"You need superglue for WHAT?" A Bloody Magical FIRST TIME Trip Report *6/15 Update*

[deannaf87]

We woke up from our lovely naps.

I could not get over how well Ezra slept while on this trip. He usually WILL NOT go to sleep if you're in the same room with him.

Luckily SoG had a little wall divider type thing that I put his crib behind and he couldn't see us, so he went to sleep pretty easily.

Plus Disney World is tiring for a one year old, even if they don't actually do any walking.

We drove to the nearest Taco Bell (gourmet right?) and grabbed a quick dinner. Then it was off to Hollywood Studios!

I plugged HS into my GPS on my phone and we were on our way. Too bad my GPS apparently does not take into consideration the way us regular folk get to the HS parking lot. It sent us to a backstage entrance and we were stopped by the security guard, who seemed like he saw that kind of thing a lot. He directed us to the proper entrance and we were ready for some movie magic.

The hat!



Us with the hat!



Monday was one of the nights that week that had two showings of Fantasmic! and since I know my kids wouldn't make it to the late show, we decided to do an early show on a night with two showings.

We walked over to Star Tours and the wait was like 30 minutes and the FP time didn't work with Fantasmic! I don't know if I've told y'all this yet, but we didn't wait for longer than about 10 minutes at any ride our entire trip. It was awesome! FPs, touring plans, and rope drop FTW!



So we headed down to Sunset Blvd.



It was really crowded! The waits for ToT and RnR were just nutty. RnR FPs were gone and ToT's return time didn't work with the Fantasmic! timing. We hung out for a while, much to Ezra's disapproval.



We noticed folks were starting to line up for Fantasmic! (this was probably an hour and a half early), so we jumped in line.

We were let in about an hour before showtime and got seats in the front/centerish.

Waiting for Fantasmic!





That wait was torturous. Ezra was ready to run around, so I tried to appease him with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse videos on my phone.

Finally the pre-show started and that was pretty cute. We really enjoyed it.

Oh and I managed to hold Audrey off on buying one of those ridiculously priced glow toys. I told her that if she was good while we waited, she could pick out a souvenir at a shop after the show.

Once Fantasmic! started Audrey was so excited. Her exact words were "I'm so excited, I'm gonna puke!!!!"

Ezra was pretty enthralled for about 5 minutes, then he fell asleep.

Y'all are not even going to believe the awesome pictures I got at Fantasmic!

Get ready it's going to blow your mind





So who thinks I should start a photography business?

We loved Fantasmic! I saw the Disneyland version in 2003 (from the balcony area above PoC...which was awesome!), but this one really blew me away.

We waited for the crowds to disperse before climbing up the bleachers, but even then it was stand still traffic trying to get out of there.

Eventually we found our stroller and headed back to Star Tours.

Along they way we saw a gift shop, and Audrey remembered my promise to get her a souvenir. She picked out a Rapunzel hat, which will make some appearances later.

We headed to Star Tours and it was a 10 minute wait, so Audrey and Daniel hopped on. This was one of Audrey's favorite rides, she could not stop talking about it.

At this point it was getting pretty late, but we decided to fit one more ride in.

The Great Movie Ride, which was slightly terrifying to me. I have a thing about animatronics. I know what you're thinking...she doesn't like animatronics but likes Disney World?!?!??!

It's not that I don't like them, it's just that when I get too close they give me the creeps. Sigourney Weaver in the Alien scene made me want to curl up in the fetal position and cry. Those shifting eyes.....ahhhhh.

Then I was uncomfortably close to a midget in the Wizard of Oz section.

I thought the GMR was bad, I had a rude awakening on Thursday......

Besides a slight case of the heebie jeebies, the GMR was enjoyable. We had the gangster scene, which was corny but cute.

After that ride, we headed for the exits. We were exhausted, and tomorrow we had some Mania! to get into.

First day recap...

