Buy One, Get Two Free: An October 2015 Report *updated 3/22*

[MnNsmom]

Nice travel day (although we could never go the whole time without stopping and spending a night). I do love that view in St. Louis (been a few times).

There's nothing better than seeing that sign.

I'm so glad you ended up hitting up MK and then getting to eat lunch at BOG.

Our June trips overlapped...I was there May 29 - June 6 on our "girls trip."

We timed it the way we did so the kids would sleep the majority of the drive, and they did, but it was hard on us. I'm really hoping for those parent teacher conferences to line up for us this year so we can stay the night somewhere, especially with an 18 month old. I knew it would be rough, but there were so many things I wanted to squeeze into that week!

BOG was hands-down our favorite QS.

Small world, huh? I wonder if any of our park days lined up?

 

[MnNsmom]

Day 1 part 2

When I left off we had just made it into BOG for lunch. Prior to the trip I kept wondering which room we should sit in. Well, I was worrying that one over for no reason because there was only one table available when we entered the ballroom and we grabbed it. As far as we could tell it might have been the only available table in the whole place! The restaurant is spectacular!

The boys really got a kick out of these guys.



We were eating within 10 minutes of being let inside and the food was really good. This was, by far, our best QS meal of the week. Naturally, I scouted the menu before we even left the house and told Matt he would be getting the steak sandwich and I would be getting the tuna nicoise so we could share. Matthew ordered the slow roasted pork and Nolan had a bit of everything. Everything was delicious, but the real standout was the steak sandwich. Matthew and Matt ended up switching plates because the pork was not his cup of tea, I think the flavors were a bit mature for him. I had the strawberry cream cheese cupcake, Matthew had the triple chocolate and Matt had the passion fruit puff. Again, they were delicious.

After lunch we hit a wall. The fatigue from the drive, full bellies, and a blazing Florida sun had us abandoning our Space Mountain return time of 2:20 in favor of a nap back at Pop.

Matt took a short nap and I went to get our resort mugs and some drinks while the boys watched TV in bed. When I got back with our drinks I rested for about 30 minutes, then it was time to get ready for our ADR here.

Boatwright's review

This was the one thing Matthew wanted to do since he loves Jambalaya and Crawfish! We loved POR and had a great dinner! I will write a little more about that in a separate post. Our plan was to drive to POR, have dinner, take the bus to MK and get our car on the way back to the resort for the night.
Naturally, it didn't work out quite that way.

At this point Matthew hit a wall and needed to rest and we had lots of left overs for Nolan, who slept in the stroller while we ate. I guess they were too wired to nap back at Pop, but were crashing hard. We took Matthew and the leftovers back to the room with the promise that we would come get him after he rested for a bit. Matt, Nolan, and I hopped a bus back to MK. Nolan loved the buses! In fact, I asked him if he was ready to go back to Mickey Mouse's house and he said "no, I wike-a da bus." We were just heading out on main street when Matthew called, he wanted to come back already. Sigh. I told Matt to take Nolan to ride some rides while I went to retrieve Matthew. I was a little annoyed, but I knew he was running on fumes, but was probably too excited to sleep. He later told me that he fell asleep for a little while after he called me because he knew it would take awhile for me to get back to Pop.

While I was fetching Matthew, Matt and Nolan had a great time!

They rode these twice each and did Mickey's Philharmagic!

(most of these are borrowed, I believe we were so tired we forgot about the camera, lol)

Nolan fell in love with Dumbo. It was his favorite ride.

Now we were ready to check out Space Mountain. Fast passes were gone, but the stand-by was 30 minutes. I got a rider switch while Matt and Matthew got in line. I took Nolan to get a drink and Wishes was starting! He was really enjoying it until the big booms, then he was done with it. He really doesn't like the sound of fireworks, so we went to the exit of SM to wait. We were waiting there for a very long time. I was starting to wonder if we had missed them while we were watching Wishes. A nice CM came over with a basket of buttons and asked if Nolan was celebrating anything (Matt and I had anniversary pins) and gave him a first visit button and one for Matthew. She was very sweet. Nolan loved his button! He still shows it to me every once in awhile and reminds me that he got it at Disney World. Finally Matt and Matthew got back and informed me that SM was down. They were almost ready to board when it broke down and waited a bit to see if it would be back up soon. Bummer.

We were disappointed, but we decided we would just head over to Splash and Big Thunder. We get there after dodging the parade and find that Splash is closed. Apparently Splash doesn't do EMH We then went straight to BTMRR. The stand-by said 20 minutes, but it was practically a walk-on. This time I took Matthew first and Matt went next. We loved it. We are season pass holders at Six Flags so we are used to big thrill rides, but not the extensive theming. We didn't find it all that thrilling, but it was so much more visually stimulating that what we are used to.

We overheard a man a his phone say that this was a walk-on.

It was getting late, but we had to check out POTC! We all enjoyed it. On our way out I got a Dolewhip float. I got a combo of orange and pineapple and it was not for me. I will have to try the original next time.

We were on our way toward Main Street when I realized we hadn't gotten a single PP picture, so we stopped for this.

Can you tell we were tired?



