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

[Dugette]

You know, CM's were doing the exact same thing to DS on our trip in 2015 (when you could clearly see that he was not even close to reaching the minimum height!) I wonder if they're required to treat every small guest the same and treat them like they could potentially make the height?

I don't know, but we had the same type of thing happen again at Disneyland in February and it kind-of got my hopes up that the CM thought she'd be tall enough (she wasn't).

Yep, I get lost at DHS too.

Glad it's not just me.

Ah never noticed!

Pretty cute detail!

Never thought you could request those tables. Will have to do that next time for sure!

Definitely do that - I have both times I've been there (and got one each time).

I don't know why, but I always thought that this milkshake would be more pinkish, like a strawberry color? Or maybe ribbons of jelly??

Me too. But peanut butter color is good, I guess.

Never would have thought of ordering this, but this looks delicious!

Dug hadn't thought of it either until the waitress recommended it so strongly. Great choice!

What a weirdo you have! No ice cream just sprinkles??

I know! She was being particularly weird that day, as she would normally eat ice cream.

Aw man no video??

I wish!

I'll say it again, thank goodness for bubble CM's. And they probably have no idea how much they mean to us parents with toddlers.

They are so helpful! Keeping a kid amused without waiting in line? Priceless.

Ugh, not going to lie, that sucks sometimes doesn't it?

Sure does. For everyone.

and everyone in the background looks super happy with the skipper too!

He had the whole boat laughing and fairly amused, I'd say.

That is awesome service! Figured you would have to throw all that away or take it with you. That is great!

It was really nice to be able to store everything. Though we do have some trouble getting it transferred between resorts later on.

That was definitely not part of the itinerary.

 

[Dugette]

Good point!

Yeah, I am not one to get directions from.

Who actually spotted it? You? Dug? Or did Izzy find it herself?

Izzy found it. I mean, she's the closest to the ground anyway, so easy to spot it.

Bring ponchos. No rain. Guaranteed.

Ain't that the truth?

Cool! Did he know you were doing that?

Yeah, it was one of those divide & conquer moments...I'd be able to get over there quick and get it if he amused Izzy.

I totally get that.
I sometimes get those too.

I was going to ask why you didn't have them delivered to the resort... then I read the rest of the update.
So...... nevermind.

Yeah, I think we wanted to make sure we had them since we were leaving in the morning.

Cute pic.

Thanks!

Sure looks like she did!

She had a great time.

Sounds mysterious.

Gotta love a bubble cliffhanger.

Now... did she actually stand? Or demand to be held?
Because if it's the latter... and no one offered you their seat....

I believe she actually did stand.

Sounds like a lot of fun!
Gotta love moments like that!

Me too.

What kind of attention?

Acknowledgement from the co-captain and laughs from the crowd. He was getting in some witty exchanges with the co-captain.

No way! I never would've guessed that.... and it's so obvious now that she said it!

She's a smart one!

Cool!

Who knew there were prizes for a boat ride?

And so she should be.

I love how excited she was about winning such a random little thing.

I would be so worried that I'd have to fight for the reimbursement.

It crossed my mind, but they were pretty clear about things and it wasn't an issue at all.

Nice!

It was really handy.

That's.... weird.

I know.

aka... it's all we have left.

No, they did have some options and were pretty helpful with my requests. I wanted fuel efficient, but big enough for all our stuff (luggage, stroller, etc.)

Uh, oh...

 

[Dugette]

Yay! I caught up!

Izzy is adorable, and I'm glad to see she finally got a nap. My little guy is only 9 months, so there is no avoiding naps at this point, but I've been with nieces and nephews at Izzy's age who didn't take a nap, and it can make a long day for everyone!

Thanks! Yes, despite the poor timing, I was happy to see she was getting some much-needed sleep. She had been a pretty good napper on past trips, so her nap-skipping this trip came as a surprise and we wished we had known what it would be like so we could have planned for it better (we mostly planned stroller naps, since that had worked well previously).

I really need to figure out this whole rider swap thing before next year. There should be 4 adults going (DH and his parents with me), but I think I understand that we can still use the rider swap? It's always just been DH & me before, so I never had to worry about it!

Yes, the rider swap pass will cover up to 3 people. So, in theory, one of you could go solo (only one FP+ needed if you choose to do that vs. standby for the first ride) and then the other 3 could go with the rider swap. Or you can do 2 and 2 or whatever works. Or 3 can go first (either standby or all with FP+) and then two of them get to ride again with the 4th person rider swap. Lots of options.

Looking forward to the rest of your TR!

Thank you!

I just traveled with my parents, dh and my 7 week old. You absolutely can use rider swap. Get fp for 2 of you for the big rides, bring your son to the start of the fp queue (or the regular queue) and ask for a swap pass then two ride while the other two wait with your ds then the other two can ride later. Either that day or another day on your trip.

Good advice!

 

[Dugette]

Who’s Going to the Magic Kingdom?

So, just to review, it was about 4:30pm and our plans were to head over to Trader Sam’s ASAP, as we had yet to check the place out. We’d have a quick drink and then monorail over to the Magic Kingdom for the evening. However, after waking Dug up and chatting, we came to the conclusion that Izzy had taken so long to get down for her nap (while I was gone) that she really desperately needed more sleep, so we’d have to skip Trader Sam’s and just go straight to the Magic Kingdom a bit later than originally planned (and stay a bit shorter time). Bummer to miss Trader Sam’s, but we knew it was the right thing to do. I think we all napped at that point, as we were all pretty drained, plus tonight was my late solo night in the MK, so I wanted to have some energy for that.

I was up again around 6:30pm getting some pretzel snacks packed up for Izzy (gotta be prepared for those "pretzel emergencies"):





We had bought the bag of pretzels earlier in our stay and I had found those little snack cups in the dollar section of Target before our trip (like 4 for a dollar, I believe). Izzy was still asleep, but we had decided she’d had a good, long nap (over 2 hours) and it was time to get her up for fun in the Magic Kingdom, as she’d been asking to go over there throughout the trip (we hadn’t been yet!)

Seems like a reasonable plan.

