A Restful Spring Break? - A March/April 2024 Trip Report

[vamassey1]

You're really moving right along getting your choice rides done.

Sorry you boatmates on Pirates were annoying.

I'm hoping you found some good eats for breakfast.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Ugh...I hate people like that. It's one thing to have a good time, it's quite another to bother everyone around you.

they really were the worst. But we didn't let it ruin our day

You're really moving right along getting your choice rides done.

Sorry you boatmates on Pirates were annoying.

I'm hoping you found some good eats for breakfast.

We really did good, especially since we got there at "regular" open. And it really shows that coming early pays off!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Good Morning Everyone! I am trying to squeeze in a little more of our Magic Kingdom morning!

Day Nine: An Eathquake?!?

I left us off ready for some "breakfast" We were done with the rides that would get longer later. And it felt like we could relax now.

I had looked up options for breakfast while waiting in line, and figured out that the cart we were stalking wouldn’t open till 11:00. SO we made a plan B.

I suggested Cheshire Cafe as they had the pretzel Morgan wanted. And everyone said that sounded good, so we headed from Adventureland over to Fantasyland.

We stopped at a cart in the hub for a churro for Gwen. But they didn’t have any. So, we walked across the hub and tried the other cart. And they had some!

With Churro purchased, Andy and Gwen went to find a seat in Cosmic Rays while Morgan and I got in line for the rest of our food.

Morgan asked for both a Cheshire Cat Tail and a Pepper Jack Pretzel


Andy and I both needed some caffeine, so we each got an iced coffee.
Joffrey's Coffee™ Cold Brew
Add a flavored Syrup - Caramel or Vanilla
I got Caramel and Andy got Vanilla.

I texted Andy to come over and grab his coffee. We were running out of hands.

Untitled
Gwen took a bunch of selfies with her prized churro while we were getting the snacks. She said "That's what happens when you leave me alone"

These hit the spot big time! I didn’t need milk or sugar but Andy added some sweet and low to his. They only had creamer here so he passed on that.

I also ordered an extra Cheshire Cat Tail to share and just in case Gwen wanted one as well. Andy also wanted a Pepper Jack Pretzel. We shared that, and these really are good! Warm and melty cheese!

We sat and enjoyed our food and talked about the remaining things we wanted to do. We had a few more items to check off our MK bucket list for the day.

We sat and relaxed for a good 20 minutes. But it was time to get moving again. Next stop?!

Carousel of Progress!!!

Andy got to do this the other night, but I needed to do this while we were here, so we HAD to do it. And honestly the next 4 things we did were the reason we came back to Magic Kingdom today.

Untitled
I am proud to say that Morgan and Gwen are always up for seeing COP!

While we were on Carousel of Progress my Apple Watch chimes. It was my sister who has been staying at our house. I looked at what she sent since my mom has been in the hospital and I was worried it would have been something serious.......

What she texted was a bit different than that...... She said she thought she felt an earthquake?!? Wait What?

Untitled

Untitled

Once we were done with the ride, I took a closer look at what she said again. And it sounded like there was an earthquake! Yikes! We live in New Jersey, so an earthquake is not a big deal it is usually a faint rumble that you could easily miss. So, I wasn't really worried about it.

She texted a little later that she had experience flooding (a few days earlier it had rained pretty heavily) and now and Earthquake, and than she needed to go home! Ha.

We headed to our next destination as I texted with my sister.
People Mover!
Untitled

Untitled

This time was still nice but after riding during fireworks, it was a little lack luster. But still a nice ride around.
Untitled

After our ride around the future. We had to complete one of Gwen's requests..... she wanted a picture in front of the purple wall. And it had gotten busy by now!

This is a line for Monsters Inc Laugh Floor! It was a little crazy! But I said once they let folks in, we should be able to get a picture.

We ended up waiting 5 minutes for the line to get short enough to get the photo.

Morgan just sat down while we waited. She was surprisingly patient with Gwen’s request. As she usually rolls her eyes at stopping for photo pass photos.

We finally got the photos!
Untitled
That is my new sweatshirt!

Untitled

Untitled
Andy and Morgan declined a photo, so it was just Gwen and me.

Once Gwen got her photo fill, we headed to our next item on the list.
Philharmagic! We really were hitting all the less popular items! But it was working out well, the park was BUSY! But we weren't really feeling it.
It was about 11:20 by now.
Untitled

Untitled
I always love the posters as you walk in.

As we filled the waiting room, the CM was doing a good job directing people to fill in the space. Which I appreciated instead of the just blank statement of “Fill in all available space” I mean how often do CM says that no one does anything.
Untitled

We waited about 10 minutes and we were let into the theater.
Untitled

We were looking forward to seeing the new Coco scene.
Untitled
And it did not disapoint! It was beautiful! And the remastered version was much easier on the eyes.

