If it wasn't for bad luck we would have no luck at all...Update 1/4 Evening at the Magic Kingdom

[Dreamer & Wisher]

So we had front row benches and nice cold beverages to drink. The other people who sat in the area had VIP Tour Guides with them. These were amazing seats. Henry was still nervous about the characters, so he just sat and admired them from his bench. One little girl was very excited to see all the characters and would dance around and wave and give them high fives, it was so sweet to see her having so much fun.

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

More Parade pictures




The fairies were so neat, they "floated" along the parade route.






The dragon was amazing, but we didn't see him breathe fire


Seven Dwarfs











After the parade, we sat for a few minutes, and waited for some of the crowd to disperse. Our stroller was in the back of all the benches, and it was blocked in by the other guests, and their strollers. We picked our way through the hub, towards Main Street, but we caught up with the parade. It was pretty hard to navigate through the crowds. We were excited to get back to the Beach Club and see our room, and take a break before dinner. We made our way to the bus stop and there were quite a few people waiting for a bus.

We waited about 10 minutes and a bus pulled up. I didn't think we would be able to get on the bus, but we did, and then the bus driver decided to see how many more people he could squeeze on the bus. He got up and shouted for everyone to move to the back of the bus. People started scooping kids onto their laps, men stood up and offered some ladies seats, including me. I was holding Henry, my purse, a tote bag with ponchos, and the plastic rain cover from the stroller. It was quite a ride. Henry kept sliding off my lap as this bus driver was quite fast. I couldn't see Ron, Abby and Ethan, they were in the back of the bus.

We finally made it to the bus stop started to get off. Abby got off first, but wait, we weren't at the Yacht Club, we were at the Beach Club. Ron shouted at Abby and she got back on the bus, quite a few people had gotten off, but it was still pretty crowded.

It was a relief to get out of that crowded bus we had been packed into like sardines. We strolled back into the Beach Club ready to see Room 4554 and check out our Gift Basket!

 

[Chicago Mo]

This. is. awesome!!!!!!

Those seats for the parade are just Heavenly!!! I cannot believe how close you all were!!! Sorry about the bus yet i can understand -- the one big complaint about Disney is the buses!
I cannot wait to see your room!!!

 

[kcpinwdw]

Parade looks amazing, cant wait to hear about your gift basket!!!

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

So, we arrived back the the Beach Club after a wonderful day at the Magic Kingdom. There was a Halloween Party scheduled for that evening, so we had plans to go to Disney Springs and have dinner at The Boathouse. We stopped at Bell Services in the lobby to get our luggage brought up to our room. They told us where to get on the elevator and we found the main elevator banks and it wasn't long before we were whisked away to the 4th floor. The 4th floor is quite a maze! We turned this way and that, there are lovely windows here and there in the hallways, and we passed a nice little seating area with some couches, and found our way to room 4554.

It was a gorgeous room! Two queen beds, and a nice big daybed. And a very nice balcony, we spotted the gift basket right away and took a few pictures of it before we opened it up.



All wrapped up inside the plastic and tied up in a big red bow:
Mickey and Minnie
a personalized bag
2 autograph books and pens
2 pin trading lanyards and starter pins
2 pairs of Mickey ears
3 bottles of water
4 rice krispie treats with chocolate dipped Mickey ears
a bag of pretzels
a little jar of mustard
a hidden Mickey book
4 pairs of Mickey vision glasses, which made the fireworks or any lights look like Mickey heads!







After we checked out our gifts, we explored the room and the balcony and unpacked. The balcony was so nice to sit on and have some Chai tea or a little dessert, there were 2 chairs and a little table on it.
The view from the balcony was beautiful

I tried and tried to see if I could find the Epcot ball, but I couldn't. Later that evening Ron went out onto the balcony and then came back in the room and said he could see Spaceship Earth. He is 9 inches taller then me and so went I went out on the balcony and stood on a chair, sure enough, I could see it too. It was also easier to see it in the dark when it was light up.

We relaxed in the room for a little bit, and then got dressed for dinner.

Handsome boys


Then we headed down to get a bus to Disney Springs.
A little blurry, but still cute




Disney Springs was really crowded! We followed the signs to The Boathouse, stopping to take some Photopass Pictures on the new bridge, with the sunset behind us. I need to scan those...

We made our way over to the Boathouse and checked in, we had to wait a little bit, so we browsed in the gift shop, and watched the Amphicars launch.