At this point it was midnight! We got on the bus and it was packed! Matthew got the last seat and let Nolan sit on his lap for awhile, then Nolan wanted me to hold him while he fell asleep on my shoulder. At this point Nolan was 40 pounds and 39 1/2"! Just too short for Splash, which I think he would've loved considering his love of the log flume at Six Flags. Fortunately, that was the only time I had to stand and hold Nolan for the whole trip. We got back to Pop and crashed hard.

It was a very long day. Lesson learned! We will not step foot in a park before resting and having dinner first on our next trip.

Up next: Day 2--Epcot​

 

[MnNsmom]

Day 1: Boatwright's

Dislaimer: Most if not all of the pictures will be from the internet. We didn't take food pics.

As I said, Matthew really wanted to eat at Boatwright's and I read a lot of reviews saying it was a true hidden gem. We drove over there thinking we would hop a bus straight to MK afterwards and grab our car on the way back. We found POR pretty easily, showed the guard our ID and found a parking spot. Originally, I was thinking of booking POR or CBR and went back and forth a lot. I finally decided to go with Pop and add a day to our reservation. I don't regret that extra day at all, but when we got to POR I was really wishing we were staying there.

We loved the theming.

We got there about 4:50 and checked in a few minutes before they started seating people.

10 minutes later we were being led to our table near the fireplace.

I'm pretty sure most of Disney is gorgeous, but I found this restaurant to be particularly charming. It definitely had a casual, relaxing feel.


Our server was lovely, I wish I could remember her name. I ordered a sweet tea, Matt had water, and Matthew opted for a Dr. Pepper. We were on the dining plan, but we really wanted the fried crawfish appetizer and decided to order it.

It was really good. They were cooked perfectly, crispy outside that wasn't greasy and the actual crawfish were tender. The remoulade was also really good. There was also plenty to share. The 3 of us enjoyed them while Nolan enjoyed a nap in his stroller.

We were also brought this.

The cornbread is a little sweeter than I am used to, but we really enjoyed it. It was moist and not too sweet. We packed some up for Nolan later.

Before I tell you about our entrees I want to preface this by saying we don't go to steak houses anymore. Over the years we have found a good meat market and perfected the art of making a great steak at home. We find chain steak houses to be overpriced and underwhelming.

When I booked this Matthew was stoked as he loves Cajun food. He was excited they had gumbo and jambalaya....he ordered the NY Strip

​

• 
  
  
  • 
    Grilled New York Strip - Brandy-Peppercorn Glace with Yukon Gold Potatoes, Arugula, and Balsamic Vinaigrette - $29.99

• 
  
  
  • 
    
    

Matt ordered the same and they loved it! He said the potatoes were nothing special, but they were good and the steak and peppercorn sauce were drool-worthy.

This was my entree.

​

• 
  
  
  • 
    Slow-roasted Prime Rib - with Horseradish Mashed Potatoes and Red Wine Demi-glace - $31.49

• 
  
  
  • 
    
    

Unfortunately, that is the best picture I could find. I remember mine looking more appetizing but it was phenomenal. I have a love/hate relationship with prime rib. I love how tender and juicy they are, but sometimes they lack seasoning or the outer crust is super salty and the inside is underseasoned.

This was well seasoned and the demi-glace was amazing. Seriously. And the horseradish mash was a nice accompaniment to the steak and a nice spin on traditional horseradish sauce.

This was my favorite entree of the trip.

Matthew couldn't finish his so he asked for a box and ordered the no sugar added lemon pound cake for Nolan to have later. I had the bread pudding and Matt had the creme brulee. The bread pudding is seasonal and mine was sweet potato. I love sweet potato, but it was nothing special. It looks like the brulee isn't on the menu anymore. This was Matt's first taste of brulee and he became a big fan. I think he ordered brulee at every meal.
​

• 
  
  

When Nolan woke up hungry later that day he really enjoyed the left overs we had for him, especially the corn bread.

Nolan: "I wike-a dis cheesecake."

Me: "No, it's called corn bread."

Nolan: "I wuv this corn cake."



Overall this was a very good meal and easy to snag an ADR if you are planning on short notice. We will be back. Matt specifically asked me to book this one again. I let him think it was his idea, but I already had it on the list As I said, this was my favorite entree of the trip and the only reason I'm hesitant to call it my favorite meal is because another place had an entree that was a close second but had a MUCH better dessert.
​

 

[MnNsmom]

Arrival Day

So we learned a few things from our last arrival day 1) We will not be doing a full park day. 2) We should probably avoid Magic Kingdom on Saturdays. 3) Boatwright's is a must do for us. 4) We will likely have a hard time staying away from the parks for the entire day.

So the plan is to arrive early on Saturday the 24th with a request to check in early. Then relax during the day and maybe hit the pool if we get antsy.

Then we will head here for a 5:00 dinner.

There really isn't a better day to do this as I'm planning on trying WPE or Earl of Sandwich when we head to DTD. Plus, going by 2014 free dining dates there is a good chance our arrival day will be blacked out if free dining is offered. If that day is blacked out we can check in at POR on our arrival day, have dinner and move over to CBR the next day. If that's the case, I will just pack a single bag with all the stuff we will need for that day and leave everything else in the car.


After dinner we will head here.

