"Does she not know this is the happiest place on earth!?" March 2015 Girls Trip! UPDATE 4/11!

Vernie822 · Mar 18, 2015

On this magical Monday, we were up by 7:15 and ready to roll for our big Magic Kingdom day. I don’t know why, but a big MK day is the highlight of any trip for me. Maybe because there’s so much to do and so many attractions. Whatever it is, I love it!

Monday morning, I still had some ADR’s that needed cancelled/confirmed. We had originally booked 50’s Prime Time for lunch Tuesday, but then when we added Wednesday to our trip, I made a lunch ADR for Wednesday too. I did that because I knew my family would want to eat at Raglan Road as well, so I had made dinner ADR’s for Tuesday and Wednesday nights, not knowing which one we’d choose.

I’d asked my family a few times what they’d prefer to do – Hollywood Studios Tuesday, then Epcot, with more Magic Kingdom and Downtown Disney Wednesday? Or Epcot and DTD Tuesday, with DHS Wednesday? No one would decide. We had already made FP’s and a Via Napoli ADR for Epcot on Wednesday, so we stuck with that theme. I had to explain to them that we couldn't just leave our ADR's, and I needed to cancel whichever ones we wouldn't be using.

So we solidified our plans for Tuesday. We’d do DHS during the day, and head to DTD that night. Lunch would be at 50’s and dinner at Raglan Road. I was skeptical about 2 TS meals, but it worked out just fine and everyone really liked the idea of sitting down and enjoying the meal.

We also changed our Via Napoli ADR from 2 PM on Wednesday to 11:30 AM on Wednesday – my mom wanted to go to MK after Epcot so we thought we’d have more time this way, since we had to be back to POFQ by 7 PM for the Magical Express.

Anyways.. moving on.

We were out the door by 9 AM, and headed to Sassagoula Floatworks for some breakfast. 9 AM is a little later than I’d like, but we had a long day at MK planned so I was OK with getting there a little later.

One of the stations at Sassagoula Floatworks has a create your own oatmeal or yogurt parfait. This caught my eye. For $5.79 it was a little pricy, but it sounded good.

They also served Mickey waffles topped with fruit.. They sounded good, but we had beignets on the brain.

My cousin and I decided to split a make your own yogurt parfait and some beignets.

We got the yogurt parfait with yogurt, oats, raspberries, and walnuts.

We also got an order of 3 beignets for $2.99. The beignets were delicious, made hot, right in front of us, with lots of powdered sugar on top.

Everything was really good! Yogurt with fruit and granola is my favorite, so it was worth it to split both items. The beignets were hot and delicious.

We were on a bus by 9:20 and to Magic Kingdom by 9:45. Our first FP+ was for around 10:30.

Some castle pics were necessary.

We took some pictures in the hub and admired the new grassy area..

I believe this area is used for FP+ Wishes viewing.

The new hub is just BEAUTIFUL! Seriously! It is so open and airy, I just love it.

A picture of the castle from the hub:

There was also a Photopass photographer there ready to take pics.

It's nice for a different view of the castle.

We headed left towards Liberty Square, passing right by where Tiana meets. And there she was, with NO line at all!

We jumped in to meet her. She was sweet, and a surprisingly awesome character interaction. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I’ll have to. Her dress was beautiful and so was she. Her makeup was amazing!

Next was an obligatory picture in Liberty Square.

On our way to our first FP+ at Big Thunder Mountain, we saw our favorite woodland creatures.. cowboy Chip and Dale!

The moms wanted to wait, so we stopped to meet them. The line was only about 10 minutes. They are always great to meet.

We browsed through the shops in Frontierland. I had been eyeing up some sparkly Minnie ears, so I finally got those. My cousin had seen some she liked too, but couldn’t find them there.

Some yummy treats!

I loved this crispy treat.

Up next was our FP+ for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.. probably my favorite ride next to Splash Mountain. My mom loves this ride, too.

It was quite crowded in Frontierland!

We got right on, probably in less than 10 minutes.

Mom was all about the selfies.. we rode in the front!

Like mother like daughter, ha!

And by far, my favorite picture of the morning.. possibly even of the trip. Ladies and gentlemen.. MY MOTHER!

HAHAHAHAHA. :rotfl:

Omg, I laughed hysterically at this. I don't know why. It was cute and hilarious at the same time.

We also got some good pics outside of the ride exit.

It was pretty hot already, and K suggested we ride Splash mountain. The line was only 20 minutes, so we hopped on.

My aunt pulled out a few ponchos, everyone but K put one on.

She and my mom wanted to sit in the front, and they got.. soaked! Our ride photo was hysterical. :rotfl2:

The 20 minutes was well worth the wait! I love the story behind this ride.

My mom is obsessed with Buzz and Woody, so when I let her know that Woody and Jessie met outside of Splash, she was all over it. However, the line to meet them was 40 minutes and we weren’t about to wait that long just yet.

Vernie822 · Mar 18, 2015

We walked towards Fantasyland to catch our 11:45 FP+ for 7 Dwarfs Mine Train. My mom was itching to ride this, and we loved it. My mom and I were in the front row.

The Little Mermaid is my favorite, and I hadn’t yet been on Journey of the Little Mermaid, so we did that next. The line was about a half hour long.

After that, we headed towards Storybook Circus to see what that was all about. I hadn’t been back here much on my last trip, a lot of it seemed geared towards young kids which is fine by me.

We took a detour to the restrooms near Cheshire Cafe and spotted these guys.. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum!

