Dole Whip Acquired!!! Now What? October 2015 Trip *Updated 2/4/16*

[Carrie Gruber]

Finally sitting down to start writing my post-trip report. We got back from our trip on Monday, October 26th and it’s taken me this long to compile everything. The holidays were super busy and with 3 kids and working full time, it’s hard to squeeze in time to write about anything other than my grocery list. If you haven’t read my pre-trip report, you can do so by clicking on the link in my signature. In it, I explain the planning that went into this trip so you can sort of see what I was basing the trip off of. The dates of our trip were 10/15 – 10/26 which included the first and last days being mainly travel days. We opted for 8-day passes with the Water Parks Fun & More option. The trip, including airfare, cost me a little over $10K for 3 adults and 3 children at Art of Animation with DDP Plus and Memory Maker. I’m positive I could have done this trip for less, but we were only saving for a little over a year. I highly suggest looking into the many posts on the boards about ways to save money for your trip, with my favorite being the Target gift cards. But without further ado:

Here goes Days 1 & 2:

On Thursday, October 15th I left work early to get gas and stop at the bank for money. Then went home to load the suitcases into our van (7 bags for 2 adults and 3 children…we over-pack no matter how much we try not to!) I was not happy to realize that my personalized luggage tags that I ordered from Shutterfly had not arrived yet, but we didn’t want to wait any longer to leave. Once we had the van ready to go, we left (and drove around the neighborhood loop trying to find the mailman in case he had my package, but he was nowhere to be seen). About 10 minutes later I realized I forgot one of our portable phone chargers but DH said we probably wouldn’t need it. Little did we know that if we’d have gone back, he’d have seen that he forgot to pack our video camera charger…DOH! Oh well, that made for an interesting conversation the next morning when the mistake was discovered, along with my realization that I forgot my flat iron on the bathroom sink…

So we were off to a flying start, got to our hotel in Philadelphia (Springhill Suites Ridley Park) around 5:30 and we were pleased with our rooms. There is a Wendy’s only a minute or two away, so DH and I grabbed dinner from there to bring back to the room. Then it was showers and bed, although I got hardly any sleep, partly due to our bed being too soft for me and also because I was too amped up for the next day.

When we got up the next morning, it was the usual begging and pleading with the kids to get up, which morphed into me yelling at them to get moving or else we would miss the plane. I really didn’t want to start my vacation off like that, but if you knew my kids, you’d know what we go through every morning. No matter if they get up early or are left to sleep in, they move like snails. This would be an issue the entire trip, and I caution other parents to take this into consideration when planning out your days. Don’t think that they’ll be jumping out of bed in the morning just because it’s Disney…they’re still going to whine about waking up.

We finally got everyone moving and down to the front desk to catch the shuttle to the airport. This part of the process went pretty smoothly, as did our navigation of PHL. I was glad I did my research beforehand and knew exactly where to go. We made it through security and only had to have one bag inspected because I had the kids’ quarter/penny tubes in a carry-on. Be prepared, in PHL at least, for unfriendly TSA agents. They were just so grumpy, not anything like the ones at MCO. We got to our terminal, grabbed seats and had breakfast at the McDonalds which was right located in the Southwest Airline terminal E, fortunately. After waiting about 45 minutes and changing the baby, we were ready to board. We gate-checked the stroller, but the gate check bag I brought with did NOT fit my jogging stroller, so be warned if you’re planning to buy one from BuyBuyBaby…try it on your stroller first, don’t take the packaging’s word for it that it will fit up to a double stroller. We used a CARES harness for my 1 yr old and it worked great, I was glad I brought a non-slip mat to put under his bottom. He fell asleep before we even started taxiing, but DH woke him up to see take-off and he was up the entire flight and was not too happy with having to sit. I was ready to throttle DH and made him swear he would never do that again!

After a 2 ½ hour flight, we arrived at MCO and made our way to Magical Express. We did not get lost this time, thank goodness, because I remembered we had to jump on the tram to get to the main terminal! We had to wait a little bit to get into the bus queue because the MagicBand scanners were down temporarily, but once that was working, we waited maybe 5 minutes to get on the bus. I forgot it was a 40 minute drive to the resort, and since I hadn’t had any coffee yet (!) I fell asleep on the bus along with the rest of my crew. The next thing I knew, we were being dropped off at Art of Animation – our adventure was about to begin!

Read on about our first day in Part 2!

 

[Carrie Gruber]

Friday 10/16/2015

We stepped off the bus around 11:30 and had everyone set to go. I had received an email around 10:30 stating that our room wasn’t ready, but I was hoping that by now they’d have it set up. We were immediately approached by a CM asking for our reservation #. I was told that our room was not ready, despite having requested Early Check-In. I guess it shouldn’t have been a surprise, but on our last trip when I requested early check-in, our room was ready and waiting. I shrugged it off, saying it was fine, we’d just go have lunch while we waited. They offered to take our carry-ons until our room was ready, but we didn’t want to since everything we needed in the meantime was in them. So we went to Landscape of Flavors to eat. Here’s a breakdown of what we ordered, DH and my dad didn’t get anything, they were still full from breakfast:



I loved the Surf & Surf burger last time, but for some reason it didn’t taste quite the same now. The kids Drumstick meal wasn’t really worth the OOP cost, it was just one drumstick and the sides – and it was a scrawny drumstick at that. I gave the yogurt to the baby and this was something I continued to do the entire trip. My older two children eat like birds but my 1 yr old is a bottomless pit, so we always split the two kids’ QS meals with the little one and he ate very well for the duration of our stay, especially since we ordered snacks through Garden Grocer and Amazon Prime Pantry.

After lunch, we went to check on our room status. This was around 12:30/1:00 and our room still was not ready. They couldn’t give me a timeframe, just that check-in isn’t officially until 3:00…well then what was the point of requesting early check-in? They didn’t know when housekeeping would have the room ready, but they would be able to give me another room on the ground floor. We decided to wait for the room we requested on the 2nd floor and to pass the time, we’d go walk around the resort and take pictures. This lasted maybe 30 minutes, then we decided to change into our swim suits in the bathrooms and headed to the Big Blue Pool. It felt so good to cool off. We must have been quite a sight beside the pool with our stroller heaping with jackets, carry-ons, and towels! This was the first time that I noticed the state of the resort. They were doing touch-up painting on all of the buildings, but the pool area was pretty bad. The splash pad at the Nemo pool was looking really sad, with big chunks of the foam walkway missing and looking worn. They really need to replace it, especially since my 1 yr old kept finding pieces of the stuff lying around and tried to eat it…




This occupied us for about an hour and I thought they must have the room cleaned by now, right? Wrong! My second trip to the front desk only produced the same reply as before. Now I was getting frustrated. We had dinner reservations at 5:15 and we were in desperate need of freshening up, all of which I told the CM. She didn’t seem concerned, and said that when the room was ready I’d receive an email. (I have yet to receive said email…) So back to the pool I went.

We all wanted to change, I wanted to unpack our bags, and we still needed to get on the bus to Disney Springs to make it to our reservation on time. Around 3:45, I couldn’t stand it any longer. So for the third time, I approached the front desk and, lo and behold, the CM I spoke to this time gave me our room number and sent luggage services for our bags. He apologized for the wait and wished us a magical day. I was very happy with the customer service I received from this young man. The other 3 female CMs I spoke with weren’t nasty, but they just didn’t have that spark that makes you smile. They made me feel like an inconvenience. Anyway, we were finally in our suite – Cars Building 3, 2nd floor, lake view. We pretty much just set our suitcases down, changed our clothes and hurried to the bus to dinner.



For a Friday night, Disney Springs wasn’t too crowded. We arrived a little before 5:00 and made our way straight across the bridge to The Landing to get to Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant. We arrived just as the Irish step dancers were setting up outside to do a little show. The girls did a couple of dances before inviting some of the kids in the crowd to come join them. DD went up and learned how to do a few steps and twirl. She received a card at the end and we thought it was really neat.

There is a seating area outside the restaurant, plus they have a beer cart set up outside as well. When you go in the restaurant, there is a gift shop to the right and the check-in desk directly in front of you. The interior is gorgeous - dark wood, stained glass windows, dim lighting. The band is playing music and everyone seems to be having a jolly good time. The walls are lined with pictures and paintings. My favorite was on the wall to the left of our booth and it depicted the Mona Lisa holding a mug of beer and a foam mustache! There is a central dining area, where the band is and the dancers do their show, and then it breaks off to the left where there is a bar with stools and more seating along the wall. Here’s what we ordered:


We had no complaints about the food – it was all delicious. We will definitely be eating here again. I raved about the Bangers and Booz, DH loved his steak and my dad was thrilled to find rabbit pie. The beer flight was nice, too. They didn’t last long between DH and I! DS got up on the stage with the Irish dancers during dinner and he really enjoyed it. The music is lively and we all loved the atmosphere. It honestly made me want to take a trip to Ireland, although I doubt the pubs over there are really like this! We paid OOP for the beer and tip, and used 5 TS meals. The only downside to the Dining Plan, for us anyway, is that we’re usually too full for dessert so we end up taking it to go. So then it sits in the fridge in our suite for days and mast wind up being tossed in the trash. I try to have everyone take a bite of their dessert so that they at least get a taste in case it doesn’t get eaten.

Bangers and Booz


10 oz. Sirloin

I must add that despite the great food and atmosphere, the waitress took FOREVER to collect the check at the end of the meal. I paid all of our gratuities using Disney Gift Cards, so it’s not like I could just leave the table after putting money down. The rest of my crew went to wait outside while I sat and waited. And waited. And waited. But this gave me time to dig in to the Bread Pudding, which was AMAZING. I couldn’t get enough of the stuff, and I was so excited to see the recipe is in the Chef Mickey cook book I bought at World of Disney. I’m dying to make it at home!

After dinner, we walked around browsing through shops. We bought DS a Marvel Lego set at the Lego Store and then headed back to the resort.



We stopped at the Drop Off Pool Bar for DH to grab a drink (he was a frequent visitor here when we’d come back from the parks) before heading to our room. We had to get some much needed rest after the events of the day and it was nice to fall into a comfortable bed!

Check out Day 3 for our adventures in Magic Kingdom!

 

[Carrie Gruber]

Day Three Introduction:

After getting a decent night’s sleep, we were ready to tackle Magic Kingdom for our first full day. We started the morning off in a rush – the kids didn’t want to get moving and we were trying to work out a morning routine. My plan was to pack the bags the night before with the items we’d need for the next day, and this worked very well when I had the energy to do it. So for this day, I had the diaper bag ready to go, the cooler bag was packed with snacks and drinks, and DH’s backpack was the only thing left to prepare. I left this to him and it didn’t work as smoothly as I thought. He doesn’t make decisions quickly, so there was a lot of hemming and hawing over what we “really need” vs. what I told him to pack. We had already discovered that the video camera charger was not with us, so he was still fuming over his oversight, so I let him pick what camera items to bring and filled the rest in as follows:

Diaper Bag – diapers, wipes, powder, rash cream, anti-bacterial gel, my wallet, my phone, disposable changing pad, disposable bib, Take N’ Toss utensils, juice box holder, Infant’s Tylenol, and some makeup just in case. I used my Thirty-One Sling Back Bag and it was the perfect size for what I needed and if I didn’t want to wear it, it got stashed under the stroller. I saw A LOT of other moms with this bag and even DH pointed some out (!).

Cooler Bag – juice boxes, Goldfish, applesauce cups, plastic spoons, snack size bags of Doritos, PB&J for DS, grapes/carrots from QS meals, Rubbermaid/Brita Filter bottles (3 large, 3 kid size) and granola bars. I have a red, white and blue striped soft-sided cooler that I got from the Disney Store last summer and everything fit very nicely inside it. It fit perfectly under our stroller and I also saw A LOT of the same ones in other strollers. Great minds think alike, no? This turned out to be a necessity with the kids – there was always something to drink or snack on, and we had water for everyone that could be filled up at fountains.

