#i feel like all parks that use fastpass are mid

[bumbelbee]

I feel like any time i hear news from PortAventura its Bad News

[unexpectedreylo]

The Straight Dope On Galaxy’s Edge

I went to Disneyland Aug. 7-10 for my birthday because where else would I rather be than in the GFFA?  

It’s amazing!  It’s like a Ralph McQuarrie painting come to life.  Even though it is “set” during the ST, it tries to have a little bit of something for every Star Wars fan.  And maybe even for your friends and family who aren’t into it as much as you are.

Don’t believe the hype that it’s not doing well.  Disneyland has had annual passholder blackout dates to keep attendance below crazy levels and while overall attendance is down 3% (probably due to fears of massive crowds as well as higher ticket prices),  I can safely tell you that there was a great deal of interest in Galaxy’s Edge by attendees.  On Thursday and Saturday, everyone made a beeline for it just as the park opened in the morning.  I was doing the Griswold family dash to Wally World myself, power walking the best my middle aged/out-of-shape self could as kids and teenagers went past me.  Requiring reservations for Oga’s Cantina and Savi’s Workshop (where you build the lightsabers) prevented hellacious hours-long lines for those attractions.  Smuggler’s Run has had waits as long as three hours over the course of the summer.  It reached its 1 millionth rider in mid-July.  On Thursday, the longest I wait I saw was 80 or 90 minutes and that was on a weekday blackout date.  The section of the park was busy both Thursday and Saturday mornings.  For what it’s worth, it seemed like half the people at Disneyland overall had some kind of Star Wars t-shirt on.  It was like a Celebration with rides.

Attendance isn’t the only metric.  What really matters is whether people are spending money there and I can vouch that people were buying.  The lightsabers are $200 a pop alone.  There were merchandise I wanted to get but weren’t available, such as the japor snippet necklace and the Rey vest (sizes XS-L were sold out).  White kyber crystals are still sold out.  I saw signs everywhere limiting certain items to one per person.  People were packing the cantina and all of them got drinks.  Ronto’s Roasters did pretty steady business.

Just bear in mind that parks play the long game and it probably serves Disney’s long term interests to allow paying attendees and not just local APs the chance to experience Galaxy’s Edge.  Hell crowds would just make people angry they spent all of that money and couldn’t see or do a thing.

Now, here’s where I’m going to dish some advice to those of you who are planning to go either to the one in Anaheim or at WDW.  The WDW version is at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, so some of this won’t apply to the Mouse House East but I think a lot of it will.

Tip #1--Your best bet is on a weekday, first thing in the morning as the park opens.  If it’s an AP blackout date, that’s even better.  Remember, Disney is like con...you don’t come to sleep.

Tip #2--Stay at a Disney hotel to take advantage of Magic Hour.  I know, I know, they’re $$$ while there are many cheaper alternatives but if you really want to beat the crowds this is the way to do it.  Galaxy’s Edge will not be accessible during Magic Hour (at DL it’s just Fantasyland that’s open) but you can start lining up at the ropes in front of Frontierland and Adventureland.  While GE at DL has three entrances, they will send you the looong way through New Orleans Square and Critter Country when the park fully opens.  If you’re at WDW, stay at the Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, or Pop Century resorts...they’re the ones closest to Hollywood Studios though you’ll still have to take the Disney bus to get there.  (The Swan and the Dolphin are on Disney property but are NOT Disney resort hotels, so no Magic Hour.)  

Another perk to staying at a Disney hotel now is that as part of our travel package we all got free exclusive Galaxy’s Edge lanyards with a pin!

Tip #3--Ladies...I think with the exception of the First Order boutique and the cosplay items, I liked the a lot of t-shirts and stuff for kids more than the ones for adults!  So if you are on the small side, you might be able to fit in the bigger kids’ wear.  For instance I got a great Black Spire hoodie for $40 at Jewels of Bith...the adult hoodie was like 20 bucks more.  My mom liked it so much she got one for herself and my niece.  Note:  the merch you buy inside GE don’t say “Galaxy’s Edge” or have Star Wars logos.  If you want those, you’ll have to buy them in the regular Disney stores.

Tip #4--Oga’s Cantina.  Reservations are required so as soon as you plan your trip, go on the DL/WDW app and reserve right away.  I think now you can reserve up to 60 days in advance...if not, definitely 14 days in advance.  You are NOT guaranteed a seat.  You are given an area to hang out in (at the bar, at a table, or at a booth) and you are to remain there.  You can’t run and grab a booth for instance if a party leaves.  Your limit is 45 minutes and two drinks.  I will say though that service is fast (I guess most drinks are pre-mixed) and in our case, we didn’t even need to stay the entire 45 minutes.  I got the Cliff Dweller (I don’t drink) while my brother got whatever they call the beer and my dad got the teal-colored “white” wine.  My older niece got the blue milk with the Bantha cookie.  She gave rave reviews for both.  The younger niece got the stuff that came from the creature tank.  It sounds gross but she liked it.  There are no restrooms inside the cantina btw.  

Tip #5--Savi’s Workshop.  Again, reservations are required and they should be made as soon as possible.  The lightsabers are $199 and you pay when you check in.  The day I went they were running behind, so while my reservation was at 3:00, I didn’t actually get in the building until like 3:30.  The process takes about 20 minutes.  You are ushered into a shop and there’s a whole narrative and everything.  The “gatherers” have harvested scrap metal and kyber crystals and crafted lightsaber parts.  Based on the “theme” you selected at check in (stuff like “power and control” or “peace and justice”) you are given trays with parts to choose from and a crystal (blue, green, purple, or red).  Your guides are in character and sometimes it’s all earnest af, but then again so are the movies.  I found it surprisingly easy to put these together.  The “gatherers” put the blade in for you then you step forward, turn on the switch, and yay, you got a new lightsaber!  You get to wave them in the air and stuff.  On the way out you are given a free sheath bag to put it in.  If you don’t want to lug your new lightsaber on a plane or have to check it in, you can have it shipped home for $17 at the First Order boutique (though I don’t know if other stores will do it for you too).  

Tip #6--Smugglers’ Run.  The best time to go on the ride, since to date there are no fastpasses, is right when the park opens.  Thursday morning at 8:10 a.m. had the shortest wait, 15 minutes but I pretty much walked right onto the ride.  The next best option is going single rider, which is what my brother and I did the second time we went on it.  It was about half the regular wait time.  Have your camera ready to get that chess table photo op because you will get called right away for your “boarding group” (assigned with a color).  Two pilot, two shoot, two “engineer.”  The light up buttons make it easy to figure out what you have to do but accuracy is tough.  I piloted the first time, shot the second time.  The good news is I did not crash either time.  Which is miraculous.

Tip #7--Other food and drink.  Unfortunately I didn’t get the opportunity to eat at Docking Bay 7 or Ronto Rosters.  I’m told the breakfast wrap at Ronto Roasters is phenomenal.  Don’t expect typical Disney fare in Galaxy’s Edge; the closest it comes is the Star Wars popcorn.  No galactic churros or Mickey ice cream pops here.  In fact an in-character cast member and Chewbacca were really curious about our churros when we went into Galaxy’s Edge on Saturday.  My younger niece even tried to give Chewie a piece to try, LOL.  What you can get is blue milk and green milk.  We got one of each on Thursday to try.  Both were better than the notoriously sweet butterbeers at Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  Tasty and refreshing on a hot day.  But I kinda think we all leaned more toward the blue milk.  In fact the nieces insisted on another round of blue milk when we returned on Saturday.  You can get the Aurebesh label soda and water at a variety of stands and at Docking Bay 7.  (Maybe Ronto Roasters too.)  They’re pricey but everything at Disney is 30-50% more expensive than they would be anywhere else.  And the Aurebesh bottles make for low cost souvenirs.

Tip #8--Characters.  Chewbacca and FO stormtroopers were around quite a bit.  I saw Vi Moradi twice and Kylo a couple of times (Chewie and Kylo get treated like rock stars), but I totally missed Rey.  My parents saw her though.  Characters here do NOT sign autographs, something my nieces found out the hard way when they tried to get them from stormtroopers.  LOL.

Tip #8--Dok-Ondar’s Den of Antiquities.  This is where you buy your holocrons and loose kyber crystals (only with purchase of a holocron).  They were still out of white crystals so I bought a red one.  When you put a red crystal in your Jedi holocron, Yoda warns you about the dark side.  Bonus:  the kyber crystals you buy here can be put in your lightsaber from Savi’s Workshop.  So if you buy both a holocron and a lightsaber, make sure you get a different color crystal for each so you can switch them around!  Here you’ll find a lot of Jedi cosplay, Leia cosplay, and the headdress Padme used in AOTC as part of her peasant disguise, among other goodies.  The stained glass portraits of Leia and Queen Amidala were stunning but they were kinda big and 95 bucks apiece.  They had a set of ceramic busts of everyone’s favorite mother-daughter duo for $55 but I didn’t feel like lugging those around at the time.  For older Star Wars fans, this is probably going to be your favorite store.

Tip #9--Other merchandise/shopping.  The First Order boutique is located right next to Kylo’s parked shuttle and across from the “milk” stand.  The Resistance has two carts at the entrance in front of the (unopened) Rise of the Resistance ride.  I kinda like that the underground Resistance is on the “outskirts” of the outpost while the conquering FO is right there in the center of town.  Makes sense for the narrative.  Savi’s and the store where you can build a droid (no reservation necessary...this was a hit with kids) are next to each other.  Everything else is in the marketplace in a series of smallish stalls.  Keep an eye out because nobody has signs.  (Note:  layout might be slightly different at WDW.)  

