“All Aboard the Seven Dwarfs Whine Train!” A May 2015/Mother's Day TR! ***TR COMPLETED 2/8!!!

[AllysonL]

@princessesandpascal just read your whole report! Can't wait to read more!!

 

[tcumom0613]

great trip report!

 

[princessesandpascal]

First of all, hello! I'm so sorry it's been so long! I was participating in a little (not so little) program called Camp NaNoWriMo (a summer version of National Novel Writing Month, where thousands of writers around the world do the ridiculous task of writing 50,000 words in 30 days, a task that I have now completed two different times) and whenever I sat down at my laptop, I forced myself to work on the novel. We also experienced other bits of euphoria in July, including our fridge breaking down and having to drop everything to go on an appliance hunt right before a long weekend! Luckily now that it's August, the words are written, there's a new fridge ordered, and I am back on the TR! Welcome and hello to the new readers, and let's continue, shall we?

Chapter 11: “Best Mac and Cheese of My Life”, or, Eating and Browsing at Downtown Disney!

When we last left off, we were on our way back to Pop Century for an afternoon rest before spending the evening in Downtown Disney. We both took a quick nap while watching some Disney channel and relaxed for a couple hours after having spent a long day at Animal Kingdom. Finally, our need for dinner was too much to bear, and we got changed and set out to the bus stop!

The ride to Downtown Disney was not as long as we’d feared, having heard about all the traffic due to the construction and Disney Springs expansion. Luckily things were good to go and we were dropped off at the Marketplace (or the artist formerly known as the Marketplace, now the home of Disney Springs!) (I will still call it DTD. I do not do well with change.)

We couldn’t wait to get to the shops. But first, dinner was calling our name!

After a debate many a DISer has had to decide between WPE and Earl of Sandwich, we ultimately decided on Wolfgang Puck Express, so we naturally spent the first 20 minutes of our Downtown Disney experience searching for a restaurant we couldn’t find for the life of us. But finally, we found it! We put in our orders, grabbed our drinks, and found a table. Our food arrived very soon after!

I got the Mac and Cheese:

It was delicious! It had a bunch of different cheeses and a bread-crumb topping and chives and it was so good. I’d probably try something different next time just for the experience, but it was great, especially for someone who, only two weeks before, was living on her own as a student surviving off of boxed Kraft dinner and freezer food. College life!

Anyways, Mom went with the Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf:

This looked so delicious. Mom loved it, it was one of her favourite meals of the entire trip. She also gave me a bunch of her onion strings which I happily threw on top of my mac and cheese. I think WPE needs to put onion strings on their mac and cheese by default. It did something to the palate, probably. (Still don’t completely know what a palate is.)

I also drank as much cherry coke as I could hold. Which was a glass and a half. We don’t have it in Canada! I was very excited!

After enjoying our delicious meal, we hit the shops! Our first stop was Tren-D.

I really liked a lot of the things here, but it was only Day 3 and most things I really loved I’d seen in other places even if we didn’t make it back to DTD. I did purchase a super-cute navy and white twisted rope bracelet that has a metal mermaid tail sewn into one end that holds the bracelet together. Disney without being too Disney. (It kinda fell apart on our last day, but thankfully Mom was a jeweller in her younger years, so she has the equipment and know-how to put it back together!)

After Tren-D, we continued into the Marketplace Co-Op and looked at the art in there, before stumbling across the D-Tech shop with the iPhone cases. They have kiosks in the little shop where you can browse smartphone types and case designs, and can customize a design onto your type of phone’s case and they print it within the hour! We checked out the designs and both immediately fell in love with them. Mom and I had been looking for an iPhone case all week (we both have 4S iPhones, so it’s hard to find a case nowadays that fits) and there were some ones we liked, but we didn’t love them. The cases at D-Tech could be customized for any phone, AND they were protected enough so even clumsy me could use one! We were sold. We put the order in and were told to return in about 45 minutes to pick up our customized cases.

To pass the time, we went into World of Disney!

The theming in here is so gorgeous. There’s so much to see, I could browse for days.

We made our way through each of the rooms. I went back and forth on this Elsa sweatshirt for a while, but it was kind of scratchy (like a towel) inside so I went against it.

We must have been in there at least an hour. I can’t remember if we purchased anything: I don’t see us with a big bag in later pictures, so I don’t think we did. We made a couple notes on things that we could return back for later in the week, but we never did. We found our souvenirs other places, but it was really nice just to look!