Weather: Cool and cloudy, a quick rain shower in the morning, but nothing major....very nice!
Highs: Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safaris, and Fantasmic!
Lows: It's Tough to be a Bug meltdown, Hollywood Studios evening crowds, Great Movie Ride freaky animatronics

I really wish we would have been able to see more shows at AK, since this was our only day at AK. There's always next time right?

Next Update​

 

[deannaf87]

Subbing! What a great trip report so far! My boyfriend and my dad are both in the military and my dad has gone overseas twice so I know all about that

Glad you're here!

 

[deannaf87]

Okay, be forewarned y'all, I forgot my camera in the hotel room this day. We are relying solely on phone pics, which there aren't too many of. Sad face

We woke up early and ate our in room cereal.



The Rapunzel hat makes it's first appearance. I'm not even exaggerating, two seconds after she opened her eyes that morning, she had that hat on.
We got to Hollywood Studios and walked on through the gates at about 9AM. We headed straight to Toy Story Mania.

The FP return time was already inching in on 11-12, but the standby line was reading 10 minutes. We hopped in the standby line and maybe waited 5 minutes.

Waiting in line. I loved this queue!



The ride was cute, but we really didn't see what all the "hype" was about. I probably would have had more fun had I not been holding Ezra and trying ot shoot at the same time. That thing spins kind of fast! I'd be shooting, then we'd start spinning and I'd have to grab onto Ezra really quick. We didn't feel the need to grab a FP for later or anything.

I don't remember my exact score, but I can tell you it was pret-ty bad.

After TSM, we headed to Sunset Blvd. It was time for some Mommy/Daddy thrill rides. Thank goodness for child swap!

I ran over to RnR and got us some fast passes.

Then we grabbed a child swap for ToT, and Daniel hopped in the stand-by line.

I went over towards the dump shop for ToT and was tempted by a ridiculously priced glazed donut. $3 for one donut? Okay, sure....

It was delicious, worth every penny hahaha. Too bad I had to share with the little food disposal named Ezra. Good thing he is cute.

While we waited for Daniel, I was trying to convince Audrey to ride ToT with me. She was apprehensive, but not totally against it.

When the time came for me to ride, she decided to stay back with Daniel.

I think she would have enjoyed it, had I just covered her eyes during the "scary" parts.

Next up it was return time for RnR. Audrey really wanted to go on it, but she was just a few inches shy. The CM told her to eat her vegetables and she'd be tall enough in no time.

Daniel went first. I always like to go second on the child swap since the second person gets to skip the standby line.

The kids while we were waiting for Daniel to ride.



Audrey was getting grumpy at this point and was begging to go on Star Tours again, so I promised her we would at some point that day.

I loved RnR. It was so awesome. I get so tense on roller coaster though. I'm definitely not the hands in the air kinda girl

I'm fairly certain the entire ride my leg was way over in my seat mate's personal space, sorry dude!

After RnR, it was about time for a Disney Jr. Live on Stage showing. I was really excited to take the kids to this. They love Disney Jr.

Remembering my earlier promise, I ran over to get FP for Star Tours before Disney Jr. started.

It was really starting to warm up at this point, the sun was bright. We were happy to escape indoor for a bit.

Waiting in line for Disney Jr.





This show was so stinkin' cute! Ezra was entranced. I have a video I will have to upload later. His face was just like "Are you seeing this? Mickey Mouse is right there, right there!"

Waiting for the show to start





Watching Disney Jr. Live on Stage!







Notice my husband creepin' in that picture? lol

Mickey and Friends



After singing and dancing along with Mickey, Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First, and Jake, we headed over to Star Tours.

I decided to ride this time since I missed out on it the night before. We redeemed our FP and were in our seats before we knew it.

Audrey loved this ride. She giggled the entire time. When it ended she said "THAT WAS DIFFERENT THAN LAST TIME!" Everyone got a good kick out of that.

After that it was time to grab some lunch (McDonald's ) and rest. We had a ADR that evening that I was very excited about.



Next Update​

 

[deannaf87]

We spent the afternoon resting back at the hotel. Then we got ready for our 4:50 O'hana reservation.

