CATE: We came home with a lot of fun treasures.

00:55:37.815 --> 00:55:38.255
VIRGINIA: Nice.

00:55:38.295 --> 00:55:41.595
VIRGINIA: Anything specific you want to share?

00:55:41.735 --> 00:55:44.535
CATE: I got the Spider-Man lounge fly that was pretty cool.

00:55:44.675 --> 00:55:46.095
CATE: We got some Christmas ornaments.

00:55:46.115 --> 00:55:48.755
CATE: We broke one of them on the way home, which was awesome.

00:55:49.775 --> 00:55:51.815
JAMES: We just got a lot of stuff.

00:55:51.835 --> 00:55:52.735
JAMES: They had a lot of...

00:55:53.275 --> 00:55:54.875
CATE: We got a lot of pins, actually.

00:55:54.895 --> 00:56:05.635
CATE: We've recently gotten in to pin collecting, and I thought, you know, what if we buy some of the pins that we don't maybe love as much, but they're less expensive so that we can start trading pins?

00:56:05.655 --> 00:56:05.995
CATE: Right.

00:56:06.515 --> 00:56:09.655
CATE: So we had our first trading experience later on in the trip.

00:56:10.095 --> 00:56:11.015
VIRGINIA: Okay, all right.

00:56:11.035 --> 00:56:22.435
VIRGINIA: Well, when we get to that point, I will be excited to hear about it because when I was there in February, I had never pin traded before, but I had collected pins for my nephews to give them the pin trading experience.

00:56:22.455 --> 00:56:24.295
VIRGINIA: So I've pin traded with them.

00:56:25.175 --> 00:56:25.815
VIRGINIA: It was fun.

00:56:25.835 --> 00:56:29.195
VIRGINIA: I have some thoughts, but we'll get to that when you tell me about it.

00:56:31.415 --> 00:56:31.975
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:56:32.475 --> 00:56:35.475
VIRGINIA: Anything else on Thursday, May the 9th?

00:56:35.515 --> 00:56:45.495
CATE: So then that evening, we had a whole bunch of friends over to our awesome one bedroom place that had room for 11, I think it ended up being.

00:56:45.575 --> 00:56:51.935
JAMES: We took a, so if you've been in a one bedroom, they normally have a full kitchen, at least DVC.

00:56:51.955 --> 00:56:59.575
JAMES: They have a full kitchen and they've got like this long table and bench and all that where you could sit like five or six people around.

00:56:59.835 --> 00:57:07.775
JAMES: We ended up moving that to the big L couch and kind of, we took the bench off the wall and made it a seat on the other side.

00:57:08.195 --> 00:57:13.675
JAMES: And so we had 11 people in essentially our living room sitting around this and we were playing.

00:57:13.975 --> 00:57:15.195
CATE: Cards Against Humanity.

00:57:15.515 --> 00:57:16.155
VIRGINIA: Oh my gosh.

00:57:16.175 --> 00:57:17.595
VIRGINIA: Were there any noise complaints?

00:57:18.235 --> 00:57:20.355
CATE: Surprisingly, no.

00:57:20.695 --> 00:57:26.895
CATE: I thought for sure we would get one because we played until 1130 at night and we were laughing so loud.

00:57:26.915 --> 00:57:28.675
VIRGINIA: But no, no noise.

00:57:28.715 --> 00:57:29.475
VIRGINIA: Good, good.

00:57:29.495 --> 00:57:31.095
VIRGINIA: I love Cards Against Humanity.

00:57:31.335 --> 00:57:32.475
VIRGINIA: It's one of my favorites.

00:57:32.695 --> 00:57:33.595
CATE: It was super fun.

00:57:33.615 --> 00:57:36.155
VIRGINIA: I always say a dirty mind is a terrible thing to waste.

00:57:36.635 --> 00:57:36.975
JAMES: Yes.

00:57:38.575 --> 00:57:41.355
JAMES: That night, no minds were wasted, that's for sure.

00:57:42.615 --> 00:57:43.255
VIRGINIA: All right.

00:57:43.435 --> 00:57:50.695
VIRGINIA: Friday, May the 10th, you were checking out of Saratoga and heading to Clearwater with the gang.

00:57:51.255 --> 00:57:51.595
CATE: Yes.

00:57:51.835 --> 00:57:54.895
VIRGINIA: And that was for two nights in Clearwater, right?

00:57:56.615 --> 00:57:57.335
VIRGINIA: How was all of that?

00:57:57.375 --> 00:58:06.355
CATE: So before we checked out, or no, after we checked out, but before we left, James and I headed over to Hollywood Studios for a little bit.

00:58:08.535 --> 00:58:15.335
CATE: And we picked up our Starbucks coffee mug because I had a goal of collecting all of the park mugs on the trip.

00:58:16.655 --> 00:58:18.395
CATE: And what else did we do?

00:58:19.015 --> 00:58:21.015
CATE: We met BB8 that day.

00:58:21.235 --> 00:58:33.315
CATE: And then the last thing that we did before we actually exited is I made us sort of walk the long way out of the park in hopes of catching Mandalorian and Grogu, which we actually did.

00:58:34.235 --> 00:58:35.215
CATE: I was so excited to meet him.

00:58:35.715 --> 00:58:37.255
VIRGINIA: Perfect, perfect.

00:58:37.275 --> 00:58:38.295
JAMES: Very cool character.

00:58:38.375 --> 00:58:38.835
CATE: Yeah.

00:58:38.895 --> 00:58:51.795
JAMES: The way they do it is, so other meet and greets, they have you're a lineup and it's next in line, but him, they just kind of barricade you in Galaxy's Edge and one of the little areas.

00:58:52.355 --> 00:58:58.095
JAMES: And he basically goes and is like, you come and he picks who he wants to meet.

00:58:59.115 --> 00:59:10.935
JAMES: So everyone's trying to get to the front, but you can tell that he might be kind of overpassing the kind of overbearing sort of people and getting like the more kind of naturally excited.

00:59:10.955 --> 00:59:14.055
JAMES: So Cate was lucky to get called up for that.

00:59:14.135 --> 00:59:16.115
JAMES: And I think he made fun of her a little.

00:59:16.135 --> 00:59:19.295
CATE: He told me that I looked evil or something like.

00:59:19.315 --> 00:59:19.955
JAMES: Yeah, something.

00:59:20.155 --> 00:59:22.135
JAMES: And then she's like, really?

00:59:22.235 --> 00:59:27.095
JAMES: And they all of a sudden she had to turn for the camera and he puts up his hand and is just like.

00:59:28.095 --> 00:59:34.715
CATE: No, so what I was like, I was wearing my heart shaped sunglasses and I'm like, really with a face like this, you don't think I'm innocent?

00:59:39.375 --> 00:59:40.075
VIRGINIA: That's cute.

00:59:40.195 --> 00:59:41.595
CATE: Then we drove to Clearwater.

00:59:41.635 --> 00:59:48.695
CATE: We went to Publix and picked up a whole lot of food and started playing games for the rest of the weekend.

00:59:49.055 --> 00:59:49.575
VIRGINIA: Nice.

00:59:49.595 --> 00:59:53.575
VIRGINIA: All right, well, let's, we still have a lot of trip to go.

00:59:53.595 --> 00:59:56.255
VIRGINIA: So we're gonna breeze past the Clearwater.

00:59:57.375 --> 00:59:58.575
VIRGINIA: And go to.

00:59:58.595 --> 01:00:00.015
JAMES: Just games the whole time, that's it.

01:00:01.475 --> 01:00:09.275
VIRGINIA: Yeah, so Sunday, May the 12th, you checked in at Kidani Village and you were maybe gonna go over to Epcot.

01:00:09.295 --> 01:00:11.095
VIRGINIA: So what actually ended up happening on that day?

01:00:12.095 --> 01:00:14.735
CATE: We ended up leaving Clearwater later than expected.

01:00:14.755 --> 01:00:23.975
CATE: So we actually just checked into Kidani, walked over to the Mara, which is a really long walk, got some food and basically went to bed.

