12/26 Hollywood Studios with 50s PrimeTime Cafe lunch and then Dinner at Jiko - The Cooking place at Animal Kingdom Lodge

12/26 Hollywood Studios.  Lunch at 50s Prime Time Café (2^nd time here refer to 12/22). Dinner at Jiko – The Cooking Place (2^nd time here, refer to 12/17)

Yesterday, Christmas, was such a wonderful day at the Magic Kingdom, and a Long one at that.  We didn’t go to sleep until close to 2:00am.  Since today will be our last full day in the Most Magical Place on Earth (yes, to us Disney World is that place) and we are leaving tomorrow evening.  We knew that based on the projected Crowd Levels of 10 for each park and for the overall level, we needed to be at rope drop.  This meant get up early and head to Rope Drop at Hollywood Studios.  Wakeup call requested for 6:30am.  Call came in and we dragged ourselves out of bed, got cleaned up and dressed and off to Bus Stop.  We were hoping that there would be a bus either waiting or would be there shortly.  We reached the Bus Stop at 7:05am and as luck would have it, we saw that a bus would be here in 5 minutes, so no LYFT for this morning.  Bus shows up and we board it, now off to Hollywood Studios.  We reached to bus stop at Hollywood studios and headed over to bag check.   

 

Now this is where it was a bit weird for us, as there were no lines.  The park opening is for 8:00am and we off the bus at 7:33am, and then thru bag check and tap stiles by 7:40am but there are no lines waiting to get in the park and we can see people slowly walking up and down the street.  Today we didn’t bring any bags so we didn’t have to go thru the bag check, well I did have the camera bag on my belt and she had her Pin Trading pouch, so we decided to go bag check, just to be on the safe side.  Tap stiles next and we are off up the street.  As you can see from these pictures which were taken at 7:45am right at the main intersection, there are not many here.  This is a good sign, or hopefully is and it is off to Andrea’s favorite ride here.  Can you guess what it is?  It’s the one that somehow is rigged so she wins (just kidding, she had beat me almost every time the previous times we were here at Toy Story Midway Mania but today would be different.  I was well rested and was warmed up.  We headed over to TSMM and there was no wait.  No lines for Toy Story Midway Mania, I repeat, NO LINES FOR TOY STORY MIDWAY MANIA.  So how many times could we ride this before the Standby line became too long for us?  We shall find out.   

On Ride 1, Player 1 had 158,300 at 25% and Player 2 had 147,500 with 30%.  And guess who won? Yes, she did.  She beat me the losing streak continues.  So back around and thru the standby line with no waiting and it is onto Ride 2, this time we don’t have pictures.  It seems that Andrea was taking the pictures of the score when she won but didn’t think it mattered if I won.  She even laughs about it.   

Yea, Ride 2 was a win for me, however there is no picture proof.  We exit and go back into the standby line, we go thru the standby line again with almost no wait.  So, onto Ride 3.  This was different in that instead of going to the right and then up the stairs, we were sent to the left and down the long hall.  The first time we rode on the newest track.  

For Ride 3, Player 1 had 176,800 with 30% and Player 2 had 197,600 with 24%. Could I continue my 1 game winning streak? What do you think?  No, I lost.  She beat me, again.  Exiting this track was different and it threw us off as it’s in the back and you had to walk around and a long way back to the front.  IT WAS SLOWING US DOWN!  Not cool (I was actually saying “Not Cool” like Gru in the Minions movies.  Yes, I know that isn’t Disney but still I love the movie).  We made it back to the front and still only a short wait, so we decided to ride it again.  The standby line was starting to get people in it but still only a 10-minute wait for TSMM, I’ll take that anytime.  

 For Ride 4, Player 1 had 177.000 with 23% and Player 2 had 155,100 with 31%.  You would think that accuracy counts for something but no it doesn’t matter.  Andrea beat me again, for the 3^rd time today, 3 out 4 times in less than the first hour of being in the park.  We were going to go on it again but the Standby line was too long. 