Since we stayed at Shades of Green, we weren't eligible for a dining plan. We opted to only make two ADRs and O'haha was one of them.

I had heard great things, and I knew my husband loved meat. Then you add in that the Poly was a quick 10 minute walk from SoG, and O'hana seemed like the perfect ADR.

I loved the Poly grounds, it was just so pretty and green.

We got our buzzer and we were called back to be seated in about 5 minutes.

Our server's name escapes me, but she was quite the grump. I had thought I read a TR about a grumpy O'hana server, but after scouring the boards I couldn't find it. So if you had a grumpy O'hana server let me know I'm not just imagining hearing this before.

We had a great table with a view of the lagoon, and we could see Cinderella's castle over the trees. This was REALLY exciting since we hadn't been to the Magic Kingdom yet.

Audrey waiting for some yummy food.



Audrey and Daniel enjoying some salad and bread



About this point my husband revealed something to me, he doesn't like sweet meat.

I was like "ummm you're in trouble".

He like the bread, salad, lo mein, and pot stickers, and tolerated the shrimp. He was NOT a fan of any of the other meat. Which is insane, because it was all delicious.

I was so proud of Audrey because she didn't order a kid's meal. She ate the regular meal like a champ.

Ezra had his favorite, mac and cheese! He ate SO MUCH mac and cheese on this trip. I kept calling him our WDW Mac and Cheese Connoisseur.

The best part of our meal was by far the desert. Oh my God, it was just so good. I think Audrey did order a kid's sundae at this point which she really enjoyed.

Let me show you how much Ezra enjoyed his ice cream....



Audrey really enjoyed the entertainment as well.







I think the "hula" lady, or cousin I should say, really annoyed my husband haha. He kept saying "why is she talking like that?".

I really enjoyed the meal, and think my husband is nutty for not liking all the meat.

He ate his weight in shrimp and noodles though, so we were all sufficiently stuffed.

We walked back to Shades of Green and decided to stay in for the night.

I snapped this picture of the front of SoG on our way back.



I was bursting with excitement for what tomorrow held; it was our first day at the Magic Kingdom!!!

Day 2 in Review​

Weather: Sunny and warm. My least favorite weather day. I'm a cloud lover myself.
Highs: RnR, Disney Jr. Live on Stage, Audrey's love of Star Tours, O'hana bread pudding
Lows: My husband's hatred of O'hana, Audrey's refusal to ride ToT, grumpy O'hana server



Next Update​

 

[glennbo123]

Signing on. I love first-time trip reports. Thank your hubby for his service, for me please!

 

[gatormommy07]

I am loving your trip report!! I have laughed out loud repeatedly!! I really love when you said the thing about feeding "the sacrificial fruit cups" to "god of whine". I remember those days well!! Your family is adorable!! Tell your husband some random chic on the disboards says thank you for his service!! I can't wait to read more!!!

 

[deannaf87]

Signing on. I love first-time trip reports. Thank your hubby for his service, for me please!

Thanks for joining in

I am loving your trip report!! I have laughed out loud repeatedly!! I really love when you said the thing about feeding "the sacrificial fruit cups" to "god of whine". I remember those days well!! Your family is adorable!! Tell your husband some random chic on the disboards says thank you for his service!! I can't wait to read more!!!

Hahaha thank you! With a 1 year old, can you really leave the house without a stock pile of sacrificial food?

 

[FlaNani]

I am LOVING your TR!!! Keep writing..... Tell your husband THANK YOU for his service. And thank you for yours as well, I've heard it said "the toughest job in the service is being a wife."

 

[deannaf87]

I am LOVING your TR!!! Keep writing..... Tell your husband THANK YOU for his service. And thank you for yours as well, I've heard it said "the toughest job in the service is being a wife."

Thank you! Y'all are too kind!

Since you told me to keep writing, I'll be using that as an excuse to do another segment and put off cleaning my bathroom. The DISers need me, the soapscum can wait.

 

[deannaf87]

The alarm went off at 6, and I was up and ready to go in no time.

We were going to the Magic Kingdom today!!!

