DREAMING ON LAND, SEA AND AIR PLUS - The Pearce's Do Disney (3/9/17-3/17/17)

[kingpinpearce]

So I thought it would be fun to do a brief trip report of our "dream" Disney vacation. I'm not the type to do pictures in posts, so it'll be all text, but I'll be breaking it down by day for each post.

BACKGROUND: Your players:

Me (DH): 6'0", 330 lbs, 46yo, longtime Disney fan with parental hangups (see below). Limited mobility due to a massive car accident 7 years ago, so will be using assistive devices on this trip.

DW: 5'3", Size 28-30 (A gentleman never asks specifics.), 47yo. Disney agnostic. Enjoys but isn't a "fan".

DD: 5'5", Size 20, 14yo. Loves the Disney princesses.

DS: 4'10", Skinny, 11yo. Has Asperger's Syndrome. Excited about the trip but isn't a true FAN of Disney or Disney related properties.

We had our first trip to WDW in June 2013, and had a good time, but learned a LOT during that trip.

In March 2016, my mother died. My mother was a HUGE fan of WDW as a vacation spot, went several times, including 3 times before I turned 18. Never took me. There were many bones of contention between us, and this was a minor one, but it was still there. The small inheritance following her death gave my family a 2nd opportunity to do Disney, and do it in a way we wouldn't normally be able to do financially, so I saw this as the opportunity to finally be "taken to Disney" by my mother.

We decided to do a Land and Sea trip - three days on the DCL "Dream" followed by four days in the parks. We did it in that order because we weren't sure about the kids getting seasick and didn't want the vacation to be torpedoed if they had a terrible time on the boat, so we did the parks 2nd as a failsafe.

The year that follows will be discussed in future posts, so I won't bore you with pretrip details. I will say that we were pixie dusted financially twice - once when my AAA Travel Agent stated that a reconfiguration in resort costs resulted in a $350 refund to what we had prepaid. The second was when Disney announced their 4 day "1 park, 1 day" special pass...it was cheaper than the 3 day MYW pass we had previously gone with, and since we were only doing 1 park per day anyways, it allowed us to go to the 4th park for less than what we were going to pay for 3 parks. (That and our flight home was changed from mid afternoon to 8 PM, allowing us to fit park time in before going to the airport on St. Patrick's Day).

Plan is one post per day, from Day 0 to Day 8. Hope you enjoy!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

I'm glad you're able to get the Disney trip you've always wanted. I hope the kids didn't get sick and you all had a magical time.

 

[kingpinpearce]

DAY 0 (3/9/17): Travelin'

I took the day off of work to make sure all the final details were covered and that we had everything we needed for the trip. Ultimately, we took more than we needed but didn't need to buy anything significant while on the trip. The kids went to 1/2 day of school to avoid a full day absence ("vacations" during the school year are only supposed to last 5 school days) and DW went to 1/2 day of work. Kids ate lunch at school and wife and I had a late breakfast so we wouldn't need to eat until we got to the airport. We all hit the road at roughly 11:45 AM.

Normally we fly Spirit round trip out of Latrobe, PA, as that airport has free long term parking and Spirits rates are pretty good (I know the horror stories but we never personally experienced them, and my wife and I both fit in the seats fine with an extender). However, traveling in March, we were concerned about a freak snowstorm shutting down the one flight per day out of Latrobe to Orlando, so we made the decision to fly TO ORL out of Pittsburgh through Southwest, and to fly home to Latrobe on Spirit. To connect the dots, we parked our car at Latrobe Airport for free parking and took a one-way rental from Avis to get to Pittsburgh.

PIXIE DUST PART 1: Received a free DOUBLE UPGRADE from the vehicle we had prepaid for with Avis to a Jeep SUV (forget the make). However, it actually was a TIGHTER ride because there wasn't sufficient trunk space for all four suitcases. We made it work though.

PITTSBURGH AIRPORT:

I was advised about the COS (Customer of Size) policy on the Facebook group "Flying While Fat", and was also told since I had some mobility issues to request wheelchair assistance at the ticket counter. That combination got us a 2nd seat free of charge to put between an adult and a child, allowed us to preboard, and got us through TSA *really* quickly as wheelchair assistance had a dedicated line at Pittsburgh Airport. (Before anyone chimes in about "taking advantage", I would have legitimately had problems navigating an airport the size of Pittsburgh's on just my cane, so I'm glad someone got past my pride for me to ask. The rest was just bonuses.) Shortly, we were at our gate 90 minutes prior to departure, as the flight was bumped back about 20 minutes.

LINNER (or Dunch, whichever you prefer): Chick-Fil-A at the airport. We don't have a local CFA so we partake whenever possible.

Preboard was smooth as sailing. Found out after the fact that the flight was sold out - I hoped that either they had accounted for COS requests in that or that whoever ended up getting bumped was well compensated. I did feel badly but SW has the policy for a reason.

We had prepaid for a shuttle from ORL to our hotel, so I called the company to inform them of the flight delay.

ORL:

Landed and retrieved luggage, no issues. Got to the shuttle pickup point and were the last ones to board (they were waiting for us). 45 minute drive to Port Canaveral, DW talked with the driver and his copilot the entire way.

OVERNIGHT ACCOMODATIONS: RADISSON RESORT AT THE PORT:

PIXIE DUST PART 2: Free upgrade to a suite room at standard room cost. This happened because this board had the email of the Radisson general manager posted somewhere and I emailed him about ways to mitigate cost. He was nice enough to issue the upgrade because of "the forethought used". Won't guarantee it will work for everyone, but he was nice to me.

Resort is VERY nice, especially the pool/spa area. Room was very nice.

LATE NIGHT SNACK: Radisson Room Service, because we were all too tired at that point to walk the 4 minutes to the McDonald's across the street. DD got MB&J with Fries and liked it. I got wings and liked it. DW got key lime pie and liked it. DS ordered what DD did but fell asleep before it arrived. My first issue of the trip is that when I called, they said 20 minute delivery and it ended up being 70 minutes, resulting in the meal I paid for for my son being wasted. No recompense offered.

THINGS TO REMEMBER FOR THE NEXT TRIP: Book a more basic hotel. The Radisson and their staff is very nice, but we really didn't have time to take advantage of what we were paying for due to late arrival and early departure the next morning. There are probably less expensive no frills options available that will give us the basic "sleep and shower" we need.

Day 2 tomorrow!

 

[kingpinpearce]

DAY 1 (3/10/17): I'm On A Boat!

We woke up and got ourselves together to be in the lobby by 10:30 to take the shuttle to Disney's port.

HOTEL BREAKFAST: $12.95 per person, plus tax and tip.
WALKING TO MCDONALDS: Roughly $16 total for all 4 of us.
MORAL: Dream Vacation /= spending all the time.

