August 6th

I woke up at 7am this morning in an effort to get us in the virtual queue for Tiana's Bayou Adventure, which, after several unsuccessful attempts so far, was one of our priorities for this trip. Thankfully, for the second time, I was able to secure a spot in the queue - boarding group 60! We all finished getting ready at the hotel before heading out for a day of fun and adventure!

We arrived at the Transportation and Ticket Center and parked our car before boarding the monorail to Disney's Magic Kingdom. After arriving at the park, we headed over to the Town Square Theater where we thought we were going to see a short movie about or starring Mickey Mouse, but instead realized that we were in a line to actually meet Mickey Mouse. We know how Jayden loves to meet the costumed characters!

After meeting Mickey Mouse, we wandered through the shops along Main Street, U.S.A., starting with the Main Street Confectionary and working our way to the opposite end of the street. We stopped at Starbucks along the way, where Jay got an iced brown sugar oat milk shaken espresso (damn, those drink names are a mouthful!).

We decided that we wanted to head over the the Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe in Liberty Square to look for a replacement ornament for Rose, whose ornament from last Christmas was broken. Despite our efforts, we are yet to find a suitable replacement. On our way to the shop, we made a pit-stop at the Spring Roll Snack Cart for my favorite, the pizza spring rolls! We found a spot to eat near the Christmas shop, then headed in to do our shopping. Unfortunately, we once again came up empty handed. Sorry Rose.

Since we were so close, we decided to make our next stop in Frontierland at Country Bear Musical Jamboree. This was our first time seeing this newly reimagined version of the show. The cast of characters hasn't changed, but the music that they play and sing definitely has, even though it is loved and familiar. It was a take on the classic show that I honestly didn't expect. I did really enjoy it though, so no complaints from me! Jayden liked it as well, and thought it was a cute take on the classic attraction.

After the show we grabbed a popcorn and stood and watched the log flumes come down the hill at Tiana's Bayou Adventure while we snacked. Jay and I were surprised at how wet people were getting when they reached the bottom of the hill, but it definitely seemed to be more soaked than I remember being the case for Splash Mountain. Maybe it's just been so long since I saw that ride in operation that I forgot about it. Of course, as we were standing there watching, we noticed the flumes backing up. Before long, we recieved notification from the Disney app that the ride was in a "boarding paused" state. Ugh, deja vu all over again!

Jay and I decided to head back to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (Grandma Terry preferred to sit this one out today). We haven't waited in the queue for a long time, and I noticed a lot of things today that I don't recall seeing before, such as signage and gold pieces that glistened (thanks to LED lights inside). Of course, the ride was as fun as always too!

We met back up with Grandma Terry after the ride, and since we really hadn't had a lunch so far today, we decided to head off to the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor. Jayden wanted to try their S'mores Shake, which was a chocolate ice cream shake topped with marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate sauce. She thought it was too chocolatey for her taste, and that there wasn't nearly enough graham crackers for her licking (it was more list a dust sprinkled on the top). Grandma Terry got a mint chocolate chip ice cream cone, then made me eat most of it.

After eating, we headed over to Tomorrowland to take in Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress. We wanted to check out this show for a couple of reasons - one was to take advantage of the air conditioning to escape the sun and heat for a bit, and the other was to see the new retro style seats that were recently installed. Though I would have preferred that some of the scenes were updated (in this case, it'd be hard to alter Walt Disney's original scenes, the ending is seeming extremely dated now. For the first time on this attraction, we got a repeat scene, as we had to sit through the second scene for an entire second viewing.

After seeing the Carousel of Progress, we decided that we wanted to head back to the hotel and rest up before attempting to go to Disney Springs tonight. Read more about the rest of our day below...

Disney's Magic Kingdom
		A sign spotted while waiting to meet Mickey Mouse at the Town Square Theater at the entrance to Magic Kingdom.
		Rodney, Mickey Mouse, Grandma Terry, and Jayden posing for a photo.
		A look at Main Street, U.S.A. decorated for Halloween.
		A look at the top of Cinderella Castle through the trees in Liberty Square.
		Jay posing in the sleigh outside of the Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe.
		Jay and Grandma Terry in the sleigh outside of the Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe...

