"You're not making good choices, Phoebe!" A July 2015 Trip Report *completed 1/2/16*

Totally random question, as I noticed them in the pic for Splash: did you wear your glasses on most rides? I was worried about them sliding off.
 
A fine afternoon, if you ask me!

I love Dream Along... so sad the front of the castle is going to be under refurb next week!

DOLE WHIPS!!! :lovestruc

The music from Splash Mountain got stuck in my head reading this update!
 


Loving your report! We leave in 11 days to the Lodge w/ our 2 boys. Can't wait to read more!
 
Awesome updates! And while some of your pictures are a little lackluster, there are some that are really beautiful:) I loved that you talked about IASW and the lyrics. My daughter and I were discussing the meaning of this song the other day while listening to it in the car (Hello, my name is Amy and I am a Disney addict). My favorite line is, "And a smile means friendship to everyone":love: Also love the pics of your boys in front of the Disney Casting Door. Do you secretly wish that one or both of your children will work for Disney one like I do?:rolleyes1
 
I'm only through page 1 but at least I finally found you! I've been looking for your TR since the end of last week, assuming you hadn't started it yet. Know why? Because you DON'T have anyone in your family named Pheobe :rotfl2: So even though I saw your TR, I kept skipping right over it thinking, "Nope, that's not hers"........silly me :P

I always thought the Atlanta airport was very nice BUT, it's been over 15 years since I've been there and I'm sure it's gotten bigger. And ugh, we hate sitting around waiting for late-in-the-day flights :sad2: It's like tapping your fingers going "now what???" We always try for early in the day but it doesn't always work out that way. Unfortunately our Aug. flight for Universal doesn't leave until 5:20 pm and our Nov. flight for WDW is about the same, but at least in Nov. the kids have school all day.

OK, back to reading!
 


Oh, I wanted to mention about "One Man's dream", my youngest niece, now 8.5 years old, really liked the movie. She said it was great to see what inspired Walt to build Disneyland and more. I don't think she even realized she was learning things on vacation, but it made all of us smile.

Oh, I love that so much!! That warms my heart that she enjoyed it so much!!

And learning while on vacation is always a good thing!!

What a fun rest of the morning/afternoon! Love the family photo in front of the castle :)

thank you!! the one where my husband gave me a third set of ears, right?? lol!!

Totally random question, as I noticed them in the pic for Splash: did you wear your glasses on most rides? I was worried about them sliding off.

I never had an issue on any rides with my sunglasses, and the kids didn't with their regular glasses either. I feel like there was one ride where X took his off, but I don't think he needed to for any reason. Now, the ears on the other hand...I nearly lost them on Space Mtn, they slid a little on Splash, and I thought I was REALLY going to lose them on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

So in our experiences, glasses are fine, use precaution with ears!

That is a fantastic shot of the riverboat!

Thank you! I plan to edit and crop it a little for framing. I have some other similar shots, but this one, the angle of the boat beside the castle...it just works for me :-):-)

A fine afternoon, if you ask me!

I love Dream Along... so sad the front of the castle is going to be under refurb next week!

DOLE WHIPS!!! :lovestruc

The music from Splash Mountain got stuck in my head reading this update!

It was a really great afternoon.
You can't go wrong with Splash music!
I'm sorry walls and junk will be up around the castle!! Creative angles will make for gorgeous castle photos, though!!

Loving your report! We leave in 11 days to the Lodge w/ our 2 boys. Can't wait to read more!

11 days?? That's right around the corner!!
You will have so much fun. The lodge is AMAZING and I wish I could live there year round. If I ever win the lottery, I'm moving into the Presidential suite.

Awesome updates! And while some of your pictures are a little lackluster, there are some that are really beautiful:) I loved that you talked about IASW and the lyrics. My daughter and I were discussing the meaning of this song the other day while listening to it in the car (Hello, my name is Amy and I am a Disney addict). My favorite line is, "And a smile means friendship to everyone":love: Also love the pics of your boys in front of the Disney Casting Door. Do you secretly wish that one or both of your children will work for Disney one like I do?:rolleyes1

Disney addict?? Join the club (it's made for you and me...M-I-C...etc)!! It's nice to be in good company.

My photos, LOL. Yes, lackluster is a word for some of them. I can't even tell you how many times I snapped a quick shot of whatever was around just so I'd remember where we were and in what order we did things. I always intend to take my time and get good pictures, but we're just so caught up in the moment and enjoying our time together.

