Funny Faces and Haircuts:The Princess and The Duck-First Trip*3/9 Earning Our Ears

[nathanyell]

Loved your update. It's really helping me get excited.

Brian

 

[Chef_Skinner]

Allow me to add just a bit on the whole DD hair incident.

During the time while DW and DS went to use the washrooms, I was overheated and could use a few minutes off my feet. As I sat down and plucked one of our portable fans off the stroller than DD was sitting in to help cool me down, DD had the other and was blowing it on herself, more so to copy me than anything else.

I kept on eye on the washroom to wait for the return of DW and DS only to hear my name being called by DD, and as I turned to see what it was that she wanted...horrified at the sight of a large amount of her hair tangled into the blades of this very small and rubber fan. What made it all so comical, is that as DW has mentioned...DD is a screamer. If anything does not go her way, she responds quite loudly by letting us, and everyone in a miles radius know. Although, with her hair wrapped up in the blades of this fan, she simply called out my name quite calmly and asked for help.

I tried my best to untangle her, and to do it quickly so that DW would not notice, as I knew I would get a earful from her upon her return. But my attempts were not successful, and I think I might have managed to get even more of her hair wrapped up in the fan than she did. As DW and DS returned from the washroom, I filled her in on the situation...and maybe because of the hour, or maybe because of how calm DD was at that moment, everything just seemed to be funny.

DW sent me to find a pair of scissors from one of the shops that was directly across from us, and let me tell you...they certainly had no problem giving a complete stranger a pair of razor sharp scissors in the middle of the happiest place on Earth! Is it possible that they are often asked to have their scissors borrowed, or did I just have a trusting face at that moment? Oh, I promised to bring them right back, and did so promptly as DW cut free DD's hair.

Good thing that she was going for her first haircut in a few days!

 

[msce2]

Really enjoying your trip report! And yes, we found out in May that Disney can be the place for monsoons. Approx 7 straight days of them. Hope your trip dried out quickly!

 

[PrncessA]

Please disregard the date stamp on the photos. It reset with the batteries and I never noticed, LOL.

After a restless night I woke up feeling like a truck had hit me and putting my feet to the floor was one of the hardest things in the world to do. Amazingly I was up before the wake-up call arrived and DS was stirring in the next bed. He is a VERY early riser at home and no matter his bed time he always wakes up between 6-7am. He NEVER sleeps in. Because of this and the fact he doesn’t take a nap he has an early bed time. I was still surprised he was waking up on his own this morning. Since we were the only ones awake we cuddled for a few minutes but we were both anxious to get on the move.

I allowed DS to jump on DH until he got up (sorry) and I started pulling out the day’s outfits and getting things ready. We were all up and almost ready by the time our wake-up call came. We were ready and out the door well before we had planned!

Since we hadn’t really taken the time to really let the kids explore the lobby yet we took our time. The kids LOVED the WL lobby and even now when we talk about WDW he talks about the bridge, lol.

Like I said before I can see why the WL is the favorite resort of kid’s. It is great for exploring and there is a ton of room to let them spread out without them beign out of eye shot. After we let the kiddos explore a bit we rubbed Humphrey’s nose and headed out to the busses. I am pretty sure there was a bus waiting when we got there and we got right on with no wait. It was then we noticed that DS was missing his new Toy Story Bo Peep and he must have laid it down in the lobby. He was upset but I held hope that someone would turn it in.

We arrived at DHS fast and we were excited to get a move on! It was pretty busy and crowded but we were a bit ahead of schedule so we headed for TSM to grab FP’s hopefully! We were able to grab FP for 12:45-1:45 and headed back to find Hollywood and Vine. At first we took our time and took some photos as we looked but then we passed it. For some reason we walked by it 3 times before we realized it was in front of us!

I checked us in and we sat on the patio and melted for a few moments:

This meal is one that I wasn’t sure about the kid’s and the characters since they don’t really know JoJo and Goliath but love the Little Einsteins. We were seated to the right, nearly directly in the middle. I have to say that our waiter here was my favorite of the entire trip! He was attentive and great with the kids! The restaurant was almost empty since we missed the breakfast crowd.

We were able to grab some food from the buffet before any characters made it to our table. The food here was comparable to Crystal Palace and neither DH or I had any complaints, DH again liked the omelet station. The kids ate muffins and I believe (though it doesn’t show up in the photos) that I had a bowl of oatmeal that they ate a few bites of.

First up was JoJo and I learned a lesson. It doesn’t matter who the character is, DS loves them! He was as happy to see JoJo as he was to see Mickey. DD touched hands and that was a stretch for her.

