Embracing Our Inner "Them" - A January TR

[Colleen27]

What a fun day. HS is my least favorite park as well. I did ride star tours in Aug. and it made me VERY motion sick. I am hoping it was just where I was seated as I couldn't see the screen very well.
I do want to try 50's primetime too. We had an adr there for Aug as well, but never made it.

That's too bad about Star Tours. I was so happy it didn't make me motion sick because it really is a very cool ride with the way the segments piece together to be a little different each time.

I loved your Prime Time review. We have a ressie there in April that I am really looking forward to. We also end up coming home with lots of plush animals as well. Our DD loves them. "Baby" Lady is the one she wants to add to her quite extensive collection. We give the kids a $50 gift card each for souvenirs and DD pretty much uses most of her money for plush toys. Looking forward to reading more !!

My kids have decided 50s Prime Time is now a must-do for us, the first of THREE restaurants they said that about this trip. At this rate, I'm going to have to start planning 2 week trips just to fit in all our dining must-dos!

My kids aren't big on souvenirs, and I can predict almost exactly what they'll spend their money on - Stitch spends all of his (and then some, because DM spoils him) at the Lego Store, Pocahontas buys a new year or event pin each trip, and Boo gets her character plush.

 

[Colleen27]

The next morning was the first of two that I left free so we could decide where to go depending on the weather, and of course the forecast didn't look like the weather was going to cooperate for either of them!

Since it was much cooler with rain in the forecast we decided this would be a good day for Disney Quest, and decided to rearrange some things later in the trip if need be to fit in the waterpark later. To that end I booked a late dinner at Crystal Palace for our first MK day and cancelled Kona for that night , then cancelled our Crystal Palace lunch on our second planned MK day since it was looking like that would be the best day for a waterpark.

As it turned out, the day was perfect for staying indoors. We got to Disney Quest just as they were opening and by then it was starting to rain, just a fine mist at first but eventually a full-fledged rain. We upgraded my mom & brother's tickets at Disney Quest, adding days to my moms and both days and the plus feature to my brother's.

My mom, who was the only one with the forethought to pack a travel umbrella, headed off to do her shopping. She doesn't play video games and doesn't swim, so she decided the plus upgrade was a waste for her and had no problem finding other ways to pass the time. She ended up grabbing an appetizer-and-dessert lunch out of pocket at Raglan Road, to try the scallops that we were so disappointed weren't included on the DxDDP when we were there for dinner last March

My original plan for the day was to go see Beauty & the Beast with Boo, but Disney messed that up by not offering a 2D re-release. Feature length 3D sometimes gives me a headache and Boo doesn't keep the glasses on so I didn't see the sense in taking her to see it in 3D. So then I thought maybe Boo & I would join my mom for some shopping because I really didn't think Boo would like Disney Quest, but she wanted to follow her big brother & sister so I decided to give it a shot.

Pocahontas hated Disney Quest on our first trip, when she was 4. It was too loud, there wasn't a lot for her to do, and she was much happier just walking around Downtown Disney window shopping. Boo, on the other hand, LOVED Disney Quest. It helps that they removed the tickets/prizes from the games on the kids level. When Pocahontas was small those games had a cost in addition to admission so we steered her away from that whole area, even though it was where the most age-appropriate games are located. Boo & I spent the whole morning up there.

It is so funny that Boo recognizes these old games from apps on Pocahontas' iPod. She's actually fairly good at Frogger and Pac Man already.

This is the coolest air hockey table - it has little bumpers around the perimeter of the table and the 'paddles' have guards so the puck can't catch little fingers that stray too close to the edge, and it is child height so even Boo could play.

Pocahontas took off with Ken and they spent most of the day on the Buzz Lightyear game.

Eventually Boo was ready for a snack, even though she had a leftover chicken leg for breakfast, so we headed for the 4th floor food court and ran into DH & Pocahontas. DH wanted to pop over to the cigar store, so I kept both girls for a little bit until he got back. Pocahontas was almost as impressed with the little kid games as Boo.

This was something like Dance Dance Revolution but using kid music and easier steps.

Then they found a touch-screen Asteroids-type game.

When Ken returned he had goodies to share.

The physical/interactive games are on the same level as the kiddie stuff, so Pocahontas dragged DH into a game of Guitar Hero as soon as her candy was gone. Neither of them are any good at this game, by the way.

By this point we'd done most everything and it was getting a little busier, not bad but enough that the unique experiences and the racing type games had people waiting, so we decided to call my brother to see where he and Stitch had gotten off to. Turns out they'd come to the same conclusion about a half hour earlier and were already over at the Lego Store with my mom, so we headed over to meet them. Fortunately the rain had stopped by this time, and the clouds were starting to break up. More importantly the breeze that had made the rain so chilly had all but disappeared.