It will be a little weird without the hat. But we love this park.
Last visit we decided it would be a 2 day park for us. But we will only be there for 7 park days and with 2 little ones (we weren't expecting Brady when we made that plan) it just doesn't make sense to use 2 whole park days.

Plus there are 4 main reasons we love it. 1) TSMM 2) ToT 3) RnR 4) Fantasmic!

That's where FP+ becomes handy.

I'm hoping to meet these guys without much of a line as it will be toward the end of their set.

FP+ this ride.

I'm still going back and forth between that and TSMM, but one will be this night and I will FP+ the other for our HS day. The Buzz and Woody meet will be for Nolan, so I was thinking I would do RnR for me and the guys.

But I will also do a FP+ for this.

Then head here.

I will also bring noise canceling headphones for the littles just in case.

Unfortunately, Fantasmic was rained out on our first trip and we never saw it. But the 2 minute teaser they do was phenomenal! I want 2 shots at seeing it this time around. This plan also gives us a chance to do some of our favorite rides without devoting 2 park days to HS. So this plan will let us have some fun for a few hours, but we should still be back to the resort at a decent time. Of course, there is a good chance something will change or I will change my mind, but that's the fun part. Right? lol

​

 

[collcass]

Hi and to my first pre-trip report, or any kind of report actually. I look forward to meeting more DISers and thank you for reading. My name is Crystal and I’ve been a lurker since the planning days of our first trip in June of 2013, and have recently started participating in some discussion. Confession: when I first started reading trip reports, I dug around to find all the complete ones to binge read all the details—patience is not one of my strongest traits. Because I mostly read completed reports, I never commented much because it just seemed kind of weird to comment on the details of a trip that was so long ago, especially since I would read the past reports some link in their siggys…we’re talking trips from years past!

Anyhow, let’s get down to business! You are probably wondering about the title of this PTR, if not humor me for a minute We have a new trip booked for October, 2015! I am beyond thrilled, but then I started with the obsessive planning (that’s normal, right?) and realized the best place to start was to revisit the details of our last trip to remember what we loved, what wasn’t terribly important, and what we had missed. As I was digging through the pictures and memories I had jotted down, I realized that some of you might enjoy those details and they would help make sense of the planning process of this trip. Yep, I know that’s only 2 for the price of 1, but I am a food lover and obsess over ADRs. As I was reading through my past notes I realized that this could totally be a PTR, mini TR, and a dining review sans pictures. But that’s what Google Image is for, right? So there you have it, 3 for the “price” of one. This will be a PTR, mini TR of our 2013 trip, and a dining review of sorts!


Trip Details
When: October 24-31
Who: Myself and my husband, Matt, and our 3 boys Matthew 13, Nolan 5, and Brady who will be 1 1/2 .
Where: Caribbean Beach Resort Standard room


Intros
Like I said, my name is Crystal and I am a stay-at-home-mom, full time student working toward a dual degree in Elementary Education and K-12 Special Education, and a Disney addict. I also love to read and watch baseball. We are die hard St. Louis Cardinals fans in this house! My favorite Disney movie is Oliver and Company, but I love most of them.

This is me on an evening cruise in Chicago.
View attachment 80782
Matt, my husband of almost 11 years, although we have been together for 15 years now!
He is an awesome dad and works as a pipe fitter/welder. He isn't as enamored of Disney as I am, but he adores seeing the kids' reactions. He also plays softball and coaches our oldest's baseball team. His favorite Disney movie is Lady and the Tramp.

I forgot to dig up pics of Matt and myself when I was digging up pics of the kids...typical. But here is one of us on our wedding day as it was handy.
View attachment 80783

Matthew is our oldest and will be 13 before we leave for our trip. He is a parent's dream, honestly. He is mature, responsible, intelligent, respectful, and empathetic. I think this is why we thought it was a good idea to have two more, but we will talk about them soon He also really enjoys watching and playing football and is OBSESSED with baseball. All of it. I think the MLB channel has been playing in my living room for at least an hour everyday for the last year and a half. His favorite Disney movies are A Goofy Movie and the Monsters movies.

This is what he looks like most of the time.
View attachment 80785

That's better!
View attachment 80786
And this is him looking too darn grown. Yep, I took a picture of a framed picture, but figured it was OK if redneck ride pics are OK.View attachment 80787


Next is Nolan, who will be 5 for our trip. He is nothing at all like Matthew, but that's not a bad thing. Matthew takes after me and is very reserved, but Nolan lives it up! He hasn't met a person he wasn't interested in meeting or an experience he wasn't interested in trying. He LOVES trying new things and is pretty fearless. He's very sweet and thoughtful, but is also VERY vocal when he's displeased. Nolan is a riot and so much fun to be around, except when he's making us beat our heads against the wall. Did I mention that he is headstrong? His favorites are Lilo and Stitch, Toy Story, and Toy Story 3.

Here are some pictures of Nolan.
View attachment 80788
View attachment 80790

This one pretty much represents Nolan. Life is a party and fashion is subjective. Nolan has strong preferences in what he wears.