However, she woke up in an inexplicably upset state and was crying inconsolably. She was basically out of her mind and unable to communicate, other than crying/screaming. Well, okay, I don’t like getting up either, but this should improve once she calms down and realizes we’re going to the Magic Kingdom. But, no, she didn’t care and continued her dramatic expression of her emotions.

She loves when she and I are “twins”, so I figured she’d be excited that she and I were both going to be wearing Ariel shirts this evening. But, alas, that didn’t help either and she basically fought us every step of the outfit change (sound familiar from that airport restroom? ) We took off her naptime diaper during the outfit change, as we were taking her to the potty next.

But, of course, she absolutely refused to visit the potty and was still a hot mess. And then…she peed all over the floor! We couldn’t believe it – this wasn’t even a common thing for her in the early days of potty training. We got her and the floor cleaned up and got Izzy a new bottom half of her outfit.

By this time, she had managed to express a single desire: she wanted to watch “Minnie” (this is what she calls “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”). So, we popped the TV onto Disney Junior, but Octonauts was on, not “Minnie.” She continued to loudly lose her mind because she ONLY wanted “Minnie” – not another show, not riding things at the Magic Kingdom, not snacks, ONLY “Minnie.” It was nearly 7:30pm at this point and she was a mess of tears on our bed.

Dug said he was sore and had some work to do, so he was willing to stay in with Izzy while I headed out for my solo MK night. He and Izzy would just have to wait until after the cruise for some MK time. Sad as I was that our plans fell apart, this turned out to be the right call.

But, before I left, I had an idea about “Minnie.” I knew that the DVC Community Hall had free DVD rentals for people staying on points (we had rented points), so maybe they would have some episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse to toss in our DVD player in the room. Izzy had calmed down a bit with the TV on and I told her I was going to try to find some “Minnie” for her:



Heading off:



I really didn’t know where I was going, but I knew I’d passed a DVC sign on the Boardwalk side of the resort, so figured I’d see if that was the Community Hall. Well, turns out that was actually the DVC Preview Center, but she was nice enough to take me on a shortcut through there and point me on my way.

I made it to the Community Hall and told the CM what I was looking for. She pulled out a few options, but only one of them was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. However, it was one of Izzy’s favorites (the one with Santa ), so I took that and also took a DVD of Mickey and Minnie shorts.

As I walked back, I noticed they seemed to be setting up for a campfire outside. I also passed a playground:



Never did get Izzy over there, but she would have loved it, I’m sure.

I dropped the DVDs off with Dug and was going to go pick up some dinner for him, but he decided he’d just eat Izzy’s leftover Corn Dog Nuggets from T-Rex. Works for me (and Izzy didn’t care). He put in the “Minnie” DVD and discovered that the input into the TV wasn’t working, so he had to call for help and wait for someone to come up. It was 8:08pm by now, so I took off for the bus stop. Solo time :





I sat and waited in the empty bus stop until 8:25pm for a bus. It felt weird to be going off solo, especially knowing how upset Izzy was that evening. However, Dug was keeping me posted via text, so I knew things were okay. The engineer came up to the room and got the DVD player input fixed, but then Izzy wanted to keep watching Jake and the Never Land Pirates, as it had come on Disney Junior during that time. They ended up starting “Minnie” about the time I was finally getting on the bus:



Jumping ahead a bit, I checked in with them much later in the evening (around 11pm) and they were reading bedtime stories, then Dug was going to get Izzy down and work on packing up for the cruise (I had packed some before, but still more work to be done). So, things went okay, but it was a LATE night.

But back to MY late night…

I arrived at the Magic Kingdom at 8:53pm:



It was so nice to finally walk through that archway into the MK for the first time this trip. And, being solo, I could just look around and take it all in. I love the MK at night. I was so happy to get my chance for some solo time (you may remember, back on our last family trip – Dec. 2013 – we FORGOT about my solo night until the next day, so I never got that time – it was a priority to make it up now).

Once inside the park, I made a beeline for the FP+ kiosks in City Hall, wanting to see what I could snag for a 4th FP+ that evening. I lucked out, getting Space Mountain with a window only 15 minutes away:



Sweet! I was quite pleased with that, as I love Space and wasn’t sure I’d be able to get on without a wait that night (park open until midnight, I believe).

Since I had a short bit of time until the window opened, I headed this way:





Lucked out again, as Pirates was a walk-on and I was on board at 9:09pm – only 13 minutes after arriving at MK – not bad! I believe I was in the last row of the boat. Thoroughly enjoyed the ride, as always:



As I exited the ride, I saw that I’d received a text from @Tracy161 (I know she’s been scarce around these parts lately, but if you are here, HI TRACY! ). She had arrived at WDW earlier (first day of her solo trip!) and was heading to the MK from Epcot. I told her that I’d gotten a Space FP+ and it turns out she had one too – even overlapping the same window, so we could ride together. Perfect! I tried to make my way over to that part of the park, but the parade had me trapped. I did see the “new” Dole Whip venue, though:



Oh, also, I needed to obtain a handful of Mickey straws for our Fish Extender gifts for the cruise. I remembered they sold them at Columbia Harbour House for cheap, so stopped in there. They were closed, but a CM checked and said they only had 2 left. She told me that Pecos Bill had them and was open late, so I decided to just stop over there later.

I’d planned to see the parade on the 24-hour day after the cruise, so didn’t intend to watch now, but it was fun to see some bits and pieces as I walked around:





I was surprised that there were still some good viewing locations left.

Tracy texted that she was heading to the Haunted Mansion first. I’d overheard someone say the line was short there and I wanted to ride it too, so we decided to meet up in front of the ride. I managed to escape the parade blockade around 9:30pm and found the Haunted Mansion (I am used to Dug navigating for me, so I wasn’t sure I was going the right way, but I was). I stood outside, but didn’t see Tracy yet. After a few moments, though, she came running up and we hugged hello and headed inside. We had only just met, but she felt like a long-lost friend. We had a fun time chatting as we walked through the queue. It was a great ride, and we both saw things we hadn’t noticed before.

