Mother In Law's Tongue - May 4-12 COMPLETE with VIDEOS & Puppy Update!!!

[shalom]

How did we miss Goofy's!?

I don't remember if it's kiosks in the way or what, but it's not obvious from Pin Traders, at least to me. I kind of suspect the first year we went, we walked right by it and still managed to miss it. It may be we didn't see sooner because we're just so easily distracted, and it isn't a problem for anyone else, but the only reason we found it last year is that I knew where it was on the map and just kept looking.

I am taking hubby to the parks next time -- I just won't let him come along if I'm shopping.

At the dark show at SeaWorld, right after I reminded him no flash, hubby shot off the flash (he was convinced he'd turned it off and I wanted him to check first). So I got up and sat elsewhere. My eyes do not adjust as fast as they did when I was younger. Definitely need to remind him not to be flashing people on the dark rides when we're out -- and may not ride with him on those.

 

[marmalade]

I always thought I was an on-site only kinda gal. After looking at the pictures from your room, especially that view, I might change my ways. Why do kids always develop fevers at WDW? My kids always have something wrong when we go. Fevers scare the bejesus out of me too, glad to hear it came down on it's own.

 

[budafam]

We started making our way through the rest of the park and before we knew it, we were in front of the Tiki Room. DS & I had seen this on our last trip and loved it. It was down for refurbishment on our very first trip so we all got in line to check it out this time.

Everyone enjoyed it and we were all singing it for the rest of the trip. You just can't deny that's a catchy tune It was time for us to head back to The Plaza for our lunch time ADR. I booked this reservation kind of last minute considering The Plaza is a nice place to cool off and for pretty close to the same price as a QS, we can get a nice sit down lunch served to us. I got in line to check in and waited about 15 minutes before getting up to the podium. An older man butted in front of the person in front of me to MAKE an ADR for later on in the afternoon then he tried to joke with everyone in line to smooth over his unacceptable behavior. Ugh. I just stared him down. I get that some people just don't KNOW about making ADR's ahead of time but if you don't, then GET IN LINE! I can't stand people who think they can just budge like that. Once I got the beeper, we ended up waiting another 15 minutes in the HOT, HOT sun. It seems there is always a wait here... they should be expanding this restaurant's dining room rather redoing Main Street Bakery. Everyone was crabby & complaining. I snapped a pic of them trying to look happy while cooking alive. Finally, we started buzzing.

Ahhh, coolness. We were seated right in front of the entrance doors which was alright... they kept opening and we could hear the Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It parade going by... I was saddened that we were missing it I ordered the Plaza Club which came with Broccoli Slaw.

MIL ordered the grilled reuben. DH & I have a bit of an inside joke about my MIL & the reuben sandwich. Everytime she visits she always brings up how AWESOME the reuben sandwich is at Culver's. She goes on and on about it and then forgets the following time that she has told us this already. So we made sure to ask her if it was as good as Culver's. she said no but it was very good.

DH was in heaven. They actually had a grilled cheese here. I remember reading that before our first trip and I sent him to get one here while we were waiting for Wishes to start but since it was reservations only, he was unable to obtain one. He was so upset... today he was finally happy to get his beloved sandwich, and a double decker at that WITH fries. Heaven.

The kids split a meal of grilled chicken sticks that came with sliced green apples.

and of course, their dessert...

The waitress had them split the Mickeylodeon in half for each of them so they wouldn't have to share a cup. It still seemed pretty big to us and neither one finished it. We finished and paid our bill, then we had to go use up our fast pass for Space Mountain. I rode this with DS on our last trip but DH had never been on it so I sent him & his mom to go on it first. I waited with the kids in the gift shop... we did some more pin trading. Then they came out and we got their pic loaded on our card.

Nice face MIL!

Then it was my turn with DH (we did the rider switch)... We could not figure out when they did the picture. I know there's a part in the darkness where they have a bunch of flashes go off and that's where I figured it was. DH "claims" he knew but I know he didn't... you can tell by the pic. I was recording only through the blue lighted tunnel in the beginning.