Now it is off to Red Carpet Dreams starring Minnie and Mickey.  

This was a very fun Meet & Greet for a few reasons.  One, it was meeting Minnie and Mickey Mouse and we had fun like we had whenever we would meet either of them.  With Minnie, it was about why hadn’t Mickey proposed to her yet and why she didn’t have a ring.  With Mickey, it was why he hadn’t put a ring on Minnie’s finger, why he hadn’t proposed yet and sometime saying maybe she would go looking for someone who would.  It was all in fun.  The second reason, the photopass photographer could get some good pictures with the shirt I was wearing, there is Mickey Mouse on the back, and you see it with the pictures with either Minnie or Mickey.  This shirt is one of my favorite shirts because well, it really lets people know that I have Mickey’s back (yes, I am kidding) but it is my favorite casual shirt because it does show off Mickey and when people ask me about it, I get to talk about my favorite subject – Disney World.  

 This was only supposed to be a 5-minute wait per the TP and ended up being a 15-minute wait.  

Now it was time to head to the next attraction which was supposed to be the single rider line for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith.  Andrea had decided she didn’t want to ride it so it was off to our 3^rd time this trip riding The Great Movie Ride.  Now this time was our least favorite out of the 3 times, we didn’t like the CM driver.  He was stuck on himself way too much.  The part we did enjoy was that this time we were way back in the 2^nd car so we could see things we had not seen during the previous 2 times. 

We diverted from our TP to go meet Moana.  We had wanted to do the Moana Meet & Greet the last time we were here but the line was way too long.  We headed over to One Man’s Dream and saw that Moana was there.  (oh, speaking of Moana, if you are lucky, you can catch her outside O’hana/Polynesian resort sometimes.)  We were told that there was a 5-minute wait.  We jumped on the chance.  Ok, we both love all the different characters that they have, and we would never say that the characters that they have are not real (we are kids at heart) but Moana must have grown up and aged.   

 

Just saying.  It was still fun but as with some others, not that close to the movie characters.  Others much better and some, to us are spot on.  We asked if Maui had managed to fatten up Heihei her pet rooster yet so he could eat him and how was Pua, her pet pig.  As with the other interactions with any face characters, if you ask them something about the movie, almost anything, you will get a much better interaction and because of this, a much better experience.  The photopass photographer here was not that great though as he only took the posed pictures, not the interaction.  Oh well.

After we left here, we were supposed to go to Starring Rolls Café but because we had lunch scheduled for 11:00am at 50’s Prime Time Café, and remember how full we were the last time we did it, we skipped Starring Rolls.   For us, good choice, which you will understand with our lunch.  We headed off to Star Tours: The Adventures Continue (FastPass+).  We had a different experience on this one and enjoyed it as much as the first time. 

We then headed off to Muppet*Vision 3D (FastPass+) and yes, we know we don’t need to use one here but we decided to use one so that we would use the 3 Fastpass+ we could get.  We sat in the back this time around and enjoyed it as much if not more.  Andrea does like the show. We left and went into the gift shop.  After looking around, we found a few things, payed for them and headed out.

Now it is off to 50’s Prime Time Café but instead of going directly there, we walked around and took in the sights that included the construction, the walls and PizzeRizzo.  We didn’t go in but did look in.  They have done a wonderful job of the details there and all around the park.  We walked to 50’s PrimeTime Café and checked in, however we did something different this time.  We had heard about one of the waitresses and we wanted to know if she was there and could we sit in her section, even if we had to wait to do it.  Elaine was who we asked for, and she is who we got.  If you get the chance to have her as your server, you will not be disappointed.  She is Aunt Elaine but in many ways, she is more like the Mom who didn’t take any backtalking or elbows on the table or playing with your walkie talkie (cell phone) or even trying to say you had work you had to get done.  She didn’t play around.  Well, she did but that is the part that she has.  It was a much better experience than the previous time here on the 22^nd, not that that it was a bad experience in anyway.  Here is part of the fun I had with her.  She knew we had asked for her and when she looked at us, she didn’t recognize us, so she asked how we knew her.  I started to make up things, saying “We were told to ask for you from Cousin Stephen, also Brother Jon said that you were the best.”  She actually sat down at our table and said “I don’t know who they are.  What are their last names?” I couldn’t keep it up so I explained to her that there was no Cousin Stephen or Brother Jon but that we had seen her on You Tube and when we came in, we had requested the best server, Elaine.  She smiled and thanked us and then told Andrea to get her elbows off the table.  With her as our server, we felt like we were at home back in the mid 1950’s and Mom was in charge at home, which that was where we were, at home.  She is the reason we will go back every time we go back.