Tip #10--Wear a hat and sunscreen.  The marketplace is the only area in GE with shade.  The rest of it is out in the sun, so be prepared because in CA it’s easy to get a sunburn and in FL, it’s easier still.  Bring a rain poncho if you’re at WDW because of those hit and run thunderstorms.  

Tip #11-- You don’t have to be a passive tourist.  Some cast members get into it more than others but you’ll get more out of Galaxy’s Edge if you play along.  As Star Wars fans, you’ll get the lingo (for instance they do call kids “younglings” and talk about money as credits) so that’s no problem.  When you’re inside of Galaxy’s Edge you can go on the DL/WDW app and activate your “datapad” and scan stuff at various locations.  My brother did this with his phone while we were poking around and you can earn rankings and stuff within the different factions.

Overall I think what Galaxy’s Edge is now is just the beginning.  Rise of the Resistance opens this winter at both parks and from what I’ve heard, more attractions and shows are in the works.  Personally, I’d love a hair braiding station where you can get your hair done like Leia or Rey or Battle of Geonosis Padme since that’s probably her easiest style!  I want a Reylo night time show!  But it’s absolutely worth visiting as it is.  You can easily spend half the day or longer there, depending on how much you want to do.  Few Star Wars or Disney experiences will ever top entering Galaxy’s Edge, huffing and puffing from having to go up and down hills, hearing the music over the loudspeakers and the cast members and various characters coming out to wave hello to everyone.  Even the stormtroopers.  I felt like I’d just finished the Batuu 5K!  And then seeing everyone gawk at the Millennium Falcon in front of Smuggler’s Run.  

[ninjagoland-a-summer-rp-event]

✨Ninjagoland pt 3.5: A Hasty Yet Action-Packed Transition!✨

"Nice try!" I jeered at the nindroid that'd failed to punch me. This was actually pretty fun, being in a fight alongside one of my fave ninja!

I attempted to return the favor, smacking it squarely in the head! But that ended up hurting me more so than it.... should've remembered it was completely made of metal...

At the instant, the gantry finally plunged! The sheer force of the fall launched Zane and some of the enemies into the cart's ceiling! The impact caused the already short-circuiting Nindroids to begin shooting lasers wantonly down at us!

I screamed and wrapped my arms over my head, hoping to shield myself somewhat from the blasts!

As luck would have it, no one's skin got scorched in the fray.......

But the stray rays had severed everyone's seat belts!!!!

"Hold on tight!" Zane called as he descended from the ceiling grate, "I'll try to find us a way out of here!"

The gantry wiggled for a bit at this stop, giving Zane just enough time to rid the vehicle of a few intruders by tossing them out of the open doors.

Then before we knew it, we were shooting up again, almost to the top! We could see the whole of the park from this open set of doors, but we were too petrified to enjoy the view!

Then, right as the ride cameras flashed, we plunged again, fighting to stay grounded as gravity forced us into mid-air!

"That's going to be some photo..." I quipped, trying to remain calm.

It now seemed like the gantry was free of Nindroids, save for the Ice Master himself. The ride pulled a wiggly-stop again before shooting upward once more, this time all the way to the top!

The lift locked into a hard stop, jarring us around. What now!?!?

None other than General Cryptor himself had pounced onto the top of the vehicle! Zane glared up through the metal bars at his new opponent, ready to strike should the other Nindroid make a move on us.

"Farewell, traitors!" Cryptor said, staring daggers down on us. He seemed to be referring to not only the Ice Master but Mr. Borg as well.

Then, he used his laser and shot the main lift cables on the gantry! Cryptor collapsed after the shot, apparently that had taken the last of his battery power.

We were now screaming down the track, both literally and figuratively, in full free fall!!!! There was no stopping the force of the drop as it ripped us all out of our seats, now left floating in mid-air! Normally the ride's brakes would catch us, but everything in the system no longer had any power running to it at all!

"I'm going to try and lessen our impact," Zane called to us, "NINJA-GO!"

With that famous battle cry, Zane focused his full icy power on the underside of the cart, as well as the sides and some of the air holes in the cage-like metal. He was essentially making an ice cocoon around us, with it being a thick enough buffer for us to land somewhat safely! But time wasn't on our side as the ground continued to speed towards us.....

The second to last floor was rushing by now. I was screaming my head off, mentally cursing myself for unwittingly ushering all of you guys onto a death trap!

Suddenly, a strange blue glow enveloped the cart. Then, an odd feeling washed over me. It was as though the world was in slow motion!

Apparently, it actually WAS!

Acronix himself launched into the gantry from seemingly out of nowhere, brandishing the Slo-Mo Timeblade! Despite our now sluggish state of hovering, he swiftly backflipped, grabing Cyrus Borg out of the air and slinging the inventor over his shoulder in the process! He cockily bowed at all of us before leaping out of the open doors, surely planning on vanishing into the crowds below. Zane missed this spectacle, for he had been looking at the ground when we got hit by the effects of the Timeblade.

Fortunately, the near-stop had slowed us down immensely, the gantry landing with only a sharp thud as opposed to the mangled crash it would've been otherwise.

~~~~~~~

"Brother!" Acronix called, grinning ear to ear as he returned to the hideout, "Look what I've found!"

"Excellent!" Krux replied, tucking his fake mustache away, "Not only have you reclaimed a Timeblade, but found the one person who can quickly repair the Iron Doom!"

"Who are you people!?" Borg asked in a mix of confusion and anger, "What is an 'Iron Doom'!?"

"We are the Time Twins, the future rulers of Ninjago!" Acronix boasted as he sat the inventor down on the ground, "The Iron Doom is, well, that hunk of smoking metal over there; but surely you'll know how to get it fit for time travel again."

"I can't believe you're falling for this," Krux interjected, "the man's clearly playing dumb."

"I honestly have no clue how to fix your apparent temporal plane-traveling war machine!" Borg responded, getting increasingly freaked out, "Even if I could fix it, I want nothing to do with whatever you two are planning!"

"Oh really!? Let's see how quickly you remember things when you're under Commander Machia's direct supervision!" Acronix threatened.

While his brother bickered with their captive, Krux began to suspect something was massively wrong. Borg, although incredibly smart, wasn't this good of an actor in any prior encounters that the elder Time Twin could recall.

"Mr. Borg," Krux said sharply, silencing the ceaseless arguing, "tell me, how many ninja protect Ninjago City?"

"Why should I?!" Borg replied.

"I am trying to find out if you are the right person we're after," Krux said, now cradling a temple with his palm, "now, how many ninja are there?"

"F-four." Borg answered, "Wait! Actually five. There was a recent addition, I believe."

"Thank you," Krux said, learning all he needed to know, "Brother, a word?"

The duo stepped out of their captive's listening range for a moment to discuss the info the Krux had apparently gleaned.

"Congratulations," Krux began, "you've managed to capture Cyrus Borg, circa 2013!!! Who come to think of it, shouldn't even be here, because this park isn't even in Ninjago!"

"So what realm are we in then?" Acronix replied.

"Apparently it's called Earth." Krux answered, "I found that out at this place's pathetic excuse for a museum. With the fact that Borg's not only here, but not even from the same year, I can only assume there's an issue with the time stream. This doesn't bode well...."

~~~~~~~

Zane had lifted us all one-by-one from the totaled ride cart to safety, and was leading us to the exit. We shuffled on, still a bit shaken from the experience. In time, we were back out in the sunshine.

"Are you all sure you're alright?" Zane asked us. We reassured him we were fine, despite our shock.

Satisfied with the state of our wellbeing, Zane was about to take his leave when P.I.X.A.L. returned, brandishing a techno chain-sickle! Zane expertly dodged her Overlord-fueled ambush and instead of returning the blow, gently touched the very tip of his Technoblade to her forehead. A small flash of icy light appeared and when it dissipated, we found that P.I.X.A.L's eyes had returned to their usual bright green!

"Zane?" She gasped as she lowered her weapon, confused as to what transpired.

"Everything is alright," Zane said, "however, we must find the others. Sorry there's not much time to explain."

They took each others hands and sprinted in the direction of Cars Land, leaving us all stunned in their wake.

"Well, this day couldn't get any weirder..." I muttered.

But it was definitely about to!

"Hello?" P.I.X.A.L.'s voice was calling from my pocket, "Can anyone read me!?"

I pulled out my phone, and we all crowded around to be met by the sight of her face on the screen; only she was in her new Samurai X gear!

"We read you loud and clear!" One of us responded.

"Thank the FSM!" The nindroid replied frantically, "We've been tracking the Time Twins, and just discovered that they've landed in your realm! We have no idea how this happened, but temporal anomalies have been happening with increasing frequency here in Ninjago, and could already be happening in your world too! We can't reach you, but you can help us! Please, find and stop these slips in the time stream! If they aren't fixed soon, the fabric of our realms WILL collide, with catastrophic res-!"

Unfortunately, the signal cut out before she could explain farther. We all glanced at each other, the events of our ride gone wrong suddenly making sense.

Silently, it appeared that we all agreed to accept the insane mission: hunt down the Time Twins and stop their mysterious plans!

But where would we start looking?

