A Winter Escape to the Enchanted Forest-Jan'13 TR:**5/21 Parting Thoughts/New PTR!

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Just joining in now and going through all your old posts. What a great TR! Awesome pictures.

Your AoA room looks AWESOME! I love the bubble light fixtures!

Thanks for joining! I really liked our AoA room. The bubble lighting was my favorite too!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Monday, January 28th - 9:25am

Right before Merida greeted DD, DW had texted me that they were done with the Tea Cups. I texted back telling her she and DFIL should take DS for a ride on the Tomorrowland Speedway. When DD and I came out from meeting Merida, we walked over to the Speedway and saw that the rest of the family was still in line. DD wanted to drive one of the race cars as well so she and I got in line. Initially we were about 30 people behind and the CMs were operating only one lane. But then, just as we approached the point where the line splits off into multiple lanes, the CM’s opened up the second lane and DD and I were siphoned off to the newly opened lane. Timing worked out perfectly where DD and I were getting in our car exactly at the same time as DS/DFIL in one car and DW in the other. DD driving caused a lot of whiplashes sideways which I teased her a bit about. She was now just tall enough for her feet to reach the pedal but not long enough yet to push down on the accelerator. So I did that for her while she swung the steering wheel from the left end to the right end and then back. What can I say. She likes being in the driver’s seat. DS had a blast as well. He even got one of those Mickey driver’s license from the CM at the entrance. Watching how much my kids enjoy this ride reminds me of when I was their age and how excited I used to get being able to drive my own car!

It was about 9:45am when we left the Speedway and the crowds were slowly starting to build along the pathways in Fantasyland. I led the group over to the Barnstormer. DD had been talking about this ride non-stop ever since we left Disney World last year. She took every opportunity she could to tell DS what a fun ride it was. DS was now tall enough to go on it and he was looking forward to his first “rollercoaster” experience.


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The first time DW and DFIL took each child and got on the Barnstormer while I watched them from below. DD came skipping along after the ride and wanting to go right back on it. DS on the other hand seemed a bit more reserved about the whole thing but was willing to go back on it again. DW didn’t think she could handle another go on the ride. I was about to go on a FP run for Under the Sea but she volunteered instead and asked me to go the Barnstormer this time with DS. So the four of us went right back at it two more times before DW returned with FPs for Ariel’s ride for 10:40-11:40am return window.


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DD wanted to go on Barnstormer again. DS told me he had enough and wanted to go on Dumbo. So DW took him over to Dumbo while DD went on the Barnstormer with DFIL one last time. I think DS enjoyed the slower pace of Dumbo a lot more. After the ride, he kept telling me how he was able to move Dumbo up and down.


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After a restroom break, we all regrouped and walked over to New Fantasyland. We walked past the entrance/bridge to Be Our Guest and the line was already across the bridge at 10:30. New Fantasyland looked absolutely gorgeous but I didn’t have much time to enjoy the scenery while trying to weave through the heavy crowds and the congested pathways. We had to wait a few minutes once we arrived at Under the Sea because our FP window wasn’t open yet.

We took some pictures in front of the shipwreck. DW briefly went over to Ariel’s Grotto to take a quick peek but couldn’t see much since the actual meet and greet was tucked all the way inside. Once our FP became eligible, we walked right on the ride.


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Even after just one ride, I think I can say that Under the Sea is now my favorite dark ride at Disney. I loved all of the scenes that were set up around their famous musical numbers. And the scene with Ursula casting her magic on Ariel was one of my favorites with the perfect lighting. There was a bit of a jump in the storytelling where the battle with Ursula is completely glossed over but I can understand why they did it – perhaps to make it less frightening for the younger children. DS and DD both gave it thumbs up!


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Next up: Around the World with Little Dolls.

 

[afwdwfan]

I was hoping someone from my table would order the cheese soup so I could take a few "bites" of it but no one did. And it's definitely too lactose-rich for my stomach to order one for myself.

Ok, at least you had a good reason.

Watching how much my kids enjoy this ride reminds me of when I was their age and how excited I used to get being able to drive my own car!

Funny how it is such a cyclical ride. Love it when you're little. Avoid it like the plague for years on end. Start going back to it when you have your own kids and they want to drive.

