Disneyland or Bust: A Mother-Daughter Coastal Road Trip

[RGirl]

Oh, geez. Somehow I missed your last post!
Probably opened it, didn't have time to read or started and had to stop then it wasn't marked as "unread" anymore.
Well, I'll be reading it for sure in a bit!
(Won't forget this time, either. Sorry!)

Well, I'm glad you made it back!

So, in other words a typical morning at Disneyland...

You know, it makes me so sad that that was your experience. This was really the only time we have had significant problems with rides being down, and even this trip, it was just a couple of times.

I love Splash Mountain... but I'm right there with you on the wet clothes thing. Wet shoes are especially bad. I always try to dress appropriately or do it right before leaving the park when I plan to ride.

It makes me shiver in disgust to think about walking around in wet clothes. I just can't stand it! I am one of those geeks who will wear a dang poncho on Splash Mountain even when it's totally sunny out. I just can't stand wet clothes!

I'm glad you avoided being totally soaked.

And you know I was glad!

Nice try. That really is a cool effect.

It drives me crazy that I can never get a decent photo in there - I really want all the WDW people to get a chance to see how cool it is!

 

[RGirl]

Meh. I dunno. I think I would get a little tired of constantly hearing "Yo ho, yo ho a pirate's life for me".
Especially around two o'clock in the morning.

Well, you do make a good point, I guess......

I wasn't counting, but... Wow! That's a lot down.
I presume you got a full refund?

No?

Honestly, it didn't really put much of a dent in our day. The nice thing about a park filled to the brim with attractions is that there's always something else to do. If you were to go to AK and have EE and the Safari down, well, we would be disappointed. Heck, we were disappointed on the last trip when just EE was down at rope drop.

I can't think of a better reason to want to go see Tigger.

I couldn't agree more!

Sweet! What's better than HM?
HM with no wait!

Precisely!!!!

Whoa, whoa, whoa there little girl. What's with the big smile? This is the Haunted Mansion.
Are you not terrified?
Ooooohhhh..... ghosts.
Scared, now?

How about now?


Now?












Now?

Willow would love this whole comment! Too bad she is in bed. I did get to show her the update of your TR with the "no dancing" bit and the picture. She was THRILLED. And she was so excited to see the picture - "So, that's the Funny Guy?????"

I totally get it.
The sacrifices we make for our children!

Oh? So the back rows are less likely to get you wet?
I'll have to remember that.

I will not ride Splash without a back-row seat!

Yes! Another awesome ride!
Who doesn't love BTMRR??

It will always be one of my absolute faves. I remember loving it so much as a kid too - that and Space. And riding with my dad, which seems like a dream now since it's been decades (he's 80) since he would have been willing to go on a roller coaster. I think that's one of the things I most love about going to DLR with Willow - I can tell her about how I did X attraction with Poppy when I was a kid. She loves that!

Nope. Still not old!

Thank goodness. Still more to go......

Tough getting a picture in there. The ride's moving, your moving, it's dark.
Not an easy shot to take.

I continue to try every time! So stupid. I want the WDW people to see it!!!!

Woot!
Then again... why wouldn't you?!?

Looking forward to it!
Thanks for the update Roni!

Thank YOU for continuing to read along and comment. It is much appreciated!

 

[RGirl]

We can never be roommates for a Disney trip then.

All my plans, shot down in flames!

Now, now, gentlemen, I think you'll be perfect Disney roommates - we'll just get you the castle suite.

Hi! I LOVE your photos and gifs. You're a talented writer too! Thank you for those pictures of the inside of the BBB. I'm going to show my kids before we go so they have a basic idea of what to expect. One of my DD's can't decide between Rapunzel and Jasmine, the other just wants to be Ariel, but after seeing the photos, they may have a harder time figuring out what they want!

Wow - thank you so much!

Oh, your DDs are going to have SO much fun at the BBB!!!! It has been such a fun time for Willow on our trips, and the DL version is just amazing. We were beyond impressed. But Willow too always struggles with which gown to get - even when she already has all but two or three!

