Bunch of Brooks Bounce Back.... Third time's the charm! An August Trip Report for a Family of 13!

[BLAllee]

A little late, but followin along.

 

[canuckgirl]

We love Via Napoli! It is so reasonably priced for a sit down meal too! I try and go every trip when we are in Epcot! Although when it is just DH and I we like Le Cellier.

I agree with your assessment of the stores AC. It is non-existent. It could be the crowds, or it could be their way of saving a buck. I found even the busses were warmer than normal. I run cold so when I am comfortable on Disney transit I think I have a fever!

We have never been to Le Cellier, but it definitely is a bucket list restaurant for us!!

It was so strange with the AC and we've visited in August in the past and we never had a problem!

 

[canuckgirl]

DAY THREE, PART THREE: EPCOT

So after we left Via Napoli, we realised the absolute need for a big break in the middle of the day, and when we were at EPCOT it was just not easy to get back to the hotel. So we looked and found a lunch reservation for Chefs de France for the next day. Our last EPCOT day we already had booked a reservation for Beaches and Cream, so now all our EPCOT days were fully set!

We slowly made our way over to the land, and we rode Soarin' and LWTL.
Half of the group went on first while the others took the little ones to Nemo to look at all the fish. When the other half of the group went (mom, dad, Charlie, Eloise, and Juliet) and got into the line, someone ahead of them was hacking such a horrible gross cough, and they instantly left, no way did anyone want to be anywhere near that!!!!



After our rides, we did a bit of shopping, and Mom got the coolest crossbody bag!! She wasn't planning of getting one, but realised how convenient and useful they were, and when we were in the creations shop, she found one she loved! (and for the record, the creations shop is nowhere near as good Mouse Gear!!!) Here's the pic of the bag!



After shopping, it was around 8pm and so we decided to go and get some more food, and we wanted to check out our home and native land So we got to the Canada booth and we got the filet and the cheese soup with pretzel bun!! They were all super delicious, and the meat was super tender!



Then we went over to France for desert, to get some treats from L'artisan des glaces! We got the kids some cones, and the adults got the brioche ice cream sandwiches. Ethan got in last trip, and raved about how delicious it was and how much he loved it! I (Alicia) loved it too, but Mom and Dad did NOT like it at all, Mom said she didn't like that the bread was not sweet at all, and she felt like she was eating a regular dry bun stuffed with ice cream. It was dry and the ice cream was not super smooth, but a bit icy. Not her fav at all, which was one of the top items to try after waiting four years to come back!


Then it was time for us to head home, as the kids were getting tired. Finally, we're done with day 3!

 

[Minniemoo15]

Really enjoying this report, especially how you are navigating with a large group without Genie. We are going in a couple of weeks with a large group and I have been second guessing our decision to forgo genie some days but this is giving me some faith that it is possible.

 

[Counting Stars]

Glad to see that you are back! Enjoying your report and your pictures. Looks like Via Napoli was a great choice for your family. Thanks for sharing

 

[TheLittleKatie]

I've had this tab open on my laptop for the longest time, I've been dying to read!! Really enjoying your report so far, and hearing about how you navigated Disney with a big family, you are a super-mum! We may or may not be going shortly after our son turns 2 in about a year, I cannot wait

Can I ask - do any of your littlest ones have a sleep/nap schedule that you try to incorporate at all, or do you just go with the flow and hope they snooze in a stroller at some point? Our Ted is super with his schedule, but I'd quite like to not be beholden to it at Disney, it would be nice to stay out for fireworks occasionally!

Looking forward to more updates, thanks for sharing!

 

[canuckgirl]

Really enjoying this report, especially how you are navigating with a large group without Genie. We are going in a couple of weeks with a large group and I have been second guessing our decision to forgo genie some days but this is giving me some faith that it is possible.

