"I'm NOT a Princess, I'm Izzy!" - May '15 Land/Sea ~ Updated 6/4: Link to Disneyland TR!!!

[Dugette]

Star Wars Deluxe Feel the Force Package Day - Part 1

First off, I apparently took a Photopass shot that late night to prove I was indeed there at the MK:



But on to the next day…

Despite my extremely late night, I was up and out a few hours later, around 8am, since I had to return our rental car within 24 hours. The car:



And check out that nice close spot I got to the Boardwalk :



I had to return the car to the B Resort (Enterprise counter inside the lobby) at Downtown Disney. On the way, I thought it was interesting to see all the walkways being built:



Of course, this was nearly 2 years ago, so I think they are all fully functioning now and that must be nice for guests staying in the Downtown Disney hotel area.

I made it to the B Resort at 8:24am and all was smooth to return the car. One note, I normally avoid any up-sells with car rental, but they had a deal of filling gas for you at the going market rate (not an extra high rate) if you pre-paid a certain amount (1/2 tank, etc). So, since I knew about how much we’d need from having driven the other way too, I pre-paid and I think it worked out well and saved me the trouble of finding a gas station and taking the extra time to fill up.

At any rate, I was soon standing here, in front of the B Resort, waiting for a bus to take me to DHS:



I was on at 8:30am:



Meanwhile, back at the Boardwalk, Dug had gotten Izzy up and she was enjoying some breakfast in the room:



And apparently slept in her clothes. I know she was big into that this particular trip, so I guess I’m not surprised.

A big crowd of people had gathered around to get on my bus:



This bus ride was really where I saw the difference between a “Disney bus” and a “Downtown Disney Resort bus”. First, it was a coach type bus, run by Mears. No complaints there. But it also made a lot of stops. Other resorts for pick-ups and TTC & DHS for drop-offs. Not terribly efficient. If I stayed at this resort, I’d rent a car for sure (actually, after our last trip and Pop’s poor bus service, I’d probably rent a car on Disney property now too ). Also, the driver was not very magical. She was nice enough, but quite a chatty character and more in the PG than G way. I don’t remember details now, but she definitely wasn’t worried about spoiling any magic. Wish I could remember more – I do remember laughing about the whole experience at the time, but with so little sleep, it’s no wonder I don’t recall what was said.

We drove by some Disney golf courses. I think I see a hidden Mickey here:



First stop was the TTC at 9:11am (so, about 40 minutes after getting on the bus), which makes sense to get people to multiple parks:



Meanwhile, Dug and Izzy had hopped a boat and were on their way to DHS:





I got off the bus at DHS at 9:22am. The driver was announcing repeatedly which parking spot they’d be picking up at later, but I obviously didn’t care, with no need to ever take that bus again.

Since I was ahead of Dug and Izzy, I went right into the park:





I had an important breakfast errand to run:





There was about a 10 minute wait, but I had plenty to look at:





I’m not really sure where that sign was and I didn’t get one of the drinks, but I have the picture here, so there you go. Specialty drinks for Star Wars Weekends.

I decided to finally try the DIS-legendary Butterfinger cupcake:



I am not a huge Butterfinger fan in general, but I like it okay, so decided to see what all the fuss was about. Here’s what it looks like under that Butterfinger topping:



Yep, giant pile of frosting!

Dug and Izzy apparently stopped for Photopass (which she doesn't seem too pleased about):



I had some fun with edits on this one, might have been from later on in the day, but I’ll throw it in here anyway:



I think I stopped here for a few moments, as I was finding it difficult to walk, text (w/Dug), and munch on my breakfast all at once:



Dug and Izzy had made it into the park and were enjoying the Stormtrooper welcome thing:



I met them up front around 10am, toting my half-eaten cupcake, to check in for our Star Wars package. I think it was the Deluxe Feel the Force Package? It included private parade viewing w/treats, admission to the SW shows that day, and the Star Wars Fireworks Dessert Party that evening. Once we checked in, they gave us our lanyards and then put us in the wheelchair viewing area so that Izzy would be able to see the parade from the front row – very nice of them!

In case you are wondering, I did enjoy the Butterfinger cupcake, but Izzy enjoyed it even more! She kept wanting more and more. However, this package included parade snacks, so they were thrusting drinks, Mickey bars, and popcorn on us as well:





It was almost obligatory to take a bunch of stuff. I think we stocked up on pop and water for the day and tossed it into the stroller (oh, yes, my notes say 3 waters and two Diet Cokes). I think she also made us take additional Mickey bars that we didn’t want (remember, just ate cupcake), so we gave them to a nearby family on the non-package side of the rope, which they appreciated. We ended up chatting with the lady next to us on a scooter – she was very nice. Dug was clearly very excited for the Star Wars-centric day:



I’d also been texting with Danielle (@IheartDDuck ), as she and her brother Jason were in the park this morning and we hoped to meet in person. Sure enough, they managed to find us and we said a quick hello and got a picture so you all will believe it really happened:



Great to meet her. I don’t think she’s been around here much lately, but she’s awesome. She also has some pretty legendary reports, featuring quite a cast of characters (Papadon is not to be missed), so check those out if you need a laugh. She’s also an accountant like me, so yay for Disney-loving accountants!