The new sculptures outside of the store are awesome.

And some of the classics are still there too.

Stitch found a Lego Technix motorized car kit that he talked DH and DM both into pitching in on because it was a lot more than he had to spend. We'd all planned on this, though - since it was the week after his birthday we set aside $50 to give him and my mom did the same. Good thing too, because the set he really wanted was $120. It is super-cool though, with a working engine and several alternate builds.

To my surprise Boo found something too, a Duplo farmers' market. She just discovered Duplo blocks at Christmas, when Stitch decided she had to have the Winnie the Pooh house set, and she is absolutely hooked. She really wanted a huge, $100 zoo set but we told her we didn't have room for it in our luggage. I've already bought it and put it away for her birthday but that's more than we'd spend just because.

We kept shopping for a little longer, but DB headed back to the resort for a swim before dinner. Around 5:00 we decide to hop a bus to the Beach Club, since dinner was in Japan and that is such a nice walk.

I tried getting some pictures of the kids at the beach, but they weren't terribly cooperative... The big kids were anxious to get to dinner, and Boo was being very silly.

One of my favorite things about the Beach Club when we stayed there was the easy access to the back gate at Epcot - no lines, quick bag check, and we were in the park in no time.

 

[khertz]

Looks like you had a great day at DHS! DH and I loved that park pre-DS, but we found with him around, there just wasn't as much to do. It's harder with kids who can't ride a lot of the attractions there that make DHS so much fun! I love the food at 50's Prime Time. That brownie sundae looks DELICIOUS!!!

 

[Colleen27]

My brother was waiting for us by the time we got over to Japan. Stitch had been telling him all about Teppan Edo all morning and he was looking forward to it even though I could tell he wasn't quite sure about whether he'd like the food. Authentic-looking ethnic restaurants tend to have that effect on him.

Because there were 7 of us we took up most of our table, but we were joined by a very nice couple from Seattle who were on their first visit to the restaurant. My mom chatted with them for much of the meal after discovering that the woman had retired from the same field as my mom (social work).

Pocahontas had me taking pictures of EVERYTHING in the Japan pavilion, and dinner was no exception. This map on the back of the menu is actually kind of neat.

Pocahontas was excited to get to practice a little of her Japanese with the waitress, who was very polite and patient about it. She doesn't know a lot yet but she's mastered the basic pleasantries like please and thank you, and the waitress said her pronunciation when ordering by the Japanese names on the menu was very good.

Our chef was Hiroe and she was quite entertaining. Pocahontas was pleased to have a female chef because that was a first for us.

We all ordered chicken, steak, shrimp, or some combination thereof, and we all enjoyed out meal as usual. My brother was surprised and impressed by how simple the food was; he can be very picky but aside from leaving most of his veggies behind he enjoyed his meal.

For dessert we shared the chocolate ginger cake, which is to die for. I don't really love ginger in general but the flavors of the ginger and light chocolate mousse combined with the richer ganache frosting just work so well together. My mom tried the green tea pudding, which is more like a flan, and I did try a bite but it couldn't hold a candle to my cake.

Teppan Edo has been a must do for us for years because the big kids love hibachi dining, something we don't have in/near our town, and it didn't disappoint.

My brother has a friend from Detroit who moved down to Orlando a while back, so he left after dinner because his friend was picking him up to go to some club in the city. My mom was a little annoyed by this, which I thought was silly - he's a 30yo man, I think it is completely understandable that he might want a little more adult fun than Disney offers these days! But her mood improved as Boo dragged her off to get a kaki-gori while we toured every nook and cranny of the pavilion (see why she skipped dessert at dinner? she was totally hooked on these things!).

We spent a long time after dinner just exploring the Japan pavilion. The clouds had cleared and the night was surprisingly comfortable, especially given how the day had started. I couldn't even get Boo to keep her hoodie on.

Pocahontas is rather obsessed with all things Japanese and had decided that it would be the primary focus of her report for her class, so she wanted to take notes and pictures of everything. And I mean everything.

A history of Mitsukoshi... I am SO going to get to their Tokyo store one of these days.

We revisited the gallery exhibit, where she had me take photos that she'd be able to read of Every. Single. Piece.

The moon rabbit is of course our favorite, since we're both huge Sailor Moon fans. That's what started my interest in Japanese language and culture, and my collection did the same for her.

She also picked out some mango candies from the Mitsukoshi store to share with her class when she gave her presentation. They were really good... So good that we had to come back for more later in the week because the first bag didn't quite last long enough to make it home.

By now the dozen or so iced green teas I had with dinner were catching up with me, so we backtracked to Morocco to find a restroom. Mo' Rockin' was just taking the stage and Stitch wanted to stay to watch, so I took a few minutes to walk around the pavilion.