Even after just one ride, I think I can say that Under the Sea is now my favorite dark ride at Disney. I loved all of the scenes that were set up around their famous musical numbers. And the scene with Ursula casting her magic on Ariel was one of my favorites with the perfect lighting. There was a bit of a jump in the storytelling where the battle with Ursula is completely glossed over but I can understand why they did it – perhaps to make it less frightening for the younger children. DS and DD both gave it thumbs up!

I thought it was great too. I wish they'd have done more with Ursula, myself. I can understand why they wouldn't want to make her too scary for the little kids, but there are ways they could have surely worked her in a bit more. I mean she was definitely a key character in that film.

 

[khertz]

We have tried breakfast at Chef Mickey's twice, and it is just too chaotic for me! Especially because we will still stop to see the Fab 5 in the park, so it really just isn't worth it for us anymore. However, we did have good character interactions there when we went, as it looked like y'all did too. But for the price and the chaos, I think we will probably skip there in the future in favor of other character meals.

DD's meet with Merida looks so fun! Seems like Merida was really sweet with her. I love character meets like that, where you are not rushed along through the experience.

Couldn't ask for better timing on the Speedway! And you gotta love that sideways whiplash.

Beautiful pictures of Journey of the Little Mermaid! Loved that ride out in California, but I am really really excited to see the facade and queue in WDW. It's one of my favorite Disney movies since I was a little girl, so seeing Eric's castle will be a dream come true for me!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Funny how it is such a cyclical ride. Love it when you're little. Avoid it like the plague for years on end. Start going back to it when you have your own kids and they want to drive.

Yes, it's sort of like the Tea Cups.

I thought it was great too. I wish they'd have done more with Ursula, myself. I can understand why they wouldn't want to make her too scary for the little kids, but there are ways they could have surely worked her in a bit more. I mean she was definitely a key character in that film.

Absolutely agree. But other than that, thought the ride was the perfect length and struck a nice tone for the little ones.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

We have tried breakfast at Chef Mickey's twice, and it is just too chaotic for me! Especially because we will still stop to see the Fab 5 in the park, so it really just isn't worth it for us anymore. However, we did have good character interactions there when we went, as it looked like y'all did too. But for the price and the chaos, I think we will probably skip there in the future in favor of other character meals.

That's what we did last year. We saw the Fab 5 at Epcot and skipped Chef Mickey's and did Ohana instead. And that's what I have planned for our trip next January. Yes, I already have an outline of an itinerary.

DD's meet with Merida looks so fun! Seems like Merida was really sweet with her. I love character meets like that, where you are not rushed along through the experience.

It reminded me of the great meet and greets we had with Rapunzel and Flynn a couple of years back.

Beautiful pictures of Journey of the Little Mermaid! Loved that ride out in California, but I am really really excited to see the facade and queue in WDW. It's one of my favorite Disney movies since I was a little girl, so seeing Eric's castle will be a dream come true for me!

I found out after coming home how much we missed out on the queue because we used the FP lanes. Maybe next year!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Mother nature decided to give us some snow this morning to celebrate the beginning of the kids' spring break. DD and DS tried to run outside as soon as they woke up and saw the layer of powder out in our yards. The snow eventually melted by midday as it warmed up and the snow turned into rain. But the kids got a chance to make snow angels, throw a few snowballs, and put together a snowman. This weekend is suppose to be the peak of the Cherry Blossoms in our DC area but not sure if that's going to happen. Will have to wait and see. In the mean time, here are some pictures I took from our front and back yard. Snow sure looks good when you don't have to drive in it!


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[DaveinFallsChurch]

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This was taken from the Tomorrowland Terrace during the Wishes Dessert Party. It was my favorite part of Celebrate the Magic with the floating lanterns from Tangled beautifully lighting up the castle.

 

[emilyindisney]

So sick of the snow! We've had flurries the past couple of days here in CT and I've got my fingers crossed that's all we get. I'm ready for Spring!

That castle picture is beautiful! I'll have to show DSis- we both love Wishes and Tangled is her favorite!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

So sick of the snow! We've had flurries the past couple of days here in CT and I've got my fingers crossed that's all we get. I'm ready for Spring!

That castle picture is beautiful! I'll have to show DSis- we both love Wishes and Tangled is her favorite!

I'm definitely ready for spring as well - and we didn't get that much snow this winter especially compared to where you are. But the low temperatures have been bringing me down! I'm ready for the Cherry Blossoms!

 

[luckylady]

Pretty snow. I haven't seen any this winter and last week windows were open. Glad th kids had a little bit of playtime in it.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Pretty snow. I haven't seen any this winter and last week windows were open. Glad th kids had a little bit of playtime in it.