On our way back through Fantasyland, we spotted Tigger and Pooh out meeting by Pooh’s ride, so we waited maybe 15 minutes there to meet them.

We were all hungry now, and it was about 1:30, so we headed for.. Columbia Harbor House!

I have only eaten here once, on my high school trip in 2009, but I know everyone raves about it. Justin doesn’t like seafood so we didn’t come here on our last trip (he was excited to try the taco salad at Pecos Bill), but after this, I’ll definitely be back here next time.

Originally when planning the trip, my aunt said she didn’t think a heavy seafood meal would be a good idea in the heat, and that she could eat that anytime. When I let them know the lunch options that morning, CHH was the clear winner. And I was excited!

When we walked up, Cast Members outside the restaurant handed us ice water with a lid and a straw, a really nice gesture.

They also handed us menus. It was packed inside, but we got through the line and to a table in less than 10 minutes, which was pretty quick.

K and my mom both thought a lobster roll sounded good. My aunt and I thought the chicken and fish sounded good. So my mom and I, and my aunt and K, each ordered one lobster roll with chips, and one chicken/fish/fries combo to share. 4 meals between 4 of us was more than plenty, but we wouldn’t be eating until late that night, and we had a light breakfast, so it was perfect.

The food was fantastic all around. I love a good Disney chicken nugget! And while the fish looks a little funky, there was nothing wrong with it. The fish, fries, and chips were all pretty hot.

The lobster roll was great. We had plenty of big lobster chunks to go around. It could use some salt and pepper but was really tasty. The homemade chips were good, too!

The total for my mom and I, with two cups of ice water (I love that you can get a free cup of ice water!) was about $23. Not too bad for two full meals.

When we walked outside, the line for Haunted Mansion was SO LONG! I didn't take note of the wait time. Unfortunately I didn't get to ride this one this trip, but my mom and aunt did on Friday before we got there.

We were pretty close to Princess Fairytale Hall, where we had a FP+ for a special meet and greet at 2:40. How I managed to score Anna and Elsa FP+ and a 7DMT FP+ for the same day at ideal times, I don’t know, but I’m glad I did.

The only thing I didn’t consider when grabbing the A&E Fastpass was that it was during the parade, which I really wanted to watch. I was content as long as I got to see it once. Little did I know I’d see it 3 times on this trip, haha.

K & I changed into our Anna and Elsa outfits and, while I felt like the biggest dork around, I was pretty excited. I had met them on our trip in September as well.

We scanned our bands and we waited in the holding room for only a short time (we were the only ones in there) before being released into the room.

We didn't have to be grown-ups today!

For anyone interested, I found our leggings at Kohl's. They were juniors sizes, but I think a medium fit both of us just fine.

There were a few families in front of us, the one right in front of us in particular was adorable. They had TRIPLETS! At first I couldn’t tell if they were triplets or not, but there was no denying it once I saw their faces. Two girls and a boy. I think they said they were 3. And omg, were they adorable. It was so cute seeing them interact with the princesses. At first their brother was having none of it. But eventually he warmed up once the princesses paid special attention to him as well.

It was then our turn. Queen Elsa asked if the Princesses would come up first, and the Queens (our moms) second.. not that we minded, but we had been meeting together all 4 of us all week, so that was different.

We posted with Elsa and chatted for a minute.. she loved our outfits.

Then we waited our turn to meet Anna.

This Anna was good (I know people hate when others say ‘this Anna’ because there’s only one Anna, right!?) but the one I met in September was wayyyyy better! She had played the part perfectly.

Anna loved our outfits too, she said “Did you know you have my sister, Olaf and I all over your clothes!?”

My aunt was so excited that we had just met them, so she started jumping up and down! Haha. It was hilarious.

It was a good time and I’m glad we did it – hardly a wait with the FP+!

We thought we’d go back towards Frontierland to ride Big Thunder (again) and grab some more FP’s. On our way there, the parade was just about to start. We luckily grabbed a spot in Liberty Square, where they usually have a walkway and rope it off just as the parade is starting.

I was so excited to get to watch this parade in its entirety!

I think Beauty and the Beast leading the way is a perfect start. I also love the Little Mermaid float, but Ariel is my favorite so maybe I’m biased.

Overall, I just love this parade. I’m glad I got to see it in its entirety. Originally, my cousin didn’t really care to see it, but afterwards, she loved it too.

Almost forgot this part. After the parade was finished, and we were making our way through crowds to get out, I heard a mom say to her probably 4 year old "Aren't you glad we got to see Anna and Elsa!? That's the only way to meet them!" Hahaha. I guess if they don't know they're at Princess Fairytale Hall, it can't hurt. :rotfl2:

Vernie822 · Mar 18, 2015

We hopped in line at the Frontierland FP+ kiosk to get our next Fastpass. Big Thunder currently had about a 45 minute wait, so we got one for that. Thankfully, our FP+ time started in 10 minutes.

I knew since I had just eaten, and hadn’t taken anything, I probably shouldn’t ride Big Thunder. It’s my favorite, but I was OK with sitting it out for the sake of feeling good the rest of the day.

I walked around in the area and took in some sights of Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Belle while my family rode.

I also walked towards Splash Mountain to see that it had a 70 minute wait, but Woody and Jessie only had a 15 minute wait! Much better than our 40 minutes that morning.

Once they were done, I suggested heading over to get in line for Woody and Jessie. My mom was ecstatic to meet them.

Jessie was really funny.

After meeting them, we did something that was a first for me – took the railroad! We wanted to head back towards Main Street, so it was the perfect way.