That answer came quickly, via a notification from the park app: "Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye has returned to normal operations."

~~~~~~~~~

We practically sprinted through the crowds, not fully sure what we had gotten ourselves into by the time we finally hit Adventureland.

We drew our passes and began our walk down the super long queue. As we got closer to the first temple building, it was starting to dawn on us that we had zero clue as to what we were actually looking for!

The crowd was unusually backed up, even taking into account how people mob the rides the second they come back up. The source of the setback was apparently a small boy, whose crazy enough to be wearing a black hoodie in 80 degree heat, arguing with a cast member.

"What do you mean I have to have a 'FastPass'!?" The child said snidely, "Do you know who I am!?"

"Kid," the cast member dryly responded, "I've heard that one at least 10 times today. Now please get in the correct line."

"Well, if that's how you want to play, you should get to knowing then!" The child bellowed, "I am LLOYD GARMADON! Son of the terrifying LORD GARMADON! And I'll go wherever I WANT TO!"

Hearing that startling announcement, I turned to you guys.

"Looks like we kinda found what we're looking for;" I said, "any clue as to what we should do?"

@geekywinemom @kaospersona @ninjagofanficsandart @ninjago-hiveswap @lindsey-chr-not-found

[steamishot]

Changes

~4/21? I think my mindset shifted a lot this past week, especially after staying with Matt and his family for a few days. Admittedly, I used to be very fearful of going outside to public spaces and be extra cautious every time I did take out. For example, my family and I have “outside clothes” and “inside clothes”. I would immediately toss my “outside” clothes into my laundry basket when I arrived home from the market or picking up food, even if I was out for just 5 minutes. My parents were against me doing any uber eats or takeout. They believed home cooked food was the best during this time and refused to eat non-homemade food. My mom left the house less than 2 times this past month. My dad is less fearful - he’s gone out multiple times a week (to buy food and for work) and doesn’t really care, but my mom and I always gave him shit for doing so. I felt like a huge hypocrite going out to see Matt, and was afraid of how my family would react. 

I’m really awkward whenever talking about love or romantic partners with my family - especially after what happened with my last parter. I’m avoidant. So I ended up only telling my mom I was going to leave to see Matt 30 minutes before I actually did pack up to go, which was very bad on my part. She was heartbroken and was super fearful and asked “can you not?”. She later called me during the car ride and told me not to come home for a month. Hearing that made Matt feel guilty, and he called my mom’s idea stupid. We got into a huge argument, with me trying to defend my family. I found out later there was some underlying resentment, where he felt like my family treats him like second-rate, which is probably my fault because I choose not to talk about partners to my family. 

4/25- it’s now been over a week that Matt has been home and I’ve seen his family every single day even on the days that we were staying at the Airbnb. Things have been kinda tense between us (I think he’s being mean to me, he thinks I’m mean to him). I realize that this is due to several issues:

- Quarantine/pandemic stresses: he’s a frontline worker in the epicenter of covid and working at one of the hardest hit hospitals. Even though he doesn’t verbally acknowledge his feelings and pretends he’s ok, he’s definitely more stressed out than usual. During this time, he’s even more sensitive to any criticism I have. He used to take it all (mostly), but he’s been retaliating more often recently. On his end, he feels that his whole life is a sacrifice, and he’s working extremely hard especially during this scary time - why do I have to criticize him during his vacation? I should just let him enjoy himself. 

-Attention: We’re staying with his family during this time, so it’s his time to catch up with everyone. He’s also catching up with his friends online. Because these are the people he rarely talks to (he calls me everyday vs. calling family for like 5 min once a week, and never calling/texting his friends), I have become last on the priority list in attention during his vacation. I keep telling myself it’s fine. However, because I’m also the person he is closest to, I feel like it’s me who puts up with his shit the most. Then I question, why do I have to be so nice to someone who is not very fit as a good partner (due to residency, especially during a time like covid), and on top of that has to be rude to me? I started feeling salty about that. 

- Lack of comfort: not to be ungrateful, but I realize that staying at someone else’s home for an extended period of time is stressful, even more so under quarantine. I’m not carefree at his home, and I feel like I have to be on my best behavior/ “professional” around his parents. I lose structure in my daily life and I always have to depend on someone else. I have a few articles of clothing I’m wearing over and over lol. His dad generously gave us his room (because it’s attached to a restroom). However, we’re sleeping on an old spring mattress that creeks with every movement. We’ve had to have quiet, inhibited sex lol. 

Anyway, I’m PMSing - 6 days before my period. I hate that I tend to PMS during the times that we have to spend together. I know my concerns are legit, but PMS can make it seem worse/more dramatic than what it is. I was watching Insecure season 4 yesterday, and there was a scene that stuck out to me. Issa’s best friend Molly (who has been single for quite some time) started dating a guy that she really likes. A few weeks later, she got upset that he wasn’t opening up to her. Issa asked something along the lines of “do you actually wanna be happy? you keep looking for problems.” Hearing that kinda put things into perspective for me, as I tend to focus on the negatives than see things as a whole.

Let’s focus on positive things:

- Having a partner in healthcare feels like having the fastpass in an amusement park. Going to costco and beating the line. Free stuff/food everyday. His mom is a PT at USC and she’s received free food, free orchids, free tangerines, etc. I stopped feeling guilty about being out for non-essential things (like going out for take out multiple times a day), because my doctor partner deserves it. When I return to my life at home, I’m not going to do this anymore. Also, he had a healthcare worker discount at the north face, and bought a jacket for me, his mom, and himself.

- Running. The men in his family are all into running. His dad is almost mid-60s and runs 5 miles multiple times a week. His teenage brother runs 7-9 miles like everyday. Matt used to run a lot too, and was the top runner in high school. That’s why even though he’s fat now, it’s only his upper body that is actually fat. His lower body still has that runner’s physique. I went out to the trail with them 3 times already. It’s hard because I have allergies in this weather, and also it’s damn hot. But I was able to run 3.5 miles last time. I’ll try for 4 today. 

- Everyday, his parents always ask him what I want to eat. They’re so accommodating, especially his dad. Tea is sacred to his dad, and he never really shared before. No one else in his family was interested in tea either. But because I showed interest and love tea, he’s been asking me multiple times a day - do you want tea? Do you want wine? LOL. He buys breakfast everyday - dimsum, burger king, mcdonalds, chinese breakfast, etc. They always make sure I am fed.

4/30 - after I wrote my last blurb, everything started going uphill. We both became more understanding of each other, and more forgiving. He became more relaxed, I became more relaxed. We were able to have fun again. to highlight the fun times that i had with him and his family:

- the first or second day i was over at his parents house, his dad offered me some tea, but i declined because it was already late and i was afraid i wouldn’t be able to sleep. i asked if we could take some tea leaves to go since were staying at an airbnb at the time. matt says he’s protective of his tea. i think he was a little shocked when i first asked him, because no one in his family is interested in tea, but he gave me like 2 bags initially. his mom was like GIVE HER MORE, GIVE HER 10. SHE IS LIKE FAMILY. i felt a little awkward but i love me some tea. 

- did so. much. takeout in 13 days. the first couple days I was still kinda paranoid about going out, but by the last day it felt like NBD to me. Got to eat poke, sugarfish sushi, nabemono hot pot, pho x3, banh mi, boba everyday, ramen x2 (men oh, ramenhood), burgers x3 (in n out, bunz, the win-dow), sugar cane x2, taro cake, yin ji chang fen, thai, philz, dim sum etc. it was reminiscent of our lifestyle whenever we went on vacation. we were still fatasses during quarantine. 

- played board games with his brother and mom. played poker with the family and his dad. his younger brother and i lost early on cause we suck, but he and his dad continued playing for another hour and a half or so - matt ended up winning. but it was very nice to see them spend time together as spending time playing games like that was never a thing in their family

- i helped his family take some cute family photos (with and without masks on). his mom likes taking family photos and usually gets to do so on family trips, but said they didn’t get any this year because of the quarantine. the boys aren’t big fans of photos either so she took advantage of me being there. i was also part of a few family photos!

- made charcuterie boards for his family. they really enjoyed it. 

- i spent some quality time with his 88 year old grandma. she mostly does her own thing (which is being babysat by an ipad), but one day i made her draw with me by following youtube tutorials - we drew a flower, mickey mouse, a cat, and a monkey together. she asked me to save a video so she can continue doing it and get better. another day, i wanted to have her write/read in english and chinese. his mom found an elementary chinese workbook and she ended up teaching me. the material was very easy and she was like “uh you’re already very good” lol. i then switched the roles and asked her to write in english - she was surprisingly very good and could write quite quickly. as an assignment, i asked her to write a letter to matt. it was precious. it took me back to the days where i would teach english to chinese seniors. i took a pic of them using my instax camera, and she really loved it. 

- watched farewell with his grandma, brother, and mom. we already watched it once before so he was sitting in the back only paying half attention. his brother was immediately into it and got emotional at times. at one point, he had to stand up and go towards the back of the room because the emotions were too much to handle. matt said his brother was tearing up. his mom said that watching their family was very relatable and it reminded her of her own family. i tried watching this film with my mom and grandma, but they didn’t get it and found it boring. it was nice to watch a chinese-american film with a chinese family to get that commentary.

- ran/walked/jogged at the trail a total of 20 miles during my stay there

- did home work outs - yoga, blogilates and peloton HIIT with him, his family and friends. we did echo park steve’s yoga one day too. his mom enjoyed peloton yoga and blogilates and asked me to save the videos for her. 

- in the first few days, his mom kept repeating “life is beautiful”. the first day, we cheered to him still being alive lol. (not funny and his mom was sleepless a few nights due to worrying, but i think it’s gonna be ok)