(I actually think upon rereading this that Mom may have purchased a set of measuring cups here. She can confirm or deny this in a comment.)

It was a beautiful evening to spend in DTD, and the sunset was especially gorgeous!

We’d spent so much time in WOD that we realized that it was time to go pick up our phone cases! We hurried back over to D-Tech and were presented with our cases (I put mine on right away!)

The one with Sven and Kristoff is (obviously!) mine, and the Chip and Dale one is Mom’s. They’re her favourite characters, and Kristoff and Sven are two of mine but there is little to no Kristoff merch in all of WDW. (I was between this one and a Big Hero 6 design). They’re perfect for us and two months later, our phones are still in perfect condition!

New phone cases in hand, we had two stops we wanted to make sure we got to before heading back to Pop for the night. First stop was Basin, where we looked around at everything before deciding on a little tube of bath salt that smelled so good and looked even prettier:

I’m glad we took this photo because we put this in the checked bag to come home and it ended up one slightly purple/green colour from the flight and the rough handling of our bags.

Then we went to Goofy’s Candy Company, where we were hoping to get the pretzel rods, but they had been discontinued since our last trip. Mom didn’t want anything else, but I got a Mickey rice crispie treat with oreos and white chocolate. (For some reason we have no pictures of the store? I think our cameras might have both had run out of power.) Anyways, here it is in all of its glory from back at the room:

I think we might have stopped into the Christmas store sometime that evening, but it’s not in my notes. It just doesn’t make sense that we wouldn’t have, given how much Mom loves Christmas. But we decided after Goofy’s to head back to the resort. We made our way out of the park, and were delighted to find that Pop was the FIRST bus stop! This was important enough to jot down in our notes because if you’ve ever stayed value, you know you’re never the first bus stop. We were mostly the very, very last one.

It was a nice change.

The bus came almost instantly and we were back at Pop in no time, really. It wasn’t too long of a drive once we got out of the parking lot, and then we picked up mugs of sweet tea to bring back to the room with us. (Sweet tea is SO good. We just have iced tea up here, and it’s very different than American iced tea, I think. Or maybe just Southern iced tea. This actually tasted like tea, while iced tea in Canada just tastes like a generically sweet lemon-ish beverage.) And of course, I tore into my rice crispy treat.

It was only about 9pm, so we turned on the TV and watched some Stacey before I grabbed my shower, caught up with my notes for the evening, and turned in for a good night’s sleep. We were happy that the next day was our last 8am opening for the trip!

Up Next: Chapter 11! “Me and Flynn Rider Go Way Back”, or, Princesses, Galactic Heroes, and So. Much. Backtracking.
​

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Then we went to Goofy’s Candy Company, where we were hoping to get the pretzel rods, but they had been discontinued since our last trip. Mom didn’t want anything else, but I got a Mickey rice crispie treat with oreos and white chocolate. (For some reason we have no pictures of the store? I think our cameras might have both had run out of power.) Anyways, here it is in all of its glory from back at the room:

I think you must be right about Goofy's and the staff was just doing them wrong when I was there. Makes me kinda bummed that we didn't go back and give them another chance.

 

[FBandA]

Do you remember the cost for the iPhone case, can't wait to do this when we get there. Thanks for sharing.

 

[nilla]

My only thought on this update: "Man, I would LOVE to read that novel."

 

[cheryllarsen]

Fun reading. thanks for posting!

 

[KathyM2]

I got the Mac and Cheese:

Looks really delish!

Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf:

Mmmm that looked really good too...

I also drank as much cherry coke as I could hold.

So funny, I do this too whenever I'm in the US

 

[Someluck]

Great update! Interesting to hear about your writing challenge; sounds like a fun/intense approach.
I love the phone cases and the WPE mac and cheese which looks so much better than the kids meal mac and cheese that I may give it a try! Thanks for continuing your TR.

 

[princessesandpascal]

I think you must be right about Goofy's and the staff was just doing them wrong when I was there. Makes me kinda bummed that we didn't go back and give them another chance.

It makes sense that they'd have off nights, but the one we got was loaded!

Do you remember the cost for the iPhone case, can't wait to do this when we get there. Thanks for sharing.