We got ready and walked over to the Poly to catch the monorail.

One had just pulled up, so we hopped right on.



I'm not sure why Audrey looks so grumpy. I mean we were going to the Magic Kingdom...hello?!?!



That's a little better.

In no time we were at the bag check area



Guests without bags... one day I'll be one of those guest. Right now it's diapers, wipes, snacks, changes of clothes, sunblock, bandaids, etc., etc. etc.

The kids and I ready to explore the Magic Kingdom



We were one of the first families to arrive, and we hung out right before the tunnel area. The skies were getting darker and darker, and then BOOM! Big crack of thunder and the rain started pouring.

I decided to run over to the gift shop right by the tunnel area and get a few ponchos. While I was doing this, the CM let people into the tunnel to wait until opening and stay out of the rain.

Daniel and the kids got funneled up to the front inside the tunnel. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to get up there with them, but I didn't want to anger anyone by pushing through.

I ultimately decided to just wait at the back of the tunnel and catch up with them on Main Street once we were let in.

Wrong choice! Apparently Ezra was crying for mommy the entire time (about 20 minutes! )

I was just back there snapping horrible quality pictures while Daniel was dealing with an epic meltdown.



So by the time I caught up with them, Daniel was agitated and Ezra was red in the face. So our first walk up Main Street was kind of tainted. At least at this point it had stopped raining.

By the time we made it through Cinderella's Castle and to the rope area of Fantasyland, all was forgotten and we were happy campers again.

View of Cinderella's Castle while we waited for Fantasyland to open.



You see those strollers in the bottom, right corner? Those things were soaked!! I'm guessing they belonged to patrons at CRT and BBB. Those guests were definitely coming back to miniature lakes in their strollers.

Once they dropped the rope, we headed straight to Peter Pan and hopped right on. I loved that ride. It was just so cute. Audrey and Ezra really enjoyed it was well. Even Daniel will admit that it was fun!

After Peter, it was Winnie the Pooh time. We hopped right on that one too. The giant thunderstorm really helped us that day. The crowds were basically non existent.

With Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh under our belt, it was time to head on over to Frontierland for a soak and spin cycle (aka Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad). Stay tuned!

Next Update​

 

[glennbo123]

Okay, I'm caught up. Boy, you did take that rope drop thing seriously...7:15 for an 8am opening! Nice work.

Your cheetah picture is probably the best one I've seen, they're usually asleep.

Fantasmic is very hard (almost impossible) to get a good picture of.

I'm glad you folks liked Star Tours, very cute what your daughter said after the ride when she rode with you.

Oh yeah, I can see that meltdown happening like what you (or I should say your son and husband) experienced before entering MK. But I'm with you, I would've felt weird trying to get through the crowd so probably would've stayed back too.

Looking forward to more.

 

[dawnmichele]

Joining in! And wanted to say hello from another Kansan (we live in Lawrence)!!

 

[deannaf87]

Okay, I'm caught up. Boy, you did take that rope drop thing seriously...7:15 for an 8am opening! Nice work.

Your cheetah picture is probably the best one I've seen, they're usually asleep.

Fantasmic is very hard (almost impossible) to get a good picture of.

I'm glad you folks liked Star Tours, very cute what your daughter said after the ride when she rode with you.

Oh yeah, I can see that meltdown happening like what you (or I should say your son and husband) experienced before entering MK. But I'm with you, I would've felt weird trying to get through the crowd so probably would've stayed back too.

Looking forward to more.

Hahahaha, I'm a bit neurotic about being on time (read: early) to things. It was our first day at a park, and dog gone it I was going to be there early. I did let up a little as the week went on, but not much. I like to be in the front of the lines.

Yeah, the MK entrance meltdown was ugly. I'm just not an assertive person, I would have probably died of embarrassment trying to bust through everyone to get to my husband. I thought about asking a CM to let me in the other side of the tunnel (where they were letting early ADRs in) to meet up with husband at the other end, but alas....too scared. lol

Joining in! And wanted to say hello from another Kansan (we live in Lawrence)!!