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

We waited about 20 minutes, and then our buzzer went off and we were lead through the very crowded restaurant to our booth. It was a nice big booth, but Henry was getting a little nervous, it was loud in the restaurant, I gave him my phone and then we looked over the menus. We were all hot and thirsty so we ordered some drinks right away, and they brought us some water, and bread and butter.

I ordered a Moscow Mule, which was served in a nice copper mug, it was icy cold and very refreshing the ginger in it calmed my nerves.


I didn't take a lot of food pictures on this trip, but I did get pictures of what we had at the Boathouse.

Abby and Ron shared a crab stuffed lobster with a side of red potatoes.




I had fish tacos


Ethan had the kids version of the fish tacos


Henry had popcorn shrimp


I really recommend eating here! So good.

After we ate dinner, we wanted to get some Gelato, it was easy to find, the Gelato place it was right across the walkway, but this probably wasn't a good idea, because the kids were too full from dinner. We ended up throwing away the boys gelato, it was melting fast and they had no room in their tummies.

We then walked through the crowds to browse in some of the stores, as we made our way over to the World of Disney, Ron and Abby were in front of me, I was pushing Henry in the stroller, and Ethan was walking with me. A lady with a stroller with 2 pink balloons on it shoved her way past me and started ramming my husband's heels with her stroller. I had read about people doing this in Disney before, but I really had never seen it or experienced it. But this lady was shoving her way through the crowd ramming the stroller into everyone's heels. Scary

The World of Disney was really crowded, too crowded to supervise the kids and look around. So we headed out. Next, we went in Basin and picked up some bath balls for our neighbor who was watching our cats, and one of our dogs. We stopped in another store, the Disney Co-Op this was much less crowded, Ron bought a retro Atlanta Falcons cap and Abby and I looked at the housewares, and the Dooney and Burke and Vera Bradley bags. I saw some really cute plates with some vintage designs of the Magic Kingdom lands, and a cute set of juice glasses with the Florida Orange Bird on them. I wish I had picked up the plates, but I thought I would see them at another shop later in the trip. I didn't see them again and we didn't go back to Disney Springs.

We headed back to the bus stop, and the hotel. Henry was falling asleep on the bus, and we could see the fireworks at DHS as we rode along. Magical

After we got back to the room the boys got ready for bed and Ron and Abby went out to the van to get a few things we had left in the van. They took a couple pictures and browsed in the gift shop near the lobby.





We had an early breakfast ADR for Cape May Cafe and plans for the Animal Kingdom the next day.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Thanks for posting the update. Your VIP seats at the parade look wonderful. It seems as if all the characters in the parade gave your viewing area a little special attention.

We really liked room 4554. The location was very convenient with the small elevator just down the hall. The halls at the BC can be a maze but once you memorize the path, it isn't too bad. And the balcony was really nice. I liked the fact that it faced north and didn't get any direct sunlight.

Your dinner looked really good. Fish tacos are one of my favorite entrees. The lobster looks huge. I can see why no one was hungry for dessert.

I just love the views across Crescent Lake. The Epcot resorts are a really nice place to stay.

 

[Chicago Mo]

FUN gift basket!!! little surprises just makes everything better! your room is beautiful! and boy oh boy EPCOT! i LOVE your report!!

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Looks like you had a great room at the Beach Club. The gift basket was great. The kids probably had a blast tearing into that.

The VIP seating looks to be really nice too.

When I was growing up, we went to Disneyland a lot. I am sure my parents did not know why they took me. It was before California Adventure. I was scared of Haunted Mansion. I was terrified of Pirates. I was scared of any ride that had a drop (Splash mountain was a big no). I didn't want to do roller coasters. I remember doing the submarines. I loved where we could drive ourselves in the car and I loved the teacups. That was about it. Everything was a drag me on, kicking and screaming. So, I feel for Henry. Now, that I have kids, I have one that is as timid as I was and I try to be patient, but it does get frustrating. I hope he found some rides that he did like.

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

The Beach Club was amazing, we don't want to stay anywhere else now, we are spoiled!!

I remember being afraid of the submarines, and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride! The train that seemed like it was coming at you scared me to death! I think I refused to ride the submarines, and my mom usually sat out with us when there was something we didn't want to ride. I got older and then tried some new rides and it was fun. I don't think I will ever like Splash Mountain, that drop just makes me sick. I haven't ever ridden Rock and Roller Coaster or Tower of Terror.