Backpack – video camera. GoPro & accessories, digital camera, batteries, chargers, my mini binder, spare outfits for each child, DH’s phone & wallet, emesis bags (DS has scent/texture sensitivity that sometimes causes him to get sick after eating, so I came prepared) and glow sticks for the evening parade. We got this backpack from the Disney Store a few years ago, it’s black with Mickey hands, shoes and pants printed all over it and bears the Walt Disney World logo on the front pocket. It has 4 total pockets, so there was room to spare.

We also have a Thirty-One stroller bag in which we kept ponchos, a stroller fan, our stroller cover, park maps, and anything else we needed to store (like Wilderness Explorer books, Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom cards, etc.). I recommend getting one if you don’t have one already!

A few tips for strollers –

1.) When you’re in line to board the buses, have it folded and ready to go well before you are ready to get on. Don’t be that family fumbling at the front of the line to empty the basket, juggle mugs, hand off babies, etc. It’s too stressful!

2.) If you’re going to be leaving it outside of a ride or restaurant for a while, cover it up! We did this and prevented a couple of afternoon showers from soaking our stroller.

3.) Put the brakes on…I shouldn’t have to write this, but we had a couple of “oops” moments when we stopped to take a quick picture and LO was slowly rolling away. On that note, if you’re going to take pictures, please move yourself and your stroller out of the way of other guests. I wasn’t guilty of this, but there were plenty of others who were.

4.) Don’t be afraid to let an older child take a nap in your stroller. We needed to use it a couple of times for DS when he just couldn’t stay awake and LO was ready to take break from sitting. It really helped us, and he wasn’t too much trouble to wake up to get on the bus. We didn’t see anyone giving us side-eyes or making comments, in fact there were a lot of bigger kids taking breaks in strollers.

Day Three: Magic Kingdom Saturday 10/17/15

We got up early and went to the main entrance of AoA to call a taxi to take us to the Polynesian Resort. We had a 7:35 AM reservation for Ohana Best Friends Breakfast and I have to say I was really impressed with the resort. It was neat to walk through the foliage and waterfalls to enter the lobby. Inside, it was beautiful with dark wood and island-themed décor.

We went up to the 2nd floor and stood at the huge window overlooking the resort pool while we waited for our pager to go off. From this viewpoint, you can see the upper levels of Cinderella Castle in the distance and it helped get the anticipation going, knowing that in just a short time, we’d be seeing it up close.

All of a sudden, drums start beating and “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride” played over the speakers, announcing breakfast was about to begin. We were escorted to our table by our “Cousin” and were served Pineapple Bread and Stitch Juice, which was followed shortly after by the food – Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, Mickey Waffles, Breakfast Potatoes and Biscuits. Everything is served in a big pan that you help yourself from.

We were seated straight down from where we were handed our Pineapple Bread, in front of the windows facing out to view the resort rooms. This was neat as it provided us with a look at what the rest of the resort looks like and it definitely increased my interest in staying here in the future. Within minutes of being seated, Stitch came through the doorway right next to our table and walked right over to us. We (thankfully) had the autograph books ready to go and Stitch signed each one (even pretended to put a boogie in DS’s!), posed for pictures and took time to play with LO. LO’s reaction to his first character was a bit uneasy at first, he was okay with him being a short distance away but was hesitant to let Stitch get close enough to touch him. He looked to me for a cue that it was okay and once he felt safe, he wanted to touch Stitch’s nose. This would be LO’s fascination for every costumed character he met – he had to touch their nose! Made for some cute pictures!



Almost immediately after Stitch left, Lilo followed and LO was obsessed with touching her hair. Lilo was followed shortly by Mickey and Pluto. LO, by then, was used to the costumes and couldn’t keep his eyes off of Mickey as he signed the books and took pictures. He kept craning his neck around to follow Mickey after he left. The characters then did a parade with the kids around the main part of the restaurant and then we were left to finish eating. Here’s the breakdown of our meal:


We used Disney gift cards to pay for all of our gratuities (purchased almost entirely with Target Gift Cards that I’d been stockpiling like a hoarder; we also had $30 in DGC’s that we had earned through Disney Movie Rewards and a $20 Disney Visa Redemption Card. Altogether we had over $800 to use for tips and purchases for our trip).

~Aside: I had used Disney Vacation Account to pay for the trip to get the Reward Bonus they offer ($20 gift card for every $1,000 spent) and I was supposed to be getting $140 from them. The card had not yet arrived when we left, and I had been back and forth with DVA over the first few days of our trip. They apparently never received the online request I had submitted, but were super nice and I received an email to take to Guest Services to receive my gift card. I was very relieved that they took care of the situation so well, since it was apparently a common issue on their end.~

After breakfast, we made a pit stop at the restrooms to change LO and make sure the kids were running on empty. Then we proceeded to the monorail. We enjoyed the trip around Seven Seas Lagoon, which further cemented my plan to stay at one of the monorail resorts. We arrived at MK a little before 9:00 and took our time going through the train station, taking pictures and video of our entrance. Even got to see Minnie & Pluto arrive!

We stopped at the fire station to get the kids set up with Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom cards. It went quickly and there was no line. We then strolled down Main Street, taking pictures of the store fronts and windows.

We took a detour down by Crystal Arts to explore that quiet little alcove with no one else around. Even with the additional days, I still didn’t get to meander along Main Street enough and I’m dying to get back for another extended stay to really appreciate the details. The jack-o-lanterns decorating Main Street were such a nice touch and the kids got a kick out of figuring out what they were.

We got to see the Trolley Car show, where they sang about autumn, as we made our way towards Adventureland and worked our way up into Frontierland before backtracking. We used the walkthrough in Adventureland, which saved us some time and stopped to use the restrooms. We did the following attractions (trying my best to remember what order):

Splash Mountain (used Rider Switch)

Big Thunder Mountain (used Rider Switch)

Magic Carpets

Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom (Adventureland stops, only did a couple since they didn’t seem to be working right)

The kids wanted ice cream bars as we were headed back to Adventureland, so we stopped at the cart along the bridge that runs along the regular pathway leading down from Splash Mountain towards the rest of Frontierland. The CM chatted with DD and DS about what they’d done so far and the kids got a kick out of that. Those are the CMs that make my day!


See next post for the rest of Day 3!

 

[Carrie Gruber]

Day 3 Part II



We didn’t get on Pirates of the Caribbean since the ride was temporarily down and Jungle Cruise’s line was over 45 minutes and we agreed to try to ride it another day. We also skipped Swiss Family Tree House, agreeing to do it on another day. Instead, we chose the Enchanted Tiki Room which LO loved.

Then we got our Dole Whip Float (MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!!!!!)





Then we made our way back up to Liberty Square to ride Haunted Mansion. Until now, the lines were very reasonable. I don’t think we waited more than 15-20 minutes for Big Thunder Mountain, less than 10 for Splash Mountain, 15 for Magic Carpets and about 10-15 for Haunted Mansion. This was probably in part to it still being kind of early and a lot of people head straight for Fantasyland.

We then grabbed lunch at Columbia Harbour House around 3:25 PM:



We enjoyed our meal at CHH. My dad thought the salmon was really good for ”fast food” and we thought the battered fish and fried shrimp were good, too. I made the mistake of letting DH choose where we sat, so we ended up in an interior room with an “energetic” family who had pulled chairs from a few tables over to their corner and were having quite the party. Now I don’t have a problem with people talking or having a fun lunch with their kids. But for the size of the room, it was a cacophony and made feeding our kids a challenge, since mine seemed to want to compete to see who could be the loudest. We just tried to eat quickly and, fortunately, they vacated the table after about 20 minutes, leaving all of their garbage behind…SIGH.

~ASIDE: Not clearing your table is a pet peeve of mine and I was shocked at how many quick service locations we saw people do this. It’s just good manners to throw your trash away, am I wrong?

I recommend Columbia Harbour House, just be mindful of where you sit. Try the second floor, which is where I wanted to go, but will have to attempt next time.

As we were heading towards Fantasyland for our Fastpasses, there were throngs of people heading into Liberty Square, so we timed it just right. In Fantasyland, we had the following FP+:

Peter Pan’s Flight 4:10-5:10

Winnie The Pooh 5:20-6:20

7 Dwarfs Mine Train 6:20-7:20



We hopped from attraction to attraction pretty much, the wait for our Fastpass for 7DMT was about 15 minutes and we used Rider Switch. We absolutely loved this ride. It’s not very long but it’s enjoyable and we just giggled the whole time! The trip through the mine singing “Hi Ho Hi Ho” along with everyone made it a highlight of our first day at MK. The only downside to this ride was the fact that the seats are SO TINY! I’m not skinny by any definition, but even DH had trouble fitting and he’s thin. The seats all felt like they were made for kid butts, not adult butts LOL. Also, if you have Memory Maker, you get a short video of the ride along with the standard photo.

At this point, we were starting to flag. We’d been up since about 5:00 AM and were getting tired of the crowds. The kids were getting tired, but they refused to admit it. They started seeing kids walking around with glow items and asked if we could buy any, but I came prepared with my own from home. We decided not to stay for the parade and fireworks this evening, so we stopped at the restrooms by Cheshire Café before heading over the bridge to the hub. People were already in place for the parade, but we were very surprised at how well the CM’s were handling the crowds and keeping the walkways clear. On our last trip, this was a huge issue and I was nervous about having to deal with it again. We had little trouble getting down Main Street and exiting the park. The shops were very crowded though. We attempted to go through Casey’s Corner to walk through to the Emporium, got about half way and bailed out onto Main Street. Pre-parade time is when everyone seems to be shopping, so you’re probably better off waiting until the parade actually starts so that people filter out if you’re going to shop at the end of the night.





Overall, the day was a success. We split the park up into Frontierland/Adventureland/Liberty Square for one day and Fantasyland/Tomorrowland for the second MK day. The third MK day we left as a toss-up for the kids to decide what to re-ride or go on the things we didn’t get to the other days. We were really just grateful to be there, just trying to enjoy being in the moment. We were a bit disorganized, but we managed.

 

[Carrie Gruber]

Day 4 Sunday 10/18/15 – Animal Kingdom

FP+: Kali River Rapids 10:00-11:00 AM

Expedition Everest 11:30-12:30 PM

Dinosaur 2:00-3:00 PM

Reservation: Rainforest Café 4:30 PM

We had breakfast in our room and made it to the park a little after 8:00 AM. My dad decided he wanted to rent a scooter today since he was having issues with his knees and didn’t think he would be able to walk the entire time. The rental process was pretty simple – when you enter the park, go to the right and you’ll see a building with a Wheelchair/Scooter Rental sign. He didn’t get a multi-day rental (although I told him he should, because I saw this becoming an everyday thing, but he didn’t listen…) and the CM showed him how to use it. Now, since you don’t know my dad, I’ll let you know that he is not good at listening to directions or following instructions because he thinks he knows everything. Not gonna sugar coat it! So to make a long story short(er), every time he rented a scooter, he was a hazard to those around him. He tried to accelerate too fast and practically ran over DS at one point (that was a fun scene, but thankfully DS was ok, just frightened and a scratch on his leg). He just doesn’t pay attention and there were a lot of near-misses, which made me think of Bob (Bawb) Varley and that got me through a lot of my frustration with my dad.