We breakfasted, packed our day bags and prepped our luggage for handling by DCL Cast. Left the hotel at 10:30 AM for an 11:30 Port arrival time.

DCL ran like a well-oiled machine. When we arrived, a CM explained that they would be taking checked luggage from there (based on tags premailed to us that identified who we are and our cabin). From there, we went through a processing not dissimilar to TSA...it was a significant line but it moved well.

Once past that and into the main terminal, we had two major lines to sit through. The first was checking in and getting our Key to the World cards (DCL equivalent of a MagicBand in terms of use), and that line wasn't bad. The longest line of the day was checking in our Asperger's DS into the kids system that they have (mandatory since he is under 12). In fact, we didn't get him checked in until AFTER they called our number to board, but it wasn't a big deal as we went on immediately after he was done. DS was issued an older-style MagicBand that acted as his personal GPS while on board. We opted to not give him the ability to check himself out (something that became useless as the day went on - more later).

There was a photo op with Captain Mickey Steubing in front of the model of the Dream that they have in the terminal, but the line was too long for us to wait in it. We did get our official boarding picture taken as we went on (we prepaid for a flash drive of all professional photos taken on the ship, so we wanted as many as possible)

We finally boarded....they announced our family name on the PA system and the CMs at the entrance formed a line and applauded us. Time of official boarding was 11:45, or 15 minutes after scheduled port arrival. Not bad at all.

LUNCH: Everyone else was heading for Cabana's buffet, so we did the opposite and went downstairs to the Enchanted Garden for a sitdown meal. Virtually no line to get in when we got there because everyone else went to the buffet. Good call. Lunch was good...I ate a beef tenderloin with twice baked potatoes and mixed vegetables (didn't eat the veggies). We took liberal use of ordering "other than the menu" for our picky DS - he found he liked their hamburger and ordered that for every meal except breakfast. We took awhile to sit and eat to catch our breath and bearings, and when we were done, it was nearly time to go to our stateroom, as we were denied entry until 1:30 PM.

STATEROOM 6090: The "accessible stateroom".

TODAYS PIXIE DUST: I had originally rented a ECV from Brevard Medical (exclusively renting for cruises), but changed my order to a Rollator with a seat to save some money for the trip when things got tight. When I got into the room, apparently someone didn't get the memo because I had an ECV waiting for me at the COST of a Rollator - $150 savings. w00T!

The room is very nice - comfortable queen bed with couch, nice bathroom with roll-in shower, and a verandah without a lip so wheelchairs could go out too. We got settled for a bit and soon I took each of the kids to the "teen hangout spots"

Edge was the 11-14 teen club. I found out talking to the CM that for that age group there is no signing in and out - they can come and go as they please. Knowing the fight I would have on my hands if I tried to put DS in Oceaneer's Club/Lab (3-12), I decided to explain explicitly our expectations and curfews and hope for the best, and not once did he let me down on the trip. But the club had video games on the big screen and a lot of scheduled activities, so I only ever saw him in the mornings and at meals. Took DD to Vibe (14-17) and was even more impressed with their space. DW and I then decided to explore a bit until the mandatory safety instruction at 4.

Stayed in the room with DS while DD and DW went to the castaway party on deck, then we went to the first of three rotating restaurants, Animator's Palate. It had a series of screens based on Finding Nemo. We met our server and assistant server who would be with us through all dinners and final breakfast. Our server was nice, knowledgeable and very personable, our assistant server even more so, and he was the CM we got to know the most during our cruise. After drinks and appetizer was served, none other than Crush came on to greet everyone. For the rest of the evening, there would be puzzles showing up from screen to screen in a nearly random pattern which Crush jumped from screen to screen and chatted real time with nearby diners (similar tech to Turtle Time With Crush in Epcot). Dinner was sea based, but they had four entrees common to all of the restaurants for less adventurous tastes - I went with the steak and baked potato which was really good. DD was adventurous with her meal choices every night but struck out at the actual taste of them...felt bad, but knew if she really got hungry she always had options.

After dinner, DS went to his club and the rest of us went to the evening show, the "Golden Mickeys". All the shows were cute, contrived ways for performers to dress up as Disney characters and sing Disney songs. The show was cute and fun, and we enjoyed it, but it wasn't blowaway good.

What did get blown away, however, was my scooter...I popped a flat trying to get out of a service elevator. Guest Services provided me with a wheelchair while they tried to fix it overnight. At the end of the evening, we got a call saying they couldn't fix it with materials on hand but would try to do more while we were at port tomorrow.

We ended our first night on the boat (DW and I) with Mickey Bars from room service (Free except for what you tip the server). We also met our Mousekeeping rep who had finished converting the room for sleeping - they lowered a bed from the ceiling and converted the couch to another bed. We also had chocolates and towels shaped like animals...very much a professional turndown service that was a nice touch.

MONDAY: Frozen Nassau!

 

[kingpinpearce]

DAY 2 (3/11/17): Frozen Nassau!

I woke up to a call from Guest Services stating that they are going to be unable to repair the flat tire while on the ship, but that they were in contact with Brevard Medical indicating to them that they were to hold me harmless in the damage to the scooter. I'm not as mad about it as if I had paid full price for the scooter but the wheelchair provided by DCL pretty much needed a pusher to get me anywhere and wasn't as effective as the originally requested Rollator would have been. A minor quibble, though.

We chose a sitdown breakfast in the Royal Palace over going to Cabana's (we actually ended up never eating at Cabana's during the trip), because we had a 9:15 reservation for a meet and greet with Anna and Elsa from "Frozen". Breakfast was DS's favorite meal of the day because they served glazed donuts as part of the breakfast. I had the sweet trio (small pancake/French toast/waffle option) with a side of hash browns, which disappointingly were the McD's style hash brown "cake". Still, breakfast was sufficient.

The ticketed meet and greet was option - timed out scheduling plus limited ticket availability (tickets were free but you had to sign up for a time before getting on the boat) made this a smooth and pleasant experience. The meet and greet was in Animators Palate, and we got some nice photos of the ladies with the kids getting autographs (I forgot what I wanted to have autographed - more on that in a later post.) The CM playing Anna and Elsa both looked and played their parts well, with Elsa being more exuberant and Anna pleasant but reserved.

Following that, the kids separated to the kids clubs with the agreement that we would eat lunch separately then meet up at 1 PM to disembark to Nassau. DW and I then decided to conquer the Aquaduck.

As previously mentioned, we are both larger framed people, and I had seen questions here and on other boards about whether or not Pooh-sized people "fit" on the Aquaduck. Well, we do.