Then it was time for the entertainment and although we tried to get DS to go up and join he was being a bit shy. He did sing along from his chair or standing beside his chair but he didn’t dare step into the “party area”.
Finding Mickey during the "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Theme Song":

Leo was next and DS jumped up for his hug. Leo saw DS’s Buzz and even picked him up and zoomed him around a bit. DD was very uncomfortable with Leo and wouldn’t even touch his hand. DS kept saying “Lorelai its okay its little Leo,” over and over.

Then it was time for another song or two. This time DS got into it a bit more but didn’t join the crowd yet. He did yell as loud as he could when our side needed to yell “DOG” for the “HOT DOG” competition.

June was next and DS seemed determined that DD was going to like her. He was insistent saying “Lorelai, she’s a PRINCESS like you.” What a kid we have! He is such a great big brother! She did however warm up to June and even allowed her to get close enough for a picture and gave her a hug!

Goliath made his way next but DD want NOTHING AT ALL to do with him and she seemed to have satisfied DS’s need for her character interaction for the day since he enjoyed Goliath all himself.

Cont. next post:

 

[PrncessA]

Again it was time for more music! At this point it was a little annoying but we had finished our breakfast for the most part so I let DD down to dance and that gave DS the courage to go up as well. They boogied down!

Now for some reason at this point DD got upset but I can’t remember why. She wasn’t screaming but I she was crying a bit. When our waiter came with our checks he brought both DD and DS a star glow cube that was flashing. It instantly made DD stop! Great Pixie Dust! Great CM!

Before leaving we posed for a few pics and hugs with the entranceway display, lol.

Since we didn’t have a touring plan we figured we’d wing it, how hard could it be! More famous last words and lessons to learn from for our next trip! We stopped to take a couple Photopass pics but the CM’s camera wasn’t scanning the cards so she told us to go to the camera station to have them uploaded before we left.

Since we had a little while until our FP’s for TSM were good we decided to stop in for Playhouse Disney Live. The line was long but the wait for the next show was close so we got in line.

Here began my first encounter with losing a child in WDW. For some reason while we were in line the line suddenly moved drastically (the doors did not open yet). DS was walking right beside us but all the sudden he was GONE. I have no idea how; he must have ducked under the bars or something. I left DH with DD and I was yelling for him but nothing. I was fighting against people trying to retrace backwards, it was obvious I had lost a child but no one was moving out of my way most just looked annoyed. I finally found him buried in a group a good ways away. He had no idea he was lost.

We entered Playhouse Disney live and sat to the left right in front of the stage really. The show was pretty good but it didn’t really keep the kid’s attention. The bubbles were their favorite and it was very hard to get them to sit back down after the bubbles. DD was restless and took off toward the stage before I could stop her. The CM at the stairs stopped her in time. She wasn’t the only one though many kids headed that way as well!

DD making a run for it:

It was still a few until we could enter TSM so we decided to hit The Little Mermaid. It is amazing to me the size of stroller parking in that area. It is huge!!! It would be very easy to lose your stroller there! We parked the stroller and headed into a nearly empty queue with not a cloud in the sky. See where this is heading? It was a beautiful day! We were nearly alone in the waiting area and most people were sitting down against the walls, so that’s what we did as well. The doors were closed to the outside so it was nice and cool. The kids were exploring a bit and we relaxed.

Then out of nowhere the doors slung open and we were invaded by TONS of people. It was crazy! Then we noticed that it was not only raining outside but POURING!!!!! HARD!!!! I didn’t cover the stroller and we had left our backpack hanging on the back of it. There was nothing to do about it now, it was already wet but the rest of our wait wasn’t that fun with the crowd that had descended to get out of the monsoon outside!

The show was good and I can’t wait to go back since The Little Mermaid is DD’s favorite princess now. She doesn’t remember the show so it will be great for her! The bubbles did send the kiddos into another fit of trying to reach as many as possible and pop them, but at least they didn’t have as far to move as in PDL so it was over faster. The one thing I remember about the show that Ariel “flapping” her tail was distracting to me, I felt like I was a drinking game at times, lol.

When we exited it was still raining so I moved to the side into the gift shop and let DH run to find the stroller. As expected it was drenched but the backpack had stayed mostly dry shielded by the stroller. I tried to dry the seats as much as possible with the towel that had been in the backpack and the kids climbed in with very few complaints.

Next Up: WOODY’S ROUNDUP!!! Or TSM to those who are technical!

 

[PrncessA]

I just had to add this video of the kiddos doing the "CHA CHA CHA" that morning.