01:00:24.235 --> 01:00:34.535
JAMES: The walk, no joke from, we were also literally the last rooms that you could get in Kidani, like away from the bus area.

01:00:34.875 --> 01:00:42.095
JAMES: The walk was about 20 minutes to Mari and was like 2,500 steps.

01:00:42.115 --> 01:00:45.135
JAMES: So we got half a day of steps just getting dinner.

01:00:45.415 --> 01:00:46.355
VIRGINIA: That's what I've heard.

01:00:46.395 --> 01:00:52.675
VIRGINIA: I've heard from people who have stayed in Kidani Village that you really, it's much like Saratoga Springs where you kind of need a car.

01:00:53.995 --> 01:00:58.315
VIRGINIA: And I have a goal, like many people do, of staying at every single resort.

01:00:58.495 --> 01:01:12.495
VIRGINIA: And I have to say that as I've been thinking about it, and especially being DVC, eventually I know I'll get to Animal Kingdom Lodge, but my goal is to stay in one of the DVC rooms in Jumbo House because I prefer to be closer to the stuff.

01:01:13.235 --> 01:01:15.995
CATE: I will say there is still a walk in Jumbo.

01:01:16.015 --> 01:01:21.235
CATE: We've stayed there before, not DVC rooms, but just a regular hotel room.

01:01:21.715 --> 01:01:27.195
CATE: But I feel like you don't notice it as much in Jumbo, even though it's a long walk.

01:01:27.215 --> 01:01:36.675
JAMES: Even when you're staying in there just to get to the quick serve, you still got to do that weird downstairs, go outside, walk around situation.

01:01:37.675 --> 01:01:42.275
JAMES: Even when we stayed there, we were like, this is so weird and awkward.

01:01:42.295 --> 01:01:48.515
JAMES: You don't get in directly through the building, you've always got to go outside.

01:01:48.535 --> 01:01:53.075
CATE: Absolutely worth it to stay at Animal Kingdom and wake up to giraffes outside your window.

01:01:53.235 --> 01:01:53.595
VIRGINIA: Right.

01:01:53.615 --> 01:01:59.535
VIRGINIA: That's part of the reason that the walk is so long is because it's surrounding the savannas.

01:01:59.615 --> 01:02:01.475
VIRGINIA: So it just stretches out really far.

01:02:01.555 --> 01:02:04.915
VIRGINIA: So as long as you're aware of that going into it.

01:02:05.395 --> 01:02:09.095
VIRGINIA: All right, let's get into Monday, May 13th.

01:02:09.215 --> 01:02:18.155
VIRGINIA: And this was an Epcot day where you had a dining plan, garden rocks, simple plan show planned.

01:02:18.175 --> 01:02:21.475
CATE: It was one of my favorite days of our entire trip.

01:02:21.555 --> 01:02:22.835
CATE: I was so excited.

01:02:22.855 --> 01:02:24.515
CATE: I was so pumped for this day.

01:02:24.535 --> 01:02:28.335
CATE: The breakfast was phenomenal.

01:02:28.355 --> 01:02:30.355
CATE: All of the characters were fantastic.

01:02:30.375 --> 01:02:33.595
JAMES: We had the same server from last time we went there.

01:02:34.515 --> 01:02:36.435
JAMES: Gary, amazing guy.

01:02:36.775 --> 01:02:53.735
JAMES: If you get Gary, older gentleman with glasses, he and himself is just a character that you need to see at this character breakfast because he's the one who really makes the time just in between characters.

01:02:54.375 --> 01:03:15.455
JAMES: Just really awesome because he'll sit there, he'll chat with you, or he won't chat with you if you don't want him to, but a highly entertaining individual, just a wealth of knowledge of almost, he'll even give you tips of how to get into the Garden Rocks events smoothly and if you really want whatever, there's the times you should be going and all that stuff.

01:03:15.895 --> 01:03:16.775
JAMES: That was awesome.

01:03:17.035 --> 01:03:24.075
JAMES: The characters were super awesome and we had the same sort of fun kind of playfulness with them.

01:03:24.915 --> 01:03:33.075
JAMES: One thing we definitely noticed with characters and us is, we're not those people who are just like, hey, get up here and let's take a picture.

01:03:33.095 --> 01:03:38.895
JAMES: In fact, every time they came around, we just stayed seated and started just chatting and joking with all the characters.

01:03:39.335 --> 01:03:43.715
JAMES: And it was kind of like, eventually, I guess we should do this picture sort of situation now.

01:03:44.175 --> 01:03:54.175
JAMES: But characters, because we do that, we find characters actually typically will circle around and come and see this before they leave because we just give them a lot of fun.

01:03:54.215 --> 01:03:57.335
JAMES: And we, you know, these are, you know, these are human beings.

01:03:57.355 --> 01:04:03.275
JAMES: So we treat them as such and don't just treat them as an ornament to take a picture with.

01:04:03.295 --> 01:04:05.375
JAMES: So they really enjoy that.

01:04:05.395 --> 01:04:06.235
JAMES: So it was lots of fun.

01:04:07.035 --> 01:04:07.495
VIRGINIA: Awesome.

01:04:08.175 --> 01:04:11.935
VIRGINIA: What else did you end up doing that day before your Simple Plans show?

01:04:12.455 --> 01:04:12.835
JAMES: A nap.

01:04:13.515 --> 01:04:17.535
CATE: Yeah, like mostly like we decided to walk around a bit.

01:04:17.555 --> 01:04:19.535
CATE: We walked out to the boardwalk area.

01:04:19.555 --> 01:04:22.455
CATE: We explored all of that whole thing.

01:04:23.015 --> 01:04:24.535
CATE: And then we went back for a nap.

01:04:25.195 --> 01:04:26.935
JAMES: I don't think we nap.

01:04:27.755 --> 01:04:35.915
JAMES: We laid down to nap and then we said to each other, like we don't actually need to nap, but we just kind of need to rest, like just relax.

01:04:35.935 --> 01:04:42.215
JAMES: So we had, like the blinds were closed, it was dark, but we essentially just kind of laid there and yeah.

01:04:42.415 --> 01:04:48.875
CATE: So then we get on the bus back to Animal Kingdom and you know, like it's fine, we're talking.

01:04:48.915 --> 01:04:55.135
CATE: And then I'm seeing like some raindrops coming down and I'm like, oh, hey James, do you have a hat with you?

01:04:55.155 --> 01:04:56.575
CATE: I might need to borrow it.

01:04:57.195 --> 01:05:03.815
CATE: And by the time that we actually got to Epcot, it was the most massive downpour.

01:05:03.835 --> 01:05:12.655
CATE: I had never seen in life, like one of the worst rainstorms that, and it was not calling for it at all.

01:05:12.935 --> 01:05:21.215
CATE: They have been going through such a dry spell in Florida that they had to close the river boats that go on the Sassagoula River because there's not enough water.

01:05:21.735 --> 01:05:27.075
CATE: And then just on that simple plan day was the day that the skies just decided to open up.

01:05:28.795 --> 01:05:39.795
JAMES: So we had to, fortunately, we did bring raincoats, but we had to ad hoc go by flip-flops because our feet and socks were just absolutely soaked.

01:05:39.815 --> 01:05:42.355
CATE: Like before we even got to security, we were drenched.

01:05:43.775 --> 01:05:44.635
JAMES: But we had to do it.

01:05:44.735 --> 01:05:48.495
JAMES: We had to do a simple plan, and the journey had to continue.

01:05:48.515 --> 01:05:51.475
JAMES: So we were fine getting wet.

01:05:51.475 --> 01:05:53.215
JAMES: We just needed some new footwear.

01:05:53.995 --> 01:05:59.915
CATE: So because of the diversion, we didn't really get to see much of the first show.

01:06:00.395 --> 01:06:09.155
CATE: And as we were walking over, I was a little bummed because we could hear the music, and James could hear it more clearly than I could.

