Easter Crowds + Lots of Fun Anyway= One Magical Trip and a Completed Trip Report!!:)

[mommytothreeboys]

That last picture of the castle is really beautiful. Nice job!

We did more pool time this year as well. Living in upstate NY, pool time is very limited so they enjoy it when they get it!

I'm glad your DH liked Jungle Cruise..one of my very favorites!! I LOVE the corny jokes!

 

[Angies1274]

That last picture of the castle is really beautiful. Nice job!

We did more pool time this year as well. Living in upstate NY, pool time is very limited so they enjoy it when they get it!

I'm glad your DH liked Jungle Cruise..one of my very favorites!! I LOVE the corny jokes!

Thanks--that was one of my favorite pics that I took of the castle this year.

I totally know what you mean about getting pool time when you can. We also live in Upstate New York (way at the top-near Canada). The days that it's actually warm enough to take a dip in the pool is very limited. We finally got an 80 degree day here today. It feels like we have had rainy weather for the last month or so. We were so ready for some sun.

We did like the Jungle Cruise! I think it surprised DH that he enjoyed it so much. He is such a serious guy--it was nice to hear him chuckling at all the jokes.

 

[Angies1274]

Well, it's not afternoon like I promised but it was so nice outside today that I decided to sit out and watch the boys play in the pool this afternoon. I can't believe that it's almost July and it's just starting to feel like summer here....

Anyways, let's continue.... We had just finished up a few rides, taking it much more slower than earlier in the day so that we could actually enjoy some of the sights. It was a little after 8:00pm and we knew that we should be finding a place to watch the parade but first we wanted to get a snack. Now, I really, really wanted to try a Dole Whip but I was out voted when the boys spotted a Popcorn stand and since they were already starting to rope off areas for the parade. We thought it might be better to just grab the popcorn and go find a spot. I admit, I was disappointed but it's something to look forward to next time. (at least that's what I keep telling myself.)

We finally settled on a spot just before Casey's Corner, here is a picture looking toward Main Street--

Here is a picture looking toward the castle--as you can tell the crowds were pretty big (or at least we thought so!)

Once we finally settled in our spot--I was afraid to even move an inch because there were people everywhere you looked. It didn't bother me too much, or the boys as they sat busily munching on their popcorn but it did bother DH very much! He does not like crowds---at all!! But he toughed it out through the parade( what a good DH he is) This is just before Specto began--

I have to say how much I loved this parade, it was so amazing!! Here are some of the better pictures I got before my camera batteries died Can you believe it? I forgot to pack extra's with me and we were too far away from anywhere to run quick and get some more. Definitely a note to self next time---Bring lots of extra batteries!!!!!!

I was very sad that this picture didn't turn out better because DH loves Grumpy!!

After SpectoMagic, the boys were thirsty so we decided to grab something to drink at Casey's Corner and then head down Main Street to find a spot to watch Wishes. I knew that with DH not being too happy while watching the parade because of all the crowds that he would want to be a little farther away. So I suggested watching them from the Train Station--but after going up there and seeing how bright the lights were, we decided to head back down and watch them at the end of Main Street. It was a pretty good spot (not too many people--DH liked that) But they left the lights on behind us. (which I didn't like) I've already told DH that we will be finding a spot much, much closer to the castle next time. Despite all the drama of the day, looking up and watching Wishes was pure magic. But the look on my boys faces were priceless and something I will never forget.
The only picture I attempted of the very end. (the rest I got on video)

So, that ends another great day at the Magic Kingdom and believe it or not the bus ride on the way back to our resort just added to it. We had the funniest bus driver and boy did he go fast as he kept making references to Test Track through out the whole ride. I'm so happy that the boys found a seat--DH and I stood and I almost fell in someone's lap as we were turning the corner.: He went on to tell everyone on the bus that Disney had a program that if your child was misbehaving in the parks, that you could send them to the bus garage late at night to help wash all the Disney buses and they had a lot! DS6 turned to me and said "Really, Mommy, is that true?" I just shook my head and laughed. Poor kid, I think he was breathing a sigh of relief......
Next up---Day 4---Epcot!!!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

We sat on Main Street to watch Spectro one time.....NEVER AGAIN! You are absolutely right about not being able to move an inch. UGH. It really is an amazing parade, isn't it? I LOVE it!

Did you see Tink fly during Wishes??

Cool bus driver story. We didn't get one fun bus driver on our whole trip this time. Oh well..yours sounds cool!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Another great update as always! My husband is not a crowd fan. But, what's really weird is they don't bother him when he's at Disney. I think he just gets immersed in the Disney magic and he forgets that there are soooo many people.

