TaylorHaps

Pizza Planet Trucks

I think I found all of the pizza planet trucks hidden around the parks for Pixar Fest

In the pizza planet truck in the parade 😊

On Incredicoaster final scene (closeup below)

Matterhorn (it’s totally white in a really fast ride. Give me a break)

On Racers on top of a radio in the curio shop

WDW Jan 24

28-31 January. Filled the break between my IST training and my backlot training with a quick trip to Orlando 😊

Day 1 Magic Kingdom, Resort, Epcot

Yum impossible meatloaf, mashed potatoes, Mac and cheese

And the reason to go to Liberty Tree Tavern…the ooey gooey toffee cake 😊

I enjoy the inside jokes listed on the boards in the train station 😊

Found something else fun at the train station

Mr Toad has a memorial at the Haunted Mansion

Stayed at Coronado Springs. This is the stunning lobby!

The pool area that I never actually used 😥

In ratatouille, you start the queue at people scale but move into rat scale 😊

Disney on broadway with Ashley Brown from Mary Poppins and L Steven Taylor from The Lion King

Dessert was good, but with churros and ice cream I had hoped for better. The churro was kind of hard

Got to watch it from the patio of The Rose and Crown

Also got to eat the excellent fish and chips

Day 2 Hollywood Studios, Resort, Epcot

Tower of Terror all by myself. Did this 4 times!

Fun tiles in front of the Chinese theatre

Had Woody’s Roundup Rodeo BBQ for the first time

They take you back to your table atop a noble steed

The food is amazing! Biscuits to die for

And lots of plant based options! Plus some really good salmon

At one point they announce that Andy is coming and everybody freezes 😊

Dessert…phenomenal pies in a jar. Had to have one of each 😊

The grounds of the hotel are stunning. Took more pictures every time I traveled through them

Incredible fish dinner at the restaurant at the resort

That night my lights went totally possessed on me

Day 3 Resort, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Magic Kingdom, Epcot 😊

Fried Parmesan with various toppings. Yum

Day 4 Animal Kingdom and Epcot

The famous larger Mickey cinnamon roll plus some protein

Russell and Doug as Buddha statues in the Asia pavilion

Thanks for trusting me to help out in your happy place

Ended with incredible pizza from the Italy pavilion. Took the leftovers and ate them later at the airport. Until next time!

Disneyland Haps April – June 2024

3 April Went to the park with Gary and Kaylie for a couple of days. Went to the blue bayou for lunch the first day

They were behind me on Mr toad and the ride went down. They got taken off right away but I was further in so it took awhile for me

You can hear Alice in wonderland! 😊

Watched world of color from lamplight. they were enchanted

Loved the dancing bit. Kaylie and I did anyway. Gary just wanted to capture our enthusiasm

6 April Gary and Kaylie spent their third day with Kaylie’s sister and niece while I hung out with the Hakes fam…Cami, Kira, Darin. I showed them a really fun time!

Went in the Jungle Cruise on my scooter!

Waiting at the exit for our turn on the Nile Princess

My friend Victoria was the skipper and she was awesome!

Took off that afternoon for Texas to see the eclipse

They took a Boats cast photo. Didn’t get to be in it 😥

I spent a lot of April at home since it seemed pointless to be not working, but living in CA. But I did make a few trips back down.

24 Apr Came down for the Cast Preview of the new Pixar parade with my roommate Mackensie and her friend from GR

I found the iC! crowd and sat next to them

And my friend Rachel came and joined us! Our good friend Kaity is a dancer in it (Yay for her finally getting in a parade!) and we wanted to support her

Took a road trip up the coast for a few days (see CA Road Trip April 24)

29 April Did a cast preview of the Railroad Tour and got to ride in the Lilly Belle!

There was a cast preview for the Railroad tour so i took it!

We ended up getting stuck in the Grand Canyon section for like 15 minutes. It got pretty hot haha

They had us disembark at Main Street instead of going all the way back around to Toontown where we got on.

That was fine for most people but i am not very mobile right now and I had to wait on the steps for 15 minutes while a tour guide walked back to toontown and returned in my scooter

30 April For Pixar Fest, they had cute car couches set up to view shorts like in a drive in

Met up with my old friend Tiff Sperry Day and her friend when we could park hop. Had a lovely rest of the day!