Untitled

Untitled

We had one last item to do in Magic Kingdom! We headed towards Adventureland! It was just before noon at this point.

As we were heading in, we noticed that there was no line for Aloha Isle!
We said we HAD to get something. It was weird the park was pretty busy at this point but no one wanted Dole Whips?

Gwen and I decided to share the Tropical Serenade
Pineapple-Orange-Guava Juice, Coconut Soft-serve, and an Upside-down Pineapple Cake Pop

But I asked if we could get Pineapple whip instead of coconut. Which they had no problem doing.
This was a nice change to just pineapple juice.
Untitled

And then Morgan got her beloved Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Served with choice of DOLE Whip® Pineapple, DOLE Whip® Vanilla, or Swirl

She always loves this, and I had a bit of the cake for the first time. And It is REALLY good! It had big chunks of pineapple and it was nice a moist.

With treats in hand, we got line for Tiki Room. The waterfall scene had already started, so we only had to wait through half of the show before they let us in! Every time we do this, I always see people whispering saying that they should have done that. It cracks me up!
Untitled

Untitled

Untitled
We love the tiki room and always have to do it once a trip. clicky eyes and all!

Untitled

After the show, it was time to start to head out and over to EPCOT for some more rides and lunch!

Gwen wanted the Lion King Spirit Jersey, her school musical was the Lion King so now she has a soft spot for it. So we shopped our way out, walking through the main street shops. Gwen didn’t think we would find it but we did!

As we were walking into the store, we saw the parade going by and were pretty sure we were going to be stuck. So we took our time.
Untitled

Once we made Gwen's purchase, it was just before 12:30. We were right by the firehouse, which is where the parade goes back behind the scenes. So, we just watched from there.

Untitled

Untitled

Untitled

It wasn’t actually a bad spot! If you have little kids, the characters def waved at all the kids, since there wasn't a lot of people in the area. they all got personal waves.

You aren’t getting any fire from Maleficent as it was too close to the buildings.

Once the parade was over we headed to the monorail! Off to our next park!

----------------------------------up next must do's in EPCOT!!!------------------------------------------------

 

[Stacybaeasm]

You got a lot done in MK. And what did Gwen do for the show at school? As a professor of theatre, I love to know what folx did on their shows and how much fun they had!

 

[rdkeim]

You really played your cards right and got a lot accomplished! And time for snacks, too That pineapple upside down cake looks wonderful - that will definitely be on my snack list. Hope your good park mojo continues!

 

[missjackiemcg]

What a jam packed fun morning at MK!! I always love getting there early to maximize our time, too. You guys are such pros!

Love the then and now pics of the girls with Hookhand! Someday when you cruise on the Magic, they can take their picture with the REAL Hookhand!!!!

Tasty snacks and all, what a perfect day. Looking forward to your epcot fun coming up!

 

[cheryllarsen]

Thanks so much for sharing!

 

[cheryllarsen]

Really enjoyed reading this trip report!

 

[ThreeBoyMama]

What a great MK morning! Love the Tangled photo tradition

 

[vamassey1]

Morgan asked for both a Cheshire Cat Tail and a Pepper Jack Pretzel

Salty and Sweet, covering all the bases.

Carousel of Progress!!!

Good choice.

She texted a little later that she had experience flooding (a few days earlier it had rained pretty heavily) and now and Earthquake, and than she needed to go home! Ha.

Oh no! Your sister had a very interesting stay at your home.

We headed to our next destination as I texted with my sister.
People Mover!

Another good choice.

We finally got the photos!

Cute!

And it did not disapoint! It was beautiful! And the remastered version was much easier on the eyes.

I like the new additions too.

With treats in hand, we got line for Tiki Room. The waterfall scene had already started, so we only had to wait through half of the show before they let us in! Every time we do this, I always see people whispering saying that they should have done that. It cracks me up!

Wise move!

It wasn’t actually a bad spot! If you have little kids, the characters def waved at all the kids, since there wasn't a lot of people in the area. they all got personal waves.

I need to keep this in mind. Looks shaded too.

 

[Paulaparm]

Love that HM sweatshirt!!

 

[jgl130]

If anyone wants to support Morgan and Gwen, here is a link to donate

Just donated!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

And what did Gwen do for the show at school? As a professor of theatre, I love to know what folx did on their shows and how much fun they had!

Gwen was a featured dancer and was a cheetah. She loved it. It was def her favorite show they did in middle school.

You really played your cards right and got a lot accomplished! And time for snacks, too

It really did work out! And knowing how busy it was the day before and how busy it ended up getting it was def the right strategy!

That pineapple upside down cake looks wonderful - that will definitely be on my snack list

Highly recommend! It was nice and moist. It was Morgan's favorite before COVID but took awhile to come back. So she was happy to have one again.