We went around 10:30, and it wasn't CRAZY crowded yet, due to morning and the fact we were docked at a port of call. Took us about 20 minutes. My biggest problem is getting up and down because of my legs, but I was able to slide the "boat" closer to the railing so I could lower myself with no issues. And away I went! It was fun...first couple of turns I hit at a 90 degree angle despite my wait, and it was a fun ride. I actually didn't need help getting up....there was a railing I used to hoist myself to my feet post ride - got no points for grace, but I got back up on my own.

Only problem is my cane was still up at the top of the ride. DW went to get it as the operator said to just go up and get it after. Well, one female rider in line absolutely REFUSED to let my wife by, because she was "cutting line". So my wife had to wait 30 minutes plus to get my cane. Once at the top, JUST as this rude woman was about to ride, the CM *STOPPED* the conveyor and the ride completely to talk to my wife to ask why she didn't just come up past someone. She explained why, took the cane and left. The irony is once you STOP Aquaduck, it takes a few minutes for it to come back online for folks to ride, so Little Miss Rude not only delayed HER ride, but the ride of everyone behind her, just because she wanted to be rude. Karma is real, folks.

LUNCH: at Flo's Café on the pool deck. Three sub-counters offering pizza, grilled items, and healthier fare, theme based on "Cars". I had a burger and fries and a piece of Pepperoni Pizza, DW had 3 pieces of the BBQ Chicken Pizza, which she loved. I liked my food - it's not high dining and I didn't expect it to be, but it was good fast-food level food.

NASSAU: I had read numerous port reports about this stop and how in your face the locals were about selling things. I didn't experience that, but my family chose to not go past the initial "market area" just past Port. The excursions offered were either not enticing or too expensive, and I was wary to roll the dice with a "local tour guide" taking a cab drive around port, so we were on Nassau ground for maybe an hour total. DD got Rasta-style braids in her hair for a reasonable price, DW and I found a Tshirt merchant who had our sizes (a nice surprise), and DS got a nice, inexpensive necklace. The person doing the braids drove a bargain but wasn't pushy, and her 4 year old daughter was adorable, giving DD and I the Nassau equivalent of pennies and nickels for souvenirs. In total, it was pleasant, but we didn't do much, partially because the wheelchair was hard to navigate on their roads, so I can't give great advice about this port stop.

That afternoon, kids went back to club, DW and I looked through the online Navigator and decided to each go to a tasting - she signed up for a Whiskey tasting later that night, I signed up for a beer tasting on Sunday. While she napped, I went to 687, their sports bar, to play trivia for small prizes (DCL keychains). I did well but was by myself...all times I played, it was a group of people pooling answers that ended up winning. Based on the shipboard price of alcohol, I understand why people who want to drink on a boat go with companies that offers AYCD options, but since I'm not a heavy drinker, it was OK.

We had dinner in the Enchanted Garden, where we had lunch the day before. Our dedicated server/assistant server had our drink choices and such in place when we arrived. I remember having Beef Tenderloin with a side of steak fries instead of the twice baked potato it came with, along with a mango cheesecake for dessert (Sadly, two weeks out the meals start to run together a bit.)

The show that night was Villains Tonight, and DD went with me so I didn't have to go alone, as DW had the whiskey tasting during that time. Best show of the weekend, hands down. The actors did quite a bit of improv, making references to the president and the "Cass Me Outside" girl, and it was a thoroughly entertaining original show. I'm a fan of Disney Villains to begin with, but this was a good use of about 100 minutes of my cruise. Thoroughly recommend.

After the show, I met my wife in the Adult Cove area where the whiskey tasting was. She didn't like the whiskey but learned a lot about it, got to try whiskey from a bottle retailing about $100, and learned that most people don't have the palate to distinguish between Jim Beam and $500 aged whiskey. We went to Vanellope's Sweets and Treats for a late night dessert - this WASN'T included with the cruise but very reasonably priced with 32 different flavors of ice cream/gelato available. DW highly recommends the Pistachio Gelato. I had a mix of Peanut Butter and Twix Bar Gelato and it was quite tasty.

After that, we went to the 11 PM showing of "Doctor Strange" in their 400 seat large screen movie theater. There were about 20 people there which was good for the time of night - this was the only movie both DW and I cared to see again (The other offerings at the time were "Finding Dory" and "Moana" - it was days before the premiere of "Beauty and the Beast" and I had seen any number of posts wishing/hoping/whining for an early premiere on the boat, but DCL policy is that they will have a midnight "Prem-Ear" showing the day it opens, but not before). We both amazingly stayed awake through the whole thing - we are not late night people by the norm.

We toddled back to our room at around 12:45 AM - DS came in right behind us, and we were all asleep when DD waltzed in at just after 2 in the morning!

NEXT: Time to fly!

 

[kingpinpearce]

DAY 3 (3/12/17): TIME TO FLY!

We woke up today to virtually the same opening schedule as yesterday, except DD was a LOT grumpier about it because she was out until 2 AM that morning. But we went to Royal Palace again for breakfast (this would become our most attended restaurant area, and it was very nice - ornate and regal like a palace-themed restaurant should be.) This morning I got the basic breakfast (eggs/bacon/HB/toast) with everyone else also staying true to form.

At 9:15 AM we had another "ticketed" meet and greet with the Disney Princesses - in attendance were Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White and Belle. I remembered my signature piece - a blank white photo matte where I wanted to get character signatures to surround the eventual purchased Disney pictures from the trip, and all four were very happy to sign that along with DS and DD's autograph books. My favorite princess was Rapunzel, as she was a total spaz and really got into her role in a very good way. There was another cute moment where Belle asked DW if I was her Prince and she responded "More like her Beast", which got a chuckle out of Belle.

All told, I highly recommend getting these reserved character meets prior to the cruise and working your day a bit around the booked time - one of the disappointing aspects of the cruise was that other than the ticketed meet and greets, there wasn't an "accelerated" way to meet characters - every normal character setup on the boat had big lines attached, so it wasn't much different than it would have been in the parks.

After that, it was time to hit Castaway Cay, Disney's private Bahaman island. Originally DW and DS were to go parasailing together - however, we kept asking DS if he really wanted to go, because he's notoriously flaky about going through with stuff, and this morning he finally said he didn't want to do it, so we switched the reservation from him to me, and DD and DS went into the Cay together while DW and I went parasailing.

Keep in mind - DW and I are both quite fluffy, but the weight limit listed for the excursion was set at 375, and while we're both big, neither of us are past THAT threshold. When the time came , the assembled parasailers were broken in groups of 6 and taken to boats. My group included an older gentleman and his son, both normal sized, a normal sized mother and a somewhat healthy-sized daughter (maybe size 20ish), but DW and I were clearly the largest ones sailing. We both went last and enjoyed speeding around the boat lugging the parasailer in the air behind us.