We left there just before 10pm and I suddenly remembered that this was the night I had planned to watch Wishes! I was so caught up with everything else that had gone on this evening that I almost forgot all about it. Tracy said she’d heard about a good last-minute spot near Sleepy Hollow, so we went over there. It was rather crowded and the view wasn’t great, but we could see flying Tinkerbell pretty well:



Since it was crowded and not that great a view, we decided to check out the under-the-fireworks view from New Fantasyland instead. On the way, we got briefly rained on after going under this overhang:



It hadn’t been raining, so that was odd. And it was so brief. Then I remembered that Dug had just told me about something he’d learned on a podcast: there are sprinklers on the roofs of Fantasyland to make sure any fireworks debris doesn’t cause a fire. The “rain” must have actually been the fireworks sprinklers! How funny!

At any rate, the fireworks view from New Fantasyland was really a unique experience. They basically envelop you from every direction:















I also loved that there were no crowds and plenty of room to enjoy them there.

I took a bit of video too (might make you dizzy, but you get the idea):

(click to watch)

(I am pretty sure at the end of that I say, “They’re right over our heads…I don’t have a sprinkler on my head!” )

After enjoying Wishes overhead, we set off for Tomorrowland, chatting the whole way. I had adjusted my Space FP+ back a bit on the app, so that I’d be able to do it after Wishes. We were on around 10:30pm:



Space selfie (“we-sie”):



Clearly, I just love Space. I was happy to ride and wished I’d gotten in another ride on it this trip, but that didn’t end up happening.

After that, I noticed that Buzz only had a 5 minute posted wait, so I suggested we go over there. Perhaps not the wisest thing to suggest to Tracy, since she was a tad bit motion sick, but she went along with it anyway. I tried to teach her some of the high value targets I’d learned about that helped me improve my score. Here’s how we ended up:



And here we are trying to rack up those points:



It was about 10:45pm and we decided it was mandatory to take a ride on the Peoplemover with our feet up at that point:











Gotta love the Peoplemover at night!

Up next: Mission: Straws! Losing my wallet! And the kiss goodnight!

 

[Dugette]

Closing Down the Kingdom

After the Peoplemover, Tracy was pretty wiped out from her travel day (+ 2 parks), so she decided to call it a night. We stopped for some Photopass pictures on her way out, around 11pm:



And because I was having too much fun with the Photopass edits :



I believe we parted ways in front of the pretty castle:



It was so much fun to spend that time with Tracy! She was so nice and we got along great. I really enjoyed sharing that “solo” time with another huge Disney fan. (We will meet up again later in the trip too, but just briefly).

My next order of business was to go on Mission: Straws. As I headed for Pecos Bill’s, I passed Dole Whip world and there was no line, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to stop there and see if they sold Mickey straws:



At first they were confused, but a CM went to look in the back and, sure enough, they had them and gave me the 6 I needed, wrapped in a napkin:



Best part was that they didn’t even charge me for them! I asked to pay and they said not to worry about it. Great pixie dust there!

I made a quick stop into the Pirates dump shop next to ask for a small bag, so that I wouldn’t have to carry around a handful of straws all evening. They gave me one and I decided to just toss my wallet into that too, since it would be one less thing to carry (just had that and my cell phone on me that night – free of kid, free of bags!)

My next destination was Big Thunder, with hopes of a walk-on. I was in luck, as I arrived at 11:17pm and was on about 7 minutes later:



I was in the very front row.

I put my bag into the pouch, reminding myself that it was crucial I did not forget it there after the ride, as I had a bunch of Disney Gift Cards in my wallet so that I could pay off our remaining room charge balance when I got back to the resort that night.

I enjoyed the wildest ride in the wilderness, as usual. Seemed even more like a runaway train since I could clearly see in front of me that nobody was driving :



Still caught a glimpse of the castle:



I had a blast, then quickly made my way over to Splash Mountain for my walk-on attempt there. I was pleased to see the wait posted at only 10 minutes:



And, just as I took that picture, I realized that the ONLY thing I was holding was my phone. OH NO! I had so much fun riding that I totally forgot about my bag in that 3 minutes or whatever. I scurried back to Big Thunder and the CM out front told me to go up the exit to a certain line on the ground. It was all very routine, you could tell. The CM there asked what I’d lost and I told them. Then they wanted to know what was in the bag and I said, “My wallet and six Mickey straws.” Then they asked me what color the wallet was. Really? Like anybody else is walking around with exactly 6 Mickey straws?! Haha, at least I got the color right and, sure enough, they had it! Crisis averted! I checked and everything was still in my wallet, so I was quite relieved. My precious bag:



When I got back to Splash, the wait was down to 5 minutes:



Turned out that it was actually a total walk-on:



I asked for the last row (didn’t want to get drenched) and got it:



See me back there?

I succeeded in just barely getting Splashed and kept my bag in my hand, so that was all good!

When I got off of Splash, there were less than 10 minutes left until the park closed. I considered making a break for Tomorrowland to ride Space one more time. But that’s a long haul and I wasn’t sure if I could make it. So, I decided to go that direction, but through New Fantasyland to see if anything else caught my eye. And then I saw this:



I remembered from a previous trip that they start a show right at park close, so I decided that would be a nice way to end the evening. I headed in and it was very crowded :





While I was heading in, Tracy sent me a text that she’d enjoyed meeting and hoped we would have a great time on our cruise tomorrow. So nice!

So, turns out there were 5 of us there to see Mickey’s Philharmagic midnight showing. They let us sit anywhere we wanted, so I sat pretty much right in the middle. Nobody demanding you keep moving down to the end of the aisle tonight!

This was basically the no-rules version of the attraction. We could talk, take photos/video, whatever – nobody really cared. So, it was fun. The couple seated towards the front was really into it and reciting lines and such, which I thought was fun. I took a tiny bit of bad video, just cause I could :

(click to watch)

With the mostly empty theater, I felt like I could see and hear everything extra well, which made it even better. Perfect way to end the night!

Before I’d entered Philharmagic, I had made note of how close I was to the Tangled restrooms and decided that would be my last stop, since they would be empty and I could take pictures without feeling weird about it. However, as I walked toward them, the CMs wouldn’t let me over there, as they’d already cleared the area. They told me to go to the restrooms over by Pinocchio’s instead. I told them, “But they aren’t as cool…but okay.” Bummer.