I love the fun things they do with dole whip at tropical hideaway

Went to the pharmacy backstage and got all of this for like $18! So cheap!!

Eventually found all the hidden pizza planet trucks!

2 May would have gone home for my birthday but I had a PRP injection that day. Had a lovely birthday at the park afterward

Here’s the famous Dawn Redwood that until discovered in the 1900s in china was thought to he extinct for 150 million years!

Got bibbidied for my birthday

We had a little birthday party for me and Jeanette’s daughter, TinTin, whose birthday is also today!

Jeanette made the cake and some amazing Filipino food!

Had a great time hanging out. Mackensie on my right. Jeanette and Steve on the other end. Unfortunately Ken couldn’t make it. Work stuff.

3 May got to hang out with Serena. I love her so much!

She’s on the test team for Tiana’s so she slyly posed with her hat (she was headed to a shift right after)

Incredible new tortellini cone with fresh cheese

For Season of the Force, they choreographed a fireworks show seen from galaxy’s edge with Star Wars music.

The incredible thing is that is actually the Pixar fireworks show! Two totally different shows using the same fireworks!

Stayed until the fourth so that I could enter my first ever speed puzzling event! My roommate Mackensie had never done one either

We were just a team of 2 competing against teams of 4 and we took 2nd place!!!

Team These Are Not the Pieces You Are Looking For 😊

We finished in an hour and 17 minutes. The team that took first only finished a few minutes quicker and they had 4 people

Mackensie was working the VIP section of World of Color last night and it wasn’t full when the second show was about the start so she let me pull my scooter up to the railing.

Dang! best viewing I have ever had! That’s the way to go 😊

5 May went into the park in the morning on my way out. Did the Shrunken Ned for the first time 😊

17 May came back down to get some more things, tie up some loose ends, see fantasmic when it opened. Enjoy some Pixar Fest food. Ratatouille pizza and a gasteaus cookie

Finally found the last Pizza Planet truck

Did another few day road trip (see CA Road Trip May 24)

21 May. Finally caught up with Alex for dinner. Since she quit I have hardly seen her

Went back into the park and had some beignets

24 May Hung out with Gary for the day. Used one of my days so we could see fantasmic on opening night

Fantasmic is back!!!! Yay for Peter Pan 😊

We got a lovely spot at the second show because of awesome friends who hooked me up but it was CROWDED.

2 June entered the cast duck races. Had my nieces and nephews decorate ducks to enter. Claire’ strawberry..,

So amazing!

Race time!

Here they come!

None of mine
placed but some of them at least survived 😊

I also saw a couple of iC friends, Katie and Lily

Afterward, we took a giant photo back in Toontown with Donald (happy birthday!)

Spent the rest of that day treating Gary and Kaylie to a day in the parks. She flew down for the weekend.

Watched fantasmic from the disability section at Riverbelle, a really nice spot

8 June just wandered and enjoyed. Love the bootstrappers

Completed several pin sets that weekend. Good trading!! 😊

17 June One last trip down before my surgery. Met Davon, Callie, and Mikki for dinner in Newport Beach. Hit the beach around sunset.

I willI miss her when I’m in landlocked Utah

18 June. Started the day with Mikki, Callie, Davon, and Destiny

Then Cherish and Presley finally made it!

Went to Toontown which they loved and had fun meeting Goofy…

Cherish stayed in fantasyland with present but ended up really stressed out and was ready to leave but we convinced her to stay and we had a great afternoon.

honestly more for cherish 😊

Davon kicked it up a notch with a bubble wand for Presley

Finally she wanted to wear her princess dress!

Davon tries piloting of a new kind…while rockin the blue milk

We made it this far on Rise before it broke down. We hit free return times but it never came back up in time 😊

Cherish took Presley back to the hotel while the rest of us hit the Matterhorn and then headed over to DCA to finish out the evening.

Callie and I ended up with Ratstoulle sweatshirts

Saw a rocket launch from SpaceX. So amazing!

Mikki and I rockin our matching Groot shirts

19 June went one more time for a few hours before I took off. Yummy esquite bowl at rancho

While I was driving back, Davon was doing this!

He had down me a picture of the ring and told me about his plans. She was totally floored!