I went first...the harness used was a larger harness but was completely comfortable. I rose up from a seated position on the boat, flew effortlessly for 5 minutes, then came down gently on my feet - never entered the water at all. While you're up there...you don't feel the speed of the boat that you do in the boat - you're flying. I could hear "Can You Read My Mind" from the 1978 Superman movie in my head as I coasted through the air...I FELT like Superman.

Then my wife went, and went up and came down effortlessly. I video recorded her takeoff and landing on my phone for posterity. DW never thought something like this would be possible at her size, yet here she was, flying, and having the time of her life. This was the money shot of our vacation, right here...proof that life doesn't stop past Size 6.

After parasailing we went to go eat on the island - they have a special BBQ buffet, free of charge, for cruisers to eat lunch with - chicken, ribs, and sides with drinks plus dessert. DD had to go get DS from the kids area, where he was not having a good time. After lunch, I agreed to take the kids back to the boat while DW went to the adults-only beach.

I hadn't taken my wheelchair because of the parasailing, and by the time I got back to the boat with the kids, I was spent, so DCL was nice enough to have someone drive me down to the far end of the island to the adults only area. My discovery once there was that the adult-only BBQ area had additional offerings that the regular BBQ did not, including grilled steak sandwiches and banana ice cream. I took some ice cream to DW and we ate ice cream and sat on the beach for an hour.

I am admittedly not a beach person, but the adult beach was pristine and the water was beautiful. There were complimentary hammocks and beach chairs all over for people to use. I can understand why this private island is such a selling point for Disney. That having been said, I am not driven to go back...it's enjoyable, but not something I long for at the end of the day.

We returned to the boat, and DW went to nap while I went to the beer tasting at Pub 687, the on-board sports bar. They offered 5 beers. The first was 687 House brew, which IIRC was a Weiss beer, while the 2nd was a Hawaiian Lager that I forget the name of but was the highlight of the tasting. While this went on, the teacher talked about the differences between the kinds of beers as well as the meaning behind 687 (it was the hull number assigned to the Disney Dream when it was being built in Germany). But then, the third beer was Newcastle Brown Ale, and it literally ruined the tasting for me, it was that bad. It tasted like burnt caramel. The 4th beer was an IPA (which I generally dislike anyways) and the 5th was a porter, but nothing could have salvaged my palate after the Newcastle. Even so, it was an enjoyable $20 spent that gave me some nice backgrounds as to why I like certain beers over others.

Dinner tonight was in Royal Palace, with a French-themed menu. Our servers were spot on again, and our assistant especially friendly as they knew it was the last night of the cruise. I can only imagine the level of service after the 7 day cruise. Dinner tonight was the fliet mignon, and it was excellent. DCL is a great opportunity to try new things if you're adventurous, because if it doesn't work out there's always the buffet at Cabana's or fast food at Flo's on Deck 11, or even room service.

DW and I spent the rest of the evening in cabin getting ready to disembark - you have to have your luggage out in the hallway by 10 PM if you want them to take it off the ship for you. I skipped the evening's musical, titled "Believe" - I watched a previous recording available through their TV system and was glad I didn't go, as it was a bit too schmaltzy even for a Disney offering. We ordered Mickey bars for room service again and flipped through the TV - they had a number of both Disney and non-Disney movies available free of charge, including "Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them", which surprised me as that wasn't a Disney property. The evening was mainly chill, though, knowing tomorrow morning and day would be on the hectic side.

NEXT: ON TO THE PARKS!

 

[kingpinpearce]

DAY 4: OFF THE BOAT, IN THE PARKS, AND A LOT OF HOOP DE DOO!

We woke up and went downstairs to final breakfast to see a LONG line of people, at 7:15 in the morning, trying to disembark carrying their own luggage. Everyone has their own story but this came off to me as lunacy. I went to Guest Services to settle the bill while the family got seated, then joined them. We did have our personal bags with us as we were told to plan on disembarking immediately after breakfast.

Breakfast differed from every other meal in that it was very basic options and there wasn't much room for deviation - I asked to have bacon added to the cheese omelette I ordered and it came out on the side, which tells me the meals were preprepped to get people in and out like we were at Baby's in State College, PA (anyone who's been knows why). We did get to see our greeters one final time to say goodbye, wish them luck with the next group, and slip them something above and beyond the "prepaid gratuity" we opted for. They really were a great part of the experience.

After dinner, I went up one floor to pick up the preordered flash drive with all the cruise pictures on it, and it included several candids as well as the preposed stuff. Finally, we disembarked. Processing was FAST...Customs took no time at all, nor did finding our luggage (the tags they gave us used a Disney character to show the area they would be found - we were in Goofy area). After about 15 minutes, we got to the bus terminal where we would be transferring to WDW. We weren't scheduled to leave until 9, but there were enough people scheduled for that bus cycle (it was going to resorts other than ours) that they put us on the first bus and we left at 8:30. Bus trip was virtually identical to Disney's Magical Express except it was run by the cruise line. After a quiet trip, we arrived at Fort Wilderness Resort.

REPORT AT THE FORT:

We got there and checked in...room was not ready yet (no big surprise at 9:30 AM), but we could check our luggage and they would deliver to the room when ready. Also checked for my rented scooter but was told at the time it wasn't there yet - I asked because I booked through Care Medical and there was a Care Medical scooter there when I arrived.

So we waited. And waited. And chilled. Finally, my scheduled scooter pickup time arrived and still hadn't seen anything. I went to ask again, and this time asked the clerk to please check the logs to see about the scooter already there. Turns out that it was my scooter...she didn't look in the right place. 90 minute wait for no reason. Not a good first look.

We got the scooter and snagged a bus to Disney Springs, but still had an hour before our lunch reservation. We split up so DS could go to the soccer store down by DisneyQuest and the ladies went to the newer shops right off the stop.

DS is disappointed because he was given a $100 budget for self-spending at Disney, spent $10 of it before even going on the trip (long story), and saw that the kids jerseys for what he wanted would have blown his entire budget in one shot. He chose to get other things later. On the way to our restaurant, we went into the Marvel dedicated store, where I saw Captain America mouse ears that I should have bought then because they didn't have them anywhere else in the parks as the week went on. I DID spend $1 on a pressed penny Loki souvenier...DW LOVES Pressed Pennies and we actually budgeted for that (two rolls of quarters, 1 roll of pennies...). Loki is her favorite. We also stopped through the Star Wars dedicated store as well before heading for lunch.

LUNCH: T-Rex

Owned by the same company that owns Rainforest Café, DS requested this place so we gave it a try. Up front, I hated this place, because unlike Rainforest Café, the noise NEVER STOPPED. Never. That made for a really bad meal ambience, and the food, while ok, didn't make up for it.

We bought the Disney Deluxe Dining plan because we wanted to do a bunch of character meals and experiences requiring two credits, and we prefer to have the math out of the way before we get there (so those saying it would have been cheaper to pay cash, I get it, we were going for convenience). That means for each sit down meal we got appetizer, meal, dessert and basic drink included. The food was good, but again, the ambience kind of killed it for me. We did take dessert home with us (why comes later).