When I got to the other restrooms, they almost tried to stop me too, but I told them I’d been sent over here and they let me in. No photos, haha.

I really felt like I was being rushed out of Fantasyland and there were CMs everywhere. They secured areas so quickly after park close. I did manage to snap some pictures of the gorgeous empty park as I hustled my way towards Main Street:







I stopped to admire the castle mosaics on my way through:





I was excited that we’d be eating in there for the first time after our cruise.

Castle selfie:



I also stopped and got a Photopass:



Took a couple more shots as I made my way around the hub:





As I walked, I noticed that Casey’s Corner appeared to still be open, despite it being about 30 minutes after park close. I stopped in to check and the CM said that they always stay open for about 40 minutes after the park closes. Smart! I bet they get lots of people like me who were having so much fun they forgot to eat dinner! I thought I’d get something that was easy to eat while I walked, like corn dog nuggets or a hot dog. However, the friendly CM talked me into trying her favorite, the BBQ Slaw Dog. It was messy, though, so I had to go sit down:



It was really tasty, but it was just WAY too big for me.

There were some other diners there too:



I ate what I could, then heard something going on outside. I tossed my leftovers and ran out quickly to catch the Kiss Goodnight!

I took a couple video clips as I headed over to Main Street for a perfect view:

(click to watch)

(click to watch)

And a picture from that spot:



I had to break my video of the Kiss Goodnight into two parts to upload it, so here you go:

(click to watch part 1)

(click to watch part 2)

I was feeling pretty good after that, so I took a small selfie video of me walking down Main Street to remember the fun of that evening, after a rather stressful start to the trip:

(click to watch)

I left the park and soon had the fun of trying to get on a bus bound for the Boardwalk at 12:48am. The first CM as you walk into the bus stop area told me to go to a certain # stop. As I approached that #, the CMs there told me to go to a different #. I got to that # where I boarded the bus and waited. I could hear some bus CM chatter involving Boardwalk as guests for other non-Epcot resorts were getting on. Then the driver came over to me and told me that they had done a poor job of grouping together the resorts and that I should go up to the bus in front of him and get a ride. So, I did that and boy was that driver happy to see me. He was super bored, as he’d just been sitting there for 20 minutes with no passengers. So, I got a private ride back to the resort:



The driver chatted a bit and was very nice. I got back a bit after 1am and went to the front desk to pay down our remaining room charge balance with those gift cards. After that was done, I went back to the room and was happy to see everyone was sleeping and Dug had done the rest of our packing. I think I took a quick shower and headed right to bed. It had been a really fun night!

Up next: It’s finally time to head for the Disney Dream!

 

[andera42]

Great trip report! I'm so glad you got some solo time in the MK and looks like you had some low wait times on rides. Excited to read all about your cruise!

 

[pkondz]

Yeah, I am not one to get directions from.

Izzy found it. I mean, she's the closest to the ground anyway, so easy to spot it.

Good point!

Gotta love a bubble cliffhanger.

That's the best kind.

I believe she actually did stand.

Whoa.

Acknowledgement from the co-captain and laughs from the crowd. He was getting in some witty exchanges with the co-captain.

Ah. Bet he liked that!

I love how excited she was about winning such a random little thing.

Wait... Are you saying you wouldn't???

No, they did have some options and were pretty helpful with my requests. I wanted fuel efficient, but big enough for all our stuff (luggage, stroller, etc.)

Oh, well, then.... good!


Back later to read the update.

 

[Imagineer5]

Bummer to miss Trader Sam’s, but we knew it was the right thing to do. I think we all napped at that point, as we were all pretty drained, plus tonight was my late solo night in the MK, so I wanted to have some energy for that.

Boo now I see you did miss it, that is too bad

However, she woke up in an inexplicably upset state and was crying inconsolably. She was basically out of her mind and unable to communicate, other than crying/screaming. Well, okay, I don’t like getting up either, but this should improve once she calms down and realizes we’re going to the Magic Kingdom. But, no, she didn’t care and continued her dramatic expression of her emotions.

So so weird, did you ever figure out what was going on?

But, of course, she absolutely refused to visit the potty and was still a hot mess. And then…she peed all over the floor! We couldn’t believe it – this wasn’t even a common thing for her in the early days of potty training. We got her and the floor cleaned up and got Izzy a new bottom half of her outfit.

Poor sweetie!

By this time, she had managed to express a single desire: she wanted to watch “Minnie” (this is what she calls “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”). So, we popped the TV onto Disney Junior, but Octonauts was on, not “Minnie.” She continued to loudly lose her mind because she ONLY wanted “Minnie” – not another show, not riding things at the Magic Kingdom, not snacks, ONLY “Minnie.” It was nearly 7:30pm at this point and she was a mess of tears on our bed.

How crazy for her to act like that!!

I made it to the Community Hall and told the CM what I was looking for. She pulled out a few options, but only one of them was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. However, it was one of Izzy’s favorites (the one with Santa ), so I took that and also took a DVD of Mickey and Minnie shorts.

YAY! Great thought!

Jumping ahead a bit, I checked in with them much later in the evening (around 11pm) and they were reading bedtime stories, then Dug was going to get Izzy down and work on packing up for the cruise (I had packed some before, but still more work to be done). So, things went okay, but it was a LATE night.

Phew that is late, but relaxing at least for them

Once inside the park, I made a beeline for the FP+ kiosks in City Hall, wanting to see what I could snag for a 4th FP+ that evening. I lucked out, getting Space Mountain with a window only 15 minutes away:

Sweet!

Tracy texted that she was heading to the Haunted Mansion first. I’d overheard someone say the line was short there and I wanted to ride it too, so we decided to meet up in front of the ride. I managed to escape the parade blockade around 9:30pm and found the Haunted Mansion (I am used to Dug navigating for me, so I wasn’t sure I was going the right way, but I was). I stood outside, but didn’t see Tracy yet. After a few moments, though, she came running up and we hugged hello and headed inside. We had only just met, but she felt like a long-lost friend. We had a fun time chatting as we walked through the queue. It was a great ride, and we both saw things we hadn’t noticed before.

So awesome you had a great DIS meet up for a while!

