How different can two trips be? Let me count the ways! COMPLETE!

[BellaBaby]

Hmmm….my DH is a burger lover, I'm assuming they serve those?

 

[irene_dsc]

Hmmm….my DH is a burger lover, I'm assuming they serve those?

Yup - ds had a burger, and enjoyed it, iirc. His eating out staples are burgers and pizza - those meals happened a lot this trip! If I can't find either of those on a menu, I always worry about what he's going to eat. (Sometimes he'll eat chicken, generally breaded tenders, and of course, fries or mashed potatoes, but if he eats simple carbs and no protein, he sugar crashes later in the day.)

 

[HSMndLKfan92]

I find that World Showcase can be really challenging because it requires a ton of planning in order to go through with it and maximize your time. With drinks and food and shopping and scheduled shows, it's hard to take in if you just want to walk through. There's too much, and people already plan so much of Disney anyway.

I can understand the frustration of going to WS when you've visited the real thing, but I've found that it's the people they hire that make the experience for each country. I studied abroad in London one summer but it's still one of my favorite pavilions because the CMs there are generally friendly, they have awesome fish & chips and it's the only place I've found in the US* that sells pear cider, although I haven't been looking very hard.

And by US I mean the liquor stores by home (NJ) and school (PA).

 

[irene_dsc]

I find that World Showcase can be really challenging because it requires a ton of planning in order to go through with it and maximize your time. With drinks and food and shopping and scheduled shows, it's hard to take in if you just want to walk through. There's too much, and people already plan so much of Disney anyway.

I can understand the frustration of going to WS when you've visited the real thing, but I've found that it's the people they hire that make the experience for each country. I studied abroad in London one summer but it's still one of my favorite pavilions because the CMs there are generally friendly, they have awesome fish & chips and it's the only place I've found in the US* that sells pear cider, although I haven't been looking very hard.

And by US I mean the liquor stores by home (NJ) and school (PA).

Lol on the pear cider. I don't think I've ever had it, although it wouldn't surprise me if you could find it at one of the wineries up in Door County that does a lot of fruit wines.

I'm sure that if I was in the right mindframe, I would enjoy WS. On our first trip, we actually enjoyed the Mexico pavilion a lot. The crafts in the store reminded us a lot of our trips to Mexico, especially the painted wood carvings. Alas, we didn't go there at all this time. Also, the Italy area looks just like a miniature St. Marks Square in Venice, which is kinda cool. And I love seeing the red police box in England. I think the French area is the one that bugs me the most, because it just doesn't end up feeling like France to me. I'm not sure about Japan, since I haven't been there, but it doesn't feel as authentic to me, other than the anime stuff in the store. (I did take a class on Japanese culture in college, fwiw - that was a fun elective!)

If I had been in a more talkative mood, talking to the CM's would've been more fun.

 

[irene_dsc]

Oh, yeah - we also saw the performers with the chairs! That part was cool. I love watching street performers, but usually I'm the only one in the family who wants to do it. There was also an Irish (or Scottish?) band at one point. If I were to go by myself, I would probably just make sure to check the schedule for all of the street performers, and route myself that way! The afternoon was so dominated by other people's grumpiness, I'm having to force myself to remember all the stuff I actually enjoyed.

 

[irene_dsc]

I had also almost forgotten to talk about what happened after dinner!

You may recall that dd had lost her stuffed kitty, and you may have noticed that I didn't mention actually buying a replacement in Epcot. She had seen one she sorta liked in the morning, but we weren't sure about it. And when we were on Pokemon shopping overload, I was starting to get nervous about her souvenir budget. On our first trip, somehow we managed to stick to about $20 per kid. Well, the silly toy she wanted was $20! I had thought it was $10, but apparently that was a different toy she had considered and put back, and I didn't want to say no at the counter. Although in retrospect, I wish we had gotten her the book. Anyhow, she also wanted to get some Harry Potter stuff at Universal, and my sister-in-law had sent the kids a couple of pins right before the trip, so they were big into the idea of getting pins.

All this to say, I didn't really want to *also* buy an expensive stuffed animal, on top of everything else. Especially since she had tons back home!

As it happens, I had noticed that our resort was almost next door to a Dollar Tree. Dollar Tree is dd and my very favorite chain of dollar stores. You can find all sorts of useful and interesting stuff there - not always what you are looking for, but I almost always end up buying stuff I hadn't planned on, but know I could use. (I think the 2-pack of handwarmers for Girl Scout cookie booth sales was my best find.) And sometimes, they have stuffed animals.