- news so I can remember: 3 programs in cali reached out to matt during his vacation, asking if he’s still interested in interviewing for a PGY-2 program. loma linda was one of them and would have been an amazing program to be a part of. it was a very hard decision, but he declined. he had already signed a contract with brooklyn, and this would require him to speak to his program director about his interest in switching programs. not a good look if you don’t actually get into the program. 

- his parents (moreso mom) is an avid, adventurous traveler. they had plans to go to africa this year and talked about rescheduling. she included matt and i in the plans to go next year and said “the four of us”. matt brought up norway instead, since that’s more doable. so we settled on going to norway as a family. 

- went with matt’s dad to drop him off at LAX yesterday morning at like 6:30am. he then dropped me at home, and officially met my mom for the first time. they shook hands and he told my mom “connie is so nice”. LOL. 

After coming home yesterday, my mom bombarded me with questions about matt and his family. and then asked about our future and whether we are thinking of marriage. she is against me moving to nyc during this pandemic, and i hate how uncertain everything is right now. she also thinks that i should be engaged before i uproot my life to move over to be with him. i agree to an extent, but i also understand if he is not ready. it is crazy that we have now been long distance longer than being together in person, and with this pandemic, i’m not sure how long that’s gonna continue. i found out that my mom feels ashamed of me going to stay at a boy’s house for that long. a boy i am not engaged/married to. she doesn’t say it but the actions make me seem slutty to traditional people. she hid the information from my brother and SIL - i think because she would be ashamed if the info leaked out to her parents. that is why she keeps pushing the idea of marriage/engagement on me. 

I took yesterday to kinda get used to being back at home, and felt quite sad to detach from my “second family”. In a way, even though it wasn’t always comfortable or easy, I at least felt I wasn’t stagnant. It was like a “bootcamp” to fit in with someone else’s family, their routines, and their daily lives. I’m also happy that I was pushed to run. They eat pretty heavy food, and they all overeat, but they also exercise a lot. My family portions well and eats very clean, but has milder workouts. Sometimes they intentionally skip meals to lose/maintain weight, whereas my family would throw a fit if we didn’t have food at a certain time. Their family is larger (130-190lbs), whereas my family is like (110-150 lbs)? After coming back home and eating my mom’s very clean food, I felt it wasn’t as tasty and I started craving heavier food lol. I think it would be beneficial for me to eat/live like their family for a few months (to gain weight and be stronger), and for matt to eat like my family to lose weight. 

When we were eating takeout ramen one day, his mom mentioned that he never used to eat carbs. When he was at home and had a workout routine, it was just protein and veggies. I realize that without me, he probably wouldn’t be such a fatass lol. He said he would probably be too lazy to go out to eat, especially if he didn’t have a partner. I remembered that before meeting me, his diet would be soylent and protein bars. We’ve come a long way.

Anyway, I’m finally getting back into my routine at home. It’s kinda boring now, but I’ll adjust. I did only the minimum for work these past two weeks, and now UC Path is down for a week, meaning I can’t really do much work. I’m taking a half day tomorrow, using COVID admin pay. My tomato plants grew a lot. My ginger may have sprouted a little, but my strawberries seem like they’re a fail. Finally applied for PUA for my uncle, hope he will be receiving a paycheck soon. Supposed to get my period really soon so I’ve been feeling pretty lazy. I may start running outside on my own. 

I’m worrying less about covid now. I used to freak myself out by reading the news everyday and following the subreddit, but looking at statistics, I feel ok. 

[livinganddyingatdisneyworld-blog]

First Week+

Hey ya’ll.

So my first week here has come and gone. Monday morning was more hectic than I would have liked. I was so tired and was running late, I had to pack up my bags very quickly and I had my Mears driver waiting for me. He had texted me about 8:30 and I didn’t see that til 9, and I got down to him at like 9:15. 

My check-in was at 9:30, and there was a line of cars this time, so my driver had to patiently wait til we got to the front of the pack. I don’t think anyone ever looked at my Boarding pass lol (Just my itinerary). Check-in was quick. I had a nice lady help me with my documents and they took my picture for my housing ID. (Patterson’s are yellow this year, meh) Being back at Patterson feels pretty good. It feels like home (aw). I had feared I might be triggered into some negative feelings but nope. If anything being back makes me realize how much time has gone by and that time heals all wounds, things here have changed and moved on and so have/(or should) I. 

So this girl gave me my new program guide with my apartment configuration on it. It said 1 bedroom/3 person. I’m in building 3 on the first floor. I met my two roommates later in the day on Monday. It’s only been about a week and a half but so far we get along OK, there are still some things that will need to be worked out, but we’ll get there I think. I get along better with one than the other too. The nice thing is that again I do feel very comfortable here already so it wasn’t hard to adjust. My roommates are both very like me, mid 20s, white, American, etc so we’re pretty similar, they are both straight though. Which might be a good thing as long as they aren’t the “toxic” kind of straight I tend to keep at a distance. 

Casting at 11 was confusing because of the way they scheduled the buses and because of the construction around the casting building (yay third parking garage!) I had to figure out what bus to take and when to walk down to Chatham (my least favorite part of Patterson) but I got there eventually. I was like 20 min late to both my check-in and casting but no one said anything, I did the best I could! This lady at casting asked me for my Blue ID and I said I turned it in to my leaders and she said that was the correct thing to do so that made me feel good. There was a nice girl they checked my documents for me and then a guy there to do the “Disney Look” check. My fingerprints still didn’t work and they guy that did them was a little aggressive about it but whatever hopefully it will be like last time as far as that goes. Going back in the casting building is definitely an experience lol. Afterwards a group of us had to wait for the bus so I talked to them for a bit. I got back to Patterson and met my roommates.

Our apartment is nice, fresh and has new carpet. I wasn’t keen on the the 3 in 1 and I ended up taking the top bunk, which works for me but again isn’t ideal. It was funny because it took the confusion out of trying to pick a roomie/room/bed away. I like the building because it’s still close to the main area but kinda off in it’s own space too, just have to walk a bit further than last time. (laundry and garbage won’t be fun, it’s a walk over there). At least I have less roommies and still manageable rent. 

Monday night I made my return to Disney Springs and had Yesake, it was so good to be back finally! I also went to Walmart that night and got supplies. Tuesday I had the day off and went the Boardwalk Bakery(the food has changed, prob won’t go there again). but I still love walking that area at night. 

Wednesday I had my housing at 3 meeting which was the same as last year pretty much. Not a big deal. I stopped in the Grid afterwards and was surprised how low on stock they are. I ended up going back to Walmart for more supplies and went back to Disney Springs for dinner. I went to Earl of Sandwich and tried the wine slushie at Amorettes - it was so good! 

Thursday I had the day free and used it to stay in and rest. I had considered this being a resort day since I couldn’t get into the parks yet but I was tired and it was raining so I stayed in. 

Friday I had my Traditions class. I counted 9 other guys in the room and I sat with 3 of them. The ones I remember are Arvin, JT, Diego, and Steven. We were all Merch which was cool. The class felt pretty fast/tracked and went fast. There were some awkward moments but I knew there would be. I was nervous about going back to Magic Kingdom but it ended up raining and so we played games instead and didn’t have to go. I was relieved. I was nervous about getting my Blue ID but it was there for me. The pictures on both my ID’s are...OK. I changed my pic on The Hub though. They gave me another name tag but I plan on using my old one with my hometown on it from my last program. Overall I did get emotional at certain points in Traditions, (at one point my eye would not stop watering) but it was pretty quick and painless. I was glad to have a later in the day time (mine was at 2:40 and I had to be at the bus/stop by 1:15). I will always prefer a later in the day time. No one in my Traditions seemed to be going to Epcot which was interesting, maybe like 2 others that I heard. 

I decided not to go to the parks that night and instead went to Disney Springs for another slushie and more Yesake! 

Saturday I had free which was nice, I decided that my first park entry would be Epcot of course, and then later in the day I would have my first ride be Flight of Passage. I went to Epcot just to check-out Mousegear and get a feel for it. I felt indifferent to be honest. Like not super-excited but not scared or nervous either. Everything in my program was what I wanted or asked for basically. The Commons would have been nice, maybe I should have been more open to other roles, I probably would have picked the May 21st arrival date if it was offered to me. But Fall Advantage/Merch/June 4th/ and Patterson are all great with me. When I found out I was going to Mousegear I was surprised and happy. Like I just didn’t want to be in MK again, and getting to learn more about Epcot sounded like a great way to spend my 2nd program. (I did not spend much time in Future World last year, I always walked quickly through it to get to World Showcase). Mousegear is one of the biggest shops in the park which is intimidating but I do not claim to know what is best for me (lol). It actually has great reviews from other Cps/Cms that it’s a great location for alot of reasons, it seems very well orgainzed and staffed and it’s an AC/inside area only. You still rotate positions but you only have to learn one store versus several locations. 

After my sneak peak at my new home at Epcot I got on the bus to Animal Kingdom. When I got there I went straight to Flight of Passage, the wait was long and my phone had died (having trouble with the battery). Also I want to note before I forget that the bugs this year seem to be bad (gotten several bites so far, last year not an issue) and when I first got here I had this itchy rash on my arms and neck and apparently I must have done something because the skin basically died and peeled off in those places. Weird! I thought it was a reaction from a bug bite or something. These are just things I was struggling with the first week. As well as figuring out my to-do list and where to put my stuff and trying to stay organized. I definitely spent more than I needed to but I figure it’s my first week and I want to be happy and start out strong and hopefully continue that way. I want to be better about time and money management and this program is a great way to focus on that. I need to figure out how best to get food when I don’t have a car. It’s a struggle. I spent a lot of time before this week getting my body in a good place and I have to keep up with what I’ve been working on. Traveling took so much out of me I was worried I would regress and get to busy to take care of myself but I’m really trying to stay on it. Appearance is everything and then that helps my confidence! I tried to make my hair blonder before coming here and that was another nightmare - I probably wasted like 50+ dollars just on my hair color lol, but whatever. As long as my acne stays in a good place that’s the main thing for me. My spray tan is wearing off and I need to have a pool day still. Shaving everyday is a nuisance and keeping up with it but that’s what you have to do.