We were overall happy with our decision to forgo Genie+, especially since you can't book all together, with such a large crowd (I think it's 10 or 12 is the max you can organize), and riding together as a whole group is *super* important to us! You'll see coming up that there was one day that we did regret not getting it

 

[canuckgirl]

Glad to see that you are back! Enjoying your report and your pictures. Looks like Via Napoli was a great choice for your family. Thanks for sharing

I swear one day we will finish this TR Via Napoli was an *AMAZING* choice for a large crowd, with delicious food!!

 

[canuckgirl]

I've had this tab open on my laptop for the longest time, I've been dying to read!! Really enjoying your report so far, and hearing about how you navigated Disney with a big family, you are a super-mum! We may or may not be going shortly after our son turns 2 in about a year, I cannot wait

Can I ask - do any of your littlest ones have a sleep/nap schedule that you try to incorporate at all, or do you just go with the flow and hope they snooze in a stroller at some point? Our Ted is super with his schedule, but I'd quite like to not be beholden to it at Disney, it would be nice to stay out for fireworks occasionally!

Looking forward to more updates, thanks for sharing!

We have *such* respect for you after we have been trying to write our own TR, we have no idea how you manage to do it, LOL!

At home, we have a regular routine with our kids as well, but at Disney we have to go with the flow for sure! Before this trip, we never took mid-day breaks. But Teddy and Winnie did *not* do well with a full day. Coming back to the resort for a nap and pool time ended up being the perfect break that we needed every day, and then usually we'd go back to the parks till close. It ended up working really well for us

I definitely would see how he reacts the first few days, and then go from there to see what kind of Disney routine works best for him! It will be *so* magical, and two is an amazing age for Disney!!

 

[canuckgirl]

DAY FOUR, PART ONE: EPCOT

After a rough morning yesterday, we learned our lesson and took it a bit easy first thing, and made SURE to have a BIG breakfast before we headed out, including the all important chocolate milk, haha!

Here's a look at our absolutely INCREDIBLE view outside our room!! Having a lobby room is definitely a must for us, walking out our door and seeing this was so magical!

So here's what we got for breakfast:
Roaring Breakfast Platter
Chicken and Waffles (no longer showing on the current menu)
Kids Mickey Waffles

The breakfast platter was DELICIOUS and a HUGE amount of food for the price! Would absolutely get this again! The cheese biscuit was nice and soft, and freshly baked. Eggs were standard Disney eggs, but still hot and yummy. Bacon was nice and crispy, and the potato hash was yummy, not too salty and the potatoes were soft inside and crispy outside. We liked the fact that it had the peppers in there too, it was different and delicious!

The chicken and waffles were good, but expensive for the amount of food that you got. As well as anytime you ordered chicken strips at roaring forks, it was a guaranteed 20 min+ wait, as they were fried to order. The maple pecan butter was delicious, but just didn't look so pretty, as it was separated (the maple syrup and the butter).

The Mickey waffles for the kids were a big hit, of course, and nice and hot and crispy! They loved them so much! It was Teddy and Winnie's first time having them!



Now that we were properly fed, we were ready to head out! It was mom's suggestion that we take the skyliner today! We took the bus to Hollywood Studios, as that was the quickest and easiest way to get to the skyliner, since the buses don't go to other resorts.




Again, the buses were *such* an easy and convenient way to get around from Wilderness Lodge! And the bus stop at WL is just absolutely beautiful!

We had been waiting for years to try out the skyliner, and it did not disappoint!! It was so fun, waiting in line and seeing all of the character themed gondolas going by, and trying to guess which one we would be riding! The kids thought that it was the best ride, and we found it was super smooth, and not overwhelmingly hot in August, as we had feared. Soon we were zooming our way over to EPCOT!

We entered at the International Gateway, which we had never done before! It was nice to walk in, and to already be in the World Showcase!! We also had some magic right away, as Chef Daisy was meeting right outside of World Traveler!