I love that line of IASW too!! The world would be so much better if everyone took it to heart and was just KIND to one another. There's too much misplaced anger and hatred, we all need to love a little more ::yes::

And it's no secret I want them to work for Disney! They both want to do the College Program.

I'm only through page 1 but at least I finally found you! I've been looking for your TR since the end of last week, assuming you hadn't started it yet. Know why? Because you DON'T have anyone in your family named Pheobe :rotfl2: So even though I saw your TR, I kept skipping right over it thinking, "Nope, that's not hers"........silly me :P

I always thought the Atlanta airport was very nice BUT, it's been over 15 years since I've been there and I'm sure it's gotten bigger. And ugh, we hate sitting around waiting for late-in-the-day flights :sad2: It's like tapping your fingers going "now what???" We always try for early in the day but it doesn't always work out that way. Unfortunately our Aug. flight for Universal doesn't leave until 5:20 pm and our Nov. flight for WDW is about the same, but at least in Nov. the kids have school all day.

OK, back to reading!

You found me!! Hooray!! I didn't mean to be tricky with my title, LOL!! We tossed around a few different ideas, but this title comes into play on our last MK day, and it just stuck! We still say it to each other multiple times on a daily basis!

The Atlanta airport is really interesting. I wish we'd taken some time to explore, look at the art, etc...but we were so concerned with finding our way around that we ended up bored at the gates. Then we were delayed both times there. Ugh.

I'm so glad you're here now!!
 
I'm not seeing any bags in your pics except your cute VB. Does DH carry a back pack or do you guys just travel light?

So what's in your VB bag that you carry to the parks. Anything you wished you had brought or brought and didn't need?

Trying to decide on my park bag! Thx
 
They were not too concerned with being in character for their roles, they were talking about how difficult and expensive it is to drink your way around the world at Epcot.

They were obviously lightweights.

And that, right there, is why I have to come out of lurkdom to follow this report. No truer words were ever spoken :-)
 
Love this trip report. Love the photos!

Thank you so much!! I'm glad you're here!! :dogdance::dogdance:

I'm not seeing any bags in your pics except your cute VB. Does DH carry a back pack or do you guys just travel light?

So what's in your VB bag that you carry to the parks. Anything you wished you had brought or brought and didn't need?

Trying to decide on my park bag! Thx

We travel light. My bag has my wallet, (which you don't even really need because of Magic Bands - we love MBs and wish they were just a thing we could use in real life all the time!), a pack of gum, about three different kinds of chapstick/lip gloss/lip balm (because I can't live without immediate access to it), the m&m mini container of pennies/quarters, sometimes a couple of ponchos (if I remember to put them in there), and sometimes there's a water bottle shoved down in there (we have the brita filter ones, or sometimes a Dasani picked up at the parks.) I wish I could just go bagless with a $20 bill, an id, and a chapstick in my pocket, but I feel panicky without my purse. And one day, I actually did leave my wallet behind, and I wanted a drink at Epcot, but didn't have my id. I was so mad at myself, and DH, for convincing me I didn't need it, LOL!!

Also, by the end of the day, there's about a zillion crumpled napkins and receipts, straw papers, gum wrappers, and random coins filling in any extra space.
I like getting extra napkins and keeping them in there because you never know when you'll get caught in a rainstorm, or when a water ride is particularly...watery. I like being able to wipe my eyes dry. I have contacts, and I thought I was going to lose them after being caught in a downpour at Epcot. My eyes were burning and I couldn't open them. So napkins are good!!

And that, right there, is why I have to come out of lurkdom to follow this report. No truer words were ever spoken :-)

YES!!! This makes me so happy :yay::yay:
I feel very, very honored to bring you out of lurkdom. Particularly because of that comment, LOL!

You made my day!!
 
Great end to your afternoon. I love the photo pass picture of your family in front of the castle. The casting pictures made me laugh! My DH teases me that I have been Disney brainwashed and he's worried I may brainwash our kids. Can't wait to read about your magical evening.
 
love your trip report! great photos.

Thank you so much!! I appreciate that you're here reading along :):)

Great end to your afternoon. I love the photo pass picture of your family in front of the castle. The casting pictures made me laugh! My DH teases me that I have been Disney brainwashed and he's worried I may brainwash our kids. Can't wait to read about your magical evening.

It really was a nice end to the afternoon. I'm completely Disney brainwashed, and I feel no shame. It's not the point where I'm blinded by it, but it's just been such a huge part of my life for so long, that it's hard to to defend it and hold it dear. The picture of X pretending to bust down the door is one of my favorites!
I'll be updating again soon, probably tomorrow late afternoon!
 