Around 10:30am, Izzy had moved onto scarfing down popcorn:





I decided to make a run to the restroom before the parade started. Izzy insisted she was fine and did not want to go with me (I mean, how could she part with that popcorn? ) But, of course, once I was gone she changed her mind and Dug ended up taking her to the Baby Care Center, as she was already wet and needed a wardrobe change. Luckily, he had a diaper (she had just potty trained at this time, but we still had some for cases like this) and change of shorts. They made it back to our spot with about 5 minutes to spare before the parade began.

And, soon, it did begin:











Dug took a ton of pictures of this parade (and all day, really), so I’ve tried to narrow them down to a small selection, but it’s still a lot, so I’ll put them in the next post.

Continued in next post…

 

[Dugette]

Continued from previous post…

Star Wars Deluxe Feel the Force Package Day - Part 2

More Star Wars parade pictures:



Gotta love the Fab 5 dressed as Star Wars characters (which you can no longer see ). Izzy got a kick out of the characters. By the way, they took down the rope before the parade, so we had a great view. Izzy was quite proud of her R2D2 shirt and was having fun waving and getting attention from the characters – guess the practice waving at Festival of Fantasy helped. But she kept on munching her beloved popcorn through it all.









Izzy was really into it, as you can see.



Oooh, jawas – Izzy successfully traded with them on the trip we just went on last month!

Happy girl:











She was very attached to her blankie this trip, by the way.







Some video of Izzy waving here:

More parade, including celebrity guests for the weekend:











Clearly, this was before selfie sticks were banned in the parks:



She spotted furry creatures:



Here’s video of her getting an Ewok kiss, I think. Plus, I’m pretty sure that’s Dug making Chewie sounds at the beginning:

Here’s Warwick Davis, who played Wicket the Ewok:





Looks like Izzy was being confronted :









Part of our package this day was that we got to walk behind the parade all the way up to the stage. We had brought Izzy's Ewok costume from Halloween, but she refused to wear it (and it was hot), but that would have been cute for this part. So, when they told us to go (around 11:15am), we followed right along:





Dug was pretty proud of this parading moment:





It felt so strange to be kind-of part of the parade, walking past these crowds along the route. Especially since we ended up in the back, between Dug walking slow and Izzy alternating between wanting to walk (slowly) and be carried. I got hit in the back with the rope a few times, since we were quite literally bringing up the rear of the procession:



We ended up with a nice view of the stage, though, since they didn’t release the rest of the crowd until the package group was up there:



Continued in next post…

 

[Dugette]

Continued from previous post…

Star Wars Deluxe Feel the Force Package Day - Part 3

A few pictures of the stage show:









I also have one video clip:

I think Dug and I somehow got split up after this show. I walked Izzy over to see some R2D2s I saw behind the stage and Dug was probably taking pictures elsewhere or something, I don’t know. But, we quickly met up again and decided we needed to rest in a shady spot for a bit, as the midday sun was beating down on us. We found a quiet and shaded little table to munch on the popcorn and sip our cold drinks:



Izzy was pretty excited about the R2D2 sighting:

She also randomly broke into a song that I guess she learned at daycare:

After our brief break, we had just enough time to get over to the Darth’s Mall shopping area before lunch. Our package also gave us “priority access” to shopping here this day – and I think maybe valet stroller parking? On our way, we saw Mulch, Sweat, and Shears performing:



Apparently they are gone from DHS now too!

And then we arrived at our destination:









Some stuff inside:









We got one of those Jango Fett Pete figures for Izzy.

Other stuff inside:





Dug was taking all those pictures as I dealt with Izzy. Remember that giant box of popcorn she was carrying around? Well, she spilled it almost immediately after walking into the store. A CM insisted on cleaning it up and sent us away, but I felt bad about making a big mess. And Izzy felt bad about losing most of her popcorn. So, she wasn’t terribly happy at that time. We met up with Dug at the check out and, because I had an Annual Pass at this time, I believe he decided to get the SWW AP shirt as well. And then we were off to our lunch ADR to cool down and get some food.

We made our way to Brown Derby for a light lunch:





Izzy continued her newfound love affair with butter (which is still going strong ):



She got a kids hot dog meal and Dug and I shared the Cobb Salad:





Apparently, this is how you have to eat this hot dog :



Silly kid! It was a nice and quick lunch. Cheap too – only like $20! Not bad for a Table Service restaurant! We left there around 1pm and split up so that Dug could go to one of the Star Wars shows and Izzy and I could head to our Disney Junior Fast Pass. For what it’s worth, all of us had the priority access to the SW shows, due to having the package that day, but I decided I didn’t really much care and Izzy would only tolerate one at the most, so she and I skipped most and only went to the late one.

One of us must have seen this on the way:



Izzy and I were soon seated on the floor:



At the beginning of the show, when the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters come out, Izzy yelled, “Where’s Pluto?!” Smart kid! She was only 2.5 and noticed one of the mainstays was missing (I hadn’t even noticed!)