We were already hot, lol, and decided to head over to Japan for some Kakigōri! It was so sweet and refreshing on such a hot morning! We did not get it with the sweet milk topping, as we felt it was probably sweet enough already. To be perfectly honest, it is basically just shaved ice, but because it's at Disney, it's extra delicious and magical!



After this, we started to make our way over to Norway, for some Frozen fun!

 

[canuckgirl]

DAY FOUR, PART TWO: EPCOT

On our way to Norway, we couldn't resist making a pit stop at Karamell-Küche to sample the snacks that we have been seeing on YouTube for the past few years!
Here's what we got:


Caramel Chocolate Cookie. Honestly not my fav, it was kind of dry, and crumbly. If it had been warm I think I would have had a different opinion, but as it was, I wouldn't rush back to order it again.


Caramel Square with Dark Chocolate and Sea Salt. This was 10/10!!! The caramel was thick but still soft, and the chocolate was not too sweet and paired perfectly with the caramel! I can't go past Karamell-Küche without getting one!


Caramel Butter Bar. We both have two very different reviews of this, lol! Alicia loved it, finding it buttery and the caramel was nice and soft! But Mom hated hers that she got, finding that it was way too greasy, so much so that the bottom shortbread portion was clear . I guess it's a hit or miss thing?


Once we got to Norway, we got in line for Frozen Ever After, which had a posted 45 min wait. It went really quick, and we only waited 30 minutes! The kids all loved it so much, and it's a perfect family ride!


In the gift shop, Teddy asked for one of the only things he wanted this trip, which was an Elsa stuffie, which we already have at home. but that was his choice and she came home to join her twin.



And of course, no visit to Norway is complete without a photo with a troll!



After Norway, we headed to the Mexican food and wine booth, to try the Tostada de Barbacoa, which was a new item for this year! DEFINITELY 10/10, it was SO good!! The portion was super generous, the tortilla was nice and crispy and not oily, the meat wasn't fatty and was nicely flavoured without being too spicy. We meant to go back again, but there was too much good food at other booths we got instead!



We had seen the 360 pictures that you could get at the front of the park, and definitely made it a priority to get one. There was barely any line, with only 2 or 3 parties in front of us, and the picture turned out *so* nicely, that we would have happily waited longer for it! It was nice because it was one photo-op that works perfectly with a large group!



After the photo, we headed over to ride the FriendShip boat towards France for our reservation at Chefs de France!!!! I have to mention here, that we had bought Frogg Toggs for the whole family because *EVERYONE* said that they were a *must-have* for Disney in the summer, and that they worked incredibly well. This was a lie. They did not cool us down, and instead just made us hot and wet. There's also limited places to wash/rinse them out, and I very much disliked having to deal with a bag of wet rags at the end of the day!



Next up... our first time to Chefs de France!!!

 

[MickeyReeds]

Hello! I just found your report and started reading! You seem to manage so well with a big group--just kind of go with the flow! Can't wait to read more!

 

[canuckgirl]

DAY FOUR, PART THREE: EPCOT

This meal was one that we had never planned, however, after our first semi-disasterous day yesterday, we realised how important a midday break at a sit-down restaurant with AC was. So the day before, Alicia went onto the MDE app, and somehow managed to get a reservation for 13 at 4pm!!! Even though we hadn't planned to eat here, and it wasn't one of our first choices, it ended up being one of our FAVOURITE meals of the trip!!! We would go back every trip now!

Our waiter was incredible, but of course a year later, we don't remember his name anymore! He was from Sweden, and was super nice, funny, and helpful!

Once we were seated, had our delicious crusty bread, and had a look at the menu, here's what we had ordered.

The smallest kids ordered some of the Croquette de boeuf en brioche to share (we found Disney was super accommodating with small children sharing one meal!). The burger was a hit, there was a very generous amount of fries, and a ridiculous amount of ketchup, which Teddy, the ketchup king, loved .