 

[Chef_Skinner]

What I still remember from that morning is that even though it was hotter than blazes out that morning...notice the pic of me with my towel wiping the beads of sweat from my face, is that from the first moment upon walking into Hollywood and Vine, it was like walking into the artic circle.

They must have cranked the air conditioning, cause I swear the temperature had to have been in the 30's and that is no joke. I remember my sniffles coming, and coming quickly, and I had to ask for additional napkins to keep one situated on my nose at all times.
Other than that, the meal was great...and DW was right, I did love their omelette station.

Now as for the rain...if I can pass along any helpful hints...it would be to cover your stroller or anything else you are leaving behind while attending a show or riding a ride. Even if the Sun is out and the sky is blue. That is exactly how it looked as we stood inside for the Little Mermaid show, but it amazed me how fast and furious it came about. Good thing the Sun showed up shortly after and dried the stroller in just minutes.

 

[PrncessA]

It did end up being a strange day for weather for sure. One minute it was a monsoon the next it was blazing hot.

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Since this is my first post....I would like to thank my DW (PrncessA) for inviting me to join...and I hope that I won't bore anyone with my rants and stories...

Welcome to the DIS! Now that you’ve joined the dark side, there is no going back.

DH and I on the other hand were NOT feeling the Disney love. Turns out something at Chef Mickey’s did not agree with us AT ALL!

I have no idea how she did it but she had managed to get her hair on the back of her head wrapped around the fan.

Wow! I’m actually shocked we managed to avoid a similar predicament. My two kept bumping the fans against their heads.

DW sent me to find a pair of scissors from one of the shops that was directly across from us, and let me tell you...they certainly had no problem giving a complete stranger a pair of razor sharp scissors in the middle of the happiest place on Earth! Is it possible that they are often asked to have their scissors borrowed, or did I just have a trusting face at that moment? Oh, I promised to bring them right back, and did so promptly as DW cut free DD's hair.

I’d love to read a book someday about the stories CM’s have to tell.

Here began my first encounter with losing a child in WDW.

I was paranoid about that our entire trip!

Then out of nowhere the doors slung open and we were invaded by TONS of people. It was crazy! Then we noticed that it was not only raining outside but POURING!!!!! HARD!!!! I didn’t cover the stroller and we had left our backpack hanging on the back of it. There was nothing to do about it now, it was already wet but the rest of our wait wasn’t that fun with the crowd that had descended to get out of the monsoon outside!

Brings back memories from my honeymoon trip.

Now as for the rain...if I can pass along any helpful hints...it would be to cover your stroller or anything else you are leaving behind while attending a show or riding a ride. Even if the Sun is out and the sky is blue. That is exactly how it looked as we stood inside for the Little Mermaid show, but it amazed me how fast and furious it came about. Good thing the Sun showed up shortly after and dried the stroller in just minutes.

Those instant monsoons they have down there are a trip!

 

[PrncessA]

Welcome to the DIS! Now that you’ve joined the dark side, there is no going back.

I'm pulling him in!


I'm going to try and get ahead in my TR this weekend so I have some time to devote to my new.... Pre-Trip Report!!! Woohooo!!!

 

[cheryterese]

Subscribing! Can't wait to read more.

 

[flafan]

All caught up - thanks for sharing - Your kids are adorable

 

[PrncessA]

Subscribing! Can't wait to read more.

Welcome! A new update is about done!

All caught up - thanks for sharing - Your kids are adorable

Thank you and Welcome!!!

 

[PrncessA]

Here is another picture packed update that has to be split in two!

After the show it was finally time for TSM!

.

We handed in our FP’s (which were already gone for the day by that time) and we headed into the FP queue. We still had quite a wait even with our FP’s!

We grabbed our 3-D glasses and finally got into our cars. I rode with DD and she had no interest in the game portion but she did like the “show”.

I have to say we all loved the ride very much! I can’t remember what my score was (I think it was respectable and in the 80,000’s) but I know DH beat me. DS did pretty good as well! It was an immediate “again again” from DS, and let’s be honest, from DH and myself. But the wait was out the door and there was no way we would or could wait.

Our next course of action was meltdown control in the form of snacks! DD and DS are snackers and that was our deciding factor on buying the DxDDP, we got 2 snacks per day per person for a total of 6 snacks a day and we didn’t have to worry about it. We grabbed popcorn for the kids and I got a Mickey Ice Cream and I think DH got something but I don’t remember what it was. While I was standing in line DH ran up to me and grabbed the camera from the case, grabbed DS and ran away. I had no idea what was going on.