I drove down with my mum to the Bay area when I was 10? 11? and remember (vaguely) stopping at the Sea Lion Caves. How wonderful you guys did that too.

That's so cool! We REALLY enjoyed the road trip part of this trip - at least as much as the Disney part, actually.

Now I'm thinking, "hmm... planning a drive down in 2 years won't be so hard will it?"... we're leaving from BC though...

Oh, you should totally do it. That doesn't add that much more time - just that much more to see and visit on the way down! Seriously - I would do this trip again in a heartbeat. It's so hard because there are so many other places I want to visit with Willow. So many wonderful travels, such limited vacation time and dollars!

Anyway, looking forward to the next instalment.

Thank you! I hope you continue to join in!!

 

[RGirl]

The Contest: First person to provide the movie title from which the chapter heading comes gets a point; two points if the character who utters the line is also identified. If the first person doesn’t name the character, the first poster to do so will get a point.

Current Standing:
Courtney (courtneybelle): 16 points
Jill (jedijill): 22 points
pkondz: 12 points
Megan (MonsterWDWmom): 2 points
Shannon (shan23877): 8 points
Lori (STLMickeyMom): 4 points
petals: 1 point
Rob (DisneyKid4Life): 6 points
Dugette: 6 points
Kathy (KatMark): 2 points

"Half off swimming suits, clogs, and a sun balm of my own invention."​

Day 12C - Tuesday, 5 August 2014 - Disneyland Resort

After the wildest ride in the wilderness, we crossed back over to Critter Country. It was still only about 9:45 at this point. We decided to check out the Winnie the Pooh ride - always fun and apparently never any wait.

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No dancing, Willow!

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I disobeyed you!!

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After our ride, we couldn't resist trying some treats at the dump shop. Don't they look good???

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Willow chose a marshmallow Olaf.

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I went with a Tigger Tail - marshmallows, caramel, chocolate.

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And we quickly learned that we are better off sharing treats like this - WAY too much sugar for one person. Especially when you combine it with a blue raspberry Goofy Glacier!

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After our snacks, we wandered down to the Hungry Bear Restaurant area to use the bathroom down there.

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At this point, it was getting close to 10:30, so we headed back to the Pooh and Friends meet-and-greet area to see if they were making their way out yet. With no 100 Acre Woods characters in sight, we decided to check out the gift shop for a bit.

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I believe Willow bought a little Pluto clip-on thing here to add to her backpack for second grade. In fact, I am pretty sure that you can see it in the "first day of school" pics that I posted. Hang on, I'll get it for you....

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Up Next: Day 12C (cont.)

 

[RGirl]

Day 12C - Tuesday, 5 August 2014 - Disneyland Resort (cont.)

Right about 10:30, we went ahead and got in the queue for Pooh and Friends - we were the second family in line. This is a really cute meet-and-greet spot.

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Unfortunately, only Eeyore showed up at 10:43. Not that we don't love Eeyore, but as you may recall, we were really here to find Tigger. Of course, Willow did not snub Eeyore.

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The CM with Eeyore said that Pooh and Tigger would be out at 11. So after meeting Eeyore, we decided to hoof it over to BTMRR to use our second set of FPs.

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No dancing, Willow!

​

I disobeyed you!

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And then it was BACK over to Critter Country to see if we could still catch Tigger and Pooh since we exited BTMRR just a few minutes after 11:00. Somehow, we managed to be in the line for Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore (again) at 11:07. Again, this is a really cute place with a little spot for each character.

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Willow was finally meeting Tigger at 11:17. He loved her cupcake shirt - kept rubbing his tummy to tell us how delicious it was.

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Eeyore again - this time, Willow told him to "stop being sad" and he promised (crossed his heart) that he would do his best.

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And finally, Willow said hello to Pooh Bear before we ditched Critter Country for the morning.

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Up Next: Day 12D

 

[afwdwfan]

Oaken from Frozen.

I'll reply tomorrow. Excited to finally have a chance to play the game!