You're not far from us! We're at Ft. Riley!

 

[deannaf87]

Time for another update, I spent most of my day reading mickeystoontown's TR.

Time to continue on with mine. When I left off we were heading from Fantasyland to Frontierland for Splash and Big Thunder Mountain.

For some reason we walked out of Fantasyland through Cinderella's castle, then took the bridge to Liberty Square to get to Frontierland.

Got this picture of the pretty tarp facades.



As you can see, the crowds were still pretty low.

March 19th was the first day Splash was supposed to reopen after it's refurb. For some reason, I got the impression it was still closed when we got over there around 9:45.

So Daniel and Audrey hopped on Big Thunder Mountain, and I grabbed a child swap ticket.

Ezra waiting for the "big kid" rides to be over



I want more Fantasyland!


BTMR was reading 10 minute wait time



Soon enough Daniel and Audrey were back and it was my turn. Audrey LOVED BTMR so I asked the CM at the entrance if she could ride again, he said sure since the crowds were so low that morning.

It was so much fun riding with Audrey. She had her hands up and was giggling the entire time.

When we got off, Daniel informed me that Splash was indeed open. I don't know why I thought it was closed! By that time the wait was around 30 or 45 minutes, so we grabbed some handy dandy fast passes.

It was probably around 10:15 at this point and we were hungry already. We had meandered back into the Liberty Square area, and Daniel decided he wanted to eat at Columbia Harbour House, which didn't open until 10:30.

We had a little time to kill, so we headed over to Haunted Mansion, which had a 5 minute wait.

Audrey was VERY apprehensive about this ride, as I would guess most five year olds are about anything "haunted". I really wanted us all to ride together, so I resorted to good old fashioned bribery. I told her if she rode it, she could pick out a stuffed animal before we left the park.

She agreed to these terms and we headed in. I rode the Disneyland Haunted Mansion in 2003, so knew what to expect in the stretch room. I told her to hold on tight to us and not look up. She screamed when the lights went out, but I assured her that was the scariest part.

Audrey waiting to for Haunted Mansion.



We then headed for the conveyor to load our doombuggy. Audrey and I hopped in one and Ezra was on my lap, for some reason Daniel didn't get in that one. He was in a doombuggy behind us all by himself

We ended up getting stuck right before we reached the bride. I seem to recall getting stuck more than once on the DLR Haunted Mansion, so I guess a few stalls on HM are pretty common.

Audrey really loved the Haunted Mansion and said it was one of her favorite rides. The Haunted Mansion in DLR was one of my favorites. I don't know if the versions are that different, or if my tastes have changed in 10 years, but WDW HM was just kind of ehh to me haha. Which is weird since I couldn't point out any discernible differences.

By the time our haunted adventure was over, it still wasn't quite 10:30. Our Splash FP time was drawing near, but we weren't ready to head that way yet. We decided to head to New Fantasyland to grab some fast passes for Little Mermaid.

We made it all the way to the Under the Sea, when I seeemed to recall reading that the Fast Passes for that ride were located somewhere else. Sure enough, I spotted a sign that said something along the lines of "FP for LM are located near Philharmagic". So we backtracked to that area and grabbed some fast passes.

It was then 10:30, so we headed to Columbia Harbour House and beat the lunch crowd. We were the first patrons of the day.
:
Daniel had wanted to eat at Columbia Harbour House, and what did he order? The chicken nuggets. Gotta love him.

I ordered the Garden Harvest Salad, which I loved. Audrey got a PB&J, and I ordered Ezra some mac and cheese (duh!).

We enjoyed the practically empty restaurant (I think maybe 1 other family came in while we were there), but were in a hurry to get out of there. It was time to use our Splash Mountain fast passes.

I looooved Splash Mountain when I went on it at Disneyland, so I grabbed Audrey's hand and left Ezra with Daniel before he could protest haha. We were waiting in a relatively crammed FP line, when the CM asked for 2 riders. No one in front of us raised there hand, so I volunteered and were on a boat before we knew it.