After I got the snacks (hands full, trying to steer the double stroller at the same time) I tried to maneuver through the HUGE crowd outside of TSM and finally found DS next in line to meet a Toy Soldier. I think these are some of the coolest characters at DHS and DS LOVED him. You can’t see the crowd in the picture because the character handler moved us down a bit from TSM. The soldier guided DS with him holding his hand. It was great seeing how much DS loved all the characters.

We had made the decision at breakfast that this was a do or die day, no hotel breaks would be taken since the bus ride was longer than expected. At this point we should have consulted the show schedules and headed for a show, but we were rookies and figured we’d hit them in the evening (note this is a BAD plan!). We took a stroll not really looking at the map and ended up here:

I love that Disney adds hidden touches everywhere and if you didn’t know what it was you would walk right by it, which is what everyone was doing. I nearly screamed when I saw it! DH had no clue what it was or why I was excited. He got the camera ready and I did my pose! And down came the water! You can’t see it in my photo but it was there! DH was now excited and wanted a picture but tried and tried but no water came.

By this time other people had stopped to watch us and they now could enjoy the hidden treasure and we didn’t want to hog it so we headed off again! We did however have a loose destination, we wanted to find Cars! We ended up asking a passing CM for directions and found them in no time. There was a bit of a line but it was fairly fast and we made pressed pennies while we waited.

I have to say the Character Handler and the photographer were very rude here! They were shuffling people through and when DD was a bit afraid of Mater they didn’t even allow me enough time to calm her down for a photo.

DS was pushed out of the way (not literally but the other kid was called) and DS didn’t even get to pose with Mater. We managed to get this photo but the CM was not happy and was looking at us like we were doing something wrong.

At this point we really had no direction on where we were going, again we should have gone to a show at this point but we were newbies and didn’t think it through. Instead we headed around the corner and another corner and another corner looking for Muppets 3-D.

It took forever it felt like! We are not Muppets fans but we like 3-D and we figured we would like it. We of course had to take a pit stop at the Muppets’ water fountain with our insane love of water fountains.

I am not kidding that it is insane. The kids FREAKED over the water fountains and waterfalls! Pulling them away from them was like pulling teeth. There was screaming and crying and yelling…. “water, water, water” like they were dehydrating and that fountain was their link to life. When we got back from WDW we took a trip to an outdoor mall to the Disney Store (WDW withdraw) that weekend to get DS a new Wall-E since he had broke his. The mall apparently has a thing for fountains as well since they are EVERYWHERE! It was a disaster and they screamed the entire time trying to get to every fountain.

We headed into Muppet’s 3-D and stood in the loading area which if I wasn’t holding a very heavy DD I would have enjoyed exploring but it was packed and DD and DS wanted to see the TV’s. At this point DH and I realized we didn’t like the Muppets and DD and DS had no clue who they were, “What were we waiting to see?” But we were already committed so we stood and stood and stood and stood.

We must have just missed going in to a show but it was packed already. By the time we sat down in the theater I was bored stiff! The show didn’t do much to lighten our mood since I fell asleep I was so bored and the 3-D seemed so forced. I like the style of 3-D more in Mickey’s Philharmagic so I wasn’t really into the show. The kids and DH weren’t really impressed either and DD straight out refused to wear her glasses.

We headed back out to make the very long trudge back to the stroller and the kid’s popcorn which they had whined about the entire wait. We were happy to let them sit and enjoy the popcorn and we explored the “Streets of America”. We again didn’t have an agenda just time and we walked around and enjoyed. I am looking forward to visiting here again during the “Osborne Lights” this year. If the kids would have been in better moods we could have got some great pictures!

TONS MORE PHOTOS UP NEXT!!!

 

[PrncessA]

Before long we came upon a world of Jedi and Sith! The Jedi training was about to begin and there was already a big crowd around the stage. I ask DH if he wanted to try and get DS closer but he said they would ride “Star Tours” instead. Fine by me! DD was grumpy and I needed a break!

Us girlies headed into the outside seating area for the CS restaurant. I parked my tired tushie under a table umbrella and grabbed the stroller fan out of the backpack and positioned it on the handles for a nice breeze. I knew I could get DD to sleep if I kept her moving so that’s just what I did.

She was out like a light in minutes and I sat there enjoying my Disney quiet. The seating area was completely empty besides me and DD and it was very relaxing. I tried checking my voicemail since we had been so busy we hadn’t even talked to my mom since we arrived and had been playing phone tag with her, but there was barely any service where I was sitting so accepted defeat and took to studying the shows schedule. DH did not want to see the car stunt show but he had wanted to see Indiana Jones, and so did I. This is when I realized we had been looking at the wrong day of scheduling and the last show we could have watched was about to start! There was nothing I could do at this point but wait for DH to come and break the news!