The whole Moroccan pavilion is so lovely and exotic. I think it is my favorite aside from Japan, and I picked up some incense to bring home for my office.

Even the light fixtures are beautiful.

I rejoined everyone to watch the end of the band's set, then we headed over to America for something that was on my must-do list for the trip - the American Adventure show.

I don't think I'd ever seen it before and I really enjoyed it, not so much that we'd do it every trip but it was a nice little diversion and the whole building is really impressive.

We left the show just as Illuminations was getting ready to start, so we grabbed a couple of pretzels, found a bench that had a semi-obstructed view - good enough for us, since we've seen the show so many times before - and relaxed for a little while. Just before the fireworks ended we started making our way around to Mexico because Boo had her heart set on another ride on Donald's boat.

Pocahontas wanted to look around the jewelry store, so she and Ken skipped the ride to do a little shopping and ended up getting a pretty pair of silver and blue Mickey earrings.

El Rio del Tiempo was a walk-on as usual. It was now evening EMH and the KTTW check at the ride took longer than the queue itself.

I love the Donald pinata.

After Mexico my mom decided she was ready to call it a night, so we said our goodbyes and sent her and our leftovers back to Pop. Then we headed into Future World for the kids' favorites - Test Track and Mission Space.

Mission Space had the shorter wait time as usual, so we went there first. I got a baby swap pass but ended up chickening out of riding the orange side when the kids said they didn't care about a second ride. I want to try it one of these days, but I worry that it'll be a motion sickness trigger and wreck the rest of my day.

Boo had a great time in the play area while the big kids rode. I just love that Disney thinks about things like this, putting in little playgrounds near many of the height-restricted attractions.

Next up was Test Track. The standby wait was posted at 30 minutes, so we got our baby swap pass and Ken took the big kids for the first ride while I took Boo over to visit her favorite friend.

She figured out how to avoid the skunk scene...

We were in the middle of our third consecutive ride when Ken called to let me know they were getting off of Test Track.

Pocahontas was getting tired and not really interested in a repeat on Test Track, but I wasn't going to miss it. So Stitch and I took our turn on Test Track while DH and the girls went for a little ride through history. Boo developed quite a fondness for SSE this trip, which was a nice change compared to last trip when it put her to sleep. We caught up with them in the ride post-show area, and after about 10 or 15 minutes of exploring there we headed for the bus.

We got back to Pop just after midnight and the kids were wiped out. I put Harry Potter on the iPod hooked into the TV and went down to keep Ken company while he had one last cigarette before bed, and by the time we got back to the room all three of the kids were sound asleep. Having the iPod really made these later nights so much easier; the Disney TV offerings are terrible that late, and having something the kids enjoy really helps them with the transition from go-go-go to go-to-bed.

 

[jenseib]

Wow, that was a busy day. I'm glad you made the most of a rainy day! Sometimes the Disiney weather isn't perfect, but if you just go wit hthe flow, you can still have a great day.

 

[pattyw]

I'm enjoying your TR so much!! Your kids are so cute!!

 

[Colleen27]

Just popping in to say I haven't forgotten about this report! We've got a lot going on right now, all good, but I've been reading/posting on the DIS mostly from Pocahontas' iPod as we continue work on my office, the kids activities are ramping up for the spring seasons, and I've slipped into planning mode for May, so editing and uploading pics has fallen by the wayside just a bit. But I'm uploading the pics for our Animal Kingdom day as I type this so I should have an update ready to post this afternoon. :

 

[jenseib]

Take your time!

 

[Coconuts]

Just found your TR and got through it all. It's great so far. I wish I was organized enough to ever write one. It's so nice that your mom and brother could come; nothing is better than family memories.

Sometimes it sounds like my family when I was reading: my DH does some of the same stuff sometimes, but comes around and is really better than most; I'm very lucky. When we stayed at POP, we were behind the Rubiks Cube, next to the computer pool also. We loved being so close to the food court and bus stop. DS loves legos too and is now in a lego mindstorm robotics club. My DD 3yo also comes home with some stuffed character every trip and fell in love with SSE this trip; we must have ridden it 10 times. DHS is also our least favorite park, especially DH's. We love 50's PTC and haven't been there in a few trips to make room for some new places, but all of us agreed, especially DH who loves his comfort food, that we need to get back there on the next trip. I like to dress my girls alike sometimes, but I don't sew so it's only when I can find their sizes in the store.

I too get migraines and motion sickness. Years ago I tried Star Tours and almost got sick so I haven't been on again. Last trip though I was determined to try Mission Space Orange. I almost got sick on that, but I don't think I was as bad as Star Tours. IYHO, which do you think is worse?

