TR with the Man Who Said He Would NEVER Go To Disney! COMPLETE!!! 12/3-12/10 NEW 5/19

[budafam]

I'm glad we took the break... there's no way we would've lasted long enough to make it to dinner. It was only about 2 hours or so that we were able to relax and then it was back to DOWNtown for DD's BBB appointment.

She was ready to become Sofia the First!



We didn't have to wait at all... DD was taken right back. Everyone else waited outside.



Our fairy godmother in training was absolutely wonderful. She was so nice and funny with DD. First she did her hair (it wasn't much to be honest.. I was disappointed with the price of this package and the little bit that was included). Next she did her nails. DD had one hand done and she scratched the back of her head getting nail polish in her hair. We barely said “no, no” and the tears started flowing. It didn't last long but it was just too cute (DD is so sensitive). They were fixed back up in no time but I did catch the incident on video.. lol. I will post it at the end of this day.

Lastly, she got her makeup done.



DD was thrilled with the experience. I was not so much. I think it costed around $65ish... the hair was not much at all... I mean, I could've done that myself. You get to take home the crown, sash, makeup kit & nail polish but that's it. I would much rather do a different package next time.



Grandpa & Aunty were thrilled when she came out... we did a little more shopping...



We found the line for Santa (crazy)... and then we found Olaf!



We then took DD over to the place where they do the private photo session... it was fantastic! You can tell, this is where DD is in her element. She ate it up. The pictures turned out GREAT! I think this alone is worth the $149 for Memory Maker.

 

[budafam]

It was time to go to Fulton's. I've been to Fulton's before... it was good the last time but honestly, I would've chosen another place had it not been for my sister saying this was her favorite in all of Disney. She just remembered eating “on a boat” so I booked this just for her. My dad was also looking forward to some good lobster. We are from Wisconsin. Lobster is scarce here.



We checked in for our reservation about an hour early. There was no one waiting and it seemed very quiet in the bar area... we sat waiting for about 15 minutes before our pager finally went off.



We were seated on the main floor (yay, no stairs) right off of the room where you check in at. The crackers and dip were brought out... yum!



Dad ordered a funky colored drink.



I got the crab cake which was fantastic!



DD ordered the lobster corn dogs (we were told that the kids could order off the adult menu as well, NICE!)



She loved those.

Dad and I both ordered the lobster bake.



Then it was my sister's turn to order. She said she wanted the “lobster”. The waiter asked if it was the Narragansett and she agreed yes. I knew right at that point that she was not getting the same thing we ordered but I had a feeling she did not know... I had the Narragansett last time and it was fantastic. Sure enough... hers came out and she looked horrified. She still ate the majority of it thank goodness...



My dad was not overly impressed with his lobster. He said it was rubbery. Everything else was great though.

Then our server really started to slow down. It took a super long time between after we got our entrees to getting menus for the dessert and getting the desserts and then finally getting the bill. I noticed that he went over to the table next to us and cracked crab legs for a child that was about 10 years old... had I known this was a service they offered, I would've gotten crab legs! I just didn't want that mess.

DS ended up with a root beer float for dessert, DD got an ice cream sundae:



And I got Key Lime Pie.



This meal took way too long to finish up. It was good but I probably won't be returning for awhile.

We headed out back to the resort...



and then decided to go swimming. Dad was tired so he stayed back in the room.

I didn't think we would have time for swimming so I was really excited for this!



The pool area at Kidani is BEAUTIFUL. This was 8pm at night and just gorgeous. I couldn't help but think about the 10 degrees it was at home right now. Yuck!



The kids had so much fun with the slides and play areas.





On our way back I took some pictures...





That was the end of the day... time for bed... we had a big day at Magic Kingdom FINALLY tomorrow!