Hey, Ya'll.

I'm back to finish up this first Magic Kingdom day.
Reality has come crashing in, and I'm realizing I need to get this trip report moving right along, because the beginning of the school year is rapidly approaching and I will be so busy!!

So far this week, we've had our first PTA board meeting (which I think went fairly well), spent the day at the lake yesterday (we are so burnt! L was brave enough to ride the tube on the back of the boat, but refused to jump in. X made one failed attempt at water skiing, and I wish he'd have kept trying. I think he'd have gotten the hang of it pretty quickly if he had stuck with it.), and today I met the kids' grandma halfway between here and there to drop them off for a few days, and they'll be back again on Tuesday.

Since getting back home earlier, I have spent my time avoiding responsibility, and watching my shows that have built up on the dvr (Scream, Mother Funders, FaceOff). It might not be productive, but it feels necessary. I miss the kids when they are gone, but it gives me a chance to finally finish the new season of Orange is the New Black, so that's positive.

Ok, ok, let's get on with it, shall we??

Chapter Three Part Four

When I left you last, we had left the MK for our afternoon break back at the Lodge. We had no other timeline except for making sure we were back to the Magic Kingdom in time for a Very Special Event. Special to us, anyway. The Wishes Dessert Party! We were very excited to try this for the first time, annnnd I would have my first ever DisMeet during the party.

We swam for awhile, then I got out and DH grabbed us some drinks at the pool bar. I had some kind of mai tai, and DH had their version of a long island iced tea. I didn't take my phone down to the pool, so I have no pictures, but I can tell you they were GOOD. And strong.

I gathered everyone up and we went back upstairs to get showered and dressed for our evening. I even flat ironed my hair. The humidity was on a break or something, because I was able to leave it down for most of the evening.

We made our way to the ferry boats, with some photo stops along the way



Of course there has to be a silly one (or several)



SQUIRREL!!



The Wilderness Lodge is aptly named.



We took the ferry, and soon we were walking down Main Street once again



The kids took care of their first villain in Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom, while I snapped some random pictures and did some shopping.



You can see my reflection taking the picture while the Genie is ALSO taking a picture. So meta.

I got my very first Alex and Ani bracelets - Snow White and Cinderella Castle (I'd add another at AK later in the week).

There were also stops for photopass photographers and we got some Magic Shots, of course:



Umm...where's Tink???
(don't worry, the other pictures had her in it. Not sure what happened with this one!)

We made it to the Hub and we knew we'd need something to eat before stuffing ourselves with sweets at the Dessert Party, so we stopped at Casey's. It was a madhouse. DH and I got in the line to order, and we sent the kids on a mission to scope out the seating situation. They'd peek in and say, "no seats, Mom", and I was like, "Keep circlin' Vultures!"

Eventually a nice person told them they were leaving, and the boys were able to grab a seat. I grabbed condiments and carried them out, then went back to help DH take everything to the table.

Creeper Duck was creepin':



Sneaky Bird was sneakin':



And we were ready to dig in.

DH had the pulled pork and slaw dog:



He liked it, but it was messy. Everything there seemed messy, and you only have the tiny cardboard boats and the trays protecting the table tops. It's kinda out of control. I tried a bit and thought it was pretty good!

X had the chili dog



which he ate so fast that no one else had a chance to try it.

L and I had plain basic dogs, his with ketchup and mine with mustard. I ordered one with fries, the other with apples.



(L had something in his eye...probably mites from a feathered stalker)

After dinner we wandered some more and cruised by the Tomorrowland Terrace to check out where things would be. The CMs were in there setting things up. I snapped a picture of the castle juxtaposed with the Tomorrowland sign. Something interesting about that.



We went on into Tomorrowland to try something new, Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor. Yes, I said this was new for us!



We had such a great time! It was hilarious.

Afterward it was time to get in line for the party. What do you do while waiting?? Take pictures of the castle of course.



Upon check-in, each member of your party is presented with a champagne flute of sparkling cider, and you are led to your table. The tables are covered in white tablecloths and are illuminated by white lanterns. Your table is marked with a placecard. It really does look very pretty!

When they showed us to our table, I was thrilled. We had a straight-on view of the castle:
(yes, another castle photo. there's more coming up too, in case you want to skip 'em)


The CM who seated us explained how the party would work: We were free to have as many desserts and drinks as we'd like, and everyone would line up at the railing for Celebrate the Magic and Wishes.

There were two sections of the dessert buffet:



Side one, from the right: cannoli, vanilla mini-cupcakes, chocolate mini-cupcakes, chocolate dipped strawberries, chocolate spoons filled with something peanut buttery, vanilla panna cotta covered with strawberry sauce.