We got off at Main Street and headed towards the Plaza. My aunt had decided to go back to the room and rest, since we had a dinner reservation at 9:30 at Ohana. But before that – ice cream!

The line was long, but moved quickly.

My mom and I both had mint chocolate chip kids cones, complete with Mickey ears! My cousin had birthday cake, I think. My aunt just had a scoop of ice cream with caramel syrup.

We rested for a bit, and it was nearly 5 oclock! The day had flown by.

Aunt D left to go back to POFQ and rest. I checked the Lines app to see that Small World had a short wait, 15 minutes I think, and Buzz still had some Fastpasses left. So we got in line near Tomorrowland, and grabbed some Buzz FP’s.

Before Buzz, we rode It’s a Small World, then rode Buzz. We stopped at the kiosk again and grabbed one for Winnie the Pooh, which I think had like a 30 minute wait. But we got right on less than 15 minutes later with our FP’s.

We met my aunt after that at the Main Street Confectionary and walked through some shops. It was around 8 oclock.

We took a Photopass with the castle lit up at night.

And right before us in line, was a friend of my brother's with her sister. How funny we ran into them at WDW, of all places.

I tried for a castle selfie..

We decided we’d like to try to meet Tink, so we did just that on our way out..

And off we were to one of my favorite places for dinner.. Ohana!!

Vernie822 · Mar 18, 2015

We had all been really excited to a) take the monorail and b) eat at Ohana. Justin and I loved this meal on our last trip.

I might have mentioned this before, but we originally had an Ohana reservation for our first night. Only, my mom found out the band’s schedule just weeks before the trip (grr) so I had to switch some things around. 9:30 on our MK day was the best I could do, which originally I kind of scoffed at because it seemed really late.

We had been going for 12 HOURS at this point without a break, but I was impressed.. we had accomplished a ton at MK that day.

We took a few pictures at the Poly lobby upon arriving.

We checked into Ohana at 9 for our 9:35 reservation. We had wanted to explore the lobby and get a drink beforehand, so we wanted to be early. I also wanted to request a table near the windows, so that we could see Wishes. We were willing to wait for that.

K and I each ordered a Lapu Lapu.

I shared mine with my mom since I knew they were going to be strong. Strong and DELICIOUS! These were sooo good.

We were seated at our ADR time, 9:35, and we were soo hungry. We had a great server, Kalani, and he had an assistant, Cliff. Cliff was from our hometown. Cool!

We were seated at a table near the windows. Only one couple was at a table in front of us, they were directly against the window. Minus a massive tree, we could see the fireworks. We were also right next to the huge grill where they cook the meat.

First came the bread, which I just love. I only had one piece because I didn’t want to fill up – I knew there was greatness to come.

Next up was the salad. Last time I was here, they served us lettuce wraps. I didn’t really care for them, they were a little spicy. And Lord knows Justin wasn’t going to willingly eat a lettuce/bean sprout taco knowing there was potstickers and wings coming his way.

The salad was good, but I don’t think it was the same salad as before. I’ve never had the previous salad, so correct me if I’m wrong, but I am pretty sure this salad had a pomegranate vinaigrette. My aunt really liked it. I wasn’t wasting precious stomach space on salad, so I just had a few bites.

Next up, potstickers and wings, woo hoo! I just love these.

Last time our potstickers were more fried, this time they seemed steamed and soft. The wings were delicious, as always. The potstickers were good, of course.

Noodles and veggies followed, and my family just became more shocked as the meal went on – “we get to eat all of this? As much as we want!?” Oh yes, but you MUST leave room for dessert!

My mom loved the veggies and noodles. The noodles are also one of my favorite parts.

Right about then, the fireworks started at MK. They piped in the music from Wishes.

The girls loved being able to see the fireworks from the restaurant, and hear the music as well. Pure magic! Pat on the back to their travel agent.. er, me.

A late dinner ended up working out really nicely. We enjoyed lots and lots of meat on a skewer next.

The steak was pretty good. I like my steak medium-well, so this was a little rare for my taste but it was still good overall.

If you’re an Ohana nut like myself, you might know that they replaced the pork with the chicken.

Praise jesus, halleluia! The chicken was soooooo good. I personally didn’t enjoy the pork on our last visit – it was really dry. The chicken was great. Unfortunately I didn't grab a picture.

The real hit at our table was the shrimp. Everyone couldn’t get enough of these! My cousin and my mom went to town on some shrimp. Mmm mmm mmm!!

We ate.. and ate.. and ate.

I tried to save room for the dessert, and I did! I was proud of myself, last time I was here I was full to the point of uncomfortableness. So I was pacing myself this time.

And, out it came…

The fabulous Ohana bread pudding!

I would seriously eat here just for this dessert.

They also brought us out some kids brownies.. I’m not sure if they thought we were 12 or what, but we didn’t mind. Kalani was a real sweetie and he kept calling us “baby love” and “Sweetheart”.. ha!

My family really enjoyed this meal. By 10:30 we were finished, exhausted, and stuffed.

We monorail’ed it back to MK where we got on a bus back to Port Orleans French Quarter. We probably waited 20 minutes for a bus, but since Wishes had ended not too long before, I feel like a bunch of people had all filtered out at once.