I wasn't sure, so I asked Mom and she thinks they were around 34 dollars! Pretty standard for a protective case, they have a rubber edge to protect them better so it's a pretty standard price for a case.

My only thought on this update: "Man, I would LOVE to read that novel."

I'm hoping someday people will get to! Publishing is a dark and scary road I've decided to embark on. Fun!

Fun reading. thanks for posting!

Thank you for reading!

Looks really delish

Mmmm that looked really good too...

So funny, I do this too whenever I'm in the US

I thought Mom's looked delicious and I don't even like meatloaf!

Great update! Interesting to hear about your writing challenge; sounds like a fun/intense approach.
I love the phone cases and the WPE mac and cheese which looks so much better than the kids meal mac and cheese that I may give it a try! Thanks for continuing your TR.

It is, but it's a nice way to get a first draft to work with! Plus the camaraderie of thousands of others is really fun.

I'm not the biggest fan of Disney mac and cheese (unless it's loaded with pulled pork, more on that later...) but the WPE one was fantastic! Thanks for reading!

 

[princessesandpascal]

Chapter Twelve! “Me and Flynn Rider Go Way Back!”, or, Princesses, Galactic Heroes, and So. Much. Backtracking.
Day 4: May 7, 2015

Baymax woke us up bright and early getting us ready for a day at the Magic Kingdom! We could hardly believe that by the end of that day, we'd be at the halfway point of our trip. We followed our usual traditions: wake up, get ready, grab the mugs, and head down to Everything Pop for some breakfast goodies. I also definitely gnawed on my rice crispy treat for a little bit before we left the room. Keepin’ it classy.

We had big plans for that day: morning EMH at Magic Kingdom, a late brunch at Ohana to serve as our lunch, travelling to Hollywood Studios for the afternoon and evening along with dinner at Sci-Fi Dine-In.
I think today we shared a bounty platter for our breakfast. There’s no photo evidence to prove me wrong, so we’re going with that.
After breakfast, we hurried out to the bus stop. By this point, we were making pretty good time: I think it was around 7:15 or a little earlier. The line for the MK was already huge and we found ourselves about a busload back. This wouldn’t have been too awful, but just like the day before at AK, no MK buses were showing up at all. More and more people arrived (because it was EMH) until the line extended out of the set up queue and all the way down the bus stop area. There were at LEAST four busloads of guests waiting and no bus in sight.

Finally one bus showed up and started loading up. It was packed, standing room only, and there was a little more room left. When it came time for the group of four in front of us to board, they refused, saying they wanted to sit and they’d wait. Mom and I both then said, “We’ll take it!” but they ignored us and blocked the entrance to the bus stop so we couldn’t step ahead and take the last seats. Of course, we weren’t about to cut in front of them, but we were operating on our Canadian instincts that if you’re not going to take an opportunity, offer it to someone else who might like it.
(We fit all of the kindness stereotypes of our country. Well, sometimes.)

Another bus arrived soon, though, and we were on our way just after 7:30. We were both nervous, but by some miracle we were arriving at the MK at 7:45. Only 15 minutes from Pop to MK is unheard of, we were in total disbelief! We hot-footed it to the turnstile lines and we were able to view some of the opening show from the line.

Nothing beats hearing “Good morning, good morning!” on a MK morning!

It took us a little longer to get through because we hadn’t even scanned our bands, so we were far behind the pack in terms of rope drop. But we still got to enjoy our favourite part: waving at the CMs as we walk up Main Street.

When we got to the end of Main Street, we deviated from our plan. I’d wanted to go to Peter Pan at rope drop (our original plan) because I wanted to see the new interactive queue, but Mom really wanted another ride on Buzz Lightyear. Mom ultimately won out and we veered right to Tomorrowland.

And you know by now how that went for me.

Mom did pretty well, if I remember correctly. I don’t think she ever beat her score from the second day, but she did great! When I’d hit Galactic Hero in the second or third room, I’d take over steering so Mom could focus on her targets. Which always led me to explain that I wasn’t moving the car away from the target on purpose, because sometimes the car just takes over! (Which it does, really.)