It hadn’t been raining, so that was odd. And it was so brief. Then I remembered that Dug had just told me about something he’d learned on a podcast: there are sprinklers on the roofs of Fantasyland to make sure any fireworks debris doesn’t cause a fire. The “rain” must have actually been the fireworks sprinklers! How funny!

LOL I hadn't even thought of that

I also loved that there were no crowds and plenty of room to enjoy them there.

What a neat view!

After that, I noticed that Buzz only had a 5 minute posted wait, so I suggested we go over there. Perhaps not the wisest thing to suggest to Tracy, since she was a tad bit motion sick, but she went along with it anyway. I tried to teach her some of the high value targets I’d learned about that helped me improve my score. Here’s how we ended up:

You did awesome!

Best part was that they didn’t even charge me for them! I asked to pay and they said not to worry about it. Great pixie dust there!

Woohoo!

And, just as I took that picture, I realized that the ONLY thing I was holding was my phone. OH NO! I had so much fun riding that I totally forgot about my bag in that 3 minutes or whatever. I scurried back to Big Thunder and the CM out front told me to go up the exit to a certain line on the ground

I've done this before too!! UGH!

See me back there?

LOL somehow Aria keeps getting hidden in the pic here too.

I remembered from a previous trip that they start a show right at park close, so I decided that would be a nice way to end the evening. I headed in and it was very crowded :

LOL too funny

I really felt like I was being rushed out of Fantasyland and there were CMs everywhere. They secured areas so quickly after park close. I did manage to snap some pictures of the gorgeous empty park as I hustled my way towards Main Street:

Really cool to see it empty and dark like that

I was feeling pretty good after that, so I took a small selfie video of me walking down Main Street to remember the fun of that evening, after a rather stressful start to the trip:

awesome end!

I left the park and soon had the fun of trying to get on a bus bound for the Boardwalk at 12:48am. The first CM as you walk into the bus stop area told me to go to a certain # stop. As I approached that #, the CMs there told me to go to a different #. I got to that # where I boarded the bus and waited. I could hear some bus CM chatter involving Boardwalk as guests for other non-Epcot resorts were getting on. Then the driver came over to me and told me that they had done a poor job of grouping together the resorts and that I should go up to the bus in front of him and get a ride. So, I did that and boy was that driver happy to see me. He was super bored, as he’d just been sitting there for 20 minutes with no passengers. So, I got a private ride back to the resort:

hahahaha kind of crazy to have to switch buses and not know where to go, but glad you got a private ride back!

The driver chatted a bit and was very nice. I got back a bit after 1am and went to the front desk to pay down our remaining room charge balance with those gift cards. After that was done, I went back to the room and was happy to see everyone was sleeping and Dug had done the rest of our packing. I think I took a quick shower and headed right to bed. It had been a really fun night!

Up next: It’s finally time to head for the Disney Dream!

Phew! Glad you got that great night in, sounds like a ton of fun. Can't wait to hear about the cruise!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

oh no - so sorry to hear about how Izzy woke up! Peter is so bad at waking from naps so I can somewhat understand what you were going through but that sounds really bad!

I am very glad to hear you did get your solo time at MK as I remember your TR where that didn't happen- and how great that your solo time wasn't solo! Awesome that you had a Dismeet as part of it (But I think great you got some solo time as well!)

I love that spot behind the Castle for Wishes. I mean, obviously not the same as being right on main st, but is cool how you fee almost "in" the fireworks - and it is often not crowded

Glad you found the straws and for free to boot! (not sure how you could go there and not get a dole whip though

Very glad that you got the wallet back in the end. Reminds me of the one time my luggage got lost and when they found it they called me and basically had me go through in detail everything that was in there (agent: Sir, what brand were the shoes? me: I don't know agent: Sir, were they boxers or briefs? what color?")

Seems like you got a lot in and the final Philharmagic show sounds like a blast!

And gotta love the kids goodnight!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Poor Izzy! She must not have liked to be woken up! But I guess if she didn't wake up from her nap she'd be up all night!
I didn't know you could get the DVDs from the DVC center, but good to know!

LOVE your solo night! It looks like so much fun! Oh and hi Tracy!! How fun that you guys had a DisMeet too! Those were perfect rides you guys picked to do together!! Oh and the PP pic where it looks like you're stuffing your face with the cotton candy Goofy is holding...hahaha! Although your face is blocked!

I have not seen the Kiss Goodnight yet! Thanks for the video! I'm gonna have to check it out one day. We're usually so pooped at night! But maybe we'll prepare by taking a break in the afternoon.

Can't wait for your cruise!!

 

[AllysonL]

Poor Izzy! I know Keira does not like to be woken up, probably 95% of the time! So I totally understand how that can set them off into a toddler frenzy! Glad you still got your solo park time.

That Casey's hot dog looks delicious! I need to give them another try. So glad you got to see the Kiss Goodnight (I need to go back and watch your videos), that's on my Disney bucket list!

Sounds like you had a great night. Can't wait for the cruise updates!!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

However, she woke up in an inexplicably upset state and was crying inconsolably. She was basically out of her mind and unable to communicate, other than crying/screaming. Well, okay, I don’t like getting up either, but this should improve once she calms down and realizes we’re going to the Magic Kingdom. But, no, she didn’t care and continued her dramatic expression of her emotions.

OMG!!! I can't tell you how good it makes me feel to hear this story! My girls are always so tired somewhere in the trip that they don't want to go to the parks! And I can never understand how that could be! But those poor little bubba get tired so easy.

I hope DD is in a better mood in the morning.

 

[afwdwfan]

Rough morning! It always stinks when the forecast looks good, it is a beautiful morning and then the skies just open up. I know a few years ago we bought a rain cover for our stroller. Didn't rain all week, but there was a slight chance of rain so we took it every day. Then the one day the forecast was clear and we left it in the room.... Yeah, I feel your pain and frustration.

I'm glad you got to go to 50's. Too bad Izzy wasn't willing to eat her lunch. It is always frustrating. There's only so much you can do and at some point you've just got to eat your own food and let her figure it out. If she's hungry, she'll eat. I think the good servers do tend to be receptive of the guests and turn the antics up or down accordingly. I know that has definitely been our experience at WCC.