CA Road Trip Feb 24

18-19 Feb. Stayed closer to my place on Presidents’ Day weekend, going places on Sunday and then again on Monday.

I didn’t ride the train but it looks fun!

After the property at Carolwood was bought, people brought the barn and some train stuff out to Griffith Park

The diorama of the old mine train area was the coolest part

Rainbow Ridge is still part of big thunder

The diorama has moving parts. So cool!

He had a real time map of his train. There’s one like this in the Main Street railroad depot for the Disneyland railroad

Morse code 😊

They only open for a few hours a month so that may be the only time I go.

While at Griffith park, I went to see the carousel that inspired Walt to create something family’s could do together…Disneyland!

The statue of David is now green. Strange.

Then I visited the site of Walt’s Second Studio on Hyperion Avenue. It’s now a parking lot – the sign is the only remnant

In honor of the holiday they had live actors.

Nixon created the EPA and the Endangered species act

This is his birth home. A very humble beginning

Historic visit to china with the famed handshake. First in decades.

Moon landing figures, appropriately defying gravity

The house was closed because it was rainy but this is an exact replica apparently

The Lincoln room was a favorite haunt. He would sit there reading, studying, working for hours

Visited the site of the new Yorba Linda temple while I was out that way

Disneyland Haps Jan-Mar 2024

Starting my new role as an Imagination Campus facilitator. I will miss my friends in attractions so much!!

Rachel and Kaity! Went to dinner at a hot pot place…so fun!

6 Jan Incredible Christmas funnel cake with apple pie filling…mmm

11 Jan Haunted Mansion bride cake. Red velvet layers with a super incredible brown sugar sauce.

12 Jan My last shift as an attractions CM…worked the run Disney expo floor on marathon weekend. Got to take pictures of people in front of this cool backdrop

13 January spent the day soaking in the park, looking for fun details the carousel horse and bench from Griffith park where Walt conceived of Disneyland

Mickeys in the stair lights in the cinema

Captain Jack was enjoying it as well 😊

Hidden Walt in the crystal store in New Orleans square

Walt’s and Roy’s initials in the railing outside of Walt’s apartment

Aladdin’s lamp is really fun! I had never done it before

The puppy barks! 😊

Perk of the new job…I can order guest food for lunch!

Peach pie at flo’s with vanilla ice cream from cozy cone.

17 Jan Tripped over this bad boy on day 2 of training. Limped along after that

18 Jan Really enjoyed Palm Breeze Bar inside the new DVC tower

19 Jan. Bread pudding is actually not bad. Thought the texture would kill it for me but I liked it!

Ugh. New temporary lightning lane for pirates while mansion is down. We hate to see it

Lemon merengue eclair from Jolly Holiday

Finally snapped a pic of the plaque on the Bug Thunder loading doc

2 Feb Doing our workshop training! They pay us to go on a ride!

Trivia night was so fun! Brando, Madi, Joey, and I were Team Thanksgiving Leftovers because we were thrown together from remnants of other teams

We didn’t score high but we had a lovely time!

After the team kickoff meeting. New friends from iC

The fireworks show is super cool in the rain!

My new friend Victoria. We interviewed together and hit it off immediately!

16 Feb Gluten free brownie dessert at Lamplight

17 Feb Tea cups in 6 seconds 😊

It’s really nice that I don’t even have to change to come into the parks after work

19 Feb Cinderella cupcake…pink. No blue.

17 and 24 Feb My favorite! I went again this year but for longer!

27 Feb. Yay! The Twain is back! She’s so pretty!

29 Feb Got to hang out with the Johnson’s 😊

1 Mar Nummy impossible chik parm and stroganoff

Rainy Day Cavalcade instead of parade

25 Mar. got to spend the day with Julia, Jim, and Corwin. Had a blast!

Took a break in the middle of the day to attend a cast only event from NASA astronaut and astrogeologist Jessica Watkins. It was so inspiring!

My friend Breanna took them up to the wheelhouse

26 Mar. I’m renting a scooter to do park days now. My knees are still a struggle. Haven’t worked since 6 March

Silent discos are so incredible! You can actually talk to people! Sawyer’s and Suzi’s sets were excellent. Also got to hang out with some people I love (Steve, Mars, Teri, Sawyer, Suzi, Orion, Juni, Micah, and Kai!)