Eloise decided he wanted the Blanc de poulet grillé and said it was super delicious!


Lily and Juliet shared the Gratin au macaroni, which they said was super creamy and cheesy, and one of the best Mac and cheeses they've ever had!


Ryan ordered the Plateau de fromages et charcuteries and he really enjoyed it! However, he wasn't a super fan of the pâtés that were included. He said he would definitely order it again, but that he did kind of want an entrée, since all of ours looked so good!


Alicia ordered the Filet de boeuf grillé, sauce poivre, gratin Dauphinoise, haricots verts, and it was super yummy! The steak was grilled perfectly, and the gratin was delicious!


Finally, Mom, Ethan, and Charlie all ordered the Boeuf Bourguignon. On the menu, it comes with Linguine, which is what Charlie got, but the waiter mentioned to Mom and Ethan that if you got it with the mashed potatoes instead, it was even better! This was an incredible entrée too, the meat was falling apart it was so tender!!


We absolutely loved this restaurant - the atmosphere was amazing, feeling fancy but not like you were out of place if you're not super fancy people, the food was all delicious! We weren't rushed at all, and it was the perfect time to take a break for the August Florida heat! It gave us energy to tackle the rest of our evening!

 

[canuckgirl]

DAY FOUR, PART FOUR: EPCOT

After Chefs de France, we headed over to Spaceship Earth, since the ride time was low. We we super happy to have the opportunity to ride this again, since it had been scheduled for a refurb before the pandemic, but then since it got pushed, we got the chance to ride this awesome ride in its original form one last time!! I hope that when it does get its makeover, they keep a lot of the original elements - it's just perfect the way it is already!


After that, we headed over to the aquarium because it started to pour, and we wanted to kill some time so the kids had some fun checking out the sea creatures!


Once we realised the rain wasn't stopping, we braved the weather to go over to the Ireland booth to try out the Warm Chocolate Pudding Cake with Irish Cream Liqueur Custard!


THIS. WAS. SO. GOOD!!!!!!! We regretted sharing, as we each wanted our own! It was super chocolatey, moist (not because of the rain ) and the custard on top gave it a really good flavour, and it wasn't a very strong alcohol taste. It was so good that we got it again on our last EPCOT day!

This is where we split up. Because we were staying Deluxe, we had access to the EMH, which meant that we also had the chance to get some spots in the VQ for GOTGCR. Only Alicia, Ethan, Charlie, Lily, Juliet, and Eloise wanted to ride, and so they went off over there. I (Alicia) was super scared to ride this, after all the horror stories of people getting sick, even if they're usually fine. I can usually handle rides and don't get sick (I am totally find on Mission Space Orange), but my FOMO was stronger LOL. SO we headed over, got in line, and OMG this ride was SO MUCH FUN!!!! I didn't get sick at all. Despite what he looks like in the photo, Eloise loved it too!




After guardians, we still had a bit of time before the park was closed, so we also ran over to Test Track, because of course! It's the best!!

The EMH are definitely worth planning your trip around, and making good use of them! We got to walk on both rides, with no waits! Then we headed over to the bus stop and headed back home after an amazing day!

The little ones were definitely tired, which was why we parted ways with the older kids. We had great timing and walked straight onto the Monorail... and it was the 50th one! So exciting We decided at the last minute to walk over to the Poly after getting off the monorail to grab some Dole Whip at Pineapple Lanai to end the night! We were cutting it close to closing, so we speed walked over there just in time! Walking around the Poly at night is just magical... it seriously feels like you are in a different world! It brought back great memories of our stay there in 2018!

I love that at Pineapple Lanai they have different flavours available all the time and tonight it was Lime! So Ryan got a Float with pineapple juice and lime soft serve:


He loved it and said it was perfectly tart and refreshing! I decided on the 50th Anniversary soft serve (pineapple & vanilla swirl) that came with a 50th chocolate medallion, a decorative umbrella and of course, earidescent sparkles! SO FUN! im such a sucker for a themed snack! haha!