Now to the order, the drinks, well anyone who has followed this can say it, go ahead, say it with me.  Andrea ordered a Cock with grenadine and David ordered a Sprite.

  Appetizers (picture form 12/22) – Andrea ordered the Fried Herb and Garlic Cheese served with Raspberry Sauce, Grapes, and Apples.  Andrea said that this was just as good as the first time she had it.  Loved to take the cheese, spread it on the bread, add a little bit of the apple and dip this in the sauce.  The cheese had a crust but not too thick and the cheese on the inside was warm.  She again finished it all.

David (picture from 12/22) ordered the Cousin Amy’s Iceberg Lettuce Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing, Bacon, and Chives.   Just like the previous, the wedge was broken and there was a huge amount of bacon, mmm made so good.  The blue cheese dressing and blue cheese crumbles were wonderful with the salad.  Tasted so good.

Entrees – Andrea ordered the Aunt Liz’s Golden Fried Chicken served with Roasted Garlic Massed Potatoes, Chicken Gravy, and Seasonal Vegetables (Corn).  Unlike the previous time, not a single piece of chicken was dry.  The garlic mashed potatoes were just as good as before.  Since we didn’t eat a snack at Starring Rolls Café, Andrea did finish her plate.

David ordered A Sampling of Mom’s Favorite Recipes – Golden-fried Chicken, Fork Tender Pot Roast, and Traditional Meatloaf with all the fixings (Green beans with carrots, ketchup on the Meat Loaf, Chicken Gravy on the Garlic-Mashed Potatoes and the Pot Roast had a gravy with Julien sliced green beans and carrots).  None of the items on this plate is large.  It really is a sampling.  It was all tasty, nothing on the plate was anything that I wouldn’t order on its own.  The chicken was moist and crispy, the pot roast was so tender and mmmm and the Meatloaf was good, interesting texture but good.  The fixings, were the perfect amount for each dish.  To be honest, I was wishing that I had more of each of these, however, if I had, I would not have had room for dessert

 Andrea tried to get me in trouble by telling Luis that I had taken her chicken and ate it.  He saw the chicken bone on my plate and said that I was naughty for doing that and that he would go get her more chicken.  She had to stop him and let him know that she put the chicken bones on my plate.  He looked at her and told her Shame on you for trying to get him in trouble.  No more chicken for you.  But if you do need anything, just ask for me and I’ll take care of it.

Desserts (Sorry no pictures of the desserts) – Andrea ordered Hot Fudge Sundae – Vanilla Ice Cream, Hot Fudge, Whipped Cream and a Cherry.  It was wonderful end to the meal.  Not to big but just right.  She finished it and was able to get her first clean plate sticker

David ordered Dad’s Brownie Sundae - Chocolate Brownie with Vanilla Ice Cream, Hot Fudge, Caramel Sauce, Whipped Cream, and Toppings.  I wish I could remember everything that was included in the toppings.  I do know that this sundae, after everything I ate, had me pretty full.  I enjoyed it all and did finish it, to get my 2^nd clean plate sticker.