 

[disney meema]

Great travel report, just read the whole report tonight .... Looking forward to your magic kingdom day : )

 

[budafam]

Video #4

Footage from our Downtown Disney Day. Includes breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, the Grand Floridian Gingerbread House, Goofy's Candy Co., T-Rex, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique the Sofia Package, Fulton's Crab House, Kidani's Pool & much more!

 

[budafam]

My plans did not begin with having Magic Kingdom as our main park the last two days... thanks to how crazy Disney's ADR's have become, our meals decided when we would go to MK. We were only able to get Be Our Guest for the very last day of our trip and Ohana for the 2nd to last day so I took them and reworked the whole trip around these two meals.

Our elf was getting in the spirit with his Mickey ears and Christmas light toys for the kids.



We had plans to hit up rope drop (no better way to start off our Magic Kingdom day than with the rope drop show!) We almost left DS on the bus... he sat in the very back and I figured he got off through the other door.. then he came up running behind us.. lol.



We arrived before the big crowd did.





The show was great, definitely got us in the mood!



Before we knew it, we were walking down Main Street.



It just doesn't get old.



We took a stab at the sword in the stone.. no luck this time. Then we enjoyed a fairly empty Fantasyland.



Peter Pan's Flight was the first stop. Next was Haunted Mansion (DS's favorite).



Boarding got a little confusing for my sister... I got into a doom buggy with my son and the ride stopped at the end of the loading dock. It ended up being my sister who took too long to get into a doom buggy.. she said she was confused as to which one she was supposed to board, lol. We had a good laugh afterwards.

Next we took in Philharmagic.



It was time to check out the New Fantasyland... Beast's castle is amazing.





We had FP+'s for the Little Mermaid ride.





The ride was fun... not really mind blowing but a good addition to MK nontheless. We headed over towards Story Book Circus then and around through Tomorrowland back to Main Street.



We got some pics taken.



And headed over to the Contemporary for our breakfast reservation at Chef Mickey's.

 

[budafam]

We arrived at Chef Mickey's much too early... I checked in but it took them until 15 minutes prior to our reservation before they would let us in. This was the ONLY restaurant in a resort that made us wait until our actual ADR time. It was okay, we needed a break anyways.



Once we got our pictures taken we sat over in the waiting area... the kids were having fun on these round seats.



DS must have been tired... he fell right off of it and stayed sleeping! Lol...





I sat there laughing and taking pictures.. lol. It was a slow fall so don't worry, he didn't hurt himself. Finally our pager went off and then the kids perked right up.



DS went back to the buffet at least three times. He was loving everything there.







The characters started to come around... Minnie was first. She made sure to get everyone in on the picture





Mickey was next and unfortunately, DS was up at the buffet again.. lol.



Pluto



and Goofy..



My dad's boss told him (right before he retired) that he was going down to see his buddy, Goofy. So dad had to make sure to get a picture with this guy.



Mickey came back just for DS at the end too!



and Donald.



The meal was good. The food was fantastic and the characters were great. It was nice to take a break from the park for this meal and then head back over.

 

[budafam]

We were back where we started from.



The Move It Shake It Celebrate It parade was just ending so we got to see the floats go by...



We grabbed some paper fastpasses (RIP) for Buzz Lightyear and headed over to the Laugh Floor.



This was a lot of fun. Then we took a ride on the PeopleMover. Dad really enjoyed that! It was so relaxing.



We decided to try some snacks... everyone got something to drink and the kids got ice cream. Believe it or not, this was our first Mickey bar experience!





Two bites and it was a mess... yuck! Lol.. It was time for Buzz Lightyear!



I rode by myself so I could concentrate.. lol.







My sister wasn't feeling so great... she thinks the popcorn from the previous day made her sick (???) She was a trooper through and made it through our day at MK!

Another unruly child that made her way into our photos... the mom was sitting right next to me fully knowing that I was about to take a picture. Oh well...



We sat on the porch of the Town Square Theater and caught part of the parade.



The kids were nowhere to be found... I looked inside and there they were at Tony's waiting area watching cartoons.