While we did that, Dug enjoyed some pretty water:



Maybe this was when he took Photpass pics? Here’s another I found:



And then he took a seat for this:





While Izzy and I were seeing this:



Dug was seeing this at the same time:





But back to us. There was a little girl that was enjoying the heck out of the show, but constantly getting into trouble for dancing in the aisle (which inspired other kids to do the same and is a no-no). I have a video clip of that here, so why not share:

Continued in next post…

 

[Dugette]

Continued from previous post…

Star Wars Deluxe Feel the Force Package Day - Part 4

Izzy really enjoyed all the things that fall from the sky during this show (bubbles, snow, doubloons). Here she is being rained down on:



And, once again, here’s what Dug was up to:





Izzy and I had a good time at Disney Junior. We had taken her for the first time way back when she was 14.5 months and she didn’t really get it. But at 2.5 years, this was perfect. She really enjoyed it. And I loved Toodles – I like how they incorporated him. But, of course, having a toddler on you while sitting on the floor is a great way to put your leg to sleep, so I had to hobble on out of there when it was finished. We took a few moments outside for me to recover. And Izzy spotted this:



That would be the sign in the character meet area. Which Izzy “read”. She looked at it and then turned to me and said, “It says Disney Junior.” What?! I realized she probably just recognized the “look” of it from TV, but it sure surprised me. At any rate, she decided that she desperately wanted to meet Princess Sofia, so we hopped in line. We had a chatty and interesting gal ahead of us to pass the time. And, soon enough, Izzy was showing off her R2D2 shirt to Sofia :



They had a nice meet:

After that, we moved on to meet Jake. Turned out to be a lot of fun:

As you can hear, Dug made it over from his show just in time for that meet. I’m not sure what we did right after that. Maybe chatted or used the restrooms? Because the next thing I have is that Jake came back from a break and spotted his buddy Izzy:







It was such a cute unexpected thing and she was laughing and loving it. I think he was tickling her. After that, we jumped into the short line for Doc McStuffins, but she needed to go on break right before our turn:



We had to wait to be the first ones after break, so it ended up being about 10 minutes in the "5 minute" line (they told us 5 minutes when we got in line – we had asked, as Dug only had a short break between his shows).

Then apparently she came back along with Jake who must have taken another break? I don’t totally understand this, but that’s what it looks like and these pics are in order:



Turned out to be a very fun meet, though. Once again, involved a fair amount of dancing :

Random cute wall photo:



At this point, it was time for Dug to head to his next SW show and Izzy and I to pop back to the resort for an afternoon break. Between my lack of sleep the night before and plans for a later evening for Izzy, it was a priority this day (and part of why I felt okay about staying out late the night before). We chose to take the boat back to the Boardwalk. I think we decided to sacrifice our Little Mermaid show Fast Pass, due to lack of time and prioritization of naps. Waiting in line at the boat dock was fun, as Izzy wanted to help me put some things in the trash and recycling cans and we were a little ways back in line, so I let her do it herself:



She loved the independence and got some adoration from people in line that were impressed at what a good helper she was.

Continued in next post…

 

[Dugette]

Continued from previous post…

Star Wars Deluxe Feel the Force Package Day - Part 5

Dug was at the Stars of the Saga show at this point. The Stormtroopers roam the audience for the pre-show:



















This was like a talk show/interview show format with the weekend’s special guests.

I think right after that was An Ewok’s Tale, featuring Warwick Davis:







Meanwhile, back at the Boardwalk, Izzy had really passed out for her nap:



I would imagine I did too, though I have no notes of that.

About 20 minutes before 6pm, I woke her and put her shoes on, but she was still so tired that she passed back out:



I did manage to get her in the stroller, though:



Dug was still watching his show:



I chose to walk back to DHS, figuring it might allow Izzy to get some more sleep in the stroller:



At 6pm, we were back together with Dug and used our Fast Pass for Toy Story Mania (and Izzy was at least sort-of awake ):





Dug’s score:



Me and Izzy – seems I helped her get a few points:



The 1% accuracy is impressive. So, I guess she fired at the ceiling 99 times. Much like this:



This is still her tendency, though I helped her improve a bit on our more recent trip.

Some “looking up” as we finished up here:





About 20 minutes to 7pm, we were seated in the theater, waiting for the Obi-Wan and Beyond show, which was the one I'd chosen to do:



There were interactive things while waiting:



And Izzy had some snacks:



The show:



It was starring James Arnold Taylor:



This show was about voice-over work and he did a ton of voice acting. Here’s a very small selection of photos that Dug took:









It was quite impressive. He’s a talented guy.

Oh, and Izzy got a Dum Dum at some point:



Continued in next post…

 

[Dugette]

Continued from previous post…

Star Wars Deluxe Feel the Force Package Day - Part 6

More impressions:



@pkondz , this one’s for you:



And some quotes to finish things up:







I enjoyed the show quite a bit – James Arnold Taylor is a great entertainer. I think Izzy enjoyed it okay, but the snacks sure helped.

After the show, we made our way straight over to the Rebel Hangar to check in for our ADR:



This was a special thing they did just for Star Wars Weekends in 2015 – changed the Backlot Express into a well-themed eatery. Thanks to the big SWW thread on the DIS, we were able to snag a couple ADRs, even though they filled very quickly.