So, after dinner, dd and I walked over to the Dollar Tree. Conveniently, we didn't even need to cross any traffic to do this! Even better, we got to walk past the mini golf place that was playing Jimmy Buffett music. And saw a sign - Unlimited Buffet. But dd misread it as unlimited Buffett - as in, Jimmy Buffett. When we realized that it was actually for the CiCi's pizza buffet, we started laughing hysterically! This put us in a good mood as we went into the Dollar Tree. Alas, dd decided that none of the small stuffed animals were quite big enough to be an acceptable sleepy toy. So, we went a couple doors down to the random gift store, to check out what they had. Lo and behold, they had a nice little assortment of Ty products - mostly Beanie Boos. There was also a very chatty saleslady, who was happy to explain to us that there were different generations of Beanie Boos. Dd found a nice wolf, which is the older version of one she already had, named Slush, but she had named hers Snow. I forget exactly how much it was, but we decided it was an acceptable price (although I didn't get away with $1!). So, she was happy, and her new wolf turned out to be a good trip companion for her, even though she never did name it.

 

[KathyM2]

Way to go on replacing the lost stuffy toy!!! That's the worst when they feel like they need to replace something and can't find something they like...been there, done that. And also good that you didn't end up going crazy spending more than you should to replace it to pacify a kid...been there, done that too!!! So funny about the "unlimited Buffett" thing...although I wouldn't mind that so much

 

[irene_dsc]

Way to go on replacing the lost stuffy toy!!! That's the worst when they feel like they need to replace something and can't find something they like...been there, done that. And also good that you didn't end up going crazy spending more than you should to replace it to pacify a kid...been there, done that too!!! So funny about the "unlimited Buffett" thing...although I wouldn't mind that so much

Yeah, this trip was right before her birthday, so we pretty much talked it up as being her birthday celebration, and that she would be getting more souvenirs than normal as part of her birthday celebration. (This also helped keep ds' spending in check, since he isn't as big on either Pokemon or Harry Potter.) We never did give her anything from us on her actual birthday, although ds did go shopping with me to pick out something for her "from her brother". I put that in quotes, since it was *my* money, and I was the one who suggested the toy! (Lego Elves, fwiw).

And yes, I wouldn't mind unlimited Jimmy Buffett - for a while, at least!

 

[jchurch0409]

Great replacement!! I love Dollar Tree as well! So many neat things!

 

[irene_dsc]

Great replacement!! I love Dollar Tree as well! So many neat things!

Dollar Tree is awesome.

 

[Dumbo In Wonderland]

My sister-in-law is obsessed with Pokemon and we always get her some stuff from the Japan store since she's the one who babysits our kitty cat when we go on our trip

 

[irene_dsc]

Changing gears for a moment. I have a new travel challenge for you guys. For the last few years, my mother-in-law has organized a multi-family weekend trip to the Kalahari in the Wisconsin Dells. (The cast has generally included the 4 of us (for a reminder, dd is now 11, ds will be 14), and 3-4 of my nieces, who currently range in age from 13-17, plus my in-laws). Last year, the teenage girls spent most of the time on their phones, and not much time in the water park, much to my mil's chagrin. (We also did Wizard Quest, MagiQuest, and the water show). I think my daughter is the only one who would really like to go back to a water park, although the others might be open to going to a different water park.

(Note that my sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law have not opted to attend these outings!)

We would be driving from the northern suburbs of Chicago, so would prefer not too far. 3-4 hours would be good, but we might be willing to go 5-6 hours.

Ideas?

 

[irene_dsc]

Family discussion last night, due to Disney Channel ads. When for the next trip? My vote is for not until after Avatar Land and the new Star Wars section are both done. So, we have a few years. Then we just need to figure out when to do it, since the kids will both be in high school and I can't really pull them...but I don't think I'm quite ready to really start planning that one yet!

We also have a pretty big travel bucket list to take care of - Paris is a biggie on it. Plus a grownups only trip to Vegas. I've been to Paris, and dh has been to Vegas, fwiw.

 

[irene_dsc]

Next up in the actual Trip Report: Magic Kingdom Day!


Since the entire week was MK early EMH from 7-8, we knew that even if we got there at rope drop, there would already be people in the park. So, we tried to get up early, but I didn't go crazy getting us up and over there. Which was good, since this would be our first time doing the TTC. We also wanted to pack for our day a little better. This time, I remembered hats! Plus, dh brought the backpack. For one thing, ds' new sandals were bugging him a little, so he decided he didn't want to wear them all day, but just for Splash Mountain. (We couldn't find his slides before we left, and thought we had thrown them out in the fall, or else we would've brought those. They did turn up shortly after we got home, of course.