As I was waiting I was watching the Jedi Training from afar and I could have sworn that DS was on stage. The kid looked just like him and his shirt was the same color! I almost was upset at DH for not coming to get me! Then DH and DS walk back from the opposite way! DH and DS finally arrived back I could tell DH wasn’t too impressed with the ride but DS liked it well enough. I broke the news and we tried to make it to the show but we were pretty late!

There were other showings but the timing was bad for us since we had an early dinner ADR at The Brown Derby for a Fantasmic package. We were not giving that up! We consulted the times schedule and everything we wanted to see just didn’t work out for our schedule. We decided the shows of DHS would wait for another trip (which we were already sure was going to happen) and decided to let the day be what it wanted and that was relaxing.

Since it was close to time for the Block Party Parade and although DD was passed out DS was ready to boogie!! While DH scoped out a place to watch the parade and I took DS on a hunt for a potty and cold snacks and drinks. Does anyone else think they hide the bathrooms in DHS?

I didn’t have our map so I actually found the guest information area while looking for the bathrooms and DS fell in love! Another strange obsession is maps for him. He loves them! I was cleaning out my Disney planner to start new and found some park maps I brought home and gave them to him, he was ecstatic!

We finally found a bathroom hidden at the back of the alley across from Starring Rolls. It was crazy hidden IMO and we almost didn’t make it! DS had to GO! After our potty break we were on the search for cold caffeine and I had promised DS ice cream. Luckily they had a snack vendor near the map we had found and we headed back there. DS was literally bouncing around waiting for his ice cream Mickey! He was so excited! I grabbed DH and I pops, yes pops I’m a northern girl now and DH broke me of my southern habit of calling everything coke. Then we headed to find DH and DD. We found them pretty close to us actually and DH had a great story to tell about Disney at its best. I’ll let him share it!

I let DS sit down on the edge of the sidewalk and opened his Mickey Bar. It was crazy hot out and DS tends to be a SLOW eater even with ice cream and it began melting instantly. I tried to speed him up but he was so distracted with the performers he went at his own pace. I did manage to get a few pictures of DS and his first Mickey Bar before the inevitable happened and part of it fell to the ground. He was so upset but luckily promises of another one later and the parade starting made him happy.

As for the Block Party Bash, we loved it! DD slept through the entire thing and only stirred during this part:

When we were competing with the other side of the street. It wasn’t enough to wake her up though, she was out! Pixar movies are DH’s favorite Disney movies so he loved the parade and tried (and mostly succeeded) to take pictures of every Pixar character in the parade, but he missed his favorite. I loved the Toy Soldiers! They were so fun!

When they started pulling people from the audience for the “dance party” DS was chosen and we were a bit surprised how willing he was to just walk away and join the parade! He was fantastic and so adorable!

We watched the rest of the party and hated when it was over! We had a little bit until our ADR at Brown Derby and we were all ready for some quiet. DS was begging to go back to the map so we headed over to let him see it again. On the way we saw parts of BPB again and DH finally got a picture of his favorite character!

By the time we got there (a quick 2 minute walk if that) he was asleep! This made the decision for us that we were not going on any rides now! LOL Instead we decided to explore a bit more and found a great little quiet nook down next to Echo Lake. It was perfect, quite, shaded and uncrowded. I am not sure how long we sat there just talking and letting the kids sleep. It was a perfect Disney moment in my opinion and one of my best memories from the trip. We were able to talk about everything that had happened so far in the trip and just enjoy the moment.

DD woke up after quite a while and got a treat as well:

We don’t let the kids have pop very often so this made her happy! I knew they needed a bit of a snack but dinner was close. DH ran to find them something, my request was apples and he delivered! He returned with two packs of apple slices! DD seemed to enjoy our relaxation spot as well and loved the view and the ducks!

We decided after a long while that we needed to clean up for our ADR as DS was waking up. I didn’t bring me and DH extra clothes since I assumed we were going back to the resort, oh well. We headed to the hidden bathrooms and I gave DH strict instructions on what to do. Wipe DS down with cool wet paper towels to clean and refresh him then put on his clean clothes. And I would do the same with DD. Apparently DS gave DH a run for his money and pulled a meltdown the DD would have been proud of! DD on the other hand was fantastic and even let me fix her hair!

We stopped and took some photos before heading in for our ADR!

NEXT UP: A “Goofy” phone call and our first Signature Meal!