There was a long, slow, and not well-defined check-in line. By the time we actually got up there to check in, we were fairly far past our ADR time. We were not feeling very good about the timing, as we had the dessert party this night and the schedule was tight. Some pics as we waited for a table:





We ended up being seated about 8:20pm for a 7:40pm ADR time, I believe. We basically told the waiter that we didn’t have much time (8:40pm check in time for dessert party) and asked what was quick. He said they could do anything fast, so we took a brief look at the menu and made our selections:



We were mainly here just to check out the theming/decoration/ambiance (and get some not-dessert food for dinner), so that’s what we did:







Izzy enjoyed the spaceship on the table:

We weren’t too worried about missing out on things, since we actually had another ADR here the next night – I’d made that as a back-up and now we knew we’d keep it to try some other things and spend more time there.

The waiter wasn’t kidding about doing anything fast, as our food came out almost immediately :







Fun and yummy! We gobbled it quickly and were heading out at 8:45pm, only 25 minutes after being seated. We’d enjoy the place a bit more the next night. If there were any roaming characters that night (which there sometimes were), we missed them.

Continued in next post…

 

[Dugette]

Continued from previous post…

Star Wars Deluxe Feel the Force Package Day - Part 7

We were inside the dessert party at 8:52pm, with the stage show/fireworks scheduled to start at 9:30pm. We grabbed one of the tall standing tables (there were only standing tables there). I considered grabbing a short one, but didn’t want to take away from wheelchair/ECV folks that might need them. In retrospect, I probably should have, though, because maybe Izzy would have been better off? We’ll never know.

At any rate, here’s a look at some of the treats available:





I have to say I loved that one in the back above – the pistachio bites with cherries – yummy! But I do love cherries.





Lots of tasty treats and various fun drinks as well:



Some things that came back to our table:









Izzy got a popsicle:



Here was our view of the stage, as it was part stage show and part fireworks:



There were even cool decorative things like this up on the buffet:



So, this all looks pretty great, right? Well, that’s ignoring the fact that we had a very crabby toddler with us. So, this was actually torture. She was in a terrible mood (not sure why) and only wanted to be held and ONLY by Mommy. At all times. Which, you know, makes it fairly difficult to eat and drink. She could not be distracted by treats for long (that popsicle was only good for a few licks). I think I brought her to the bathroom once and she didn’t go. Anytime I put her down or gave her to Dug, she was a mess of screaming tears :



I’m sure others wondered why I’d sometimes ignore her and eat. I had to at some point. There was no way to calm her and I couldn’t hold her all the time. I was so sore. And I needed a mommy moment to eat/drink. At least it was loud and dark, so it wasn’t too obvious that she was a mess.

At one point, Dug sent me to the back to sneak a break. I was so frazzled that I dropped my cupcake, oops. I also pigged out on the cherries for a few minutes – yum! Then back to the madness. She let him hold her a bit, at least:



But she was still quite angry that I was not holding her:



I really was in pain by that point, having held her for a lot of the day (and the trip). Two-year-olds are tough! I am very grateful to have a 4-year-old now - and, in fact, we are planning to attend the current SW Dessert Party next month and I'm hoping it will be so much more enjoyable!

Finally the show started, relieving us slightly from our misery (or at least letting us know it would end fairly soon ):











This picture almost makes it look like we’re enjoying the show:



But this is what I was really feeling like at that point :



I can't believe I'm sharing that photo, as it's awful, but gets the point across. Yep, I can’t say I remember anything about this show, other than being anxious for it to end. This could have been a really fun night, much like the Frozen Dessert Party the previous summer, but it was rough due to Izzy’s mood.

But the show must go on:





And there were some fireworks, though we didn’t get many pics:



Izzy enjoyed the glow cube from the table while I gazed at the fireworks with exhausted eyes:



At 9:56pm, we were finally on our way out:



We took the boat back and were in the Boardwalk Villas elevator at 10:41pm. Strangely, Izzy was in a great mood once we got out of the park. While we waited to board the boat, she was charming the preschool teacher and her mom behind us by singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider.” They were surprised that she wasn’t a little angel that evening. But they also understood, given the daughter was a preschool teacher. If I recall right, the daughter was actually just finishing high school, but was very advanced and the mom was bragging on her a bit. They were talking about how reading is so important for young kids. We told them how we read to Izzy each night. They were pretty anti-TV, though, so we didn’t mention Izzy’s addiction to Disney Junior.

Anyway, no more pics this night. I think we just got in bed and went right to sleep after that crazy day!

Up next: Breakfast at Akershus!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

wow, great updates! Looks like a lot of fun overall (well, minus the heat and the crappy two year old at the end)

Glad things worked out with returning the car. Also glad you got to try the butterfinger cupcake and met up with Danielle (especially knowing you were hoping to the previous night).

It seems like that Star Wars package you go was worth it given the viewing area and snacks and preferred access to things. Some of the packages they offer I don't really get the value of, but this one seemed pretty good.

That is one happy kid!

And that is one happy big kid!!!

Gotta love the Fab 5 dressed as Star Wars characters (which you can no longer see )

That is a bummer they will no longer have the characters dressed up (and that they got rid of the dancing Darth Vader earlier). I know and get that they want the new land to be realistic and super immersive. Be kinda funny if they still had the characters dress up in the new land but the CMs treat them like regular guests who dress up


Ok, maybe for the best that I never made it to a Star Wars weekend as I would buy way too much stuff. I love that It's a Small World themed picture below

I am sure that mid-day break felt good!