It was time to meet Mickey Mouse. We had gotten some paper fastpasses before when we got back to the park. I was really hoping it would be the talking Mickey since I know he just started appearing recently.



Nope It was just Magician Mickey with no voice.







It was time for dinner... at OHANA!!!

 

[budafam]

We took the boat over to the Polynesian... the ride was lovely. I have called my dad many times before from the boat so now he knew what I was talking about. Our captain was hilarious on the way over. It was quite the boat full of people.





The Grand Floridian was our first stop and then the Poly.



We had some extra time before our reservation so I thought we would go and get a pre-dinner snack at Captain Cook's... yum!!! We've never done the “make your own” so the kids each got one and I got one as well.



Unfortunately about 30 seconds after this picture was taken, DD's fell off the table.



They ended up sharing one but they were still happy. I took the time to change DD into her Christmas party outfit and DS got on his Christmas shirt. I sent back the rest of their clothes with Aunty & Dad so I didn't have to carry that heavy backpack for the rest of the night. We made our way up to Ohana and checked in. We got a couple seats and I ordered myself a Jalapeno Margarita... yum!



They did the opening of the restaurant and we were buzzed in shortly afterwards. Our table was near a window. The food was ridiculous as always. I warned them about this meal and Ohana delivered.









The aftermath:



At this point, it was already after 6... I knew we had to make our way back over to MK for the Christmas party so we left before the dessert came (I know, shame on me). I explained several times to my dad & sister how to take care of the bill (with the magic bands) and how to get back to the resort. They made it! Other than taking the wrong receipt.. they did a great job! I was proud.

The meal ended up being another favorite of my dad's. He still talks about it.

 

[budafam]

We got in line for the monorail and DD needed to use the bathroom... back into Ohana for a potty break and then we were ready to go!



I've been to the Halloween party twice before so I was excited to see something new. I knew my dad and sister would much rather enjoy a night with nothing to do than to spend it at this party so that's what they did.

As we entered the park, I could hear the stage show going on... perfect timing! They were about to light the castle!!!



This was BEAUTIFUL!!! Totally worth going for the holidays. We headed straight for Splash Mountain... I had a FP+ from earlier to use up (good for any ride). DS did not want to ride it so I had him sit on a bench and told him to stay put. DD was all about it. We were put in the front row We were seated with another family and I had my video camera going the whole time. You can hear the guy in the video saying how he's hoping my camera is waterproof! Lol... don't worry buddy, it is!



When we came out, DS was talking to a nice lady who was waiting for her family. She complimented me on what a nice boy DS was. Normally I wouldn't let DS sit by himself somewhere and I know Disney by no means is safe but I think it's a lot safer than any other place out there. It was now party time!!!



We snuck in a few quick photos...





We grabbed some snacks (popcorn and soda) and headed over to find a seat for the stage show/parade/fireworks.





I'd say we got a pretty good seat. It filled in very quickly. The parade was fantastic!



It seemed to go on forever!





We had a boy who shoved his way in front of my two kids halfway through the parade... he sat there for a few seconds then moved back. SMH, some people's kids... ugh.







We made some phone calls to pass the time between the parade and the fireworks. Honestly, this is your best bet in order to catch all 3 things going on. Sure, you waste around 2 hours of party time but it's worth it if you've never seen these things...

 

[budafam]

The fireworks were great. They aren't as good as the Halloween ones (IMO) but it was quite the show.





Our popcorn & soda were long gone and we were HUNGRY. We headed over to the terrace for some cookies and apple juice complimentary for the party







We circled around Story Book Circus and checked out the mine train.



We got in line for Enchanted Tales with Belle. The posted wait time was only 10 minutes. Then DD said she needed to use the restroom AGAIN. Great timing... so we got out of the line, found a bathroom and then headed back when we saw the dwarfs. The line was SO short!!! I didn't even attempt this at other parties because normally it's a few hours long... we quickly got in line!