The snow did look good even if it didn't last long. Later in the day, it was just slop and slush.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

DW and the kids left for Ohio today to spend the rest of the week and Easter weekend with my in-laws. Originally, I was suppose to go as well but it turned out that it was my turn to cover the weekend at the hospital so I had to stay behind. To make the best of the situation, I decided to still take today, tomorrow, and Friday off and put together an itinerary for my staycation in our DC area. So here's what I was able to experience today!

After seeing off my family as they started their drive to Ohio, I drove and parked at the Metro station by our home. As I entered the station, saw a large group of people congregating in front of the ticket machines who I would bet were not locals. It's a familiar sight especially during mid-morning to midday hours at Metro stations. The automated machines are antiquated and very difficult to navigate especially for first time users. I remember being thoroughly confused the first time bought a ticket from these machines.


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Took the Metro over to the Federal Triangle Station in DC. I had made a lunch reservation at Central Michel Richards for 11:30am. The restaurant is located across the street from the Old Post Office Pavilion.


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I was one of the first guests to be seated. The pictures in the restaurant were taken by my iphone. Didn't have the heart to pull out my massive DSLR and draw attention.


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They tucked me waaaaaay in the corner being a solo diner. If I ever dine here by myself again, I think I'll take the bar seat as some of the other guests arriving at opening time did.

This was my first time here and the menu items were very interesting. A lot of the items on the menu were what most would consider American "comfort food" with a French twist. I had researched online and it appeared that the most popular dishes for lunch were Fried Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and the beef burger. First was the cheese puffs as the appetizer.


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It was excellent. Very fluffy and light. Still, the portion was a bit too much to finish all by myself and I believe I left behind 4-5 puffs. For the entree, I decided to go with the Fried Chicken and it didn't disappoint. Came with a small salad and a house honey mustard along with mashed potatoes. Soooo good!


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I was debating whether I had room for dessert when my server convinced me. I didn't think I had room for anything chocolate so went for the lemon tarts described in the menu as "eggtastic". You can see why in this picture as the presentation is in the form of a bird's nest!


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I was stuffed by the time the check arrived. I would absolutely recommend this place for lunch or dinner. I'm already looking forward to trying out their burger in the very near future!

It almost 1pm when I left the restaurant. Next up on my plans was the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Portrait Museum which were a couple of blocks away. On my way there, I walked past Ford Theatre and saw a very long line outside the house where President Lincoln passed away.


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Good ol Spring Break week. I don't think I've ever seen a line like this before. Also, tomorrow marks the beginning of the NCAA Basketball Sweet 16 games and DC is one of the regional sites so I'm sure that brought in extra crowds. Plus you have the Cherry Blossom Festival. And Easter weekend coming up.

I arrived at the American Art Museum which shares the building with the Portrait Museum. I was very excited because this was my first visit after living here for almost 5 years! With the kids, we frequently visit the museums more friendly and interesting to younger children like the National History or the Air and Space. In any case, I was ecstatic about spending a few hours here. As I walked in, one of the security guards instructed me to either wear my backpack in the front or carry it with my hand on the side. That was the first time I can remember where a museum had such a policy for backpacks. At first I thought it might be security related. But it turns out they were just trying to protect their exhibit items when folks turn around and accidently hit them with their backpacks. Just like at Disney when folks whack you with their large backpacks as they turn around in lines.

The building is absolutely beautiful. It was originally built in 1836 and served as the US Patent Office. The interior and the architecture alone is a good reason to visit this place. I went straight to the third floor as that's where the modern art exhibits were and found this beautiful hall and hallway.


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The exhibit hall that houses the modern art collection was also gorgeous. It's named Lincoln Hall after President Lincoln used it to greet guests to celebrate his (second?) inauguration.


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Some of the art work that caught my eye in this modern exhibit.


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*** Continued in Next Post ***

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

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The museum currently has a special exhibition on Nam June Paik's work but unfortunately they don't allow photography for any of their special exhibitions. All I can say is that it is really well done with a lot of background stories and pictures to go along with his art work. This one is part of the museum's permanent collection and was exhibited in the modern hall so I could take a couple of pictures.


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I spent a good couple of hours in the modern section. Just love it. I went back out to the main hallway on the third floor. This is one of the windows looking out. The building you see is the National Archives.