Overall your plans seemed to work out pretty well with Dug going to the shows and you and Izzy doing other stuff and then just meeting up periodically.

Love the Cobb Salad at HBD - glad they have it offered at the lounge outside as well.

The Rebel Hanger area looks really cool - glad you had a second visit planned to hang out a bit more

Sorry you didn't get to enjoy the party more though - hope things go better your upcoming trip!

 

[cindianne320]

Hugs! Ah, 2 year olds. I'm sorry the party was not much fun for you. And I can't believe you're going back next month- Lucky Duck!

 

[soniam]

I am so bummed that we missed SWW, the deluxe package, and Rebel Hangar. We were planning for a 2016 SWW trip, but that wasn't meant to be. It still looks like you had a great day, not evening though I saw the pic of those pistachio cherry bites and was like I love those so much. Then I saw your comment We have gotten to do the dessert party twice at least. The new party has some savory items. The show isn't as good as the fireworks, but it's still a really good show. I am impressed by your endurance, especially with a toddler.

 

[afwdwfan]

I haven't kept up around here.

Yeah... I know a thing or 2 about that...

We had a great trip with @Imagineer5 and her daughters. Lots of fun, good dining, great memories. Izzy and Aria got a kick out of riding next to each other on things (spoiler/PSA: two 4-year-olds CAN ride next to each other on 7DMT with a parent behind them).

That's great! I'm glad she found a ride buddy to have fun with!

Anyway, this is a bit of a spoiler, but there's no way I can hold this in until I eventually get to writing about the end of the trip: we had several (fairly minor) housekeeping issues at Pop Century and they went WAY overboard to make up for it...by giving us a free 6 night Value Resort stay for future use. Yep, for real. I mean, I can live without plastic cups and toilet paper in my room if this is the payoff.

Well, the toilet paper could be a bit of a deal breaker. I guess it depends if they're going to get upset about damage to towels...

“10th anniversary trip” because we didn’t do anything big for our actual anniversary. This was it. But we weren’t expecting recognition of it or anything. The balloon was a big treat for Izzy, though. And the Boardwalk chocolates

A nice surprise. It's the little things that Disney does that make it special.

And apparently slept in her clothes. I know she was big into that this particular trip, so I guess I’m not surprised.

Our kids tend to do that from time to time on just any old night. Honestly, as long as they'll sleep I could care less what they wear.

(actually, after our last trip and Pop’s poor bus service, I’d probably rent a car on Disney property now too ).

Yikes. We always drive and tend to take our car to the parks a lot of the time. But while we occaisionaly do take the bus, I've always felt like Pop's service was better than others. I'm sorry that wasn't your experience there.

I think I stopped here for a few moments, as I was finding it difficult to walk, text (w/Dug), and munch on my breakfast all at once:

Only in Disney World can you get away with calling a Butterfinger cupcake breakfast.


Ok, I was a bit behind, but reading through the updates, something really stood out to me. You guys did a great job of really pleasing everyone. You got a solo evening in EPCOT and MK. And quite frankly, I loved it. If I had an evening to myself and the opportunity to do what you did, I can't think of anything I'd do differently. Well, maybe aside from hitting up BTMRR on the way out of MK. But then Dug got to hang out and nerd out on everything Star Wars while Izzy got to spend some time with her Disney Junior friends. I guess it was just the way the updates were written back to back to back, but it just really stood out that you guys really put a lot of effort into everyone really getting to do what they wanted to individually do. And I like that!

 

[annie170]

Yay for some solo time in MK! I'm hoping to be able to do that on our upcoming trip.

That's great you were able to meet Danielle. I miss her trip reports, as well as a few others.

The Star Wars festivities looked like a lot of fun, especially the parade. Dug has a great smile!

Izzy had such fun character meets. She is such a doll! Too bad she wasn't in the best mood during the dessert party, but that's two year old for you.

 

[schmass]

It is amazing! I still can't really believe it - way more than they needed to do! When in October will you be there? We're still deciding on dates.

It looks like we will be there on Wednesday, October 18th. A parkhopper is included with the cruise, so we'll go to at least a couple of the parks, maybe all 4 - not sure yet!

Your solo late night at Epcot and MK looks like a lot of fun. I'm such an earlybird that I doubt I could ever handle that, but it does look fun. I'm surprised how many people were in the MK that late!

The SW parade looks great, and I'm not even that much of a SW fan (shhhh).

The Disney Jr. show is great for little kids. Rory was 23 months when he saw it, and we'll most likely see it again in May, right before he turns 4. I think he'll love it even more this next time.

I'm glad Izzy was able to take a great nap, but too bad she was still cranky that evening. Two can be a rough age at times! When Rory turned 3 1/2 it was such a huge difference. And Lola is approaching 18 months and we're starting to see glimpses of the terrible two's already...uh oh!

Looking forward to reading about Akershus!

 

[Dugette]

wow, great updates! Looks like a lot of fun overall (well, minus the heat and the crappy two year old at the end)

It was a good day, but the ending was rough. We did everything we could to prevent meltdowns - took afternoon naps, went to an evening event stocked full of free desserts and entertainment, but just didn't work. But standing in line for the boat after was a joy.

Glad things worked out with returning the car. Also glad you got to try the butterfinger cupcake and met up with Danielle (especially knowing you were hoping to the previous night).