		We spotted this ad for Beary Poppins while waiting in the queue for the new Country Bear Musical Jamboree.
		Melvin the moose, Buff the buffalo, and Max the stag deer are still a part of the show, and possibly a bigger part than ever before if my memory is correct.
		A look at the stage in Grizzly Hall, home of the new Country Bear Musical Jamboree...
		...and a closer look at the logo on the curtain.
		Henry, the host of todays ceremonies.
		Gomer playing the piano as the show begins.
		The Five Bears Rugs - Zeke, Zeb, Ted, Fred, and Tennessee - on stage, along with Little Oscar in the front...
		...joined on stage by Henry, as they sing the Country Bear Musical Jamboree theme song.
		Bunny, Bubbles, and Beulah on stage with...
		...Trixie St. Claire, as they sing "Try Everything" from Zootopia.
		Romeo McGrowl taking the stage dressed as Elvis, singing "Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid.
		Ernest "the Dude" getting his turn on stage, singing "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" from Mary Poppins.
		Gomer played piano for the duet between Wendell and...
		...Teddi "Swingin'" Barra, making her way from the top of the theater, as the two sing "A Whole New World" from Aladdin.
		Terrence, also known as Shaker, on stage singing "Fixer Upper" from the movie Frozen.
		Big Al singing "Remember Me" from Coco during the show.
		Henry singing "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story as Sammy the raccoon peeks out from behind the amplifier.
		Another look at Melvin, Buff, and Max as the show winds down.
		The entire Country Bear Musical Jamboree cast on stage singing "The Bare Necessities from the Jungle Book movie.
		Rodney posing for a picture with the men's room sign at the restroom that crosses between Adventureland, Frontierland, and Liberty Square.
		Wendell from the Country Bear Musical Jamboree was out wondering around Frontierland...
		...and Rodney got to take a picture with him!
		Cinderella Castle behind the Liberty Square Riverboat.
		I never noticed this sign in the queue for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad before!
		Although it doesn't show up in this picture, the gold in this Big Thunder Mountain Railroad display glistened.
		We also checked out Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress today to see the new seats in the theater and to escape the heat and sunshine for a bit.
		The first scene of the show...
		...including this shot of the son in one of the side rooms.
		The second scene, which we got to sit through twice today...
		...including the mother making the Fourth of July costumes...
		...and the son and grandfather practicing their song...
		...and the daughter dressed for her part in the town play.
		The third scene of the show, along with...
		...grandma and grandpa watching the boxing match on TV...
		...and the son in his Halloween costume...
		...and the daughter "exercising" while talking on the phone.
		The final scene...
		...including the dad cooking and the son playing a VR game...
		...and mom working on her computer...
		...and the daughter sitting in the chair talking to grandpa.

Here are the official Disney PhotoPass pictures from our meet and greet with Mickey Mouse at the Town Square Theater...


		Rodney, Grandma Terry, and Jayden posing with Mickey Mouse...

In the early afternoon, with Tiana's Bayou Adventure still not boarding, we decided to take an a break and head back to the hotel to rest. We first needed to grab a bite to eat, and decided to stop at the McDonald's just around the corner from Disney's All-Star Sports Resort. After lunch we headed to the hotel and took a brief nap before continuing our adventures.

After waking up from our naps, we decided to head over to Disney Springs to do some Christmas ornament shopping for Grandma Terry and to wait for the Disney Dreams That Soar drone show. We had barely pulled out of our parking spot at the hotel when I got the notice that our boarding group had been called for Tiana's Bayou Adventure, so we instead headed back to Disney's Magic Kingdom.

This was the first time that any of us has been able to actually enjoy this ride, as each time we had been to the park for the Passholder Previews the ride was either down the entire time and the virtual queue never opened, or we managed to get into the virtual queue but the ride was down so much that the app said our group wouldn't be called.