We were back to our room by 11:30. I’d say this day was one of the best days of our whole trip. We accomplished so much!

sharona · Mar 18, 2015

Great TR! Loving it. And the Frozen leggings!!!!! My DD12 wanted those SO bad when we saw them but they never had them in her size.

deedee2177 · Mar 19, 2015

Awesome update!!! Yet again you provide a review of a restaurant that I'm hoping to snag an ADR for on our November Trip!! We will have a late ADR as well, and I'm keeping fingers crossed we will be able to see Wishes as well!

goodmorningirl · Mar 19, 2015

Just joined and caught up in one sitting. Loving your report, especially your outfits for your Elsa and Anna meet!

afwdwfan · Mar 19, 2015

Vernie822 said:
I appreciated them dodging the parade viewers to get us some food. They said they went to Tomorrowland, so my guess is these came from the Lunching Pad.

Wow... they went a long way to bring you a snack! Very nice of them!

Vernie822 said:
Thankfully, the CM I dealt with was really sweet. He called the restaurant and asked about adding a 5th person, and we were told it was no problem. Yay!

Whew... I'm glad that worked out for you.

Vernie822 said:
I guess they gave each kid $10 for lunch and dinner each day.

Wow... $10 doesn't go far for 2 meals a day at Disney World. :faint:

Vernie822 said:
We were seated in the Rose Gallery. Last time I ate here, we ate in the main Ballroom. Let me just say.. the Rose Gallery is breathtaking. Seriously, I was so impressed with the big Belle and Beast in the middle, as well as all of the artwork.

I agree with you. Everyone raves about the Ballroom, and it really is very well done... i mean it is just right out of the movie. But this room really is very nice. And it just seems a little more calm, quiet and relaxing in there.

Vernie822 said:
I would like to try other spots for dinner and give lunch a chance here.

I love the lunch there!

Vernie822 said:
We didn't get hime til 10:15, so we may as well have stayed for Wishes.

Vernie822 said:
My mom had decided to stay and play a little longer. She met Tink and maybe hopped on Small World, but she arrived home not long after us.

Wow. That's all just insult to injury. Not only do you have to stand around forever waiting for a bus, but you could have been in the park getting more done and still made it back at about the same time. :faint:

Vernie822 said:
I don’t know why, but a big MK day is the highlight of any trip for me. Maybe because there’s so much to do and so many attractions. Whatever it is, I love it!

Vernie822 said:
We took some pictures in the hub and admired the new grassy area..

Thanks for sharing so many pictures! I haven't seen much about it, but it really looks like a nice area! I'm looking forward to seeing how much it changes the viewing of Wishes with that open now.

Vernie822 said:
We headed left towards Liberty Square, passing right by where Tiana meets. And there she was, with NO line at all!

We jumped in to meet her. She was sweet, and a surprisingly awesome character interaction. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I’ll have to.

Oh yeah, you need to see that movie! I really enjoyed it. But I like the classic animation, as opposed to the new computer stuff they do for everything now like Rapunzel and Frozen. I felt like Princess and the Frog was kind of reminded me of the 90's Disney animation heyday. It's got some catchy songs, a good story, some fun characters. It just really seems like it is highly underrated and doesn't get as much love as it should.

Vernie822 said:
HAHAHAHAHA. Omg, I laughed hysterically at this. I don't know why. It was cute and hilarious at the same time.

That is awesome though! You guys are clearly having a blast!

Vernie822 said:
We were pretty close to Princess Fairytale Hall, where we had a FP+ for a special meet and greet at 2:40. How I managed to score Anna and Elsa FP+ and a 7DMT FP+ for the same day at ideal times, I don’t know, but I’m glad I did.

Yeah, that was a great score on the FP+.

And I liked the Frozen outfits you had. :rotfl:

Vernie822 said:
My aunt was so excited that we had just met them, so she started jumping up and down! Haha. It was hilarious.

Adults acting like kids. That's what Disney is all about! :thumbsup2

Vernie822 said:
Overall, I just love this parade. I’m glad I got to see it in its entirety. Originally, my cousin didn’t really care to see it, but afterwards, she loved it too.

I'm glad you liked it. I liked what little I saw of it. Next time it will be a priority.

Vernie822 said:
We had been going for 12 HOURS at this point without a break, but I was impressed.. we had accomplished a ton at MK that day.

You really had a great day!

Vernie822 said:
The girls loved being able to see the fireworks from the restaurant, and hear the music as well. Pure magic! Pat on the back to their travel agent.. er, me.

Well done! You deserve a pat on the back for all the FP+, and working out all the ADR details.

Vernie822 · Mar 22, 2015

sharona said:
Great TR! Loving it. And the Frozen leggings!!!!! My DD12 wanted those SO bad when we saw them but they never had them in her size.

Thanks!! I hunted around for them for quite a while. I love them, but I don't know if I can bring myself to actually wear them outside of WDW.. lol.

deedee2177 said:
Awesome update!!! Yet again you provide a review of a restaurant that I'm hoping to snag an ADR for on our November Trip!! We will have a late ADR as well, and I'm keeping fingers crossed we will be able to see Wishes as well!

Nice! I think a late Ohana might be the new thing for us.. we did an earlier one before and then we were so full the rest of the night was a waste hahaha. But this was nice, we got to enjoy a full day in the park and still see fireworks. :thumbsup2

goodmorningirl said:
Just joined and caught up in one sitting. Loving your report, especially your outfits for your Elsa and Anna meet!

Thanks! I am enjoying your wedding report - how fun. Anna and Elsa loved our outfits, even if most of the adults around us gave us funny looks. :rotfl2:

afwdwfan said:
Whew... I'm glad that worked out for you.

I was glad they could accommodate us - it was nice of them and it was really unexpected.

afwdwfan said:
Wow... $10 doesn't go far for 2 meals a day at Disney World.