Our cost was $85.60 (2 TS credits) and a tip of $16.00.  Grand total was $101.60

Was the food worth it.  Well, maybe yes, maybe no.  It was good and filling.  Was the experience worth it.  YES, no question.  Elaine was the best server there, she truly made it such a good experience and we will go back because of her.  Also, there was Luis, he made sure that we knew if there was anything at all we needed to just see him and he would take care of it for us.

We walk out, ready to go do battle at Toy Story Midway Mania and we are stopped in our tracks.  The way is blocked by some March of the 1^st Order, (yes we both love Star Wars but we had our own war to deal with.  We did manage to get around by going over toward The Great Movie Ride.  We took our time.  We had FastPass+ for TSMM.  We made it, used our bands and headed in for a rematch.  

  This time around, Player 1 had 168,100 with 25% and Player 2 had 178,700 with 30%.  Also, Player 2 had the Best Score This Hour.  (first time either of us had that come up) So, I wish I could say that I beat her. Oh wait, I did beat her and I had High Score for that hour, well, to be honest, it was only 1 minute into the hour.  Finally, I had everything in place and yes, I beat her.  Ok, I didn’t rub it in, I just smiled and she got to return the 3D glasses. Oh, I forgot to mention that, the loser had to return the 3D glasses, which I had a lot of experience doing this trip. 

Now we knew we were going to be heading out of the park and back to POP but saw a Photopass photographer at the Nikon spot facing the Animation Courtyard.  His name was Mathew and he was great. He made us feel like we were Hollywood Stars and he needed to get our picture.

We left there and as we headed towards the front, we got asked by the dreaded WDW researcher if she could ask us a few questions.  Her name, Lili.  We answered the questions and then she wanted to know all about our engagement.  Not only did she want to know about it, but she walked with us to the front of the park instead of making us stand there. She took the time to interact and to really listen.  I have mentioned these 4 people by name, Elaine, Luis, Mathew and Lili for a reason.  They all deserved one of our special Thank You cards but we had a slight problem.  Wouldn’t you know it, since we didn’t bring a bag in with us, I forgot the cards and they were sitting in our resort room.  This was supposed be the last time we came to Hollywood Studios on this trip because we had dinner at Jiko and then a TP for the Magic Kingdom.  What would you do in our situation?  What did we end up doing?  More on what we did later. 

We headed to the bus stop and waited a short time, about 3 minutes and then hopped on the bus and headed back to POP.  The bus was not crowded, with plenty of seats.  It was about 2:30pm.  We knew that we would have a good bit of charges to our room and so stopped at the Front Desk and asked for a copy of our charges.  Uhm, something didn’t look right as the total we owned was only a little over $300, and if you have followed our Trip Report and add up just the Tips, we are over $300, not to mention the snacks, the Out of Pocket meals and the shopping.  Looking at the print out we saw where they had charged the card we had on file for $1047.46.  This was not right.  We had almost $1000 on a Disney Gift card that we were going to use to pay for most of the charges.  I went up to the room and grabbed the Gift cards we had along with another card that we wanted to put the rest on.  Went back to the Front Desk and explained what had happened and wanted to know if there was a way that the charges could be reversed, then let us pay off the whole room charges with the cards we had.  This is where James comes to the rescue.  Not only does he tell us it won’t be a problem, but he does it in only a few minutes with a smile the whole time and saying, don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.  We thanked him, and then headed up to the room, but came back down a few minutes later and found James and gave him one of the Thank You cards.  It was a blessing.  Now the card that was on file, had the money on it, however, we first wanted to use the Disney Gift cards that we had, and since they reversed the charges on that card, we decided to just leave it alone and use a different card. (those 2 were debit cards so no interests, yea)

We headed up to our room and took a short nap, then got up, pulled our clothes that we would be wearing tonight and for tomorrow, and then packed everything we could in our bags but made sure both the carryon bags had room for the goodies we would be picking up tomorrow at Magic Kingdom.  We the both got dressed up and headed down to the front next to the bus stop, over at the luggage area and ordered a LYFT to take us to Jiko – The Cooking Place.  This would be our final evening meal and final Signature dining experience.  It was also to be the 2^nd time going to Jiko this trip.