Anyway so I went to Animal Kingdom and waited for Flight of Passage - worth it obviously. I really wanted to do at least Everest but didn’t have enough time, so I had dinner at the Canteen, which I’ve been wanting to do for awhile (it was..OK. I mean I love Tofu but I was still hungry after) and I spent 10$ on a tiny little Sangria that I didn’t need....but whatever. I can say I did it and now I know I don’t need it again lol. 

Overall it was a good night at Animal Kingdom, still much more I want to do (I tried to make fastpasses but realized that wasn’t going to work). 

Sunday was my Discovery Day, I had to get up really early and be there by 8am. I was so tired this whole day because I didn’t sleep much that night. It was a really magical day. I won’t go into detail but the boat ride, the welcome, it was all very magical. When I was riding SpaceShip Earth for the first time, I realized some things (lol). It just made me realize how great it feels to be in a place that I feel like this is where I am SUPPOSED to be. How during my last program especially at the end how I said goodbye forever (maybe to MK yes;) but to be at Epcot and realize that maybe I had never done these things before because the universe had plans for me later. (I honestly don’t think I’d ever been inside Mousegear, I just walked past it). My group leaders (4) were very fun and made the day special, I got emotional with alot of things they were saying. Most of my group was people from other countries, very few Americans (my small group was all Asian) It definitely makes me feel a type of way when the only country I’ve been to is Mexico and I don’t speak other languages, but these people are world travelers and speak several languages. One thing that did stick with me was the notion that even we as Americans are considered “international” by tourists from other countries. They look at us (maybe sometimes anyway) with the same interest that Americans look at people from other countries. After my Discovery Day I went home and went to Disney Springs. Here I really splurged and got Yesake AND Earl of Sandwich. I also tried to go to Morimoto Asia but I won’t be doing that again. When I went to Earl the cashier kept complimenting me on my eyes and said I was pretty. It was nice! At this point it had been two weeks since I left Younkers (my last day was Sat May 26th) and one week since I left Sioux City (Sat June 2nd)

Monday I had my first day of training. My trainers name was Casey. She is a former CP and has been at Mousegear for about a year. She is leaving to go work at Toy Story Land which is exciting. I was surprised to find out that they were considering me a “Transfer” and that I would not have to go back to DU for anything. Traditions you have to redo after 6 months (I’m at about 10 months) Dday makes sense since Epcot is new to me, but one day of training? I’ll take it as a vote of confidence but I am not sure I remember everything on the register, and it’s still a new location, things work differently. Casey was great with me through the day and I was so tired and probably not always coherent but I learned alot and got to ask her alot of the questions I had. We ended up arranging for me to have another day of Training on Thursday (her last day is Friday) and then my first regular shift will be on Friday. It kinda feels like I’m her replacement in some type of way. hmm...I’ve met two leaders so far and they seem nice, I also found out one of the coordinators is from MSE (Hi Catie) so I’ll be seeing her. I got HUB access, still deciding if I want to do Food&Wine, took the days off my mom wanted me too, looked at Rostr and took note of the CPs currently staffed at MG. There are currently 30 including myself that are listed as American Cps so that’s cool. Very few guys.There are 5 other guys (Dalton, Grady, Aaron, Charles, and Raul) and one former CP also named Aaron. I do not know how many Cps are new or old or extended or leaving soon (SA, Spring Extenders, Summer Alum etc) I hope I can find some people that can be my work friends but we’ll see....I’ll know soon enough who my allies are and who is not. I’m sure there will be new Cps coming for the Fall program too. On Sunday I decided to try to open Grindr and see who’s out there. I will keep it open for a week and see how it goes. If there’s no one of interest I’ll probably just delete again and wait til August when there’s new people here. I’ve had some of the same guys hit me up which is pretty funny. It’s super disappointing about the lack of guys and options but I will not let guys bring me down. I know they are missing out on what I have to offer so it’s really there loss. (and once you’ve turned me down, do not thing I will give you second chance, I will ignore you)

The main thing is that the people you see most are the people you live with and work with. I’m sure I’ll be getting to see some familiar faces of other castmembers at Epcot, Cps and non Cps, which I am excited about because there’s a lot of cool people that work there! Getting on a routine and figuring out the timing of everything is what I need to work on. Casey showed me that path from the Cast building (I got a locker) to sneak out by Test Track and then walk into the CDS. (the only place you can clock-in) The tunnel is super interesting but the break area is ...underwhelming. Very few selections for food. I never used the temp lockers before but I might here, we’ll see. If it’s raining I might have an umbrella with me. The only bathrooms are down there as well. Another weird thing is that you can’t have water bottles on stage, you have to leave them backstage which might be hard for me, we’ll see. I’ll like the fact that the store doesn’t stay open as late as MK and CPs usually get 2 days off per week. I still need to get new shoes, more socks, and trading pins (I’ll wear the “Earning My Ears” badge as well I suppose. I got my costume and it’s cute! Had a hard time with the pants but found my size. The shirt can be awkward but you just kinda of have to let it hang I guess. I have Tuesday and Wednesday off. Tuesday I had a headache and stayed in all day, later I went to Epcot and watched Illuminations for the first time and got some yummy fishNchips at the UK. I did not know there was extra magic hours so I hung out there til about 11, even though you can’t do any rides. I still need to make a “Disney Do” list but I’m slowly working my through. I don’t plan on picking up shifts ever but we’ll see. I should be open to that I suppose. Not until I have Mousegear down anyway. One more day of training which I’m sure will be alot and then my first days of work will be Friday, Saturday and Sunday. with Tuesday and Wednesday off. We’ll see how it goes! Fake it til you make it I guess. I obviously don’t want to look stupid or awkward, I don’t want to bother anyone with a bunch of questions, or have a bad attitude or have a bad experience with guests. I’ll just do the best I can! So far here has been pretty good, my first week has come and gone and week 2 is fastly moving! My main goals here are to have fun, do a good job, be on time, not let myself get sad or lonely, do more things that I didn’t get to the last time, and try to focus more on the future and my career. I want to use the program to build myself up, not let it tear me down. A fresh start and a second chance is just what I needed, I will miss my mom and Sioux City but this is where I need to be. I can work on keeping my money in check and use my time wisely. My goal is to slowly get on a routine by July 4th ish, one month mark. For sure by the time the transition period happens in August. Summer is my favorite time of the year though so I really just want to enjoy June and July and see what the future has in store. I am sure there are many twists and turns in the road between now and January. 

[chloenotknows]

South Park: The Fractured But Whole - The New Kid Is Back!

WARNING – I say this is a review, and in a sense, it is. I praise a lot of the mechanics of the game and the story. However, I’m mainly explaining my personal experiences I had with the game, so if you’re looking for a more objective review, then perhaps this isn’t the review for you. I also spoil pretty much the whole game within this review, so if you don’t mind spoilers, feel free to read. If you do get spoiled, please don’t complain to me.

The long-awaited sequel to South Park: The Stick of Truth, The Fractured But Whole (Butthole? Nicely played Trey and Matt!) places you in the shoes of the titular New Kid once again, straight after the events following the Stick of Truth. However, the neighbourhood kids have gotten sick of wizards and elves, and instead took to wearing capes and masks instead. Yes, this time, the South Park kids have decided to follow a Marvel/DC-esque game, complete with two differing franchises, which are Coon and Friends, and the Freedom Pals. This was introduced in the cartoon much earlier, but as someone who only watches the cartoon on occasion, I’ll only follow my experiences of the franchise from what I’ve experienced in game play.

The game starts a bit slowly, with The New Kid and the South Park boys finishing up the events of The Stick of Truth and transitioning to a superhero type quest to find Scrambles the cat for a $100 reward. The beginning cutscene follows The Coon, Eric Cartman’s Batman-esque raccoon character (It makes sense in context, I promise) jumping around South Park at night to track down evil and fight it to make his franchise bigger. From the beginning, we already get the impression that the Freedom Pals are already in a much better standing than Coon and Friends. We learn that the adults are being brainwashed through drugs and alcohol tainted with strong cat piss, which allows Mitch Conner to brainwash them into voting for him, and the two franchises must stop him. But as typical for Cartman, he only wants the cash to kickstart his franchise and allow the Coon to get much more money from the $100. While some may not see the supposed twist coming, anyone who is familiar with Cartman’s attitude, recognises Mitch Conner’s voice as his and notice the name COON and Friends will see it coming from miles away. But nevertheless, the strew of completely random enemies such as Professor Chaos’ minions to Crab People to genetically engineered cats with many asses brings the South Park humour back into the game.

Much like The Stick of Truth, the game could be mistaken for an extremely long South Park episode; the art style and animation is on point with the cartoon. Even when you are pitted into the RPG combat-like system, the witty dialogue and the banter between the characters as they move or attack is spot on with the characterisation with the kids we’ve seen on the show so far. The game is packed with references from the earlier episodes of the show (most of which flew over my head, unfortunately), along with memes of the present time. While most of these fads might have already died out, it was nice to be reminded of fidget spinners (known as Gyro Spinners in game) and Pokémon Go (Call Girl’s ultimate allows you to call people to play Chinpokomon Go), and brought a smile to my face whenever I saw it. Seeing the Coon’s smug smile while he held a fidget spinner on Coonstragram (Super hero Instagram? Sounds about right.) might have made me chuckle just a little bit too much.