Best. On-ride Photo. EVER. I keep telling DH I'm going to have that blown up and framed. haha... after the ride, we made our way back over to Main Street and stopped for a few Photopass pictures.

We went and found a place for the Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade. We took our seat right around 2:30pm. There was a Photopass photographer doing magic shots so I sent DS with the card over to her while we sat on the curb. Then I sent DD over to join them since they were putting Tinkerbell in their hands. The photographer looked so worried. She kept looking around trying to find their parents so I started waving my hands... lol... she said "I couldn't believe this little kid had a $200 Photopass card. Where did this kid get a $200 Photopass Plus!?!" lol... we had a good laugh.

The love bugs were out in full force. They were all over us. It was our first and only experience with them the entire trip. One of the CM's came over and explained to the kids that they won't hurt them, they're just annoying. Poor DD had them crawling in her hair. Finally, it was time for the parade to begin!

This was the first time I ever got to see Flynn Rider and DH was in charge of the camera. I told him to take a TON of pics and he did

Honestly, I loved where we were sitting. Since the other side of the street was covered by the Main Street Bakery facade, no one could sit over there so allll of the characters came over to our side which was extra special.

The crowd after the parade was over:

 

[ShesAPirate]

Really enjoying your TR (and read all your others last night haha). Looking forward to more!

 

[budafam]

Really enjoying your TR (and read all your others last night haha). Looking forward to more!

Thank you! I just went back to check out my first one and realized that I never linked all of the "chapters"... oops! lol... I hope I keep up on this one!

 

[shalom]

I'm enjoying your earlier trip reports as well. Got halfway down the page on your first one, and you have a picture of tornado damage I thought looked familiar; turns out your first trip and our second overlapped! Dunno why the tornado damage made that click and not the actual dates...

 

[budafam]

I'm enjoying your earlier trip reports as well. Got halfway down the page on your first one, and you have a picture of tornado damage I thought looked familiar; turns out your first trip and our second overlapped! Dunno why the tornado damage made that click and not the actual dates...

lol... I can't believe it was only a year ago that we first went. Now I can say I've been there 3 times and I'm in the process of BEGGING DH to let me go again.

I really want to take my dad. My mom would've loved WDW but she passed away 3 years ago and now I'm worried that if I don't ever get my dad to go, I'm going to regret it. He's turning 75 in July and I would LOVE to surprise him with a trip that's all planned out. He's not into Disney at all but the food intrigues him so I would make it all about that and go during Food & Wine. I know he would just love it PLUS to use my AP one more time just makes financial sense. DH just doesn't get it.

 

[disneychic2]

I've been away for a bit, so it took me a while to catch up. Loving the report! It's really like living it all again.

We went to Goofy's Candy Co., but totally missed the Legos! The big store in DTD is my favorite place!! We always spend lots of $$ there getting souvies for our DGchildren.

I left my small purse on Goofy's Barnstormer with all my $$ and gift cards. It was turned in with everything still there. Only at Disney!! Too bad your MIL didn't enjoy that ride, it's one we do every trip.

Bonnet Creek looks amazing. What a great view! Too bad about the mix up, but good you had proof of your dates. I always take a copy of everything even remotely relating to our trip. You just never know. Glad it worked out and you got such a fantastic view!

Your kids are so adorable! You and your DH are giving them wonderful memories that will last a lifetime. I so wish we could have taken our kids when they were younger. But with 4 it was just not possible. I think you should definitely plan a trip with your father. I think a lot of time someone isn't interested in a Disney trip is because they think it's primarily for kids. Which we both know it definitely is not!

Can't wait for more fun and pics!

 

[budafam]

After the parade, we checked on the wait time for Mickey & Minnie and it was only 10 minutes. Yay! Time to mingle with the mice. We got in line and waited right around the estimated ten minutes. We entered the room and it was like straight out of a commercial. The kids walked up to the mouse couple and gave hugs then got pics taken. We all got up there and got pics taken & then MIL did it by herself since it was her first trip.

After that we headed back out and decided to take some pics on the famous bench. We each took turns.

I did attempt to pose like I was about to make out with the statue (I know, poor taste) but it honestly looks more like I was trying to eat their face and after the recent zombie apocalypse, I have decided against posting that picture.