Yes, all of that worked out quite well! It was a very brief meet with Danielle, but still nice to meet up with such a DIS legend.

It seems like that Star Wars package you go was worth it given the viewing area and snacks and preferred access to things. Some of the packages they offer I don't really get the value of, but this one seemed pretty good.

Agreed - I think this was before Disney really started going nuts with the packages. It was a particularly great deal for us because Izzy was under 3 and free. And it got Dug access to all the SW things he wanted to do and generally made our day easier. Glad we did it!

That is one happy kid!

And that is one happy big kid!!!

They were both pretty thrilled throughout the parade.

That is a bummer they will no longer have the characters dressed up (and that they got rid of the dancing Darth Vader earlier). I know and get that they want the new land to be realistic and super immersive. Be kinda funny if they still had the characters dress up in the new land but the CMs treat them like regular guests who dress up

I loved the Fab 5 in their SW gear (which you'll still see more of in this report with our character meal still coming). They were so cute!

Ok, maybe for the best that I never made it to a Star Wars weekend as I would buy way too much stuff. I love that It's a Small World themed picture below

Yeah, they had no shortage of things you could buy. Dug did quite well at restraining himself!

I am sure that mid-day break felt good!

It really did. Nice to not have much pressure on us this day. It was really Dug's day where we tagged along sometimes.

Overall your plans seemed to work out pretty well with Dug going to the shows and you and Izzy doing other stuff and then just meeting up periodically.

I do think it worked well. She wouldn't have had the patience for all those shows (nor would I...), so everybody got what they needed/wanted instead.

Love the Cobb Salad at HBD - glad they have it offered at the lounge outside as well.

Yes, we got it at the lounge on this recent trip. Yum!

The Rebel Hanger area looks really cool - glad you had a second visit planned to hang out a bit more

I'm so glad I had the second one too. This first one was so rushed (but still good and worthwhile).

Sorry you didn't get to enjoy the party more though - hope things go better your upcoming trip!

I am really hoping for a MUCH better party experience this time. The only thing I am worried about is timing - we get off the ship in the morning, drive to Kennedy Space Center for the day, then DHS in time to get our APs officially upgraded and then get to the party. I think it will be fine, but not as relaxed as I'd like. It's the only night we can do the party, though, as Dug's conference will likely involve evening activities the other days.

Hugs! Ah, 2 year olds. I'm sorry the party was not much fun for you.

Thanks! It was a rough party. Thank goodness there were unlimited drinks and sweets there, I guess.

And I can't believe you're going back next month- Lucky Duck!

I can't believe it either - our cruise departs one month from today!

I am so bummed that we missed SWW, the deluxe package, and Rebel Hangar. We were planning for a 2016 SWW trip, but that wasn't meant to be.

I am so bummed you did too. I remember reading your posts on the SWW thread and I was so sad for you, since I knew you were planning 2016 and then it got changed.

It still looks like you had a great day, not evening though

Exactly. At least most of it went well.

I saw the pic of those pistachio cherry bites and was like I love those so much. Then I saw your comment

Great minds! Do they have them at the current party?

We have gotten to do the dessert party twice at least. The new party has some savory items. The show isn't as good as the fireworks, but it's still a really good show.

That's what I've heard, but I think we'll still enjoy it.

I am impressed by your endurance, especially with a toddler.

I was pretty dead by the end of that day. But no choice when you have a toddler to care for.

Yeah... I know a thing or 2 about that...

I'm glad you're back. But you have much better reasons than me for being away. I've got tired...sick...strep throat...life. I hope your little guy is feeling better and the surgery goes well. Your family deserves to have a great Disney trip after all of the challenges.

That's great! I'm glad she found a ride buddy to have fun with!

They had a great time together!

Well, the toilet paper could be a bit of a deal breaker. I guess it depends if they're going to get upset about damage to towels...

My first comment when Dug said it was gone was, "Well, at least we have this box of kleenex."

A nice surprise. It's the little things that Disney does that make it special.

Totally agree. Those unexpected bits of pixie dust are great!

Our kids tend to do that from time to time on just any old night. Honestly, as long as they'll sleep I could care less what they wear.

Agreed! In fact, Izzy is currently sleeping with 4 pairs of socks on her feet. Who am I to argue? It is cold out.

Yikes. We always drive and tend to take our car to the parks a lot of the time. But while we occaisionaly do take the bus, I've always felt like Pop's service was better than others. I'm sorry that wasn't your experience there.

We never had consistent issues like we did this trip. PPO breakfasts were the worst. And having the other half of your party with a car really highlights the difference. We would head out at the same time and she'd be first in line and we'd be about 16 miles down the walkway waiting. She'd do tons of Photopass before breakfast and we'd still be trying to get to security. It was very frustrating and a lot of time was wasted. I have always been a you-don't-need-a-car advocate, but this trip really changed that. Maybe it was just a fluke, but we did a LOT of waiting vs. past trips.

Only in Disney World can you get away with calling a Butterfinger cupcake breakfast.

Did you see the new breakfast offering at the ice cream place in the MK? It's like a Krispy Kreme with ice cream and toppings and whipped cream and chocolate and peanut butter chips... Almost makes the cupcake seem like a reasonable choice.