Can't wait to read more, but take your time. We are also so busy with activities that I hardly get on Disboards anymore.

 

[Colleen27]

Ugh, I've started and lost this update three times this week! Maybe this time will be the charm.

Jan 28 - We had officially crossed the halfway point of the trip, with fewer days ahead of us than behind, and we still hadn't even made it to the Magic Kingdom!

Because we stayed so late at Epcot the night before I decided this would be an ideal day for a park where we don't usually need a whole day - Animal Kingdom. I didn't expect the kids to get up early but by 9 or so both girls were awake and ready to go. I woke Stitch up and then DH & I took the girls for a walk to give him some time to get showered and dressed. We took the path down by the lake before heading up to Everything Pop to get our morning caffeine fix.

By the time we got back to the room, not only was Stitch ready but to my surprise so were my mom and brother so we all headed for the bus. We got to the park around 10:30 and took our time meandering through the Discovery Island exhibits on our way through.

It was another perfect day, without a cloud in the sky.

We saw Pumba, and let me tell you... The Lion King jokes about being downwind from a warthog have a strong basis in reality!

I love all the quirky little details that make up the theming at Animal Kingdom. Check out this light post.

Finally we made it to Africa where it was time for another stop, this time to trade a few pins. Pocahontas was still on a quest for Muppets and Boo was working on a rather impressive assortment of Figments.

The crowds for the whole trip were higher than I remember from our last January visit, but this day was the worst. It was a Saturday and the weather was incredible, so I'm sure there were plenty of locals taking advantage of the nice day in the parks, but it was more crowded than I'm used to seeing.

The standby time for the safari was posted at 40 minutes but the fastpass return was just over an hour out, so we decided to grab FPs and check out some of the animals before our ride. They were working on the Pangini Forest trail and between the crowds and the detours it felt really packed. We didn't spend as much time there as usual, but we did take the time to check out something we've never done before - the kids activity station, where Pocahontas got to learn about identifying animals based on their tracks and 'leavings'.

We still had a little time to kill before our FP return so we hopped the train to Planet Watch thinking that Boo would like the petting area. I'm not sure if she's been to so many farms at home that petting goats has lost its magic or if it was just that compared to the rest of WDW it isn't that fascinating, but that occupied her for all of 5 minutes. The girls spent longer at the discovery stop.

Boo loved having some room to twirl in her new dress.

When we got back to the safari we found a very short FP return line. Usually we end up waiting 10 min or so even with FP, but this time we practically walked on. We were on the 2nd truck loaded from the time we arrived at the station.

Apparently the animals were enjoying the weather as much as the people, because the safari was the best I've seen. All of the larger animals made an appearance, and the elephants and rhinos were especially active.

The giraffes were right up next to the road.

The baby elephant is really cute! Boo wanted to know if he can fly.

The young rhino decided it was time to slow traffic down a bit. We waited a long while for him to get out of the road, and as soon as we passed he wandered back out in front of another vehicle.

The only animals we didn't see were the lions. I guess it just wasn't warm enough for them to sleep on their air conditioned rocks, because they were lying mostly out of sight up on their hill.

After the safari we headed for the other must do of the day, Expedition Everest. The plan was to grab FPs then stop for lunch at Yak & Yeti's counter service, but the standby line was posted at 30 minutes so we decided just to ride. I think EE is really Disney's best pure thrill ride but DH doesn't care for it, so he sat it out. DH & DM took Boo over to a table and got her some lunch while my brother and I took the big kids to Everest.

This was one thing that I really liked about traveling with my brother. I like to think I'm pretty good at stopping to smell the roses at WDW, but I realized on this trip that I plan even that. I'd never been through so many of the standby lines, and on rides like Everest only riding FP is missing part of the total experience. My brother is a Cedar Point passholder, so he's used to long lines for short rides and would rather just wait for the ride than wait around and double back for a FP return.

The wait was a few minutes less than posted and the ride was awesome as always. Even my brother, who really wasn't impressed with what passes for thrill rides at Disney, loved it.

The parade had passed by while we were in line, and afterwards Asia really started to clear out. Lunch was good for counter service, nothing really special but as good as good take out Chinese. Four meals and one snack credit egg roll were plenty for the 7 of us.

After lunch we split up. My brother wanted to go back to Pop for a swim before dinner, and my mom decided to join him. She always has a hard time with our AK days; the uneven walkways and stop and start pace aggravate her knee problems. So they headed off to rest and we continued on with our day.

Before we left Asia I took the girls down by the water to take some pictures.

They were both in a very silly mood.

Then we headed off through Asia over to Dinoland.

I had to trick him into smiling, but I got a good picture of Stitch!