On our way out of the park, we stopped to get a pic taken in front of the train station.

I have never noticed this in the cement before so I took a pic!

We made our way to the Polynesian for our dinner reservation at 'Ohana's. DH was not going to be joining us during this meal for obvious reasons. We arrived plenty early so we took a seat at the bar and ordered a few drinks.

Yes, I finally got to try the Lapu Lapu. I knew it was strong and I finished it very quickly but felt absolutely no effects. Maybe I drink too much??? Nah... here's a close up pic of the famous drink:

MIL ordered a Habenero Margarita which she enjoyed VERY much so. I believe she ordered a second one and downed that as well. Oh boy...

DD had fallen asleep on trip over via monorail to the Poly so we let her sleep while we were at the bar but had to wake her before the restaurant opened.

Finally the restaurant opened and we were the third family to be called. We were given a nice table in the back by the windows near the grill. The kids started eating the bread right away. DD was running a fever again and not looking so hot.

The food started coming out and wow is all I can say. It was awesome. There was a ton of it!!! Here are just a few pics (you can see more in my dining report in my siggy):

The kids weren't eating at all. They had feasted on bread and now they were done. I called DH and told him to come get them so he did. I was really worried about getting charged for them since they barely ate anything. MIL started getting worked up about DD feeling feverish again... here we go again. I tried to enjoy the rest of my meal. We were a little over an hour into the meal and DH texted me to see if we were almost done. I told him we should be getting dessert pretty soon.

They brought our dessert out about 20 minutes later (this meal was taking forever but I was enjoying it and eating as much as I could hold). MIL proceeded to tell the waiter that we needed to hurry up because we had a sick kid & p*ssed off husband waiting for us. Really!? I could've crawled under the table at this point. The waiter brought our check out and to my surprise, no charge for the kids! Yay! MIL kept commenting how much food they waste. I don't know what she expects them to do with it... re-serve it to other guests? Yuck.

From start to finish, our meal lasted 1 hour and 45 minutes which in my book is WAAAAY too long. I will return here though and hope for a bit quicker service next time.

We left and got back to the resort and there were gifts waiting for the kids again.

DD felt fine when we got back to the resort... especially since she got dress up stuff to play with.

 

[kimbo0569]

I am loving your TR and your kids are absolutely the cutest! Your mil stories are cracking me up because on our trip (hopefully next year), not only will my mom be joining us but my mil may be as well...this should make for an interesting trip, if she decides to come (she may not).

Can't wait to read more!

 

[budafam]

I think you should definitely plan a trip with your father. I think a lot of time someone isn't interested in a Disney trip is because they think it's primarily for kids. Which we both know it definitely is not!

Can't wait for more fun and pics!

I am THISCLOSE to booking. Southwest is running a sale till tomorrow and right our our round trip flights would come to $238 which is decent in my eyes.

My part of the trip will end up costing me less than $750 total with hotel, food & airfare. Dad's would be a bit more but not by much. I'd love to surprise him on his 75th birthday with tickets. I know he'll INSIST on paying his part. DH thinks I should ask him but if I do, he won't agree to it. If I just do it, he has no choice. I know he would love it. He's just such a homebody since my mom passed away. I hate to think someday that I really wish I would've taken him when I had the chance (the way I think I should have taken my mom before she passed away).

My dad is worried that it's a lot of walking but honestly, he is in the BEST shape I have ever seen a 75 year old man in. I'm not sure why he's so worried. Worst comes to worst, I would push him in a wheelchair.

Ugh, what do I do? DH is away on business till Friday... he's worried what everyone else is going to think of me going for a 4th time

I need to just do it, right? It's only money... right? I need some reassurance that everything will be okay. And if DH kicks me out can I come stay at someone's house? lol... if my dad really doesn't want to go will anyone take his place? lol...

I'm looking at Oct. 8th-13th. Just enough for one day at each park. Ahhh, what to do, what to do... the Disney bug is calling me...

 

[mnrhannah07]

I LOVE ohana's...We have only had breakfast there but I long for the day we can have dinner there...I do have to agree that service does take a while...Our breakfast was almost 2 hours!