Walking around the aquarium with great jams. Incredible!

5 March I made my first paella. It was pretty good!

Rice a little undercooked in spots (add more water next time!) but the flavor was great and Alex and Ada loved it!

6 March Baptisms at the Saratoga Springs temple

Andre in Texas at his cousins qiincinera

31 March decorated eggs for Easter. This is the reddest egg I have ever seen!

Working on the train game with Steve has been so much fun!

My first ever paella! Turned out really well

19 April Since I was already not working and at home for a while, I decided to get my warts removed. Very very painful

25 May Got progressively better over the month

21 April Had the Sages over for dinner and games

Then over to the Taylorsville temple open house 😊

Teri had ChatGPT make me a birthday poster

And another one. The first one’s better. They are both quite funny

5 May. Packed up a bunch of stuff and drove back to Utah. It became obvious that I was not going to be able to work and I needed to have my surgery in Utah so better to get started on it.

Slept in the church parking lot next to the new Red Cliffs temple

6 May Here is how she looks early in the morning.

12 May. Solar storm made viewing of the aurora way far south. Unfortunately light pollution in Orem made for terrible viewing

12 May kids came and stayed the weekend for my late birthday celebration. Made me breakfast

CA Road Trip Nov 23

1-2 Nov 2023 took a quick camping trip down the coast

Emily Ethan Jason and Jay visit

18-20 December 2023

Went to universal the first day. It was cool to hang out with my niece and nephews without their parents around

Jurassic park. Nice short line. But we got SOAKED

Mummy was also short. Ethan and jay didn’t ride

Went to Nintendo land next. It was SO crowded.

But we did mini games and character meets and coin gathering with our bands

Three broomsticks for lunch. The line was almost an hour long. 🙁

Ethan and Jay took an Uber back to the hotel because jay wasn’t feeling well. We went shopping and got Em a wand

Doing a spell

Love Toad’s Cafe. The food is awesome. I waited for 30 minutes for my food however

Finally got to do Mario cart. 90 minute wait

Christmas 2023 (at home…yay!)

Early Christmas party at place in honor of my dad. We had planned to go to the bell concert and then to jul’s to have dinner. Ended up being a more simple affair but it was still lovely. Gave all of Gary’s kids a Lego guy

They helped me put up all of my nativities

Went to the Orem temple open house with echo and Deanna

What a beautiful place! Incredible stained glass with rushes and cherry trees

Sat in the celestial room for quite awhile feeling my parents

Christmas carol sing a long. my favorite!

Visited my aunt Mary. Had a really nice time chatting. She’s really missing Ron.

While we built the haunted mansion and the rest of the Up house…

Ada hand-made all her gifts this year. She made me some lovely sun and moon bookends 🙂

Always fun to hang out with Jeannie, Julia’s sister

Haha I moved my cards so that I wouldn’t inadvertently cheat when I saw Steve’s be real

Be Real recap for the year

I used my last sick time to call out of my shifts.

Drove back to Cali on January 4th. A lovely almost 2 weeks at home

Disney World Christmas 2023 Part 2

Tuesday Got to Epcot 8:10 got to rope drop, waited 15 minutes, walked on Frozen

Livin with the land. Went fir the Christmas lights, but it was too early in the day 😥

Pere Noel was really fun to watch! Got a baguette (always when visiting France!) and some chocolate

Listened to the Hanukkah storyteller and ate delicious latkes and a black and white cookie

Cool gingerbread houses at America pavilion

Got gingerbread (disappointing) and catfish (delicious!) at the US pavillion

Also got dolce pizza and montanara here. Yum!!!

Got my standby, the best caramel corn in the world, and also a linger cookie and some fondue while in Germany.

Norway had a really fun story about Barn Santa

At the Odyssey I completed my cookie collection with the peppermint and toffee brittle and an apple crumb cake

After a short nap And some work time…Tower of Terror and Rock & Roller Coastet

Sci fi dine in theatre. Always awesome! impossible burger amazing fries out of this world dessert. The best.

Took the Skyliner to Epcot to see
Candlelight again!

The fireworks show was fun with the tree in the foreground.

Wednesday morning…caught a wedding in progress during early entry. So pretty!

Went back and watched the piano player some more 😊

And the Dapper Dans!

I miss Murphy