We headed into the park, stopping at some of the animal viewing points on the way through the Oasis to Discovery Island. We stopped to get our photo taken with the Tree of Life in the background and picked up our Wilderness Explorer books. This was a great activity for the kids and I can’t wait to go back to finish it! We did the Flamingo badge first, met Russel & Dug, and then headed to It’s Tough to Be a Bug. Now, our kids loved this when they were 6 & 3 so we weren’t concerned about them this time. But I was nervous about taking LO because I wasn’t sure how he’d react. He of course would not keep the 3D glasses on and refused to sit in a seat, so I had to hold him in my lap. He was fine until Hopper appeared and the onslaught of attacks began. LO was freaked out by the spiders dropping down, the gusts of air blowing, the “acid” and bug spray spraying us, and the worst was the bees – he didn’t feel the “stinger” in the seat, but the surprised yelps from other guests made him upset. I was very glad when it was over, as was LO, who had a death grip on me! We’ll have to try that one again when he’s older…



We did the Bugs badge and moved on up towards Asia. We had time to kill before our Kali River Rapids FP+ expired, so we stopped to meet King Louie and Baloo at Upcountry Landing.



ASIDE: For fellow moms who are packing the applesauce/food pouches for ease of feeding toddlers, please be advised to bring LOTS of baby/hand wipes. My LO is usually really good with these pouches but he seemed to always throw tantrums while he was holding one on this trip, so the applesauce would get on EVERYTHING. He had one such tantrum in line for Baloo and Louie so he had applesauce on his shirt, pants and even in his hair. I didn’t have time to get it all cleaned up because he did it right before they called us over, of course!

After that disastrous meet & greet, we went to KRR. This was the first time we rode this and we were expecting to get pretty wet, but didn’t wear ponchos since it was getting kind of hot. I remembered to bring a spare shirt, but didn’t think I would need spare bottoms (which I would!). We saw some people getting off the ride pretty wet, but also some people who were hardly sprinkled so I thought I might be okay. The ride isn’t very long and the line wasn’t long even for standby. DH, DS, DD and I happened to be the unlucky side of the raft who went down the big drop backwards, which means we were the ones who were soaked by the HUGE wave of water...We were dripping wet getting off the ride – my kids loved it, me not so much. I changed my shirt in the bathroom, along with everyone else who was getting off the ride in the same condition, and also changed LO’s diaper.

After KRR, we did the Maharajah Jungle Trek, which was also a first for us. The kids loved the walk through the tiger exhibits and got a kick out of the bats. We completed a couple more Wilderness Explorer badges along the way and even met a fellow Pennsylvanian CM from our childhood hometown! We also stopped to find some hidden Mickeys, something we had been forgetting to do.





After MJT, we went to use our FP+ for Expedition Everest. We weren’t sure if DS would be able to go on since he isn’t quite 44 inches and sure enough, the CM measured him and said he wasn’t tall enough. Now, my only bone to pick with this is that the CM didn’t even put DS completely under the measuring stick…DS just got close to it and was going to put his head under when the CM put his hand on DS’s head (and under the stick) to make a gap. And I could tell DS was pulling his neck down because the CM had his hand pushing on his head! So DH and I said something but the CM wouldn’t listen so we had to take DS to where my dad was sitting with LO. DS was heartbroken, it was something he really wanted to go on and even though we told him ahead of time that he might not be tall enough, he was still very upset that they wouldn’t let him on. Honestly, if I was 6 and had that happen to me, I’d have cried, too!

Dh is holding the GoPro sitting next to DD. I'm in front of her. She survived despite the look of sheer terror on her face!

So we took DD with us and she cried the whole time in the line, and I mean CRIED to the point that people were staring. Now, we’re not the type of people to force our kids on if they’re scared to death of it. DD is a little actress and likes to draw attention to every little thing, so it looked a lot worse than it was. And we know our kids and she does this with every NEW ride she goes on. We knew that once she rode it, she’d be fine and we were correct yet again with Expedition Everest. If my child is physically trying to get out of line, then they’re truly afraid to go on. But if they’re walking along with us and crying, saying they don’t want to ride but keep asking questions about it and if it’s fun, they do want to ride it but are just nervous and don’t know how to express that without making a scene. So DD rode with DH and I rode with a little boy from the UK who was riding it for the 8th time that day, and he was such a blast to sit next to. He and I talked the whole time going up the first climb and to see and hear the pure joy he felt riding it made it even more fun. He even asked DD how she liked it when we got off and she said it was fun (of course). I don’t know the boy’s name but I won’t forget that ride!

Around 1:00 we were getting hungry and so we stopped for lunch at Restaurantosaurus.



The food was good, although my hot dog was a bit small for the size of the bun, but I’ve never had a mac & cheese topped hot dog before and I’m hooked now. The kids’ meals came in a little green bucket with a shovel, which we took to the Boneyard Dig Site later on. This was another location, however, where we saw people leaving their tables an absolute mess, and one person even took her trash to the can but a cup fell off and she just laughed and left it on the floor. (There’s a meme out there that says “I used to be a people person but people ruined that for me” and I can say it applies to this situation!)



We then went on Dinosaur using our FP+/rider switch. However, the FP+ line was pretty long so we wound up waiting about 15 minutes for the first ride and then the line had grown almost double for the second round where my dad was going to ride with DH and DS. While waiting around for the 2nd ride to be done, I had brought bubbles along so that entertained LO and DD for a bit. I also got to talking to a nice couple from Wales which helped pass the time. They even played with DS after he got off the ride and the husband taught my son the finger “trick” where you cover your thumb and act like you’re pulling the thumb off your other hand. DS thought this was amazing LOL.

See next post for the rest of our first day at AK!

 

[Carrie Gruber]

Day 4 Part II -

We let the kids do some more Wilderness Explorer badges and I think we let them play in the Boneyard playground area for a while. When we realized it was getting close to our reservation time for Rainforest Café, we gathered the kids and stroller and began our trek to the front of the park. I’ll be excited when AK is open later and has nighttime entertainment because it really is a downer to have to leave when it’s still daylight. It makes it a lot harder to see everything in the park over the span of one or two days.

We did Rainforest Café on our last trip and the kids really liked it so we decided to do it again. After this trip, I don’t think we’ll be doing it again, at least not for a while.



I’m just not really impressed with their menu anymore. It seemed like they had downsized their offerings. Last time I thought the menu was pretty extensive because we had difficulty settling on what we wanted to order. This time, we were having difficulty deciding but only because there wasn’t that much to choose from. DH and I wound up getting the same thing – Taste of the Islands. The food was good, but it wasn’t anything to rave about. The Dynamite scallops and shrimp was too cheesy for us and a little too spicy. We like spicy food, but this was spicy in a bad way, to the point that I didn’t want to eat any more of it because it tasted almost sour. The coconut shrimp and tilapia were good, but nothing we would “ooh and ahh” over. The kids got pizza and mac & cheese, but neither one finished their food. And if DS doesn’t finish pizza, then you know it’s not good. DH got a beer (can’t remember what kind) in a souvenir glass but it took forever to get it delivered to the table. Our hostess actually came by and said “They didn’t bring you your beer yet?” before going to get it herself. When we first dined here, it was new-to-us and fun. But this time it just felt crowded, noisy, the floor was wet and sticky underneath the table, I was getting sick of the smell of aging animatronics and our service was ridiculously slow.







We did end up getting some souvenirs in the Rainforest Café gift shop:



Reminder: everything we purchased was paid for with Disney gift cards. It was so much easier than dealing with cash!

We ended our first day at AK and headed back to the buses around 6:30. It was neat to be in the park after it was officially closed, but it will be nice once the park is open into the evening hours. For our next trip, I want to go back for a full 2 weeks just to have a couple of days where we can just walk around and observe more. While we got a lot accomplished on this trip, I still felt rushed, especially in AK.

Read on for Day 5!

 

[Carrie Gruber]

Day 5 - Monday 10/19/15 – Magic Kingdom Act II!

FP+: Enchanted Tales with Belle 9:10-10:10 AM

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train 10:20-11:20 AM

Space Mountain 1:05-2:05 PM

Now that our feet were starting to ache, I was using moleskin and bandaids to help with areas of my feet that were starting to develop blisters. My shoes were really comfortable (they’re the sandal/sneakers with the cushioned soles) but with the amount of walking that’s required at Disney, you’re going to have sore feet and most likely spots that get rubbed almost raw. The heels of my feet were cracking and by the middle of the week, it was getting to be excruciating. DH and I started taking Aleve every morning to combat the aches and pains, which really helped us get through the days. And I can tell you it took a good 2 weeks after we got back for my feet to heal.

We started off our second day at Magic Kingdom with breakfast in our room and an early start, though not early enough to make it for rope drop. We went up through the hub, stopped to get our pictures taken in front of the castle and then headed to Fantasyland.



We stopped at Gaston’s Tavern for some cinnamon rolls and coffees:



We were really impressed with Gaston’s Tavern. It’s very well themed and to see Gaston’s chair and the antler chandeliers was amazing. We even lucked out with the food. There were two lines open and each had a few people in it so another CM came out to open another register. She called me over and I gave her my order, one cinnamon roll and one LeFou’s Brew in the souvenir mug. She seemed confused by what I was ordering, and when I went to scan my MagicBand, she said that this register was cash or credit. Before I could even ask why, one of the other CMs came over and voided the transaction, telling me “It’s on Gaston today”. I was stunned because I didn’t understand why he decided to give it to me for free, I wasn’t going to raise a stink about not being able to scan my band. I was just going to ask if they could ring me up on another register, but oh well. Shortly after, a female CM came up to the CM who originally rang me up and politely said she could go back to the kitchen for now, that she would take over the register. I don’t know what was going on, but I took my gigantic cinnamon roll and drink back to the table as fast as I could!

Outside, we took pictures in front of the fountain and realized that Gaston would soon be making his appearance, so we stopped at the restrooms right behind the tavern. These were some of the nicest bathrooms I saw the whole trip. There weren’t too many people back there yet and it’s right by where the line for Gaston starts, so we wound up being about the 10th group in line. Gaston was a trip! He’s just funny to listen to, and he kept making jokes about books and how dumb they are. He asked DS how many dozen eggs he eats every day, to which DS said none and Gaston turns to me and says “Well that’s your fault, now isn’t it?” He had everyone laughing and was one of the more memorable character interactions for the kids.

After meeting Gaston, we had FP+ for Enchanted Tales with Belle. Seeing that mirror transform into the doorway was amazing and I’m still trying to figure out how it works LOL. The theming in the cottage was great and I wish I had taken more pictures. DS was chosen as Filipe (spelled right?) and DD was chosen as Maurice. My kids are shy so they needed some prodding to “neigh” and “shiver” on cue. It was a cute little skit and a neat way to meet Belle. It’s also nice that they give everyone a bookmark at the end.



Then we made our way over to Under the Sea: Journey of the Little Mermaid since the posted wait was 10 minutes. We pretty much walked right onto the ride. I like this ride, it may be simple but The Little Mermaid is one of my favorite movies of all time so being able to ride through the scenes is awesome.

Then it was time to move on to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. We used FP+/rider switch and we got on the ride after about a 15 minute wait. It was nice to be able to ride this again and not wait for over an hour in line!

This is the picture from the first time we rode 7DMT, couldn't fit it in the earlier post!

Next up was Dumbo. We were moving surprisingly fast through the park this day. It felt like we’d done so much and it was only around 11:00. LO fell asleep during the walk to Dumbo and we had to carry him into the waiting area. The play area inside was really neat and I thought it’d be more of a challenge to get the kids out of there when the buzzer went off, but they were pretty good about it. Being able to sit for while gave us time to look at the MY Disney Experience app to see where we wanted to grab lunch. We didn’t do any TS meals this day as I had to save 1 TS for our last day when I scheduled 2 TS meals. We decided to do Cosmic Ray’s for lunch and before we knew it, our buzzer was going off. The only bad thing about the indoor play area is that it’s easy to lose track of your kids, which we did. DS was with us up until we got in line for the ride, but he must have lost sight of us because he went back into the play area to find us. We found him right away though, and it was our only close call this trip! LO slept through the entire line and woke up as we got into the Dumbo vehicle. He wasn’t a fan of Dumbo – he doesn’t like that it goes up and down. If it stayed still he was good, and luckily it’s not a long ride.