 

[disney212]

Great report.

 

[ShaylaLynn]

Great report! Great pictures of Downtown Disney and T-Rex, I tried to get
ADR's for there when we go in September but they were all booked for
the day I needed! oh well, maybe next time! That is awesome you
got to see One Republic record!! That's been my favorite song since I seen
it on the Disney Channel! ha ha

 

[shalom]

Middle daughter had a nightgown with pretty much that princess pic.

My dad is worried that it's a lot of walking but honestly, he is in the BEST shape I have ever seen a 75 year old man in. I'm not sure why he's so worried.

My dad's in his seventies and could probably outwalk me. He's a force of nature, I'm tellin' ya. My mom, not so much. And it's mom who I would love to get to the parks -- she'd tour them totally in my laid back style and enjoy the ambiance and I'd just love to share that with her.

But to some extent, it's less about a person's ability and more about the party's willingness to adapt, IMHO. Whether you're talking grandpa or little ones, the key to enjoying a Disney vacation is to let individual tolerances be your guide. If that means going for a few hours in the morning and then a few hours after dinner time, then you do what you can with the time you have. If you can cut your expectations back to what the least tolerant person can handle in the parks, and go in expecting to spend a lot of time at the resort or otherwise kicking back, should be a great time.

I'm in the "go if you can" camp. I totally get your point about making use of the AP -- and hubby doesn't get that logic, either. But it's a lost opportunity cost if you don't, is what I say. Maybe pare your plans way back to the point that you could push your dad in a wheelchair the entire time in the parks, to show him he needn't worry? He may know his tolerances better than you do and is afraid of being pushed to the limit or something. If you can show him you're not expecting him to be in the parks all day and are considering his limits, that might encourage him to okay it -- and maybe you can guilt him into saying okay by showing him all the work and research you did to try to accommodate his needs!

But one thing you can say for pretty sure -- it's not going to get any easier for your dad to go as time goes on. I kind of see your husband's point -- maybe your dad really doesn't want to go, and is using the walking thing as an excuse -- but in your place I'd sure want to find a way to make it work. Not that I've managed to convince my parents they should go, either. Well, my dad, actually -- he hates Florida. Mom would kind of like to go, so I suspect we'll be taking her after dad's gone, which if their parent's generation is any indication, means she'll be in her nineties! At which point a wheelchair is pretty definite. But I can take one of my boys to push it!

And review this thread before you go, to help keep your planner instincts in check :

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2937876

Hope the road clears for you and you get to go!

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Really enjoying your trip report & just finished reading it all in one sitting I'm impressed with your pre-trip movie & dinner menus, what a super fun mommy you are

DS15 is a picky eater to a point we also avoid certain restaurants at WDW because I know he won't like anything on the menu, but I think your DS does take the gold if a metal were awarded for picky eaters Wow, it must be very frustrating at times but you seem to take it in stride and are very gracious about it Ditto in taking your MiL on your trip, I hope one day to be as fortunate with a DiL with your enthuasim

BTW, the matching shirts are so cute Looking forward to reading more

 

[budafam]

Day #4 started off early. We had an ADR at Hollywood & Vine an hour before Hollywood Studios opened. We arrived at 7:45 and were led right into the park. I took a few pics:

DS & I enjoyed an early breakfast on our last trip at H&V. We had a great time and since Jake was added to the line up of characters, DD just HAD to meet him. H&V was a no brainer for us. There is plenty to choose from and it's all good The characters are fantastic and that cuts out any waiting times for us later in the day. It also gets us in the park earlier than everyone else and gave us a headstart (or so I thought).

One good thing about breakfast buffets is that DH will usually eat REALLY well at these... thank goodness!

We were all done eating but still waiting for DD's favorite to come around... she was determined to give him a big, fat kiss! FINALLY here comes Jake...

I had everything packed up and ready to go. Our plan of attack was to send DH & MIL with DD to run and get TSM fastpasses. DS & I were going to run and sign up for Jedi training. I noticed people walking by the restaurant and it was only 8:45. I got a little nervous. After Jake, I quickly ran out the door with DS only to find no rope drop... people were everywhere already. OMG. We quickly made our way over to Jedi training sign up and found the entire room to be full of families. Great.

