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Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom Discussion Thread

p. 148 - Magic Kingdom Destination D23 news roundup!

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Just getting around to going thru our pictures from our recent Disney trip. With out further delay here are some of our pictures, enjoy : )

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Love this time of year at the parks.

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Buzz Lightyear to the rescue

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Crystal Palace

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Wife and youngest daughter with the one and only Donald Duck

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Pretty flowers

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Which way to Splash Mountain??

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Welcome to Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Party

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Pretty Castle

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Snow in Florida!

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Scrooge float during MVMCP

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Toy Soldiers heading down main street.

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All of us with Chip and Dale

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New Haunted Mansion busts

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Some Mickey waffles to start the day out!

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Splish splash

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Dreaming of flying elephants

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Be very very quiet

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So I'm headed down to Orlando next week, and our first day at the parks will be Friday the 5th at the Kingdom. Do the holiday crowds usually filter out by then, or will we still have a number of stragglers to deal with? I'm used to going mid-January, when there's next to no crowds, so I'm hoping for the same for the beginning of our trip (we'll be in the area for two weeks)!

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So a few days ago (December 26th), I had the chance to visit the parks once again to see the craziness of the holiday season. As this year's crowds have shown, the parks are remarkably busy, so much so that Disney is pulling out all of the stops to manage the crowds while carrying out the holiday business.

 

Despite the insane crowds, there are still tons of new and notable things going on at the parks, including the continued progress in the construction of New Fantasyland and the Storybook Circus, as well as the installation of additional Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom windows. Even the popular Town Square Theater Mickey Mouse meet & greet has received new details and tributes in its queue over the last few weeks!

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Introduced a few weeks ago, the waffle sandwiches at Sleepy Hollow Refreshments were my meal goal of the week.

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I got the Sweet and Spicy Chicken sandwich. It came with a really tasty jicama slaw which balanced with the mild spice of the asian-esque sauce of the chicken.

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My friend tried the Ham, Prosciutto and Swiss, which was also insanely delicious.

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The sandwiches are very tasty, very filling and overall, well worth the price. From now on, I'll gladly come here rather than sticking with the standard chicken nuggets or burgers found in the park's many quick service locations.

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One of many rare sights of the day... The Diamond Horseshoe is open for business!

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It has been a while since I last saw this venue open and serving warm food.

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In previous years, the seasonal venue had been used to serve pre-made sandwiches, so it was nice to see a warm service once again.

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Even though the venue isn't used for shows anymore, it is nice to see people sitting inside of this beautiful theater.

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Believe it or not even during the normal season, I've seen the Enchanted Tiki Room with a full queue and full theater. It seems this revitalized attraction has brought with it a new found (or returned) popularity that Under New Management lost in its later years.

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As a part of the attraction's refurbishment, the entire show and its many animatronics were cleaned up to look brand new. A brand new lighting package was installed, in addition to a new fog-based centerpiece to replace the Enchanted Fountain and later the Uh-Oa animatronic that were both found in the center of the room.

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Maybe it is just me, but the new lighting seems to have brought new life to the birds themselves.

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While it isn't the Enchanted Fountain that was a staple in the original show, the fog helps to set the pacing of the attraction, coming up when the "gods are angered by all the celebrating."

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An obviously updated lighting package is also found inside of the mobile above and in the base of the former Enchanted Fountain below.

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The singing flowers look great after being touched up in every way.

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This makes me miss Trader Sam's.

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Everything looks great here!

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The Yokohama Soei Marching Band is serving as the opener for the Once upon a Christmastime Parade.

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Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade normally runs during the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, an extra ticket even held between November and early December. For the last week of December, the parade along with other offerings normally found at this up charge event become standard offerings for general admission.

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How often do you get to see an evening parade during the day? Not very often!

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The parade includes some rare characters not normally seen during general park hours.

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Christmas Duffy has been added to the parade this year.

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The "ice" skaters are always a fun part of the parade.

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Scrooge McDuck can be found in the parade as well.

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Supposedly new this year to the parade (I don't remember seeing them previously, but it has been a while since I last saw this parade) are the skiers, using a very clever roller skate design to imitate snow skis.

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I have a hunch that this is Elissa's favorite float.

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Playing off of that hunch, here's another shot of Chip and Dale.

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They have miniature ponies pulling Cinderella's royal carriage.

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This parade has lots of dancers... Lots and lots of dancers.

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This classic float gets a minor update for the different parades it is used in.

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Tiana and Prince Naveen have joined the parade this year as well.

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And there are elves...

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The Goofy's Candy Company float receives a minor facelift to change it over from the Boo to You Parade treatment it also sports.

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More of Santa's many helpers.

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Christmas is about sweets too, in case you were wondering.

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Some of my favorite characters...

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Some of the floats in the parade are pretty large.

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Even more elves.

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One even drives a tiny car!

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Another rides a rocking horse.

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I just had a flashback to Block Party Bash.

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If you haven't noticed, the parade is pretty long...

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But this is by no means a bad thing!

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And the best part?

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The Toy Soldiers are amazing.

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I mean really amazing.

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These else do some pretty impressive tricks with these sheets.

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When there's reindeer, there's got to be...

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A sleigh! And a sleigh means...

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(Continued)

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Santa Claus!

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Enough of the parade! Let's check out the rest of the park... Like the 120 minute wait at Space Mountain!

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I figured it'd be a good idea to see 'a totally tomorrow land christmas!' again, considering the show has undergone changes since last year.

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Featured at the Rockettower Plaza Stage, the show uses the venue originally designed for the short-lived Stitch's Supersonic Celebration show.

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Anyone else notice the Captain EO triangle on the screen?

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Zurg's warriors come out to dance their villainy into Tomorrowland.