I think it's $10/meal 2 times a day, but still, to get even a drink with it is probably $13/person per meal.. not much at all.

afwdwfan said:
Thanks for sharing so many pictures! I haven't seen much about it, but it really looks like a nice area! I'm looking forward to seeing how much it changes the viewing of Wishes with that open now.

No problem, I was so excited when we got there and it was ready. I was hoping the walls weren't up. It's definitely really nice and open. I think at least some of the area is for FP+ for Wishes.. they had the Mickey things up for scanning.. but maybe not all of it? I'm not sure.

afwdwfan said:
Well done! You deserve a pat on the back for all the FP+, and working out all the ADR details.

Haha, thanks! I'm happy to do it - I'm a bit of a control freak planner like most around here - but everyone appreciated it in the long run. I was nervous about making everyone happy yet still having a relaxed and effective plan, but it worked out for the most part. :banana:

Vernie822 · Mar 22, 2015

On Tuesday, we were up by 7:15 for our day at Hollywood Studios. If you read my last TR, Justin and I spent only a few hours here. It was rainy, neither one of us felt like riding RNR or Tower of Terror, so we didn’t have much to do there. It was also feeling like a lot was closing, gone, or outdated.

So going into this trip, I had the impression that as 4 adults, we wouldn’t find much to do here and we probably would be done shortly after lunch time.

As a kid, we would spent at least a day, or a day and a half, at Hollywood Studios. There was a ton to do and we loved it. I got the impression last time that there was less and less.. and I’m happy to say, we found so much to do at DHS! We seriously had a blast and stayed there until 6 PM. I was shocked!

My mom and aunt had spent a full day here Friday when the band was performing, so I didn’t think they’d want to spend the whole day there. Neither did they.

We had FP’s for Tower of Terror, Little Mermaid, and Toy Story. Trying to explain to my family why I couldn’t choose Tower of Terror, Toy Story, and Rock’n Rollercoaster was way more difficult than I had hoped.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved planning the trip and helping with everything – but it’s very difficult to explain the FP+ system to someone that hasn’t been to WDW in 10 or 20 years.

On our way to the bus stop that morning, I took a picture or two of the courtyard area. This was right outside our building, #4, in between the building and the bus stop area.

Here's the path we took. To the left you can see the awnings of the bus stop. We really didn't have far to walk.

We got to DHS around 9:10 and waited in a bit of a line to get in – this was pretty close to ‘rope drop’ for us, maybe the closest we got all week.

In line, there was a 2 or 3 year old girl absolutely screaming her head off behind us. Like the wriggling out of her mom’s arms, miserable, she didn’t care that she was in Disney world kinda thing. :scared:

So my mom jokingly said to us “Does she not know this is the happiest place on earth!?” :rotfl2:

By the looks of it, she did not want to be there! Haha. Once we got inside she was happy to be there.

A picture of us in front of the hat.. er..

We headed straight to Sunset Blvd, which I had suggested earlier, to get onto Rock’n Rollercoaster first thing.

But first, a Photopass photographer..

Our Tower of Terror FP+ started at 9:10, so we hoped to get to that afterwards. I checked my Lines app while we were in line to see that RNR was already down. At 9:15! So we headed for TOT first.

With only a 15 minute posted wait (Lines said ‘more like 6’), we jumped in the standby line and changed our FP’s for something different. I can’t even remember what – it might have been the Muppets.

15 minutes later, I checked Lines.. The wait was up to 20. Ok, not a big deal, a ton of people must have just arrived and got in line, just like us.

A few minutes after that, they made an announcement that there had been an emergency on the ride. So it would close and reopen in a few minutes and we could all stay in line.

After waiting for a grand total of 30 minutes I felt really bad for my family. My aunt had been sitting outside of the line, waiting for us, and we’d been gone for 30 minutes! We decided to get out of line, change our FP’s for later (I was able to grab one for 3:50), and go ride something else.

On our way out of line, we heard someone say “Does this thing go upside down?! If I go upside down, my teeth will fall out..” Hahahahaha.

We headed towards RNR, which was back up and running.

I decided that while I could probably stomach it, I didn’t want to feel like crap the rest of the day. My mom found out it goes upside down and also said she’d rather not.

So K decided that Single Rider would be her friend. My aunt waited for her outside the exit, and my mom and I went towards the front of the park. She had purchased a sweatshirt, and found something she liked better, so she was going to return it.

I had one thing on my mind – STARBUCKS!!

Mostly, I wanted to check it out. Also, I am an iced coffee fan, so I had to get one now that the new Trolley Car Café was open.

First we stopped at the store where my mom had purchased her sweatshirt. FYI, if you need to return something, this place accepted her sweatshirt, untouched with the tags still on it, and the receipt, and refunded my mom her money. I don't know if this is the usual procedure, and she didn't know if it could be returned or not, but we are glad we tried. On to Starbucks..

Here are some of the yummy treats for sale in there. I wanted to grab more pictures, but it was pretty busy. On my bucket list for next time.. the chocolate peanut butter cupcake. Holy Moses. I need one.

I also spotted a tumbler that I just had to possess. I have a plastic tumbler addiction. They’re so handy. It's a big (24 oz) clear plastic tumbler like Starbucks sells in their stores. It looks like a Starbucks cup, but with the SB logo on one side and 'DISNEY PARKS' logo on the other side. I forgot to take a picture. We handily had this shipped back to our resort so that I didn't have to carry it around all day. :jumping3:

My first Starbucks in WDW!

