For those of you who don't know, the FPC is when you do four specific things at all four parks all in one day. The four that Natalie and I chose were:
1 - Ride at least 2 rides.
2 - See a show.
3 - Take a picture with the park icon.
4 - Get a snack.
5 - Trade a pin.
6 - Get a picture with a character.
Okay, so that's actually six. But there were so many good ideas online about what to do! And Natalie only did the first 4 with me in every park. But I did all six for all four parks, in one day. I'm exhausted! It doesn't sound like much, and really; if we took out the shows it would have been a long, but a relatively easy day. Having to see a show made it interesting!
To start off the morning, I woke early and almost missed the bus. I arrived just as it did, with an anxious Natalie waiting for me. Our first stop of the day was Epcot! We went through backstage to Soarin' first, because we knew how fast it would get busy. Once off Soarin' we headed right over to Test Track and on the way hopped into the Character Spot. I'd never been in, but it's just been redone and it's marvelous!
Inside were Mickey, Pluto and Minnie! I got a hug from each and Mickey even twirled me around in the dress I was wearing for the day :) It was delightful to see Mickey again and to meet Pluto and Minnie for the first time this trip :)
On to Test Track! The single rider line showed a 20 minute wait, but instead it was more like 5 :) We hopped in separate cars and met up afterwards. We looked through Mousegear for a fe minutes when we were done, when I realized it was time for the Jammitors to start playing! The Jammitors was our Epcot show since Epcot doesn't have much of anything in the way of shows, and they were excellent today! Sometimes I can hear them play from the carts I work in that area, but being able to watch the whole thing was fun! I've decided that I'm going to convince Dano that he should apply for it! ;)
We got Natalie's snack at the coffee stand and then I traded a pin with a non-cast member trader who had his books out at the pin trading station! He had a board that you could pick and choose whatever you liked from, and several boards that he would make an agreed deal if your pin was good enough. I traded him for a Mickey pin that I quite like, but would be willing to trade again. We got a sweet old lady to take our picture in front of the Epcot ball, and then I bought a strawberry bar to have while we walked to the International Gateway: Epcot's back door.
We got on the boat that would take us to HS in record time; we had finished what we needed to at Epcot by 10:15 :) The boat got us to Hollywood Studios by 11 ish and the first thing we did was head over to Rockin' Roller Coaster (RRC) to check out the single riders line. Well, it was insane long. So instead we grabbed fast passes and decided to wait. Unfortunately the come back time for the fast passes wasn't until 2:30pm. SO we had some time to kill.
Clearly, the show for HS that I wanted to see was Beauty and the Beast! There was a showing at 11:45, and so at 11:15 we went into the theater to sit down for a while and enjoy the shade and relative coolness. The show was just as excellent the eighth time around as the others, giving me goosebumps even in the mugginess. When the show was finished (Natalie says she was pleasantly surprised by how good it was) we decided it was a good time for our HS snack. Natalie got a mac&cheese hotdog, and I got a cinnamon roll from Starring Rolls... delicious.
Next, a character hunt. We went down Streets of America to see if the characters were out and about, but no luck. However, we knew that Buzz and Woody have a permanent location on Pixar Place, so we headed their way. When we got there, Green Army Men were walking around. So instead of waiting in line for Buzz and Woody, I snagged a quick selfie with a Green Army Man and we were on our way again. We spent some time in the air conditioned shops where I found my Hollywood Studios pin - the letter 'V' for my collection. I'm certain I already had it at one point, but it got lost somewhere :(
At 1:15 we were eligible to get another fast pass, and Natalie somehow convinced me to check the Tower of Terror (ToT) return time to see if it was possible. Sure enough, the come back time was 3pm, a perfect half hour after we could go into RRC. I got the fast pass, mostly to make her stop bugging me about going on ToT, with the intention of finding a way to get out of it later. We went to Star Tours and the Christmas store by Pizza Planet as we waited for the last hour of our wait time to drag by.
Finally, 2:30pm rolled around, and it was time for RRC. I forgot how much fun it is to sit with someone you know! Single rider is a great way to do lines alone, but it was fun knowing that I would be able to sit with my friend when I boarded (much like when Mom and Dad and I went on)! Not only did we get to sit together, but we requested the very very front seats. And ok, let me tell you, the front seats on RRC are basically the coolest thing ever. Going upside down without seeing the rest of the train do it first is a whole different kind of exhilarating! Nat and I pulled classic Rock On faces for the camera and almost went again... but she was more concerned with getting me on ToT.