View attachment 80789
And last but not least, Brady. We call Brady our bonus baby because, frankly, he was a surprise. Brady is almost 1 already He will be about 18 months when we are in Disney. I know this is a cliche, but it is so true. I cannot imagine our lives without Brady. He is such a joy to all of us. He's the perfect mix of Matthew and Nolan; he's laid-back and easy-going, but he is always laughing and smiles at everyone. Both of my older boys were total Mama's boys, but Brady loves his whole family. He lights up and reaches for his Dad and brothers just as often as he reaches for me Brady doesn't have a favorite movie yet, but he LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!

This is right before I broke down and trimmed his hair. Look how long the top is! He would make a pretty girl...
View attachment 80792
And Brady says hi.
View attachment 80793

Whew! That was longer than I thought it would be. If you are still reading, I appreciate it and the rest will be a little more interesting!

Up next: Struggling to choose a date.​

Joining in for the ride....I will be at CBR the same time as y'all. I'm taking our "bonus baby", jackson for a quick trip (& leaving the rest of the crew home)

 

[MnNsmom]

Joining in for the ride....I will be at CBR the same time as y'all. I'm taking our "bonus baby", jackson for a quick trip (& leaving the rest of the crew home)

Colleen! Thanks for following along. Maybe we will run into each other. How old is Jackson? I love the profile picture.

 

[MnNsmom]

Day 2 Epcot

The plan for today was to hit Epcot at rope drop and come back to the room for a midday break, then spend the evening in World Showcase. That's not what happened, lol. Fortunately, I decided to scrap the touring plans before we even got there because not much went as planned. However, I knew we needed to get to Soarin' as soon as possible. I managed to get up, shower and lay out everyones clothes and fill our resort mugs before I woke Matt and the boys. We did OK on time and managed to get to the bus stop by 8:40. As we were walking to the bus stop I thought we were in pretty good shape as Epcot is not far from Pop. Then we saw the line! We finally boarded the third bus right around 9.

When we got to Epcot we stopped for a quick picture of this.



Then we hustled to Soarin'. The stand-by was already 50 minutes, so we grabbed some FPs and walked right on Living with the Land. We all enjoyed it. I was kind of surprised that Matthew really liked it and said he would ride it again.







Next up was the Nemo ride. Of course Nolan and I loved it, and Matt and Matthew said it was better than Under the Sea, lol.







When we exited Nemo we checked on Turtle Talk, but the next show was not starting for awhile. We took lots of pictures of the small aquariums and went back to the land to have a meal at Sunshine Seasons. Matthew got the breakfast platter, Matt got fish, I think it was Mahi Mahi, and I had the turkey sandwich and pasta salad. For dessert I had the key lime cheesecake and Matt got a fruit cup for the little guy. As always, Nolan had a bit of everything.This was a good, fresh meal and the cheesecake was awesome.

I love this picture.



By now it was just after 11 and I wanted to hit Three Caballeros and Maelstrom. We made it to Mexico and walked on the ride. Matthew liked it so much he asked to ride it again, so we went right back on.

It's hard to get good pictures on this one.





We saw this on the way into WS, but I didn't want to wait for the other family and just took a pic with them in it, lol. Nolan kept pointing and yelling "mama, daddy, brudder...YOOK!"



To be continued.​

​

 

[MnNsmom]

Epcot part 2

We got the boys' passports stamped in Mexico and made our way to Norway. Sadly, Maelstrom was broke down, but we got a few pics and traded a few pins. It wasn't long before Matthew and Matt really got into the pin trading. They loved it.

I forgot to post my Mexico picture. I guess I will try and limit it to one per country because of the picture limit.



And Norway.


We got the boys' passports stamped in Norway and the boys and I found a bench to sit on outside of the Showcase while Matt ran to get us Test Track FPs. They were gone and it was only 12:30! We then decided to FP Mission: Space Orange and I took Nolan to the restrooms near Soarin' while Matt and Matthew waited in the single rider line for Test Track. We met back up just in time for our Soarin' FPs. Neither of them were impressed with Test Track, but Matthew loved the cars outside the ride.

Matt and Matthew went first and thought it was really cool. Next it was my turn to ride with Matthew. We were here when I realized my mistake.


Our fastpasses for Soarin' conflicted with Mission: Space, so I had a decision to make. I am not a fan of heights and I was really looking forward to MS, so I skipped Soarin' knowing we would come back to Epcot on Thursday.

We made the trek back to MS and this time I rode first and Matt did the rider switch. We all really enjoyed this. The G force was pretty intense, but I don't know that all the warnings were warranted. Nolan was really patient with all the waiting and we wanted to do something he might enjoy, so we decided to ride Spaceship Earth. We were almost on the ride, like 5 people ahead of us, when it broke down. Nolan was pretty upset. He was reaching for the ride saying "my turn, too...please, please, my turn too." Poor little guy.

It must have been 3:30 or 4 by now and we had a 5:00 ADR at Chefs de France. We made our way back to the showcase and got the passports stamped in America and Japan on our way to France. At this point we had decided to try and do the whole showcase today.



I wanted to get a photopass pic in France, but a storm was brewing and the photographer was leaving as we got there I did get this though.



Chefs de France review​

It was after dinner when we realized we were not going to finish WS today. My feet were killing me. I wore cheap flip flops thinking we would come back and change during our midday break that never happened. We decided to head back to the room and catch up on some sleep, but first there was one more thing we had to do.