TSM is my favorite ride so giving that up was hard for me. I called DH to find out that there was no crazy TSM run like we were used to. The wait for the ride was only 5 minutes and he said they were going to ride it without me. I turned into a 3 year old child and threw a hissy fit (yes, at least I'm admitting it)... I didn't want him to get any practice runs in. haha... I think he was a bit sour about it but he didn't ride it. They made their way back over to us and waited for DS to get signed up for the 11:50 show. We then went straight over to Star Tours and rode that. DH had missed out on that ride the first time we were there since it was getting refurbished. DS and I had rode it a bunch of times on our last trip. He loved it.

Star Tours was a hit with everyone. After that we headed for TSM. DH was determined to beat me (I was undefeated).

DH did end up beating me but not by much. I blame my loss on having ride with DD. DH was a single rider (so not fair.. lol) We grabbed a set of fastpasses on our way out so that we could have a rematch later on.

 

[budafam]

After we rode TSM, we saw the 3D Muppets Show.

By this time it was getting close to DS's Jedi training appointment. We showed up just in time. The kids were called over to answer some trivia questions. DS really has no idea what Star Wars is all about. We just bought the movies so he hasn't fully watched them all yet. He just knows that the black guy is bad and he was going to get to fight him today.

The kids were brought out to the stage. We took our place front and center. There was a family next to us who was extremely disappointed that they were no longer taking applicants for the show. The dad looked like a big Star Wars buff and he was making a scene about not being able to get his kid into the show. He offered us $100 for our son's spot!!! His wife yelled at him but the guy was completely serious. I declined but honestly, had he caught us before our son was in the show, I probably would've taken the deal! lol.. the man said that his son was probably going to start crying because he couldn't be in the show. I really think the dad was the one who was going to cry. His boy was around 8 years old and seemed to be content just getting to watch the show. It just goes to show you what a little planning can do for you There was a line a few feet from the stage and the Photopass photographer made an announcement that everyone must stay behind the line during the show. She had a little stool on wheels that she sits on to take pictures and she doesn't watch out for feet. We parked our stroller up against the line and stood our ground. During the show, 2 young children came up in front of us. Where were their parents!? Ugh...

The show went on and the teacher was HILARIOUS! MIL stood back in the shade while we baked in the sun. Sweat was literally dripping down our backs while standing there... it was SO hot. DD came and sat in the stroller when the show began. DS realized part way through the show that he could pull out his sunglasses. It came to be his turn and he was a bit hesitant. Vader had to help him out a bit by hitting HIS lightsaber.. lol. DS loved it though and got a little certificate for completing the program. Very neat.

We went and got a few Photopass pics taken by the big arch.

The shirts were a massive hit. We got compliments every single day we had some sort of "theme" to what we wore. On this day everyone kept asking where their orange shirt was. MIL was really impressed that so many people commented on them.

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Are you sure DH didn't "sneak" a ride on TSM without telling you I suppose your DD would've told on him, huh I don't think I could turn down a 5 minute wait, I probably would've rode it at the risk of you being mad at me all day

I can't believe a guy would offer $100 for your DS spot in the show

Sounds like a fun morning - I think the orange shirts are my fav's so far although I've liked them all

Ready for more

 

[budafam]

Are you sure DH didn't "sneak" a ride on TSM without telling you I suppose your DD would've told on him, huh I don't think I could turn down a 5 minute wait, I probably would've rode it at the risk of you being mad at me all day

I can't believe a guy would offer $100 for your DS spot in the show

Sounds like a fun morning - I think the orange shirts are my fav's so far although I've liked them all

Ready for more

I'll tell you right now, I would not have waited for him or listened if he told me not to go on... lol. He's just a really good DH but maybe that explains his higher score

That guy was creepy. He kept seeing us throughout the park and I swear he gave us the stink eye everytime. He was even harrassing the CM's during the show. I felt horrible for them having to deal with someone like that.