We literally waited 5 minutes and they were great. Dopey was hilarious and Sleepy was falling asleep... lol... just great.





After that we headed back into the line for Enchanted Tales with Belle. We waited a few minutes before getting into the cottage. This was a neat experience. Both of the kids were forks & spoons in the show.

 

[budafam]

We walked around and saw there was no wait for the fairies so we got in line for that
Tinkerbell was hilarious. She asked the kids what their special talents were and DS said he can hop on one foot so she started doing it with him... it was so cute!







Periwinkle really liked DS's shirt. The Mickey head lit up and changed colors. He was getting compliments on it all night long and we found it brand new at a garage sale the summer before for only $1!





We started making our way out at this point. We were exhausted. It had been a really long day. Before we left, we got our picture taken... I told the photographer that we had to get back to go to bed because we had to be back here before the park opened tomorrow for CRT breakfast!!! She said we were nuts! Yup!



This is shortly after midnight back at Kidani...

 

[LindseyLou2222]

So much fun! I was finally able to snag a semi early Ohana reservation for our September trip and I cannot wait! The food looks amazing!

 

[budafam]

Video #5

Footage from our 1st day at Magic Kingdom includes Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.

 

[budafam]

DD wanted to sleep on the floor that night so I set her up with a blanket and pillow... in the morning this is how I found her:



These kids were troopers.. in less than an hour, they were out the door and dressed like this:



We got on the bus and MK was even emptier than the day before...



We got to go into the park an hour earlier than everyone else (yay for early ADR's!) and we were greeted with this great surprise!



The tree was up!!! We were just here less than 9 hours ago and no tree. Disney magic.



I took a few pictures.





I miss the photographers being out this early... why not Disney? Why not?



We checked into CRT and waited a couple minutes... we were taken in to get our picture with Cinderella.



While standing in line we spotted these two:



We were given 2 photos instead of the standard 1 at most meals.





The food was fantastic!!! A lot of people complain about CRT but I love it. Especially when I have a dining plan and don't have to “pay” for it.

 

[budafam]

The princesses were announced and started making their way around. We also got to witness a proposal a few tables away. We told Snow White that we went to the Christmas party last night and asked if we saw Dopey. She said he likes to wonder off sometimes.. lol.



This was probably the best Aurora I've ever seen.



Ariel was great! She asked where we were from, the kids answered “Wisconsin” and she said that she didn't even know what a “Wisconsin” was.



Jasmine was great too! Very funny.



And down the spiral staircase we went... with a pitstop at the bathroom of course...



Perfect timing once again... the ropes were down and we walked right out into Fantasyland with this view:



First we hit up Big Thunder Mountain Railroad... DS did not want to ride so my sister stayed with him. She really wasn't feeling well. This was DD's first time on BTMRR and she LOVED it! The last time DS went on it was our very first trip and he was terrified afterwards... hopefully I can get him to go on next time. We decided to go straight for Splash Mountain...







DS did not want to ride (again) and my sister wasn't feeling good so she stayed off with him.



Dad loved it. He thought the drop was pretty crazy... definitely happy he went on this one! I'm so glad he experienced everything!! We grabbed some paper fastpasses for the Jungle Cruise and got in line for the Tiki Room.



We grabbed a quick Dole Whip snack (half pineapple, half orange)... yum!



I give my son credit wearing that suit until his Pirates League appointment at 11am... it got pretty warm outside and he didn't complain once.





The cruise was great. We had an AWESOME CM... she had everyone laughing and my dad even joined in when she was asking questions.

 

[budafam]

DD had her time at Bibbidi Bobbidi so it was it was time for DS at Pirates League!





The last time he did this, he got the full face makeup which was a mess by the end of the day. This time he picked out the standard pirate look complete with facial hair. I went with him inside while everyone else waited outside for us.

