March 6 – 13, 2021 – Kathy birthday trip – day 4

Tuesday 3/9/21

I was awake off and on before the alarm, probably a little nervous about getting a boarding pass for Rise of the Resistance. So I got up, showered, got ready, and spun a 5 on D-Cot from the room. We got to the Skyliner, were the third party in line, and oh my was it cold this morning! The wind was blowing right across Hourglass Lake, we were so glad to have our jackets! I went off wi-fi and got my fingers limbered up and ready for the 7:00 try. I got boarding group 82! A little higher than optimal but I’ll take any boarding group! I was so happy as some around us were not successful. I went to Classic Hall and got us some Mickey waffles to eat in line. Oh they tasted so good! We got to Studios just before 8:00. It did take them a bit to open up the temp checks. It was still ok because we were on Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway very quickly and easily! We basically walked through the queue and to the loading area. This ride was much better and felt less shaky than the first time we rode it. Whether we were more used to it or they toned down the shakiness, I’m not sure. Kathy thinks they toned it down, but either way we enjoyed it more. I was also able to notice a couple neat dates or years over some doors! I saw 1928 on one door and 1901 just before entering the city room. We were able to take our jackets off after the ride on the way to Galaxy’s Edge. It didn’t take long to warm up at all.

We went straight to Smugglers Run afterwards, not many people in Batuu yet. We were entering the queue behind a family who had a little boy who was so excited he had no interest in the height check! He took off running to get in and mom had to grab him so they could check! Oh that unbridled joy! We basically walked all the way on to where they assign spots. We were in pilots position again so I volunteered to take left pilot this time in hopes it wouldn’t disorient Kathy. It worked much better! I can understand why she could have been thrown off last time. The controls are so touchy, small adjustments! Tried to keep my eyes on the screen too and that helped. She loved taking the Falcon to light speed almost as much as me! What a feeling! We had a party of two with us, different than last time where each party got their own Falcon. We did well, got two containers of coaxium! What a ride! This is so much fun! The park still wasn’t quite officially open yet, seriously, two major headliners done before official open! Slinky Dog was backed up but TSMM had a very minimal wait. Basically a walk to the stairs before the loading platform! I couldn’t figure out why the practice target was blurry….then I realized I forgot to put my 3D glasses on! Boy did it look much better after I did! In fact, I got best in vehicle! We saw a kid in full storm trooper costume and all we could think about was “aren’t you a little short for a storm trooper?” We were able to ride Alien Saucers with a small wait of just a cycle or two. We got some photopass by TSMM including a cool magic shot with a green army man parachuting in. We got a baby Yoda magic shot and in Batuu where Chewbacca comes out, by the speeders under repair, we found a photographer who we never would have guessed was one had we not seen him with some other guests. We got some great shots with him! Wait times were really elevated by this point so we decided to head to the Muppets. While we were waiting for the next showing Justin, @rocketear99, texted that they were in line for TSMM so we made plans to meet up after. After seeing the muppets we grabbed a Mickey pretzel from a cart by the Theater and found a bench in front of Brown Derby. They came up shortly after It was so great finally meeting Justin! And of course his wife Christy and their sweet baby Ariel! Oh my gosh, Ariel is such a cutie! I even got some smiles! We enjoyed as much time with them as possible until they needed to get on to Rock ‘n Roller Coaster. We were saving Sunset Blvd attractions for our second day so we said our goodbyes. We placed a mobile order for Pizzerizzo and browsed the shops on Sunset Blvd. Our time came up for lunch and we enjoyed our pizza upstairs and outside on the balcony. It was a perfect 72 degrees for enjoying our lunch and the view! They were still in the 50’s for boarding groups so we knew we still had some time. After lunch we browsed the Star Tours shop and spent a nice cool break in the Indiana Jones relaxation zone. We sat fairly close to the stage, it was a little eerie seeing the stage and props all quiet. I kind of would have liked to go up there! Our boarding group was called at 1:30, not bad for 82! We left the mask relaxation zone and got in line at 1:45 and were riding by 2:00! 15 minutes queue, we’ll take it! We got the back yellow dot for the transport, the yellow dots are easily the best with the best and most centered views! I made sure to wear my Rebel Spy shirt that day and boy did the First Order officer have fun with me! He came up to me and said I was the worst spy ever! I crossed my arms in front of me and said, “Me? No, nuh-uh, I’m not a spy. I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Oh I do like to have fun with them! He asked Kathy if she was responsible for me. She wanted so badly to say no! We got the front of our escape vehicle which we were very happy about. It was such an awesome ride experience as always! Oh we do love this ride! We stopped and saw the Mickey and Minnie on Vacation shorts and made our way out, stopping for a photopass on the way out. There was a very short wait for the Skyliner and we were home in short order.

We got a short downtime before having dinner at Pop since Stephen was coming later to visit for the evening. I had a very good, very huge grilled chicken salad. I had been having a lot of fried foods lately and I think my body was craving some fresh greens. I would totally get that again! It was so good with lots of chicken! Stephen arrived and we had huge hugs before deciding to ride the Skyliner over to Riviera for dessert. We ate by the water and had a great evening chatting and enjoying spending some time with him. It’s always great when we can see him, I think he needed it too! We hopped back on the Skyliner after the EPCOT exit crowd died down, said our goodbyes and were in bed shortly after. What a great day, meeting Justin and family and seeing Stephen again just made it perfect!

Steps: 22,695
Miles: 10.24
Calories burned: 3589
Spin: 5