The LYFT driver showed up in 7 minutes and took us right to the front of the Jamba House.  The trip only took about 10 minutes if that and because of the promotion, it only ended up costing about $4 for the ride. (I highly suggest LYFT and the promotion they are running as it saves you $5 on each of 11 trips, but if you can't get that, use either LYFT or Uber)  We walked in and this time, instead of walking around and finding stairs and heading down the stairs to find Jiko, we took the elevator that is just off to the right, went downstairs and out the elevator.  Then headed right over to Jiko – The Cooking Place.  Amanda, the manager was there and she smiled when she saw us, thanked us for coming again and she checked us in without us giving our names.  Great service to start off the 2^nd time here.  We did have to wait this time, and it was such a long wait……  oh such a long wait of 5 minutes.  We were then led to our table.  This time it was in the Wine Room.  This room is much more private and quiet.  Our server was Stephanie, she was wonderful.  There was one difference that we didn’t even realize until we were talking about it later that night, but this time we were not giving warm rosewater moist towels to wipe our hands with.  Did it make a difference in our experience?  No, not at all.  Stephanie knew the menu but she could talk about the flavor pallet and subtle differences.  If you are a foodie, you will want her, she knows her menu.

As mentioned, this is our 2^nd meal here at Jiko, the first time was on the 17^th and that is when I proposed to Andrea with the help of a cake that had on the top: “Andrea, I’ll be your Simba if you’ll be my Nala.”  I was nervous at that one.  We also didn’t get to give a fair review on the desserts due to the cake I ordered.  So, this time was much more relaxed but in some ways more intimate because of us not being in the main room and it was much quieter.

 

  Drinks, well if you have followed this you know what they are, Andrea ordered a Coke with grenadine and David a Sprite.  Both of also had waters.  Drinks were brought, 

Shortly after we were brought a small wood platter with 4 Ethiopian Beer Bread Rolls with some butter that had sea salt on it.  These were just as good this time as they were on the 17^th.

 

 Appetizers – Andrea ordered the Manti Dumpling – Spicy Tomato Sauce, Saffron Yogurt, Mint Chutney.  These were suggested by Stephanie when she found out that Andrea liked spicy foods.  The green things on the plate is the Mint Chutney and the white is the Saffron Yogurt.  These 2 added so much to this dish.  It was spicy but not too spicy.  Inside the Manti Dumplings was a spicy beef.  Her words on this, and I quote “MMMMMM, So Good!”

David ordered, ok I ordered the same thing – the Grilled Wild Boar Tenderloin with Mealie Pap, Chakalaka, Truffle Oil, Micro Cilantro.  There was more Wild Boar on this dish than what I had the previous time.  With that said, this was truly better than the previous visit.  So, full of flavor, the boar so tender and moist, the Mealie Pap, mmmm so creamy.  Add it all together and what do you get, the best appetizer I had so far.

With the appetizers, Stephanie also brought out a plate with a small piece of pork belly that is sitting on top of, what looks like a dressing.  On the 17^th, it was with a mustard sauce.  This one was just ok, however the pork belly was on the dry side, which if I remember it was on the 17^th too.  We both would say it is the least memorable thing of the whole meal.

Menu for Main course

 

 

Entrees – Andrea ordered the Grilled Buffalo Ribeye with Rainbow Swiss Chard, Sweet Peppers, Smoked Bacon, Jiko Slap Chips, Port Wine Emulsion.  Andrea again followed Stephanie’s suggestions and ordered this Medium.  It was very good, however there was an issue.  I noticed it with my first bite that she let me try, the bottom of the piece I had was way too charred.  Andrea didn’t notice it until she was about ½ the way thru and then she started getting the charred parts.  

