How many times have I been to Walt Disney World?

I'm at Disney World a lot and I always get approached by their research team to do surveys. They survey always includes the question "How many times have you visited the Walt Disney World Resort since it opened?" I used to say "100" and then I realized I had been to just Magic Kingdom that many times so I raised the number to 200. I was curious to see how many times I had been to the parks, so I counted. I had only been to WDW once before 2004, so I didn't include that in my total.

How many times have I been to Walt Disney World since September of 2004? 245

How many times I have been to each park?
Animal Kingdom - 33
Hollywood Studios - 51
Epcot - 55
Magic Kingdom -  106

Can you guess which park is my favorite? :)

Tuesday's Top Three

Top Three Disney Things That I Collect


1. Popcorn Buckets

I have so many popcorn buckets. One of these days I'm going to try to photograph all of them. I don't buy them as much as I used to but I did get a new one a couple weeks ago.

2. Vinylmation

I started collecting them about a year ago. I have about twenty-five of them now.

3. Precious Moments

I love the Disney Precious Moments. They're so cute. I have Alice, Belle, Snow White, Boo with Mike Wazowski, and a girl with Cinderella's Castle.

 

Vinylmation Trading

I bought my first Vinylmation about a year ago. Since then, I've bought several more. I also found some at the Disney outlets that were three for $10, so I bought six. I bought those to use for trading. It has gotten pretty difficult to find places at Disney World that trade them. One of my major complaints about the trading is the rules. It seems as though each Cast Member has their own rules. I wish they would all use the same set of rules.

The rules I've encountered are:

• Pick one number but you don't have to trade.
• Pick two numbers but you don't have to trade.
• Pick three numbers but you don't have to trade.
• Pick one number and you don't have to trade but if you pick a second number, you must trade.

I also wish people would make sure their Vinylmation is in good condition before they trade it. I got a Princess Leia one, decided to take it, turned it over and it had a big red line on the back. The Cast Member that I was trading with let me trade it back. Then when I was told the "pick two and you must trade" rule, I wound up with a filthy Vinylmation.

Fantasyland Construction Update

Here, you can see some steel beams and a crane.




One of the tents.


The second Dumbo now has all the elephants.


The view of Fantasyland from Dumbo.




I was able to get this shot of the new Casey Jr. water play area from Barnstormer.


Walls are up right behind the Carousel.


There's a walkway behind those walls and then there's another set of walls.


I don't know how I didn't notice this new castle wall earlier in the day especially since I walked right past them. I was in Adventureland playing Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom when I noticed them.


They're also doing work on Small World.

Merida's Meet and Greet Location

I missed her 9:15 set but I was able to get into her 9:55 set. A cast member told me that she meets continuously.


You walk in and the kids go to the left, where they can color and practice archery, and the adults go to the right to stand in line to meet Merida.


 This picture hangs in the area.


Harris, Hubert, and Hamish are behind Merida. They move, blink their eyes, open their mouths, and hide.








Merida held her bow and then had me hold it when we took a picture together.


There's a merchandise cart outside her meet and greet location.

Tuesday's Top Three

Top Three Special Events

1. Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

I love MNSSHP. I've gone to it every year since 2005. The parade is my favorite. I love meeting the Villains and characters in costumes.

2. Flower and Garden Festival

My favorite time to visit Epcot is during the Flower and Garden Festival. Topiaries and flowers fill the park and everything looks so beautiful. If you've never been to Epcot during the Flower and Garden Festival, I strongly suggest that you go. It's amazing.

3. Star Wars Weekends

I started attending Star Wars Weekends in 2009. I originally went because it was something different do to and there were characters out that weren't normally out. Since then, I have watched all the movies. I saw the original three when I was a kid but didn't remember much. I really enjoy going to Star Wars Weekends and I look forward to going every year.

Star Wars Weekends

 

I attended Star Wars Weekends yesterday and it was a lot of fun. I'm still in the process of resizing, editing, and uploading pictures so they won't be posted for a while.

I thought I'd share some of the highlights of my day.

• I met Darth Vader and Darth Maul again.
• I met Jango Fett, Boba Fett, and Aurra Sing for the first time.
•  I met Anakin.  
•  I saw the Jawas for the first time. I look for them every year and this was the first year that I got to see them.
• I bought the Minnie Mouse as Princess Leia vinylmation that I wanted.
•  I was able to get close to the stage after the parade.
•  I asked a CM when Aurra Sing would be out and I was told 3:40. I waited and waited for her. I asked another CM when she'd be out. I was told that she didn't know, they didn't know where she was, and they hadn't seen her. The CM told me that when they found out anything they'd let me know. A little while later, they told me she'd be out at 4:45. I waited for her and because of the CM's who knew I was waiting for her, she came out and came right over to me so I could get a picture with her.

Some of the not so great parts of the day.

• It was really hot. I wish they'd do Star Wars Weekends in a cooler month or move the character locations to shaded areas.
• I encountered a really rude CM. She was so rude that a CM, who was on line in front of me, apologized to me on behalf of all cast members.
• I never bought the Star Wars Weekends travel mug that I wanted.
• I still haven't met all the Star Wars characters yet.

Day Report 7 - Hollywood Studios - February 2012

I arrived to the park before opening and took a picture of Sorcerer Mickey and the Fantasia brooms which were moved outside the park

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Minnie was meeting outside the park, so I met her.


When the park opened, I headed to Toy Story Mania to get a fastpass.

Day Report 6 - Magic Kingdom - February 2012

I got to Magic Kingdom pretty early and took the ferry over. I didn't think I was going to make the ferry, but I did. I was the last person let on an almost empty ferry.

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I made it to Magic Kingdom in time to see the Opening Ceremony.