Audrey was loving the singing creatures and we were having a grand time, until we stopped.

I can't tell you how many times we heard “Looks like Brer Fox and Brer Bear are causing some kind of commotion downstream.”

The view from our stuck area.



Eventually we were moving again and we dropped the big drop. Unfortunately it scared the heck out of Audrey.

She has a really big fear of going under water and for some reason thought we were going to go under. By the time we were on our way to disembark the boat, she was in full hysterics.

I asked her if she was okay and she said rather dramatically, "I WAS TERRIFIED!!!"

We exited the boat and found Daniel and Ezra. Daniel's fast pass was 5 minutes over the latest return time. I thought they probably would have let him in the FP line had he explained that we got stuck, but he didn't want to risk him getting stuck too. Plus there was no way Audrey was getting back on that ride, so we moved on.

It was time for an Under the Sea Adventure. This was definitely a favorite of mine. Audrey and I rode in a clam shell together.



I promise she was much more excited than that picture shows

The rain and Splash Mountain really did a number on my hair.

Our tummies were full, the rain had stopped, and the crowds were still low....what would we do next?



Next Update​

 

[gatormommy07]

Hahaha thank you! With a 1 year old, can you really leave the house without a stock pile of sacrificial food?

lol! My kids are now 10, 9 and 5 and still have to bribe them with food to behave sometimes!! Now I keep my 15 month old nephew a few days a week, and can't go anywhere with out a snack or five to keep him occupied!! My brother told me the other day that he was grocery shopping with the baby and had some Ritz crackers for him, and every once in a while Trev would shove a cracker into my brother's mouth, so he wasn't thinking when the last one the baby gave him was covered in drool, it was so funny and gross to hear at the same time!! Trevor takes after me and my kids, I did that to my dad loads of times when I was his age. And I can't count how many times my babies wanted to be "nice" and shared food with me and my husband!!
Your daughter's reaction to HM and Splash remind me of my daughter. The first time we went on HM she flipped out in the stretch room. So the next time we went, about a year or so after that, we told her to yell "Go Gators!!" as loud as she could when it got dark, everyone in the room with us burst out laughing, and were saying how cute it was! She now loves the Haunted Mansion, it is a big favorite of all of ours!

 

[deannaf87]

We had done so much that day, but the crowds were still so low. We decided to stay and do all we could until before the kid's dropped.

So from Under the Sea, we headed towards Storybook Circus. The wait for Dumbo was minimal, so we hopped in line.



We choose to "fly" instead of "play", since there really wasn't a wait.

In no time we were boarding our elephants, and I snapped a few "selfies" of Ezra and I.





Blurry picture of Daniel and Audrey.



That ride was so stinkin' cute. Ezra enjoyed himself, but was sure to hold on extra tight to me.

When we hopped off, we decided to check out the gift shop right across from Dumbo. I think it was called "Big Top Gifts", or something of the sort.

Audrey remembered her bribe for riding Haunted Mansion, and was on a mission to find a stuffed animal. For some reason she was determined to find a Marie, from The Aristocats. Which is odd, because I'm not sure she's ever seen The Aristocats.

She found a Marie that came with a little blanket. You can kind of see it here.



I went to pick out a ear hat for Ezra. We decided on the Sorcerer Mickey one, and got his name monogrammed on the back.

Daniel was checking out Disney themed board games, and wanted me to decide on a version of Monopoly. After about 2 minutes, we decided we didn't really play board games. Not sure why he was set on getting one.

So after our shopping trip, we decided to skip Barnstormer, since the wait was pretty nutty, and Ezra couldn't go on it.

We headed back into Fantasyland and got in line for It's a Small World. Well, I should say we just walked in and got on a boat lol.

Audrey holding tight to Marie.



My camera battery was dying at this point, and I missed out on the most adorable picture. It came out blurry since the camera was on it's last leg.



Audrey had her arm around Ezra. It was so precious. They rode the entire ride like that.

I pulled out my phone to take pictures, since the camera was kaput.