01:06:09.175 --> 01:06:13.575
CATE: I think my ears don't focus as well when there's a lot of different things going on around.

01:06:13.595 --> 01:06:16.235
CATE: And he's like, oh, it's jet lag.

01:06:16.955 --> 01:06:18.615
CATE: I'm straining my ears.

01:06:18.715 --> 01:06:19.275
CATE: It's a song.

01:06:19.295 --> 01:06:21.015
CATE: It's my favorite Plans song.

01:06:21.375 --> 01:06:23.355
CATE: And I can finally hear it.

01:06:23.375 --> 01:06:24.875
CATE: And we're approaching the line.

01:06:24.955 --> 01:06:25.955
CATE: And the song ends.

01:06:26.375 --> 01:06:26.935
VIRGINIA: Oh, no.

01:06:26.955 --> 01:06:36.915
CATE: And so that was the teeniest of teeny disappointments for me, because then we decided that we weren't going to try and get in the theater or anything.

01:06:36.935 --> 01:06:42.255
CATE: We were going to stand in the dining package line so that we were one of the first ones to get in.

01:06:42.555 --> 01:06:44.615
CATE: So we just watched the rest of their set from there.

01:06:44.635 --> 01:06:47.715
CATE: And I was dancing and we were talking to the people in front of us.

01:06:47.735 --> 01:06:49.715
CATE: And we were just having good times all around.

01:06:49.815 --> 01:06:54.215
JAMES: Also, probably like tenth in line, so we figured it would be good.

01:06:55.455 --> 01:06:57.055
JAMES: And then what happened?

01:06:57.575 --> 01:07:00.275
CATE: And then they let us in and we got front row.

01:07:00.915 --> 01:07:01.835
VIRGINIA: Oh, yes.

01:07:02.035 --> 01:07:02.935
VIRGINIA: Well worth it.

01:07:02.955 --> 01:07:04.895
CATE: It was amazing.

01:07:04.995 --> 01:07:06.755
VIRGINIA: Your simple plan paid off.

01:07:07.555 --> 01:07:08.655
CATE: It totally did.

01:07:11.875 --> 01:07:14.315
CATE: So their set was just incredible.

01:07:14.595 --> 01:07:16.035
CATE: Loved every minute of it.

01:07:16.055 --> 01:07:17.555
CATE: Can't wait to go see them again.

01:07:17.575 --> 01:07:20.675
CATE: I'm probably gonna go see them in Toronto at some point soon.

01:07:20.695 --> 01:07:26.015
CATE: We haven't bought tickets yet, but there's a couple of shows in our area that have piqued our interest.

01:07:27.555 --> 01:07:33.595
CATE: And then as soon as they finished that set, I ran around and got into the standby line of the next set.

01:07:34.375 --> 01:07:36.355
CATE: And it was all the way into Italy.

01:07:36.375 --> 01:07:40.455
CATE: So I was like, there's no way that I'm actually gonna get into the theater.

01:07:40.915 --> 01:07:44.035
CATE: James went off to vape, so he exited the park and everything.

01:07:44.055 --> 01:07:46.635
CATE: So I was just standing there and I'm like, there's no way this is happening.

01:07:47.115 --> 01:07:53.675
CATE: But by the time we actually got in, I'm so surprised at how many people that theater actually holds.

01:07:54.895 --> 01:07:56.835
CATE: We weren't even in the fully back row.

01:07:56.855 --> 01:08:05.175
CATE: We decided to hang back and have a more chill experience, but we could have filed in even closer if we wanted to be close to people.

01:08:05.735 --> 01:08:07.615
CATE: And then we watched the next set.

01:08:08.495 --> 01:08:08.895
VIRGINIA: Nice.

01:08:09.195 --> 01:08:11.095
VIRGINIA: Okay, and it was all totally different songs?

01:08:11.855 --> 01:08:12.215
CATE: Yes.

01:08:12.295 --> 01:08:12.635
VIRGINIA: Yes.

01:08:12.995 --> 01:08:13.775
VIRGINIA: Fantastic.

01:08:14.495 --> 01:08:16.155
VIRGINIA: Did you do anything else that evening?

01:08:16.955 --> 01:08:19.335
CATE: So that evening was also extended evening hours.

01:08:19.855 --> 01:08:20.475
VIRGINIA: Oh, okay.

01:08:21.195 --> 01:08:23.675
CATE: So we watched Fireworks again.

01:08:23.895 --> 01:08:24.555
JAMES: Guardians.

01:08:24.975 --> 01:08:26.295
CATE: We rode Guardians.

01:08:26.675 --> 01:08:28.515
VIRGINIA: Do you remember what song you got for Guardians?

01:08:28.595 --> 01:08:29.535
CATE: Was that one we got?

01:08:29.555 --> 01:08:32.915
JAMES: Actually, we didn't do Guardians.

01:08:32.935 --> 01:08:33.615
CATE: Oh, yeah.

01:08:33.635 --> 01:08:35.255
CATE: I remember we had a virtual queue.

01:08:35.275 --> 01:08:37.455
JAMES: We had two Guardians in fact.

01:08:37.475 --> 01:08:47.635
CATE: And we walked over there and I had never seen a line extend outside and into where the actual ship is for the photo op outside.

01:08:47.775 --> 01:08:48.075
CATE: Yes.

01:08:48.415 --> 01:08:52.195
CATE: There was a line that just snaked all the way out there.

01:08:52.455 --> 01:08:56.475
CATE: And we're like, we're not spending all of our extended evening hour just standing in that line.

01:08:56.495 --> 01:09:02.215
CATE: Cause we already know that if the line is at a certain point, you're already waiting an hour before you get on.

01:09:02.695 --> 01:09:04.755
CATE: So we just decided to skip it that night.

01:09:04.795 --> 01:09:08.535
JAMES: We had the virtual queue from earlier in the day, plus we had the evening one.

01:09:09.415 --> 01:09:13.095
JAMES: But yeah, like Cate said, we love the environment there.

01:09:13.415 --> 01:09:14.515
JAMES: We can do guardians.

01:09:14.535 --> 01:09:21.075
JAMES: Guardians will always be there, but evening hours are not always available when you're there, if you're not a local.

01:09:21.515 --> 01:09:33.815
JAMES: And so we'd rather enjoy kind of the evening of the environment, whatever was going on, then spend it, you know, I've never even seen guardians poke out any of the entrances.

01:09:33.835 --> 01:09:37.495
JAMES: So we figured that's at least like an hour and a half.

01:09:37.855 --> 01:09:41.275
JAMES: Even with the virtual queue, because the line is out the door.

01:09:41.295 --> 01:09:45.735
JAMES: So we just decided, you know, we'll come back and do it at some point.

01:09:45.755 --> 01:09:46.395
JAMES: Not a big deal.

01:09:46.895 --> 01:09:50.915
VIRGINIA: Tuesday, May 14th, you headed to Magic Kingdom.

01:09:52.275 --> 01:09:55.115
CATE: So that day was actually a ride centric day.

01:09:55.135 --> 01:09:59.075
CATE: We got Genie Plus that day, and we knocked out a whole bunch of our favorites.

01:09:59.955 --> 01:10:08.475
CATE: Later in that evening, we met up with our friends, Daniel and Melissa, who are at DM at Disney on Instagram.

01:10:08.795 --> 01:10:13.675
CATE: And we had some fun photo moments, taking photos with Mickey.

01:10:14.815 --> 01:10:17.055
CATE: We finally rode Big Thunder Mountain.

01:10:17.235 --> 01:10:18.175
CATE: James and I did.

01:10:18.195 --> 01:10:20.275
CATE: We hadn't ridden it since our honeymoon.

01:10:20.295 --> 01:10:24.715
CATE: So that was something that kept popping up on my, I want to do this list.

01:10:24.975 --> 01:10:26.595
CATE: So we finally knocked that one out.

01:10:27.735 --> 01:10:32.015
JAMES: And then the fireworks, we did it really different, which turned out really special.