Too funny about your son asking if the bus driver was telling the truth. Does that mean he had something to worry about?

 

[OrangeJax]

Love your trip report! I am putting together a plan/budget for the same time (Easter) of next April. Thanks for your details! Keep 'em coming!

 

[eandesmom]

Great TR so far! I am all caught up.

I love all the POP pictures, my younger kids would love that place. I need more space but they'd get such a kick out of the decor. It's interesting to see your semi review on the QSDP, that is my exact fear with it (plus I need to sit down!). I wish my kids would have had more pool time. For us it was hard with the time adjustment but I've decided that if we "stay" on west coast time again next year, I'll just take the little ones to the pool every morning while the teens sleep. As a result we never go back to the resort once we are out and I just don't see that changing (too much time in transit for DH).

Lovely Spectro pics!! And your boys are adorable. Looking forward to more

 

[Angies1274]

We sat on Main Street to watch Spectro one time.....NEVER AGAIN! You are absolutely right about not being able to move an inch. UGH. It really is an amazing parade, isn't it? I LOVE it!

Did you see Tink fly during Wishes??

Cool bus driver story. We didn't get one fun bus driver on our whole trip this time. Oh well..yours sounds cool!

I loved SpectoMagic--so amazing!!! We are so disappointed that we are not going to be able to see it again in August. (especially since my camera batteries died during it!!) It's not scheduled on our MK night.
I did see Tink but since we stood at the end of Main Street near the flag pole. She was very tiny and far away--if I didn't already know about her--I might not have even seen her. Next trip, we plan to stand up near Tommorrowland so we can get a really good view of her.

Another great update as always! My husband is not a crowd fan. But, what's really weird is they don't bother him when he's at Disney. I think he just gets immersed in the Disney magic and he forgets that there are soooo many people.

Too funny about your son asking if the bus driver was telling the truth. Does that mean he had something to worry about?

DH was good the whole trip as far as crowds were concerned until the parade. There was just way too many people--everywhere!! Once the parade actually started he calmed some because it was just so amazing!! How can anyone not enjoy it?

DS's reaction on the bus was so cute--I couldn't help but laugh. I don't really know why he was so worried--he's such a good boy.

 

[Angies1274]

Love your trip report! I am putting together a plan/budget for the same time (Easter) of next April. Thanks for your details! Keep 'em coming!

Hi and Thanks for reading!!! This was our second trip in April and although I'm sure some people would disagree because of how busy it can be-we like going this time of year. The weather is perfect and the Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot is just beautiful. I'm so happy you joined in-- I'm hoping to have another update posted very soon.

Great TR so far! I am all caught up.

I love all the POP pictures, my younger kids would love that place. I need more space but they'd get such a kick out of the decor. It's interesting to see your semi review on the QSDP, that is my exact fear with it (plus I need to sit down!). I wish my kids would have had more pool time. For us it was hard with the time adjustment but I've decided that if we "stay" on west coast time again next year, I'll just take the little ones to the pool every morning while the teens sleep. As a result we never go back to the resort once we are out and I just don't see that changing (too much time in transit for DH).

Lovely Spectro pics!! And your boys are adorable. Looking forward to more

Thanks for reading!!! My boys love staying at Pop!! We always have a great time there. The QSDP--I found out wasn't really for us. I think with last year being our first visit and we went hoping to see everything, (of course now I know that's not possible). I thought that sit-down dinners took too much time away from the parks. But after this trip--I realized how much I missed those sit-down dinners and experiences. Maybe if we had sought out better and/or different counter service places it might have been better.
I'm so glad you've joined in---I'm hoping to get another updated posted soon.

 

[Angies1274]

I thought I would take a quick trip down memory lane before I begin my Epcot day. As I was looking over photos for Epcot this year, I realized that I didn't take as many of the WS as I thought. It was probably because my goal this year was to try and take different pictures than what I had taken last year and last year I took a ton of WS. We spent more time on this trip trying to explore a few of the countries. Epcot seems to be a hard park for us even more so than AK for some reason. The boys get extremely tired out in this park and we have learned it's much easier to tackle it in sections. So this trip we all picked a country that we were most interested in learning more about and those are the countries we spent the most time in. This way we didn't feel so rushed trying to get through them all. But unfortunately that meant little opportunity to take pictures of the countries we didn't explore. So anyway I thought I would share some pictures of last year's trip at the World Showcase...