I'm glad the rental car experience went so smoothly despite them having to have you take a taxi. It seems like the customer service there must be really good!

I'm sorry about Izzy's mood for the evening though. Sometimes, you just never really know. It does look like things worked out for the best. At least for you! What a fun evening in the MK! I always love getting a few hours to myself. You managed to fit in some real favorites and even a Dis meet. I'm glad the wallet left on BTMRR didn't turn out to be anything worse than just going back and getting it!

 

[Dugette]

Great trip report! I'm so glad you got some solo time in the MK and looks like you had some low wait times on rides. Excited to read all about your cruise!

Thanks! The solo/dual ( ) time was really great and just what I needed at that point in the trip. Mommy off-duty time helps so much. And, yes, we got on a lot of stuff quickly, so that was great too!

Good point!



That's the best kind.



Whoa.



Ah. Bet he liked that!



Wait... Are you saying you wouldn't???



Oh, well, then.... good!


Back later to read the update.

Boo now I see you did miss it, that is too bad

Thankfully, we got to the Disneyland one (but actually had a pretty odd experience there). Maybe I can manage to work my way back to the WDW one for a quick drink....

So so weird, did you ever figure out what was going on?

Poor sweetie!

How crazy for her to act like that!!

I think it was just a matter of her being WAY overtired by that point. She's good at appearing as though she is fine when she's actually insanely exhausted...we just had that happen the other day, actually - could only tell she was tired because she was overly emotional and fragile - she denied being tired, but fell right asleep once we managed to convince her to get in bed. I think also, since this trip was a year ago, she wasn't as good at expressing herself, so that probably fueled things even more...exhausted and not sure how to communicate that without .

YAY! Great thought!

Every so often I'm good for an idea.

Phew that is late, but relaxing at least for them

I am really surprised they ended up staying up so late. But, whatever, I was off mommy-duty.

Sweet!

I was so surprised I was able to get that!

So awesome you had a great DIS meet up for a while!

It was so much fun! I think we were both fueled by that high of walking into the MK for the first time on a trip - and at night too, which brings a bit of extra magic. I think it was just what I needed - someone to have fun with that didn't require me to take care of them.

LOL I hadn't even thought of that

It was such a coincidence that Dug had listened to that podcast and mentioned it to me shortly before our trip...but sure made sense of that very random and contained "rain" we walked through.

What a neat view!

It really was a different way to see Wishes. I wouldn't do it every time, but it worked well for our situation!

You did awesome!

Thanks, I must have hit a couple big targets when attempting to show her.

Woohoo!

Yay, free stuff!

I've done this before too!! UGH!

That was just the worst feeling to realize I wasn't holding it. Strangely, I have another lost and found at BTMRR experience at DLR too.

LOL somehow Aria keeps getting hidden in the pic here too.

Ha, well she is a little bit smaller than I am.

LOL too funny

Gotta love a private screening.

Really cool to see it empty and dark like that

I love the parks at night (especially MK) when they empty out. Just so pretty and peaceful.

awesome end!

I was definitely on a Disney high that night. It had been a fun, but stressful and challenging trip up to that point, so that night was really a nice change.

hahahaha kind of crazy to have to switch buses and not know where to go, but glad you got a private ride back!

I couldn't believe how disorganized things were. I guess they improvise a lot as the crowds are emptying out. At least they got me back, though.

Phew! Glad you got that great night in, sounds like a ton of fun. Can't wait to hear about the cruise!

It was a fabulous night! Cruise coming up!

oh no - so sorry to hear about how Izzy woke up! Peter is so bad at waking from naps so I can somewhat understand what you were going through but that sounds really bad!

It was the worst we'd seen. She was just such a mess and not herself at all.

I am very glad to hear you did get your solo time at MK as I remember your TR where that didn't happen- and how great that your solo time wasn't solo! Awesome that you had a Dismeet as part of it (But I think great you got some solo time as well!)

It was really the perfect combo of solo time and DISmeet time! In general, being off-duty for parenting at Disney is a treat!

I love that spot behind the Castle for Wishes. I mean, obviously not the same as being right on main st, but is cool how you fee almost "in" the fireworks - and it is often not crowded

Right, it wasn't crowded AT ALL - I could basically wander aimlessly while looking up and not run into anyone. And they were just every direction you looked - very much "in" them.

Glad you found the straws and for free to boot! (not sure how you could go there and not get a dole whip though

I know - I was looking at that picture wondering why I didn't get one. I think I was too antsy to get on the rides I had planned, though, and didn't want to waste time consuming a Dole Whip.

Very glad that you got the wallet back in the end. Reminds me of the one time my luggage got lost and when they found it they called me and basically had me go through in detail everything that was in there (agent: Sir, what brand were the shoes? me: I don't know agent: Sir, were they boxers or briefs? what color?")

Oh, geez, how annoying! I feel like the questions are just for their own amusement.

Seems like you got a lot in and the final Philharmagic show sounds like a blast!

I felt really good about all that I got done that night and Philharmagic was a good call - didn't have to dash across a park and it was a good way to wind down a bit.

And gotta love the kids goodnight!

I wasn't even expecting to see the Kiss Goodnight, so it was a wonderful bit of magic that I did!

 

[Dugette]

Poor Izzy! She must not have liked to be woken up! But I guess if she didn't wake up from her nap she'd be up all night!

Nope, didn't like to be woken up one bit. I actually suspect that, had we not woken her, she may have just slept all night long. I think she was tired enough that her "nap" felt more like bedtime to her.

I didn't know you could get the DVDs from the DVC center, but good to know!

Yep, they have quite a collection of stuff, I think. Only time we'd tried it, but so glad they had it.

LOVE your solo night! It looks like so much fun! Oh and hi Tracy!! How fun that you guys had a DisMeet too! Those were perfect rides you guys picked to do together!! Oh and the PP pic where it looks like you're stuffing your face with the cotton candy Goofy is holding...hahaha! Although your face is blocked!

Tracy is great and the night was a ton of fun. Haha, glad you enjoyed my "fun w/photopass borders".

I have not seen the Kiss Goodnight yet! Thanks for the video! I'm gonna have to check it out one day. We're usually so pooped at night! But maybe we'll prepare by taking a break in the afternoon.