 

[pkondz]

I did get to show her the update of your TR with the "no dancing" bit and the picture. She was THRILLED. And she was so excited to see the picture - "So, that's the Funny Guy?????"

I think that's one of the things I most love about going to DLR with Willow - I can tell her about how I did X attraction with Poppy when I was a kid. She loves that!

Awww... That's really nice.

Now, now, gentlemen, I think you'll be perfect Disney roommates - we'll just get you the castle suite.

Sweet! Let us know when you've made all the arrangements!

 

[afwdwfan]

After our ride, we couldn't resist trying some treats at the dump shop. Don't they look good???

And we quickly learned that we are better off sharing treats like this - WAY too much sugar for one person. Especially when you combine it with a blue raspberry Goofy Glacier!

There's no such thing as too much sugar on vacation!

Love a good Goofy Glacier!

Of course, Willow did not snub Eeyore.

Of course not! Any character meet is a good one!

Willow was finally meeting Tigger at 11:17. He loved her cupcake shirt - kept rubbing his tummy to tell us how delicious it was.

I'm glad the effort to see him paid off!

Now, now, gentlemen, I think you'll be perfect Disney roommates - we'll just get you the castle suite.

He might not like it if I wake up singing "Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A pirate's life for me" at 2 am though.

Sweet! Let us know when you've made all the arrangements!

I'm in.

 

[pkondz]

No dancing, Willow!
I disobeyed you!!

Aaaaaand..... still not old!

After our ride, we couldn't resist trying some treats at the dump shop. Don't they look good???

I defy anyone to show me Disney treats that don't look good.

I went with a Tigger Tail - marshmallows, caramel, chocolate.

Must be something else on there? Powdered sugar or something? To give it the sparkly orange texture?

WAY too much sugar for one person. Especially when you combine it with a blue raspberry Goofy Glacier!

Oh, boy. Was she like this when she finished all that?

I believe Willow bought a little Pluto clip-on thing here to add to her backpack for second grade. In fact, I am pretty sure that you can see it in the "first day of school" pics that I posted.

I remember that, but didn't notice the Pluto at the time.

Unfortunately, only Eeyore showed up at 10:43.

She must've been a little disappointed?

we decided to hoof it over to BTMRR to use our second set of FPs.

There she goes! She's off!

She really did hoof it!

No dancing, Willow!
I disobeyed you!

Still cracks me up every time.

Willow was finally meeting Tigger at 11:17. He loved her cupcake shirt - kept rubbing his tummy to tell us how delicious it was.

Willow must've been over the moon excited.

Eeyore again - this time, Willow told him to "stop being sad" and he promised (crossed his heart) that he would do his best.

Aw. But I'm pretty sure the best he can do is try.

Up Next: Day 12D

Thanks for the update!

 

[KatMark]

Hmmm....I don't know if it is just me, but some of your pictures are not showing up.

Willow and her dancing.

The Pooh ride looks like it has a few differnt things than the DW one.

That Tigger Tail with marshamallows, caramel and chocolate LOOKS very sugary. That's too much for me...especially that early in the day.

I love Willow's clip-on for her backpack.

And for getting to Big Thunder Mountain and back again in time for for Tigger and Pooh. I do love that Tigger. And I love Willow's shirt.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Hahaha, oh that Winnie the Pooh ride threw me. Actually so many Disneyland attractions start/load outside that it seems so weird. No way they could do that that in Florida. But I am still saddened that the Country Bears got evicted.

That Tigger Tail is so cute. I'd never seen that before.

I am a big fan of any well themed Meet and Greet. Outdoors is generally tougher, so nice that they cute it up like that.

Thank goodness Willow didn't snub Eeyore. He's depressed enough. That would have for sure put him over the edge.

This meet and greet area reminds me of the now defunct character trails at Animal Kingdom. Very cute. I'm a big fan of meeting the Pooh gang since they've been some of my most memorable meets ever. Love them.