 

[linnell]

I started reading last night and I'm all caught up now! We are taking kids in October and they'll be 4 and 2 years old by then, so I am very interested in how your two did and how you handled things. Great TR!

 

[Chef_Skinner]

So as DW mentioned earlier, there was a special moment as I waited on the curb before the BPB began. As DW and DS left me and DD to find the washrooms and snacks, I found us a nice little spot that offered a bit of shade and wasn't too crowded...at least yet.

The citizen's of Hollywood (Streetmosphere) were passing by and making quite a rukus, as they should be, everyone was really getting into the whole act. The citizen's were talking to people along side of the road, engaging them into quite funny little bits and everyone was having a great time. Although, as one of the final cars drove by, in it was a very elaborately dressed actress that was yelling quite loudly. Her sight caught the fact that DD was sound asleep in the stroller, and she immediately put her fingers up to her lips signifying that everyone should be quiet. She stepped down from the car, walked over to DD and I, and told me how precious she was. She then returned to the car, pulled something from it, and returned with a ring for DD upon her waking up.

It was quite magical how she took one moment to notice DD asleep and managed to quiet down the entire crowd and offer her something that DD would be so happy with upon her waking up.

We have looked through our pictures, but I failed to take a single one of this wonderful CM, but that doesn't deny how special she made that moment. Thank you!


As DW also stated, DS and I went to ride on Star Tours, and let me tell you, if you don't mind being thrashed around for a good couple of minutes, this is the ride for you! LOL I guess I didn't really know what to expect, but I figured...Hey, this is Star Wars, how can we go wrong. And being that it is one of my favorite films, I wanted to share this with DS as he has watched the movies ( at least the first of the most recent releases ). The wait wasn't all that long and we pretty much just walked right onto the ride. We were in the first row and seated in the far right seats. I helped DS with his seatbelt and then secured mine and honestly, I thought that it was a mobile ride. Guess I should do a bit more research rather than just assuming.
As the lights dimmed and the show started, I realized that we were not going anywhere. The seats that we were in began to shake, toss us from side to side, and I instinctively placed my arm around DS's head so that he wouldn't hurt himself as the movements were quite bumpy.

All in all, the show was pretty good, and if you enjoy Star Wars, it should be a definite hit with you and the kids.

 

[PrncessA]

We parked our stroller and covered it and headed into the Brown Derby. This was to be our only 2 credit meal and only because it was the only Fantasmic package that was available. We are not fancy eaters more the steak and potatoes clan really, but we decided this was going to be a step outside the box for us. We made a pack to order things that were a bit outside the comfort zone and experience something new. Yeah, that’s what we said!

The Brown Derby was packed with people and I checked us in. DH wasn’t in the best of moods (hungry) so I took our kids (the only in the waiting area) back to the tiny back room behind the waiting area. They had a ton of room to play and there was another little girl there as well. Already we felt like the HBD wasn’t the place for kids, although I had asked on here and had good reviews for kids. While we were waiting the kids were dancing to the music and a CM came up to us and we started talking. He was very nice (Brian I think) and ask DS if this was his first time at WDW and who his favorite characters were.

DS was a bit shy but was talking to him. The CM asks we were waiting on a table and I said yes. He told me that he wanted to give DS a surprise. Next thing I know we are leaving the HBD through the back door he had DS by the hand and I was carrying DD, I barely had time to tell DH a quick “be right back”. We went across the street to the gift shop and this is where we lost it! I am so grateful for this CM to try and give DS a magical moment but I think he was a little new at it and lost DS’s understanding somewhere along the way.

First he tried to take DS behind the counter and the other CM stopped him (but didn’t even try to help him). Then he asks them to give him the phone over the counter and they literally rolled their eyes at him. Then he dialed the phone at least 4 times before it worked. Then when he gave it to DS he was so confused he had no idea what was going on. He didn’t hear who was on the phone or he didn’t understand it, then the CM says “Leave a message!” DS was very confused and starting to become a bit nervous. On top of the phone drama DD had been fighting against me to get to the TONS of Princess Merchandise everywhere. It was crazy!

When the CM finally accepted defeat (I felt so bad) he walked us back over to the HBD and moved on to the little girl who was waiting as well. It was a very weird experience to be honest! The kids went back to dancing and I was left with a semi-magical moment, I think. :

Here you can see the CM talking to the other girl:

After a good wait our name was called and we were seated. I can tell you that we felt completely out of place here from the very beginning. Our kids did not like the atmosphere at ALL. Immediately I had to remove DD from the restaurant to calm her down so she would sit in a high chair. I ordered a margarita and DH had a beer. I won’t bore you with the details of the meal because honestly it was mostly filled with us trying everything under the sun to keep the kids happy!