Overall I thought this was a cute ride. Obviously the ride itself hasn't changed, but the theming in the queue and on the ride is very well done, and the animatronics are probably the best in all of Walt Disney World. It was definitely visually enjoyable. And, for reasons that I cannot explain, it sure seems like you get far wetter on Tiana's Bayou Adventure than we ever did on Splash Mountain! I can definitely picture going on this ride again, as I am sure that there were plenty of things that I missed on my first ride through.

Disney's Magic Kingdom
		Here are a few pictures of the revamped outdoor queue for Tiana's Bayou Adventure...




		We were greeted by this sign near the entrance to the indoor part of the queue.
		Speaking of the entrance, here it is!
		We first enter what appears to be an office area...

		...with stained glass windows...
		...and a time clock.
		A sign for Tiana's Palace restaurant.
		Back outdoors for a brief moment, we spotted this birdhouse.
		Back inside, a warning!
		Another stained glass window.
		A look at a kitchen for Tiana.
		The crowd entering the "salt mines"...
		...where we saw all kinds of humorous signs...

		...as well as another stained glass window...
		...and one more sign...

		...before exiting the mine.
		Here is a look at the loading area for the ride itself...

		Here are some views from the ride...


		Grandma Terry and Jayden...
		...enjoying the ride so far!



		Our first Tiana sighting!
		Tiana is perhaps the best animatronic figure in Walt Disney World!
		We headed back outside after climbing a hill...



		"Never, ever lose sight of what's really important."
		A look across Frontierland into Adventureland, with Disney's Contemporary Resort in the background near the water tower.
		Heading inside once again...





		...where we eventually meet Mama Odie...
		...and we view things from a frog's perspective...






		The view climbing up the hill for our big drop has pretty light effects...

		You get a nice view of Cinderella Castle from the top of the mountain before the big drop.
		Rodney, Grandma Terry, and Jayden after the drop.

		Welcome to Fleur du Bayou - Home of Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen.
		Back inside for the big celebration!





		Back in the loading and unloading area...

		Rodney mimicking Jayden's selfie with Grandma Terry in the background.
		A look at Tom Sawyer Island from Frontierland.
		A look at Cinderella Castle from Frontierland...

		A view from the ferry boat ride back to the Transportation and Ticket Center.
		A couple pictures of Disney's Contemporary Resort...

Here is the official Disney PhotoPass picture from our first ride on Tiana's Bayou Adventure.


		Rodney, Jayden, and Grandma Terry on Tiana's Bayou Adventure.

After leaving Disney's Magic Kingdom, we were heading off to Disney Springs to try to catch the Disney Dreams That Soar drone show. Grandma Terry wasn't feeling her best, and she asked to be dropped off at the hotel first, leaving Jay and I to head over for the show.

Once we arrived at Disney Springs, we parked and made the long walk to the show viewing area. We were some of the first people in the waiting area, but as we were just coming off the aftermath of Hurricane Debby, I was questioning the weather tonight. After talking to a couple of cast members I learned that the previous night's show had been cancelled, and based on the wind tonight's show seemed to be a longshot. Jayden and I decided that we would risk missing the show and just head back to the hotel.

After we got back to the hotel, I ended up getting a notification through the Disney app that the show had been cancelled for tonight, so we didn't end up missing anything and saved a bunch of wasted wait time. Time for bed!

Disney Springs
		Jayden walking past the line at Gideon's Bakehouse a little after 10pm on our way out of Disney Springs.

Disney's Magic Kingdom

A sign spotted while waiting to meet Mickey Mouse at the Town Square Theater at the entrance to Magic Kingdom.

Rodney, Mickey Mouse, Grandma Terry, and Jayden posing for a photo.

A look at Main Street, U.S.A. decorated for Halloween.

A look at the top of Cinderella Castle through the trees in Liberty Square.

Jay posing in the sleigh outside of the Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe.

Jay and Grandma Terry in the sleigh outside of the Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe...

We spotted this ad for Beary Poppins while waiting in the queue for the new Country Bear Musical Jamboree.