It's a nice treat. I've only seen it a couple times, both really unintentional - we tend to stay in the park late if we stay till close, so we can let the crowds clear out. It's not something I'd plan my day around, but if you're staying late, might as well.

Can't wait for your cruise!!

Coming up!

Poor Izzy! I know Keira does not like to be woken up, probably 95% of the time! So I totally understand how that can set them off into a toddler frenzy! Glad you still got your solo park time.

Glad Izzy's not the only one who reacts badly to being awoken. We generally let her sleep as long as she wants, but silly us, thinking she'd prefer the MK!

That Casey's hot dog looks delicious! I need to give them another try. So glad you got to see the Kiss Goodnight (I need to go back and watch your videos), that's on my Disney bucket list!

It was really good - I can see why the CM was pushing it. Just so big, though. Kiss Goodnight is a great bucket list item.

Sounds like you had a great night. Can't wait for the cruise updates!!

Thanks, it was a blast! And cruise is coming up!

OMG!!! I can't tell you how good it makes me feel to hear this story! My girls are always so tired somewhere in the trip that they don't want to go to the parks! And I can never understand how that could be! But those poor little bubba get tired so easy.

Happy to make you feel better - I love that TRs can let us know we're not alone in some of the challenges we face. And, yeah, I couldn't believe that she didn't want to go to the MK or go on rides.

I hope DD is in a better mood in the morning.

A good night's sleep is a big help! (mostly)

Rough morning! It always stinks when the forecast looks good, it is a beautiful morning and then the skies just open up. I know a few years ago we bought a rain cover for our stroller. Didn't rain all week, but there was a slight chance of rain so we took it every day. Then the one day the forecast was clear and we left it in the room.... Yeah, I feel your pain and frustration.

Yep, that was our December 2013 trip - bringing that rain cover everywhere and not using it once (not that I'm complaining...I got to use it every day of June 2014). Glad you understand.

I'm glad you got to go to 50's. Too bad Izzy wasn't willing to eat her lunch. It is always frustrating. There's only so much you can do and at some point you've just got to eat your own food and let her figure it out. If she's hungry, she'll eat. I think the good servers do tend to be receptive of the guests and turn the antics up or down accordingly. I know that has definitely been our experience at WCC.

I have yet to make it to WCC - sounds fun, though. Yeah, Izzy sometimes eats like a bird and sometimes like a pig - I just let her be or remind her to eat if she's distracted. I think it's a pretty normal thing for 3-year-olds. Happy to be able to bring home the leftovers, though! (Hmmmm, I wonder who ate them? Maybe Dug or Izzy for dinner that night? )

I'm glad the rental car experience went so smoothly despite them having to have you take a taxi. It seems like the customer service there must be really good!

It really was great customer service. Almost too much, with like 2-3 people all helping me. I'd go back, for sure.

I'm sorry about Izzy's mood for the evening though. Sometimes, you just never really know. It does look like things worked out for the best. At least for you! What a fun evening in the MK! I always love getting a few hours to myself. You managed to fit in some real favorites and even a Dis meet. I'm glad the wallet left on BTMRR didn't turn out to be anything worse than just going back and getting it!

Yeah, the evening definitely started badly with Izzy's meltdown, but ended up being just the solo/DIS-meet time I needed! It's so nice to have that time in the parks where you don't have to worry about anyone but yourself. And, yes, I am SO glad the wallet incident didn't turn out to be anything worse. Just waiting that short time for them to say they had it was enough stress.

 

[Dugette]

Driving to the Dream

I was up and ready by 7:30am this morning, excited we’d be boarding “Mickey’s Boat” in just a few hours! I took a couple screen shots from my PTR so I would remember the important to-do items on my list once we boarded:





After that, I grabbed the DVDs we’d borrowed and headed back to the Community Hall to deposit them in the dropbox (they weren't open yet for the day, but had told me to drop them there):





I noticed they had the outdoor movie schedule up:



Here’s the fire pit I saw being set up the night before:



It was a quiet and peaceful morning, with joggers out on their morning runs along the boardwalk:





We had finished our milk, so I also popped into the Boardwalk Bakery to grab a small carton for Izzy's breakfast. While I waited, I admired the yummy displays:





Don’t order that top item on the menu, unless you’ve got an hour to spare :



Despite all the deliciousness, I left with only what I came for:



Hidden Mickeys in the rug outside the elevator:



I noticed that there was writing above our door (“panel”):



Just thought that was odd.

And another Hidden Mickey rug:



I was back in the room at 8am, where we munched on egg sandwiches and leftover Galactic Breakfast pastries:



We left our lovely room at 8:45am. Bye, wonderful room :



Bye, lobby chandelier :



We had Bell Services come up to our room before we left and they took the designated bags to long-term storage and brought the rest curbside for us. Dug and Izzy waited there with our stuff while I went to go get the rental car (parked really far back in the lot):



Dug briefly panicked when he mixed up bags and thought they had stored one that we needed. After digging into a couple bags, though, he realized we were fine.

Meanwhile, I walked past an old Acura Integra and thought fondly back to my first 4 cars (none of mine had blue wheels, though, haha). They stopped making them in 2001, so you don’t see a lot of them anymore:



The two doors got to be a bit impractical, but I miss those sporty little cars!

I got in the rental car and pulled it around front. Got our bags loaded up and Dug and Izzy got in:



Izzy had insisted we all continue to wear our Magic Bands this day.

We hit the road at 9:05am. It was a little later than I wanted, but I’d put a buffer in the plan and still felt okay about making our scheduled 10:45am port arrival time. The drive is roughly an hour and we planned to only make a quick stop for wine on the way (to bring onboard the ship). This is where we made our pit stop:



Around on the road-facing side of the store, there were lots of pretty water features.

Izzy had fallen asleep during the first leg of our drive (she did stay up really late, after all), so I stayed in the car with her while Dug went in to pick out a couple bottles. This was in the parking lot with us:



Don’t see a lot of those anymore either. We got back on the road just after 9:30am.

