I got up at around 7am this morning and caught a bus with Sam, Eleanor, Hudson, Mandy, Jennifer and Keisha to Wilderness Lodge. The lodge is gorgeous and hilariously, stereotypically Canadian :) Lots of wooden finishes, a huge totem pole and a gigantic fireplace. It was beautiful :) Emily met us there, and the 8 of us went on to Fort Wilderness!
In order to get to FW, we took a boat across the lake. It was a lovely trip, we all sat in the back and were able to see the Castle and Space Mountain in MK from the lake, as well as the Contemporary and Wilderness Lodge resorts. FW is actually a campground, if families wanted to rent a cabin or bring a tent or trailer on their Disney World trip. They also have a great restaurant called Trail's End which host an excellent all-you-can-eat buffet breakfast! Jenn made reservations for us during the week and so we got a table as soon as we arrived. Our server, Jorge, was wonderful. He was joking with us and having a great time. He told Hudson that he needed to talk to him about getting seven beautiful ladies to go to breakfast with him, and Hudson immediately replied that he was Snow White and we were his seven dwarves. Which sparked a discussion of who was which dwarf. It was general tomfoolery and good food all around, and what more can you ask for?!?! My favorite was the good maple syrup; a little taste of home! :)
After breakfast we shopped at the trading post, Mandy and Hudson had a tetherball game, and we caught the boat back to Wilderness Lodge. Sam braided my hair on the ride and it felt so good that I almost fell asleep. She did a good job too! Back at WL, we all split up. Em, Keisha, Mandy went back to the cast housing, while the rest of us took guest buses to parks. Eleanor, Hudson and Jenn went to Epcot to hang out before Ellie had to work, and Sam and I went right to Hollywood Studios to get in as much Star Wars as we could on this last Star Wars weekend of the year!
Our first stop was the Rockin' Roller Coaster, which Sam had not yet ridden. We jumped in the single riders line, which took us about half the time of the stand-by line. We got separated (as single riders do) and I ended up sitting by Amanda; a girl who had applied to the CP program and didn't get in. I felt kind of bad when she asked and I had to tell her that I did, but I told her to apply again and she was lovely to meet :)
After that, we headed right to Darth's Mall to get Sam a Star Tours name tag - unfortunately, they were sold out, but we were able to stand in line to meet Luke Skywalker!! When we got about fifteen people back, they all waved us forward - a droid was coming out soon and they were waiting for him. So we bypassed a good chunk of the line :) Luke saw my name tag said 'Bounty Hunter' and we had a great little conversation on whether or not he and his friends were on my list. I told him Boba Fett and I had split the list, but that he wasn't on either one, so he was all good ;) When Sam joined us, the two girls at the front of the line waiting to meet the droids were doing a clapping-game-thing, and Luke leaned down and said quietly, "Is that a mating call of this planet system? I'm not familiar with the customs here." We told him it was, but only a weird one ;) He asked Sam if she'd seen any spare parts for a Millennium Falcon lying around. He was cute, and tall, and wonderful, and I was fan-girling so much. Sigh :) All good things.R2D2 came out as he left and I got some good photos of him as well :)
After meeting Luke (ahhh!) we walked over to Pixar Place and went through the museum 'One Man's Dream' which shows the progression of Walt Disney's life and how WDW came to be. Sam and I went through with wide eyes and a new appreciation (or at least, I did) for everything seeing it through cast member eyes. We watched the video presentation of Walt's life and cried. He came to LA with 40$ and nothing else and started one of the most widely known companies in the world. What an amazing man.
We walked up to Pizza Planet for dinner and waited there until Hudson and Jenn joined up with us again. I ordered the Darth Vader cupcake, it had peanut butter icing and I couldn't resist. Once Hudson and Jenn arrived, we headed right to Beauty and the Beast. It was my third time seeing it, but I didn't mind! It was my first time having someone with me, and I loved it either way! There was a new Gaston today, and he was excellent. He was sarcastic and full of himself and had a wonderful voice. Belle has been the same each time, and during her solos she sounds a little nasally, which I hate. But I can get over it ;)
The four of us went over to Darth's Mall again so H & J could take a look around and this time Leia and R2 were out! Getting a photo of them together was a must so I got one from behind the rope. As we were about to leave, C3PO came out so I got a few shots of him too! I just soaked everything in because I knew it was my last chance!
We split up - Sam and Jenn went to the front of the park to meet one of Jenn's friends, while Hudson and I got into the single rider's line of Rockin' Roller Coaster. However, Hudson got a text from his friend, Tia, saying she had gotten fast passes to the Toy Story ride that were valid for the next hour. Toy Story - these fast passes are next to impossible to get! You have to rush right to Toy Story first thing in order to get passes for the end of the night! Tia had gotten them from a friend who couldn't stay that long. So we ducked out of line to meet her. Turns out, she only had 3. So, after we texted her to come meet us, I let Sam have mine since neither she or Hudson had ever been on it before. (And, it's a 3D ride. I can barely do it anyway!) We made a meeting place and I started making my way there.
On the way, I walked through the Empire character section of the park again. I found a Storm Trooper who posed for a photo and then wanted one with me, but I had no one with me to take it, so I got a selfie with a storm trooper. Day made.
I also saw Aurra Sing and Zam Wesell, two Empire bounty hunters. They looked incredible. Darth Vader, Darth Maul and Boba Fett were out taking pictures as well, but I didn't stand in any lines for them tonight. I found a Boba Fett blaster toy gun that I want, but don't want to pay Disney prices for. I also stared at the very empty and lonely Street of America, which is usually where the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights is held. It looks very odd undecorated.
Sam and Hudson and Tia found me again at the Writer's Stop; the very cute coffee shop. Hudson and Tia went to get some supper at Pizza Planet and Sam and I struggled to find a spot in front of the big hat. A stage has been set up all month and every night at 8pm the Hyperspace Hoopla goes on during the Star Wars festivities. All I had heard was that it was a must see, but I had no idea what it was.
Turns out, it's an Empire vs. Rebel Alliance dance off. Completely hilarious to see Darth Vader dancing with Boba Fett. It was absolutely worth staying for! (Even if Sam was unsure how she felt about Darth Vader dancing. And I wasn't sure about Emperor Palpatine saying 'yo momma'. But yeah. It was still great.)
We caught the bus home and I was able to facetime my family! My Kentucky family was randomly in my house, and it was great to see them! Then I was able to facetime daddy; he showed me my university diploma! It's very exciting to be really, actually, officially, completely DONE. Donedonedone!!
Only the three Canadians were home this evening, and we had a Hercules sing-along. It's so great to bond with these girls! I never want to lose them :) Sam and I even had a Thumbelina song party going on. Good times.
I'm telling you. Today was full of good food, wonderful friends, sunshine, Star Wars and Disney sing-alongs. It doesn't get better than this :)
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