Side two, from the right: tiramisu, chocolate chip mini cheesecake, oreo mousse Mickey's, chocolate dipped krispie treats.

Not pictured: Fruit and cheese plates, drinks, and the ice cream sundae station. The drinks included water, water with fruit, tea, milk, sipping chocolate, hot water with tea bags and cocoa mix, strawberry lemonade. I think that's it?? The ice cream sundae station was a guy with an ice cream cart, dipping out the ice cream, and topping it however you want it. I didn't have any ice cream, but the kids enjoyed it!

The cannoli was good, with a slight cinnamon hint to it. I didn't have any of the cupcakes, but the toppers were cute. X loved the chocolate peanut butter thing, but my favorite was the panna cotta. It was a very light vanilla flavor, almost bland, but somehow amazing at the same time.

The tiramisu was just ok, the chocolate chip cheesecake was VERY good, and everyone but me loved the oreo Mickey mousse. I thought it was just ok. None of us had the krispie treats. L had a bunch of the fruit from the fruit plate.

Was the dessert spectacular? No. Did I expect it to be? No.

I actually really appreciated that the desserts were light and not crazy heavy. It was a hot night in July, after all!! I don't want to gorge on heavy, sugary desserts on a hot summer evening. I though they were appropriate for the experience.

While we were waiting in line to get into the party, I had sent out a message on our July 2015 group's Facebook page to a fellow traveler who would be at the party this night as well, and she stopped by our table!!

I was so excited!!

I'm an idiot and didn't get a picture of us together, but she'll stand by me and confirm the meeting!!

@vicky33006 It was so nice meeting you during the party!! You were my first DisMeet and it was very exciting for me!

I took even more pictures of the castle and of my family while we waited for the show to begin



Hey, Pretty.

Then some family goofiness as per usual:

Crazy Eyes



Extra Ears



Me and my littlest guy




Before long, we saw some people making their way toward the railing, so I made sure we got up there and claimed our spots. We were a little lax in our protectiveness, and got inched out a little. It was the kids against the rail and DH and I behind them.

We watched Celebrate the Magic, Tink made her flight, and Wishes began:



Here are a few fireworks photos:






Wishes was magical. Isn't it always?

After it was over, we sat at our table and waited for the fireworks crowd to thin out a little. When we noticed a lull, we headed back into Tomorrowland.



AstroOrbiter looks so cool, whizzing through the darkness in all its neon glory.

We had a very important stop to make:



I think this was the perfect way to cap off our evening, because these faces were telling us something:



We left the People Mover, and exited the park. If I recall correctly, we took the bus this night, because the boys thought it would be faster than the ferry.

We made it back to the Lodge, into pajamas, and into bed.

Would be up and ready to execute the next day's plan??

Find out next when we head to Epcot!!

More coming soon!!


 
I'm loving your report! It's reminding me of all we did! I wish I had the energy for a TR, but my classroom is calling my name and I'm afraid free time should be spent there... And you know.. On Netflix.

It was so great to meet you and your family! Your boys are adorable! I could just see how excited they were.. It makes my heart happy to see kids excited in Disney. Everyone LOVED the dessert party in my family. I thought it was great too, but we had done it previously at the lower price and since I'm the one who shelled out for that, I couldn't help but think about the changes and their worth. Regardless, avoiding those Wishes crowds is worth it in my book and so we'll likely do it again!

I agree about the desserts being light. Great choices. I think my son ate his weight in the fruit, so I was happy with that. My nephew loved the cheese and ice cream. My sister tried everything and enjoyed it all. I apparently didn't have much of an appetite, but enjoyed what I ate.

We had the same issue with being pushed out a bit. There were some little ones next to me giving their grown up a tough time, so we were pushed us out a bit, but overall we still had a fantastic view!

We did Peoplemover after too, but I'm a horrible Diser and have no photographic evidence! I do have this shot taken around 1130 to show that's what time we were on the bus back... Clearly my son was very tired!
image.jpg
We had a blast that night, but we were tired! So glad to have met you! Looking forward to the rest of your TR!

Oh... Side note! We loved Ant-Man too!!
 
Love all the family selfies!!

I appreciated your review of the dessert party! Some of those desserts sound really good. I love the Wishes pictures, what an awesome view!

Tomorrowland at night is so pretty, great place to end your night!
 
Great details about the dessert party! It sounds like you really felt the experience was worth the cost.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!











facebook twitter
Top