Nolan still needed to ride this.

He was such a good boy all day and he was really sad when it broke down the first time. This time we got right on and we all really enjoyed it. When they showed us our future at the end, Nolan was imitating the awkward hand movements from the screen. It was really cute. We quickly caught a bus and went back to our room. Matt and Nolan went to bed while Matthew and I went here.

Matthew really enjoyed this and asked if we could come back the next night.

Up next: Hollywood Studios



​

 

[collcass]

Colleen! Thanks for following along. Maybe we will run into each other. How old is Jackson? I love the profile picture.

Thanks,Crystal. That photo was from 2013. Jack just turned 2.

 

[KatMark]

I'm back, Colleen (got a bit behind again).

I would have been exhausted too (I'm afraid that's how I'll be feeling on my arrival day in May).

I'm so glad you had a good meal at Boatwright's. We ate there once and it was one of the three top worse meals we've ever had at Disney and swore we'd never go back. Sometime maybe we will give it a second chance.

That fish picture is gorgeous.

What a lovely Epcot Day...except for the breakdowns of the rides.

I'm glad Nolan finally got his ride on Spaceship Earth.

 

[MnNsmom]

I'm back, Colleen (got a bit behind again).

I would have been exhausted too (I'm afraid that's how I'll be feeling on my arrival day in May).

I'm so glad you had a good meal at Boatwright's. We ate there once and it was one of the three top worse meals we've ever had at Disney and swore we'd never go back. Sometime maybe we will give it a second chance.

That fish picture is gorgeous.

What a lovely Epcot Day...except for the breakdowns of the rides.

I'm glad Nolan finally got his ride on Spaceship Earth.

That's a shame. We enjoyed Boatwright's so much I'm afraid it won't live up to our expectations next time.

Me too. The poor kid had been so patient all day, and he loved the ride.

 

[MnNsmom]

Chefs de France

We got here just before the skies opened up. It was a down pour!

We were seated a few minutes after checking in. Our waiter was ridiculously gorgeous. He told us he was brand new and that's why his accent was so strong. He was a bit difficult to understand. Did I mention he was easy on the eyes? I should have gotten a picture.

I decided to go with the prix fix because I wanted some of this.

It did not disappoint. We all dipped our baguettes in it. So tasty.

For my entree I went with this.

Plat de côtes de boeuf au Cabernet (Beef Short Ribs)
Beef short ribs braised in Cabernet with polenta

The polenta must be new, mine came with egg noodles.

The short ribs were good, but a bit simple. I love beef and mushrooms, so I enjoyed it, but if you are not big on beef or mushrooms, this is probably not the dish for you.

Matt's choice.

Filet de boeuf grillé (Grilled Tenderloin of Beef)
with green peppercorn sauce, original potato gratin of Savoy and green beans

He loved this. He said the steak was well seasoned and perfectly cooked, but the sauce was fantastic. He would order this again if we went back.

Matthew ordered
Bouillabaisse de fruits de mer (Seafood Platter)
Seared scallops, shrimp and mahi-mahi served in a saffron broth with fennel and potatoes

Matthew's absolute favorite food is scallops and this was a big hit. He said it was amazing. In fact, he asked if we could come back to that same restaurant later in the week

Matt's dessert.
Fresh strawberry and cream cake
with raspberry sauce and strawberry sorbet

He really enjoyed this. He said that it was pretty light and not overly sweet.

Matthew and I both had the profiteroles, but I don't see them on the menu anymore.

I had read that people loved these, but I didn't think they were anything special. Not bad at all, just nothing special. It's also difficult for me to chew ice cream because my teeth are sensitive to cold so that may affect my opinion.


Overall this was a very good meal and we would go back again, but it's not a must do for us.

​

 

[MnNsmom]

225 Days!

Is it October yet? Fortunately, this report is helping me pass the time. That and I have plenty of school work and household chores to keep me busy. Plus, sports have officially resumed. Nolan's first spring soccer practice was today and he has his first game Sunday. It's a good thing the kids all played together last fall! Then Matthew's first baseball practice is next week, oh and I volunteered to be team manager and Matt is assistant coaching. Fortunately, the head coach is pretty organized and a good communicator. *Look away, Kathy* They chose to be the Cardinals and will be using our home game hats to avoid another printing fee, which Matthew is thrilled about. By the time baseball wraps up football practice will have already begun, then we head right into the Fall soccer session for Nolan! Naturally, Brady will tag along for most of this barring extreme weather. Although, he did attend a few cold games last year.

I was using a linen wrap to carry him and zipped my coat over both of us. We both stayed warm that way.


We did the same thing for the frigid Super Bowl game. That was such a wet snow Brady was the only one of us who stayed warm.

But I digress. We got our Mickey Mail last week! And we already customized our Magic Bands.

Matthew chose pink, which is his favorite color and drives Matt nuts, lol. Nolan chose orange, and I got these for them both.

Magic Bandits

Brady's will be green with these.

Our ADR date is April 27th.
And FP+ is August 25th.

And I think park hours will be announced soon, so I will finalize our park days then!