What a jam packed fun morning at MK!! I always love getting there early to maximize our time, too. You guys are such pros!

I am glad that the girls know that it is worth dragging our butts out of bed in the morning. Especially now that they are teens!

Love the then and now pics of the girls with Hookhand! Someday when you cruise on the Magic, they can take their picture with the REAL Hookhand!!!!

OHHHH! That would be fabulous! I am going to have to keep that in mind! one day.

Thanks so much for sharing!

Thanks for following along! I truely appriciate it!

Love the Tangled photo tradition

It is one of my favorite tradtions. Mostly because it started very organically.

I need to keep this in mind. Looks shaded too.

YES! It was shaded. It was a nice little spot.

Love that HM sweatshirt!!

I love it and have been trying to be patient for the weather to get cooler here so I can wear it again!

Just donated!

THANK YOU!!! I truly truly appreciate it! Morgan is having a rough week with it. She hit the wall of being so tired. She always hits the wall about now in the season. But she will power through. It is harder than you would think! I tell them it is harder than when I was in marching band!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Happy Monday Everyone!

I hope everyone had a good weekend. It was a busy one for us! Friday, we went to see another college for Morgan and then another competition weekend. We were all dragging this morning!

Day Nine: Last Day Hit List for EPCOT

We left off watching the parade come by. Once the parade went by we headed straight for the monorail. It was about 12:40 when we got up to the platform.

A monorail was leaving as we were walking up. So we had to wait a little for the next one. I was slightly hoping that we could get into EPCOT before 1 to try and get a boarding group for Guardians, but it wasn’t looking good.

Untitled

We didn't wait long for anther one to come.

We were at the TTC by 12:55 and switching monoroails
I knew we weren’t going to make it in time to get a boarding group. It was fine but also a bummer if you know what I mean.


And we were seeing this by 1:05 PM: Arrived at EPCOT
Untitled

Untitled
I do love taking the monrail from Magic Kingdom to EPCOT. It is is fun to get to ride through the park and we don't always get to do it.

Untitled
It was shockingly empty in EPCOT. We had left Magic Kingdom just in time. It had gotten very crowded there!

Untitled
A peak at Monana area.

Untitled

It was about 1:15 by the time we got off the monorail and walked down and got through the turnstyles.

The first thing on our hit list was for us to get some food booth items for lunch.
Untitled

Morgan requested the Brunchot items again. So headed that way first.
Untitled
She requested both:
Biscuit and Gravy with Impossible™ Chicken Fried Steak and Impossible Sausage Gravy
Fried Cinnamon Roll Bites with Cream Cheese Frosting and Candied Bacon

We took Morgan’s food and headed into the Odyssey pavilion to get Gwen’s request.

We went inside Odyssey Pavillion.

CM here asked how our day was, and I mentioned that we just came from MK and he said that everyone was talking about how busy MK was and not EPCOT. I said we got out just in time. I was glad we had decided on the order of parks that we did!

Gwen requested her own order fo the Orange Sesame Tempura Shrimp with Orange-Chile Sauce & Orange-Lemon Smoothie. just in a regular cup today.
Untitled

I also ordered a Key Lime Wine Slush and a second order of the Shirmp for the rest of us to share. We grabbed a table and enjoyed the food and drink.

I really enjoyed the Key Lime Slush. I ordered it on a whim but it was really good! I love tart things and this delivered.
Untitled

My shrimp this time weren’t as crispy as the first time but still good. Morgan ended up sharing some of her food with Andy, as it was a pretty filling combo of the biscuits and cinnamon bites.

After we were done inside, we headed out for more good food. But we had at least tamed the hunger we had.

It was a little before 2:00 when we headed out. And we found another Disney Duck!
Untitled
Gwen made me take a picture.

Right as we came out, we decided to try the Soy-Glazed Sticky Ribs with Green Onions and Peanuts from Trowel & Trellis.
Untitled

When we were ordering, Morgan noticed the Raspberry and Lemon Herbal Tea: Twinings® Raspberry & Lemon Herbal Tea and Simply® Limeade. She thought she only saw the gin version, but I told her that there was a non-alcholic version. So she wanted to try it.
Untitled
She was quite pleased to get a "special" festival drink.

CM commented on our shirts she really liked that we were coordinated and asked if they were all our favorite rides.

We slide over to the side to try our items. The ribs were just ok.I had heard alot of people liking them but we weren't that impressed. Were they terrible? no. but I wouldn't get them again. Morgan LOVED her tea drink. So, much that she asked me to order her the tea to make at home!

We headed to Mexico next. Getting on Gran Fiesta Tour was a must do for us today.
Untitled

It wasn’t too bad in here, and thankfully the line for Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros wasn’t too long. I said the real reason they can’t change this ride is they don’t have room for a longer que!

Untitled

Untitled

Untitled

Untitled

Untitled

We did get off ride and the line was much longer!