The girls shared the same as me, but chose to have plain vanilla instead!



It really was the perfect ending to the night! Well, except for the fact that Mabel lost her Mickey ears that night! It happened between EPCOT & Wilderness, and despite filling out a lost item report at the Poly & the town hall and talking to the Monorail workers and boat skippers, it was never found!


UP NEXT: Winnie's 1st Birthday at Magic Kingdom!

 

[David G Farr]

I’m impressed with your traveling from that far with that many kids. It’s only a 6.5hr drive for us and we only have 3 kids but we flew (thanks credit card points) when we went in March 2022.

 

[canuckgirl]

I’m impressed with your traveling from that far with that many kids. It’s only a 6.5hr drive for us and we only have 3 kids but we flew (thanks credit card points) when we went in March 2022.

Flying is our plan for when we go on our Disney next trip, which will be Disneyland!!!!!!

 

[canuckgirl]

DAY FIVE, PART ONE: MAGIC KINGDOM

TODAY IS WINNIE'S FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!!!
We had purposely planned to spend today at MK, because it had the most rides that she could ride. And what better way to spend your first birthday, than at the most magical place on earth!
First thing in the morning, we had gone down to the front desk at WL to grab enough celebrating pins for all of us to wear to celebrate!


We had EMH this day, so we got ready, and we headed out to the boat dock before the sun had even risen! It was a beautiful ride as always to MK!


When we got there we took a photo of all the kids together outside of the translation, with the Mickey and Minnie and cake topiaries! What perfect timing that the 50th cake was there for Winnie's birthday!



Then we headed through the gates and went right over to PPF!


The queue line here is one of the best ones ever, it's so adorable and it kept the kids entertained during our wait! Until this trip, we had always had FP+ and never went through the regular queue! We also took advantage of the Disney Play app, and the kids had fun playing some of the games while we were in line. HOWEVER, we noticed that this ride was the absolute worst for how long the wait was because of how many Genie+ people they would let on before even letting a couple regular queue people go through. They would let 20+ people in the Genie+ line go through before 2 from the regular line, it was absolutely wild. AND one time, they held up the line, and while someone was walking through the whole line and turnstiles in the Genie+ line!! It was ridiculous and we should never had waiting that long during EMH when it was dead like it was!

Until now, we had yet to try Gaston's famous, epic cinnamon rolls! SO for breakfast, we all headed over to his Tavern. Now... we did not expect to witness an extremely traumatic experience so early in the morning, in the MK. But, I guess here we are. As we were walking up, Mom screamed, and pointed at the sign. Above the sign, where the keg is, a squirrel was DRAGGING IN ITS MOUTH, A GIANT. DEAD. RAT. It was trying to take it behind the barrel, but it wouldn't fit. So it just kept tugging and gnawing on it. It was SO GROSS! When we told the CM, they just kind of shrugged, then asked us what our order was.... So does that mean it's a regular occurrence???

Anyway, so we ordered our food, as for some reason, our appetites were not ruined, lol. We made sure to ask for the extra icing, which is a must! We got some coffee and waters too, and dug in! They were absolutely massive. Mom wasn't super impressed, because the outside was quite dry. I thought they were good, and the kids are, well kids and don't care, lol. You definitely need the extra icing, otherwise what's on it is barely anything at all. Nonetheless, it was a good breakfast that filled us up for the morning!


After breakfast, we went to ride Ariel, as we have some mega Ariel fans!


Then we made our way over to Tomorrowland because the kids wanted to ride Speedway, and it showed as a 5 minute wait. There's nothing more fun in the world, than a little kid getting to "drive" a car, and it's totally worth getting high off the fumes of the gasoline and the leg cramps you get from having to use all your force to push on the gas pedal

Once we were done there, the older kids went off to ride Space Mountain, and Mom and Dad took the little kids to the Peoplemover! The kids all love each other so much, as you can see by this lovely photo... right?