And like the Stick of Truth, it blends far-fetched kid imagination with reality. The superhero costumes are made from objects that any kid can get their hands on, from cardboard to Tupperware, clothing and tinfoil, anything that they can access, really. Their attacks are choreographed with their makeshift costumes but have effects that really question if it’s play pretend or not. You’ll have kids clawing their enemies or shooting lasers out of their eyes, to having to escape to the pavement because a car is going by. But since it’s South Park, you can’t really expect realism or full fantasy.

But as we all know, the main point of sequels is that they will expand upon a previous game with more content and smoother gameplay, and The Fractured But Whole is no expectation.

What are the differences between The Stick of Truth and The Fractured But Whole?

The main difference would obviously be the switch from the battling wizards and elves to the more modern superhero Freedom Pals/Coon and Friends war. The missions and characters change dramatically to adjust to the new plot. Instead of stopping a disgruntled warrior-turned-tyrant from taking over the world, your new objective is to find out what happened to Scrambles the cat, and earn that sweet $100 which can easily kickstart the franchise of the lucky heroes who get their hands on it. Each character has a new persona which suits their character (and yes, I know they were introduced beforehand in the cartoon, but I still need to catch up on that). Mysterion, who is actually Kenny, keeps coming back to life after he dies, much like his normal self. Jimmy doesn’t let his disability get in the way of becoming Fastpass, and Craig’s ‘I don’t get a fuck’ attitude is portrayed perfectly in his superhero persona, Super Craig. Popular character Timmy goes from being a background character in the Stick of Truth to an actual superhero so overpowered, you cannot play as him.

Butthole themselves takes on their own superhero persona of the player’s choice, but the residents of South Park give them the title of the ‘Farting Vigilante’. You also get the choice of different superhero classes, ranging from the simple Speedster and Brutalist, to the Plantmancer and the Cyborg, and even the Psychic or the Martial Artist, giving the player a melting pot of different moves and abilities to use. However, Butthole still has the use of their farts, thankfully, but with a twist. Instead of Dragonshout, or Terrence and Phillip being your fart mentors, Morgan Freeman takes over your mentorship, and teaches you the way of the Timefarts, game-breaking abilities which allow you to change the overworld or combat as you see fit. Made a mistake during a puzzle? Timefart Glitch can fix that in an instant.

Your character also has access to a Crafting app on their phone, which allows them to make different artefacts to increase their might, healing items or mission-related items. As you progress through the game, your artefacts and healing items increase in power, but so do the ingredients needed to make them. Don’t worry, though, if you complete the side quests and loot everything, you’ll find you’ll be at 999+ for the basic materials. The rarer Sports Bottle and Tortilla ingredients can be bought from vendors, and don’t be fooled into buying the full items from them either. It’s definitely much cheaper to make them, even if it is time consuming.

Combat is much different compared to The Stick of Truth. Instead of fixed positions and two playable characters, you have a larger field and up to four playable characters (though this can change depending on the mission). Your field of movement is limited, but the fact you can move is a much better improvement. Your different moves have different affects depending on the class you chose, from ranged to close up to giving different status affects. These can prove extremely hilarious in combat as well, with the poisoned ‘Gross Out’ making character vomit mid-battle (Tupperware vomits into his Tupperware helmet, a very funny touch), to big bad mutants getting Enraged, and only going after the person who pissed them off (In most cases, Call Girl will be the one pissing people off, but Super Craig can do this too).

The Fractured But Whole’s combat system gets more difficult over time as it introduces different mechanics, such as timed attacks, where a bar on the bottom of the screen fills up and does something different depending on what situation you’re in, and causes whoever’s turn to stop instantly to allow the effect to take place. There are also charged attacks, where the person using it reveals an area they will attack, and on their next turn, unleash their attack, which differs from The Stick of Truth. It also prompts the player to focus more in battle, as you’re instructed to do button prompts to unleash and block attacks.

Microaggressions are also a new thing, which allows you a free hit on an enemy which insult you or a minority. These are parodies of the Social Justice Warriors of modern day societies, something which South Park latched onto quickly. My personal favourite was getting to punch Stan, of all people, for telling me his attack was my fault. A great laugh for me, and a stern telling off for him.

The Ultimate abilities were also extremely entertaining and awesome to watch. From the Coon fantasizing over movie posters and being on talk shows, to Call Girl attacking the entire field with a session of Chinpokomon Go, each ability suits the superhero and character. Even the Butthole gets different ultimate abilities depending on which class you choose to play as, but even the basic Brutalist ultimate is satisfying to watch again and again and again.

What stuck out to me was the ‘Did they really just make me watch that?’ moments. The Fractured But Whole can never top aborted nazi fetus babies, but a couple of moments had me either slightly disgusted or very amused. Such memories are the Coon’s torture, where you still have to eat food despite Cartman puking up on it (and seeing the usually stoic Butthole make an obviously disgusted face was hilarious), two fourth graders attempting to give two men a lap dance in order to get information about a woman with a dick tattoo, The New Kid being forced to fight against a parody of Jared Fogel (who I will not go into detail about) and even some more racist than usual cops. My second playthrough saw my African American parents in jail, and I definitely felt the need to save them before they were fed to the monstrosity in the basement.

Another difference is the customisation. The New Kid gets a lot of new options to be totally different, but the biggest, in my opinion, has to be the option to play as a girl. That’s right, where the Stick of Truth was so certain that Douchebag was a boy, Butthole (the new nickname for The New Kid, which is just as funny) can completely retcon this with a quick chat to Mr. Mackey. The game cleverly throws aside a potential plot hole by simply saying the protagonist was a girl all along, and they hid it very well. After all, the Stick of Truth featured an all-girls club simply because the boys wouldn’t allow them to join them (At least, not until the end, but that’s spoilers) Simply put, the boys don’t really care to notice that you’re not the same gender as them, but others will certainly notice.

Going for the Token Experience Trophy (which I’ll talk about more further down the review) allowed me to make two different characters to see what the characters and story had to offer. The first was a transgender male. I might be a girl myself, but truth to be told, I only really play as a girl if I really fancy it. So, after I did my normal playthrough, I decided to make a second character who would be obviously female. The second character was made to be a cisgender female, who was also an African-American. From what I noticed, dialogue choices tend to differ few and far in between, with the boys not particularly bothering to even call you by your correct pronouns. Confusing at first, but also a hilarious reminder that these boys are too busy superheroing and being awesome to even notice that Butthole was actually a girl all along!

Funnily enough, they also seem to comment on your supposed ‘femininity’, with each comment suiting their character. Butters, being the friendly boy he is, calls The New Kid pretty for a boy, and surprisingly, Mysterion states his strange desire to protect Butthole, because ‘he’ reminds him of his little sister. (If you bring Karen’s doll back to her, Kenny will thank you on Coonstagram. Aw!) Others, such as Clyde and Craig, go extremely blunt with their comments. Craig will even wonder why he’s not attracted to you as a guy when he’s gay. It makes you wonder if they’ll ever find out who you really are.

Spoilers, they don’t. But I suppose it’s for the best that they don’t.

Your parents’ arguments will also change depending on what you tell Mr. Mackey and PC Principal. Looking through both playthroughs, the choice of being a male didn’t really affect the arguments that much. However, being a female changes a lot of the dialogue options completely. Call Girl (also known as Wendy) will state that she knew you were a girl all along. Mr. Mackey will express shock if you pick the female option. And your parents will obviously use the correct gender pronouns depending on what gender choice you choose. It might seem like a very small thing, but it really makes the game feel more authentic, in my opinion.

In typical South Park fashion, you get assaulted by racist, homophobic rednecks whatever choices you choose. Even if you are a straight, cisgender male, these drunken rednecks will always try to pick a fight with you. And don’t even get me started on race. The game has a difficulty slider determined on your colour skin, with pale white being the easiest setting, and black being the hardest. However, this doesn’t affect your combat settings; rather it affects the amount of money you loot from different containers all over town. Your true combat difficulty comes from a little option in the menu, allowing you to pick from Casual, Heroic and Mastermind. Heroic will provide you with a decent challenge, but I recommend not playing Mastermind if you haven’t played the game before.

Speaking of the changes The New Kid was given, this game was filled with very surprising things. Namely…

Character Development!

I’d never thought I’d expect this from a South Park game of all things, but the game went out of its way to develop the boys and other characters, much like how kids usually change in real life. It was a pleasant surprise and something I definitely didn’t expect. As someone who still needs to watch more of the wonderful cartoon, seeing Tweek and Craig (the gay couple) trying to sort out their relationship problems, to the former Coon and Friends eventually joining Freedom Pals and even your parents getting some character development of their own, it was extremely awesome to watch. As someone who really looks for a story in a game, no matter how small or how covered up it is by crude humour, The Fractured But Whole gives you new insight into why these characters behave, or behaved, as they do.

From what the Stick of Truth told us, The New Kid’s parents have struggled to keep their child’s powers under control, but for what reason? We finally get our answer through different arguments the parents go through throughout the game. Due to the stresses of trying to keep their child safe, the mother, Kelly, has turned to drinking while the father, Chris, has resorted to marijuana to keep his sanity level. This often leads to many arguments between them, and depending on what your character tells Mr. Mackey or PC Principal, your parents will argue about the choice. They also mention a medicine throughout the game, which is actually the cause of Butthole’s extremely powerful flatulence. This joins the continuity of the Stick of Truth, where the Big Bad Government Guy wasn’t interested in The New Kid’s farts, but rather their ability to make friends on Facebook so quickly. Why does The New Kid have these powers? Well, duh, it’s because their parents had the same powers! It seems so cheesy and expected, something that is to be expected from any cliché superhero story, and something which I really enjoyed watching. A cheesy explanation is still a good explanation in my eyes!