And you know, I figured what the heck.
I was terrified. The anxiety just while I was in line was so intense I felt like I had to pee and puke and faint all at once. Telling myself that 6 year olds loved this ride didn't help. Natalie telling me that she doesn't even do up her seat belt very tight because she likes the sensation of floating? Yeah, that didn't help either. But I waited for them to put me in a seat. I did up my buckle as tight as it would go and even sucked in a big breath so it was tighter than comfy but so I knew I wasn't going anywhere. And you know, the anxiety was worse than the ride (isn't that how it always goes?) and it wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. Now that said, I'm not sure I'd ever do it again.
We got our picture taken in front of the Sorcerer's Hat on the way out of the park, and caught the bus to Animal Kingdom! HS was complete! It was a little bit later than we'd planned (due to having to wait for the fast pass times) but we figured we'd have lots of time to do everything we still needed.
It was 4pm when we got to AK. Perfect timing for heading to Festival of the Lion King! On the way there, we got our picture in front of the Tree of Life before the rain started; the clouds were heavy and the forecast had called for rain all day. And my poncho hadn't left my bag. We knew a downpour was on its way! We got to the Lion King just as the doors were opening to get people seated in the theater. We sat in the Lion section, right behind a group of Natalie's coworkers. We chatted with them until the show started; the four main singers were different today, and I have to say that I quite liked the other ones better. I'm glad that my family saw the other performers as well. The show itself as a whole was still excellent; Disney never does anything otherwise.
As we exited the theater, everything outside was wet. Clearly we had missed the downpour completely! I was both excited (I didn't want to spend the rest of my day soaked) and sad (all the best adventures happen in the rain) about it. But, there was nothing I could do! :) We waited for about 10 minutes for Pocahontas to come out so that I could get my character meet for AK down as well. We met an adorable family with three young girls. When their mom found out we were doing all four parks in one day, she was blown away. I told her it was easier to do without three little ones and she replied that one park was hard enough. She said it with a smile though, so I know she was having a blast all the same :) Pocahontas was very pretty and complimented Natalie and I on our dresses, and I told her that she should introduce me to Nacoma sometime. We posed for a photo and I was on my way.
We stopped for our 'snack' (ahem, supper) at Flame Tree BBQ. We both ordered ribs, which were quite tasty. I'm not sure why I ordered them, to be honest. I'm not a big fan of ribs, and while they were good, I'm sure I would have enjoyed ice cream for dinner much more ;) (I'm really just five years old, clearly).
We then headed to Expedition Everest! It was around 6pm and most guests were leaving the park for the day which closes at 7. The wait time for Everest was posted at 20 minutes, but it was more like 5! Again we requested the front, because it's just way cooler :) It was so good that we got off and right back on again; and this time it was walk on! Usually, when someone says 'walk-on' they mean that they had to wait less than 5 minutes to get to the gate to wait for their seat. But when I say walk-on, I mean literally we didn't stop for a split second until we were in our seats. No one was in the line ahead of us and we went to the very back and the gate was open when we got there. The train was barely half full! We would have gone again, but that was only 1 out of 2 needed rides for AK so we headed to Kilimanjaro Safaris!
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| The pensive look. |
On the way there, I quickly traded for a Sleeping Beauty pin knowing that they may very well be all closed by the time we were done the safari; and I'm glad I did! The safari was decent, saw a few giraffes, a rhino, and a cast member feeding an elephant. But the best time to go is definitely first thing in the morning. All the animals are much more active, and they are not hiding because they know their dinner will be served any minute. We didn't have to wait to get on a truck though, again less than a 5 minute wait :) That concluded our time at AK! 3/4 of the way done!
By 7:30 we were on a bus headed for the Contemporary Resort! Natalie and I chatted away and eventually the dad of the family next to us asked, "Do you ladies work here? Or do you just come to Disney a LOT?" We let them know that we worked there, and they wanted to know how long it takes to do the World Showcase at Epcot - well, adorable-family-whom-we've-only-just-met, that depends completely on you :)
We got off at the resort and walked to MK. Poor Natalie was fighting her drooping eyelids, but I was pumped and ready to go! I love MK. Every time I through the gates I feel my heart beating out of my chest. This time was no different. First things first, a picture in front of the castle! Second things second, head to Tomorrowland for Space Mountain fast passes!