Coffee in hand, we met back up with them after K’s RNR experience – she loved single rider and didn’t mind it one bit. We headed towards Animation Courtyard for our next FP+… Voyage of the Little Mermaid!

DisneyKid4Life · Mar 23, 2015

Isn't that the truth. It's so nice to explain the benfits of FP+ in that you can book stuff prior to a trip. But explaining the tiers is torture.

Hahaha, for some reason it always seemed to be Epcot for me where the kids constantly screamed and cried. Even now, whenever I'm out with a friend that was with me in Disney and we hear a screaming kid, it immediately makes us think of Epcot.

I think I need to try that chocolate peanut butter cupcake as well. I always get the Red Velvet, because it's AWESOME, but I just have to try the PB one just once.

afwdwfan · Mar 24, 2015

Vernie822 said:
As a kid, we would spent at least a day, or a day and a half, at Hollywood Studios. There was a ton to do and we loved it. I got the impression last time that there was less and less.. and I’m happy to say, we found so much to do at DHS! We seriously had a blast and stayed there until 6 PM. I was shocked!

I'm glad that it turned out to be a full day there for you. I always really enjoy DHS and can managed to spend a day + there and not even do everything. But then again, the way things are closing, it takes less and less time to get through there all the time.

Vernie822 said:
We had FP’s for Tower of Terror, Little Mermaid, and Toy Story. Trying to explain to my family why I couldn’t choose Tower of Terror, Toy Story, and Rock’n Rollercoaster was way more difficult than I had hoped.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved planning the trip and helping with everything – but it’s very difficult to explain the FP+ system to someone that hasn’t been to WDW in 10 or 20 years.

Quite honestly, if you have to try to explain it to anyone who hasn't been on the disboards or some other similar site researching the whole system, it is nearly impossible. There are just so many rules and little quirks that it really takes a lot to understand all of it.

Vernie822 said:
A picture of us in front of the hat.. er..

I think the theater makes an awesome backdrop. :thumbsup2

Vernie822 said:
We headed straight to Sunset Blvd, which I had suggested earlier, to get onto Rock’n Rollercoaster first thing.

Great idea! As long as it is open. :faint:

Vernie822 said:
After waiting for a grand total of 30 minutes I felt really bad for my family. My aunt had been sitting outside of the line, waiting for us, and we’d been gone for 30 minutes! We decided to get out of line, change our FP’s for later (I was able to grab one for 3:50), and go ride something else.

Wow... no luck at all. 30 minutes wasted in line and 2 rides that are down. Brutal start to the day.

Vernie822 said:
On our way out of line, we heard someone say “Does this thing go upside down?! If I go upside down, my teeth will fall out..” Hahahahaha.

Vernie822 said:
I decided that while I could probably stomach it, I didn’t want to feel like crap the rest of the day. My mom found out it goes upside down and also said she’d rather not.

So K decided that Single Rider would be her friend.

Well, I'm glad K got to enjoy the best ride on WDW property. :thumbsup2

Vernie822 · Mar 24, 2015

DisneyKid4Life said:
Isn't that the truth. It's so nice to explain the benfits of FP+ in that you can book stuff prior to a trip. But explaining the tiers is torture.

Hahaha, for some reason it always seemed to be Epcot for me where the kids constantly screamed and cried. Even now, whenever I'm out with a friend that was with me in Disney and we hear a screaming kid, it immediately makes us think of Epcot.

I think I need to try that chocolate peanut butter cupcake as well. I always get the Red Velvet, because it's AWESOME, but I just have to try the PB one just once.

Explaining the tiering was exhausting. Explaining that we couldn't book the 4th FP from our phones was difficult. And then explaining that we could only book one at a time.. for the times/rides available.. Oh geeze! The red velvet cupcake sounds divine too.. Maybe I should just skip crappy QS and eat cupcakes next time lol.

afwdwfan said:
I'm glad that it turned out to be a full day there for you. I always really enjoy DHS and can managed to spend a day + there and not even do everything. But then again, the way things are closing, it takes less and less time to get through there all the time.

Honestly I was expecting to be out of there by 1 pm. I think I've seen the Indiana Jones show 10 times, and we had no interest a few things, but I was glad we got a full day out of it.

afwdwfan said:
Quite honestly, if you have to try to explain it to anyone who hasn't been on the disboards or some other similar site researching the whole system, it is nearly impossible. There are just so many rules and little quirks that it really takes a lot to understand all of it.

Seriously. It's exhausting! I swear we put countless hours into planning and analyzing these things and then to have to explain them.. oh it is so difficult haha.

afwdwfan said:
Wow... no luck at all. 30 minutes wasted in line and 2 rides that are down. Brutal start to the day.

I don't think I did a ride/attraction until 11 am.. Once we got our day started, it got moving much faster!

Cando86 · Mar 27, 2015

I had my first Starbucks last trip and it was AMAZING! I've seen pictures of that tumbler you mentioned and it is adorable.

Love hearing about your trip! Can't wait to hear more about your HS day! We've been struggling with HS lately...I'm so conflicted because I do love the park but it just feels like it's going through a big transformation right now. Which is a good thing - I'm excited for the addition of Star Wars and more Pixar - but it seemed like you were really in the middle of the transformation.

megfarwell · Mar 27, 2015

Sounds fun!

Vernie822 · Mar 27, 2015

Cando86 said:
I had my first Starbucks last trip and it was AMAZING! I've seen pictures of that tumbler you mentioned and it is adorable.