The tables are very close to each other and the couple that was set next to us was very nosey and stared at us the entire time and I promise did not say a word to each other the entire meal. DH and I thought it was very strange.

Since I can’t find the receipts I can only partially remember what we ate. I am pretty sure DH had the crab cakes and I had some kind of salad (that was too vinegary for me) for starters. The kids had veggies and ranch (which I ate some of). For our main course I had the salmon and I think DH had the duck and venison. All I can say is that I wish I had played it safe and went with the steak! The salmon was good and the sauce was amazing, but I am not a fish person so I ate only half of it. We got both of the kids’ grilled cheeses and had planned on paying OOP for DD’s since she was not on the dining plan. DH and I splurged and ordered drinks as well; a margarita for me and beer for him. Dessert was the best part although the kids ate most of mine! I had the chocolate cake and I think DH had the grapefruit cake.

All in all it was a stressful meal with the kids and the fact I was trying to eat out of my comfort zone. Another lesson learned! We are a comfort seeking family and this restaurant was defiantly not comfortable for us! DD was about to lose it at the end of the meal so I left DH to pay the bill and took her outside. While we were inside it had started to drizzle a bit but it wasn’t too bad.

We had a little while before we had to head to Fantasmic with our nice little package vouchers so we headed towards TSM just to check out the wait. DS had been begging to go back to “Woody’s Roundup” the entire day. The line was still out the door so we turned back and started toward “One Man’s Dream” which I had been dying to go into the entire day. DH on the other hand was “dying” to see the Prince Caspian “ride”, I KNEW this was a bust but he was insistent. We actually stood in line for this!

If you ever have an urge to enter this building, hit yourself on the head and continue walking and you will get the same effect. It should be renamed “Keep walking nincompoop, it’s just a trailer for the sequel”. It was awful the kids were restless and we had to hold them through the “pre-show” then the show. It was AWFUL, can I say that again AWFUL AWFUL. I still will not let DH live it down!

After that we finally headed to OMD and DH did stop to ask the door CM if the theater was a sit down theater, lol. At this point it was more than drizzling and we were afraid that Fantasmic would be called off. I loved the exhibit and wish we could have spent hours in there reading all the history and seeing everything. I think that Walt Disney was such a wonderful man and that the world it’s self would not be the same today if he had not contributed what he did to it! The kids were not interested in the “movie” part but they did stay relatively quiet so DH and I could watch it. If they move this exhibit it will break my heart, I can’t wait to explore it more!

We decided it was time to head toward Fantasmic before it got too crowded. On the way we stopped and picked up some popcorn to snack on and caffeine for DH and me. We found a CM waving a pink Fantasmic Package Voucher and she showed us our “special” entrance, lol. It was nice not to have to wait in the line forever. We showed up at about 8:15 and the show started at 9:00, not a bad wait! We parked the stroller and grabbed our backpack and hiked up the hill to the seating area. The reserved seating was about half full and there was plenty of room to choose our seats. We sat almost right in the middle of the reserved seating. The benches were wet so I pulled out the useless ponchos I bought and laid them on the bench, perfect!

While we waited the kids ate their popcorn and played with their glow cubes from breakfast. DS and I had to hike to the restroom but other than that it was a relaxing wait and we never did get crowded. The kids wanted move around more but the time went by fast and before we knew it the show was starting.

What can we say about Fantasmic other than we thought it was fabulous and a must see for our family now! We loved everything, the music, the action, the lasers, the boats and the fireworks. The kids weren’t scared of any of it and didn’t move during the entire show. DH and I thought it was fantastic! The only part not fantastic was hiking up the hill when we left, but it could have been worse and we could have had to deal with 4x’s the crowd.

I am sure that the end of Fantasmic cleared a lot of people out of DHS because the park seemed a lot emptier when we headed to Pixar Place. The wait for Toy Story said 30 minutes (which was amazing) so we decided to wait. I actually liked the longer wait for this ride since we got to see more of the decoration and of course Mr. Potato Head!

I look weird here, but DD looks adorable!

The wait was actually pretty short (shorter than our wait with the FP’s I think) and in no time we were grabbin’ our glasses. DH suggested I ride with DS this time and said that it was priceless to watch him. It was! He was so into the game and kept giving me tips! LOL I upped my score a bit and I think I was at 108,000 but DH beat me again and DS nearly beat my original score!!