As you know by now we had decided to try out the Quick-Service Dining Plan this year. We enjoyed the plan overall but mostly for the convenience of not having to worry about being at restaurant at a certain time.We also got a ton of snack credits with this plan, enough to use them for breakfast every morning and we even had enough left over to bring a few rice crispy Mickey ears to family back home.
Despite this I'm still not sure we will use the plan again. We really missed the sit-down meals especially the character dining and we thought that what the boys could get on the plan was very limited. We did end up paying OOP for Chef Mickey's for breakfast one morning but other than that it was just counter-service meals this trip. Since both my boys can be shy--although they love the characters---getting them to approach the characters is another thing entirely. This trip they were always wanting to ride this and see that. So it was very hard to get them to slow down enough to wait in line to meet the characters, so seeing them at the restaurant where they come to you was great! We have decided on our next trip to get them each their own autograph book to give them the incentive to seek out and approach the characters. They are both very excited about this!!
Here are a few of my favorite character pictures from last year's trip.

This is DS6 reaction from seeing Minnie Mouse for the first time.

He's their favorite!!!

Liberty Tree Tavern--(when they had the characters)

Ohana's breakfast--YUM!!!

Breakfast Crystal Palace

I'm not sure about this...... Piglet, is that really you??

We had a 5:00pm ADR at Chef Mickey's last year and were the second people waiting in line to get into the restaurant. When a CM approached us and asked the boys if they would like to help Mickey Mouse open the restaurant. They were so excited and said YES!! It did surprise me a little because I knew how shy they were around the characters. But they followed the CM over to a red carpet and were instructed to walk with Mickey down the red carpet while they announced the opening. The CM even introduced the boys, their names and where we were from. It was so magical to see the boys talking to Mickey and holding his hand as they strolled down the red carpet and everyone clapped. A truly unforgettable moment!! They even got a certificate that all the characters signed that is proudly displayed on their bedroom wall.

Waiting for Mickey.....

Some more pictures from Chef Mickey's....

Thanks for taking this trip down memory lane with me.
Next up--Epcot

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Thanks for sharing those pictures Angie. Your boys are so cute! I can tell they are a little shy around the characters.

We liked the CS plan this year overall. I did miss the sit down meals each day, but not the planning our days around meals. We only have one boy on the child's plan and I agree that his choices, especially for dessert, were limited. But...with so much food we were able to share. The thing that keeps us from the regular DDP is that tip not being included. That's a big hunk of change when your meals for 5 run in the $150-$200 range with a 20% tip. We'll see what happens on our next trip. I liked all the snacks and the refillable mugs.....hmmm....it definitely had it's pros and cons.

The WS is my FAVORITE!! Your pictures are great! I especially like the one in Italy of the little stairway with all the flower baskets...so pretty and I'm not sure I ever noticed that before! Thanks again for sharing!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Angie:

I really enjoyed your trip down memory lane. I understand how it can be a bit trying to get the family interested in seeing World Showcase. Since our first visit in 1998, I have come up with some great ways to get the kids interested in the various countries.

One year, I did a scavenger hunt and the kids had their list and a disposable camera. Once they found an item on the list, they had to take a picture before they could mark it off the list.

Another year, they had $20.00 each (back in the day when souveniers didn't cost quit so much) and had to find the cheapest souvenier possible in as many countries as possible without running out of money.

Of course, we have done the Kidcot stops, the Passport and the smashed pennies.

Now, we buy a prepackaged snack item in each country and save it until it's time for Illuminations. We find a spot to watch Illuminations and try our snack items. Some are quite tasty and some are downright nasty. But, it's fun.

As for the quick service meal plan, I don't think that we'd enjoy it much either. We like a nice sit down meal at the end of the day. And, like you, I like booking character meals so we are standing in line all day to see the characters. (We still stand in line for some but not the ones we know we are going to see during our meals.) We went to Disney this past August and were on a budget since it was our second vacation of the year and we went without any kind of meal plan. I have never ever been so tired of quick service food in our life. But, like you, we also didn't go searching for much variety either since we aren't adventurous eaters.

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Love the pictures Angie, just adorable, thanks for sharing! What a fabulous thing to happen at Chef Mickey! Great idea about the autograph books to overcome the boys' shyness and I like the idea of choosing which countries to spend time in rather than rushing thru them all.

I don't think the QSDP would work for our family either. I love the character interaction and sitting down for a break and a meal experience we just wouldn't have anywhere else. And I just don't think I could eat that many burgers and fries in a week.

Mickeystoontown, I love your suggestions on things to do at the WS, especially the scavenger hunt and the snacks for Illuminations. For our upcoming August trip I had started to prepare for a game where they answered trivia questions for the different countries, but I think a hunt would be much more fun.