​

 

[KatMark]

I'm so glad you enjoyed Chefs de France. It has become a yearly or every other visit place for us. And looking at the three meals you posted, I can't decide which one I want (I've done the soup and ham sandwich the last couple of times). Oh yes...the staff there is very easy on the eyes.

I remember the days of youth sports. And I don't miss it. Okay, I shouldn't say that. I miss visiting with the other parents, watching the kids, but I don't miss sitting in the cold, rain or snow. And I'm just skipping over what team you will be.

Great attachments for the Magic Bands.

We get to make our dining April 21 and our FP+ on August 19.

 

[MnNsmom]

I'm so glad you enjoyed Chefs de France. It has become a yearly or every other visit place for us. And looking at the three meals you posted, I can't decide which one I want (I've done the soup and ham sandwich the last couple of times). Oh yes...the staff there is very easy on the eyes.

I remember the days of youth sports. And I don't miss it. Okay, I shouldn't say that. I miss visiting with the other parents, watching the kids, but I don't miss sitting in the cold, rain or snow. And I'm just skipping over what team you will be.

Great attachments for the Magic Bands.

We get to make our dining April 21 and our FP+ on August 19.

They were all really good. I thought this was going to be a must-do for the guys, but Matt wanted Boatwrights and Matthew's must-do was The Wave. It's hard to turn down the prix fix on the dining plan because that soup was so good!

For the most part I really enjoy the sports, but it becomes exhausting, especially last year when Brady was still nursing several times a night.

The kids are excited about those. I originally ordered the Nightmare Before Christmas for Matthew and Toy Story for Nolan, but Nolan wanted to have the same a Matthew. I should have known better, he worships his big brother But it worked out because I didn't think Brady would get a band, so he inherited the Toy Story ones


I still have to finalize my dining plans. Strangely I have one more ADR to choose, but we will be there during Food and Wine and doing MNSSHP one day, so I'm hesitant to schedule ADRs those days. I'm sure I will wish I could schedule a few more before I'm done.

 

[MnNsmom]

Day 3 Hollywood Studios

Sorry it's been so long since I updated! I actually began this update several days ago, but for some reason the pictures wouldn't load...frustrating. This is the first chance I've had to try again.

I knew Matt and Matthew were going to love HS and I told them they had to be up and ready to go early this morning. We did better today and made it to the bus stop a little earlier than previous days. We were first in line today, but it took forever for a bus to come. It was almost 9:00 when a bus got there and a quite a line was starting to form, but there was another bus right behind the first. It was a very short trip to HS and the plan was for Matt and Matthew to grab FPs for RnR then wait for ToT while I took Nolan to TSMM. Matt had my KTTW card so he could grab me a FP, too. I practically ran to TSMM, but the wait was already an hour and I couldn't get FPs because Matt had our KTTWs We were supposed to meet back up outside ToT, so Nolan and I stopped to grab a drink then waited outside ToT.

We did stop for these on our way to ToT.





We didn't have to wait long for Matt and Matthew and it was now time for our RnR fastpasses. I went first so I could take Nolan back to TSMM for FPs. Rockin' Roller coaster was great, but the take off is pretty intense, and the guys loved Tower of Terror! Matthew said his top three rides at this point were ToT, RnR, and Three Caballeros in Mexico, . Kid really loved that ride. I'm not even sure what makes him love it so much, but I never would've expected that. Matthew is typically all about the fastest, highest, most intense rides, so I didn't see that coming. Yesterday he told me he couldn't wait until he was 18, I asked why fearing that he might want some silly tattoo. Don't get me wrong, I have 4 tattoos, and have no issues with them, but Matthew is 12, so I was expecting him to say he wanted a Regular Show or Clarence tattoo. Nope, I was dead wrong...kid wants to go skydiving, which my husband is also dying to do. But if you recall I have an intense fear of heights, I would even go so far as to say it might be a phobia as it's definitely not rational. I'm still not sure which is worse, my kid jumping out of an airplane or getting a tattoo of a ridiculous cartoon, but I think I would prefer the tattoo. Good thing I have 5 1/2 years until he is 18!

Nolan and I ran back to TSMM, well it was a very brisk walk, and the return time was already 8:00! It was only like 11 am. I told Matt to meet us at Starring Roles. I grabbed a red velvet cupcake (yummm!) and got the Butterfinger cupcake for Matthew. Butterfingers are his favorite candy and I knew he would love it, but wasn't sure what Matt would want because we were on vacation, but he had been doing a pretty intense diet and workout routine before we left home. I wasn't sure if he would want to splurge on a yummy confection or go with something a little healthier. They found us right as I was making a small plate for Nolan, he got a bit of each. Matt ended up getting a parfait. While he was gone a lady stopped and asked if there were just the three of us, and I said yes. She then gave me TSMM FPs for 6:05 PM! This really made my morning. We were all tired from the madness that was the previous 3 days and I was getting really discouraged with the wait times and fastpass situations. This bit of from a random stranger really cheered me up!

We were all exhausted and we had the F! dinner package, meaning we had an early dinner. We decided to head back to the room and sleep! On our way out we stopped for some photopass pics. You can see how tired Nolan was. He was content in the stroller and we just left him in it. He had slunk down so low that the seat cover was slipping down with him.





