September 5

We were traveling to Disney for the annual Pin Event held at EPCOT and flying Southwest out of Buffalo. Also traveling with us were our friends Susan and Allison. They were staying at the All Star Resort and we were booked at POP Century. This was another year with free dining and the theme of the pin event was very exciting. Dreams HapPin was the theme and Figment was the ambassador. We arrived at MCO right on time, we were taking advantage of the free Magical Express this time so we headed over to the Disney welcome centre on the B side of the airport. We checked in and were directed to the appropriate line. Our bus was waiting so we said a quick good bye, see you later to Susan and Allison and boarded our bus.

Since we had to catch a bus back to Downtown Disney to transfer to the POP bus we had planned to go to the Pin Station to see if any of our trader friends were around but after such a long day and a big meal I think Gary was happy when I said I would rather just go back to the room. Our POP bus was sitting there when we got off the AKL bus so our trip back to the resort was pretty quick. 

Back in the room it was a race to get our swim suits on and jump in the pool to get cooled down. I love the pin event but I really don’t like the September heat, too bad they wouldn’t do this in January. After our swim it didn’t take long for us to get into bed and lights out.

We didn’t have to be at the pre-registration until noon so it was a lazy morning, we got up, showered and made our way down to Everything POP for breakfast. After breakfast we had a nice swim and just relaxed a bit at the poolside before getting dressed to go to the Yacht and Beach Club Convention Center for registration.

We took the bus to Downtown Disney to catch the Yacht Club bus, while we were waiting for the Yacht Club bus we started talking with a lady also waiting for that bus. She was also going to the pin registrations so we struck up a good conversation with Sandy and found our way to the event together. Once we were in the convention hall we met up with Susan, Allison, Mike and Anne. We got a big table to sit at and check our goods, Sandy came and joined us and knew Susan and Allison from previous Disneyana events.

Gary and I were getting a little hungry but didn’t want to spoil our dinner at Ohana so he walked over to Hurricane Hanna’s and got us a sandwich and drink to share, it took the edge off and I continued to yak and compare pins with the group.

Since it was so hot and we didn’t have a lot of time we decided to take a cab back to POP to drop off my pins before going to the Polynesian. I also gave us enough time for a bit of a rest, Gary had a nap and I organized my pins.  Soon it was time to catch the bus to the Magic Kingdom and from there the monorail to the Polynesian.  

We took the monorail back to Magic Kingdom after dinner and decided we should get our annual passes rather than wait until the next morning - it would be faster. I had accumulated a whole stack of cards over the past 3 years that consisted of gift cards and 1 day base cards so when I went to guest services I was hoping to be able to use the best combination to save a few dollars. Well we got lucky, we arrived at the window in front of a wonderful cast member named Claudia. I gave her 6 “one day base” tickets and 8 gift cards and asked, what can we do with all this? She applied them all toward our passes and said, “this is a bit outside Disney policy, but I am making a special accommodation”.  She had to stay past her normal quitting time to complete this complicated transaction, on the day she was beginning her vacation!  Well done Claudia, Thanks!  Just another demonstration of Disney Magic.

Armed with our new AP’s - and huge smiles on our faces - we walked through the gates to the Magic Kingdom. I love the feeling you get when you first see Main Street. The crowds were starting to form along the street in anticipation of SpectroMagic. We decided to take advantage of this and headed directly over to Tomorrowland. Along the way I stopped at Le Chapeau, and VMK and of course walked through Uptown Jewelers to check out the pins. We got to Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor just as it was going to enter, the show is very cute and we did get lots of laughs. We both miss the Time Keeper but this show is at least a decent replacement. From there we jumped on Buzz, Gary beat me again although only in the last few minutes. We walked right on Space Mountain, Pooh’s Adventure and surprisingly enough Peter Pan’s flight.  It was 9:55 so we decided to leave the park to beat the fireworks crowd - unfortunately, so did everyone else. There was a huge line waiting for the bus so we got to see the fireworks from the line. We caught the 6^th bus after waiting about 15 minutes – not as bad as we had expected.  Back at the resort I picked up the parcels that I had shipped to the room the day before and we had a swim – then lights out.