 We mentioned something to Stephanie and she said that she would request them to re-fire one but to have it cooked medium-rare.  We were telling her, no, just half of one since she had alread ate half of it and it was so delicious.  She took the plate and after a short time, Amanda, the manager came out and was saying that she was sorry to hear that the Buffalo Ribeye was too charred and that she had them put a new piece on and cooked in a different spot, also the chief would be watching this one very closely.  She also wanted to know how everything else was and how our vacation had been.  We let her know that it was the best vacation either of us have had and that the first meal here, on the 17^th, was the start of it all, that it truly was wonderful.  At this point, Stephanie brought out the new Ribeye and it was cooked perfectly.  In fact, Andrea loved it so much, she finished the whole ribeye.   

 Which as you can see from the pictures, is not a small piece of meat.

David ordered, yes it was the same – the Oak-Grilled Filet Mignon (supposed to come with Pumpkin Pap “Isidudu”, Brussels Sprouts, Caramelized Onions, South African Red Wine Sauce) I had them change it and get the best Mac & Cheese. 

 This what it looks like if you order as the menu says.  They brought this out first by mistake.  It still looks sooo good.

 So, mine came with Mac & Cheese, Brussels Sprouts, South African Red Wine Sauce. How do you improve on the Filet I had here on the 17^th, I would say you can’t as the steak was perfect?  Well the Mac & Cheese, that they did improve on.  The noodles were much more plump and the cheese was so much creamier.  Now how do you improve on what I thought was the perfect steak?  You come back and get this one.  The Mac & Cheese was much better, the steak was even more juicy and flavorful than either of the ones that we had on the 17^th.  This is, without a doubt, the best steak I have had anywhere.  Is it possible that there is a better one somewhere on Disney Property?  I don’t know but I do know, I was not disappointed in any way with this dish.  I even ate the Brussels Sprouts, and I do not like those but these were good.  Again, this dish is Heaven on a plate.

This was cut with the fork!

 Now to the desserts and this time we can tell you our thoughts based on eating them at the meal

Desserts – Andrea ordered the Crown Jewel Sweet Potato Cheesecake – Purple Sweet Potato Cheesecake, Gingerbread Sable, Spiced White Chocolate Cream, Sweet Apple Chutney.  This was different.  It is not your typical creamy cheesecake.  It doesn’t taste almost like pumpkin or sweet potato.  The cheesecake was a bit sweet but not overly sweet, and when you managed to get some of all the parts together, it was truly an amazing flavor combination.  This was one of her favorite desserts.  I tried it and I did enjoy it.

David ordered the Malva Pudding – Melktart Ice Cream, Kataifi, Kanu Tuile, Cabernet Gelee.  The presentation was interesting.  It looks like a bird that is landing on an egg in a nest. The ‘Egg” is the Melktart Ice Cream which was rich, creamy.  The Kataifi, are both the bird and the nest, just prepared differently.  Let’s talk about the nest, it looked like and even had the texture of Shredded Wheat but it was in no way, anything like Shredded Wheat. It was a sweet.  The nest would melt in your mouth.  The bird was more like a thin crisp cookie.  Kanu Tuile are the 2 light brown ball like pieces. The Cabernet Gelee is the purple stripes.  (I had to do some looking on the internet to make sure on this.) What I can tell you is that it was amazing, and you will not be disappointed.  It is not a large dessert but after the rest of the meal, a perfect size.  I loved it and Andrea enjoyed it.

We were also brought 2 chocolate crackle cookies.  This were weird to us and we didn’t like them.  Way to dry for us and the flavor was off for us.  Not that they are bad but after the rest of the meal, they didn’t fit in.

Our total cost was $189.55 and the tip was $40.00 for a grand total of $229.50.