We got right on a bus. When we got back to Pop we had QS lunch from the food court and we all settled in for a long nap!

To be continued.​

​

 

[MnNsmom]

Day 3 continued

I should probably mention that by day 2 Matt was saying we might come back in a couple of years. This was a happy surprise because he wasn't too impressed with any of the rides, except Tower of Terror. He was loving Disney World, especially the dining and the buses, and the reactions from the kids.

We all had much needed naps and caught a bus back to HS. We only had a few minutes until our reservation, so the kids and I headed to Mama Melrose and Matt ran to get ToT FPs for all of us. I read a lot of negative reviews of Mama Melrose, but I wanted the F! package, and nothing else sounded too appealing to us. I also read a lot of good reviews and a good friend who I met on an online parenting forum (she's Disney obsessed, too) and a friend at my now former workplace said Mama Melrose was fantastic-- Mama's it is.





The theming was pretty cool.

Mama Melrose review here.​

Before our trip I made the boys autograph books, but Matthew said he really wasn't interested in meeting characters, except maybe Max, Goofy's son Max that is. I told him it was OK, but he shouldn't hold his breath for Max. As far as I knew Max wasn't meeting anywhere in the parks.

It was almost time for our gifted TSMM fastpasses , so we made our way toward it and we saw Stitch and Smee with Capt. Hook! Matthew was helping me find the right pages in Nolan's autograph book when he yells "MOM!! IT'S MAX!!!" He didn't just yell in excitement, there was raw emotion in his voice. I've never seen the kid move so fast . He had that book out and open to the right page in no time.



I think I mentioned in the introductions that Matthew is very reserved, stoic even. I know he doesn't look excited in this picture, but trust me he was just trying to score that autograph while he had the chance. And I think he was a bit apprehensive, like Max might say no or run off before he got to him.






He relaxed more once he got that signature, but it was really bright out.



I can't even tell you how magical this moment was for Matthew and me. Sadly, Matt was in the bathroom at the time. My too-cool preteen was transformed into a little kid again, and I loved every moment. After we said goodbye to Max, Matthew started looking at this autograph book a little more closely and mentions that he does really like the chipmunks.


We couldn't believe our luck with meeting Max and felt incredibly lucky. Since Matthew was now interested in meeting the chipmunks, I was mentally planning to meet them at Magic Kingdom or Epcot later that week. Lo and behold Dale comes up from behind us! I kid you not. Matthew handed him his book and Dale shook his head no and gave the book back, then turned and walked away! Matthew asked why he didn't sign. I took a look at the book and realized he had it open to the Chip page. I said he was probably offended, . Matthew RAN back up with the book opened to the correct page and Dale signed it. In his defense, Matthew said he didn't realize they each had a page and just went to the first chipmunk page he saw.




We were really starting to feel like we had been sprinkled with a ton of pixie dust at this point. Then more characters were coming our way! We saw Geppeto, Green Army men, and a couple of others. Then Pocahontas and Meeko came through. Meeko was searching my kids for biscuits, according to his handler, . He came right over and pretended to search my kids. Then we saw Minnie Mouse! Nolan asked her "where's Mickey?" Belle came skipping by (Nolan loves her, especially her voice) and said they were on their way to Fantasmic! and we should come see them there. She also told Nolan that Mickey would be at Fantasmic!

This was so magical and unexpected. The characters were all going behind this gate and we were wondering what was going on before Belle informed us. She was a perfect Belle, too. We just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Matt caught up with us right after Max so he did see all the characters, but we were so caught up in the moment and fiddling with our autograph books that we didn't get more pics. Oh well, the ones with Max are priceless to me.

Oh! I forgot to mention what happened back at Pop during our midday break. Back story: Matt and Matthew were really into the pin trading by now. I traded in Epcot our second day and got a really cool Disneyland one with a purple background and Jack Skellington. At some point Matthew found the old woman witch from Snow White and traded me for the Disneyland pin. Sadly, the pin fell off Matthew's lanyard and we never found it.

During our break at Pop earlier in the day Matthew traded from the pin board. The lady said you can only trade once from the pin board. Matthew was a bit disappointed and told the lady about his lost pin. He chose one, wished the lady a nice day and went back to the room. When I went to trade for myself and Nolan she said "you know what, he was such a polite young man, give him this pin" and pulled a locking back out of her pocket for the pin, so he wouldn't lose it. She gave me the other Jack Skellington that Matthew was pining for. He was thrilled when we got back and showed him his pin. I told him that she was very nice and gave him the pin because he was so polite, and that it pays to be kind. There was pixie dust sprinkled all over this day!

After our surprise character interaction we hustled over to TSMM. What we could see of the queue looked amazing. Nolan loved the queue and the ride itself. I rode with Nolan and he would say "whoooooaaaa" every time the vehicle spun or moved quickly, but he was giggling and trying to shoot. I scored 130,000 my first time, which made me happy as I beat Matt and Matthew soundly. It was time to get RnR FPs, then we had to hurry back to TSMM again for our original fastpass return time, this time I had best in vehicle again with 141,000! And then we went back to ToT for that return time. On the way we stopped for these.