We then tried to get on the Barnstormer but it was temporarily closed so we walked over to the Casey Jr. Splash and Soak Station. This was the one day of our trip where it was actually “chilly” in the mid-70’s and breezy, but it made the day so much more enjoyable since we weren’t sweating. DS was the only one who ran through the water, and he was the only kid there at the time so it was nice.



We then walked down the pathway behind Fantasyland that brings you out right next to Space Mountain. We stopped at the restrooms right there (these were the most crowded restrooms we encountered in any park). By then we were ready for lunch, so we went to Cosmic Ray’s:



I think Cosmic Ray’s is a good value, even if it’s crowded all the time. My chicken was good and LO devoured the green beans. DH really liked the chicken sandwich and he thought Sonny Eclipse was great, cheesy jokes and all. Last time we were stuck sitting outside, so it was nice to find a table indoors. The trick to this is you have to scout for families who are finishing up and look like they’re almost ready to leave. Then you just head over and look around, see if anyone else is eyeing up the spot and swoop in once the family leaves. We lucked out and the family before us saw us looking around and motioned us over. We did the same once we were ready to leave and spotted a family in the same predicament. They were grateful that we also left them a high chair!

We used our FP+ for Space Mountain and DS was tall enough to ride (but hadn’t been tall enough at Expedition Everest, same height requirement?). He absolutely loved it! DD refused to ride it, and I’m hoping she changes her mind before our next trip, because it’s one of my favorite attractions. I hate for her to miss out on anything at Disney! But my dad took her and LO on Carousel of Progress while we rode, so they had fun without us. We then rode Astro Orbiter for the first time and probably our last time. It’s just not worth the wait and I didn’t feel safe at all in the little rocket. I felt like I was going to fall out, but you do get a nice view of Tomorrowland, the castle and the Contemporary Resort if you can tolerate looking at things while spinning.

We got the kids’ faces painted (that cost $18 each, so $36 total) and did the Peoplemover, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and Tomorrowland Speedway. The kids also wanted ice cream treats so we stopped at a cart right by the Speedway. The total for that would have been $13.31 but we used snack credits.



Around 6:30/7 we started heading towards Main Street to find a spot for the parade and fireworks. It was still pretty empty but spots were filling up fast. We nabbed a spot by a trash can right at the corner of the Hub and the walkway to Liberty Square. DH sat with the kids while I made the trek to Casey’s Corner for dinner. If you have ideas of doing the same, I suggest choosing somewhere else to grab food. Casey’s wasn’t just crowded, it was overflowing with people. They must have had 8-10 CM’s behind the counter and it still wasn’t enough to take and fill orders.

One thing I liked was that they now give menus at the door so while you wait in line, you can figure out what you want so ordering/fulfillment goes (usually) quicker. I also was using the MDE app to check menus throughout our days so we weren’t flying blind. It also helps to check menus before you leave home so you know where you want to grab food based on where you expect to be in the parks around meal times. I then matched up restaurants with what lands we’d be in at mealtimes, based on what our Touring Plans times were. We loved Casey’s Corner last time, but not at the height of the pre-parade rush:



My dad got the Polish sausage and said it was really good, but I thought the ground mustard was way too "fragrant" for my taste. Just the smell of it made my eyes sting! DH and I got BBQ slaw dogs and those were awesome, but we had to eat them with forks! DS and DD didn’t want anything except dessert, so we gave them the brownies and they split the Cracker Jack.

As we were waiting, I was surprised how many people tried to claim spots clearly marked off with tape. I witnessed this last trip, and the CMs eventually gave up trying to keep the walkways clear. Not the case this year! They had a lot of CMs at the entrance to Liberty Square where the floats were going to go by, so I think that factored in, but they did a great job of keeping people away no matter how much the guests protested. It made for interesting entertainment for the rest of us!

Last trip, DS fell asleep before the parade even started (which wasn’t terrible since we didn’t really have a view of it anyway) but he stayed awake for the whole thing this time and we had an excellent view. The floats came right in front of us and we go to see the characters really close up. We got to talking to a family who was standing behind us and found out they were from Scotland. Their daughter was around the same age as DH so they hit it off well and watched the parade and fireworks together.

This is how close we were to the parade and castle. The photo isn't even zoomed in. Definitely our go-to spot for next trip!

The castle projection show was really nice, although I wish it were clearer. I get so emotional watching it, and then the fireworks just do me in! I get misty-eyed just thinking about it. We hung around for about 15 minutes after the fireworks ended to avoid the mad rush to exit. It was nice to watch the park start to empty out and not be caught up in the crowd. We did make a pit stop at the restrooms by Crystal Palace and took pictures of the castle and the garden. We made it down Main Street pretty easily and honestly, the worst part about leaving any park is the walk to the bus stop. At MK, our bus stop was one of the very last and we were beat by the time we got in line. And it seemed like we were waiting a long time in between buses, I’m not sure how many buses each resort has but I think they can do a lot better. All in all, we crammed a lot into our second full day at MK but it was worth it, just being able to have the spot we had for the parade/fireworks made it great.

Keep reading for Day 6 of our adventure - Animal Kingdom and MNSSHP!

 

[ipuffyheartdisney]

Great report so far! I love that you are posting the prices for dining. It is making me rethink my food budget for our upcoming trip.

 

[Carrie Gruber]

Day 6 Tuesday 10/20/15 – Animal Kingdom and MNSSHP

FP+: Kilimanjaro Safaris: 9:20-10:20 AM

Kali River Rapids: 10:25-11:25 AM

Expedition Everest: 11:25-12:25 PM

We decided to go to AK for the morning/early afternoon before heading back to the resort to swim and change into our costumes for the Halloween party. We had reservations at Tusker House for Donald’s Safari Breakfast at 8:00 AM. Hadn’t done this last trip but figured we’d try it. We got to the park ahead of opening and they had lines set up for early ADR’s to the left leading up to the turnstiles. They let us in after 8:00 which I wasn’t expecting, I thought they’d let us in at 7:50 to give everyone time to walk up through Africa and park strollers.

The restaurant itself is nice and well-themed, but I have to be honest and say that I wasn’t too impressed with this character breakfast. It got super crowded rather quickly and the buffet set-up seemed odd. Normally each side of a buffet has the same foods, so DH and I each took a child and got in opposite lines. I wouldn’t have even known there were carved meats and other side dishes to the right if DS hadn’t insisted we get in the other line. DH didn’t realize this either and was disappointed when he saw I had different items. He went to go back in line but by then they were both outrageously long and he was afraid he’d miss the characters coming around. That was strike one.





Although we had a pleasant server, he was split between so many tables that we had to track him down to get refills for our coffee and juice. And when we did get the refills, they were only half a cup and he just acted like that was normal (strike two). The table was still slightly sticky and there was still food underneath. We were packed in like sardines so it was hard to get up to help the kids pose with characters without bumping into the people sitting around you (strike three). Everything felt very rushed – it’s hard enough to get all three kids to sit down and eat without feeling like we have to inhale our food and get out to make way for the next family (strike four). We’re usually really forgiving when it comes to dining out, having worked in food service and knowing how it can be dealing with customers. The food wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t anything I’d rave about. DH and I agreed that we don’t need to come back here on future trips, at least not for breakfast.



After breakfast, we did the Music badge for the Wilderness Explorers since it was not far from the restaurant.



My dad wasn’t feeling too good at that time, so we split off and went to our FP+ for Kilimanjaro Safari at 9:30. I really like the ride and the kids had a good time trying to spot animals for their Wilderness Explorer books. Listen at the end of the safari to hear the driver say the name of your safari vehicle! After that, we walked through the Pangani Forest Exploration trail. We go to see the family of gorillas, naked mole rats, and all kinds of creepy-crawlies.

I loved the aviary. The kids liked trying to find the birds that are listed on the bird-watching cards. I was surprised how close the birds will get to you, I almost stepped on one! Then we rode Kali River Rapids again to use our FP+. When we got off KRR, we could not find my dad because he wasn’t where he said he’d be. So we wasted a lot of time trying to track down my dad, DD and LO. While we were looking, we stopped to get a pretzel to snack on:



We found the rest of our group sitting by the exit of the Majarajah Jungle Trek, mere feet from the pretzel stand. After that, we decided to skip our FP+ for Expedition Everest, not just because of time constraints but also because I didn’t feel it was fair to DS that we ride when he couldn’t (I was still upset about the other day when they didn’t let him on, but whatever. I know they have height restrictions for safety and if they didn’t think he’d have been safe on the ride, then so be it.)

Afterwards, we completed some more badges and made our way to the Boneyard play area. The kids loved this and it was nice to let them run around for a while. We took the kids over to the Dig Site and let the kids play in the rocks.



My big complaint with the Dig Site is that you can only access it by going over the walkway from the playground area and they don’t let you take strollers into the playground. If you’re carrying a 23-lb toddler, that’s not an easy trek! I don’t see why they can’t have a separate entrance, unless they’re trying to control the amount of people coming in or they’re afraid of children possibly getting lost. It’s just really inconvenient, especially on this day when about 15 minutes into digging, LO had a blow-out. So I had to take him back up the steps, back across the bridge, down through the playground, then walk to the nearest restroom which was near Restaurantosaurus. And then walk all the way back. Again, if they had a separate entrance for the Dig Site, it would be more convenient for those types of situations. I imagine I’m not the only one who’s had a child get in there and then decide they have to pee. RIGHT. THAT. MINUTE.

We knew we wanted to go back to the resort to swim and get ready for the party, so we started to head out of the park. I was bummed that we didn’t get to go to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, but I was glad the kids didn’t realize it until we were back at the resort. I promised them that we’d do it next time if the attraction is still there. I’m really looking forward to the Avatar expansion and Rivers of Light; it’s definitely going to make AK at least a full 2-day park for us.

We got back to the resort around 2:00 and we went to the Cozy Cone Pool. Everyone was getting hungry so I went to Landscape of Flavors to grab stuff to bring back to the pool area.





DH really liked the buffalo turkey sandwich and we all chowed down on the chips. Those are my favorite kind; fresh cut and either baked or fried with a little bit of salt. I got my dad the steak sandwich because I knew he probably wouldn’t want anything else they had on the menu. He likes horseradish, so I figured this was right up his alley. It took us longer to eat and get back to the room than I thought it would be, and getting everyone dressed in their costumes took FOREVER. So if you’re planning to do the same as us, make sure you set aside plenty of time – figure at least twice as long as you think it’ll take. We wound up not getting to MK until after 6:30, way later than my planned 4:00 arrival time. When we do the MNSSHP again (we’re definitely going to!) we’re going to do things a lot differently.

Check out the next post for details of our first time at MNSSHP!

 

[Carrie Gruber]

Day 6 - Tuesday 10/20/15 – Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

Costume list:

DD – Joy from Inside Out DH – Jack Skellington

DS – Iron Man Me - Sally

LO – Mickey Mouse My dad – Senior Disney Tourist (or himself)

We arrived shortly before the party officially started and received our wristbands and treat bags. We stopped to take a group photo in front of the flowers before entering the park. As we stepped out from under the train station, I was amazed at how crowded it seemed. I know there were a lot of people leaving the park as we were entering, so this may have contributed to the feeling of chaos. We were a bit overwhelmed by everything going on, especially being our first special event we’ve attended. I had a plan for us to loosely follow, but that quickly went out the window once we were in the thick of things.

Main Street was amazing! They really do a great job with the lighting and music; it really puts you in the Halloween spirit. The street was already packed with people waiting for the first parade, but the sidewalks were pretty clear since most people want to walk in the street. We started off in Tomorrowland, where we stopped at the trick-or-treat station at Carousel of Progress before watching some of the Monsters Inc. Dance Party.

