I had an itinerary all typed out with ADRs made for this trip. One thing about going on a holiday week, be flexible. On Tuesday, we were suppose to go to Epcot for rope drop. We waited and waited and waited for a semi-empty bus. The buses were so full, the driver wouldn't let anyone else on. So, we hopped in our car and drove over to DHS for rope drop.
While waiting in line to get in, I called an made an ADR for
The Brown Derby for lunch later in the day. Bill made the TSM dash for our FP for later while the kids and I "leisurely" walked towards ToT and RNR. When Bill met back up with us the line for RNR was well past the entrance to the queue. So, we went over to ToT. We didn't ride this ride in September, but had in the past. It was way better than we remembered. It's back on our "must ride" at DHS. After ToT, we went over to RNR. Bill rode stand-by and I got a Rider Swap. After my RNR ride the cars pulled into the station and The Dream Team was waiting at the platform. However, they weren't handing out a prize yet. No more than five minutes later, I see people exiting the RNR building wearing Dream FastPasses. So close! It didn't matter anyway. We really didn't need them that day (except for TSM). It was time to ride TSM. DS3 still has trouble with the shooting mechanism for this ride. So, he was getting frustrated. Maybe, next year he'll get the hang of it. I bought him a little toy like the TSM shooter. I didn't realize how competive I was until playing this game. It is fun! For lunch, we went to
The Brown Derby. This is a really neat restaurant. I got the "infamous" Cobb Salad. Bill got a steak. My salad was "interesting". It is FINELY chopped. Now, I can say I've had it. I'll try something else next time. Bill said his steak was BETTER than the one he got at Yachtman's. Our server brought us a special dessert for our Anniversary celebration. She was great. We even got a phone call at our table from Mickey Mouse for our Anniversary. I highly recommend this restaurant and plan to eat there again.
We were exiting the park around 2:40 when we realized the
Block Party Bash was getting ready to start. We found a seat on the curb near the entrance of the "party" (it's
NOT a parade!). It was cute and the kids got to see their favorite Pixar characters. As soon as the floats went by, we made a quick exit. The kids weren't in the mood to dance and party. Which was fine with Bill and I. DHS is a really easy park to get in and out with a car (same with DAK).
We decided to relax at the resort for the afternoon/early evening. Then, we went to Epcot for dinner (fish 'n chips at Yorkshire County Fish Shop). Yum! Yum!
We woke up on Wednesday and didn't feel like fighting the crowds in the parks. So, Bill and the kids had fun at the pool and I got caught up on laundry. Then, we took the boat from PO to DTD for some shopping and lunch. We ate at the new
T-Rex restaurant. One weird thing about this restaurant is they currently don't take ADRs (they will in January) and they didn't let you put in your name and then be paged when a table was ready. You had to wait in line until a table was available. I assume they are working out the kinks. Believe it or not, this was the most expensive meal of the whole trip! The inside of the restaurant is really neat with some differently themed rooms (dinosaurs, under water and an ice cave). DS3 was a little skiddish going in. So, I was hoping we were seated in any room BUT the dinosaur room. Wouldn't you know, they seated us in the dinosaur room. I didn't want to make a big deal and we seated DS3 with his back to the dinosaurs. During one of the loud "shows", he hid under the table. Even with all that, he still didn't want to leave and would come out when it was over. It was actually pretty cute. We were seated near the ice cave room. That was really cool. I hope we get to eat in there next time (Yes, there will be a next time.). DS8 and DD6 thought the best part was drinking root beer out of real bottles. I hope the other parents around us knew it was root beer. I'm trying hard to remember what we ate, but I can't. After lunch, we spent some $$$$ at the
Lego store and WOD. We got a 10% discount at
both stores with our AP.
That night, we went to EMH (PM) at DAK. It was more crowded than past EMH (PM) at DAK we had attended. EE was even down for a bit and Primeval Whirl was in refurbishment. Sometime during the evening they opened PW and then EE was back up and running. While we waited, we grabbed some food at the
Flame Tree BBQ. Bill had the beef sandwich and I had the chicken (with beans and cornbread). Bill said his was "okay". My chicken had a very funny taste. The cornbread and beans were yummy. The best part of this meal was where we ate it. We followed the path out back and found the area that overlooked the water with EE in the background. We had the whole area to ourselves. It was very peaceful. After eating, I looked at the park schedule and realized there was one last show of FOTLK during EMH (PM). We rushed over there and made the show with two minutes to spare. This is a fantastic show. The kids were mesmerized. I highly recommend it. I wouldn't wait over an hour in line, go to it during EMH (PM). While Bill and I went back and forth to ride EE, the kids had fun playing in the Boneyard. It's their new favorite play area at WDW. I kid you not, they were in there for TWO HOURS and could have stayed longer.
more to come ...