After lunch, DW wanted to go to World of Disney, after saying three hours ago she wanted to limit the shopping this trip. It was here that Tristan decided he wanted to pin trade again this year. The last time they went, he had a lot of fun with the pins at the park, but once home literally forgot them to the point where DW and I punctured our foot more than once walking into his room. I rolled my eyes but he insisted he would be better this time, and the theme of the trip was trusting him more, so after much negotiations, we talked him into a 4 pin starter set rather than letting him go crazy this early in the trip. DW bought something that I forget at this point. DD had bought cosmetics at a prior store. I had bought nothing.

By this time, we received a text that our room was ready, so we headed back to FW at around 3. DW was livid at the changes made to where the buses picked up and dropped off. (It's been moved further down the property necessitating a longer walk to leave Disney Springs), but we got on our busses and went "home".

FORT WILDERNESS - OUR HOME:

We made a quick stop getting off the bus to pick up our rented golf cart - FW is MASSIVE and not really walkable, especially for me and my Pooh-sized DW, so we got a cart for her to drive her and the kids around, and I would follow on my ECV.

The cabin was super nice - it was handicapped accessible, so the scooter could roll right onto the porch. There was a seperate bedroom with a Queen sized bed and two stacked bunk singles, and the living room couch could fold out if wished. Living room had a NICE 56" flatscreen (best TV I've ever seen in a hotel/resort) with a nice selection of channels. Bedroom had a small flatscreen for viewing in there. Bathroom was nice. Best part was a FULL SIZED refrigerator, 4 slice toaster, coffeemaker, combination microwave/convection oven, and two burner stovetop.

We weren't planning on cooking full meals in the cabin, but we went with a company called Garden Grocer that delivered groceries to us and had them in the room when we arrived, including a 40pk of water bottles, 2 gallons milk, bagels with butter/cream cheese, some snacks, DIET PEPSI and DIET MOUNTAIN DEW (Pepsi products on Disney property, oh the horror!). We put our desserts from lunch in the fridge, started the icemaker in the freezer, aand then gathered the dirty clothes from the cruise so DW and I could do laundry while the kids chilled at the cabin.

We were lucky to get three unused washers as a few other vacationers had the same idea we did. Price was reasonable - spent roughly $20 to get three loads washed and dried. Everything ran from debit/credit cards, including purchase of laundry soap. We did the wash, then went back to the cabin when we saw a 60 minute wait for dry clothes.

We got back to the cabin and had to move the ECV indoors due to rain...however, when DS tried to help, it ended up taking apart the charger unit that came with it. I was concerned aobut having to pay for off-hours tech to deliver a new one, but a phone call and 45 minutes later we were up and running again. We went back, got the dry clothes, and chilled until it was time for dinner.

DINNER: Hoop De Doo Musical Review (1st area, 8:30 show)

DS was a bit wound up because we were eating so late (only the 3rd show allowed top tier seating to be bought using DDP). We got there at 7:45 and checked in...there were a TON of people at this seating. Because it was raining, they couldn't have their usual checkin setup and there was a LOT of confusion as where the line going in should be, but eventually (and after 8:30), we were let in.

In addition to the normal base drinks (although they had root beer here which they didn't at TRex), they also offer beer/wine/sangria as part of the meal plan price, no extra. AND they had Yuengling Lager on tap. Score! I rode with the family on the golf cart figuring my cane would be sufficent for just going to Hoop De Doo, so I knew I didn't have to drive home!

The meal was good but not spectacular. It was cookout food (fried chicken, bbw ribs, mashed potatoes, corn, salad, and strawberry shortcake for dessert) served family style. I loved their chicken, but DS was not a fan, and the rest were OK.

The show was the experience...DD said the show saved the meal for her. Six performers...four stereotypically pretty cowboys/maidens, a plus-sized woman for comedy, and a skinny nerd for comedy, plus a piano/banjo duo for accompaniment. Old west style saloon show for families, with very talented singing, songs from Americana, and some very funny moments. For being relegated to comic relief, the plus sized woman stole the show, and was also the most flirtatious of the women, which her target seemed VERY appreciative of! They did a few songs, took a break for dinner, did some more, took a break for dessert, then finished. Whole experience was 2 hours plus, and by the "big ending" where they handed out washboards for the audience to participate in (the whole show involved the audience A LOT...VERY nice improv skills from the performers), DS was FAST ASLEEP ON THE TABLE WITH ALL THE RUCKUS. Utterly hilarious. But this show was well worth going out of your way to see, and the food, while not the reason to come, isn't a reason NOT to come. Plus, Yuengling Lager.

We got back to the cabin at 10:30 with everyone going to bed to get ready for the first day in the parks.

NEXT: The Force is strong with this one...

 

[scrappydew]

Loving your report! Hello from a fellow central PA person, through I've never been to Baby's in State College. Ever been to Red Rabbit in Duncannon?

 

[kingpinpearce]

Loving your report! Hello from a fellow central PA person, through I've never been to Baby's in State College. Ever been to Red Rabbit in Duncannon?

Never ate there but know exactly what you're talking about...lived in the HBG area for 7 years. Miss Jigsys Pizza!

 

[kingpinpearce]

DAY 5: THE FORCE IS STRONG IN THIS ONE!

On our first park day, DS and I got up with the chickens to get to Hollywood Studios to sign up for Jedi Academy Training. We had a light breakfast in the cabin (He had a bagel with butter, I had Frosted Flakes), then set off to the bus stop with DW and DD still sleeping. We boarded the bus to Hollywood Studios with a half-dozen other folks, arriving at around 7:30 AM. We were among the first 25 individuals there, and settled in to wait.

The far left line got REALLY long really fast, as that was the line to be let in starting at 8 AM for Hollywood and Vine Disney Jr. Breakfast reservations. I know one tactic to get to park attractions EARLY is to book a dining ressie pre-park opening, but as much as I love my son, we are both too old for a Disney Jr. character breakfast...not because of the characters, but because of the multitudes of preschoolers and their parents involved. So around 8 they started letting them in. Our plan, though, was a later time for Jedi Training, so I wasn't too worried.

However, the REST of the lines started to be let in at 8:30, a full half hour before park opening, and there were folks directing us to Jedi Training signups...meaning that we were getting to them first, BEFORE the breakfast brigade, because they weren't done with breakfast yet. I think that qualifies as Pixie Dust.

We got there and could get a time as early as 9:40 AM....we opted for the 11:10 show with a 10:40 AM report to give the ladies time to get to the park to see Tristan learn the ways of the Force. After that, we got to an area where CMs were guarding folks until OFFICIAL park opening at 9 AM. Tristan and I decided to make a run at Toy Story Midway Mania.