01:10:32.375 --> 01:10:38.175
JAMES: So we've never seen the fireworks from kind of the side behind the castle.

01:10:38.195 --> 01:10:49.295
JAMES: And we all got a rumor that occasionally at the carousels, some of the princesses will come out and take young princesses and go ride the carousels with them.

01:10:49.955 --> 01:10:53.975
JAMES: And so we're like, you know, we've seen this fireworks show many times.

01:10:53.995 --> 01:10:55.455
JAMES: Let's go see it somewhere different.

01:10:55.895 --> 01:11:07.475
JAMES: So we did go to where the carousel was and there was a Cinderella walking around and saying hello to the people and taking little princesses and going for little kind of walks with them.

01:11:07.495 --> 01:11:10.055
JAMES: It was super cute and lots of fun.

01:11:10.075 --> 01:11:13.575
JAMES: But also that's kind of where the fireworks go off.

01:11:13.595 --> 01:11:15.135
JAMES: They're kind of off in that.

01:11:15.275 --> 01:11:21.775
JAMES: In fact, they're even further, but if you could walk somewhere the closest to where they're going off, that would probably be it.

01:11:22.235 --> 01:11:23.435
JAMES: And it was amazing.

01:11:23.455 --> 01:11:24.895
JAMES: You're like right under it.

01:11:25.115 --> 01:11:28.395
JAMES: And it's, they're coming from both sides, the castles and that one.

01:11:29.395 --> 01:11:33.155
JAMES: So I really enjoyed seeing it from that perspective.

01:11:33.175 --> 01:11:41.315
JAMES: You do not get to see any of the castle projections or any of the main street stuff, but it was just, there was something more intimate.

01:11:41.315 --> 01:11:47.235
JAMES: It's not people to people and it's fairly open for you to kind of stand around wherever you want.

01:11:47.235 --> 01:11:50.995
JAMES: And so you just find a spot and people won't bother you bump into you.

01:11:51.015 --> 01:11:58.775
JAMES: And so I really enjoyed it from there, but do not get the regular experience of seeing the apple.

01:11:58.795 --> 01:12:01.795
VIRGINIA: Yeah, but if you're looking for an alternative, that's a good way to do it.

01:12:02.515 --> 01:12:03.695
VIRGINIA: All right.

01:12:04.115 --> 01:12:10.535
VIRGINIA: All right, Wednesday, May the 15th, I have noted that you were doing Caring for Giants.

01:12:10.555 --> 01:12:15.475
VIRGINIA: So my big question with that is, did you end up getting to see Cora the baby elephant?

01:12:16.715 --> 01:12:17.195
CATE: No.

01:12:17.355 --> 01:12:21.795
VIRGINIA: No, only big elephants on parade that day?

01:12:22.495 --> 01:12:25.495
CATE: Yes, only big elephants on parade.

01:12:26.355 --> 01:12:31.375
CATE: It was too hot, so they had her a little bit more sheltered in the shade.

01:12:32.175 --> 01:12:41.115
CATE: We did get to see, oh, I wrote down their names, but I can't remember, but it's the mom and daughter pair, and they were eating together.

01:12:41.135 --> 01:12:43.175
CATE: So I got some really cute pictures.

01:12:43.495 --> 01:12:48.575
CATE: So we got really up close with a lot of the elephants.

01:12:48.595 --> 01:12:58.095
CATE: Our tour guide was phenomenal, and he had a lot of information that I never knew about elephants.

01:12:58.715 --> 01:13:06.435
CATE: And I learned so much from him that made the entire experience well worth it.

01:13:07.215 --> 01:13:08.435
JAMES: I would recommend doing it.

01:13:08.535 --> 01:13:15.135
JAMES: It is, for dollar per hour, some people might perceive it as kind of pricey.

01:13:15.155 --> 01:13:30.495
JAMES: It's $39 US, it's only an hour long, but I think the value of you get a small group, there's like 10 of you or something, you get a guide that you can literally just sit there and hound them with all the questions you want and they'll be happy to answer.

01:13:30.855 --> 01:13:44.775
JAMES: They do drive you behind the scenes and take you off to a private viewing area of the elephants that they've built a little structure kind of in the safari there, which was really cool.

01:13:44.895 --> 01:13:48.655
JAMES: So for me personally, I think it's a value.

01:13:49.975 --> 01:13:51.315
JAMES: Maybe not everyone would though.

01:13:52.095 --> 01:14:06.035
VIRGINIA: Sure, but especially like for a family who wants to have a tour experience and maybe does not want to or can't pay what it would cost to do the bigger tours there in Animal Kingdom.

01:14:06.375 --> 01:14:13.875
VIRGINIA: I think it's a great way for a family to do something that's a little bit lower cost and feel like you have that special intimate experience.

01:14:14.215 --> 01:14:14.655
CATE: Totally.

01:14:14.655 --> 01:14:20.975
CATE: And plus it's also only taking an hour out of your park day as opposed to like Keys to the Kingdom, which is a five hour tour.

01:14:21.975 --> 01:14:27.515
CATE: So it's a nice short way to get a more exclusive experience.

01:14:27.555 --> 01:14:32.615
JAMES: And it's not exhaustive or anything like, you don't really have to do much walking.

01:14:32.655 --> 01:14:44.395
JAMES: So also, if you just have accessibility issues where you can't do a lot of the other things that Animal Kingdom has, because a lot of them are a little more physical intensive.

01:14:45.335 --> 01:14:47.515
JAMES: This is a perfect balance to that, right?

01:14:48.735 --> 01:14:51.135
VIRGINIA: So what else did you do in Animal Kingdom this day?

01:14:51.395 --> 01:14:56.255
CATE: So then we went back to the arcade, and I really wanted to win that dinosaur.

01:14:57.055 --> 01:15:03.035
CATE: So when we approached the game that we wanted to play, she was like, okay, you're playing for Minnie Mouse.

01:15:03.055 --> 01:15:04.795
CATE: And I'm like, oh, I already won Minnie Mouse.

01:15:04.815 --> 01:15:07.435
CATE: What do we need to play for a dinosaur?

01:15:07.455 --> 01:15:12.075
CATE: And she's like, oh, if two more people join, then you'll play for the dinosaur.

01:15:12.095 --> 01:15:13.455
CATE: So two more people join.

01:15:13.975 --> 01:15:20.595
CATE: And to my surprise, the two people that randomly joined are our Instagram friends.

01:15:22.775 --> 01:15:24.115
VIRGINIA: Nice, okay.

01:15:24.335 --> 01:15:29.955
CATE: So it was Patrick, and I believe his handle is time for Disney.

01:15:30.135 --> 01:15:32.435
CATE: I'll get it back to you so that you have the proper name.

01:15:33.355 --> 01:15:38.595
CATE: But we had seen that he was there, and then I recognized him and I shouted out, Patrick.

01:15:38.915 --> 01:15:40.575
CATE: And he's like, just questioning.

01:15:40.595 --> 01:15:43.275
CATE: I'm like, we're ever after adventures.

01:15:44.175 --> 01:15:45.595
CATE: And he's like, oh my goodness.

01:15:45.835 --> 01:15:46.935
CATE: So then we played the game.

01:15:47.975 --> 01:15:49.335
CATE: He won me the dinosaur.

01:15:49.355 --> 01:15:50.535
CATE: I was so excited.

01:15:51.055 --> 01:15:55.995
CATE: And then we went off and we took some photos with Patrick and his partner Roger.

01:15:56.615 --> 01:15:59.415
CATE: And yeah, it was super awesome.

01:15:59.435 --> 01:16:00.035
JAMES: You did Everest.

01:16:00.735 --> 01:16:05.495
CATE: So then James and I went off and we got cheeseburger pods from Satuli Canteen.

01:16:06.175 --> 01:16:11.815
CATE: And then we came back and we were doing some pin trading and we came across Patrick again.

01:16:11.835 --> 01:16:17.835
CATE: And he was like, hey, do you guys have any interest in riding Everest in the single rider line?