We didn’t manage to get there quite in time for off-site rope drop, but we didn’t do too badly. We parked at the TTC, and then while we were on our tram, we had to make the decision – boat or monorail? We hadn’t done the monorail before, but otoh, it seemed like everyone and their brother was headed to the monorail. So, we headed to the boats, since we saw one headed to the dock. We got to get on an almost empty boat – and wait for it to fill up. Most of the rest of our boat was full of a middle school band. I’m pretty sure dd’s school band doesn’t take anywhere near as exciting of trips!

By the time we got to the gate, it was after 9, iirc. I had purposefully not made any very early FP+’s because I didn’t know how early we would get there, and I figured we would take advantage of shorter lines, anyhow. Plus, I didn’t know how many people wanted to ride Space Mountain.



But, I did know that everyone loved Buzz! So, we headed straight to Buzz Lightyear. And I was right about everyone loving Buzz. The only thing I don’t love about it is that I suck! I can’t seem to tell where I’m aiming ever, which tends to make my aim not work very well. So, yeah.



Next, we headed to Space Mountain. Last time, I was the only one in our group who rode it, since I wanted to do it once before they refurbed it. The biggest thing I remembered was feeling like my glasses were going to fly off my face the whole time, and holding them on for dear life. Which, strangely enough, took away from my enjoyment of the ride! So, this time, I was prepared. I had packed croakies! Croakies are awesome!



It turns out, with croakies, Space Mountain is great! I think it was my favorite ride the entire trip! Just enough thrill for me – not too much, not too little. Plus, you are going through space! It was also pretty smooth and didn’t churn my stomach, which is always a plus.



Everyone else enjoyed the ride, too. Dd was turning out to be quite the thrill-seeker, to my surprise. Fortunately, she didn’t have any problems with feeling her glasses were falling off. I had thought I had brought 2 pairs of croakies, but could only find one pair, and the other pair never did turn up.



Our first FP+ was for Peter Pan at 10:50, so we still had some time. I asked dd if she wanted to do the Tea Cups, since she had really liked them last time, but she immediately decided they were way too tame for her now. So, we headed to The Haunted Mansion instead.



HM was another one we had skipped the first time around, since we thought it would be too scary. Not this time around! They had a blast looking at all the theming in the queue, and really got into the spirit of the ride. I can see why this ride has such a cult following! This was another one of my favorites of the day.



At the end of HM, we finally were at the time for our PP FP+. DS didn’t really want to do it, but we convinced him to do it in the name of nostalgia – and since dd wanted us all to do it together. And since we wouldn’t have to wait long! So, we got into our floating boats and were swept away into the nighttime London sky.



Alas, this was one ride that didn’t live up to dd’s memory. Now that she is my thrill-seeker, Peter Pan seemed way too tame for her. I still enjoyed it, but I think it was definitely the most magical for us the first time. I’m glad we did it, but I’m *really* glad we didn’t wait in a long line for it, even if it did have new interactive queuing activities!



At this point, we still had plenty of time before our 1:00 Liberty Tree Tavern ADR. Lines still weren’t all that long, either. So, we decided to tackle the next mountain - Big Thunder Railroad! I don’t think any of us had done it the last time, unless possibly dh and ds without me or dd. So, we all enjoyed the interactive queue, and reading all of the signs. I really should’ve been taking photos, but my phone battery was draining really quickly, and I hadn’t gotten new batteries for my camera yet. Anyhow, we enjoyed our wait walking through the queue, and the ride itself was a lot of fun, too! I’m not sure I need to do it more than once in a trip, but it was fun.



We still had time before our ADR, so we decided to wander around a little bit. Dh found a Walt Disney quote that he liked, and made me take a photo. (Note that we strategically left his phone in the room, so clients couldn’t call him!)He also started mentioning that we really ought to be taking some more photos of each other, so here are a few:

It was nice out, but ds decided he liked wearing his lightweight hoodie as a sunshade better than wearing his sunglasses most of the time.

 

[KathyM2]

Looks like a great day!! That's insane early to try to get to the park for 7am for EMH...I can't imagine...getting there for 8 am is tough enough! But you seemed to have got a lot done in the am anyway!! I still love Peter Pan too...but then...I'm a wuss when it comes to rides lol

 

[irene_dsc]

Looks like a great day!! That's insane early to try to get to the park for 7am for EMH...I can't imagine...getting there for 8 am is tough enough! But you seemed to have got a lot done in the am anyway!! I still love Peter Pan too...but then...I'm a wuss when it comes to rides lol

Yeah, I can't imagine trying to get there for a 7 am EMH, either! We got a lot more done in the morning than I expected - pretty much everything we were hoping to do, and more! I had figured we would have to do Big Thunder sometime in the afternoon crowds, so I was very happy we were able to do it earlier.