Trick-or-treating in Tomorrowland

The trick-or-treat line in front of Stitch’s Great Escape was crazy so we went over to the Storybook Circus area. The line for Jack and Sally was pretty long by then and we just didn’t feel like waiting with the kids when we could be trick-or-treating, but we did walk by to at least see them. We went through the circus tent to hit the 2 candy locations in there and then made our way over towards the other side of Fantasyland. We hit the candy spot in front of the Speedway on the way and had to stop to take a breather. DH’s Jack mask was making him sweat really badly and the kids had some candy while he cooled off with some water.

We jumped over to Liberty Square because we needed to work our way over to our planned parade viewing spot. We stopped at the restrooms at Rapunzel’s Tower and then got candy at the treat station across from there. The line for Haunted Mansion was really short so we took advantage and rode it with hardly any wait. I don’t know if anyone else has had this experience, but the first day when we rode it, I don’t think the effects were as noticeable and yet the night of the party, everything inside seemed to really “pop” and we enjoyed it much more. Maybe it was because we weren’t going from daylight to darkness; it was already dark out so our eyes didn’t need to adjust as much? Whatever the reason, it was a lot more fun to ride it at night, plus the CM playing the ghost on the lawn was really fun to watch.

After that, we went to claim a spot for the parade. We stopped to get candy by the Liberty Square Riverboat and then went to stand near Sleepy Hollow Treats for the fireworks. After a few minutes, a CM came by and asked everyone standing there to follow her, that we’d have a much better view if we went back into Liberty Square because there was a tree by the castle that would be blocking our view. At first we thought it was just a crowd control technique, but at DH’s insistence, we followed her and sat/stood by the water fountains right next to the fenced area by the Riverboat. We were able to listen to the stage show and watch the fireworks show from that viewpoint.



Our view of the fireworks from Liberty Square/Frontierland.

The fireworks were right over us and I would rather stand there than in front of the castle anytime, so the CM really did know what she was talking about. It was not crowded at all! We then saw an opening out front next to the Frontier Trading Post, which is where I planned to sit for the parade so we made a beeline to claim it. While we waited for the parade to start, DH and I walked to get food and it was one of the few times on vacation that we spent alone. It was neat to be walking around at night with fog and laser lights, not having to hold on to a kid. We walked down to Pecos Bill’s but didn’t see anything we really wanted so we turned back and figured we’d just snack on candy.

The parade was great, but poor DS fell asleep before it started and would not get up. We sat on the curb and had a great view. The characters walked right in front of us and we especially got a kick out of the Headless Horseman and the grave-diggers with their sparking shovels. Also, that song they play is still stuck in my head to this day. I liked Boo To You way more than the Electrical Parade, and I can only imagine the Christmas Parade being able to top this one.





After the parade, we started walking back towards the castle to see the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular. Since most families had watched the earlier shows and by now had left the park, it was relatively less crowded. We wound up getting a spot right in front of the castle, to the far left at the back corner of the colored brick. A lot of people were trying to butt in front but CMs did a great job of turning those guests away. Quite a few arguments began but the CMs didn’t back down and I was impressed, again, with how they handled the situation.

I have to give kudos to Disney for bringing the Sanderson Sisters to the parks. Hocus Pocus was and is still one of my all-time favorite Halloween movies, second only to The Nightmare Before Christmas (which we watch at both Halloween and Christmas of course). The CMs looked SO MUCH LIKE Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker in the film that I forgot for most of the show that they were not them! The crowd went insane for this show, myself included. There was so much energy to the show and it was very well done. My kids really got a kick out of Oogie Boogie and the end when all the villains are on stage. In order to keep this part short, I’ll just say that the show made our night and we were so happy we stayed to watch it. The ONLY thing that could have made it better would have been a Meet & Greet with the Sanderson Sisters, so hopefully Disney has realized this and we’ll see them added to the line-up in the future.

Getting out of the park this evening was fairly easy. We didn’t rush to get out and because it was after midnight, it was neat to be in the parks “after hours” when you know most people are asleep.



With this being our first party, we were overwhelmed with the offerings and despite my best laid plans, we missed a lot, mainly due to the fact that we arrived late. We forgot to get our special SOTMK card and we didn’t get any magic shots at the Photopass locations. We also didn’t purchase any of the event merchandise or specialty treats. Here are some tips for other first-timers so you will (hopefully) not make the same mistakes we did:

1. Eat at your resort before you leave. Do not waste time during the party trying to eat a meal. Snacks will suffice along with the candy!
   
   
2. Arrive early, preferably before 4:00 so you get in right when they start admitting party guests. I cannot stress this enough. GET THERE EARLY!!!!!
   
   
3. If you want the event-specific merchandise and treats, get them first thing. You’ll get swept up in the excitement and you will forget. Been there, done that, regret it.
   
   
4. If there are characters you must meet, get there early and get in line. For us, seeing the Dwarfs or Jack & Sally up close wasn’t a deal-breaker. It would have been nice, but it didn’t ruin our evening. We still “saw” them and that was fine with the kids.
   
   
5. If you’re an adult and don’t think you want to dress up, I highly suggest you do! DH and I doled out and received compliments all night long with others and it was fun to see parents dressed up and getting into the spirit of Halloween with their kids.
   
   
6. Dance at the dance parties. My crew isn’t real outgoing so we didn’t jump in to dance, but I regret not doing it now. It’s all in fun and no one is watching you, they’re watching their kids.
   
   
7. Don’t schedule a theme park for the next day. This is just my suggestion, and it worked great for our family. We got to sleep in a bit (if you call 7:30/8:00 sleeping in) and went to Typhoon Lagoon for our “break” day. If you don’t have the water park add-on, just hang at your hotel pool. You’re going to need to rest after being out so late the night before. Case in point:

We will definitely do the Halloween party again on a future trip. We’ve decided to try to go either mid to late November or early December so we can do Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party for our next trip, but we will return for October sometime after that. It was worth the money for us but would have been so much better if we’d been more organized. Lessons learned!

Next up: Day 7 - Typhoon Lagoon, Old Port Royale & T-Rex Café!

 

[Carrie Gruber]

Day 7 Wednesday 10/21 – Old Port Royale breakfast, Typhoon Lagoon & T-Rex Café

After attending MNSSHP the night before, we slept in until around 7:30/8:00 and then got ready to take a cab over to Caribbean Beach Resort. When I was little, that’s where we stayed but now that we chose AoA for the past two trips, my dad likes to go back there to eat breakfast and walk around to revive the memories. I love this resort and plan to have us stay here for a future trip. Last time, DH and DD slept too late so it was just me, my dad and DS who went. This year, everyone was up and ready to go on time which started the day off wonderfully.

NOTE: If you’re taking a cab to Caribbean Beach, make sure you specify that you want to go to Old Port Royale, not the Customs House which is a completely separate building at the opposite side of the resort. You’ll save additional cab fare, unlike us!

We ate breakfast at the Old Port Royale food court, and it’s the regular breakfast offerings (Bounty Platter, Mickey Waffles, etc.) but I was more excited for DH to see the resort. I wanted him to see what a non-Value resort is like and he was impressed. He said he would really like to stay there next time and I think we sold DS and DD on staying here as well once they saw the Spanish fort-themed pool. I just love the atmosphere of this resort. It’s quite, there’s Caribbean music playing every now and then, you have the lake and the beaches…it just has a more laid back feel, especially compared to the loud and bright Values.

NOTE: We made I through the meal with no issues (DS had one of his vomiting spells last trip after we ate breakfast, so I was nervous to try again. He did well and when I caught him starting to look like he was going to feel ill, I just told him to take his time and watch the cartoons on the television above the table. That seemed to distract him and nothing came back up, but I had an emesis bag ready just in case).



We walked to the closest bus stop and were soon on our way to Typhoon Lagoon. One of the downsides is that there are so many stops around the resort because the property is large. This can mean major delays in getting to the parks on time. Fortunately, we only stopped twice.

Upon entering the park, we stopped at Singapore Sal’s to get swim trunks for LO since we forgot to pack his back at the resort (FAIL! - but we did remember his swim diaper and towel) and then rented one small ($13) and one large ($15) locker. The swim trunks cost us $22.63 and the lockers cost $18.00 (that's after deducting the $5 deposit for each). We paid for all of that using our Disney Gift Cards.

While we were putting our stuff in the lockers before going to change, a little rain storm came along and we were stuck huddling under the overhang until it stopped. While we were waiting, we saw some of the most interesting swim suits on guests…ones that I’m shocked they even allow in the park. If the suit isn’t covering the parts that it should be covering, then you should not be wearing it IMHO. It’s fun to come up with explanations when kids ask why things are hanging out (I just kept saying that some people are comfortable with their bodies being on display; but for us, we keep our “privates” private when we’re in public).

Our first stop was Ketchakiddie Creek. LO loved the being able to run around and get wet. The older kids went straight for the tube slides and stayed there pretty much the entire time we were in the area. I think this area is great; parents can cool off as well as the kids and it wasn’t crowded while we were there. There was plenty of seating and we parked our stroller so that we could see it from wherever we stood. We did leave our digital cameras in the lockers and brought the GoPro with us. I absolutely love that thing! Didn’t have to worry about getting it wet and we have some funny videos of LO in the steamboat.

After that we rode Gangplank Falls three times (there was no line!) and then stopped to watch the waves come out in the Surf Pool. Then we went through the tunnel under Gangplank Falls that comes out on the other side of the Surf Pool. DH and I rode Humunga Kowabunga, while my dad sat with the kids at the beach right next to the attraction. I’m not much of a fan of body slides, and one ride on this one was enough. I wasn’t expecting such a steep drop, but it wasn’t too terrible. You just need to anticipate the bumping your thighs are going to encounter at the bottom. It did hurt a bit, not to mention the major wedgie!

DS and DD accompanied us on the Storm Slides. I was nervous about DS going on this; I was afraid he’d uncross his legs or panic halfway through. DH and I made sure to go down first so we’d be there to catch them once they came after. DS thought those were the absolute best thing ever! DD enjoyed it, too, but she’s not our daredevil and one ride was enough for her. DH and DS went on one more time while we waited.

We then went over to the Shark Reef. We didn’t do this last time and it was a must-do this trip. We got our snorkels and kids’ life vests, and then proceeded to the showers to rinse off. Then we joined the group of other guests at the edge of the tank. I was nervous about DS being able to keep the mask on and breathe, as he hasn’t had the best success with this in regular swimming pools, but he listened to what the instructor was saying and said he was OK. We sat down at the edge of the tank and DH an dI got in first, then helped the kids get in after. We had DS practice putting his face in the water and breathing, and after a couple tries, he seemed to get the idea. We all held hands and pushed off into the water.

This is really an amazing experience that I suggest to anyone, even if you’re apprehensive about swimming with sharks. The tank is huge and you get a close-up view of some really beautiful fish. The sharks don’t really swim up to you, but they aren’t shy about getting close if they want to. I’d say the closest I got to one was about two arm lengths. It’s just so neat to float along and see the kids’ hands pointing stuff out. DD, DS and I did fine with breathing through the snorkel, but DH turned his head to look back at DS and unknowingly got water in the tube LOL. So all of a sudden I see him out of the corner of my eye waving his arms frantically but I thought he was just excited about the fish! It wasn’t until we got out on the other side that he told us what happened and we were all cracking up. DS wanted to go back in, but it was getting late and the Shark Reef closes before the rest of the park, and we still wanted to get on Crush N’ Gusher before we needed to leave.

DH and I went on Crush N’ Gusher (there was a very short line) and that was a blast. We had ridden it on our last trip and loved it, but this time we felt a lot more bumping under our butts when we were being propelled up the hills. Guess we put on a little more weight since 2013? After that, we went to get the kids and my dad from their spot along the Surf Pool. They were having fun running back and forth between the island and the edge of the pool, and we got them a funnel cake since they were just about famished. We used a snack credit but if we hadn't it would have cost us $6.92 OOP.