He picked out a new name, Samuel Starcastle.





His CM was fantastic. She called and called his name completely overlooking him because he's so short.. lol. She had him laughing the whole time.



Then we had to wait to go into the secret room... the CM kept saying to DS that she could NOT be his girlfriend... lol, we were laughing so hard.



The pictures turned out great.





Everyone loved his look when we finally got outside. He got all sorts of attention for the rest of the day. It was finally time for lunch!



We checked in at Liberty Tree Tavern and the kids got busy coloring.



We were seated at the table right up these stairs to the right. Perfect. I loved having a window seat.



I love the mugs here!



We ordered our food... everyone ended up with the pot roast... I knew my dad was going to love it and he sure did! He said this was his favorite meal of the whole trip



My sister ordered her favorite, chocolate cake for dessert.



I finally decided to try the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake.



It really did not impress me. It just seemed hard to cut through... oh well. There was another beautiful gingerbread creation in the waiting area.



We left the restaurant and headed over to the Hall of Presidents. I had never done this show before and I felt like we all needed a good rest after that big meal.



While we were waiting, DD realized that she had forgotten her magic wand at the restaurant so I quickly ran over there with her and on our way back we stopped to get a quick photo taken in front of the Liberty Bell.



We made it back just in time. The show was great, very neat to see everything. DS was very excited to see Abraham Lincoln... he was learning about him in school just recently.

 

[budafam]

Next we headed towards Storybook Circus. We took a peek at the new Mine Train being built.



and we entered the line for Dumbo. This was the first time we would be trying out the new “waiting” system there. Very exciting stuff!



The kids LOVED this area (so did the grown ups!)



We sat with the pagers and tried to keep track of the kids (they should really give the kids mini pagers so it wouldn't be such an issue finding them once the big one goes off)



It was finally time.







I had to change DD into her gown for dinner... DS was busy being entertained by the water area... I warned him not to get too wet since we would be headed for air conditioning pretty soon.



He didn't listen of course. We got in line for the Railroad and ended up taking that around twice.



DS had a minor meltdown while we were riding.. of course messing up the makeup.



We made our way over to the New Fantasyland afterwards... we had a little bit of time before our dinner at Be Our Guest so we decided to try out Gaston's.



I had to try the LeFou's Brew... it was so sweet!



I've heard a lot of comparisons to Butterbeer and no way, it's not even close. I'd take Butterbeer any day over this stuff. The décor in there was great.




We decided to go check in for our meal at this time.

 

[budafam]

I checked in for our dinner at Be Our Guest and everyone took a seat on the half wall nearby. I could not believe the amount of people who tried to do a walk up. Every single one was turned away if they didn't have a reservation.



The kids loved these guys...



They had each other laughing so hard it was catching onto everyone else around us. I took a few scenic photos...





Our pager finally went off and we approached the castle. As we stepped inside, applause erupted from inside. The staff was lined up just inside the doors and they all clapped as we walked by. We were seated directly underneath the main chandelier in the ballroom. It was perfect!



The rose napkins were beautiful.



I took the kids on a quick tour so we could get pictures before too many people were seated.







So far we loved this place!



We put our orders in... dad got the mussels and he loved them. I went with the sausage platter... it was okay. There was a lot of “different” things on there that I just couldn't bring myself to try. My sister got the french onion soup. Then we ordered entrees... we all got the sauteed shrimp & scallops. I thought it was okay. It didn't wow me like I was hoping it would. The pastry wasn't as light as I was hoping and there wasn't that much seafood.



DS ordered the steak and he claimed this was the best steak he's ever had in Disney.



Dessert was fun... we each made our choices when the cart got around to us.







Our waiter was fantastic... very attentive and funny. Afterwards we headed to the library to get our picture taken with the Beast. There was no one in line when we first got in there so the Beast took quite some time with us.