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I wandered over to the other side of the building and found the Luce Foundation Center for American Art. Once again, the interior architecture was beautiful.


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Let me just say that the collection they have just in this section rivals many other museums both in quantity and quality. It was really well done and impressive. After spending another 30 minutes here, I made my way down to the second floor of the museum.


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I walked over to the Portrait Museum side of the building and entered the Presidential Portrait Exhibit. The two museums weave in and out of each other so it actually feels like a single museum when you're actually inside and going through the exhibits. This exhibit of president portraits was another favorite experience of mine.

The famous George Washington portrait resides here.

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Around 3:45pm, I really needed to sit down and take a break so I grabbed a chair and a table in the atrium and just relaxed for about 30 minutes. The atrium ceiling.


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Afterwards, I went back to the American Art Museum and found their Civil War exhibit. This was another special exhibit so couldn't take any photos but I loved it. Around 5pm, I exited the museum and on my way out saw this which I thought was pretty clever.


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After one visit, the American Art Museum is now my favorite one in all of the DC museums. I can see myself going back a few more times and once the kids get a little older, will definitely have to start taking them there.

I had one more stop for the day planned for dinner at a restaurant called Rasika West End that serves Indian cuisine. This is a "spinoff" restaurant from the very highly rated Rasika located near the White House. The original Rasika is extremely popular so I was not able to snag a ressie. The West End was located a couple of blocks north of George Washington University so I took the Metro a few stops down and walked over to the restaurant. I was one of the first people to be seated, but the place filled out rather quickly by 6pm mostly with the pre-theater crowd for the nearby Kennedy Center. It had a very trendy interior.


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I knew ahead of time what I was going to order after researching the menu and what other people have said online. For the appetizer, I ordered the Palak Chaat which is what every single person online said was a must.


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It's a spinach dish with yogurt and other lovely Indian spices that I couldn't tell you the names of. What you can't tell from the picture is that the spinach leaves are actually gently fried and is crunchy! It was as good as advertised!

For the entree, I ordered a single Tandori Lamb Chop. I was still pretty full from my lunch outing so didn't think I could handle much more food. But the lamb chop was very well done. Very tender at medium rare. As I was finishing it, I was regretting not ordering a second one.


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Finally, for dessert I ordered the Apple Jalebi that comes with a side of cardamom ice cream. It was also very very good.


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I left the restaurant very satisfied. On my way to the Metro station, passed through Washington Circle.


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Arrived home a little after 8pm. Had such a great outing and now I need to head to bed. I'm planning on waking up at 4:30am in the morning and taking the Metro back out to DC to catch the sunrise at Lincoln Memorial!

 

[khertz]

Beautiful snow pictures! So so different than when we wake up to snow in Louisiana. It is usually a light dusting on the grass that melts when the sun comes up!

I can't WAIT to see the new Castle show! So excited to see the Tangled lanterns, my favorite scene from that movie!!

A DC staycation sounds so fun. When DH and I went in 2010, we weren't able to take a ton of time off, and we were driving over 2 days each way, so it didn't leave a lot of time to actually spend in DC. We were really only able to hit the main highlights. Unfortunately the Portrait Gallery got cut from the short list, and we also didn't make it into the National Archives, two things I would have liked to do. We did go to the Old Post Office though and got some photos from the top! That was one of my favorite things that we did, and it was a more spur of the moment type thing. I look forward to seeing your pictures of the Lincoln Memorial at sunrise! I'm sure that is a stunning sight to take in. Hopefully we can get back to DC one of these days, hopefully before Paxton is old enough to think it is "boring."

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Beautiful snow pictures! So so different than when we wake up to snow in Louisiana. It is usually a light dusting on the grass that melts when the sun comes up!

We had one of those during the three years living in Houston. The snow and ice was no where as exciting as trying to dodge the drivers on the road a lot of whom didn't know what to do!

I can't WAIT to see the new Castle show! So excited to see the Tangled lanterns, my favorite scene from that movie!!

I definitely like the new castle show a lot more than the old one. There's also a Wreck It Ralph projection too!

A DC staycation sounds so fun. When DH and I went in 2010, we weren't able to take a ton of time off, and we were driving over 2 days each way, so it didn't leave a lot of time to actually spend in DC. We were really only able to hit the main highlights. Unfortunately the Portrait Gallery got cut from the short list, and we also didn't make it into the National Archives, two things I would have liked to do. We did go to the Old Post Office though and got some photos from the top! That was one of my favorite things that we did, and it was a more spur of the moment type thing. I look forward to seeing your pictures of the Lincoln Memorial at sunrise! I'm sure that is a stunning sight to take in. Hopefully we can get back to DC one of these days, hopefully before Paxton is old enough to think it is "boring."