A few nighttime photos:

We were all pretty beat and it was getting late but we had one more ride to fit in before we left! The Great Movie Ride of course!! As we were searching for the stroller parking a very nice CM offered to park the stroller for us and we could go on in! We walked all the way up to the loading door and there was only a couple other people waiting in line with us.

Now this is was a weird wait for sure! The CM who was “guarding” the door (and I say guarding because that is what best described it) was in a BAD mood. Her bad mood was clashing with some of the bad moods of the people in line. We stood in line for quite a while and after the third or so round of the same trailers on the screen a woman ask why the wait was so long. I can’t remember the CM’s comment but it was rude I do remember that. EVERYONE was shocked and we were all looking at each other. The lady said something back and her and the CM were almost yelling at each other.

Then the doors opened and the CM (rudely I might add) told the lady not to move she had “other people she had to deal with”. The other people were handicapped and were in wheel chairs and she was very rude to them as well. We were all shocked at her behavior; she must have had a BAD day. Luckily we all liked the ride although we hadn’t really researched it and it was a surprise to us with the “show” and the acting. I liked that it was new to us and we didn’t know exactly what to expect!

The park was nearly empty at this point so we headed toward the exit. We did however stop at the Photopass shop to have them upload our photos to the card, what a waste of time that turned out to be! There were only 2 photos and the CM was rude about the entire thing. DH was upset at this point (we stood in line there for 20 minutes or more) and the kids were very grumpy!

Finally we made it to our bus stop and just missed a bus but we were fine with that since it looked to be standing room only. We sat on the bench and rested for a few minutes before getting into line before anyone else came. The next bus arrived pretty quick and ended up being pretty empty. I figured the kids were tired but they were wide awake and talking a mile a minute.

There was another family with kids slightly older than ours and they looked bone tired. They ask us if we did a whole day or a half day and we said whole and they were amazed at how great our kids had survived. To be honest I was amazed as well, DH and I however were not surviving that well. While DH and I both used the stroller as a walker up the uphill walkway to the WL the kids sprinted and hopped the entire way!

We actually remembered to check with the front desk to see if Bo Peep had been found and while I was standing in line to ask the kids discovered this area:

This area is well hid IMO behind the bell services desk and the kids loved it, I think they thought it was a special area just for them since there was never any other kids there! Pixie Dust struck again and Bo Peep was saved! We headed upstairs and we all literally fell into bed! I did remember to call for a LATE wake-up call before passing out!

All in all we loved DHS but we learned that you have to plan well if you want to see all the shows. On our next trip we are devoting at least a day and a half to DHS to see everything plus the Osborne Family Lights!

 

[cheryterese]

Yay, another post! We've got one day planned at DHS for our upcoming trip (less than 3 weeks to go!) as well and I've been wondering about Fantasmic. Glad to hear your kids loved it. Mine are 1, 2, and 4 and I've been on the fence about it. I think they will like it though. Did you think it was worth eating at Brown Derby for the reserved section of seats at Fantasmic? I know you didn't love the restaurant, but was it worth it for the shorter line? I'm wondering if I should do that or just take a chance with the regular line.

I'm really enjoying your trip report! Please post more before we leave on the 26th!!! I'm anxious to hear about the first haircut. We're getting our youngest son's done.

 

[PrncessA]

Yay, another post! We've got one day planned at DHS for our upcoming trip (less than 3 weeks to go!) as well and I've been wondering about Fantasmic. Glad to hear your kids loved it. Mine are 1, 2, and 4 and I've been on the fence about it. I think they will like it though. Did you think it was worth eating at Brown Derby for the reserved section of seats at Fantasmic? I know you didn't love the restaurant, but was it worth it for the shorter line? I'm wondering if I should do that or just take a chance with the regular line.

I'm really enjoying your trip report! Please post more before we leave on the 26th!!! I'm anxious to hear about the first haircut. We're getting our youngest son's done.

Wow, so soon! Have a great time!! You are braver than I with 3 kiddos in tow! Let me know how it goes! I am trying to work hard on the next day and that includes the haircut!!

Honestly I think it was completely worth it, even if I wasn't a fan of the Brown Derby! Next time we are going to try for H&V or Mama Melrose if we can get it. I am sure the Brown Derby is a great place to eat but it wasn't our style and we are set in our ways.

Our kids did better than expected waiting in lines and we didn't really bring anything extra to keep them entertained but I think the Fantasmic line would have been a bit much. I seriously thought about canceling our ADR for HBD right before the trip and going to the later showing of Fantasmic that they added about a week before our trip and I think our kids would have been good with that, but it depends on how well the kids are doing late at night.