 

[irene_dsc]

Btw, this is the sign that originally inspired dh's picture taking:



This is so true. Without deadlines of some sort, nothing gets done!

Anyhow, after our wandering around and random picture taking, a little bit of ornament browsing (but no buying - we saw the one we bought last time, and didn't like anything else), it was finally time for our Liberty Tree Tavern ADR! Yay!

We had picked LTT for a few reasons. First, both of our kids have really good social studies teachers this year, and they are actually interested in American history a bit! Dd (5th grade) has been studying the American Revolution, so she was especially excited with the idea that we could eat at a Revolutionary War themed restaurant! (They even had to recreate Gettysburg - they were told to bring outdoor gear, a bedroll, and something that they could pretend to hold as a musket. Then one day, they had to march up and down the fields in formation for a couple hours. At least they were allowed to wear boots!)

Also, we thought everyone would enjoy the menu, and lastly, we figured it would be a good break for the day. We had remembered the CS places as being a bit of a madhouse, especially to find a table, so a lunch ADR sounded like a good plan.

So, we checked into LTT uneventfully. They had our info and everything, which is always reassuring! We had to wait a little bit, but not too long, and then we got our table. Somehow, it seemed obvious that we *needed* to order the Pilgrim's Dinner - aka, turkey dinner. At least, dh and I did. I think ds ordered a hamburger (again), and dd got macaroni and cheese (again) - but with the promise she would eat a little bit of my turkey, to get some protein. But first, since we wanted a nice long break, we got appetizers! Dh and I shared the Crab and Lobster Dip for two, and the kids shared the Tavern Fried Cheese. (Yes, I'm peeking at the menu to get the correct names!) I didn't try any of the fried cheese, but the Crab and Lobster Dip was delicious!

The turkey dinner was good, although not exciting. But, since it was going to be our main meal of the day, we were happy to chow down. The only thing that worked against our nice relaxing mid-day break was that the dining room had almost entirely hard surfaces, so it was pretty loud in there with just people talking. Not horrible, but definitely on the loud side.

Since we had gotten through most of our main ride goals for the day already, but knew we still had late FP+'s (5:15 Splash, and 10:15 Seven Dwarves, after Wishes!), we had plenty of time to fill. We needed to make a plan! My original ideas for after lunch were Big Thunder, Tom Sawyer's Island, and/or Pirates of the Caribbean, and possibly Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. Funny how 2 of those were inspired by 2 of my favorite books from my childhood! I've never seen movies of them, but I assume they must exist, lol.

Anyhow, the kids had a different idea. Ds had been looking through the map, and noticed this thing called Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom, and got intrigued. You may remember from my Dells post that the kids have already done Wizard Quest and MagiQuest, and this sounded like a similar sort of idea. I hadn't really paid much attention to the Sorcerers thing when I was doing my trip planning, so I didn't know much about it. But, since we would have a few hours before our next FP+, why not? Plus, one of the starting places was not far from LTT! (And unlike the Harry Potter wands, this didn't require any sort of additional fee - score!)

So, after lunch, we headed out to find out about Sorcerers...

 

[KathyM2]

Oh boy...I look forward to hearing more about sorcerers...my DS would be into that I think...but I heard you need a lot of spare time....That's so awesome that you got to eat at a place that is themed on something your kids had been learning about in school!

 

[BellaBaby]

Sorcerers sounds like fun, but if you need a lot of time, I'm not sure we'd take away from our "riding" time!

 

[irene_dsc]

Oh boy...I look forward to hearing more about sorcerers...my DS would be into that I think...but I heard you need a lot of spare time....That's so awesome that you got to eat at a place that is themed on something your kids had been learning about in school!

It can take as much or as little time as you want - but I'll give more details in the full update once I get to it!

And yes, it was cool that I could get my kids excited about history! That is a relatively recent phenomenon, and I'm taking full advantage! :roftl:

Sorcerers sounds like fun, but if you need a lot of time, I'm not sure we'd take away from our "riding" time!

I hadn't been planning on it, but since the kids were looking for thrills and not calm rides, they were ok with it. Plus, it's a good thing to do in the afternoon when the lines are longest, if you didn't schedule FP+ or wanting to watch the parade.