Love hearing about your trip! Can't wait to hear more about your HS day! We've been struggling with HS lately...I'm so conflicted because I do love the park but it just feels like it's going through a big transformation right now. Which is a good thing - I'm excited for the addition of Star Wars and more Pixar - but it seemed like you were really in the middle of the transformation.

Thanks! I had been back and forth on the tumbler.. because really who needs another plastic cup.. but I needed this one! Haha.

We struggled w/ HS on our last trip. It was my fiance's first time there and he was less than impressed. Honestly maybe it will be a half day park for us on our next trip. We spent so much time there because my aunt and mom and cousin were very interested in the shows. But for now I feel like it's a work in progress. Personally I would rather spent half of the day in Epcot and then just get to DHS to do a few things.. but yes I'm so excited for what's to come as well.

megfarwell said:
Sounds fun!

Thank you for reading :flower1:

Vernie822 · Mar 27, 2015

When I last left off, we were heading to our Fastpass for the 11:00 showing of Voyage of the Little Mermaid. While this may not require a FP, I love this ride and I knew they’d want to see it. It’s a cute show!

We caught a cute picture or two after that.

We had a 12:10 reservation for 50’s Prime Time that day. I was really excited to eat here. We contemplated going to an attraction first but didn’t think we’d make it, so we headed that way. I had never been here, but my mom ate here with my dad and siblings the last time they came. I knew my aunt would get a kick out of the décor and the sassy waitresses.

We approached 50’s around 11:40, a half hour before our ADR. We asked them if there was any chance we could check in early. They said it would be no problem.

They seated us not too long after that. We took a couple pictures of the perfectly themed lobby.

This area reminded my mom and aunt of my great grandma's house!

Tune-In Lounge:

Phil, a boisterous old fellow from Massachusetts, led us to our table. Alicia would be our server.

Alicia was a great waitress, but didn’t serve up any sass like we thought she would! I was kind of hoping for it because I knew my mom and aunt would get a kick out of it.

We had no idea what to order. My bucket list included the fried chicken. We had a dinner ADR that night, but had just done granola bars in the room at breakfast, so we were hungry, but didn’t want to fill ourselves too much.

My mom wanted to try the chicken too. Then I thought, well maybe I’ll get the pot roast..

My cousin and aunt thought the same thing.

So we did what we had done the day before – split meals!

Mom and I shared a sampler, and Aunt D and K shared one too. We decided that since we only got 2 entrees, we could totally get 2 appetizers as well.

We chose the herb fried cheese, and the beer battered onion rings.

Our food came out, entrees with appetizers, which was fine with us because we were splitting everything.

So where to start. Let’s start with the apps.

Fried herb and garlic cheese - served with warm Raspberry Sauce and toasted French Bread $8.99

We cut the fried cheese wedge into 4 pieces and split it. No one really ate the fruit – come on, we are on a vacation here – but the fried cheese was delicious. I think K said she thought it was boursin? Not sure. I love cheese, I don’t discriminate. I’ll eat it, whatever it is.

Battered onion rings - served with horseradish sauce $6.99

The onion rings were hot and crispy. Not something I would generally order, but the horseradish sauce complemented them really well. The wedge salad also looked great, but that would’ve been hard to share.

Now for the samplers.. here’s ours before my mom and I cut into it. It wasn’t painfully difficult to split, except the chicken.

A Sampling of Mom's Favorite Recipes - Crispy-fried Chicken, Fork Tender Pot Roast, and Traditional Meatloaf with all the fixings $21.99

I hate meatloaf. Like really hate it. I despise it. Probably because when we were younger, my mom would make it pretty often. Except she often overcooked things, so it would come out like a brick with ketchup on top. Love ya mom, but that meatloaf left me forever hating it.

Except this meatloaf – it was great! It was moist, not dry and overcooked. The ketchup was a nice accompaniment. Still my least favorite thing on the plate, since I’m a meatloaf hater, but it was good.

The pot roast was delicious. I had been wanting to try it, so I’m glad I did. This is something I try to cook at home but it never comes out just right. So I was happy to try this!

We also received fried chicken, which.. omg, was amazing. I rarely eat fried chicken, but this stuff was delicious! Not like regular fried chicken where you get the grease all over your fingers. I can’t explain it, it was greaseless perfection. I would go again and just order the fried chicken.

The mashed potatoes that accompanied the fried chicken were great. They were creamy with a delicious gravy. Mmmmm!

We also got green beans, which I think came alongside the pot roast. These were good – nothing to write home about but still a good part of the meal.

The collard greens were something I’ve never tried before. So I was hesitant at first but I ate them. We pretty much cleaned our plates!

Overall, this was a delicious meal. Since counter service meals at DHS are lacking (in my opinion!) I didn’t mind taking an hour break and getting something good to eat. I definitely think Justin and I will have to come back on our next trip.

We took some cute pictures in front of the lake after our meal.

There was a 10-15 minute preview of Cinderella showing while we were there. The movie would be coming out in about a week. My mom and aunt had seen the Cinderella preview a few days prior, but encouraged K and I to go see it and they’d gladly see it again.

Spoiler alert – it got me way excited for the movie, and Justin and I went last night. It was great! Really good message for kids, it was funny, and magical, of course.

We had a FP+ for Toy Story, I think it was around 1:30. So we did that next.

Zero wait for our FP+.. woo hoo! My mom and I love this ride. She beat me by 100 POINTS. She was upset we couldn’t ride it again, but none of us wanted to wait over an hour to do standby.