01:16:18.535 --> 01:16:22.955
CATE: I am not a super roller coaster friendly kind of person.

01:16:23.375 --> 01:16:29.875
CATE: So to even think about going into a single rider line and doing Everest on my own was a little bit daunting.

01:16:29.895 --> 01:16:33.175
CATE: But when someone asks, you've got to just say yes and roll with it.

01:16:35.375 --> 01:16:37.495
VIRGINIA: You're BB Cate, you got to roll with it.

01:16:37.575 --> 01:16:38.935
CATE: Totally, we roll.

01:16:41.635 --> 01:16:42.415
VIRGINIA: And you rock.

01:16:47.935 --> 01:16:49.795
VIRGINIA: Anything else that Animal Kingdom has to say?

01:16:49.815 --> 01:16:54.515
VIRGINIA: I noted that there were some extended Magic Kingdom Hours this night.

01:16:54.575 --> 01:16:57.555
VIRGINIA: So did you end up going over there for those?

01:16:57.795 --> 01:16:58.255
CATE: We did.

01:16:59.155 --> 01:16:59.935
CATE: That was awesome.

01:17:01.755 --> 01:17:05.055
CATE: So we did the Magic Kingdom extra hours.

01:17:05.095 --> 01:17:07.335
CATE: We got our corn dog nuggets.

01:17:07.355 --> 01:17:09.335
CATE: We ate them in front of the castle.

01:17:10.255 --> 01:17:11.615
CATE: We decided that we were...

01:17:11.635 --> 01:17:14.275
CATE: Oh, we got a Tron virtual queue.

01:17:14.295 --> 01:17:29.495
CATE: So while we were sort of waiting for lines to die down a little bit in that hour or so after fireworks and people still lingering in line, we actually went into the Enchanted Tiki Room, which I hadn't done in years.

01:17:30.315 --> 01:17:33.595
CATE: And while we were in there, our VQ was called for Tron.

01:17:33.615 --> 01:17:37.195
CATE: So then as soon as we were out, we made a V line over to there.

01:17:38.295 --> 01:17:43.635
JAMES: We got lucky there too, because it rained for the few minutes that we were in Tron.

01:17:44.115 --> 01:17:47.295
JAMES: So we basically went in, it was nice, rained.

01:17:47.395 --> 01:17:49.875
JAMES: And then when we came out, it wasn't raining anymore.

01:17:50.415 --> 01:17:50.975
VIRGINIA: Perfect.

01:17:51.195 --> 01:17:54.695
VIRGINIA: You had very good luck on some of these days.

01:17:55.475 --> 01:17:58.475
CATE: So to wrap out the night, we lingered.

01:17:58.495 --> 01:18:01.055
JAMES: We were those people this time.

01:18:02.155 --> 01:18:14.835
CATE: We waited almost until the very end of the night, and we had the entirety of the castle and Main Street basically to ourselves, maybe one or two other families also lingering.

01:18:15.995 --> 01:18:20.575
CATE: It was one of the most beautiful experiences of my entire life.

01:18:20.795 --> 01:18:22.035
CATE: I will never forget it.

01:18:24.195 --> 01:18:24.835
VIRGINIA: I love that.

01:18:26.115 --> 01:18:45.835
VIRGINIA: I've closed out some extended evening hours myself, and it's so magical, and you just feel so lucky to be able to be in a place that you love so much and have it be so quiet and peaceful, and you almost in a way feel like, I own this park now.

01:18:45.855 --> 01:18:48.455
CATE: This is my castle.

01:18:48.475 --> 01:18:49.855
CATE: I am Princess Pete.

01:18:50.035 --> 01:18:50.575
VIRGINIA: I am home.

01:18:51.275 --> 01:19:07.275
CATE: And especially having the week before, having done that She's to the Kingdom Tour and really recalling all of those Walt and Roy vibes, I can't tell you how profound that last half hour maybe in the park was for me.

01:19:07.735 --> 01:19:08.435
CATE: Life changing.

01:19:08.455 --> 01:19:09.575
JAMES: A lot more meaningful.

01:19:09.755 --> 01:19:15.635
JAMES: And you get to take pictures standing in front of the castle with no people behind you.

01:19:15.715 --> 01:19:17.455
JAMES: You just can't get that.

01:19:17.475 --> 01:19:20.415
JAMES: You can't believe for that sort of time, right?

01:19:20.675 --> 01:19:21.015
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

01:19:22.555 --> 01:19:22.995
VIRGINIA: All right.

01:19:23.035 --> 01:19:37.235
VIRGINIA: Thursday, May the 16th, you had noted that you were going to be going to Epcot and you had some dining plans at an off property restaurant called Simply Capri.

01:19:38.315 --> 01:19:40.895
VIRGINIA: So how was this day?

01:19:41.435 --> 01:19:48.595
CATE: So because of those extended evening hours that we really, really extended, we had a really tough time getting out of bed in the morning.

01:19:48.995 --> 01:19:49.755
VIRGINIA: Understandable.

01:19:50.015 --> 01:19:56.575
CATE: So we had plans to meet up with one of our friends, Cate, Cate's Magical Adventures, I believe is her handle.

01:19:57.195 --> 01:20:06.155
CATE: And we were just texting back and forth and we were like, I'm so sorry, we can't get together early enough to get out of this resort.

01:20:06.175 --> 01:20:07.755
CATE: She's like, don't worry, I'm at an appointment.

01:20:08.135 --> 01:20:12.575
CATE: We ended up actually arriving at the park at the exact same time.

01:20:12.615 --> 01:20:14.375
CATE: We decided, you know what?

01:20:14.795 --> 01:20:17.875
CATE: I've never done Space 220 and I've always wanted to.

01:20:17.895 --> 01:20:20.875
CATE: What happens if we get in line for like just standby?

01:20:21.895 --> 01:20:22.715
CATE: So we did that.

01:20:22.895 --> 01:20:26.295
CATE: They told us it was going to be a one hour wait.

01:20:26.895 --> 01:20:29.815
CATE: It actually ended up being an eight minute wait.

01:20:29.835 --> 01:20:33.355
CATE: And we got this super awesome experience.

01:20:34.915 --> 01:20:42.375
VIRGINIA: So were you, because you were told it was an hour, had you started to wander off or were you told you need to be in this area?

01:20:42.655 --> 01:20:44.635
CATE: Yeah, they told us you have to wait here.

01:20:44.975 --> 01:20:49.915
CATE: And so we just waited there and we were talking and just getting to know each other a little bit.

01:20:49.935 --> 01:20:52.075
CATE: It was our first time actually meeting her in person.

01:20:52.495 --> 01:20:56.475
CATE: And then super quickly they were like, okay, come on in, it's your turn.

01:20:56.495 --> 01:21:01.835
JAMES: We also, there was a bit of calculation because there was only one other group in the standby.

01:21:01.855 --> 01:21:10.075
JAMES: And so we were like, I don't think it will be an hour just because even like if they get these people in soon, we're right after.

01:21:10.075 --> 01:21:17.435
JAMES: So we also just took the shot of just thinking like, I don't think it will actually be an hour, but even if it is, we're fine with that.

01:21:17.455 --> 01:21:18.315
JAMES: So let's find out.

01:21:18.355 --> 01:21:21.015
JAMES: And like it was almost right away we got it.

01:21:21.495 --> 01:21:21.895
CATE: Nice.

01:21:23.455 --> 01:21:28.575
CATE: So then after that, Cate and I just took some photos at the front of the park.

01:21:28.935 --> 01:21:32.455
CATE: And then she had to do life stuff.

01:21:32.475 --> 01:21:36.835
CATE: She's a local, so she has her regular life going on.

01:21:36.935 --> 01:21:42.895
CATE: And then James and I took the rest of that time to finish our Flower and Garden scavenger hunt.

01:21:44.095 --> 01:21:45.935
CATE: And we did it.

01:21:45.975 --> 01:21:48.395
CATE: And we actually turned in the prize this time.

01:21:48.415 --> 01:21:53.915
CATE: We have previously walked away with our scavenger hunt in hand without claiming our prize.