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But the Space Cadet Dancers help fight them off and remind Zurg of the spirit of the season.

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In previous years, the show used a mix of the on-stage Stitch as well as the on-screen Stitch carried over from Stitch's Supersonic Celebration. The digital Stitch is no longer featured in the show, giving the actual character more time to be in front of guests on stage.

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The basis of the show's story is that Stitch goes looking for Santa but scares him off in the process. After realizing Santa won't be joining the show, he steps in for Mr. Claus to round out the finale.

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The Barnstormer's new control tower (thematic only) has been built and the coaster's track painted white.

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In the last two weeks, the former tents of ToonTown have essentially been reframed for additional height and support.

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The first of the two Dumbo centerpieces have arrived at the Storybook Circus. This one will open with the area first, while the current Dumbo closes and undergoes a transformation to match its counterpart.

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The last of the Little Mermaid area rock work is quickly picking up pace.

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Is this the new 'Ariel's Grotto?'

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Closer to the Be Our Guest Restaurant, Belle's Village continues to take on a more defined shape.

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The Storybook Circus Train Station looks to be nearly complete.

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The tent farther back from the entrance of Storybook Circus is getting similar framework done as the closer tent has already had.

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Prince Eric's castle continues to get extra facade details each week.

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Mr. Stork has been added to the top of the new Dumbo spinner.

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More work on Belle's Village as we near the eventual opening of the new realm.

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Maurice's Cottage is looking like it is getting closer to completion too.

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The forced perspective effect on Beast's Castle really works well now that the rock work is nearly finished.

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Why include this overview panoramic? Take a look at the pavement and see!

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That's right! The first signs of the new pavement of Storybook Circus have appeared next to the Mad Tea Party. Carriage tracks and horseshoe prints are embedded in the ground to further the thematic impact the area will have as a whole.

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Looks great right?

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The sun is setting on the current Dumbo of Fantasyland.

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Work on the castle retaining wall to the left of Dumbo's current location has resumed.

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The farthest rock work has been completed at the end where New Fantasyland meets Fantasyland.

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Is today a good day to ride Peter Pan's Flight?

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Nope.

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Um...

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The line for it's a small world ran all the way back to the bathrooms next to Peter Pan's Flight.

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A new path between the exit area of Haunted Mansion and the former Skyway building will be constructed in the coming months. Preliminary work on prepping the area began this last week.

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This was the first time I'd ever seen a full theater at the Country Bear Jamboree. That being said, I still love this show.

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Now being served at Adventureland's Tortuga Tavern is a non-alcoholic sangria. It is simply delicious.

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Time to see the Castle Lighting show!

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Bibbity-bobbity-boo!

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It's a pretty short offering, but gives guests a reason to watch the Castle Dreamlights turn on.

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And it really does look spectacular!

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The Laugh Floor was completely full too.

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New details have been added to the queue for the Town Square Theater Mickey Mouse meet & greet.

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I'd presume these are sketches from the Imagineers.

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They could even be early concept art for the meet & greet from its design phase.

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Anyone catch this reference?

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They even found an old fashion ticket dispenser.

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It is the tiny details that count!

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Very clever!

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It all fits in the overall theme of the area which is great.

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A tribute to the Town Square Theater's first tenant, the Walt Disney Story.

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(Continued)

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A miniature copy of the original character mural that was found in the theater is rolled up in the mail cabinet.

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Oh Duckburg...

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I'm sure this is a reference, but I'm not sure to what it refers.

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Over in Fantasyland nearest Cinderella's Castle, several new Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom windows have appeared.

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This one looks to be themed to Merlin's lab.

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It looks like the birdcage will be the window's screen here.

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Aside from the cameras and speakers, not much of this window's show element could be distinguished.

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This window is extremely well blended into the area.

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It wasn't easy to find, but this one is directly to the left of the fastpass area for Philharmagic.

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A new sign was out front advertising the Jungle Cruise. It didn't look like they had trouble getting guests to ride, considering the 45 minute wait.

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I still love seeing the Mainstreet Electrical Parade back at the Magic Kingdom.

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The Magic, Memories & You! is currently running a modified show for the holidays. It even features a quick tribute layover of the castle to reflect the 25th anniversary castle cake decor it once sported.

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And of course, there's Holiday Wishes!

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The show really is spectacular!

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I love these fireworks!

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Since we can't see the Magic, Music & Mayhem/Summer Nightastic! Fireworks Spectacular anymore, this show has moved up in my list of favorite firework shows still running.

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It has some really unique fireworks that always entertain.

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Plus, the Castle Dreamlights are programmed into the show as well.

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The finale's pyro blast ends with the return of the Dreamlights for the end of the night.

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Now here's where the crowd levels became most apparent.

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I have never seen the park this busy!

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It was so busy, they opened the backstage route between the Tomorrowland Terrace and the Townsquare Theater Fastpass distribution area, just to get everyone out.

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Ham, Prosciutto and SWISS????

 

SWISS??

 

sacrilege

 

You would prefer provolone?

 

Funny how there is all these great pictures and we focus on the couple of shots of food!

 

Hey, we've seen pictures of the fireworks, castle show, and parade before. Now, the waffle sandwich--that's news!

Edited by cfc
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The forced perspective effect on Beast's Castle really works well now that the rock work is nearly finished.

 

I assume that this looks better in person. Hogwarts had to use forced perspective and it is several times the size of this. This castle really looks small in the picture.

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Ham, Prosciutto and SWISS????

 

SWISS??

 

sacrilege

 

Uh, ham and swiss is about as classic and common a pairing as peanut butter and jelly.

 

I'm assuming Larry thinks they should have used an italian cheese like provolone or mozzarella with the prosciutto. It's probably a New York thing

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