DW's cousin was in town for a conference a couple of weeks ago and asked us if there would be enough things to do when she brings her kids back for 3-4 days. I told her absolutely! In fact, one could easily plan out an entire week of activities including a couple of side trips. I think there's a lot of things for your DS here. You should absolutely let me know when you're putting together your trip to DC and would be happy to help out!

 

[afwdwfan]

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I love that!

Well, that is one of the Smithsonian museums I've never been in. I was in DC twice over the past year for about 2-3 days each time, and unfortunately didn't have time to see anything other than the Air & Space Museum both times and a night time tour of the monuments one evening. I think both trips I basically had a 2 or 3 hour window open one afternoon and the reason Air & Space won out was because it was like a half block from our hotel.

Truly though, I love DC and I've been out there a few times. 3 of the times I was traveling alone for work related trips so I kind of relate to your experience. Only I don't know my way around near as well, so I stuck mainly to things adjacent to the mall.

You're right about the Metro thing being confusing at first, but once you figure it out, it is a great transportation system.

 

[Harters2WDW]

DW and the kids left for Ohio today to spend the rest of the week and Easter weekend with my in-laws. Originally, I was suppose to go as well but it turned out that it was my turn to cover the weekend at the hospital so I had to stay behind. To make the best of the situation, I decided to still take today, tomorrow, and Friday off and put together an itinerary for my staycation in our DC area. So here's what I was able to experience today!

After seeing off my family as they started their drive to Ohio, I drove and parked at the Metro station by our home. As I entered the station, saw a large group of people congregating in front of the ticket machines who I would bet were not locals. It's a familiar sight especially during mid-morning to midday hours at Metro stations. The automated machines are antiquated and very difficult to navigate especially for first time users. I remember being thoroughly confused the first time bought a ticket from these machines.


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Surprised I am not in that photo -- my daughters and I were thoroughly confused buying our Metro tickets -- we come up often from Richmond, but it's just not an intuitive process!

Wow, it was busy in the city! We were up to see Indiana practice at the Verizon Center.

Great reports -- awesome photos!!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Well, that is one of the Smithsonian museums I've never been in. I was in DC twice over the past year for about 2-3 days each time, and unfortunately didn't have time to see anything other than the Air & Space Museum both times and a night time tour of the monuments one evening. I think both trips I basically had a 2 or 3 hour window open one afternoon and the reason Air & Space won out was because it was like a half block from our hotel.

I think the reason I hadn't visited the American Art Museum sooner are similar to yours. Air and Space is located conveniently along the mall with the other popular museums like American History and Natural History. Easy to find and convenient. American Art/Portrait is located several blocks up north right by Verizon Center.

Truly though, I love DC and I've been out there a few times. 3 of the times I was traveling alone for work related trips so I kind of relate to your experience. Only I don't know my way around near as well, so I stuck mainly to things adjacent to the mall.

There are still pockets of neighborhoods that I am discovering now. Yesterday and today I tried restaurants in the West End part of town - never knew there were all these luxury hotels and great restaurants clustered together in that area!

You're right about the Metro thing being confusing at first, but once you figure it out, it is a great transportation system.

I love the Metro as a whole. As long as the Dupont Circle escalators don't break down, it's all good.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Surprised I am not in that photo -- my daughters and I were thoroughly confused buying our Metro tickets -- we come up often from Richmond, but it's just not an intuitive process!

Wow, it was busy in the city! We were up to see Indiana practice at the Verizon Center.

Great reports -- awesome photos!!

Thanks! Got another update coming up later tonight from my sunrise/morning tour of the memorials.

Yes, the city is packed! Noticed again today.

I take it you're a Hoosier! I went to U of Minn, so during tournament time I become a Big 10 fan. This morning as I was visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, four guys who appeared to be from the Hoosiers basketball team walked by. Not sure if they were players or student assistants but I went ahead and wished them a good game tonight!

Yesterday, as I was waiting for my reservation time for dinner I was hanging out at the lounge of the Renaissance Hotel when the Miami team returned from their practice. Had no idea they were staying at that hotel.