Another good example of character development was The New Kid themselves. In The Stick of Truth, Douchebag barely reacted to the world around them, and while they were a good kid, had barely any story or anything to show their thoughts. In this game, you get more insight into why Butthole behaves like they do. The game hints that their mute nature is a choice, especially since they’re already an amnesiac with no idea why they can gather followers so quickly. Call Girl even hints that a girl New Kid pretending to be a boy was a choice The New Kid goes by. Farting, however, comes naturally now to this kid, and the first solution The New Kid always comes up with to help their allies is to use their butt to their advantage Heck, they shoved a blaster thing and a hamster up there, for goodness sake! This kid does not mess around!

Finally, seeing Tweek and Craig go from a ‘are they, are they not’ to an almost official canon couple was also quite nice. The game jokes around with this a lot, giving the player the opportunity to collect ‘yaoi’ of Tweek and Craig around South Park, to giving a special ultimate reminiscent of Japanese anime when used. However, The New Kid, with the help of Tweek and Craig’s parents, convince the two boys to go into relationship counselling. That also involves beating up a lot of fourth graders representing relationship problems. Eventually their snide comments and hateful remarks turn into overprotective comments and banter between the two. While I’m sure the relationship itself is a parody of overenthusiastic shippers, it’s still a nice change of pace to see two characters being happy with each other.

Now, I want to talk about the hardest challenge of all. The trophy which will potentially net you that platinum, or the last achievement you need. I’m talking about…

The Token Experience

Being a black person is very difficult in South Park, especially in this game. Halfway through the game, all the black people around town get locked up simply because a monster within the bowels of the police station prefers the taste of darker meat. So, it comes as no surprise that the aforementioned difficulty slider would make the black skin the highest difficulty. However, that isn’t enough. You can’t just be black. No, you must set the combat to Mastermind as well. That might not sound like much, but I almost died in battles that I ploughed through easily in Heroic. Despite this, the game’s story doesn’t change all that much. Nobody insults you because of your race, and the only time it matters is when the police start locking up all the black people. However, this challenge isn’t one to be taken lightly. If you’ve played it and thought it was still easy, good on you. I applaud you for it. As I usually play on Easy because of the story, playing on Mastermind really tested me, and forced me to sit there for minutes, trying to choose whether to revive my comrade or attack, and the wrong decision will often net you a painful game over. But if you’re a fan of the story, I’d definitely recommend playing it.

My Gripes

Oh boy, here comes the reviewer starts hating things out of nowhere part. Quite frankly, there isn’t a lot I dislike about The Fractured But Whole. Its clever story, cheesy and rude dialogue and constant fart and old meme references was enough to keep me entertained. But what I really disliked was just how short the game was. I finished the game in around thirteen hours. I finished the previous game, The Stick of Truth, in twice that amount of time. There isn’t that much in the main story. And I know the game did come with a Season Pass with more missions, but I really felt the game should have been longer. Instead I’ve been left a bit underwhelmed by the overall length. However, I can see there being potential additional DLC in the future, and if it explores even more story, you bet I’ll jump on the opportunity to buy it.

The map system. It felt extremely hard to navigate, in my opinion. The trackers pointing to the next objective were too small, and left me searching the interface for a while trying to find where to go next. I get the feeling this was to match with the show and to keep the visuals clean, but it didn’t help me when I couldn’t even find the Fastpass flags in order to help me move to a different place. Speaking of small, reading the additional text on Coonstragram and other places was extremely difficult to do without squinting.

The combat system eventually gets repetitive, even if you change up your allies and abilities. At the end of the day, it’s still a lot of the same button prompting and avoiding the enemy’s attack. I get it’s kind of hard to vary combat over time, and I really can’t think of a way it could have been implemented better, so I can’t particularly complain about this issue.

My Overall Views

South Park: The Fractured But Whole is a comedic, fart filled roleplaying game. It’s great for those who played the previous games, those who like South Park in general, and I think it even appeals to those who really could use a comedic roleplaying game in their gaming library. While I take issue in the length of the game, the story, character development and silly and cheesy humour more than makes up for it. The combat, while eventually repetitive, evolves into something much more complicated than Stick of Truth’s, and while a few of the jokes don’t really match up to the previous game’s standards, The Fractured But Whole still stands as an impressive game in its own right, and I recommend it.

Just don’t forget to keep your arsenal full as you level up.

Chloe's Score: 7/10

[lastgenpodcast]

Melyssa's Summer Adventures: Four Parks, One Day

While many of you know that I now live locally and can visit the parks most days and weekends, there’s always the question of do you get bored with the parks? Thankfully, I have not yet become bored with this despite living within driving distance for over a year now.  But, going to the parks now takes on a different meaning and doing something crazy, such as all 4 parks in one day, is slightly more feasible and possibly enjoyable now that I don’t have to take an entire vacation day to attempt this.  So, I’m going to lay out my day, point by point, and give you some tips on how to try this, no matter if you’re a local or just coming by on vacation.  

Unfortunately, I had recently just returned from my aunt's funeral and I was not in a happy mindset. Heading out on this adventure definitely took a mental push, but I was wearing her necklace all day so I felt like I was bringing her along with me on my adventure.  So, this whole adventure was definitely a last minute choice.  Luckily, it shows that this can be done with little to no planning. 

Considering the limitations of FastPass with having to use 3 in one park before making any additional ones, I didn’t make any FastPasses- my focus was going to be on gathering Magic Shots from the PhotoPass photographers and, of course, eating.  The food was my main focus on planning out my day- I knew Hollywood Studios didn’t have the best selection of food for me, so I planned on doing this some time between lunch and dinner and maybe just grabbing a snack or adult beverage from this park.  Epcot and Animal Kingdom are my 2 favorite parks for food, so these were going to be my lunch/dinner options.  Since I was starting at Magic Kingdom, I figured breakfast would be there and then Epcot due to ease of traveling between the two parks. It was also the last weekend in August so the weather was hot and humid, so I knew that I would need lots of water and might melt mid-way through the day, so I had to plan accordingly.   

So, I set off to start my day with Magic Kingdom.  Admittedly, I wanted to be there for park open so I could see the stage show but I decided sleep was a little more important and didn’t get into the park until after 9am (since I would be commuting from my house and was not as close as I could have been if I was staying on property, the idea of waking up before 8am on a weekend was not exciting to me at all). I also started off with Magic Kingdom because, unless you’re staying on property and taking the bus or monorail from one of the resorts on the monorail line, this park takes the longest to get into. The changes that have been made to security, though, have certainly helped ease the congestion directly in front of the park and make getting into the “turnstiles” much smoother.  I watched the Magic Kingdom Trolley Show on Main Street featuring a lovely rendition from ��That’s How You Know” from Enchanted, and then moved on to get some Magic Shots in front of the castle. For me, the best PhotoPass photographer is right at the end of Main Street, before you enter the hub and get too close to the Partner’s Statue.  After getting my Tinkerbell shot, I decided the best place to get a substantial quickserve breakfast was at Sleepy Hollow.  

Sleepy Hollow is one of the few quickserves that offer something other than Starbucks for breakfast, which is something that I would love to see changed in the parks.  I ordered the Fresh Fruit Waffle with chocolate hazelnut spread (aka Nutella) ($7.99) and a bottle of water ($3.00) because it was already hot.   I sat and ate while planning out if I was to go on any attractions. The wait times were pretty decent, particularly since it was a Saturday at Magic Kingdom, so I made it my point to just make sure I walked around the entire park looking for picture opportunities and PhotoPass photographers.  Unfortunately, I didn’t see any more photographers, so, after walking around for about 2 hours, I decided to head out.  Luckily, on my way out, I was able to take a picture with the Mayor!

My next stop was going to be Epcot.  I decided to leave early since I knew travel was going to be lengthy.  I took the monorail from Magic Kingdom back to the Ticket & Transportation Center and then went to the other monorail over to Epcot. Upon entering Epcot, I was trying to plan out lunch, but the sun decided to make its appearance and so my Spaceship Earth shots had to be done with sunglasses.  I got Tink and Figment Magic Shots, which I really love, particularly as this was during the one time of year when there was no festival going on to hide Spaceship Earth. Heading over to Future World, I decided the back of Spaceship Earth was also photogenic, so I found another PhotoPass photographer and she had the butterfly shot, which goes perfectly with the flowers behind me.  

I walked around World Showcase, taking my time and popping into as many stores as possible to hide from the sun and relax in the air condition.  I decided trying to watch any of the shows might waste too much time or make me tired, so I stuck with shops.  The greatest discovery for me was the shop in Germany since I had never really explored this pavilion- so many adorable teddy bears!  

I was not feeling hungry, unfortunately, so I settled on getting an adult drink from somewhere I had never been before- Les Vins des Chefs de France, the little kiosk opposite of the restaurant Chefs de France.  I got the orange crush, which was Grand Marnier, Rum, Grey Goose Orange, and orange juice ($9.86), in order to refresh myself and give me some fortitude to continue.  It was getting quite hot at this point, so I decided to head back to the TTC, grab my car and head to Hollywood Studios.  

Now, while I took my car from TTC over to Hollywood Studios, there was the option to take the boat launch from Epcot, over by International Gateway, and head to Hollywood Studios that way.  If you don’t have a car that you need to get back to, this is a great option to travel between parks.  At Hollywood Studios, I focused on getting the most photos as there is just not that much to do in this park.  I was also able to grab a little bit of food as I was getting hungry at this point.  I was sort of disappointed since I had really wanted to eat in Epcot, but I had a trick up my sleeve.  I went to Min and Bill’s Dockside Diner and nabbed the kids nachos, which were covered with cheese and a cup of chili was on the side ($6.49).  I also got apple slices on the side, so I didn’t feel too terrible about eating this- thankfully they make sure that at least the kids eat healthy.  