Except that they were all gone. Well, darn it. So we went into Cosmic Rays to see if Natalie's roommate was working there; we were able to talk to her for a few minutes and Natalie convinced her to give me a free carrot cake as a magical moment because I was "new to the country", ahahaha!
We walked through Fantasyland and saw PhilharMagic and walked (erm, danced) through the Tangled Kingdom and then realized that it was getting rather late and we'd had yet to do any real ride! We went to Thunder Mountain...right down the middle of the parade route. Natalie started waving to the crowd like we were the beginning of the parade (Two kids in ponchos with no parade in sight. Clearly we were the real thing.) and everyone started clapping for her. And she waved, and they clapped, and someone cheered. It was awesome and hilarious and we felt like princesses. Foolish princesses, but princesses none the less ;)
We got to Thunder and got the front seat! Again! Except, unlike Everest and RRC, the front on Thunder Mountain is neither exhilarating or fast or anything a roller coaster should be. It was hilariously fun though, we'd make it to the bottom of the hill before the back car cleared the chain and so we glided slowly down every hill and then, and only then, started going at speed. We giggled the whole ride it was so ridiculous.
We got off Thunder at 9:35 with 10 minutes to get to a good spot for Celebrate the Magic and Wishes... on the other side of the whole park. Which would normally be fine, except when a parade is happening everyone stops to watch. In the middle of the walkways. Sigh.
But we made it! Back to the pathway that has the best view spot just as the show began. Next to us was the third adorable family of the day - they were all wearing 1st visit pins and were ooh-ing and ahh-ing at every different scene on the castle. And when it was done, were in awe and about to head home. We informed them that it wasn't over - there was still all of Wishes to come! Their mom was so over the top excited it was adorable. We let them know the best place to watch the 11pm parade and told them they'd picked the very best spot of all to watch the fireworks! :)
After Wishes, Natalie and I split up - she was tired and wanted to go home, but I wanted to finish the challenge properly, which meant I still needed another ride, a pin, and a character. I rushed to Space Mountain and only had to wait 20 minutes or so before I got a seat... in the front AGAIN! All four of my roller coasters today and I got the front seats :)
After that I traded for a Baloo pin that's quite cute and part of a letter set... just not mine (dang). And all I had left was a character photo, when I realized that the character spots close down an hour before the park does... and it was 15 minutes until park close. Well, crap! But I had an idea, and it was still a character and I still said hello to him and so it still counts!
That's right, Emperor Zurg and I are friends now. Don't be too jealous.
And that my friends, completed the Four Park Challenge! I took my time walking down main street and I bought myself a prize for completing the challenge - a very cute new wallet with old Disney designs that I've been eyeing for a while! :)
I walked to the bus and only had to wait five minutes for it to show up, making a perfect end to a very long day :) I got home and chatted Emily for a bit and tried to blog my whole day... but so much had happened (and I was watching Toy Story!) that I didn't finish it before I was too tired.
In summary:
1 - Ride at least 2 rides.
2 - See a show.
3 - Take a picture with the park icon.
4 - Get a snack.
5 - Trade a pin.
6 - Get a picture with a character.
Epcot:
1 - Soarin' & Test Track
2 - JAMMitors
3 - Epcot Ball
4 - Strawberry Bar
5 - Mickey Mouse pin
6 - Mickey, Pluto, Minnie
Hollywood Studios:
1 - Rockin' Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, & Star Tours
2 - Beauty and the Beast
3 - Sorcerer's Hat
4 - Cinnamon Roll
5 - Vincent Letter pin
6 - Green Army Man
Animal Kingdom:
1 - Expedition Everest (x2) & Kilimanjaro Safari
2 - Festival of the Lion King
3 - Tree of Life
4 - BBQ ribs
5 - Sleeping Beauty pin
6 - Pocahontas
Magic Kingdom:
1 - Space Mountain & Thunder Mountain
2 - Philhar Magic & Wishes
3 - Cinderella Castle
4 - Carrot Cake
5 - Baloo Letter pin
6 - Emperor Zurg
I completed the Four Park Challenge and I survived the Tower of Terror... a successful day all in all!
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