And the Photopass photographer took one of all of us together.

On the way through, I grabbed 3 FPs for Everest. The return was very late, in the last hour before the 7pm close, but I knew we wanted to ride once in the dark.

We spent most of the rest of the day in Dinoland. I know it isn't very popular on the DIS but I love this area, it is so kitschy-cool! It doesn't hurt that Triceratops Spin is basically a walk-on version of Dumbo either.

DH took Pocahontas off to ride one of the few Disney attractions I steer clear of, Primeval Whirl. Stitch didn't want to ride it - he frequently shares my feelings about spinning attractions - so he came on Triceratops Spin with me and Boo.

Primeval Whirl had a bit of a wait, about 20 minutes, but Triceratops Spin was a walk on so Boo got to ride a bunch of times before DH & Pocahontas caught up with us.

The kids tease DH that he's so old he rode dinosaurs to school, so while they were goofing off by the gift shop I had to snap this shot.

Next up was baby swapping Dinosaur. DH went first with the big kids while I took Boo to do a little candy shopping. She picked out this lollypop because it matched her dress.

I took my turn on Dinosaur while DH took Boo on Triceratops Spin yet again, and then Pocahontas and I doubled back to Everest for our nighttime ride before dragging Boo away from her flying dinosaur.

Everest feels very different in the dark! The view from the top is better during the day but the ride itself is scarier in the dark, and you get a much better look at the yeti without the adjustment of coming into the cave from bright sunlight.

After Everest it was time to head out. On the way we stopped in to see Tough to be a Bug. DH loves this show, so he talked us into it even though I'd planned to skip it because I worried Boo would be scared. It didn't bother her a bit, though, not even when the bugs go scurrying out ahead of the human guests.

Once again we missed Festival of the Lion King. It is high on the list for May, though - air conditioning will certainly be a perk in the summer heat, and with that trip just being Pocahontas and I there won't be anyone along who tends to derail my plans!

Up next, dinner at Chef Mickeys!

 

[jenseib]

What a great day! You guys were really busy. And Wow! the park did look really busy.

 

[Colleen27]

After a busy day at the Animal Kingdom, we hopped a bus straight to the Contemporary for dinner at Chef Mickeys.

Let me start this review by saying I'm not a fan of character dining. They're loud and expensive, with mediocre food and generally rushed character interaction. But my kids labelled this one a must do with my brother coming along, so I booked it.

We got to the Contemporary about a half hour before our ADR and checked in right away. My mom and brother arrived about 5 minutes after we did, while I was still in the line at the podium which was moving SO slowly!

We didn't have much of a wait once I got us checked in, partly because I let the hostess know we'd skip the plate photo. When we were seated there were about 6 families waiting to have that picture taken. I wonder how many of them knew how much the prints cost?

I don't remember our waiter's name but he was adequate. Not outstanding - there were some waits for refills and he didn't make an impression at all, but for the most part pretty good. The food was about what I expected, standard buffet fare without anything really outstanding. My brother loved it - basic, uncreative American food. He ate almost exclusively off the kids' section of the buffet.

The character interaction was surprisingly good, though the timing wasn't great. Pocahontas missed Mickey completely because she was at the buffet, but she didn't really mind. She knew we'd be seeing him in his new Town Square home at the Magic Kingdom the next day.

Pocahontas needed all of the Fab Five to sign her purse.

Goofy made a fuss over Boo's outfit and decided to take her off to hang out with the other chefs.

And Minnie brought over a special treat for Boo - a 5x7 print of all 5 characters, signed by all of them. Unfortunately Pocahontas was tired of us interrupting her dinner for pictures, so she's making silly faces here!

After we saw all the characters we finished up our meal in peace. This is when Stitch and my brother discovered the disappointment of the evening - no more gummy bears on the sundae bar! The whole ice cream area was sort of lame this time, with fewer toppings than we remembered and kind of watery, not quite frozen enough soft-serve.

It was a nice enough evening but only reinforced my opinion of character meals. The character interaction was better than I expected, and as an overall trend I've noticed that the custom outfits and autograph books seem to prompt better interaction across the board, but the food was just okay and the atmosphere is loud and chaotic. Unless somehow we have another first-timer with us, Chef Mickey's isn't a restaurant I'd go back to.

After dinner we decided to just call it a night. I thought about hopping over to MK for a little while, just because we hadn't gotten there yet and they were open late, but the rest of the family wasn't really up to it and I did want to get an early start the next day. We got back to Pop around 10, put a movie on the iPod, and were asleep by 11.

 

[jenseib]

I find CM's to be one of the worst character meals for food. We've only eatne once for breakfast and it was just ok. I hear bad reviews about the food all the time though.