Teddy and Gus were getting on each other's last nerves here, lol!

Next up, lunch at Casey's and a fun new experience for us!!

 

[Mary Pops In]

I just found your TR and it's been fun to read both of your perspectives. Kudos to you for switching up your plans based on the needs of your family. I look forward to reading more.

 

[canuckgirl]

I just found your TR and it's been fun to read both of your perspectives. Kudos to you for switching up your plans based on the needs of your family. I look forward to reading more.

Thanks so much! Because Disney is so special to us, we try really hard to make the best of every situation, and if that mean having to change it up to avoid tantrums or to cool off/take a break, then that's what we did and it helped us have the best family vacation ever!

 

[canuckgirl]

DAY FIVE, PART TWO: MAGIC KINGDOM

After our fun on the people mover, we headed over back to the Hub to do the 50th magic shot they have with the castle! We had seen it online, and it had become a must do that we were so excited for! At this point, it was *very* hot, and *VERY* sunny, and as you can probably tell, Teddy was NOT having it, lol. I love the shot though, and it's such a great memento. It was great timing too, cause we just got to walk right up with no line!

Since we were all hot and getting a bit tired, the perfect solution was of course heading over to the Main Street Bakery for an iced Starbucks drink! Thankfully, I (Alicia) am a teacher, and had saved up all the gift cards I had gotten at Christmas and the end of the year for our trip, for all the adorable Starbucks Disney cups!


Since the Starbucks is always packed, and it was crazy hot outside, we wandered into the Crystal shop which is the perfect AC spot to sip on a drink, and to look around at all the beautiful statues and pieces they had on display!




When we finished our drinks, we headed out to go and do a new-to-us experience - the silhouette cuttings!
We had decided before we arrived that instead of doing a first birthday haircut (since Winnie had basically no hair), that we would do a first birthday silhouette! The lady who did the cutting was amazing, and super patient, and it turned out to be one of cutest souvenirs we've ever gotten! They had the family ones, but I doubt they'd've been able to fit all 13 of us on there, haha!

By this time, we were all starving, and decided that TODAY was THE DAY to head over to Caseys Corner and FINALLY try the infamous, amazing corndog nuggets that *EVERYONE* raves about! After getting our food, we headed over to the Tomorrowland Terrace to eat. Tomorrowland Terrace is actually one spot around Main Street that almost always has a ton of free spaces to accommodate a large family/group, and it thankfully has AC, even though it's open to the outside! It also has a bathroom inside, though it really is very small, and very gross/run down, and desperately needs a Reno!

Here's what we got to eat!
Walt's chilli cheese fries (a 50th special). This is definitely a 10/10!!!! Crispy fries, spicy chilli, melty cheese. Even though it doesn't look huge, it was definitely huge, and filling so it was easy to share!

Corn dog nuggets. Like a lot of people, we spent a lot of the pandemic watching Disney videos, and one thing that kept coming up over and over again was corn dog nuggets. We absolutely HATED these!!! We found them *INCREDIBLY* sweet, like we were eating candy. And for us, that just DOES NOT go with a greasy, salty hot dog! The combination was . Luckily, our 14yo loved them, and ended up having to eat all the servings since one else wanted to eat them, haha!



Casey's footlong hotdog. Simple, juicy, classic, bun was soft, 10/10!!

All in all, we still love CC, but we will stick with the hotdogs and chilli fries!!

After lunch, we saw that the line for BLSS was low, so we headed over there! It's a *great* family ride, because what's not to love?! AC, Toy Story, shooting game?!? It simply is the best! You can tell we're a competitive family, as some of us clearly got very into it





At this point, we were all getting hot and tired, and were ready to head back home to the WL to cool off, swim, and relax at the resort before heading over to our super special birthday dinner at Ohana!!!!