Ride pics









Daniel kept commenting on all the coins in the water. He was like "There is probably at least $1,000 in there!" It's the little things that excite him, lol.

We disembarked our voyage around the world of tiny singing children, and headed towards my favorite MK land.



Oh hey, I just realized Daniel is in that picture. He's always leaving me behind with his fast "Army ruck march" walk. These short legs only go so fast.

We walked over towards Jungle Cruise and grabbed some fast passes. We debated on the flying carpets ride, but decided on heading to Pirates of the Caribbean first.

The wait at PoC was 5 minutes, which was pretty accurate. We got on our boat and took off. I think everyone else in my family was surprised by the drop, haha. Ezra held on tight to me, Audrey screamed, and Daniel was like "that was awesome". I'm telling you people, he enjoys the little things.

This was one of Daniel's favorites. He liked the rides we all got to ride together, and Pirates is fun. I rode PoC in Disneyland and it was one of my favorites back then. I do have to say DL PoC is a a little bit better than WDW version.

I remember being amazed by how it felt like you were outside, but you weren't at the DL PoC. We also ate at Blue Bayou, that's the right name huh?, and that was super cool.

Still, we really enjoyed WDW PoC. Once we got off we looked around the gift shop. Daniel bought a Jake and the Neverland Pirates DVD. Remember how I told you we bought the kids a DVD player for the car? Well we didn't have any DVDs with us, so we had to buy a few. At this point, all we had was Sesame Street, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Wreck It Ralph. Daniel and I were pretty tired of listening to the same movies over and over again, so he expanded their collection.

We checked out and utilized the bathroom facilities. Then it was time to use our Jungle Cruise fast passes.

This was another favorite. Our guide was hilarious and had great timing with the corny jokes.

Pictures of us on the boat....







After our cruise, we were feeling pretty tired. We decided it was time to hit some shops on Main Street then head for the hotel.

But first, I wanted to try a Dole Whip, so we made a pit stop at Aloha Isle. Don't stone me, but I could do without the Dole Whip Now I know.

After our quick rest, we headed towards Main Street and hit the Emporium. Audrey picked out a shirt right away, which I somehow do not have a picture of.

I quickly picked out Ezra's. One year old boys are delightfully easy to shop for.



Daniel picked out a pair of grey sweatpants with the WDW logo. He grabbed the XL, which later had to be returned for a large, because WHOA those things were gigantic.

Now my decision was a different story. I saw a cute red, v-neck, 2013 shirt in the window I liked. Once I found the rack with those shirts, they were out of mediums. I decided to try on a small and uhhhh wow. Anyone else think Disney women's shirts run small, or am I just delusional about my size?

After that disaster, I was back at square one. I could tell Daniel was getting annoyed, so I tried to make a decision. I was "this" close to getting a retro style shirt, but at the last minute spotted a black shirt with the castle, tree of life, SSE, and sorcerer hat in a pretty silver, shiny print. I grabbed a medium and prayed it fit. It did, thank the Lord.

I'll have to wait on my photopass CD to get in to share pictures of the shirt. It's my new favorite thing to wear. Gotta love the color black's slimming effects.

With our purchases made, we headed towards the monorail and back to Shades of Green for a delightfully wonderful nap.

That was seriously the best day I've ever had, haha. Forget the birth of my children, I was in serious pain on those days Experiencing low crowds the first day you take your kids to Magic Kingdom is way better. We really had non existent waits for everything we did that day, and we did A LOT!

That evening we drove off property and had dinner at Outback Steakhouse. When we got back I tried to convince Daniel we needed to go back to MK in the evening for the parade and fireworks since the forecast was calling for thunderstorms Friday (the day we planned to do night entertainment at MK). He was not feeling it and wanted to stay in. I told him if it rained Friday, and we missed the parade and fireworks, he was never going to live it down. *Foreshadowing* So we stayed in that evening in preparation for our non-Disney day the next day. We were heading to Universal's Islands of Adventure.