01:21:54.555 --> 01:21:56.735
JAMES: And also buying the scavenger hunt.

01:21:56.755 --> 01:22:00.715
JAMES: And now they just flat out ask you when you buy it, do you want the prize now also?

01:22:00.735 --> 01:22:02.155
JAMES: Because they'll give it to you right away.

01:22:02.175 --> 01:22:03.115
JAMES: You don't actually have to do it.

01:22:04.315 --> 01:22:05.795
VIRGINIA: That's exactly what I was going to say.

01:22:07.195 --> 01:22:11.135
JAMES: We said no though, because we actually are going to hold ourselves to doing this.

01:22:11.155 --> 01:22:15.975
JAMES: So we did take this day to literally walk around everywhere and find everything.

01:22:16.135 --> 01:22:16.415
CATE: Yeah.

01:22:16.695 --> 01:22:17.055
VIRGINIA: Fun.

01:22:17.255 --> 01:22:21.135
CATE: And then this was also the day that we rode Guardians and we got I Ran.

01:22:21.155 --> 01:22:23.275
CATE: That's the new song that we got.

01:22:23.835 --> 01:22:26.475
CATE: Not my favorite, but at least it was a little one.

01:22:26.495 --> 01:22:28.415
VIRGINIA: It's my least favorite.

01:22:28.435 --> 01:22:28.595
CATE: Yeah.

01:22:28.635 --> 01:22:32.015
CATE: It's the one that has the least amount of energy of all the ones that we've tried.

01:22:32.115 --> 01:22:32.535
VIRGINIA: Yes.

01:22:32.655 --> 01:22:34.815
VIRGINIA: It makes it not feel as fast.

01:22:34.995 --> 01:22:36.075
VIRGINIA: So that's why I don't like it.

01:22:37.755 --> 01:22:38.235
VIRGINIA: All right.

01:22:39.015 --> 01:22:41.075
VIRGINIA: When did you end up going over to Simply Capri?

01:22:41.335 --> 01:22:42.075
CATE: That evening.

01:22:43.115 --> 01:22:45.015
CATE: And it was phenomenal.

01:22:45.655 --> 01:22:58.315
CATE: So I am someone who is not very good with eating Italian food out because nothing compares to nonnas or my mom's or like I'm Italian.

01:22:59.755 --> 01:23:03.635
CATE: And this meal, and I ordered ravioli.

01:23:03.655 --> 01:23:13.395
CATE: So like usually I don't even order a pasta dish, but we were greeted by a server who has the same name as my dad and the food is from the same region.

01:23:13.415 --> 01:23:18.835
CATE: So I took the risk and I had the ravioli in a red sauce and I absolutely loved it.

01:23:18.855 --> 01:23:19.755
CATE: It was so good.

01:23:19.775 --> 01:23:22.835
CATE: We ended up staying there super late at night too.

01:23:22.915 --> 01:23:23.935
JAMES: Beautiful restaurant.

01:23:23.955 --> 01:23:24.375
CATE: Amazing.

01:23:24.795 --> 01:23:29.075
JAMES: The outside of the restaurant, it doesn't seem like a restaurant.

01:23:29.095 --> 01:23:31.535
JAMES: It seems like an outdoor cafe almost.

01:23:32.755 --> 01:23:35.115
JAMES: They did an incredible job.

01:23:35.815 --> 01:23:41.275
JAMES: Just the decor making it seem kind of like Italian, like Italy.

01:23:41.635 --> 01:23:42.055
VIRGINIA: Okay.

01:23:42.435 --> 01:23:44.575
JAMES: They also do own the...

01:23:44.675 --> 01:23:45.435
CATE: The Annapoli.

01:23:45.455 --> 01:23:46.175
JAMES: The Annapoli.

01:23:46.195 --> 01:23:47.775
VIRGINIA: Yeah, you had said that in the pre-trip.

01:23:47.795 --> 01:23:49.035
VIRGINIA: So okay.

01:23:49.575 --> 01:23:55.635
VIRGINIA: Well, I will definitely link to in the show notes for others who are looking for some off-property dining options.

01:23:56.315 --> 01:24:05.155
VIRGINIA: So thank you so much for sharing that with us because sometimes it's hard to force yourself to get off property when you're down there with limited time.

01:24:05.755 --> 01:24:07.295
VIRGINIA: All right.

01:24:07.575 --> 01:24:20.275
VIRGINIA: Friday, May the 17th, you checked out of Kidani Village and moved over to Riverside for one night and you also had a breakfast reservation at Topolino's, which we know is your favorite.

01:24:21.715 --> 01:24:23.195
VIRGINIA: So how was this morning?

01:24:24.075 --> 01:24:26.755
CATE: It outdid itself this time.

01:24:26.875 --> 01:24:35.275
CATE: So like we've talked about how awesome Donald is at Topolino's and how much we love him and how I always bring my Donald lounge life.

01:24:36.395 --> 01:24:50.175
CATE: On this particular day, so the characters, we were seated on the other side of the restaurant than we usually have gotten seated at before and the characters seemed to be like a lot closer spaced out.

01:24:50.875 --> 01:24:56.915
CATE: So we had Mickey visit us first and we were talking to him and like saying how much we love him.

01:24:57.155 --> 01:25:02.695
CATE: We showed him our tattoos and all of this other stuff and had a great little interaction.

01:25:03.015 --> 01:25:18.655
CATE: And then almost right behind him comes Donald and that's who we're always so excited to meet and James is like showing your lounge fly and I was wearing also this really cute dress that has ice cream cones of all of the characters that are at Topolino's.

01:25:19.555 --> 01:25:29.495
CATE: So like the pastel color dress, but with each of the ice cream cones are themed to Donald, Mickey, Daisy and Minnie.

01:25:29.695 --> 01:25:32.655
CATE: So all of them loved that and picked up on it.

01:25:32.675 --> 01:25:38.135
CATE: And then the addition of the lounge fly was like, oh yeah, Donald number one and he's all cheering.

01:25:38.375 --> 01:25:48.875
CATE: But then something completely random that I never expected was Mickey came back and he's like, what, like, you just showed me your tattoos and everything.

01:25:48.895 --> 01:25:50.555
CATE: How are you saying Donald number one?

01:25:50.855 --> 01:26:07.415
CATE: And Donald's like, no, no, I'm number one looks, they have the bag and they're, they literally started a fight in the middle of us and then we're like, yeah, look, I have, I have my, my like Mickey heart hands tattoo and Mickey's like, yeah, look, she likes me more.

01:26:07.535 --> 01:26:14.555
CATE: And then Donald grabs my arm and he's starting to erase the tattoo and this whole awesome like moment.

01:26:14.815 --> 01:26:33.895
CATE: And then randomly out of the blue, Daisy comes in and Daisy puts Donald right in line and she's like, you over there now, you separate and it was this whole dramatic moment where everyone are on our side of the restaurant was just laughing their butts off.

01:26:33.915 --> 01:26:35.135
CATE: It was so funny.

01:26:35.735 --> 01:26:36.875
VIRGINIA: Oh, that's really cool.

01:26:38.295 --> 01:26:39.595
CATE: Truly a magical moment.

01:26:39.815 --> 01:26:40.335
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

01:26:40.535 --> 01:26:41.135
VIRGINIA: Oh my goodness.

01:26:41.155 --> 01:26:42.875
VIRGINIA: Well, I hope you got some good photos.

01:26:43.535 --> 01:26:45.515
VIRGINIA: While you were there, we will...

01:26:46.015 --> 01:26:46.415
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

01:26:47.115 --> 01:26:47.575
VIRGINIA: All right.

01:26:47.775 --> 01:26:49.955
VIRGINIA: And I'm sure maybe in your vlog?

01:26:50.355 --> 01:26:51.015
VIRGINIA: Question mark.

01:26:51.035 --> 01:26:51.355
CATE: Yes.

01:26:51.735 --> 01:26:52.415
VIRGINIA: Okay.