Since I was super hot and needed to rest, I took advantage of the one thing Hollywood Studios definitely has, shows.  I made a FastPass for Voyage of the Little Mermaid and went in to relax in the air condition! It was glorious, and I also really enjoy this show. The effects are still really good, though I would say they should do a bit more with live actors. I also visited the empty Great Movie Ride where they had not one but two PhotoPass photographers standing around- though this fisheye lens was pretty cool.  Now that I had eaten a little and spent some time in the air condition, I figured it was time to head to my last park.  

I drove to Animal Kingdom, which is the only park that you can’t take other transportation to besides the buses.  I wanted to end with this park as it is my favorite and I knew exactly where I wanted to eat.  

I got some great photos in front of the park, though the butterfly was a duplicate, and in front of the tree, again with Tink, but also- Pascal! I think he was one of my favorite ones. 

Then I made my way over to Everest as the single rider line would be my friend.  I managed to get some more photos on my way here- including Iago and a frosty Everest shot, which is also a video on the app.  After a thrilling ride on Everest, I walked over through the Maharajah Jungle Trek hoping to see the tigers. There was a cast member who showed the video of the baby tiger cubs from a couple of weeks prior.  Then I headed over to Africa, but it began to rain.  

I knew the rain was going to get worse, so I decided it was dinner time.  On my way over to Pandora, I ordered my food from Satu'li Canteen via the mobile ordering in the My Disney Experience app, which helped as sometimes they close off Satu’li Canteen to anyone not eating (which they did in this case while I was inside).  Here I totally pigged out because I was running low on fuel- I got a beef bowl with quinoa and vegetable base and chimichurri sauce ($12.99), as well as the kids cheeseburger pod ($7.49- not pictured here as this was originally posted on Instagram- ha!).  I relaxed inside, enjoying my amazing food and the beautiful music while it down poured outside.  Once I was done and had spent as much time inside as I could without feeling bad that I was just sitting inside, I decided it was time to call it a day.  The rain had not let up, and I was honestly too tired to just stand in line for Flight of Passage, so I made my way out of the park.  It was about 7:15 pm, so I figured that 10 hours out and about was a good way to spend my Saturday, but now it was time for a shower and sleep.  

Overall, I felt wonderfully accomplished in having done all the parks in less than 12 hours. I walked over 25,000 steps and more than 7.5 miles (which was based on my phone and not a fitbit or anything on my wrist that may have been more accurate). While I didn’t take advantage of many attractions, the entire day was an attraction for me. I’m not sure how this would have been if I wasn’t solo, but that’s a challenge for another time. Also- just a side note- I went through my photos after I had downloaded them and messed around with coloring and such, so I wanted to make sure you knew the PhotoPass photographers don't take black and white photos or anything. Until my next adventure- thanks for coming along!

[bexster716]

Back in September of 2015, Chris and I booked a spring trip to Walt Disney World to participate in our first ever RunDisney event, the Darkside 5km. Fast forward to January 2016; we found out we were pregnant with our beautiful baby girl, Wendy. It certainly explained why I was tired and craving all those burritos, but now we had to decide if we were going to cancel our trip to Disney World and lose our resignation payments for RunDisney, or brave it and then have a tale to tell. In case you haven’t figured it out, we decided to go and run too. I’m not going to lie to you; the idea frightened me a little bit, pregnant at Disney World, what could I do there? Would I be too tired? Would it be hot and would I be miserable? After going, I can confidently say, it was the best trip to Walt Disney World Chris, and I have ever taken together! Like the best and I couldn’t recommend it more!

So if you have a trip booked and have just found out you’re pregnant; first, congratulations, second, don’t cancel your trip just yet! I’m sharing my ten tips to make your trip a magical and memorable one before your little bundle arrives.

Figure out what trimester you’ll be in when you head to Disney World. Fatigue and nausea didn’t plague my first trimester, but I have friends who were absolutely miserable during their first trimesters. We went during my second trimester, and it was incredible. I didn’t feel like my belly was getting in the way of anything, and I felt like I had a lot of energy. My tip, you are the only person who knows how you feel. Listen to your body. OH, and listen to your doctor. I am not a doctor; please do not come here seeking medical advice, I majored in history, not medical studies.

Pack comfortable clothing and shoes. I know we live in an Instagram world, where cute tops and pretty shoes look great. Disney while pregnant is no place to bring out the 4-inch heels. Mind you, I personally couldn’t wear heels to a Disney Park, even if I weren’t pregnant, but you do you girlfriend. My recommendation is to bring your comfy clothes and shoes. Let them be cute. There are plenty of cute dresses, tops, and shoes that are still uber comfortable. I learned the hard way not to wear unbroken into, pretty sandals in the parks, so now I bring two pairs of comfortable runners and sandals that have been broken into. Also lots of leggings. Pregnancy and leggings, so comfy.

Let go of any expectation you have from past Disney trip. Doing Disney World while pregnant is such a different experience compared to doing Disney not pregnant. I didn’t expect to race around the parks like we usually do. We took it super easy. I mean, besides the RunDisney 5km, but I had been running before and throughout my pregnancy until my doctor told me to stop. We walked slower, enjoyed the surroundings, and people watched more than usual. We didn’t focus on much on the rides, we enjoyed our walks, eating at restaurants we hadn’t eaten before, watched shows, and interacted with characters a lot more.

Take breaks, especially a mid-day break. I don’t think I have to tell you that Florida is a hot place. It is especially hot at during the mid-day hours. I’m an early bird so I would head to the parks bright and early in the morning by myself, then I would head back to our resort at 11 am, grabbed some food, and we would hang out in our room for a bit or by the pool. After a few hours of relaxing with my feet up, we would head back to a park and enjoy our evening. If I felt tired at any point during our day, we would sit down in a shady spot, or hop on an air conditioned ride, hello Carousel of Progress. Just take it easy, and listen to your body. If you need to stop, stop. There is always something to look at or do at Disney World, even when you need to stop and rest.

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Make fastpasses with characters. Characters love interactions; it doesn’t matter what age you are, they will love interacting with you. When we went, the characters were so excited when we told them that we were celebrating our pregnancy. So make fastpasses with the characters, it’ll make sure you aren’t waiting around for hours to have our picture taken, and you’ll cherish those photos for years.

Stay hydrated. Like I mentioned before, Florida is hot, and you’ll probably be walking a lot more than you do at home, so remember to stay hydrated. I cannot emphasize this enough. I have literally watched men, women, and children wheeled away for lack of hydration. Being pregnant, that’s the last thing you want to happen. It’s not a difficult thing to do, and you don’t have to carry around pounds of water to do it either. If you head over to most counter service locations and ask for a cup of water, a Cast Member will give you a cup of water, free. Yup, you heard me, it’s free. So there are no excuses. Stay hydrated.

Know which rides are pregnancy-friendly. There are t0ns of rides at Walt Disney World, and there is something for everyone there. You will need to come to terms that you will not be able to ride everything, but you will be able to ride most of the rides and that’s not even mentioning the shows that you’ll be able to watch! There is so much to do there. If you are curious as to what you won’t be able to ride, I’ve included a list below. But just think of it this way, if it has a height restriction you probably shouldn’t ride it. Other than that, use common sense and just listen to your body.

Magic Kingdom:

Splash Mountain

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Space Mountain

Big Thunder Mountain

Tomorrowland Speedway

The Barnstormer

Epcot

Test Track

Mission: Space

Hollywood Studios

Rock n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith

Star Tours – The Adventure Continues

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Animal Kingdom

DINOSAUR

Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain

Kali River Rapids

Primeval Whirl

Avatar Flights of Passage

Kilimanjaro Safari (however, I went on while pregnant and it’s essentially equal to a bumpy car ride)

Treat yo’ self! I don’t think this should just apply to Disney World but find a moment during your pregnancy to treat yourself to something nice. While we were at Disney World we decided to treat ourselves to some nice dining experiences. It doesn’t have to be a dining experience, it could be anything. Get a relaxing spa package, make reservations at Cinderella’s Royal Table, or go on a mini shopping spree at Disney Springs. Don’t want to overspend, then have a day by the pool and relax. The pampering possibilities are endless.

When in doubt, ask a Cast Member. This one is pretty self-explanatory. I have never had a bad experience with a Cast Member in the years that I have gone to Disney World. Each one was more than happy to help when I had a question or problem. Some have even gone above and beyond my expectations. When we went while pregnant, I was renewing my husband’s annual pass when the Cast Member at the window noticed my ‘I’m Celebrating button’ and asked what we were celebrating. When I told her we were celebrating our pregnancy, she pardoned herself and went to the back room. When she returned, she handed us a gift certificate to use on any baby item at any shop on property. We were blown away and couldn’t stop saying thank you! The Cast Members are at of the best parts of Walt Disney World.

Enjoy this magical vacation with your love because your whole world is about to change. This. I don’t think I even need to explain this one. Disney Vacations with a child if so different from solo trips or couples trips, so enjoy this vacation for what it is, and then you can plan your child’s first trip to Disney World, which is a whole other magical experience! I promise, Disney World with your child is pure magic when you see their faces light up. If you are looking for tips for bringing your infant to Disney, you can check out the following posts I wrote about it.

Walt Disney World with an Infant

So you’re taking your baby to Disney World: the Attraction Guide

Are you expecting and planning a trip to Disney World? Or have you vacationed at Disney World while pregnant? What are your tips?

If you know anyone heading to Disney World, share this with them.

Have a magical one!

Pregnant at Disney: 10 Tips for surviving Disney World while pregnant Back in September of 2015, Chris and I booked a spring trip to Walt Disney World to participate in our first ever RunDisney event, the Darkside 5km.