(Nolan also had a Star Wars shirt that morning, but I can't remember if his sippy cup leaked or his diaper leaked, but he needed to be changed)

We loved Tower of Terror! When I came out I told Matt that it was the coolest thing I've ever seen. Even though I have a serious fear of heights, I loved the ride and was very impressed. Matt and Matthew went to RnR while Nolan and I went to get our seats for F! Unfortunately, it was raining and we got soaked. As you probably guessed F! was canceled and they did a little 2 minute sample of F! It's so much more spectacular than it looks in the youtube video, but when the fireworks started Nolan started crying. I suppose it's a good thing we didn't see the whole show.

Like I mentioned before, we REALLY love those 3 rides . I was a little disappointed that we missed so much of HS, but we had a great time. This was a really fun day and we caught up on some much needed rest. And at that point Matt was saying "WHEN we come back" instead of "IF we come back!" We also decided this was a 2 day park for us in the future, but I already explained how we can't really do 2 full days in October.


​

 

[MnNsmom]

Mama Melrose Fantasmic! Dining Package

Because we had the F! dining package, our ADR was a little early- 4:00. When we got back to the park from a midday rest, Matt ran to get us some RnR fastpasses while the boys and I checked in a Mama's. I had read a lot of mixed reviews, but nothing else really appealed to us, and I wanted the F! package--Mama Melrose's it is. Matt joined us a few minutes later, and we were seated shortly after he arrived. Our waitress began to tell us about the dining plan and I asked if it worked differently with the F! package. She said that the F! package was not on our reservation! She said she would check and see if the manager could switch it and came right back with our F! card. Whew! With the F! package you get an appetizer for each person and a shared dessert platter.

I had
Fresh Mozzarella and Vine-ripened Tomatoes
with Marinated Sweet Onions, Balsamic Drizzle, Basil-scented Olive Oil, and Sweet Basil Leaves.

This was nice and fresh, and the tomatoes were beautifully ripe.

Matthew ordered
Crispy Calamari
topped with Grilled Peppers and Onions served with Dipping Sauces

This was really good! Definitely my favorite of the three. We enjoyed the fried pepper strips and dipping sauces.

Matt ordered
Oak-fired Mussels
Cooked in a spicy Tomato Butter with Grilled Onions and Herb Croutons

I'm not a big fan of mussels, but Matt loves them. However, I really liked this dish, the tomato broth was the star for me, but Matt loved the whole dish. The mussels were cooked well and the broth had a great flavor with a nice kick, but not overly spicy.

For my entree I chose
Charred Strip Steak
Five-Cheese Macaroni with Pancetta, Aged Balsamic-Shallot Butter, and a Chianti Wine Reduction

I chose this mostly because I knew Nolan would like the mac and cheese and he hadn't eaten much that day. Normally, I don't like "real" mac and cheese. I was raised on Kraft mac and cheese, and it's one of the very few things that I prefer out of a box over a fresh, homemade version, but this mac and cheese was amazing. It reminded me more of an alfredo sauce than a cheese sauce, but it was REALLY good. Nolan ate the majority of it, but I stole a few bites. The steak was also very good. It did have a nice char, was well-seasoned, and I really enjoyed the red wine reduction.

Matthew ordered
Seafood Arrabbiata
Shrimp, Mussels, Calamari, Fish of the Day, and Whole-Wheat Spaghetti tossed with spicy Seafood Sauce

He really enjoyed this and it was a huge portion. He ate most of the seafood and a lot of pasta, then passed it over to Matt, who also enjoyed it.


This is the part of our dinner that made me understand the mixed reviews.

Matt ordered the sustainable fish of the day, sorry I don't remember what it was called, but our server said it was similar to seabass, which we love.

I don't remember much about that dish except it was really rubbery. After cutting it in half Matt realized it was raw in the middle. Our server promptly took it back to the kitchen and a manager came and said she would send another right out, but we declined because Matt had eaten his appetizer, and a good bit of Matthew's pasta and we had a fastpass time approaching. She then offered us fastpasses or a credit for Matt's meal and we took the credit. We already had our night planned out and we started wondering if we could swing a last minute signature meal later in the week.

Then our server brought our dessert platter. I don't even remember what all was on it, but I do know there was an amaretto cheesecake that I loved.


Like I said, the mixed reviews make sense now. Matthew and I had an excellent meal and the service was great. On the other hand, Matt's entree wasn't properly prepared.

Overall, I would probably go back. Even though we had an issue with Matt's fish, our server and the manager were quick to handle the problem and the majority of our meal was really good.
​

​

 

[MnNsmom]

Just a quick update. The 2015-2016 school calendar is out and I chose good dates! We can take a 10 day vacation and Matthew will only miss 4 days of school! This also means we will be able to leave a day earlier and make it a 2 day drive instead of trying to drive straight through!

 

[KatMark]

Crystal, sorry, I'm slow in responding. The last two weeks have been either crazy busy at work or we were in Phoenix and then came back to crazy busy at work.

Your Studios Day sounds like it went great for you guys. So glad for the love for TOT--my favorite ride.

We like Mama Melrose. It's not a must-do for us every year, but we've never had a bad meal yet.

LOVE all the photopass pictures.