Then we made our way back to the lockers, changed back into our clothes and exchanged our locker keys. We got back the resort and changed into clean clothes for dinner and I received a phone call from the CM at Disney Vacation Account. She told me that the situation regarding my gift card had been reviewed and they had sent an email for me to take to any Guest Relations desk to redeem for my $140 gift card. I was so excited and thankful that they had corrected this and made it possible for me to get my card. Even though it started out as a mess, they made some Disney magic happen for me.

After getting off the phone, we got on the bus to go to Disney Springs for our dinner reservation at T-Rex Café at 6:00 PM. This was THE WORST bus ride we’ve ever had. The driver went a completely different way than we’d gone before and we got stuck in horrible traffic. As the clock ticked away and it became clear we were totally not going to make it, DH told me to call the reservation line and see if they could do anything. So I did call and the CM on the line was super friendly and informed me that our reservation wouldn’t be cancelled, it would just be “on hold” until we got there. I was so relieved, because we’ve never been late to a reservation before and the kids were really excited about eating there again.

We finally arrived at Disney Springs around 6:30 PM and boogied over the bridge to The Landing. We checked-in and parked our stroller (of course, LO was asleep so I wound up holding him until we were called up to the podium). Also, we were sitting on the bus with another family who were also panicking about missing their reservation and they were walking the entire way close by us, only to end up parking our strollers near each other at T-Rex. We all had a laugh about what a coincidence it was that we happened to have reservations at the same time, same bus, same resort and kids the same age. We stood in line together and even got seated near each other on the far side of the restaurant, just outside the ice cave.

The place was packed, but we expected that, since it’s a popular place for families to take their kids. Our server was pleasant and took our drink orders. I don’t know if it was just that I was tired or the fact that LO didn’t want to sit in his high chair and was fussing/throwing stuff (he was also tired) but I felt so overwhelmed and I just wanted to eat and get out of there. As we were looking over the menu, we noticed that their offerings, like Rainforest Café (another Landry’s-owned restaurant), were considerably limited compared to our last dining experience. We all wound up getting the Boneyard Buffet, but all three of us are certain that this included a steak of some sort last time in addition to the ribs and chicken.



We did enjoy the food and everything tasted good, but again we felt rushed. The kids ate everything on their plates but we had to take the chocolate pudding in a doggie bag, along with some ribs, fries and onion rings. It’s not a bad value, you just have to be willing to put up with a lot of noise when the meteor shower/asteroid comes and the dinosaurs come to life. I don’t see us returning to T-Rex Café on our next trip (or even the one after that). I’ve kind of had my fill of the Landry’s restaurants and would prefer to dine elsewhere. The main reason we went back to Rainforest Café and T-Rex was because we had great experiences last time, but it seems as though in the span of two years things have gone downhill for Landry’s. If your kids are really in to dinosaurs, take them there at least once because it is neat; even if you just go in the gift shop, you can still catch a glimpse of the T-Rex and the big Octopus over the bar area.


Boneyard Buffet

Keeping himself occupied for the moment!

After we left the restaurant, DS said he was tired and didn’t want to walk around anymore so we let him go back to the resort with my dad. DH, DD, LO and I spent the rest of the evening walking around Disney Springs. We stopped in Super Hero Headquarters, which I think they could have done so much more with. The store is tiny and if you have 10 people in that store, you can’t move. With having acquired the Marvel franchise, I just assumed they would have done something bigger, but maybe they’ll expand it in the future. We wound up getting DS a Spiderman ear hat, and I was disappointed that he wasn’t there to see the store, but my wallet was certainly not missing him!



Then we walked up to Disney Quest, which at the time was already revealed to be closing next year. We didn’t get to go in last trip because it was raining and it seemed like EVERYONE was trying to get in there, so it was on our must-do list this year. I saw that there was a Guest Relations desk right there so I was able to get my gift card (!). Once we got inside Disney Quest, I was sad that we didn’t get to experience it more than the hour or so we had left until closing time. DH and DD played Fix It Felix and a bunch of other arcade games; even LO got to “play”.

We then made our way towards the bus stop, but wanted to stop at World of Disney before first:



I just had to get the cook book; it was #1 on my souvenir list. And after finding the recipe for the Bread & Butter Pudding from Raglan Road was in it, I was 100% sold. I’ve made it at home and it’s excellent! I have yet to attempt the Cheddar Cheese soup from Le Cellier, but from the reviews I’ve read it’s awesome. I also got a Mickey Mouse blanket that came in a nice drawstring bag for $19.95 with a $50 purchase. It’s a thin fleece blanket and it’s only big enough to cover one person or two kids, but I like the design and it’s nice to snuggle up with when you don’t want a heavy blanket (used it on the plane home when I was freezing!).

As we were heading out, it turns out that my dad hadn’t gone back to the resort and was hanging out in the Marketplace. He called us as we were leaving World of Disney, asking where we were. Really me mad that DS could have been with us the whole time, could have seen the Super Hero store, and could have gone to Disney Quest…why didn’t my dad just call to say he was staying??? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – this was the last trip we take with my dad. DS saw that DD got a Duffy bear, so now he was bugging to get one, too. After we got back to the resort, we made a stop in the Ink & Paint Shop while DH went to the Drop Off Pool Bar to get a beer and watch some of the Mets game:





Then it was off to bed to get rested for Hollywood Studios. I’m undecided whether we’ll do the water parks again for our next trip. It is a nice break from the parks, but I’m also thinking we could just stay at our resort pool for a truly laid back day or even go miniature golfing, which is something we haven’t done. The Water Park Fun & More Option might not be worth it for some, especially on short trips. You have to weigh the cost against what you plan to use it for. We knew we were going to do the Water Parks and Disney Quest, but with that closing I’m not sure if Disney will fill that “option” with a new experience or not. For our family, we don’t do our local waterparks often, so this was more of a special occasion thing for us. Whatever your family decides, you’re going to have fun no matter what you choose. It’s Disney!

Up Next: Day 8 - Hollywood Studios and 50's Prime Time Cafe

 

[Carrie Gruber]

Day 8 Thursday 10/22/15 – Hollywood Studios & 50’s Prime Time Café

FP+: Toy Story Mania 1:05-2:05

Star Tours 4:00-5:00

Tower of Terror 5:55-6:55

Our day started out well; we were at the park shortly after opening at 9:00 AM. We made a bee-line for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. Now, my dad got separated from us because he wanted to get his scooter, so we said we’d meet him at the attraction. So since the kids couldn’t ride it, I said for him to go get in line and get a Rider Switch pass. HOWEVER he didn’t remember to get the pass! So he got on in five minutes but by the time he got off the ride the line was already creeping up to 20 minutes and my dad was still nowhere to be seen. I was starting to panic, because the rest of our day was sort of hinging on us being able to be on and off this ride by 9:30. It was now approaching 9:30 and I hadn’t gotten on yet. Thankfully, I called my dad and he was right around the corner, so we were able to get through the line in less than 15 minutes. The FP+ line was longer than the standby, so at least I didn’t waste one of our FP+ or a Rider Switch pass on this!

We love this coaster, but one ride is enough for me. That take-off is intense! We then went back down Sunset Boulevard to jump over to Animation Courtyard. We saw Disney Jr. Live on Stage and The Little Mermaid show. No need to repeat either next time, but it was nice to cool off inside The Little Mermaid. The Disney Jr. Live show was neat but LO was more interested in walking around and they really take the yellow lines seriously! He was trying to get a better look and in order to do this with adults sitting in front of us, he needed to get close to the aisle. I think we were told 3 or 4 times to keep him inside the yellow line – HELLO?! He’s one! And it’s Mickey! And you have us all sitting on the floor with adults and kids mixed together so it’s hard for everyone to see. They should get seats for the adults so they can sit towards the back and let the little ones sit up front on the floor. Then they’d only need to have CMs at the front to make sure no one tries to climb on the stage. It’s just not well thought out.



After that, we stopped to get DD a Frozen Earband at In Character, which cost us $23.38 (Disney Gift Card!)

Then we made our way over to The Great Movie Ride. I always loved this attraction and we thought the improvements to the queue and pre-ride show were very nice. But I don’t think I need to ride this again on our next trip because they really need to update the scenes. Not many people remember/are fans of the classic westerns, Johnny Weissmuller playing Tarzan, Singing in the Rain or Casablanca. I know they want to preserve these films, but honestly they need to move those out and possibly add some of the props to the queue. If they want to draw younger people into this attraction, they need to insert more modern film scenes. Really, all they’d have to do is pick a few from IGN’s Top 100 Movie Moments http://www.ign.com/top/movie-moments. LO fell asleep in the queue and remained that way for the entire ride, a sure sign that this attraction is BORING. I hate to admit it, because I used to love it, but it’s just not appealing anymore.

After that we stopped to get some Joffrey’s coffee around 12:30:



The boys needed a bathroom break and as we were waiting outside of Toy Story Mania, the green soldiers came out so we quick tried to grab some photos and autographs. They kept moving though and we felt like we were competing with other guests to get to them. There’s no line so people kept butting in front of my kids who were CLEARLY waiting to get their picture taken. So frustrating! After we got some shots, we stopped to look at some souvenirs but didn’t buy anything (thank goodness!) although I thought we were going to have to when DS broke a lanyard. He somehow pulled the rubber green alien off the metal clip part and we could not get that thing back on. DH finally succeeded and DS was told not to touch ANYTHING the rest of the day LOL.





We hung out in the area until 1:00 when we could use our FP+. We always seemed to have issues choosing who was going to ride with whom. DD and DS always want to ride with DH and then me and my dad feel unwanted, so then it turns into mini-meltdowns when they can’t ride with Daddy at the same time. Does anyone else have this issue? It doesn’t even matter if we’re riding an attraction twice and they can switch, it’s always the same argument. DH rode with DD, my dad rode with DS and I rode with LO on my lap. I think we did pretty well despite LO trying to move the cannon. He absolutely loves Toy Story so he got a real kick out of the queue, the rotating cars, and the games. It’s a shame he won’t keep the 3D glasses on!



After we got off the ride, we went down to Studio Catering Co. for lunch:



My dad was still full from his breakfast that he had back at the hotel and neither DH or I felt like eating a whole meal each, so he and I decided to split the Chipotle Ranch Chicken Sandwich. It was more than enough to fill us up and I suggest doing this at QS restaurants to stretch your credits. It’s definitely doable at this location. And again, the Power Pack meals for kids are a great option for kids who don’t eat a lot at one sitting. DD ate the carrots, the apple slices and snack bar, while LO had the yogurt and the goldfish, plus he drank the milk. DS was full from the Uncrustable, fries and apple juice. He wanted to save the cookie for later. The Strawberry Parfait was refreshing, too. I was very satisfied with our meals at this location and at the time we ate there (1:30-ish) it wasn’t crowded yet, so get there early enough and you’ll be able to get a table.

The kids were then begging to go to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area, so we went there next. Now, if you’re super annoyed by kids running around and crowds in general, you may want to skip this. But don’t make your kids sit it out! I typically don’t like being that close to other people, but having experienced it before, I knew what to expect and prepared myself. It’s also a lot more enjoyable when it’s not summer! With the cooler temp, it was less stressful and I could actually bear to go into the tunnels with my kids. Please don’t be one of those parents who just lets their kid run rampant in here, though. Its way bigger than you think it is, and you’ll lose sight of your kid in the blink of an eye. Stay with your children if it’s possible; you can fit pretty much everywhere they can unless you’re super tall. DH and I took LO into the spider-web rope climb course and we had a lot of fun. It’s a good workout, especially for upper arms and calves!

The dog’s nose was working this time, as were the squirt guns and garden hose. Once we’d gotten the kids’ pictures on Antie, we were ready to get the heck out of there.