Henry really liked visiting Tom Sawyer's Island, but that is coming up on our last day.

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

So we had a late night at Downtown Disney, and we were supposed to get up early and head down to breakfast at Cape May Cafe. We checked the reservations the night before, and there was a slightly later breakfast reservation for 5 people available, but it was too late, and the Disney Dining line was closed.

We woke up pretty late, but didn't miss our reservation, I hopped in the shower quickly and got dressed, and then called Disney Dining, the nice CM said it was too close to our reservation to make any changes, and I told her we were running late, but we were in the hotel, and she said it was fine and wouldn't I please fill out her survey...
Nope, we have breakfast to get to!

So we made it downstairs, and were seated right away. We arranged ourselves in the booth with the kids on one end and Henry in between me and Abby. This way the characters could stand by Abby and we could get Henry in the pictures too, without him being too scared.
At first Henry was really scared, and Donald walked up to us right away, so Henry wasn't in this picture. He was clinging to me, he wouldn't get up to go to the buffet either, I usually have the kids tell me what they would like to eat, and then I put it on the plate, but I had to go up and just guess what he would want for breakfast. He drank chocolate milk, and I got him a Mickey waffle, scrambled eggs, and a chocolate chip muffin. He ate it all



He was really afraid of Goofy and when it was time to leave, he wouldn't walk past him.

The rest of us really enjoyed the breakfast, there was a lady making custom crepes, you could request different fillings, I ate one with marscopone cheese, and mixed berries, that was really delicious. I also had some cheesy vegetable frittata and some jungle juice.

So after the delicious breakfast, we headed to the Animal Kingdom.

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Our first stop at the Animal Kingdom was the Safari
Henry decided taking pictures was a lot of fun...




He loved seeing all the animals,




After our safari adventure, we enjoyed the Festival of the Lion King.
The older kids loved it, and Henry fell asleep.

After the show, we headed towards Flametree Barbecue, Henry woke up but he was pretty cranky. He couldn't really decide what he wanted to eat. We ended up getting him a turkey sandwich, but he didn't like it because it had cranberry mayonnaise. I ordered a barbecue pork sandwich and a lemonade in a really neat mug that looked like the poison apple the evil queen gives to Snow White. Somehow we ended up with 2 chocolate mousse desserts, although no one would admit ordering them.

The food was really good, and we were able to find a table so it was nice to sit and eat. But Henry was fussy, it was really crowded and the skies were getting dark off in the distance. Ethan and Abby enjoyed their lunch a lot, Ethan had a kids chicken leg and one of the desserts. Ron had the ribs, with beans and cornbread and he loved it.

We headed over to our next Fastpass after we ate, Kali River Rapids!



We got soaked



Wet Henry on the bus.


After Kali River Rapids we were done, the sky was getting darker and darker and we decided to head for the bus stop. We started the long walk back out of the park trying to make it to the bus stop before the rains hit. The boys really wanted to swim, but if the weather was bad, we weren't going to be able to swim at all...We were already wet from KRR, but we didn't want to get caught in a downpour

 

[kcpinwdw]

I love Henry's photography skills

 

[Wood Nymph]

The rest of us really enjoyed the breakfast, there was a lady making custom crepes, you could request different fillings, I ate one with marscopone cheese, and mixed berries, that was really delicious. I also had some cheesy vegetable frittata and some jungle juice.

Your breakfast at Cape May sounds good. We used to eat there when the kids were younger.

Henry seems to have like Kali River rapids.

 

[agavegirl1]

Thank you Dreamer & Wisher. I always enter the sweepstakes as well. Never won a Disney trip but did win one to Italy. I really enjoy reading about your options and choices. It looks like your trip was truly magic.

 

[Chicago Mo]

YUM!!!! what i wouldn't do for a mickey waffle right now...

COOL PICTURES! and yes you do get soaked on Kali!!!

 

[DVC Nicole]

Congratulations on winning the trip! That is exciting

~Nicole
#dvcrentals

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Your breakfast at Cape May sounds good. We used to eat there when the kids were younger.

Henry seems to have like Kali River rapids.

It was our first meal at Cape May and I would definitely do it again. It seemed to help Henry not be so nervous about the characters. It was also a calmer character meal. I would recommend it to anyone. Henry was nervous at first but it was fun, and we were sitting with some really nice people who encouraged him and we all had a good time.

