It’s been a busy, stressful week at work, but I’m at dd’s jazz dance class now, so I figured I’d write another update to distract myself and get more trip reported. Naturally, the wifi isn’t working well enough to actually connect to the internet, so I’m writing off-line. At least this isn’t a photo heavy update. (Note: I wrote that Thursday - now I'm finally getting around to posting on Saturday night!)
So, where were we? Finishing up with Tom Sawyer’s Island, iirc, in our nice quiet respite from the crowds. Next, we needed to get some dinner, and find a spot for Wishes! We knew we wanted to end up in Tomorrowland and New Fantasyland, since we had that 10:15 7D FP+. So, we figured we would wander over that away, in order to find dinner. I had originally scoped out a different CS restaurant for dinner, Pecos Bills, I think? But, that was not going to make sense geographically, and we are all about not walking more than necessary near the end of the day, especially when we needed to scope out a Wishes spot!
So, we ended up at the Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant. I do *not* recommend it, I have to say. It was probably the worst CS meal we had at WDW. It wasn’t awful, but it really wasn’t at all good. Dh and I both had burgers that were basic thin burgers cooked well-done, and we both prefer medium rare in a nice thick juicy burger. I forget what the kids had. The other annoying part was simply navigating the restaurant. The CMs kept redirecting me. Then, we went the long route to find the outside restrooms, when of course, there were some much more conveniently located. Nothing overwhelmingly awful, just not great, y’know? But, it did have location, location, location, and that was what mattered.
When we were done with dinner, it was time to scope out a spot for Wishes! We remembered Main Street being simply jam packed with people from the last time we were there, so we knew we didn’t want to be there. We had tried on top of the train station our very first time, but we were very far from the action, and we also knew we wanted to go ride more afterwards, so there was no point having to go against all that Main Street traffic afterwards!
We decided to stake out a spot near the castle, on the Tomorrowland side, just a quick walk from dinner. We asked one of the CM’s, and he said we had found a good spot, with a good view of Tinkerbell’s Flight. This turned out to be a great spot for the castle light show, too! This was new since our last trip, and I hadn’t heard much about it, so it was a good surprise for all of us!
Our view of the castle before the show, and the kids patiently waiting. Yeah, it was dark. I forget if my phone was so low on battery that it wouldn't do flash anymore, or if that was actually *with* my phone's pitiful flash! But I decided that since my photos weren't that great, to just sit back and enjoy the show.
Another compare and contrast with our first trip - the first time, the castle was all lit up with Christmas lights. I have to admit, I still really love how they did it, so just plain lights didn't excite me nearly as much! I'll have to come back later with one of those photos - I don't have good access to them right now.
I'm sure most of you have heard all about the Celebrate the Magic castle show, so I won't try and do it justice. It was cool, and we had a great view. I think our favorite part was when they turned the castle into a big video game, for Wreck-it Ralph (although for me, it really looked more like a Mario game, lol).
And then, of course, Wishes!
It was a little weird being so close that we could see Tink going back and forth to make her zipline work! I have to admit, it wasn't quite as magical when you could see what she was doing! But, I still love Wishes...
(My *one* photo...)
After Wishes, we headed to Tomorrowland. The kids had been curious about a few of the other rides. I was hoping I was going to end up on either the Tomorrowland Transit thingy or the Carousel of Progress - but instead, we ended up in line for the Astro Orbiter. I had forgotten why I hadn't put it on my list, so I said sure, why not. I think it had about a 20 minute wait when we got there? Ds got a famous red card, so he got to feel special as we waited in the slow, slow line. I hadn't realized how they put you on elevators to get up to the actual ride entrance! When we got up there, I realized that it basically goes round and round and up and down. Kinda like Dumbo. Oh, yeah, that's why I didn't put it on the list - it loads slowly, and isn't a thrill ride!
But, the kids enjoyed it, and at least we got to look at Tomorrowland all lit up, so that was cool.
When we were done, it was about time to head for our 10:15 Seven Dwarves Mine Train FP+, at long last! I was very grateful we had our FP+ - it still had a pretty long line, even that late at night. And the verdict? It was cool, and very cute, but too short! I like that level of thrillness, but more ride would've been better, especially after all the hype!
Funny how before our trip, it seemed like we were seeing it featured constantly on Disney Channel (dd watches some of the tween shows, esp Girl Meets World lately). But, now, not as much - although constant Tomorrowland movie trailers, of course. Which we *will* need to go see next weekend. Even though dd and I still haven't gotten to see the new Cinderella *or* Into the Woods. But since I think everyone in the family wants to see Tomorrowland, there's a bigger chance we'll actually do it!
Anyhow, after 7DMT, we decided it was time to head back to the condo. It had been a good but long day for all of us!
Welcome!
Was the view great?