 

[STLMickeyMom]

oh, Roni! I feel like I've missed the whole trip! i'm all caught up now and LOVING all this Disneyland-ness! why just it just seem so colorful and happy in all your pics? so there's way too much to comment on, but I will say that I LOVE all the dancing willow pics! what a rebel she is!

 

[Dugette]

Fun stuff! Very cool that you could get right onto Pooh's ride. I have heard those Tigger Tails are a top-notch Disneyland treat! Sounds tasty. Nice job squeezing in your FP between the Pooh & friends meets. Glad that Willow finally got her Tigger meet!

 

[shan23877]

Your treat looks delish! And the pics of Tigger and Willow are too cute. Definitely worth the wait!

I having the WORST time keeping up here. You are moving too fast for me! Though if I'm not commenting, that's actually less work for you replying to me. You're welcome. You might owe me some treats for all of the comments that I have meant to post, but didn't!

 

[KatMark]

I having the WORST time keeping up here. You are moving too fast for me! Though if I'm not commenting, that's actually less work for you replying to me. You're welcome. You might owe me some treats for all of the comments that I have meant to post, but didn't!

Now, that's funny Shan.

 

[courtneybelle]

Bummed because I knew these quotes...but I was in Europe so I can't really complain

I don't know if we did Dumbo while we were at DL. Nice views of the Matterhorn!

Ughhhh I HATE Snow White's Scary Adventures. Hate it hate it hate it. Because it still scared me up until it closed. Yes, I am a weenie.

Oh my gosh, Big Thunder Ranch! I LOVED that!

Okay, I am a WDW devotee, but I have to say that Splash Mountain in DL is WORLDS better than the one in WDW. I'm obsessed.

TIGGER TAILS. Oh my gosh. So good. Though now that there are marshmallow Olafs I think I'll have a new favorite...

"Stop being sad!" I'm crying that's so cute!

 

[RGirl]

Oaken from Frozen.

I'll reply tomorrow. Excited to finally have a chance to play the game!

Hurray! Welcome to The Land of Points!

Awww... That's really nice.

Sweet! Let us know when you've made all the arrangements!

Will do! I'm thinking maybe this summer - late July/early August. I hear there will be extra princesses around during that time.

There's no such thing as too much sugar on vacation!

Love a good Goofy Glacier!

You know, I'm never tempted to drink neon-colored, no-flavor-found-in-nature beverages in my real life, but I sure do love them on a Disney vacation!

Of course not! Any character meet is a good one!

Agree whole-heartedly!

I'm glad the effort to see him paid off!

So was Willow!

He might not like it if I wake up singing "Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A pirate's life for me" at 2 am though.

I think he'd end up joining right in.

I'm in.

 

[RGirl]

Aaaaaand..... still not old!

Phew!!

I defy anyone to show me Disney treats that don't look good.

True story.

Must be something else on there? Powdered sugar or something? To give it the sparkly orange texture?

There was coarse, orange, decorative sugar to give that effect. Added a nice crunch. And even more SWEET.

Oh, boy. Was she like this when she finished all that?

Not too bad. Thankfully, she is not usually super-affected by sugar. I, however, felt like I wanted to die.

I remember that, but didn't notice the Pluto at the time.

Cute, isn't it?

She must've been a little disappointed?

Nah - she was happy to see Eeyore and knew we would come back.

There she goes! She's off!

She really did hoof it!

Still cracks me up every time.

Thank goodness! This little exchange kept up the whole trip.

Willow must've been over the moon excited.

She loved it - it was right up there with when Pluto tried to eat the Pluto cupcake off of her shirt.

Aw. But I'm pretty sure the best he can do is try.

Willow is a weirdly empathetic person - she just can't let it go with Eeyore. She just desperately wants him to cheer up. She tries every time.

Thanks for the update!

Thanks for sticking around. I really wish I could find a way to update more often. I keep trying, but it just doesn't seem to happen. I want to start the TR for our January trip before next January!

Hmmm....I don't know if it is just me, but some of your pictures are not showing up.

Oh no! They show up for me, so I don't know what happened. I hope they eventually showed up for you.