My sister is not familiar with this movie (I know, I know...) Upon returning home we showed all of these pictures to her husband and he said that this guy is from the Lion King! Yeah... ok.

I wanted to get a picture of the Beast with DD so we did that and then he began to dance with her. It was the most adorable thing ever! The CM who took our camera for the pictures kept snapping away (thank goodness) because my camera did not take the video I thought I was taking. Apparently, I did not push the button all the way down to record (way too excited).. lol. After the waltz was over, everyone who had gathered in line clapped for DD who got extremely shy.







All in all I'm glad we did Be Our Guest. I'm glad we rearranged our entire trip to accommodate this meal. It was a great experience and I can't wait to try it for lunch next time!

When we exited the restaurant, it was time to meet the princesses that we had gotten paper fastpasses for earlier so we headed over that way.

 

[budafam]

We waited less than 5 minutes once we got in line to be let in for Rapunzel and Snow White.







We had nothing but time at this point. My sister was not feeling good... she decided to go back to the resort for the rest of the night. We headed over to Space Mountain. No one wanted to ride with me so I went by myself with our FP+. I was able to get on the ride immediately because they were looking for a single rider (yay). I have never laughed so hard on a ride before... the guy behind me was telling me this story of how he hasn't been on this ride since he was 11 years old. His dad had told him some scary stories about the ride and it scared him so bad that he hasn't done it since. The entire time we were on the ride, he kept yelling “Oh S***! Oh S***!” lol... I thought it was hilarious!



So if you're on the Dis... thank you for the good laugh and I hope you went back on afterwards!!!

We then took in Carousel of Progress. My dad really enjoyed seeing that.



We took a double header ride on the People Mover... dad got his first glimpse of the Christmas light castle at this point and he was just in awe. I had them sit down at the tables near the top of the Tomorrowland Terrace while I stood in line for our dessert party reservation. They eventually joined me before they started letting people in.

I talked to a really nice couple behind us and then a newly engaged couple in front of us. Everyone is always so friendly at Disney We were finally let into the party and we were given our wristbands and then seated at our pre-selected table. We got the same exact table that we did the very first time we did the dessert party. I think it's the very best table there... it's located near the railing and the trick is having “5” in your party. Even though we were missing my sister, we had reservations for five originally. It was time for some desserts!







Of all things for my sister to miss out on, she picks the dessert party (her absolute FAVORITE thing on this trip were all of the desserts). The castle looked beautiful!



We were all so happy!











Wishes was amazing as usual. My dad was so very happy that he stuck around for the fireworks. I was so very proud of him at this point. He had done a pre-rope drop morning and FULL day at MK. Not too shabby for 76 years old!!! We sat at the table for a bit because I knew Main Street was going to be a nightmare. I was hoping to get a picture in front of the castle with everyone but by the time we made it over there, no way was that going to happen. My dad took DD back with him... she was very tired. He said that after they got off the bus she whimpered everytime she took a step on their way back to the room. She was sleeping before he even shut the door in the room, lol.

 

[budafam]

DS was all for staying as late as we could... I let him choose our first ride and he picked Stitch!



We did some shopping.



For some reason we walked through Cosmic Rays (somewhere I had never been before in Disney) and saw this guy:



We made our way to Storybook Circus where we used up the rest of our snack credits... we had around 17 left... lol





I bought fudge and cookies for Christmas gifts. We walked over to Under the Sea and saw that it was only a 10 minute wait.



We got to walk through the regular line instead of going through Fastpass line... it was nice to see all of the details.



The ride stalled right underneath Ursula's Eels. We sat there for about 10 minutes before they got it going again. After the ride we made our way over to Pecos Bill for a late night snack... yes, this would be our 5th meal for the day. Yikes! I got in line to order and told DS to get us a table. It took SOOOO long to get through that line (there were only 4 people in front of me). By the time I got through the toppings bar and found our table, DS was asleep.



We finished up our food and decided to start making our way out. Not before some quick pictures...