We met some friends after that.. Mom was really excited! The line to meet Buzz and Woody was not long at all. We waited maybe 10-15 minutes.

Next, we headed towards Streets of America. I had my eye on the prize.. Cinderella's Carriage.

Only, the line was forever long. My mom and aunt had their picture taken with it a few days prior, so we decided it wasn't worth the wait.

Here was my view:

My cousin is clearly a better creeper than I am, because she snagged this beauty:

Next up.. We discover the Carrot Cake Cookie!

RunnerMommyof4 · Mar 27, 2015

A carrot cake cookie..yummy! 50's PrimeTime sounds good but I'm not sure the DKids would pick that one over some of the others. I am thinking we will stay very busy at DHS. Glad to know RnR goes upside down...we may be waiting inline for oldest DD to ride that one solo. Starbucks at WDW? Seriously...I'm going to be in heaven. We have to drive a 1/2 hour for Starbucks currently, so its a treat and I love their iced drinks!

Vernie822 · Mar 28, 2015

We came to a crossroads here, and didn’t know what to do.

We knew we wanted to see Beauty and the Beast, at 3 PM. We wanted to see the Muppets 3D (Ok I could’ve done without this one lol) and everyone wanted to do the Frozen Singalong. Well, in passing by the Frozen area, the show had a ton of people in line. We knew if we did the 2:45 show there’s no way we’d make Beauty and the Beast at 3.

I let them know that we could do the later Beauty and the Beast, but it honestly didn’t look like we’d get in for Frozen. Plus, we had a 4:30 FP+ for Tower of Terror. The line was really long. For all I know, there are tons of seats in the theater. But everyone decided that Muppets was a better bet.

So we did Muppets, then hustled over to Beauty and the Beast for 3 PM.

We arrived shortly before 3 and were seated in the upper level, in the beating sun. That’s what we get for being just before 3!

The show was great, as usual. Everyone loved it. :thumbsup2

We checked out the Villains store and Sweet Spells after that..

Cute Olaf marshmallow wands!

but I had one thing on my mind.. a carrot cake cookie!

I didn’t want to make any of my family trek across the park with me, so I let them know that I wanted one, and asked if anyone else did. They all said “UM THERE IS A CARROT CAKE COOKIE SANDWICH HERE AND YOU DIDN’T TELL US TIL NOW!? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?” :confused3

So off we went to Writer’s Stop.. a cute little spot!

They had lots of yummy stuff, but we all had our eyes on the prize.

Mom and I decided to split, since we were still full from lunch. And these babies are huge.

K and D also split one.

The verdict: this was amazing.

I may have split this 60/40.. oops!

Omg. Cookies, cream cheese icing.. to die for. :faint:

On my bucket list that I didn’t include for this one, not knowing how long we’d spend at DHS and knowing a Carrot Cake Cookie was my top priority, is a chocolate peanut butter cupcake. Yum. Ok, next time.

We did One Man’s Dream after that.

I could walk around in there for hours. I love reading all of the little blurbs of info and seeing all of Walt’s ideas.

So now it was time for our TOT Fastpass. Well, my mom and K are the only ones that rode. I was still digesting that carrot cake deliciousness and didn’t want it jumping around too much.

My aunt and I sat outside of the Once Upon a Time store and people watched. Oh, did we people watch.

I ended up going to Rosie’s All American Café in the Sunset Market to grab an ice water while we waited. My mom and K said that TOT wasn’t too bad. K wanted to ride RNR one last time before leaving, so she darted over to do Single Rider and was only gone for like 15 minutes. :thumbsup2

I really really really wanted one of the awesome Cinderella popcorn buckets I'd seen floating around on the internet. On our way out of the park, I stopped at a popcorn stand to ask about them. Unfortunately, they weren't coming out until FRIDAY when the movie came out.. they said they knew the buckets were in Florida somewhere but they had no idea where.. and it was TUESDAY. Seriously, I missed one by a few days!

It was about 5:15 when we were leaving, and a bus pulled right up! It was great. We were back by 5:45 and ready for our evening’s adventures at DTD. Honestly, I didn’t think we’d be at DHS past 2 or 3 PM.

DHS, in my opinion, is a really hard park to plan. If you want to see shows, you can’t just hop from place to place and say ‘Oh lets do this now’ since you kind of have to run on their schedule. I wish we could’ve done the Frozen Sing-A-Long, but I really don’t know what the audience would have thought if I would have busted out my best rendition of my favorite Frozen song, Love is an Open Door.

Up next: An evening at Raglan Road / Downtown Disney

Vernie822 · Mar 28, 2015

RunnerMommyof4 said:
A carrot cake cookie..yummy! 50's PrimeTime sounds good but I'm not sure the DKids would pick that one over some of the others. I am thinking we will stay very busy at DHS. Glad to know RnR goes upside down...we may be waiting inline for oldest DD to ride that one solo. Starbucks at WDW? Seriously...I'm going to be in heaven. We have to drive a 1/2 hour for Starbucks currently, so its a treat and I love their iced drinks!

Yesss the carrot cake cookie is awesome

We liked 50's but I can see how the kids would like the Disney Jr characters at Hollywood and Vine, or the Sci Fi diner better.

The solo line was a pretty quick wait. Even if you have multiple people you can go in that line which we discovered with Test Track the next day - it was great and we got through in like 10 minutes. Beats waiting for 45!

I was so excited to get a Starbucks. We have a few close to us where I live but it was extra special to have it in WDW! They currently have them in Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Downtown Disney.. I think.

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