In case you are wondering, we had debated what to do about tollbooths on our route. In the end, I chose to pay the $3/day or whatever to Enterprise to make everything electronic. This allowed us to drive right through the express lanes without stopping or carrying change with us. We just got charged later by Enterprise and it was at the reduced/Sunpass rate. Overall, a very good deal and nice to not waste time stopping at the tollbooths. This was a good solution for a one-way drive where getting a Sunpass seemed like overkill.

On the last leg, we ended up following one of the Disney Cruise buses:



I was a little surprised to see a transfer running that early, as my understanding was that they arrive closer to Noon. One of the reasons we rented a car was to get there earlier than we would with a transfer. Maybe just the ones from Disney hotels come later and the MCO ones are earlier?

We were getting really close:



And then, at about 10:45am, we spotted the Dream :



And kept on following our leader:



Our chariot awaits:





We made it to the port a few minutes before our scheduled time:



The porters helped us to unload our bags. One of them asked me for our luggage tags and I just looked at him blankly. Um, I don’t remember getting luggage tags? Turns out they were in the booklet that I left on our dining room table so Dug’s friend would have our contact info. Oops. The porters made do somehow, so all was okay. But, future cruisers, don’t forget your luggage tags (and look in that booklet)!

They told me it would take about 20 minutes to drive over to Enterprise and take their shuttle back to the port. Great, that should give Dug and Izzy time to get in and wait in line or do what they can, then I’ll come back and meet them before we board.

On the way out of the port, I was just following all the other cars and nearly ended up in the long-term parking :



Managed to turn around and find my way out, though.

I had heard that Enterprise was really close by, but the drive felt a lot longer than I was expecting. I don’t know if it was actually that far or if I was just impatient to get back to the ship. Thankfully, when I arrived, the drop off was speedy and I was able to jump onto a shuttle immediately:



Well, my notes say it was 11:13am by now, so I guess the drive was more than the 5-10 minutes I was expecting. I was very glad that I’d left the bags with Dug – another family had to get off the shuttle because their bags wouldn’t fit. And then we hit the road….and went to the Royal Caribbean ship first. My patience was waning, but at least we were going to the Dream next. In fact, look, when I zoom in, I see it right over there :



Only problem? Well, do you see the drawbridge in this picture?:



Yep, it JUST went up and is keeping me from the Dream. For a rather tall sailboat to get past. This took FOREVER. I felt like time was just standing still. Dug and I were texting back and forth and he said they were already calling the boarding groups. However, I needed to get there before we were fully checked in and able to board. The wait was very frustrating. Then, on top of that, we weren’t home free once the bridge came back down either. There were just tons of delays and general slowness getting through the port to where we needed to go. By the time I finally got there, it was 11:56am! So much for that “20 minutes”, as we’d blown a whole hour! All the delays basically frittered away all the benefits we were going for with the early Port Arrival Time I'd managed to get.

I got through security and into the main area. Dug and Izzy were waiting in line to meet Minnie (see her back there? nearly a hidden ):



I went to go get checked in while they did that.

Up next: Do we get to board and do all those things on my to-do list?

 

[cindianne320]

Love hearing about Disney cruises! In fact, I'm up waiting to see if they actually open the Character Breakfast/Character meets online tonight at 11 pm (midnight EST) or if I'll have to wait until tomorrow! Your to-do list was perfect timing!

 

[soniam]

DH used to have an Integra. We learned a lot about that Enterprise shuttle on our first DCL cruise too. Since we will get a car at the airport next time, we will use Hertz, which is much closer to the port. I like the idea of the early drop-off though. We sat out in the sun and then in a van with no AC for a while at Enterprise Everything is smooth sailing after this though, because you will be on a DCL cruise

 

[TheMaxRebo]

That's pretty smart to use your pre-trip report as a check list for the morning

That is a bit weird to have "panel" written above your door like that. Unless noting there was an electric panel somewhere hidden or something

Love the old VW buses ... I read recently they are planning to have an all-electric version of that coming out which I think would be pretty cool to have

Seems like a reasonable decision to pay the $3 fee for the sun pass since you only had the car for the one day. I hate how if you want it you have to pay it for every day you have the car whether you need it each day or not - so when you rent a car for a week it really doesn't make sense (so we wound up just buying a sunpass figuring we would make enough trips to Florida to make it worthwhile)

ack, I'd be freaking out when they asked for luggage tags and then I didn't have them - glad it wasn't a huge deal (I am sure you weren't the first person to have forgotten them) - good to know for the future thought

oh no! So sorry about all those delays. At least you had planned for an early boarding rather than a late one and then you'd be worried about the boat leaving without you!!!!

 

[Imagineer5]

The two doors got to be a bit impractical, but I miss those sporty little cars!

I miss them too!! I had a Plymouth Laser as my first car, and loved it lol. Stick shift and all (my current car is actually stick shift too). I had a MINI Cooper when Aria was born, and it was so much fun to drive too.

Eeek!!

The porters helped us to unload our bags. One of them asked me for our luggage tags and I just looked at him blankly. Um, I don’t remember getting luggage tags? Turns out they were in the booklet that I left on our dining room table so Dug’s friend would have our contact info. Oops. The porters made do somehow, so all was okay. But, future cruisers, don’t forget your luggage tags (and look in that booklet)!

Glad they were fine without them, I'm sure a good portion of people arrive for every cruise without them.

Well, my notes say it was 11:13am by now, so I guess the drive was more than the 5-10 minutes I was expecting. I was very glad that I’d left the bags with Dug – another family had to get off the shuttle because their bags wouldn’t fit. And then we hit the road….and went to the Royal Caribbean ship first. My patience was waning, but at least we were going to the Dream next. In fact, look, when I zoom in, I see it right over there :

Ohhh my patience would be ZERO by now

Yep, it JUST went up and is keeping me from the Dream. For a rather tall sailboat to get past. This took FOREVER. I felt like time was just standing still. Dug and I were texting back and forth and he said they were already calling the boarding groups. However, I needed to get there before we were fully checked in and able to board.

Eeek I would be so mad lol. What time would you have arrived at the port had you taken the DCL transfer bus from WDW? Was having the rental car worth it?

By the time I finally got there, it was 11:56am!

UGH!! Well I hope you get on smoothly and manage to get everything accomplished from your to-do list.