I still really wanted to try to get to Peter Pan, so we fast-walked over there. Well, clearly not too fast, as we stopped to take video along the way. Here's a blurry screen cap:

Of course, by the time we made it, being at the back end of the pack and having stopped in Tomorrowland, it had a 40 minute wait. I was really disappointed because this was supposed to be the morning we did it, as our plans for the next MK rope drop were to visit Merida. We didn’t end up getting to see the new queue at all this trip, and I sort of knew that we wouldn’t when I saw the line extending out of the entrance. I dealt with it, though, and we decided to backtrack over to Winnie the Pooh, which is one of our other favourites.

Princessesandpascal fun fact: this was the first ride I ever went on in Disney, on our first day in the MK back in April 2006!

ABSOLUTELY.

Second fun fact: while we were on said first ride ever back in 2006, Mom videotaped the whole ride on our home video. When we passed Kanga and Roo, Roo clearly calls out “Look, Mama, look! I’m a kite!”, and in our home video that is followed by Mom trying to repeat the line, but she said both a) fast and b) wrong. It came out more like “LookMamaLook I’m a PLAAAAAANE!”

So naturally, every time we pass Kanga and Roo, I have to call out “LOOK MAMA LOOK I’M A PLAAAAANE” which always gets me an eye roll and a “ha-ha, very funny” from Someone.

The ride is so adorable. Once in 2011, we kept getting stopped every few feet all the way down the track from the Heffalumps and Woozles room on. Every time we ride now it just seems so fast because we aren’t stopping every other second.



After Pooh, we weren’t sure where to go, as the park was still in EMH mode with only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland open. I wanted to go to wait at the rope for Splash, Mom vetoed Splash because we had breakfast reservations and she didn’t want to get wet before them (a completely understandable veto), we agreed to go wait for Haunted Mansion, but then I noticed that the Rapunzel and Cinderella line was only 20 minutes and we'd already thrown most of our plans out the window, so even though we had a FP for the next night, why not! 20 minutes is do-able, right? We can do a 20 minute line and still make it to Haunted Mansion at official opening? We have like, half an hour to go...

OH. IF ONLY WE KNEW.

So we go get in line. My favourite princess is Rapunzel (she ties with Ariel but we all know the real winner here), and while we already had FP+s for later in the week, I was in the mood for Rapunzel that day. We got in line and waited.

And waited.

And chatted with the families around us.

And waited.

And took pictures of the princess portraits.

I think I had tracked the lineup for Touringplans on the Lines app, and it was WAY longer than 20 minutes. By the time we realized it, we were so close to the front that it felt pointless to leave. So we dashed our Haunted Mansion plans and stuck it out. By the time I confirmed the amount of time waiting in line on the app, we had waited a total of 37 minutes to get into the room.

It was definitely worth it: we had the sweetest Rapunzel and Cinderella. My ears, of course, were a big talking point. Rapunzel asked me if Pascal was hiding in my ears and I replied that I honestly hoped that I’d feel a lizard on my head before I saw one.
​

 

[princessesandpascal]

Cinderella was also incredibly sweet and beautiful. Hugging Cinderella always warms my heart because of how much I adored the movie when I was really little. I had a homemade Cinderella dress and everything. Growing up in the Disney Renaissance was ideal. (For the record: as a child Pocahontas was my favourite Disney movie! It came out when I was four and the perfect age. Whenever I sang along to "Savages" I thought the words were "Sandwiches, sandwiches" and nobody corrected me. I'm off track.)

Finally released from the Princess Prison (I mean... Fairytale Hall), we had a full park open and about an hour left before we had to exit the park to make our Ohana breakfast reservation at 10:45. We walked by the way of Haunted Mansion, but it was already at around a 20+ minute wait that we didn’t want to get stuck in the way we just had with the Princesses. And judging by the picture of the Tangled space, we must have stopped for a washroom break.

We walked toward Adventureland by way of Frontierland (aimless wandering at this point), and on the way, I spotted Chip and Dale in their Frontier outfits. Without even mentioning it to Mom, I immediately got in the line to her delight. We got a lovely view of what could've been.

This was one of the characters she was dying to see, and their little hats are too cute.

At this point we’d thrown all plans and hopes of hitting a ton of rides this morning to the wind. But hey! We missed Jasmine at Akershus on Tuesday because she inexplicably wasn’t there, so let’s pop over and see her with Aladdin and officially declare this a character morning. They had some time before coming out for their set, so we hopped in the nonexistent line for the Carpets while we waited.