Willow and her dancing.

She got a real kick out of that whole "no dancing" thing on this trip.

The Pooh ride looks like it has a few differnt things than the DW one.

You know, I haven't done the WDW one enough times to know whether the inside is different, but the ride vehicles are completely different.

That Tigger Tail with marshamallows, caramel and chocolate LOOKS very sugary. That's too much for me...especially that early in the day.

Yeah, I don't have much of a sweet tooth, so it was too much for me. In the past, we have shared one, and it was perfect - it really is very tasty, but better shared. Willow really wanted that Olaf though.....

I love Willow's clip-on for her backpack.

Isn't that cute? He's still securely attached to her backpack after all these months too.

And for getting to Big Thunder Mountain and back again in time for for Tigger and Pooh. I do love that Tigger. And I love Willow's shirt.

It really worked out very well!

And thanks - that Tigger cupcake is one of my favorites that I've done.

 

[RGirl]

Hahaha, oh that Winnie the Pooh ride threw me. Actually so many Disneyland attractions start/load outside that it seems so weird. No way they could do that that in Florida. But I am still saddened that the Country Bears got evicted.

Yeah, the queue and entrance and ride vehicles on the Winnie the Pooh ride are completely different - seriously, I'm going to be so lost at WDW this summer.

You know, I think it's just weird that they got rid of the Country Bears at DL. I'm assuming it was original there and imported to MK, so I can't figure out why they wouldn't have found a way to keep it at DL. Sad.

That Tigger Tail is so cute. I'd never seen that before.

Oh, they are delicious! Just make sure you share one with someone. SOOOO much sugar.....

I am a big fan of any well themed Meet and Greet. Outdoors is generally tougher, so nice that they cute it up like that.

I was really impressed with it - well-themed and cute.

Thank goodness Willow didn't snub Eeyore. He's depressed enough. That would have for sure put him over the edge.

Willow works very hard to try to get Eeyore to cheer up every time she meets him.

This meet and greet area reminds me of the now defunct character trails at Animal Kingdom. Very cute. I'm a big fan of meeting the Pooh gang since they've been some of my most memorable meets ever. Love them.

Oh, Rob, the demise of Camp Minnie/Mickey is the one thing that has broken our hearts about the changes to AK. Willow and I have amazing memories of character meets in those little AK trails there. So much fun and so easy to meet so many characters.

oh, Roni! I feel like I've missed the whole trip! i'm all caught up now and LOVING all this Disneyland-ness! why just it just seem so colorful and happy in all your pics? so there's way too much to comment on, but I will say that I LOVE all the dancing willow pics! what a rebel she is!

Lori! It's so great to "see" you again. I'm so glad you're back. And I'm excited for your upcoming cruise too!!!

Fun stuff! Very cool that you could get right onto Pooh's ride. I have heard those Tigger Tails are a top-notch Disneyland treat! Sounds tasty. Nice job squeezing in your FP between the Pooh & friends meets. Glad that Willow finally got her Tigger meet!

Oh, yeah, the Winnie the Pooh ride at DL is always a walk-on - at least every time we have ever done it. I don't think we've ever really waited - maybe 5 minutes? It's so funny how some of the long-wait rides at WDW have no wait at all at DL. I guess it must be that there are so many more attractions crammed into each park in DLR???

Your treat looks delish! And the pics of Tigger and Willow are too cute. Definitely worth the wait!

I having the WORST time keeping up here. You are moving too fast for me! Though if I'm not commenting, that's actually less work for you replying to me. You're welcome. You might owe me some treats for all of the comments that I have meant to post, but didn't!

Nice try. You do know that I have actually written down and am maintaining an iPhone Note of all the drinks you owe me, right????

Bummed because I knew these quotes...but I was in Europe so I can't really complain

You know what? I believe you! And I do know that you were in Europe. Totally gettin' a point there!

I don't know if we did Dumbo while we were at DL. Nice views of the Matterhorn!