01:26:52.735 --> 01:26:53.435
VIRGINIA: Fantastic.

01:26:53.455 --> 01:26:55.775
CATE: At some point, when we get to editing it.

01:26:56.075 --> 01:26:56.435
VIRGINIA: Yeah.

01:26:56.615 --> 01:26:58.575
JAMES: When we get to recovering the stuff.

01:26:58.595 --> 01:26:59.135
VIRGINIA: Exactly.

01:27:00.955 --> 01:27:01.535
VIRGINIA: Exactly.

01:27:01.555 --> 01:27:01.835
VIRGINIA: Yes.

01:27:02.775 --> 01:27:03.115
VIRGINIA: All right.

01:27:03.135 --> 01:27:12.755
VIRGINIA: So the rest of this day, you told me that you had planned to probably just hang out at Riverside and maybe wander over to French Quarter to try some beignets.

01:27:13.215 --> 01:27:14.555
VIRGINIA: So what happened?

01:27:15.655 --> 01:27:17.735
CATE: That's pretty much exactly what we did.

01:27:17.775 --> 01:27:20.135
CATE: Riverside's check-in was beautiful.

01:27:20.155 --> 01:27:24.275
CATE: We had never really been in that lobby area and we were just blown away.

01:27:24.655 --> 01:27:28.275
CATE: We had a royal room, which also just blew us away.

01:27:28.295 --> 01:27:32.115
CATE: It was probably, I would say, the nicest room of our entire trip.

01:27:32.495 --> 01:27:34.215
CATE: And I was in love with it.

01:27:35.235 --> 01:27:39.195
CATE: And then we walked around the whole resort, just getting a feel for it.

01:27:39.615 --> 01:27:50.015
CATE: And later that evening, the gang, plus Daniel and Melissa, all made their way over to Riverside and we got a meal together.

01:27:50.275 --> 01:27:52.775
CATE: And we walked over and got beignets together.

01:27:52.795 --> 01:27:58.175
CATE: And we just spent our last night soaking in all the Riverside and friends vibes.

01:27:58.475 --> 01:27:59.115
JAMES: Lots of fun.

01:28:02.275 --> 01:28:05.315
VIRGINIA: It's a really nice way to cap off the end of the trip.

01:28:05.535 --> 01:28:06.895
CATE: I think it's my new favorite.

01:28:07.575 --> 01:28:08.835
VIRGINIA: Your new favorite, moderate?

01:28:09.815 --> 01:28:12.175
CATE: No, I meant like capping off the trip.

01:28:12.555 --> 01:28:15.195
CATE: Maybe actually Riverside.

01:28:15.615 --> 01:28:17.855
VIRGINIA: I know Coronado because you love Coronado.

01:28:17.875 --> 01:28:20.135
CATE: That's exactly what I was thinking.

01:28:20.755 --> 01:28:22.495
JAMES: It's a different vibe.

01:28:22.515 --> 01:28:24.755
JAMES: It's more like adultish.

01:28:24.935 --> 01:28:31.675
JAMES: If you have kids and stuff, I don't know if you quite have that experience, but it's a lot more relaxed and easygoing.

01:28:31.715 --> 01:28:33.595
JAMES: It's a good way to end your trip.

01:28:34.035 --> 01:28:38.915
JAMES: If it was the first place we were staying on our trip, maybe it would have felt a bit underwhelming.

01:28:41.955 --> 01:28:44.875
JAMES: It was exactly what we needed for just that last night.

01:28:44.895 --> 01:28:46.155
JAMES: The staff was great.

01:28:47.015 --> 01:28:48.915
JAMES: Absolutely loved walking around there.

01:28:48.935 --> 01:29:00.375
JAMES: The way they've architected how you walk around there, it actually forces you into a loop back around and you kind of don't realize it till you get to a certain point.

01:29:00.395 --> 01:29:04.555
JAMES: You're like, wait a second, we're just kind of walking back to our place, but how did that happen?

01:29:04.755 --> 01:29:09.715
JAMES: But it is a slow kind of curve around it because we're just like, let's keep walking and see where we end up.

01:29:09.735 --> 01:29:11.995
JAMES: And we ended up back at our room and we're like, how?

01:29:12.615 --> 01:29:13.955
JAMES: Across the river, too.

01:29:15.915 --> 01:29:17.075
VIRGINIA: I love Riverside.

01:29:17.175 --> 01:29:20.755
VIRGINIA: And that's one of the things I love about it is that it feels so relaxed.

01:29:20.775 --> 01:29:22.275
VIRGINIA: There's something so peaceful about it.

01:29:22.795 --> 01:29:24.015
VIRGINIA: And I think the pool is fun.

01:29:24.035 --> 01:29:29.075
VIRGINIA: Like if you're going to have a pool day, Old Man Island is a good pool to have a pool day at.

01:29:29.115 --> 01:29:33.175
VIRGINIA: I sort of, I feel like it's right in line with me with Cortinato.

01:29:33.775 --> 01:29:38.195
VIRGINIA: So, depending on what you're going for, you know?

01:29:38.955 --> 01:29:40.595
VIRGINIA: Yeah, and it used to be French Quarter for me.

01:29:40.655 --> 01:29:44.775
VIRGINIA: I used to always say French Quarter because it was smaller and I was like, I like it that it's smaller.

01:29:44.895 --> 01:29:47.995
VIRGINIA: I like that I don't have to take a bus to get around or whatever.

01:29:48.595 --> 01:29:54.855
VIRGINIA: And I have since realized that I don't mind so much being at a bigger resort, the walking.

01:29:54.955 --> 01:29:56.035
VIRGINIA: I mean, I live in New York City.

01:29:56.055 --> 01:29:57.355
VIRGINIA: The walking does not bother me.

01:29:57.455 --> 01:29:58.455
VIRGINIA: I am used to walking.

01:29:58.895 --> 01:30:07.915
VIRGINIA: And so I've decided that Riverside is actually more where I want to be and then I want to visit French Quarter for the beignets.

01:30:08.235 --> 01:30:08.655
JAMES: Exactly.

01:30:08.675 --> 01:30:10.215
CATE: That's exactly what James and I say.

01:30:10.475 --> 01:30:13.775
JAMES: So that's how I think we'll restructure it.

01:30:13.795 --> 01:30:19.655
JAMES: Like the rooms, they're more or less the same, but I did find a little bit better at Riverside.

01:30:19.775 --> 01:30:37.515
JAMES: And maybe it was because we're in the Royal Room, but the environment of just how the rooms are structured and the buildings are at Riverside, I actually do enjoy that more than French Quarter because French Quarter is blocky and it's static.

01:30:37.535 --> 01:30:43.375
JAMES: It's very much the same and there's not, you can't really get lost in things, whereas Riverside, you could.

01:30:43.635 --> 01:30:44.515
VIRGINIA: Yeah, exactly.

01:30:45.035 --> 01:30:50.895
VIRGINIA: The one that we talked about that we have not come back to yet, and I said we would talk about it later, is your pin trading experience.

01:30:51.515 --> 01:30:55.495
VIRGINIA: So I just wanted to see, how did the pin trading go for you?

01:30:55.615 --> 01:31:00.355
VIRGINIA: Because like I said, in February, it was my first experience with any kind of pin trading.

01:31:01.015 --> 01:31:12.875
VIRGINIA: And I think I was surprised at the options that they had in the stores and the Disney pin boards where Disney was the one running it.

01:31:13.215 --> 01:31:19.295
VIRGINIA: The people that had the better options for trading were all private traders.

01:31:19.555 --> 01:31:19.755
CATE: Oh.

01:31:20.835 --> 01:31:33.715
CATE: So we did not try any private trades, but one thing that I did notice is a lot of the pin boards, even if you were like in a resort one day and in a park another day, had a lot of the same pins on them.

01:31:34.775 --> 01:31:35.835
VIRGINIA: And they're all cheaper pins.