This was another new ride for us, and we really loved it! We rarely found it with a long wait and it was always a fun one when in the area. I like how you can control the tilt, it really gave it another level compared to Dumbo. And I had fun timing the rise of the carpet so we just missed the camel spray.

The ride also allowed Mom to shoot this gorgeous photo, which I think belongs in a Disney ad or something. The morning glow plus my mess of hair makes it look ethereal. I have this printed in a 12x12 page to scrapbook a full size layout on.

After touching back down to earth post-magic carpet ride, we hopped in line for Aladdin and Jasmine’s first set of the day. There was a little boy in front of us with a Peter Pan hat on and he was SO cute. He was adorable with Aladdin and Jasmine too, and I get such a kick out of watching little kids with the characters.

I get just as much of a kick, of course, when I meet the characters myself.



Jasmine was very taken with my Tangled ears. I vaguely remember her mentioning something about a market or something where I might’ve found them. Aladdin mentioned that he and Flynn are “great friends” and "go way back", and whether that means that he’s “friends with” Flynn in a Cast Member sense or if it was just conversation, it was really cute to add.

After meeting Aladdin and Jasmine, it was pretty much time to head out of the park for Ohana. We hadn’t done a ton that morning (three rides and three character meets), but we ended up having a really fun time walking through a pretty empty park and just enjoying the ambiance. We stopped for a quick bathroom break and slowly made our way to the exit. We stopped for some pictures before leaving:

And I also stopped to pin trade. Not sure what I traded for, because I forgot to keep track, but I'll have a pin roundup by the end of the TR!

Finally we were hopping on the monorail, ready for more characters and more fun!

Up Next: Chapter 12! “Pluto REFUSED to Take a Picture With Me!”, or, Brunch at Ohana!​

 

[crystaldawn]

Loving your TR so far!! Can't wait for the next chapter!

 

[nilla]

(We fit all of the kindness stereotypes of our country. Well, sometimes.)

I know it's not Canada, but Kristin and I were in Minnesota a few years back to see a Vikings game. She asked me why everyone was saying "hello" to us. I told her it was because we were no longer in the (American) Northeast.

Of course, the cute stopped when they awkwardly put their hands on my shoulders, leaving me in the middle with no idea where to put my hands.

Well, considering Aladdin and Jasmine, based on your picture, were CLEARLY unorthodox that day, does their awkward behavior surprise you?



Great update, as usual! Shame you missed the new queue for Peter Pan. It's really cool. Oh well, next time.

 

[aj23]

Just caught up on your TR - sounds like you guys had a great time. Can't wait to read whats next!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Of course, by the time we made it, being at the back end of the pack and having stopped in Tomorrowland, it had a 40 minute wait.

not sure it had much to do with being at the back of the pack.

I think I had tracked the lineup for Touringplans on the Lines app, and it was WAY longer than 20 minutes. By the time we realized it, we were so close to the front that it felt pointless to leave. So we dashed our Haunted Mansion plans and stuck it out. By the time I confirmed the amount of time waiting in line on the app, we had waited a total of 37 minutes to get into the room.

I am so glad to see I wasn't the only diser this particular morning having issues with sticking to schedules.

Finally released from the Princess Prison (I mean... Fairytale Hall),

 

[KathyM2]

What a fun morning!! Too bad you had to wait so long for the princesses....I guess it can be a little frustrating when all that planning goes out the window...but you seemed to be able to go with the flow pretty well! I love that pic of your back on Aladdin...so cool!! Did you end up cancelling your FP for the princesses later in the week?

 

[princessesandpascal]

Loving your TR so far!! Can't wait for the next chapter!

Thank you!

I know it's not Canada, but Kristin and I were in Minnesota a few years back to see a Vikings game. She asked me why everyone was saying "hello" to us. I told her it was because we were no longer in the (American) Northeast.

Well, considering Aladdin and Jasmine, based on your picture, were CLEARLY unorthodox that day, does their awkward behavior surprise you?



Great update, as usual! Shame you missed the new queue for Peter Pan. It's really cool. Oh well, next time.

The cultureshock always hits us when we're in the Orlando airport, especially. Going back to Canada feels refreshing, even though we have our share of rude people too!

We always have awkward Aladdins, so I should've seen it coming!

I have it at the top of my to-do list for next time! Well, near the top, anyways.

Just caught up on your TR - sounds like you guys had a great time. Can't wait to read whats next!