Ok, I was a bit behind, but reading through the updates, something really stood out to me. You guys did a great job of really pleasing everyone. You got a solo evening in EPCOT and MK. And quite frankly, I loved it. If I had an evening to myself and the opportunity to do what you did, I can't think of anything I'd do differently. Well, maybe aside from hitting up BTMRR on the way out of MK. But then Dug got to hang out and nerd out on everything Star Wars while Izzy got to spend some time with her Disney Junior friends. I guess it was just the way the updates were written back to back to back, but it just really stood out that you guys really put a lot of effort into everyone really getting to do what they wanted to individually do. And I like that!

Thank you, I really appreciate that comment! I do think we really tend to split up more than a lot of families on here. I guess we're all a bit independent and don't see the need for everybody to do everything together at all times. And we both like some alone time. But, yeah, I guess we do balance those things pretty well. Oh, and I'm with you on ending the evening with BTMRR, but I'm sure it was a crazy line that night.

Yay for some solo time in MK! I'm hoping to be able to do that on our upcoming trip.

I hope you get to! It's so fun to wander the MK at night and do whatever your heart desires.

That's great you were able to meet Danielle. I miss her trip reports, as well as a few others.

I miss them too. But, hey, less for me to keep up with, I guess (though I still can't keep up).

The Star Wars festivities looked like a lot of fun, especially the parade. Dug has a great smile!

Thanks! It was a fun parade for sure!

Izzy had such fun character meets. She is such a doll! Too bad she wasn't in the best mood during the dessert party, but that's two year old for you.

Yep, very 2-years-old that night! Character meets are a good time with her. Something we weren't that into pre-Izzy, but now they are must-dos.

It looks like we will be there on Wednesday, October 18th. A parkhopper is included with the cruise, so we'll go to at least a couple of the parks, maybe all 4 - not sure yet!

Okay, I'll keep it in mind. I'm guessing we'll be before that, as you said, but not certain yet. How did you get parkhopper with your cruise? You should totally do 4 parks in 1 day!

Your solo late night at Epcot and MK looks like a lot of fun. I'm such an earlybird that I doubt I could ever handle that, but it does look fun. I'm surprised how many people were in the MK that late!

It was so different than a "normal" late night - very busy and long lines. So, not as much bang for your buck. I'd prefer a regular late-night where you can walk onto lots of things, but this was good to see once. I don't feel any need to attend the 24 hour event again, though.

The SW parade looks great, and I'm not even that much of a SW fan (shhhh).

Same here!

The Disney Jr. show is great for little kids. Rory was 23 months when he saw it, and we'll most likely see it again in May, right before he turns 4. I think he'll love it even more this next time.

Oh, I bet he will love it at that age!

I'm glad Izzy was able to take a great nap, but too bad she was still cranky that evening. Two can be a rough age at times! When Rory turned 3 1/2 it was such a huge difference. And Lola is approaching 18 months and we're starting to see glimpses of the terrible two's already...uh oh!

Aaah, good luck with Lola! Yeah, 3.5 or so they tend to get a bit more reasonable, it seems.

Looking forward to reading about Akershus!

Just wrote up some updates and will work on posting them!

 

[Dugette]

The Ducks of Epcot

I was awake around 7am this morning, browsing my new Facebook friend requests that popped up after Danielle posted our picture on FB.

We got up and ready and were on a boat to Epcot at 7:46am (I think one pulled up just as we came out, so we chose to do that vs. walk). Izzy was in a pretty good mood this morning:



But she was still on the sleepy side :



It was a nice morning boat ride:



And we were soon strolling up to the International Gateway:





Yep, back to carrying her again. That stroller was only toting our bags around.

I always love those little areas where Disney goes the extra mile to decorate in places where guests don’t even go:



We got through the turnstiles at 7:52am and were welcomed into a nice and empty World Showcase. Loved it! (I should mention, this was pre-park-opening for an Akershus ADR).

Izzy wanted to run and I figured, why not? When else can a 2.5 year old frolic through World Showcase freely? So, off she went:

I love how it’s just empty walkways and music!

I jogged ahead and caught up with her while Dug took his time, taking pictures along the way:



Izzy was excited to spot her first Disney duck of the day:



Oh, hey, there’s Dug back there:



Looks like she made me run:



I am not a runner.

Another Disney duck sighting:



Some of Dug’s pictures of the scenery:













Gotta love how calm and serene World Showcase is in the early morning!

Izzy found this photo op:



We spotted yet another Disney duck:



And, hey, what’s this thing? It’s NOT a duck! Yes, a Disney squirrel was out and about as well this morning:



Oh, Canada:



Sweet toddler freedom:



I think I see Dug way back there :



Whoa, squirrel stunts :



Ah, so empty:



I tried to get a picture of the pyramid, but someone wanted me to keep on running :



No matter, I’m sure Dug will be along later to take a better picture of it. Looks like he’s not too far behind, taking this:



We made it to Akershus and Izzy found stairs to climb:



And Dug had another Disney duck sighting. They were out in full force this fine morning:



And there’s the nicer pyramid shot:



Aw, look at these little ones :



Up next: We finally all get to Akershus!