 

[Colleen27]

Day 6 - Jan 29

Finally we were heading to the Magic Kingdom! Rearranging our dates at the last minute to accommodate Pocahontas worked out well all around, but I just couldn't get my usual MK first & last trip schedule to fall into place so it seemed like it took forever for us to actually get there.

We woke up early and got moving without too much trouble. It was just us for the start of the day, since my brother had been out late the night before and my mom planned to sleep in because we had such a late night planned. By 8, DH & I were taking the girls for our morning walk to get his coffee while Stitch got dressed, and we were on a bus by 8:30. It was cooler than earlier in the trip so the kids wore their high school football team hoodies to the park, the first time they'd needed them all trip.

We caught the end of the welcome show as we were making our way through bag check and the turnstiles, and then it was off to Tomorrowland to start the day.

As we were crossing the bridge an older couple stopped to chat with us - they saw the kids' hoodies and had to comment because they were from a small town about 20 miles north of us, home to one of our HS's big football rivals. They're both snowbirds and work seasonally for WDW during the winter, which is exactly what DH and I hope to be doing at that stage of life.

The big kids wanted to go on Stitch first, of all things, so DH took them while Boo & I rode Buzz Lightyear a couple of times. She really liked it and is actually getting the idea of the ride now, though letting her "steer" our car made for some minor motion sickness for me!

When we were all back together again we headed for Space Mountain, which was showing a 20min standby but couldn't really have taken 10. We baby swapped so everyone got to ride and grabbed a set of Fastpasses for later before moving on.

By now the kids were getting a bit hungry but I didn't want to get anything too big because we had lunch reservations at Tony's. The little place at the base of Astro Orbiter wasn't open yet for the day so we decided to head over to Cosmic Ray's. On the way we ran into PUSH. Boo absolutely loved him! He called her princess and said thank you when she "fed" him a napkin. For the rest of the day, though, she kept expecting the trash cans to talk to her!

He posed for a picture for me. Said "cheese" and everything!

At Cosmic Rays we got an order of fries for the kids to share and added cheese from the toppings bar. It made a just-the-right size snack to tide the kids over, and the iced mocha I got myself wasn't too bad either.

After the snack we headed back to Tomorrowland for another ride on Buzz since the big kids hadn't ridden earlier, and then went over to Monsters Inc. I knew we'd have the late night for Fantasyland, so I was pretty much following the kids' lead on what to do for the morning. With Dumbo down I didn't really see any reason to rush to Fantasyland anyway.

The Monsters have been among Boo's favorites since she first saw the movie a year or so ago, and she loved the show. In a funny small-world moment, it turned out that the family picked on as "that guy" were from a town just 8 miles north of us, and we stopped to chat a minute with them after they too commented on the kids' hoodies as we were leaving the attraction. This actually ended up being a trend throughout the trip - my mom met a woman by the pool from another town in our county, and when we went to see Tink later in the day two of the three cast members in the room were from our area as well. It was cool in a weird way, running into all these people from little (population 4000 or so) towns in our area, and all because the weather had turned cool enough to need our (orange-and-black, very distinctive) hoodies.

After the show it was almost time to head back to Main Street for lunch. We took our time making our way back there, watching part of the trolley show and grabbing Fastpasses for the Mickey & Princess character greetings.

I snapped this perspective of the rather ugly Main Street Bakery tarp (that I am stunned to read is still there!)

Our timing was perfect - my mom & brother called to let me know they were at the gate just as we got to the restaurant. We checked in at Tony's a few minutes before they started seating and the girls settled in to watch the movie playing on the TV in the waiting area.

I wasn't all that excited about this ADR because Tony's doesn't get the best reviews, but it was the only restaurant in the Magic Kingdom that we hadn't tried and the girls really liked the Lady & the Tramp tie-in so I made the reservation mainly for them. We were seated in the back of the restaurant, near the "window" out into the alley where Lady & Tramp are sharing their spaghetti.

Our waiter was okay, a little slow with the refills but otherwise competent, and it didn't take us long to decide on what to order. Boo had to have the kids' spaghetti just like Lady, and it was a HUGE portion. She ate the meatballs but barely made a dent in the noodles before laying down on the booth and dozing off.

I had the chicken parmesan which was good, not great but enjoyable. Stitch had the salmon salad but didn't care for the dressing, so halfway through the meal we swapped plates and he finished mine while I tried his. I agreed with him on the dressing, though - it was just weird, overly sweet and very strong. It might have been better had he eaten the fish with the salad but the salmon was presented atop the greens and he polished off the fish first. My mom ordered the eggplant, which I think was the best entree of the bunch but then again I really enjoy eggplant in general.