01:31:35.855 --> 01:31:48.415
VIRGINIA: So even when you buy a pin at the character warehouse for a reduced price, every pin that I had bought my nephews, because I had been collecting them for a couple of years for them, every pin was on sale.

01:31:48.435 --> 01:31:50.015
VIRGINIA: I'd never bought a full price pin for them.

01:31:50.615 --> 01:31:55.015
VIRGINIA: And every pin was so much nicer than any that they had the option to trade for.

01:31:55.035 --> 01:31:59.435
VIRGINIA: Now, they were interested in trading for ones where it was a character they liked or something like that.

01:31:59.455 --> 01:32:00.135
VIRGINIA: It was like, whatever.

01:32:00.155 --> 01:32:01.195
VIRGINIA: This was a gift to them.

01:32:01.215 --> 01:32:03.175
VIRGINIA: They can trade for whatever they want.

01:32:03.735 --> 01:32:09.495
VIRGINIA: But I did notice that when I say private trading, they weren't just like walking up to random people.

01:32:09.515 --> 01:32:17.095
VIRGINIA: These were people that the two examples I can think of is right under Spaceship Earth, near the pin trading store.

01:32:17.875 --> 01:32:19.375
VIRGINIA: I guess it's called pin traders or something.

01:32:20.075 --> 01:32:21.295
VIRGINIA: There's a trash can right out there.

01:32:21.315 --> 01:32:25.135
VIRGINIA: And there was a guy that had brought his binder and just opened it.

01:32:25.815 --> 01:32:29.835
VIRGINIA: And we were wandering past and he was working with somebody else.

01:32:29.915 --> 01:32:32.355
VIRGINIA: And my nephew was like, oh, let's see what he has.

01:32:32.375 --> 01:32:33.215
VIRGINIA: And so we stopped.

01:32:33.655 --> 01:32:36.155
VIRGINIA: And then same thing in Frontierland.

01:32:36.155 --> 01:32:43.475
VIRGINIA: You know how they have those boxes that are near the pin store there that you can kind of sit on outside?

01:32:43.495 --> 01:32:50.515
VIRGINIA: There were multiple people, I would say at least three people there that had had binders out and had just spread them open.

01:32:50.855 --> 01:32:53.835
VIRGINIA: And people were walking up and going, oh, can I see what you have?

01:32:53.875 --> 01:33:00.495
VIRGINIA: They would look at what you wanted to trade and go, okay, for that, I would be willing to trade something on any of these pages.

01:33:00.955 --> 01:33:06.995
VIRGINIA: And they like knew all about the pins and could tell you like, oh, this one's more rare or whatever.

01:33:07.395 --> 01:33:15.955
VIRGINIA: And every time we went up to a Disney cash register area or at the front of the resort, I just felt like there weren't that many options and they were very limited.

01:33:15.955 --> 01:33:20.535
VIRGINIA: And in some cases, some of them to me were obviously fakes.

01:33:20.855 --> 01:33:29.495
CATE: Yeah, I have heard a lot of people trading scrapper pins and disingenuously and playing them off as if they're real.

01:33:29.875 --> 01:33:31.355
CATE: And that's kind of disappointing.

01:33:31.775 --> 01:33:42.475
CATE: We were looking for some of the hidden Mickey pins because we heard about them on the Keys to the Kingdom Tour and we found out that you can only really get them from Cast Member Trading.

01:33:43.235 --> 01:33:55.615
CATE: But I will agree with you that we were trading these really big glittery pins that we bought for maybe like $4.99 but actually retailed for $19.99 or whatever.

01:33:56.515 --> 01:34:03.215
CATE: And clearly the ones that we were trading for were not as big and bold and unique.

01:34:03.235 --> 01:34:20.955
JAMES: To tell you quite honestly, we didn't even really think about the private like in our minds since this was a new kind of, we have lots of pins, but since we were actively looking at doing pin trading now, it didn't really occur to us how to kind of deal with other people in that regard.

01:34:21.375 --> 01:34:32.915
JAMES: So we weren't, you know, now that you've told us actually, we know something new to kind of look out for next time, but we had no clue how that process from just a person to a person work.

01:34:33.315 --> 01:34:40.295
JAMES: So every experience we had was just within stores or hotels where they had the boards.

01:34:40.335 --> 01:34:46.335
JAMES: But I don't think it really, like, we're not, it's not like our thing that we're just doing all the time.

01:34:46.355 --> 01:34:46.755
VIRGINIA: Right.

01:34:46.975 --> 01:34:56.195
JAMES: Now that, you know, now that you brought it up, next time we will try to keep a bit more aware of that aspect also and try that out and see how that works.

01:34:56.595 --> 01:35:02.475
VIRGINIA: Yeah, like I said, the two examples that I could remember specifically were both outside of pin stores.

01:35:02.575 --> 01:35:16.795
VIRGINIA: So I think that's the key is go to wherever the pin store is at Disney Springs or in one of the parks, and you are almost guaranteed to find people nearby that are willing and looking for trading opportunities.

01:35:17.815 --> 01:35:19.655
VIRGINIA: I had never noticed these people before.

01:35:19.995 --> 01:35:22.455
VIRGINIA: I had made a point to say we're going to pin trade.

01:35:22.775 --> 01:35:25.595
VIRGINIA: You know, they just like I just wasn't paying attention.

01:35:25.615 --> 01:35:26.535
VIRGINIA: They didn't exist to me.

01:35:27.095 --> 01:35:29.275
VIRGINIA: And now suddenly I'm going to be able to see them everywhere.

01:35:30.675 --> 01:35:33.435
CATE: And now I will, too, and we'll have a look out for them.

01:35:34.055 --> 01:35:34.355
CATE: Yeah.

01:35:35.035 --> 01:35:35.515
VIRGINIA: All right.

01:35:35.535 --> 01:35:37.195
VIRGINIA: Well, we've come to the end of our time.

01:35:37.215 --> 01:35:39.915
VIRGINIA: Cate and James, your delight as always.

01:35:40.135 --> 01:35:50.595
VIRGINIA: Thank you so much for not only coming to the show, James, for joining Cate this time, but also just for your positivity and your friendship.

01:35:50.875 --> 01:35:56.555
VIRGINIA: And I just I love being able to follow you on your vlogs, on your Instagram channel.

01:35:56.635 --> 01:36:00.235
VIRGINIA: And I'm just feel so blessed that we've connected.

01:36:00.475 --> 01:36:01.795
VIRGINIA: So thank you.

01:36:01.815 --> 01:36:03.775
CATE: We feel exactly the same way.

01:36:03.795 --> 01:36:10.455
CATE: We can't wait to hang out with you again, whether it's in New York or Disney, or maybe you'll find your way up to Toronto one day.

01:36:10.475 --> 01:36:11.995
VIRGINIA: I hope so.

01:36:12.015 --> 01:36:12.595
VIRGINIA: I hope so.

01:36:13.335 --> 01:36:13.875
VIRGINIA: All right.

01:36:14.075 --> 01:36:17.055
VIRGINIA: Well, until we meet again, until we meet again.

01:36:17.575 --> 01:36:18.695
CATE: Thank you so much.

01:36:20.535 --> 01:36:23.535
VIRGINIA: Thank you again to Cate and James for joining me on the podcast.

01:36:23.975 --> 01:36:27.335
VIRGINIA: Please make sure you give them a follow on Instagram and over on YouTube.

01:36:27.495 --> 01:36:29.615
VIRGINIA: Both of those links are in the show notes.

01:36:30.155 --> 01:36:41.355
VIRGINIA: Also, if you're looking for a travel agent to plan your next trip, please consider using Stacey who planned this trip for Cate and James, or you now have the option of using Cate as your travel agent.

01:36:42.015 --> 01:36:46.435
VIRGINIA: Both of their information is in the show notes and you will be in good hands either way.

01:36:46.875 --> 01:36:50.255
VIRGINIA: Thank you all so much for listening and for your continued support.

01:36:50.815 --> 01:36:54.275
VIRGINIA: And as always, keep daydreaming about where you long to be.