At 9, we were off. Having an ECV when you're trying to go somewhere everyone ELSE is going to has its advantage, as does the one other member of the family that can keep up with me. We got to the entrance of TSMM, and the entrance said 45 minutes, but it was closer to 25 minutes by the time we got onto the ride itself. In the meantime, we enjoyed the queue, which had amazing theming to it - you were "toy sized" looking at all the other toys in Andy's room. It was quite fun. While waiting, I called DW and told her they had to be at the park by 11 AM in no uncertain terms.

The ride was a highlight of the trip. Tristan was mad that I beat him, but not for long afterwards. It was really, really well done, and I can see why it's the E ticket of E tickets in Hollywood Studios.

After that, since we had time, we meandered over towards Star Wars Launch Bay. DS decided he wanted to get an autograph of Doc McStuffins. When I asked why, he explained why he was getting autographs at all...he was collecting them for his little cousin Addie to give to him. So we stopped to see Doc (NONE of the Disney Jr. characters had much of a line this early), and my Aspergers son gave her a big hug, got the photo op, and the signature. Some days he's so hard to read.

We went into the Launch Bay, and THOSE meet and greet lines were big....so we had to choose between Chewbacca and Kylo Ren, and went for the classic over the new blood. After 15 minutes, we met Chewbacca and got our picture, and BOY is he tall! One of the CMs referred to my ECV as my "land speeder" which I thought was a nice touch. We looked around Launch Bay, which had some nice memorabilia, including a collection of the various light sabers used in the films and TV shows. While looking around, we had a random encounter with a Jawa, who interacted with Tristan, and resulted in this:



Appears to be some intense negotiations there...

We got the call from the ladies that they had arrived, and we went to meet in the front of the park. We then went to Guest Services to sign our son up for the DAS pass (due to his Aspergers). I know people have had varying experiences, but we were in and out in less than 2 minutes...I told the CM we wanted the DAS and a brief why and he processed us no questions asked. However, it was then time to take Tristan to Jedi Training Academy.

The rest of us waited nearby on a bench until the procession to the staging area began. We went over and they separated the Padawan into two groups...one group to the upper stage with Tristan's group to the lower stage. Basic story is that they were going to open a sealed temple to face the dark side, with the primary trainer warning of the dangers therein while the VERY eager, younger assistant trainer confident in the ways of the force. They then taught the kids proper stance and a "fight sequence". Tristan is training below...



Finally, the temple opened, and out stepped Darth Vader himself. He was then joined by someone called the Seventh Sister (I think she's a villain on one of the TV shows (Clone Wars/Rebels). The upper level Padawan got to fight Vader while Tristan's group got the Seventh Jabroni...a little disappointing, but Tristan came through.

Once they were defeated, Kylo Ren came out, and the assistant fought him and was losing until the assembled padawan used the Force to send him back into the dark temple and closed it for good. Cue end fanfare. I think Tristan had fun but since he hasn't really watched the movies he didn't get the full impact of the experience.

Once that was over, we hopped onto our fast pass for Star Tours, which was right there when the show ended (this would be a theme throughout our time in the parks...trying to plan a smart walking path so we weren't exhausting ourselves.) They had made some upgrades to add scenes from the new movies since the last time we came. With the FP, we were on ride in about 10 minutes. It was enjoyed by all, but the scenes we got this time were cute but not overly exciting....although the scene where the droid crashed THROUGH the cockpit was a nice effect.)

After that, it was time for lunch.

(To Be Continued)

 

[kingpinpearce]

DAY 5 CONTINUED

LUNCH: Sci-Fi Dine In Theater

Best meal in the parks. Hands down. And that surprised me after the fact based on where we had yet to eat. But the food was delicious and the atmosphere was VERY quiet, much quieter than I was expecting. They had cartoons and movie previews from really bad 50's movies (Plan 9 from Outer Space and Robot Monster were among the previews) on roughly a 50 minute loop...we saw the beginning of the loop as we were finishing dessert.

I had an appetizer of honey-chipotle BBQ wings while the rest of the fam had their onion rings, which they said were very good. My meal was the Sci-Fi Angus burger with pulled pork, sriracha BBQ sauce and cheddar cheese instead of swiss, with no slaw, and fries. It was very, very good and hit the spot, along with a vanilla milkshake to drink. Dessert was their warm glazed donut. I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone.

After lunch, DD and DS went to go see Muppetvision 3D while DW and I rode our Tower of Terror FP. We then met them to wait for our Rock and Roller Coaster FP to be official, and DS went on with us, was terrified the entire way, then euphoric afterwards, which was cute. We dropped a few bucks in the music-themed souvenir shop on our way out, and DW got quite a few pressed pennies.

We kind of meandered until dinner as there wasn't anything decent to FP. We went to check the line for Voyage of the Little Mermaid and it was an hour wait, so we scored a FP for that after dinner but before Fantasmic. DW was starting to get grumpytired from walking. We went to see MuppetVision 3D as a family for something to do before dinner, and it was cool, if a bit dated.

We had dinner at Hollywood and Vine. We did the Fantasmic meal which came with great seats for that evening's show, but we had to eat at 4:55 to get it - therefore, none of us was overly hungry. The food was good for a buffet but nothing was knock your socks off fantastic...but everyone found something to eat. The character reactions, however, were great. Donald was first and was an absolute hoot - he signed my frame "Donald Duck #1" Daisy came next, but Minnie was fantastic. DS hugged Minnie, and he normally isn't one to initiate contact. We had to wait a WHILE after we were done eating for Goofy to come as he had a break timed right before he got to our section, but we did get our signatures/pictures with him. They have a Photopass op with Mickey on the way out, and he signed our stuff, but the resulting PhotoPass picture was disappointing because we weren't really into it.

We then had about 90 minutes to kill before we had to be at Fantasmic, so we got in line for Voyage, and it was a fun 15 minute abbreviation with a live Ariel singing "Part Of Your World" and puppetry of Sebastian and Ursula singing. After the three songs, it was a VERY condensed version of the story. I was disappointed not to hear "Kiss The Girl", as that's my favorite from that show.

We then slowly made our way to Fantasmic, with the ladies stopping in various stores along the way.

FANTASMIC:

We got there a 1/2 hour early and found the CM to direct us to handicapped seating since I had a scooter. However, I had to turn around to get to my seat, and despite two cast members trying to direct traffic, everyone was literally ignoring the cast members to get to their seats. I finally had to raise my voice and THAT got people to stop long enough for me to turn around and get to my spot. Yes, I got stared at by people, and yes, I gave zero...cares...about it. If you're going to be rude enough to ignore CMs telling you to stop, you deserve what you get in response.