Yeah, nice views. Do you know that I hate the Dumbo ride? It terrifies me. I have to sit on the outside because I have a child with me, and that opening from which one could drop to her death is right there next to me, and my child insists on flying the poor elephant at his maximum height the entire time during which she controls him.

Ughhhh I HATE Snow White's Scary Adventures. Hate it hate it hate it. Because it still scared me up until it closed. Yes, I am a weenie.

Suddenly not feeling quite as bad about my Dumbo issues.....

Oh my gosh, Big Thunder Ranch! I LOVED that!

Yeah, I was actually getting pretty irritated that, in all our trips to DLR, I haven't been able to convince Willow to visit Big Thunder Ranch.

Okay, I am a WDW devotee, but I have to say that Splash Mountain in DL is WORLDS better than the one in WDW. I'm obsessed.

Oh, I'm interested to hear this. I have never been able to properly report on whether this one was better at DL or MK because I have only done the MK version once. What makes the DL one better?????

TIGGER TAILS. Oh my gosh. So good. Though now that there are marshmallow Olafs I think I'll have a new favorite...

I had very fond memories of the Tigger Tail, so the Olaf one didn't interest me at all. I couldn't change Willow's mind though, so we ended up with two. Definitely TOO much!

"Stop being sad!" I'm crying that's so cute!

Willow can't bear it when others are sad. She gets pretty sad herself. So she's kind of on a mission to cheer up Eeyore. Good luck, kiddo......

 

[RGirl]

The Contest: First person to provide the movie title from which the chapter heading comes gets a point; two points if the character who utters the line is also identified. If the first person doesn’t name the character, the first poster to do so will get a point.

Current Standing:
Courtney (courtneybelle): 17 points
Jill (jedijill): 22 points
pkondz: 12 points
Megan (MonsterWDWmom): 2 points
Shannon (shan23877): 8 points
Lori (STLMickeyMom): 4 points
petals: 1 point
Rob (DisneyKid4Life): 6 points
Dugette: 6 points
Kathy (KatMark): 2 points
Andy (afwdwfan): 2 points

"Give me a snack! - What's the magic word?"​

Day 12D - Tuesday, 5 August 2014 - Disneyland Resort

When I last left off, we had spent the morning running between Frontierland, New Orleans Square and Critter Country. So after meeting Tigger and friends, we decided to make use of the train station in New Orleans Square and take the train all the way around to Tomorrowland as Willow was (as per usual) requesting that we try to ride the Matterhorn.

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That picture just above was taken to remind me to tell you about a great story from our Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour. When you are sitting in the train station waiting for the train, you can hear the tap-tap-tap of the Morse Code coming from that building. According to our guide, those tap-tap-taps are actually tapping out Walt's opening day speech at Disneyland.

No dancing, Willow!

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I disobeyed you!

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Soon we were on the train, enjoying the scenery as we made our way to Tomorrowland.

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Hey, I said, no dancing, Willow!

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I disobeyed you!

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Soon we spotted Willow's destination of choice in the distance.

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But when we arrived, we discovered that the wait time was INSANE, and the single rider line was closed for some unknown reason.

It was about 11:30, so we decided to get lunch. We had a lengthy debate here - I was pushing for the Mexican food counter service (which, unfortunately, was back toward Frontierland) and Willow was pushing for the Tomorrowland Terrace again. I'll let you guess who won.

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Willow went for nuggets and fries once again.

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And I had a burger.

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Our meals were hot, fresh, and tasty. We were not unhappy at all.

We finished our early lunch at about 12:10 and decided that we really needed to get out of the sun and have a little rest. We started heading to the front of the park, but we had to stop for some delicious Disney popcorn to take with us.

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We also had to stop at City Hall for some very important tickets.

And apparently, we stopped again at some point so that Willow could enjoy her popcorn while seated.

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By 1:00, we were arriving back at our hotel

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Willow was almost immediately asleep once we entered the room and continued to sleep for two and a half hours! I believe even I slept a little, which would come as a HUGE shock if any of you actually knew me and my sleeping abilities.

Up Next: Day 12E