We were up and ready to go early; it was the first day of the Pin Event and I wanted to be there when it opened. We had breakfast at Everything POP and met a few of the pin people we had met the year before. We caught the bus and arrived at EPCOT in plenty of time. They had a special entrance for the pin traders, since everyone have bags and sometime suitcases full of pins they had a sniffer dog that took care of the bag check. So rather than a security person checking the bags, in groups of about ten we walked into an area, laid our bags etc. on the ground, stepped back, as Taz, a 7 year old Shepherd checked them out. Once we had Taz’s approval we picked up our bags and headed straight over to Future Show Place, a huge building behind the scenes between Canada and Great Britain.

We stopped for breakfast at Everything POP again and ran into some of the pin people, it’s nice to have friendly chats here and there with people you have met over the years. We arrived at EPCOT about 9 a.m. and went through the same security check as the day before. We had met up with Tammy and her mom on the bus so we walked over to the event with them. It was another hot day already so I stood in the line and Gary went to find a shady spot to sit until they opened the doors. The wait wasn’t too bad since you spend the time chatting. As we entered through the big gate we met our friend Bob from Whitby so he walked in with us. Once inside Susan also joined us. Gary went to the Mystery Pin line and Bob, Susan and I stood in the pin board speed trading line. Gary was rubbing it in that he had gone through his line 3 times to our one.

Another hot day, Gary got up and went directly to the pool for a swim before he went for breakfast. I was slow to get up and shower. I walked down for a coffee and then back to the room to catch up on the trip report. Gary took some pictures around the POP Century Resort and then went off to MGM by himself.  He rode Tower of Terror twice, then sat through the Muppet show to cool off in the air conditioning.  He rode Star Tours twice and then it was time for the Lights, Motors, Action Stunt Driving Show.  By 2:00 p.m. the heat was getting to be too much for him, so he caught the bus back to POP.  It took me until about noon to write up the report and I was starting to get hungry, today was supposed to be Magic Kingdom day and I had my taste buds set for a burger at Pecos Bills so off I went. I wandered down Main Street and over to Frontierland to get my burger. After lunch I walked through the Caribbean Plaza and rode Pirates, then back to the bus so that I could have a swim before meeting Susan & Allison for dinner at the Crystal Palace. I was just coming back to the room when Gary was going down for his swim, then we both had a bit of a nap.

Today was MGM day, we had breakfast at Everything POP and since it was so hot already, we decided to hang around the resort for a bit. We had a swim and a sit by the pool before going up to the room to get ready. We then headed to the bus stop, it seemed to take forever for the bus to come and by the time it did we were soaked from the heat. As soon as we got into the park we walked though the air-conditioned stores to the Tower of Terror and we rode it twice since there was no line. It was lunchtime so we decided to eat at the Commissary since it was Air Conditioned; the food was good and it gave us a chance to cool down. After lunch we over to Lights, Cameras, Action and the show was just about to start. We got really good seats right up front and in the middle.  

Our last day to enjoy a park; since we had not been to Animal Kingdom yet we got up early and we were on the 8:30 a.m. bus. When we got to the park they were just opening the gates so we wandered over to the kennel to check it out.  We plan to use it in December for one of the longer MouseFest days. The Cast Member gave us a tour and some information; it really looks like a nice clean place for Zak & Zoë for a few hours. When we came out the crowd had dispersed so we headed directly to Expedition Everest. Again there was no line so we walked right on, we were able to sit in the last car, which was fun.

We got checked out, had breakfast and went to Downtown Disney for a last minute shop. We got there before the stores opened so we could get these great pictures without other people in them. When the stores opened I picked up what I needed and we headed back to the resort.