I sent DD to get in line for snacks and had a nice conversation with a PA transplant to Florida and her children - she was also on a scooter. DD came back with the snacks but said that since she didn't know the pin for my magic band (I forgot to tell her), the CM said that the food would be "on Mickey". I felt bad, but pixie dust is pixie dust.

The show started, and was literally the best show of the stay. Yes, I am including "Wishes" in that. The effects were spectacular, the story was engaging and not just a throwtogether excuse to show Disney characters, and they made great use of the moat surrounding the stage for video projection onto water streams and the like. If you want to be spoiled, videos are out there, but it was well worth the dining reservation to get the stage view that we had, and we had a great time.

We got to see the Star Wars fireworks as we were making a beeline out of the park, and they were nice, but I'm glad we chose the show we did. Got back to our cabin at 10:30 PM to get ready for the next day.

NEXT: International Incidents

 

[kingpinpearce]

DAY 6: Epcot - International Incidents

This morning was uneventful getting to the park - we got on our bus and made it into Epcot just in time to make it slightly late to our reservation for breakfast at The Garden Grill with Chip and Dale and friends.

Breakfast wasn't intricate but it was filling, delicious and plentiful, served up family style with scrambled eggs, bacon, fried potatoes, Mickey Waffles, fruit and more. The character interactions were better than H&V the day before, with Chip and Dale specifically being a lot of fun to be with. My son also got to meet and greet Pluto, his favorite.

Immediately after, we went down to the revamped Soarin' Around the World. The line was already at an hour plus, so we used our son's DAS to get a return time and went to do other things. We decided first on the Living With The Land tour, which was very relaxing and informative. After, we went on the Figment ride, which was fun, and then spent a bit of time doing the activities available after the ride. This was sufficient to use enough time to get back to Soarin, where we went on very quickly through the FP+ line.

SATW was fantastic, with even better use than before of the illusion to make you feel you're not only flying, but swooping and soaring, in and out of various world landmarks. It was easily the highlight of the day at Epcot for everyone else, but 2nd for me (more later).

This left us with enough time to wander over to the other side of Future World for our Test Track FP. While we wondered, we looked at some of the floral exhibits that they had out for Flower and Garden Festival. We rode this the last time and it was no less thrilling, but this was our son's FP choice because he wanted to ride it again. But it was no less fun.

Then came the more ponderous part of the day. Our plan was to hit all the FW stuff in the morning, then WS in the afternoon before leaving for our dinner ressies at Disney Springs that night. We walked to our 1:30 lunch reservation at Le Cellier, and by the time we got there, DW was spent. I think she was realizing that she was not as strong a walker as she thought given her size.

We got to Le Cellier, which had all the flavor and ambience that you wanted...right up until we got our server. He was polite enough, but our family wasn't ready for the fact that substitutions were a no-no in this restaurant. DS and his specific appetite suffered the most, and they really didn't have kids fare that he would eat available...they tried to cobble a burger together based off of an adult menu item but it was too thick and thus he wouldn't eat it, settling for the fries. I had the filet but plain, and it was good, but it wasn't two dining credits good. DW and DD were similarly disappointed. However, I got the beer cheese soup for an appetizer which was good, and the maple crème brulee was great, but not worth the price of admission. And the server came off as a bit snooty throughout the whole process. All in all, a disappointment.

Once lunch was over, we headed straight for the American Experience pavilion specifically to see the Voices of Liberty. I had been wanting to see Voices live ever since I sang their arrangement of the Star Spangled Banner in college, even more so when the director of the first a cappella group I ever sang in went on to sing with VoL for nearly 20 years. He left shortly before I could get back to Disney to see him though. But that didn't make the group any less impressive. They sang "America The Beautiful", a rousing rendition of "Oh Susanna" and finished with "The Star Spangled Banner". Bucket list item achieved. Utterly fantastic.

Following that, we split up...the ladies went to Germany while I took Tristan to Japan - they had a store there with a lot of Japanese toys and such. After 20 minutes, he bought a small Sonic figurine and I bought a box of strawberry Pocky for my daughter, because she loves that stuff and it's not available locally where I live.

We decided to head towards the front - we had a FP+ to meet Disney characters up front but by this point we just wanted out of the park...DW was now tired AND grouchy. They took the boat across but I waited for the next one because they already had their ECV limit for this trip...had I known how long I would be waiting, I would have just driven the ECV back over to the other side.

I wanted a picture in front of Spaceship Earth before we left and they said they were waiting at the photo spot. But when I got to the one in front of SE heading out of the park, I couldn't find them. After 15 minutes of confusion, I found them in the BACK of SE at a photo spot near a F&G exhibit. Exasperated, we took the picture and left. For the remainder of the evening, I let DW ride my scooter for stretches so she wouldn't be so unhappy.

We went to DS for dinner at Raglan Road, which my wife picked. Unfortunately, the week we went was St. Patrick's Week, so when we got there, we ended up being seated nearly 45 minutes after our prescheduled reservation time. When we got in, we all discovered that Irish cuisine may not have been the best idea, as we struggled each to find an entrée to like. Tristan got by with chicken strips, and although my appetizer (wings) were fine, I can't even remember what I got for the entrée, but it wasn't memorable.

The music sounded nice, but where we ended up being seated we were in front of a tall table that blocked our view of the stage. After a long day, and an unappetizing dessert menu. we left and went home.

It was a good day overall, but the ending left much to be desired. Still, tomorrow was the big day. Magic Kingdom.

 

[TammieLandry]

Loving your report!

 

[kingpinpearce]

DAY 7: Magic Kingdom - THE MAGIC OF DISNEY

That morning was easily the coldest of the week - in the low 40s as we took our golf cart up to Fort Wilderness' harbor to wait for the boat to take us across the lake to Magic Kingdom for our 8:30 Breakfast Ressie for Cinderella's Royal Table. We had to wait about 15 minutes to get on board...and then felt badly at the next stop because the indoor portion of the boat was already to capacity, so they had to ride outside in the low 40s. Brrrr.

We got there, and my first order of business was to send my wife and the kids to the castle ahead of me on my rented scooter - while I rented a 2nd one for her directly from Disney. Upfront cost was $50 plus a $20 deposit that would be charged back to my card if returned in one piece. A small price to pay for DW to not go completely nuclear on this day over pain and fatigue. (As it turned out, she ended up using the weeklong rental all day and I used Disney's, because the Disney ECV was larger and more difficult to drive for a novice like DW)

CRT is not an experience I would want to pay for more than once (2 dining credits per person) but it is a bucket list item to check off. The internals were exquisitely done, making you really feel like you were in the castle, and large windows gave a great view of Fantasyland. Every 20 minutes or so they would call for all the princesses to wave their royal ones (part of the cost) while the princes waves their mighty swords (also part of the cost). DS got a sword, he was happy!