Day 3 in Review

Weather: rainy in the morning, but perfectly cool the rest of the day
Highs: Pretty much everything. Especially the no long waits part. Special emphasis on Audrey being brave on Haunted Mansion and BTMR and family fun on Jungle Cruise, PoC, and It's a Small World.
Lows: Rope drop meltdown, Splash Mountain meltdown, and Disney's ridiculously small size small shirts haha.
​

 

[deannaf87]

I'm not sure if anyone is still following this TR anymore, but I suppose I should finish it for the sake of finishing what I've started.

A few RL updates:

-We're moving to Washington DC March 2014, Daniel has been assigned to Walter Reed.
-I'm getting my CPA license. I take the first section July 29th...yikes! Been studying like crazy.
-The kids and I are moving to TX next month until our move to DC. Daniel will be in training. The packers come July 8th !! So soon!

Our day at Islands of Adventure, coming up.

 

[deannaf87]

We arrived at Universal about oh and hour before opening, surprise surprise.

My husband paid for preferred parking because he apparently thinks were richer than we really are.

We made our way towards the IOA gate on the cool moving walkways, which we later realized you weren't supposed to take strollers on. Whoops.

We made it to the gate and decided to spring for the Express Passes. Then we waited for the park to open.

Our first destination was of course, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

I had become so accustomed to WDW's hub and spoke designs that IOA's circular design tripped me out. Why am I walking through 2 other "lands" to get to WWOHP. AUGHHHH.

We made it and Daniel jumped in line for the Forbidden Journey while I waited with the kids outside. We weren't aware there was a child swap lounge by the ride loading area. Next time we'll know!

When he got in line the wait time was at 10 minutes. He rode in the single rider line, and by the time he was out and I got in line the wait was 45 minutes. I used the single rider line too and was on the ride in less than 10 minutes.

A few pictures



Waiting for daddy to get back








Daniel was so happy to be at Hogwarts



Let's talk about the Forbidden Journey.....

I'm fairly certain I peed my pants on this ride. I've never been so close to the animatronics before. I'm not sure I liked it! The spider/dragon/whomping willow/dementor combo were terrifying. I screamed like a little girl. A+ for the ride though. It was amazing. Definitely the high point of IOA. Next time I'll just be sure I don't ride alone.

After our Forbidden Journey, Daniel and Audrey rode Flight of the Hippogriff. Then we headed to Hogsmeade for some butter beer. The crowds in WWOHP were already pretty crazy.



Lovely crane


Sirius Black


In front of Three Broomsticks





Honeydukes



Chocolate frog


So happy


This was definitely Daniel's day, and he decided he was ready to go ride The Hulk, yikes!​

 

[Dizneydaz]

I'm reading and enjoying your TR!

My DD13 and I finally did IOA last October and loved WWoHP! We went in early Oct. and there weren't really any crowds. Rode FJ 7 times that day! DD had 2 butterbeers (1 for free!) and we ate at 3 Broomsticks-Yummy Shepards Pie. We were there from open to close that day 9-7.


Happy Girl with the magic ticket!

I can't wait to go back and now that my DNephew is working there (as well as FOTLK) maybe we can see both Universal Parks. My heart still belongs to Disney though.

I agree with you about the layout-it was a long way around and no short cuts!

Can't wait to read more. Did you get your PP CD?

 

[deannaf87]

I'm reading and enjoying your TR!

My DD13 and I finally did IOA last October and loved WWoHP! We went in early Oct. and there weren't really any crowds. Rode FJ 7 times that day! DD had 2 butterbeers (1 for free!) and we ate at 3 Broomsticks-Yummy Shepards Pie. We were there from open to close that day 9-7.


Happy Girl with the magic ticket!

I can't wait to go back and now that my DNephew is working there (as well as FOTLK) maybe we can see both Universal Parks. My heart still belongs to Disney though.

I agree with you about the layout-it was a long way around and no short cuts!

Can't wait to read more. Did you get your PP CD?

I did! I'll have to upload those ASAP. There are some REALLY cute ones of my daughter with Tinkerbell!