Thank you Dreamer & Wisher. I always enter the sweepstakes as well. Never won a Disney trip but did win one to Italy. I really enjoy reading about your options and choices. It looks like your trip was truly magic.

Oh a trip to Italy! Now that is quite a win! Our trip was magical!

YUM!!!! what i wouldn't do for a Mickey waffle right now...

COOL PICTURES! and yes you do get soaked on Kali!!!

mmmm love those waffles and Kali will get you soaked but it was hot out so it felt good! We were planning on leaving Animal Kingdom after we rode Kali but I thought we would have gotten more done before we rode Kali. We didn't go out to the Conservation Station or walk any of the animal trails. I guess we will do that next time...Abby and Ron didn't ride Expedition Everest.

Congratulations on winning the trip! That is exciting

~Nicole
#dvcrentals

It was so exciting, even after we got there we just didn't believe we had won!

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Happy New Year!
I am sorry it has been so long since I updated, we have been busy with the holidays of course, and we have been sick!

It started with Henry and Ethan, they had sinus infections and had amoxicillin. Then a week later, I had strep throat and a sinus infection. This was the Monday before Christmas, I managed to muddle my way through the Christmas preparations, but I didn't cook nearly as much as I had previous years.

On Christmas eve Henry had been off his antibiotics for one day, and he spiked a temp of 103! We gave him some Advil and he perked back up, I was in disbelief, how does a kid get sick one day after having antibiotics. Christmas day his fever came back in full force, and then on Dec. 26th too. On December 27, his temp was still 101 and he was coughing like crazy so I took him back to the Dr. He says it is still his sinus infection and they give him a stronger antibiotic.

Tuesday morning, Ethan wakes up with a fever and sore throat! Seriously! Poor kids, can't catch a break. Take him in to the Pediatrician and he has strep throat.

In the meantime, Ron has also been diagnosed with a sinus infection so everyone but Abby has been on Antibiotics. DH is still sick, coughing like crazy, and has a fever. He is at the immediate care doctor now.
Tomorrow is back to work and school so I am drowning my sorrows in Disney. I went to Mousesavers.com and entered some more trip contests and read a couple trip reports I am behind on.

Next up an update on our trip, an evening at the Magic Kingdom.

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

So as we stepped onto the bus the rain poured down! We managed to avoid getting soaked from the rain, but we were already soaked from Kali River Rapids.

We headed back to the beach club to change into dry clothes and rest. The boys wanted to swim, but it was still cloudy out and a little cooler after the storm. So we took a nap, well Ron and I did, Ethan and Henry watched Mickey Mouse cartoons, and Abby worked on her homework. Then Ethan, Henry and I put swim suits on and Ron and Abby walked down to the pool with us. They didin't swim. The boys really enjoyed Stormalong bay. I just supervised.

After our swim we changed into some clean clothes and walked down to the bus stop to go to the Magic Kingdom. On the bus ride there Henry fell asleep, so when we got there we put him in the stroller, he stayed asleep even when we scanned his magic band to get into the park.



We headed for Frontierland, to get something to eat and too see what the wait times were for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.


Henry was still snoozing, and he had a couple glow in the dark foam swords in the stroller with him.


Abby and Ethan wanted pretzels with cheese dip and cokes for dinner. Ron and I decided to try the new menu at Pecos Bill's. So we found a nice clean table just outside the back door at Pecos Bill's and Ron and I went to order up some dinner.

We got in line and ordered quickly, we didn't have to wait at all. Then we stood there by the counter waiting for our food. We stood there and stood there, and they kept taking orders, and there were a bunch of people behind us, but no food coming out of the kitchen. Eventually, a manager came out, and he started giving out fastpasses. Apparently, they had run out of rice, and he said it would take about 10 more minutes. Yikes! Eventually we got our food, and went back to our little table. The toppings bar was quite a mess. We added a little cheese to our burritos, and I took some guacamole and some salsa. I also had an Odwalla Lemonade slush, everything was really delicious, and we had a fastpass for all 5 of us to use anywhere!

We debated on which ride to use the fastpass on, and watched the tops of the parade go by. We also watched a very efficient CM direct the crowds. I wanted to watch Wishes, and it was getting to be close to 10:00, Ethan wanted to go into the Pirates of the Caribbean Gift Shop and buy a pirate gun. Abby and Ron wanted to use the Fastpass for Space Mountain, and I wanted to use the Fastpass for 7 Dwarves Mine Train.