We had a great time! Thanks for joining in!

not sure it had much to do with being at the back of the pack.

I am so glad to see I wasn't the only diser this particular morning having issues with sticking to schedules.

I think it was just a crazy morning all together. We always were advocates for EMH but we've decided now that the morning ones especially aren't for us anymore. Too many people go to them now: back in 2012 and before we felt it was a better use of getting up early.

We barely even had a schedule and it was out the window!

What a fun morning!! Too bad you had to wait so long for the princesses....I guess it can be a little frustrating when all that planning goes out the window...but you seemed to be able to go with the flow pretty well! I love that pic of your back on Aladdin...so cool!! Did you end up cancelling your FP for the princesses later in the week?

It was tough but we went with the flow. That was our mantra for the trip, to let the chips fall where they may and roll with the punches. It ended up in a really fun morning to look back on. We didn't cancel our FPs, as I'd intended to take a photo of Rapunzel with my Pascal plush I'd brought along, and I'd forgotten it that day! We spent more time in the Princess Fairytale Prison than probably a lot of families with young kids did. We just kept ending up in there, but we never regretted any extra visits.

 

[oceanmarina]

Joining in! Can't wait to read the next chapter

 

[princessesandpascal]

Chapter 13! “Pluto REFUSED to Take a Picture With Me!”, or, Brunch at Ohana!

It’s time for another mini dining report! We had reservations at 10:30 on our fourth Disney Day for Ohana’s Best Friends Breakfast at the Polynesian Resort. Of course, where I left off last, we were boarding the monorail to the Poly with this breakfast on our minds! This is my favourite character meal in all of WDW, and I’m so happy to say before we get into the report that it definitely lived up to my expectations.

We rode the monorail all the way around the loop until we reached the Poly. We headed into the building and the urge to stay at the Poly hit us like it does every year! (We always say we’ll only end up here if we win a) a contest or b) the lottery). It’s Mom’s dream resort and it is definitely high on my dream list too (it’s slightly edged out by the Yacht and Beach Club, because me and nautical theming always go well together). Even with the construction changing the lobby drastically from how we remembered it, it still had that gorgeous Poly feel to it and I found that I didn't miss the old lobby as much as I'd thought I would.

We were a little too early to check in, so we decided to browse the gift shop for a little while. Both of us were super creeped by this Marie plush with the really long tail.

I have so many questions, but they can all be summed up as why?

After browsing for a bit and looking at the CMs’ pins (I don't remember trading here, but I could be mistaken!) we decided to go see if we could check in even though we were still a touch early. We arrived at the podium and despite being a little bit early still, they allowed us to check in and go to the waiting area with our pager. There were hardly any seats left, so we found the end of a couch plus a large armchair to settle down in while we waited.

Eventually (I think maybe around 20 minutes), our pager went off and the hostess came to seat us and one other table that also had an allergy. We were seated right by the path in the main part of the restaurant. Easy access for characters, plus we could kinda see the castle if we twisted around backwards and squinted into the bright sun of the window.

Our waitress Arelis came over very soon and asked about what the allergy was. I told her mine was just melon and cucumber, and she told me the juice would be fine (which I knew) and poured us each a glass. She then told me that the fruit plate had melon, so she’d bring me a dish full of raspberries! Score! Mom knew hers wasn’t relevant at Ohana (we were quietly cursing the agent for attaching the allergy to all of our reservations) and Arelis confirmed that she was right.

The chef came along moments later with my raspberries, set them down, made sure we had everything we needed, and said he hoped we’d have a nice meal. We were so happy! This was the kind of service we’d read about for those with allergies when we had decided to mention my melon sensitivity on the reservation. They were kind, listened to our individual needs, and it didn’t hold up our meal. I’m thankful that I have the kind of allergy that is pretty easy to identify, is avoidable, and that I could’ve gotten away with not attaching it to the reservations and just avoiding the food. I carry an epi-pen, but I've never had a severe reaction: it's precautionary at this point, but I didn't want to risk it. Now I know I'll be able to handle it without having special arrangements made on future trips, but it was nice to know that Disney was so thorough for those who have a lot of allergies or more severe ones. Ohana in particular gets brownie points added to their service score for truly listening to our needs and being so kind and magical about it!

Anyways, rant over, now we’re into the food pictures!


At this point, we had the pineapple coconut bread, which was SO delicious. We were in love. I think we got a cinnamon raisin bread too, which I also think went untouched.