Was the food worth it.  Oh Yes, better than the first night here (12/17).  Was the experience worth it?  Yes.  This was like a date night and was the best meal we had to date here at Disney World.  Okay, we have 2 more meals to go tomorrow and will one of them beat Jiko?  The meals are breakfast at Crystal Palace and lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe.  I'm sure most that have eaten at these will figure out the answer, but you must wait till after the installment for the 27^th.  We will then do one more installment to give you our overall thoughts and feelings of what was the best and worst, along with some types of ratings and comparisons like locations, foods, experiences and such.  You must wait for that as we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves here.

We left Jiko, and took the elevator back up, instead of the stairs, then headed out front and were going to get a LYFT.  Now as mentioned earlier, we had plans to head off to Magic Kingdom, even had a TP for it but we had changed our minds.  We wanted to make sure that those 4 CMs were thanked so it was off to Hollywood Studios.  Since we were out front, we noticed the bus stop down to the left.  We went down there first to see if there was or would be a bus heading to Hollywood Studios.  We were in luck as there ended up being 3 buses that pulled up for 3 of the parks.  No LYFT tonight.  Our bus was there, just in the wrong stall.  We hopped on.

Now off to HS and in no time, we were there, off the bus, thru security and tap stiles.  First things first.  We had brought the Thank You cards for the 4 CMs, Elaine, Luis, Mathew and Lili.  We just had to figure out where to go to make sure that they would get them. The first two were easy, go to 50s and speak to the manager, Mathew, well we figured that going to where you go for your Photopass issues would be the best bet.  Lili on the other hand was not so easy.  She was with WDW Research, so we ended up over at guest services and checked in.  After explaining why, we were there 3 different times, we finally got our point across that we wanted to make sure that Lili was giving the Thank You card and that we didn’t have a complaint.  The 3 different CMs that we dealt with had never heard of what we were doing.  We then went over to the Nikon photo shop and spoke with a manager, this also was not the easiest thing to get across what we wanted done, but finally, he understood.  Then it was off to 50s PrimeTime Café.  We first asked if Elaine or Luis were in and were told that they were not.  We than asked to speak to a manager and we stepped off to the side to be out of the way.  After just a few minutes, a manager came up and he looked a bit worried.  We put him at ease by telling him that we didn’t have any complaints but wanted to let him know about 2 of his employees, Luis and Elaine.  We spoke mostly about Elaine and how it is because of her that we will be returning each vacation to 50’s Prime Time and that we will be willing to wait for her section.  He thanked us and said that he would make sure that they both received the Thank You cards.  We then headed out to enjoy the park for the rest of the evening. 

It was off to Toy Story Midway Mania during the Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! to see if we could get on it.  I checked the MDE and could secure a FastPass+ that started in 15 minutes.  We had to make our way around the crowds and then we arrived 5 minutes before the time.  We tried to see if we could get in.  Scanned the bands and the light turned green.  We headed inside and were up at the cars in no time.  If you have been following our battles on this ride, I have only a few wins to her many, many, many wins.   

 

On this game, the final score was: Player one 168,100 with 25% accuracy and Player 2 with 178,700 and 30% accuracy.  She beat me again and this time, the only time I can recall, had a much better accuracy than I did.  When we scanned our bands for this ride, I looked at my phone and was checking on the MDE for another FastPass+ for this ride.  Luck was on our side, secured another one for 60 minutes from after scanning the band.  Not bad.  When we went out after this game, we still had over 40-minutes and the standby line was so short that we went in that line.  It only took us a little over 10 minutes to make it thru the line to our cars.  

 In this game, Player 1 had 217,600 and 26% and Player 2 had 166,500 with 28%.  Guess who won?  Not me, again.  Andrea not only beat me, she beat me by over 50,000 points.  It was off to the bin of Shame with the 3D glasses.  We headed out and since we still had a wait for our FPP, we decided to use the Paper FastPass that we still had and went back in.  

  You wouldn't think that we liked this attraction would you?  That we had a little competition going on?  That I was getting my but beat so many times.  Guess its my old age setting in.