Dessert was a bit of a bummer - my brother and I, not being big on sweets, intended to order cappuccino instead of dessert which is an acceptable substitution on the dining plan but our waiter returned a minute later to let us know the machine was broken. That was really disappointing, because to me an after dinner cappuccino is part of any good Italian meal and it was weird that the machine would be broken at the start of their business day. Someone was there working on it as we were leaving so I guess they either didn't schedule the repair for when the restaurant was closed or didn't complete it in time.

The cheesecake flavor for the day was cappuccino, though, so we both decided to try that instead. The presentation was very cute with Lady & the Tramp stamped on the plate in cocoa powder, and the cheesecake itself was fabulous, very creamy with just the right amount of coffee flavor.

Pocahontas got the spumoni which I don't think she really liked all that much, and DH got the pistachio creme brulee which he loved. I didn't try either because I don't generally like pistachio as a dessert flavor. My mom ordered a chocolate cake that I didn't try either; it looked good, but I'm a terrible judge of chocolate desserts because I just don't care for it all that much. In the end we left Tony's satisfied. It wasn't the best meal I've ever had in the Magic Kingdom but it was enjoyable enough and far surpassed the low expectations I had based on the reviews I've read.

After lunch the girls and I headed straight for Mickey's meet and greet, while my brother and Stitch headed off together to do some rides.

The Town Square character area hadn't opened yet when we were there last so this was our first time experiencing it.

The whole area is really cute but on days like this fastpass is entirely unnecessary - there was almost no one in line at midday. Boo was thrilled to see Mickey and Minnie together, and we ran into another cast member from Michigan guiding people into the character room. Next trip I think we'll skip the lousy character dinner and just meet Mickey & Minnie here. The background is so much nicer with no other people in our shots, and it doesn't have a fraction of the wait that Mickey used to in his old house in Toontown.

When we were done with the mice we met back up with DH, who had stepped away to have a cigarette. The smoking areas in the park are getting ridiculously scarce these days - he had to go all the way down to the outdoor seating area overlooking the castle moat to find one from Main Street because the corner that used to be a smoking area near the front of the park is now FP distribution for the characters, but that wasn't as bad as Animal Kingdom which no longer has any smoking area in Africa. I get not wanting people smoking just anywhere, but I think fewer people would break the rules if they didn't keep eliminating smoking areas!

We all got on the train back to Frontierland to hit Splash Mountain. My mom & Boo stayed with us just long enough for us to get our baby swap pass and then headed off to Country Bears. This has been one of my mom's favorites since our first trip with the kids and Boo likes anything with music so I knew she'd enjoy it too. That's one of the best parts of traveling with my mom - she does the little kid shows so I don't have to!

Splash was posting a 20 minute standby and it was plenty warm enough to enjoy it, so we rode twice - once standby with my brother & Stitch who had already ridden twice before we got there, and once with the baby pass just the four of us when my brother decided he'd had enough Zippa Dee Do Dah for the day. Then I headed off to catch up with my mom and Boo to see some characters while DH & the big kids went out to Tom Sawyer Island to look around.

My brother wasn't really loving the Magic Kingdom now that it was starting to get more crowded, so he decided to head over to Disney Quest for a few hours and join us after dinner for some of the more classic rides.

Boo & I met Tiana while my mom browsed the Christmas shop, then she decided to head back to the room for a while and Boo & I caught up with DH and the big kids at Pirates.

We rode Pirates with only a short wait, most of it due to a temporary ride shutdown. It had just started running again when we got in line. By now the park was starting to feel pretty crowded but the wait times weren't reflecting that - Jungle Cruise was showing a 30min wait with FPs only an hour out, so we grabbed FPs and split up again. DH took the older kids through the Swiss Family Treehouse while Boo & I got in line to meet Tink.

Some of the craziness of Tink being meetable has evidently died down because the line was posted at 20 minutes, which we found to be pretty accurate. The MK location is so much nicer than her Flower & Garden digs last spring!

Pocahontas joined us just before it was our turn, while the boys grabbed floats from Aloha Isle and had a seat in the smoking area there to relax for a few.

Tink and the other fairies are always some of the best character experiences we have and they were cute as always. Pocahontas got both autographs on her purse, which was really starting to fill up.

We met back up with the guys and decided to use our Jungle Cruise fastpasses before moving on. Our skipper wasn't that great, she knew the jokes but didn't deliver them well, pauses in the wrong places and things like that. Boo still loved the ride though; she thought the baby elephants were hilarious.

Since Dumbo was closed we stopped to take Boo on the Magic Carpets but of the Dumbo clones this is her least favorite and she didn't want a second ride. I was glad, because the line was about 15min and I don't think any of the spinners are worth that, especially after our walk-on Triceratops Spin marathon the day before.