We also had the fruit tray which Mom got to herself, as well as my little raspberry feast. They were so fresh and Mom said the melon was great too!

And we got the platter very quickly. Scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon, biscuits, home fries, and some Stitch and Mickey waffles. Super fresh, hot, and delicious!

And of course, there were characters.

They moved really quickly and didn’t really stop to be personable. We were a bit disappointed because we were hoping for some cute pictures of Stitch and I with my backpack involved. It was the end of the breakfast period, so we understood. Also, for some reason, Stitch had a Photopass photographer with him? We ended up with another photo in which my eyes are closed, so that didn't make the cut. Moving on!

We enjoyed the little parade and watching all the kids skip around the restaurant (even though it was pretty empty!). Mom and I chatted about our plans for the afternoon and what we were planning to do with the rest of the trip, how things had gone so far, and how thankful we were to get another almost four days in this magical place. It was a fantastic meal, with Arelis popping in occasionally to refill our juice glasses and make sure we had everything we needed. (I cannot say enough kind things about Arelis!! She's just the best!!). We had a table next to us where the dad kept yelling at his kids for who-knows-what, but other than that the atmosphere was really chill and relaxing.

However, toward the end of our meal, we overheard one of the weirdest conversations we’ve ever heard in WDW. A few tables away from us, near the window, two women along with a 10-ish year-old girl were seated (we later figured that it was a woman, her sister, and the woman’s daughter, since we encountered them more than once.) They were all pretty well-dressed and we gathered that they were staying at the resort or possibly at the Grand Floridian or Contemporary. (They didn't really have bags or anything with them, so it wasn't likely they'd come right from the park.)

Anyways, this well-dressed woman waves a CM over. Mom had her back to them while I quietly watched the exchange because this woman looked really ruffled, and let's be honest, I was hoping for a reality-show-like scene that could've found a home on a Real Housewives show or something. One of the handlers goes to her, and the woman snaps at her, “Pluto REFUSED to take a picture with me!” Mom and I looked at each other with our eyebrows raised.

“She’s gotta be joking, right?” Mom asked me. She was sitting with her back to the spectacle playing out, with this woman raising a huge fuss.

“Oh, definitely not joking,” I replied. I think she said something along the lines of it being because she was an adult, which was clearly untrue, because Mom and I had gotten photos with Pluto, another table of all older guests got photos with Pluto, and what more likely happened was that Pluto simply didn’t see or hear her. Ohana is pretty loud, and Pluto’s range of vision isn’t great. Plus, the characters were in a massive hurry: so he likely didn’t hear her at all. Or maybe, she was just having an off day and we just heard the wrong part of it. Either way, it struck us as pretty funny in the moment. It certainly belonged on one of those "overheard guests at WDW" threads here.

The woman finally got her photo with Pluto, and we packed up to go in disbelief. Although, we did walk away from the meal with a killer line that we kept blurting out as the trip went on. “I’m sorry, I’m in a bad mood because PLUTO REFUSED to take a PICTURE with ME.” We stopped for a quick photo to remember the meal (not with Pluto of course, because he refuses to take pictures with people.):

And we were off.

Final Thoughts:
Food: 9/10. Absolutely delicious! The coconut-pineapple bread was to die for.
Service: 10/10!! Arelis was one of our top CMs from the trip. So sweet and they dealt with my weird allergy the best of any restaurant we ate at. The chef was so kind and it was wonderful!
Atmosphere: 7/10. Characters were very speedy, and the table next to us with a screaming family wore us out a bit.

Overall: 9/10
Will we be back?: Absolutely!. It’s my favourite breakfast on property and I would really miss it. Food and service were great, but next time we’ll go for an earlier timeslot.

We decided to walk around the Poly’s lobby for a bit before leaving for our next destination. It definitely looked more sparse from the lower level, but it still looked really nice. It didn't look too out of place compared to the waterfalls that the old one had. I guess Disney decided not to go chasing waterfalls, and stuck to the rivers and the lakes that they're used to.

I want to stay here so badly!

Having had our fill of the Deluxe lifestyle, we headed out to the bus stop to wait for a bus to Hollywood Studios!

Up Next: Chapter Fourteen! "And I Didn't Even Google It!", or, Lucky Guesses and So Much Frozen at DHS!​