Looking forward to more updates!

 

[miprender]

Hello... just read all your reports so far. We were part of that Easter crowd We were there from April 8-18th. I agree that April is a great time of the year. The weather was just beautiful and I think that was the last time I saw the sun (it has either rained or just been cloudy for almost 2 mths here in RI)

I love all your pics. What camera do you have? They come out so clear and sharp.

PS We watched wishes from the top of the Train station and we could see the fireworks beautifully with out too many people up there.

 

[Angies1274]

Thanks for sharing those pictures Angie. Your boys are so cute! I can tell they are a little shy around the characters.

We liked the CS plan this year overall. I did miss the sit down meals each day, but not the planning our days around meals. We only have one boy on the child's plan and I agree that his choices, especially for dessert, were limited. But...with so much food we were able to share. The thing that keeps us from the regular DDP is that tip not being included. That's a big hunk of change when your meals for 5 run in the $150-$200 range with a 20% tip. We'll see what happens on our next trip. I liked all the snacks and the refillable mugs.....hmmm....it definitely had it's pros and cons.

The WS is my FAVORITE!! Your pictures are great! I especially like the one in Italy of the little stairway with all the flower baskets...so pretty and I'm not sure I ever noticed that before! Thanks again for sharing!

I agree---I think that the QSDP definitely has it's pros and cons. Unfortunately my boys can be picky eaters, especially my youngest so although I was more than willing to share with them, they didn't want what I was having. It does save the tip though and that was a big factor when we decided to try out the plan, so that was really nice and we LOVED all the snack credits.

WS is so awesome!! I just wish I could get the boys more interested. Hopefully on our next trip.

Angie:

I really enjoyed your trip down memory lane. I understand how it can be a bit trying to get the family interested in seeing World Showcase. Since our first visit in 1998, I have come up with some great ways to get the kids interested in the various countries.

One year, I did a scavenger hunt and the kids had their list and a disposable camera. Once they found an item on the list, they had to take a picture before they could mark it off the list.

Another year, they had $20.00 each (back in the day when souveniers didn't cost quit so much) and had to find the cheapest souvenier possible in as many countries as possible without running out of money.

Of course, we have done the Kidcot stops, the Passport and the smashed pennies.

Now, we buy a prepackaged snack item in each country and save it until it's time for Illuminations. We find a spot to watch Illuminations and try our snack items. Some are quite tasty and some are downright nasty. But, it's fun.

As for the quick service meal plan, I don't think that we'd enjoy it much either. We like a nice sit down meal at the end of the day. And, like you, I like booking character meals so we are standing in line all day to see the characters. (We still stand in line for some but not the ones we know we are going to see during our meals.) We went to Disney this past August and were on a budget since it was our second vacation of the year and we went without any kind of meal plan. I have never ever been so tired of quick service food in our life. But, like you, we also didn't go searching for much variety either since we aren't adventurous eaters.

Looking forward to reading more!

Thanks for all the great ideas!!! We were planning on getting them a Passport book this year. But I love the Scavenger Hunt idea!! We are planning to do something very similar at Pop Century on arrival day. Getting different snacks would be a fun way to end the night while watching Illuminations!!!

We love the Character Dining!! It's just so much fun for the boys!! I think the sit-down meals are just a nice way to take a break at the end of the day. We are definitely not adventurous eaters--as a matter of fact the boys can be pretty picky especially my youngest and I agree we were definitely getting tired of all the quick-service meals by the end of the week!!

Love the pictures Angie, just adorable, thanks for sharing! What a fabulous thing to happen at Chef Mickey! Great idea about the autograph books to overcome the boys' shyness and I like the idea of choosing which countries to spend time in rather than rushing thru them all.

I don't think the QSDP would work for our family either. I love the character interaction and sitting down for a break and a meal experience we just wouldn't have anywhere else. And I just don't think I could eat that many burgers and fries in a week.

Mickeystoontown, I love your suggestions on things to do at the WS, especially the scavenger hunt and the snacks for Illuminations. For our upcoming August trip I had started to prepare for a game where they answered trivia questions for the different countries, but I think a hunt would be much more fun.

Looking forward to more updates!

Chef Mickey's was definitely a very special moment from last year's trip and made our first trip to the world even more magical.

The boys are so excited to get their autograph books!! Last night they were talking about everyone they wanted to try and find. It was very cute!!!