 

[Dugette]

Breakfast at Akershus

Dug took some pics of pretty stuff at Mexico:







Then he made it to Norway:







My notes say that Izzy and I checked in at 8:10am, then waited another 10 minutes for Dug. During that time, we played with a leaf and Izzy ran in circles:

Once he arrived, we got in line:



But, of course, being in line made Izzy want to go potty. I was able to bring her inside to use the restroom, but I don’t think she went. That was a theme this trip. Looks like Dug took more scenery pics:





We were called inside and in line to meet Belle at 8:32. Guess who wanted Mommy to hold her again?



Not sure I did, though, as I now see this photo of her examining her shirt so that she can show it to the princesses effectively:



Oooh, lookie there, a :



And then it was go time:



Looks like Belle liked the princess shirt:









And the video proves she like the shirt – and saw herself on it! And Izzy used her patented "cuddle to bring princesses to the ground" :

We were soon seated at a table near the buffet. You can see the view here:



Some buffet pictures:









I got Izzy a plate to start with from the cold food buffet (and one for myself as well):



The hot food plate arrived soon after:



All the food was pretty tasty.

At that point, the princesses started to lead a parade of kids, but Izzy wasn’t interested in participating, so we just watched and ate:





I guess Dug was happy to see coffee :



Izzy dug in:



Looks like Dug’s plate here:



Up next: The princesses come around!

 

[Dugette]

Yogurt vs. Princesses

Cinderella was our first visitor:



They compared their sparkly shoes (Izzy’s were the Stride Rite Cinderella style). Here are Cinderella’s shoes that day, in case you’re wondering:



Plus, you can already see how messy Izzy had gotten the floor.

At this particular meal, Izzy was obsessed with her yogurt and couldn’t be bothered to put down the spoon to visit with princesses :



I love Cindy’s face in this one (I just checked the video and this is in response to us mentioning we’d be having breakfast at her castle the next day):



And back to that yogurt:

Cinderella was very sweet and it was a nice meet, even if Izzy preferred to spend the time with her yogurt.

Next up was Snow White. This meet was a bit on the awkward side. Izzy was still devouring yogurt and Snow White seemed really confused at the end , then ran off, probably for the parade? Here’s some pics, though:

After that, Izzy spilled her milk everywhere. Because, of course. So, I had to mop all of that up. This is the glamour of dining with a 2-year-old:



Yet, she still argued successfully to keep drinking with the lid off :



I guess it couldn’t get much worse?

Aurora came by at that point:



For a moment, I thought she was examining the spilled milk, but she’s actually checking out the princesses on Izzy’s shirt:



By the way, it’s good that Izzy didn’t know her shirt said “I am a princess”, given the name of this TR.

Slightly blurry, but cute:



Yogurt face!

A little better:

You might be able to hear that at the end of that video, Izzy mentions Ariel is coming next. She was just a bit excited about that :



This was an adorable meet. Ariel was so sweet and fun, despite us being probably a bit on the annoying side. Some pics:















She was so sweet, probably one of the best Ariel meets we’ve had. I actually have the video of this one in Photobucket, so you’ll have to click through to see it:

(click to watch)

After that, Izzy invented something totally safe and appropriate for a toddler :



I think she was proud:



Once again, we were charged for Izzy and had to ask for her to be removed from the bill, as she was still a freebie Disney infant. That was kindly taken care of by our waiter, who mentioned that it was his last week there before heading back to Norway. I think he was excited to get home, but it’s also gotta be hard to leave Disney and go so far away.

We stopped at the restrooms on the way out and Izzy wanted to "nap" on the bench by them afterwards:

We left there around 9:30am. Remember, this was before the days of wolfing down your food and running to Frozen Ever After. Instead, we headed out and took a leisurely stroll back to Future World:



Up next: How long will that Standby line for Soarin’ be?

 

[TinkLoverSam]

@Dugette , I'm not sure if it's me but I'm not seeing any of your pictures. I had to click on each one to view it on Photobucket and I couldn't get the video to play in Photobucket at all

 

[Dugette]

@Dugette , I'm not sure if it's me but I'm not seeing any of your pictures. I had to click on each one to view it on Photobucket and I couldn't get the video to play in Photobucket at all

Strange, they were all there when I posted. But just a minute ago, I saw your comment and they were missing for me too. But now I look and they're back? Do you see them? Weird.

 

[Imagineer5]

Phew, what a slew of updates!! First your SW day looks great, and I think you planned it well to take Izzy to some kid-centric stuff while Dug enjoyed the SW shows. Looks like Disney Jr was a huge hit (and we had SO much fun there in December too, I was surprised how into it Maya was!).

BTW I can see your photos <3

For the dessert party, the last time we did it when it was just Aria and me (May? I don't remember), I did take a short table. There were 6 I think up front, and we noted 1 wheelchair. So I didn't feel bad taking it. Considering a 4 yo wants to be part of stuff (as does any kid) I think they need to have more short-tables, and chairs would be nice too :-D Obviously I wouldn't have taken a table had it looked like there wouldn't be enough with the wheelchairs but thankfully there were plenty. Sorry Izzy was so upset that night

Love that walk to Akershus from the Boardwalk! So nice Izzy was able to run around. The meal looks great (love those potatoes haha) and I laughed with all the pics of Izzy eating yogurt hehe. The photos of ariel with Izzy are so cute.