 

This game however, the outcome was the closest game we had with both of us scoring over 200,000 points, with Player one scored 203,300 with 25% and Player 2 had 206,200 with 30%.  Who won this closely contested, nail biting, Midway showdown?  It was none other than……. David. Yes, I won, I was back and we knew we had at least one more time to play.  Could I continue the win 1 game win streak for our next great adventure on the Midway.  Hey you take the streaks in any length you can.  We walked out and still had 10 minutes to wait so we relaxed and waited.  There was a long line for both the Standby and FastPass lines.  Best to relax.  Grabbed a drink and by the time we finished the drink the line for the FastPass was up at the tap stiles so we went in for our final showdown (of this trip as we both know that when we come back for our Honeymoon, this is one ride that we will try to go on over and over and over and over, you get the idea, it is so much fun.  To say that I wanted to be able to say, I won the last game, that would be sooo sweet.  I had lost too many times and with a win on the last time we rode this only about 25 minutes ago, I felt that I could do it again.  To say that I didn’t want to lose again, well that was an understatement.  Yes, it was a lot of fun being able to play this over and over and over.  Also, playing it like we could, your hand and wrist can get tired.  So, for the final ride on Toy Story Midway Mania, we followed the path and directions but this time instead of going to the far-right lane, we were sent up the stirs on the left and waited, moved and waited.  We finally made it to our stations, and waited to board.  Here come the cars. It stops and we climbed in and secured ourselves for what would be the final battle.  Who would win?  We battled, I even was shooting at her side of the screen just to mess with her but sometimes it helped her.  As we completed the games and then the Bonus round.  We were laughing and carrying on so much we hadn’t noticed the scores so we had to wait for them to be put up on the screen.  Now to the final ride after the bonus round. 

The tally of each players score were Player 1 with 217,300 with 25% accuracy, and Player 2 had 179,700 with 26% accuracy.  The winner was player one on the left side of the car, the player with the lowest accuracy and that player was…. Can you guess?  Well, it was……. I don’t believe it, she succeeded in beating me with a better accuracy but I won, DAVID won.  It was 2 game win streak.  I did not have to take the 3D glasses to the bin, instead, Andrea had to walk the Walk of Shame to the 3D bin of Shame with her head hung low.  I held my head up with a big smile.  We walked out laughing.  It was so much fun.  

 Ok, to be honest with you everyone here (It wasn't as harsh of battles as it seems and we did have lots of fun. I didn't let her see this part yet, I had fun acting like she was cheating somehow.  That the games were rigged in her favor.  That there was a problem with my pull string.  That my sunblock got in my eyes.  That I forgot to put my 3D glasses over my regular glasses.  Oh, and of course, that I had to let here win, as we had just become engaged.  It was all in fun.  This is only a ride and game.  You get bragging rights but that is it.  She really did beat me most of the games and yes there were a few issues, one with my sunblock and the other that I did have the 3D glasses on top of my head for the practice round.  I don’t care if I lost every single game.  I was there with the one person that I love and plan on spending the rest of my life with, My Nala was at my side.  Hey, and if you really think about it, the lioness is the one who must be better in hunting, since she is who does it.

We now were walking out to the front of the park, smiling and laughing and picking on each other a little bit.  We saw that Fantasmic was still going on with the 2^nd show and headed out the front gates to beat the crowds.  We were not “Moving with a Purpose” but instead were just taking everything in and enjoying ourselves.  We had to wait for the bus this time.  There was a long line and we waited, finally a bus, then another, and then a 3^rd one, the one we got on.  We rode back to POP on our last bus ride from Hollywood Studios.  Reach POP and took our time going up to the room.  We reached the room.  Changed for bed and packed away what we had been wearing, then it was off to bed.  

Was the day overly crowded?  No, not really, not for us but we were kind of in our own little world within the "World",

Tomorrow, 12/27, our last day in the “World”.  We are off to Magic Kingdom with breakfast at Crystal Palace and lunch at Whispering Canyon Café.  We also picked up some goodies from Main Street Confectionary.  Will tell you all about it in the next installment.