Melvin the moose, Buff the buffalo, and Max the stag deer are still a part of the show, and possibly a bigger part than ever before if my memory is correct.

A look at the stage in Grizzly Hall, home of the new Country Bear Musical Jamboree...

...and a closer look at the logo on the curtain.

Henry, the host of todays ceremonies.

Gomer playing the piano as the show begins.

The Five Bears Rugs - Zeke, Zeb, Ted, Fred, and Tennessee - on stage, along with Little Oscar in the front...

...joined on stage by Henry, as they sing the Country Bear Musical Jamboree theme song.

Bunny, Bubbles, and Beulah on stage with...

...Trixie St. Claire, as they sing "Try Everything" from Zootopia.

Romeo McGrowl taking the stage dressed as Elvis, singing "Kiss the Girl" from The Little Mermaid.

Ernest "the Dude" getting his turn on stage, singing "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" from Mary Poppins.

Gomer played piano for the duet between Wendell and...

...Teddi "Swingin'" Barra, making her way from the top of the theater, as the two sing "A Whole New World" from Aladdin.

Terrence, also known as Shaker, on stage singing "Fixer Upper" from the movie Frozen.

Big Al singing "Remember Me" from Coco during the show.

Henry singing "You've Got a Friend in Me" from Toy Story as Sammy the raccoon peeks out from behind the amplifier.

Another look at Melvin, Buff, and Max as the show winds down.

The entire Country Bear Musical Jamboree cast on stage singing "The Bare Necessities from the Jungle Book movie.

Rodney posing for a picture with the men's room sign at the restroom that crosses between Adventureland, Frontierland, and Liberty Square.

Wendell from the Country Bear Musical Jamboree was out wondering around Frontierland...

...and Rodney got to take a picture with him!

Cinderella Castle behind the Liberty Square Riverboat.

I never noticed this sign in the queue for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad before!

Although it doesn't show up in this picture, the gold in this Big Thunder Mountain Railroad display glistened.

We also checked out Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress today to see the new seats in the theater and to escape the heat and sunshine for a bit.

The first scene of the show...

...including this shot of the son in one of the side rooms.

The second scene, which we got to sit through twice today...

...including the mother making the Fourth of July costumes...

...and the son and grandfather practicing their song...

...and the daughter dressed for her part in the town play.

The third scene of the show, along with...

...grandma and grandpa watching the boxing match on TV...

...and the son in his Halloween costume...

...and the daughter "exercising" while talking on the phone.

The final scene...

...including the dad cooking and the son playing a VR game...

...and mom working on her computer...

...and the daughter sitting in the chair talking to grandpa.

Rodney, Grandma Terry, and Jayden posing with Mickey Mouse...

McDonald's

This is the drive through window side of the McDonald's on West Beuna Vista Drive in Kissimmee.

Grandma Terry making her way to the McDonald's entrance.

A couple of shots of the interior of the McDonald's restaurant...

Disney's Magic Kingdom

Here are a few pictures of the revamped outdoor queue for Tiana's Bayou Adventure...

We were greeted by this sign near the entrance to the indoor part of the queue.

Speaking of the entrance, here it is!

We first enter what appears to be an office area...

...with stained glass windows...

...and a time clock.

A sign for Tiana's Palace restaurant.

Back outdoors for a brief moment, we spotted this birdhouse.

Back inside, a warning!

Another stained glass window.

A look at a kitchen for Tiana.

The crowd entering the "salt mines"...

...where we saw all kinds of humorous signs...

...as well as another stained glass window...

...and one more sign...

...before exiting the mine.

Here is a look at the loading area for the ride itself...

Here are some views from the ride...

Grandma Terry and Jayden...

...enjoying the ride so far!

Our first Tiana sighting!

Tiana is perhaps the best animatronic figure in Walt Disney World!

We headed back outside after climbing a hill...

"Never, ever lose sight of what's really important."

A look across Frontierland into Adventureland, with Disney's Contemporary Resort in the background near the water tower.

Heading inside once again...

...where we eventually meet Mama Odie...