We love the character interaction and experiences at the restaurants. It's one of the things that makes Disney so special. I mean where else can you give Mickey a hug while watching your boys devour an ice cream sundae! :

Hello... just read all your reports so far. We were part of that Easter crowd We were there from April 8-18th. I agree that April is a great time of the year. The weather was just beautiful and I think that was the last time I saw the sun (it has either rained or just been cloudy for almost 2 mths here in RI)

I love all your pics. What camera do you have? They come out so clear and sharp.

PS We watched wishes from the top of the Train station and we could see the fireworks beautifully with out too many people up there.

Hi and So glad you joined in!!! We love going in April, despite the crowds. The weather is just so beautiful!! After coming from what seems like 6 months of cold weather it's so nice!! We have had such terrible weather here in NY also--it's been so rainy. We had a few nice days last week where it reached 80, but now rain is predicted for the rest of the week again. I hope it's not an indication of what the whole summer will be like.

I just bought my camera before the trip, it's a Kodak Z885. I wanted something that would take crisp, clear pictures but would also record videos. It has an awesome zoom feature, unfortunately I didn't really figure this out until later in the trip. I'm still trying to figure out all the settings but I like the camera so far.

When we went up to watch Wishes from the train station, there was already a lot of people up there. I wasn't sure how well we would be able to see them with all the lights left on. We may have to try it again.

 

[Angies1274]

First off--I'm hoping to have another update posted by Thursday or Friday this week at the latest. (hoping to post a video also) This has been the boys first official week of summer vacation, so I have been trying to keep them busy because boy they can get on each others nerves.

Anyways, as you all know by now or can at least see from my countdown ticker--we are heading back to Disney in August. We are so excited!!! This was a very unexpected trip for us, since we didn't start planning it until two weeks after we came back from this trip. We have been trying to convince my parent's to come with us for the last year and we finally talked them into it on Easter this year just before we left. However it was supposed to be for May of next year. When we returned from this trip, My father asked us if there was anyway we could do a quick trip in September instead. He wanted to surprise my mom for their 35 wedding anniversary. At first I was freaked out because I didn't think we could afford two trips in one year no matter how much I wanted to go back but then I found out about Free Dining and since we are only staying for 4 days--I priced some packages and it seemed doable. We ultimately decided to switch to August though because of the boys returning back to school in September.

Since I haven't had the opportunity to start a PTR for this trip yet. (I've been so busy with this report) I was hoping that you all could help me out. We usually start our countdown calendar 50 days out--which is this Saturday!! I thought it might be fun to also start doing a Disney day once a week to help get the boys even more excited for our upcoming trip. I have found a lot of great ideas on another thread and from mommytothreeboys PTR (Thanks,Missy) We are planning to pick a Disney movie to watch, make a meal/snack that goes with it and do a activity. This week the boys have picked The Jungle Book.(one of their favorites.) You might have noticed, since I made them each a shirt for our Animal Kingdom day. Anyways, I'm having a hard time trying to think of an activity that goes with the Jungle Book. So far for a snack we have Monkey bread or Monkey Munch (for anyone who's watched Jon and Kate plus 8 will know what I mean) Since it's known by so many different names. The challenge has been that DS9 doesn't like bananas at all. I hoping that you might have some suggestions that you can share. Thanks

 

[mickeystoontown]

Angie:

What about something leafy for the Jungle Book theme? Wouldn't work at my house since Hunter is a picky eater but how about your boys? Let me think a little bit more and see if I can come up with something else.

Lisa

 

[mickeystoontown]

I can not, for the life of me, think of a main dish. I tried to think of some kind of sandwich and all I could think of was a great big thick "Papa Bear" sandwich. I did come up with a few other things though.

How about:

Jungle Juice: Some kind of punchy drink.

Sherkan cookies (Is that how you spell the tiger's name?): These could be sugar cookies with orange food coloring and black stripes.

Animal crackers 'cause they have all kinds of animals

I'll keep thinking. Can you tell I used to do kid's parties?

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Hmmmm, this may be stretching it a little bit, but how about their favorite ice cream with wormy bugs or snakes ?

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Possible activities? My kids would enjoy these two.

Safari Slurp - Place animal crackers/cookies in a pile beside a small bowl. Have straws available for each player, along with a stopwatch, or a watch with a second hand. Using the straw as a vacuum, each contestant tries to pick up the animals and drop them into the bowl. The student with the fastest time wins.

Ticklish Tiger - Using a stuffed tiger, play this jungle variation on the classic Hot Potato game. Have players sit in a circle, and pass the tiger until the music stops. The player left holding the tiger when the music stops is out. Keep passing it until only one player is left.