I wanted a margarita but the line was long ish for inside. So I let's try outside and there was no line!

I hopped in line and got my margarita. I asked Gwen to take a picture and she took a TERRIBLE picture! So, you get a close up of the drink itself! ha

Untitled

Blood Orange
Centinela blanco tequila, sweet-tart mix of blood orange, gin, LeJay black currant liqueur, Contraluz reposado cristalino mezcal, Tajín chile - lime powder rim
I really liked this, but Andy wasn’t a fan.
They did “poor” it from a soda fountain (aka it was pre-mixed). But it was still good and much faster than waiting inside.

We had one more food items that we wanted to try.

2:29 PM: Got Buffalo Chicken Tots and Andy a beer.
Untitled
Plant-Based Buffalo Chicken Tender Poutine on Crispy Potato Barrels with Plant-Based Ranch and Blue Cheese Crumbles
This was pretty good, the “potato barrels” were nice and crispy. And the buffalo saucer really hid that it was fake chicken.

Country Boy Brewing Orange Cream Hard Cider
Untitled
Andy saw the guy in front of us getting this, and he asked them how it was. He took a taste and said he said it was sweet but not too sweet. That was enough for Andy, he ordered one for him since he didn’t like my margarita.

Found benches behind Canada food booth and sat and ate our snacks. It was a nice place to chill for a bit. After that, we were finally full!
Untitled
We relaxed and talked about what the other items we wanted to do before leaving EPCOT.

Untitled
Gwen found more disney ducks on our way to next destination.

Where were we headed next? The the VERY POPULAR Figment. And it was today! The line started outside!!!
Untitled

2:59 PM: While in line we got the alert that our room was ready!
We got 4367, 3rd Floor Casitas Building 4
I wasn’t really sure where that would be, but we were there such a short amount of time, I didn’t really care. Just glad we had a home again.

Untitled by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr

Once we were inside, there were stanctions to make the lines, and Gwen thought it was silly to have on the side by the wall, so she did this:
Untitled
Gwen defying Disney and stood on the Wrong side of the rope. What a rebel!!

All in all, we ended up waiting 20 minutes to get on the ride.
Untitled
Not terrible but not great for Figment...

Untitled
We were prepared for the Shunk Smell!

Untitled
EVERY time I go in this room, all I can think it how this is LITERALLY the same since I was a kid. And how did I think we were actually upside down as a kid?!?!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

After riding we had another must do today. And that was to meet Figment!!!
Untitled

There weren't too many people, thankfully. We got in line and as we got closer a CM came over and said he would be leaving soon. We were next. And luckily we were the last ones!

Untitled

Figment gave some good hugs and made a note of Morgan and Andy's glasses. I honestly can't remember what we "discussed" with him. But we were all happy to meet Figment!

Untitled
Figment leaving after meeting with us!

Since our room was ready, we headed to the last ride for the day! Spaceship Earth.
(We wanted to def do this one since we missed it on EEH night.)

Untitled
There was bit of a line for this as well, but nothing too terrible. While we were in line, someone else asked about Morgan’s Dipper hat. Her hat was a topic of conversation this trip!

Morgan and Gwen went together and choose Japanese as there language.
Untitled

Untitled
Does anyone think about what is behind this area?

Andy had no head for our video it was hilarious. The ride kept stopping and I weirdly kind of hoped we would be evacuated from the ride. After “surviving” Spaceship Earth. We headed out of the park! We were ready for some rest and air conditioning.

-------------------------------------------------up next..... And Evening in Hollywood Studios!!!--------------------------------------

Untitled

 

[Stacybaeasm]

What college did you visit this weekend?? You know - we have the Marching Virginian's down here. Just saying - Morgan could keep doing the marching band thing. LOL.

Successful afternoon at EPCOT. I still haven't met Figment. Maybe in November.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

What college did you visit this weekend?? You know - we have the Marching Virginian's down here. Just saying - Morgan could keep doing the marching band thing. LOL.

I thought you would ask. We went to Kutztown University. It's about 2 hours from our house and locally known as having a good art program and not too $$$. Morgan really liked the size of the school compared to Syracuse.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

I thought you would ask. We went to Kutztown University. It's about 2 hours from our house and locally known as having a good art program and not too $$$. Morgan really liked the size of the school compared to Syracuse.

Is Morgan looking for a smaller school? I'll do some looking into small-mid size with good art programs.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Is Morgan looking for a smaller school? I'll do some looking into small-mid size with good art programs.

After seeing Kutztown, she def wants a smaller school!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Looks like a delicious afternoon in Epcot! I want to know why Disney can't just call them tator tots. It makes me laugh that it's always "crispy potato barrels." The drinks all looked delicious! And I love that you got to meet Figment. We have got to get Jimmy back to WDW--he LOVES that purple guy!