We stopped at Youse Guys Moychundise to get DS a shirt:



Then we did Muppet Vision 3D and went back to see the Lights! Camera! Action! Stunt Show, which was a first for us. LO and DS got a kick out of seeing Lightning McQueen doing stunts. They also thought it was cool that the “backwards” driving car was actually driven by a stunt guy facing backwards in a special seat.

We then went on Star Tours and had a blast. I can’t wait to see what’s coming with the Star Wars expansion in the park. It was DS’s first time on the ride, so he was super excited. Too bad he wasn’t chosen as the Rebel Spy like DD was two years ago.

We had dinner reservations at 50’s Prime Time Café, and this was the first time we’d eaten here. We’ve heard good things from friends who have dined there, and I love the theming. We waited in the lounge, watching clips from old TV shows and taking in the details. We were seated in a corner booth and this was one meal that LO wanted no part of sitting in the high chair:



DH, my dad and I all got the Mom’s Favorites and we were all very impressed with how much food we got and the taste. Everything was delicious, I have no complaints about the food, but then again we’re not overly picky. The milk shakes were really good and I loved my PB&J but I just could not finish it! Thankfully, my Chef Mickey cookbook has the recipe in it, so I can make them at home J DS got macaroni and cheese and DD got the pot pie. Both were a decent amount of food and the kids ate most of it. For dessert, my dad got the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake and raved about it. I got the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake and I was in HEAVEN! That slice was huge and I could only eat a few bites, so I wound up taking it back to the resort for later that night. DH got the Brownie Sundae and wound up sharing most of it with LO, who had been enjoying everything from everyone else’s plates. He ate very well!

After such a hearty meal, we practically rolled out of our seats and out the door. The walk down Sunset Boulevard helped settle our stomachs, but where were we headed? To Tower of Terror, of course!

I have to give some back story so you know why I was dreading ToT so much. I last rode it when I was 11 and I was petrified of it back then. I hate freefall rides (I hate that feeling in my stomach, but can bare it on roller coasters) but my dad made me go on it (I went willingly, but I was almost in tears the entire time, so I know where DD gets it from). I don’t know if anyone feels this way, but things that I experienced as a child seem to be remembered as being much worse than they actually were. So on our trip in 2013, I refused to go on it and I have had a deep-rooted regret ever since because I let my fear prevent me from experiencing DH’s first time riding it. I was determined to ride it this time, especially when DS insisted he was going to ride it, too. How could I let a 6 year old best me?

So there we were, in the courtyard beside the attraction, and I felt a resolve come over me. I was going to ride this thing and, darn it, I was going to have fun! So we got in the FP+ line and my stomach started doing loop-de-loops. We walked into the hotel and I tried to keep my mind off of my impending doom by taking in the details. In the library, I clutched DS’s hand and told him we’d be fine as the creepy history of the hotel was told. As we entered the basement I felt like I was in a dream, surely the start of a panic attack or a fainting spell, right?

We walked through the queue and I had to deal with the CMs menacingly telling us where to stand. My fear must have been evident, because the one who loaded us into the car made sure to tell me “Goodbye”. And then we started our ascent. My heart was pounding and my mind was racing. I had watched YouTube videos to prepare me for this. I knew what to expect and when and I was keeping DS informed of this as we went along. DS clung to DH’s arm with one arm and his other was wrapped around mine. I don’t know who was trying to comfort who! We started going forward after seeing the ghosts in the hallway and I knew this was it. I watched the stars come together in front of us and the doors opened to blackness. We sat there in silence and I told DS to get ready. And then it happened.

We dropped down and all let out a squeal, then got pulled back up before dropping again and again and again. Just when we thought it was over, we plummeted once more. And that was it. I had spent months agonizing over this one ride and I not only survived it, but I LOVED it! DS and I were so happy we had done it that we said we wanted to go on again, and we did! The second ride was even better than the first because I could actually laugh this time. And the videos from the rides were hilarious! I now have another favorite attraction on my list.



Once we were back from the Twilight Zone, we rushed to get in to see Fantasmic. DH had to go to the bathroom so I took the kids to get a seat. My dad said he’d wait for DH and they’d meet us inside.

NOTE: I have to tell you about what happened to us on our last trip in 2013 when we tried to see the show. We had done the dinner package at Hollywood & Vine (the food was not worth it) and supposedly had a good shot at a seat. We stood in line seemingly forever and were packed like sardines; I was afraid we’d lose our kids in the crowd it was so horrible. When we finally got into the theater, we were told where to go but the section was almost filled. There were some open seats in the middle of some rows but the people refused to move down and give up “their” seats, so no one in our group or any of the other families with us got to sit down. We were told there was standing room only and had to move to the back of the theater. Once we got there, there were a few streaks of lightning and the show was subsequently cancelled. Then we had to battle the crowds to get out of the park. I was so furious; I swore we’d never do the dinner package again and would not recommend it to anyone else. Just go and try to get the best seats you can early.

This time, we were cutting it pretty close with having rode ToT twice, but I was able to get in and even though it was standing room only, there are bleachers at the back that I was able to sit down with DD, DS and LO. The show started and DH finally showed up, so we were able to watch the show without too terrible of a view. Towards the end of the show, before the steamboat comes out with the characters, we noticed some guests starting to make their way to the exits, so we id the same to beat the crowd. We were able to get to the center of the theater when the boat came out and had a great view of the characters. We then made a beeline for the stroller and were out of the park in very little time. My dad decided that he didn’t want to bother with bringing his scooter in and finding us, so he hung out on Hollywood Boulevard. When we came down, he went to return his scooter and we waited out by the signs for the buses until he was done.

I thought one day would be enough to do HS and had we been there for rope drop, we might have felt less rushed. I’d say next time we’ll set aside at least 2 days so that we can do the Star Wars and Toy Story lands in addition to the rest of the park. We should have done a day and a half this time, but now I know for next time and can advise others to set aside more time. You may think you can do it in a day, but if you want to take your time and see all the details, schedule more than just one day at this park.

Up Next: Day 9 Epcot, Food & Wine, and Biergarten!

 

[Carrie Gruber]

Day 9 Friday 10/23/15 – Epcot, Food & Wine, and Biergarten

FP+: Test Track 9:40-10:40 Mission:Space 10:45-11:45 Spaceship Earth 6:30-7:30

DH and my dad went to Landscape of Flavor for to get us breakfast: Bacon/Egg/Cheese bagel ($6.49), 2 Omelets ($16.98) and Orange Juice ($3.99) that, with tax, would have cost $29.24 but they used QS credits.

We were on our way to Epcot at a decent time; the park opened at 9:00 this day. We were afraid we’d run out of memory on the digital camera because we’d been filming so much due to the lack of a charger for the video camera. We tried to find some microSD cards at the camera shop but they were all sold out (and there weren’t any showing as available at any other store, we had them check). Fortunately, we wound up having plenty of space left on the camera, because we were using our GoPro a lot, too.

We did Spaceship Earth first since there was no line. Our kids like this ride; I can do without the smell of animatronics. It smells like something’s burning, honestly! But I love the story, as outdated as the technology is. It definitely needs some renovations, possibly some new scenes but I’m not sure how they’d swing that. They need to make the future more realistic, not 1980’s futuristic.

After we got off the ride I wanted to stop at Club Cool, but we needed to start making our way to our FP's. So we took some pictures by the fountain and stopped at Pin Central to get Remy’s Hide & Squeak Maps for the kids. These were $7.95 each, so our total, with tax, was $16.94 (and we paid with DGC).

From there, we went to Test Track and then Mission Space. This was DS’s first time on Test Track, and it was the first time for both DS and DD on Mission:Space. DD rode M:S once but that was enough. DS on the other hand couldn’t get enough and went on again. We did the Rider Switch for Test Track because my dad didn’t ride it on our last trip. We also stopped to change LO’s diaper and make sure the kids went, too.





We started our trip around the World by hitting the F&W kiosks to the right heading up to Canada. We decided to stretch out our snack credits by ordering one or two things from each kiosk and sharing. This worked very well for our group and we weren’t overly stuffed. I recommend that strategy for families trying to make the most of their credits. I apologize in advance for not having pictures of the food items, but they can be found here if you want to see them.



We all liked the haggis and DH kicked of his beer tasting adventure. He’s into the specialty brews and IPAs, so this was heaven to him. I was surprised how much DD was into trying foods from different countries, so it was fun to see her “rating” the taste and smell of everything.



The pork slider was delicious, as was the golden ale. I wasn’t too keen on the pineapple wine, it wasn’t sweet enough for me, but then again I like red wines.



All of us raved about the grouper, and the rice was very good, too. DH really liked the pilsner, but then again he likes pretty much any kind of beer unless it’s real dark.



I love spanakopita but DH and my dad had never had it, so I got it for them. We have gyros a lot at home, so we skipped the F&W version. I wasn’t crazy about this wine either; it was too dry but I wanted to try it anyway.



This was one of our favorites – the filet mignon was practically falling apart and was so juicy and tender…my mouth is salivating just thinking about it! DH was feeling pretty good by now and really enjoyed the Moosehead Lager. We stopped in the Canada pavilion and did some pressed pennies. Then on the way out we spotted our first Remy. This was a fun activity for the kids to do. It gave them something to do while we were walking around in addition to getting stamps in our F&W passports.

I did realize at about that point that I had forgotten to bring their Epcot World Showcase passports that we bought last trip and had said we’d finish on this trip. Parenting Fail! I felt like such an idiot, but they were okay with not having them, they just made sure to bring them the next day.

See next post for the rest of Day 9!

 

[Carrie Gruber]

Day 9 Part II - Epcot, Food & Wine, and Biergarten



The fisherman’s pie was really good, despite some reviews that said it wasn’t. We had big chunks of lobster and scallops and the sauce was very tasty. The Irish Cream Ale tasted really good with it, too! We hung out in United Kingdom for a bit, letting the kids play in the phone booths and we went into a couple of shops. I really wanted to do more shopping but with the kids it just wasn’t happening. I plan to bring more $$ next time and hopefully we can get to the parks by rope drop so we squeeze more time in. I’m starting to think that 14 days is the right amount of time for a Disney vacation!

We stopped on the walkway that takes you over to France and got some pictures. Then we continued on with our eating around the world:






We didn’t tell DD what was in the croissant until after she tasted it. After she said it was good, we let her in on the secret ingredient and she acted like she was grossed out, but it was all an act. She went around the rest of the day (and vacation) talking about how she ate snails. Even DH tasted it and said it wasn’t bad. He was more interested in his beer! It was around this time that we found the crowds were beginning to increase. The morning wasn’t bad at all, but it was a Friday and most of the locals were working. But around 3:30/4:00 is when it really picked up.

While we were exploring the France pavilion, I needed to change LO again so I had to walk down to the Morocco pavilion. On the way back, we saw that Serveur Amusant was performing so we grabbed the kids and got a spot in the circle. That show is amazing and DS is on our video going “Oh my God!” over and over; he couldn’t believe how the man could balance on top of the chairs and on one hand. After the show, we continued on:



The pork belly was yummy and LO loved the cheese bread. He definitely has a very open mind when it comes to food because he devoured every piece of the pork belly we gave him, along with everything else we’d had that day, on top of the snacks I had brought for him. He did very well sitting in the stroller in Epcot. We did let him out so he could walk around and stretch, but we were surprised how content he was to just sit and watch everything going on.

We then went into the Morocco pavilion and looked around in the shops there before moving on to the American pavilion and Italy before we went to the Germany pavilion for our dinner reservation at Biergarten. We’ve never done this before, but when we were planning our trip we wanted to do something with a show. We didn’t want to use 2 TS credits for the Hoop-De-Doo or Spirit of Aloha at the time, so I suggested Biergarten because of the oompah band. We didn’t really get to explore this pavilion last time either, so I thought we’d be able to experience more of it this way, too. We were seated on the second level of seating in front of the stage near the stairs leading up to the buffet. We were really taken with the atmosphere of the restaurant. It made us feel like we were actually at a nighttime gathering in a German village. We really enjoyed the food, but you have to know what to expect before you go. We’re from Pennsylvania so things like sauerkraut, kielbasa, bratwurst and cabbage are relatively common to us. DS didn’t care much for the macaroni and cheese, but he was also more interested in dancing to the music.