For breakfast, I had the beef tenderloin with egg and potatoes/cheese frittata, covered in cheese sauce. It was very well done but above kids tastes. DS ate donuts, and DW and DD each had the traditional breakfast.

But in truth, what you came for is the princesses. DD got to meet her favorite (Ariel), and we also met Jasmine, Snow White and Aurora, three of the four we had not met to date, so go DD. At the end of the meal, we had our official photo op with Cinderella herself, who was MUCH better than her analog on the cruise - very personable to us all.

After breakfast, we had a 10 AM FP+ for the Mine Train, so while waiting, we rode the Carousel, used DS's DAS pass to reserve a meet and greet with Tiana and Rapunzel, and then went to see Philharmagic, which was a LOT of fun to watch.

Finally, it was time to ride the mine train, and we got in and into position in under 10 minutes. Now, this ride has been a massive controversy among the plus sized set as it is really one of the first rides Disney has built that has caused larger riders to walk the "walk of shame", which is unheard of given how size friendly Disney usually is. The worst part of the ride is the lap bar, as it is an individual lap bar and not friendly to thick thighs. However, this can be mitigated by tucking your knees together and a bit inward, like you have to pee, then pull the bar down as far as it can go. My wife is 5'3" and a little north of 350 lbs, with THICK thighs, and she said it was tight but not uncomfortable...however, she also has a high pain tolerance, so YMMV. I have skinny legs from the knee down so I had no problems whatsoever. The ride was a fun, surprisingly exciting coaster and I can see why the line is so long all day.

We had a bit until our 11:15 FP for Peter Pan's Ride, so we went into a circus themed gift shop and more or less spent our remaining souvenier budget for the weekend. We went here because they were 1 of 2 places on site to have plush Hank the Octopus dolls, which my wife is obsessed with. We also got some gifts for friends at home and used snack credits to try some fudge.

Finally we went on Peter Pan's Ride, and I now see why THIS one has a ridiculously long line all the time - it's not a thrill ride, it's nothing visually modern, but the detail and the viewpoints of the ride are timeless as they tell the story of Peter Pan in a short 4 minute rundown that was so much fun to watch.

I should say that it was at this time when the crowds really started to get large. However, it was still only about 60 degrees at noon, which made it far more manageable.

Our next FP+ was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at 1, so we slowly headed in that direction, taking our time...the girls got Mickey bars while DS tried his hand at the shooting gallery for a bit. The touring plan basically made a circle of the park where we went in one direction rather than here, there and everywhere. That, plus the two adults having scooters, contributed mightily in making this day as close to perfect as it could have been.

We got there, and because it was only 60 degrees Splash Mountain had a ridiculously low wait time, so everyone but DD (who hates getting wet) went on. The theming and story told through what is basically a log flume ride made the ride special, and the setup for the big drop was second to none. We didn't get as wet as I thought we would but the ride was fun. Afterwards, we went on BTMR which was a fun roller coaster even my daughter enjoyed.

From there we headed to Adventureland, DAS'ed a time for Pirates, and then went to the Enchanted Tiki Room, which was a perfectly acceptable use of 10 minutes. DD and I then went on the longest line we had to stand in the entire weekend...the line for Dole Whip! The stand next to the Tiki Room apparently is the only place in MK to get them now, so it was a legit 30+ minute wait for pineapple ice cream. It was very tasty but I didn't finish my medium sized one.

We then went on Pirates, and that was a fun ride with some great theming, but I've never seen the movies so I had no great affinity for them. Afterwards, as we were determining our next destination, they had a stage show featuring Captain Jack Sparrow himself that lasted about 20 minutes. DS got to go on stage at the end and be sworn in as a pirate, which he enjoyed very much.

From there, we had a 4:15 ressie at Liberty Tree Tavern, but before we went in DS and I went to get a DAS pass for the Haunted Mansion for after dinner. However, their DAS reader wasn't working, so they gave us 4 paper FastPasses to be used whenever we wanted to come back...or anywhere in the park other than SDMT! That came in handy later!

LTT was the only place that we came back to that we went to on our first trip, and it was as good as I remembered. Turkey, pork tenderloin and beef brisket with mashed potatoes, mac and cheese and veggies, served family style. We had skipped lunch on purpose for a few reasons, so we were ready to eat and we weren't disappointed! It also gave the kids a break, as DD was visibly tired by this point after a week's worth of vacation!

We decided to head towards Main Street to get the castle picture, but we were interrupted by some "dance party" parade that decided to filter past Main Street when we were about to get the pics taken. It was loud and obnoxious with current tween dance music blaring and some characters dancing. I don't think this was the big afternoon parade as this happened close to 5 PM. After a few minutes, we got our castle shot, which is what I really wanted.

From there, we actually split up. The ladies wanted their picture with Tink, so DS and I decided to use two of the four paper fastpasses to jump on Space Mountain. I hadn't planned on riding that one this time because I rode it last trip and didn't want to burn a hard FP on something I had already had the chance to ride, but paper FP for the win! We got on and DS was feeling his oats with rollercoasters by now, and we both had a blast riding. By the time we got off, it was time for the Tomorrowland Fireworks Dessert Party

We got the Garden Plaza (cheaper) package, which meant we got the same dessert spread but were moved to a standing only area to watch Wishes. The dessert package had every sweet you could think of - cakes and pies galore, a sundae bar, plus cheese and crackers and hot and cold beverages. In truth, it was nice but not worth the $270+ we paid for the privilege for the four of us...the hot chocolate is fantastic, though.

We asked to go to the staging area for Wishes about a half hour before other folks were done eating, and got a great spot right behind a fence. We wanted front because we knew others would be standing and with us on our ECVs we wanted to be able to see. We were amused watching CMs shooing away people who were trying to sneak onto the sidewalk between watching areas and try to stand to watch from that point - the CM's were clear in that they would be blocking people who paid for the view that we had.

Finally, Wishes started. The last time we went, Wishes was preceded by a projection show on the Castle, but now that show was after Wishes. It was about two months before Wishes was being retired so I was happy to get to see it from such a great vantage point. 15 minutes after Wishes ended, the projection show began, which was different than the previous one and heavily featured "Frozen" in the mix as well as "Beauty and the Beast".

When that was over, we did two more rides. The first was Tomorrowland Speedway, which was DS's big request for Magic Kingdom - we got a FP+ after we used our first 3 for 10 PM so we could get on and off. He had fun driving the car and although it wasn't TERRIBLY exciting it was a piece of Disney Parks history. We finished with the teacups (my wife and I both fit just fine), and then gave the remaining two paper FP+ to a young couple that were happy to receive them. I dropped the Disney ECV off before heading to the doc to return home.

We were too tired to do any prepacking for the next day, so we set our alarms and went to sleep, happy that the last full day of vacation was the one we had.

DAY 8 (FINAL): Back to reality.