It was really festive and fun and the kids had a blast. DH and I were celebrating our anniversary that week, so we had the celebration buttons. We were surprised when the band members called out our names and told us to stand up so that the whole restaurant could toast us. Nothing like being made to stand up in front of 50+ strangers and have “Ziggy Zoggy, Ziggy Zoggy, Oy Oy Oy!” shouted at us about 10 times LOL. It was a good value and we’d be willing to do it again on a future trip. DH told me that he wants to do the Hoop-de-Doo Revue next time and I’d like to experience Spirit of Aloha at least once.





After dinner, we wanted to head back up to where we wanted to stand for Illuminations, which took us back past American Pavilion for a bathroom break and then the kids wanted to go to Japan. We watched the drummers and went into Mitsukoshi for some shopping. This is one of my favorite stores in all of Disney World. There’s so much to look at and it’s not stuff you can buy anywhere. My kids like to pick out candy and snacks that they’ve never had. Most of the time it’s out of curiosity, and we’ve found some tasty things here that we bring home after the trip is over. This was only our first stop at Mitsukoshi and we didn’t have much time before we needed to go to dinner.



DD really wanted to pick a pearl, so we went to the cashier and paid for it, got our number, and then walked around the store while we waited. I found a cute little shopping bag for my mom called a Shibori bag. It’s like those shirts that stretch from doll-size to adult size and back again. It was in a clearance bin so I snatched it up! Then our number was called and we went to the counter. Now, we’ve seen this done on YouTube so we knew what they were going to say, and it sounds like “Sun, Knee, Itchy”. DD was so excited to pick out her oyster and the girl shucking it was really funny. Our pearl turned out to be a size 7, which according to them is really good. We didn’t bother getting it set in anything, figuring we can do that at home if she wants to. For now, it’s still in the baggie on her dresser. I think it’s worth the $17 or so you pay for it, DD felt special because there’s a crowd watching you and they all want to see what kind of pearl you get.



After we left Japan, we headed over towards Canada to meet up with my dad. My original intention was to go to Showcase Plaza but since my dad had wandered off, we called him and he said he was sitting in a handicap section between Canada and Rose & Crown. I didn’t realize they would let us stand in the handicap area with him, but the CM let us in the roped off section. We wound up having a nice view but it did get crowded on the walkway behind us. I grabbed some baked good from a nearby Joffrey’s cart and we ate those while we waited for the show to start. (They weren’t able to print the receipt so I don’t remember what they cost, sorry!)

All three kids stayed up to watch the show and they loved it. We kept joking about the ducks who were swimming in the water during the entire show; we couldn’t believe they weren’t bothered by the noise and bright flashes, but they must be used to it by now. After we waited for the crowds to die down a bit, we headed back out through Future World and my dad returned his scooter. I think the walk back to the bus stop at Epcot is second only to MK. It takes forever, although I really would hate to have to drive a car to the parks and trek back to my parking spot!

I have to mention something in here to give you an idea of what we were dealing with all day. My dad continued to get separated from us all day, just like he had been the whole trip. This played such a major role in why we were running behind for a lot of things in the parks. By this point in the trip, we had given up chasing after him and when he’d wander away, we’d continue on and then he’d call us asking where we were at. He spent more time rolling around trying to tell us where he was than anything. My advice if you’re going with your parents, make it clear at the beginning of the day what the plans are and what the expectations are for staying together. I think his major issue was that I was directing us where we were going, and DH had no problem with that because he knew how much effort I put into researching for this trip. My dad is just not the type of planner that I am, but wants to be the one telling everyone where to go and he has no idea where he’s going. If I’d have left him do that, we’d never have gotten to see anything and would have been walking back and forth across the parks needlessly. End of rant.

See next post for more pictures from our first day at Epcot!

 

[Carrie Gruber]

 

[Carrie Gruber]

Day 10 Saturday 10/24/15 – Epcot, Food & Wine, and Teppan Edo

FP+: Soarin 9:50-10:50 Mission Space 5:30-6:30 Spaceship Earth 6:30-7:30

We did breakfast in our room and arrived at the park not long after it opened. Going through security here went smooth, but we had all of our bags out and ready for inspection. Having the pockets unzipped is very helpful and the security personnel were thankful we were prepared. We had time to kill before our FP+, so we went right to The Seas with Nemo and Friends. We got right on and immediately after that, we went to Turtle Talk with Crush. The kids really liked talking to Crush and it was pretty funny for the adults, too. Quite a few jokes went right over the kids’ heads but left us parents in stitches.



After that, we went to look in the aquarium. We were able to see a ton of fish and the dolphins were entertaining. We got there at the right time, too, because we got to see CM’s get in the tank to feed the fish. We went back downstairs and let the kids play in the shark room, where they have informative games and Bruce’s mouth to take pictures in. It was a nice relaxing way to start the day, and we got there before the masses.



We then made our way over to The Land pavilion. We didn’t realize it at the time, but strollers are NOT permitted inside the pavilion, so we had to run ours back down to the stroller parking by Nemo. I should have known this with all the reading I did, so that’s why I’m including it here in case other parents aren’t aware. Once inside, we went on Soarin’ and again utilized the Rider Switch pass. This was my dad and DS’s first time on the ride and they loved it. We cannot wait to see the updates they make to the film. It will be nice to have an additional theater, too.

While my dad was riding Soarin’ with the kids and DH, I took LO to The Circle of Life. There were maybe 15 people including me and LO in the theater, but the film is informative about global environmental issues. I also want to point out that this would be a decent place to nurse in (somewhat) privacy, if you can get it done in 15 minutes, or take a quick nap. LO fell asleep after about 10 minutes, so it worked out for us!

After the film, I went to find the rest of the crew. We met up right outside of Soarin’ and by then the kids were hungry, so we stopped at Sunshine Seasons.



Once we ate, we left the pavilion. My dad wanted to do Living With The Land, but we were afraid we were going to hit major crowds since it was Saturday, so we decided to wait until later in the day to return to the pavilion. On our way into World Showcase, we started to the left this time, with Mexico being the first stop.



The tacos were great and DH loves Dos Equis. The sangria was refreshing on what I think was one of the hottest days of our trip.





We had to stop at a shop outside of the Mexico pavilion to get DH new sunglasses as his fell apart literally while we were walking. I think the pair he settled on was around $25 and he paid for those OOP. My advice is to always have a backup; I had 2 pairs of sunglasses on me just in case one pair got lost or broken.

Now I have to warn you that this was the most crowded we’ve EVER seen Epcot. It was a Saturday, so the locals were attending Food & Wine. The lines were three times as long as the day before and we wound up skipping some kiosks because we could not justify spending most of our time in lines. This also made pushing a stroller an Olympic feat. I stopped counting how many feet I ran over at 5; and I stopped feeling bad about it then, also. To make things worse, everyone seemed to be sloshed by 3 pm so it was just hot and loud and we were constantly being bumped into and splashed by beer. The guests were also becoming belligerent; the language was atrocious (and I have a pretty foul mouth myself) and they were getting to be very rude with the CM’s as well. We were in more of a rush to get through World Showcase this day, if only to be done with the parade of drunks. I’m not sure if this is what it’s always like, and I had prepared myself for more crowds, but I didn’t expect it to be that bad. So here’s the run-down of what we got from the kiosks we did stop at:



These were both very good!



VERY SPICY!!! You will need a cold drink!



The kids needed to eat so we got the kids meal from the Outpost. This is very worth the $ because you also get a Perry the Platypus plastic lunch tote to keep everything in. Our kids are still using it to this day. Again, the 3 kids shared the contents and I got a strawberry slush, plus 3 cups of ice water.

I'm running short on time so I'll share the rest of our adventure in the next post

 

[Carrie Gruber]

Day 10 Part II - Saturday 10/24/15 – Epcot, Food & Wine, and Teppan Edo

After eating at the Africa kiosk, the kids wanted to look around at the wood carvings that are made and displayed at Village Traders. This was a neat stop; we watched the CM carve wood into a giraffe and the kids really liked the masks on display. Since these items can be pricey as they are all unique pieces, we settled on buying two tiny giraffe figures that I plan to put our keepsake display case. I will note that you get a slip from the CM doing the carvings and then take it to the shop next door.



The next hour we spent walking up through World Showcase towards Japan. We stopped at the American Adventure to let the kids color their Duffy fans and take a bathroom break. The bathrooms here are fairly nice and even with it being so crowded due to the Eat to the Beat concert going on, the bathrooms were not too busy and they were surprisingly very clean. I was impressed at how easy my diaper changing process had become while using my Thirty-One bag. LO knew to what to do by then so it was easy-peasy!

After we watched the concert (I think it was Tiffany) we went to the Japan pavilion. Since it wasn’t time for our reservation yet, we went back to shopping at Mitsukoshi. I still say this is my favorite shop in World Showcase!






After taking some pictures, we met up at Teppan Edo for dinner. You can get up to the restaurant via the stairs or the elevator. The stroller parking is outside to the left of the elevator. Once inside, we turned left (the counter you first see upon exiting the elevator is for the other restaurant) and were seated in the first room. My biggest complaint is that the restaurant is small and we felt like we were packed in like sardines. We shared a table with two other couples, who had no children, so we felt like the odd-balls. We’ve done hibachi restaurants back home so we knew what to expect. Here’s what we ordered:



While DH and my dad really enjoyed their meals, I wasn't as impressed. It was good, don't get me wrong, but I can do hibachi at home and I guess I was just expecting something more. Not to mention I was dealing with a toddler throwing his noodles on the floor and on my lap LOL. For the price, I don't think it's worth paying OOP but we did it because we were on the DDP. The highlight of my meal was the green tea cheesecake.



After dinner, it was just getting insanely crowded so we decided to make our way back to the front of the park. The kids wanted to turn in their Remy maps for their pins. While we were at Disney Traders, I also picked up a pressed penny keepsake book to put all of the new pennies we had collected. This cost $9.54 including tax and I used a DGC to pay for it.

We spent some time taking pictures and walking on the glowing sidewalks as we said good bye to Epcot. Epcot isn't my favorite park, but it's grown on me, especially after this trip with Food & Wine. I can't wait to come back and spend more time here; hopefully Innoventions will have something to offer and the new Soarin' movie will be done. I'd love to do F&W again, but we will definitely not be going on a Saturday!

After we got to the bus and got back to the resort, DH and I wanted to get out on our own for a while. My dad agreed to watch the kids while we went to Disney Springs, and before we left we got the kids a pizza and snacks:



DH and I then got on the bus to Disney Springs and we were the only ones on board! We had a nice chat with the driver, who told us all about how she loves working for Disney. She gave DH some things to think about regarding moving down to Florida (this is still my retirement plan, if I don't get there sooner!). When we arrived, we went into the Christmas shop and Fun Finds, then we stopped for a late dinner at Earl of Sandwich. This was our first time eating there and we are hooked now!



These are the tastiest sandwiches I've ever eaten!

Both sandwiches were AMAZING and I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the place. Definitely a must-do for every trip we take in the future. We didn't end up buying anything, but we did take pictures of things we liked so that I could watch for sales on the Disney Store website. This was an excellent strategy! Highly suggest it, because nearly everything we found wen ton sale within the next couple of months.

We were absolutely bushed by 11:00 so we headed back to the resort. We both agreed to build in a date night next trip, where we could go to Disney Springs on our own for a few hours just to explore and have time away from the kids. I feel like we missed so much, so I'm starting to plan our next trip which will probably be October 2018 if we don't do a Disney cruise instead.

Read on for Day 11 - Last Day at Magic Kingdom!