It was getting to be late afternoon now and the kids wanted to hit Splash once more before it got dark and too cool to be all wet, so we headed back to Frontierland once again. We used the FPs we'd grabbed earlier and baby swapped so the big kids got to ride twice while DH & I took turns hanging out in the Laughing Place play area with Boo. She loves that little structure, and it is in the perfect location for keeping little ones occupied while baby swapping the Frontierland mountains.

 

[Colleen27]

We all missed Big Thunder Mountain this trip, but Stitch was glad Splash wasn't down for its usual January closure because that's his favorite of the MK mountains.

DH stopped for a cigarette, mostly because he knew where the smoking area is here and didn't want to have to hunt one up later. This is a really pretty area and really empty with BTMRR closed.

Next up was Haunted Mansion to check out the interactive queue for the first time, or so we thought. When we got over to the ride it was closed at CMs were blocking the queue so it appeared it wouldn't be re-opening any time soon. Boo got a little upset by this because she loves that ride, but she was distracted easily enough when we decided to go for a ride on Small World instead. By the time we were done with the ride I realized she was just getting a bit hungry/cranky from having slept through most of lunch.

We headed over to Columbia Harbour House for a bite. We didn't really want a full meal since we had ADRs for a late dinner at Crystal Palace, so we got three meals to share between the 5 of us - fish, shrimp, and chicken. All three were very good for take-out, piping hot and not overly greasy, and it was the perfect amount of food.

Haunted Mansion was still closed when we were done eating, so we headed back towards Main Street to find ourselves a spot for the fireworks. We ended up watching from the hub, which was nice except for the guy behind us taking flash photos through the whole show. It wouldn't be a very good spot for most of the year, because if the trees had leaves they'd have blocked our view, but for January it worked.

We did have a nice view of Tink's flight.

After the fireworks we had just enough time to stop by and see the Princesses before checking in for dinner. We used our Fastpasses, which were again totally unnecessary, and met Aurora, Belle, and Cinderella in their new little room.

Notice Pocahontas' shirt? We got it at Studios. Candace's sign says "Brother for sale. No offer too low!"

Belle is Boo's favorite princess.

While we were in there my phone rang - it was my mom & brother, who had watched Wishes from right near the train station and needed to know how to get to Crystal Palace, so we met up with them on the Town Square building porch and headed off to our dinner reservation.

Crystal Palace was a disaster. It was our only negative experience with the new ADR policy, and the whole place was just a mess. The line to check in stretched all the way along the porch and I overheard several families checking in for pre-Wishes ADR times even though it was now nearly 9pm. Our ADR was 8:45 and by the time I got through the line I barely got us checked in on time.

A half hour later we still hadn't been seated and I talked to a hostess about cancelling our ADR because the kids were getting impatient, and was told in no uncertain terms that we'd be charged if we did so. Stitch and my brother ran off while we were waiting, to use Space Mountain FPs and ride Pirates and Haunted Mansion. After each ride they called to check in and we still didn't have a table. At 9:30 I asked to speak with a manager, who was apologetic but firm on the fact that we would be charged if we left; he said he was sure guest services would reverse the charges, but who wants to hassle with that? I'm not sure if it is because at this point we'd become a bit of a squeaky wheel or if it was just finally our turn, but we were seated within a few minutes of that conversation.

Unfortunately, the experience didn't improve from there.

Our server was okay, prompt with refills but a total doormat when it came to the behaviour of some obnoxious guests. We were seated at a table for 6 with a high chair on the end, again, which was tight to begin with.

To make matters worse there was a family at a table just behind us with the two most ill behaved little girls I'd ever seen in a WDW restaurant. When we arrived this family had desserts in front of them, and the girls, clearly bored with the restaurant, were twirling and dancing in the walkway. Since Boo was on that end of the table, sticking out into the walkway because the table wasn't meant for 7, this made getting through the area next to impossible. But it only got worse. When they tired of spinning, they got out coloring books and laid down in that same walkway. Then they started playing a hopscotch-like game using napkins they'd spread out on the floor. This went on through our entire meal with not a single cast member saying a word to the adults at the table. They were still there an hour later when we left.

The character interaction was bad as well. In an hour and 15 minutes, we only saw 3 of the 4 characters.

The handlers for Tigger and Eeyore were too busy chatting with the waitstaff to do their jobs, and two little boys from another table kept running up when the characters were at our table to butt in. Of course their parents couldn't care less either, and without a proactive handler the characters were left kind of helpless as to how to shoo the wayward kids away.

We'd had such great interaction here in Dec '09 when we'd come for breakfast but this time was just the opposite - rushed characters, which didn't make a lick of sense considering how long it took them to get around to us, absent handlers, and just chaos all around.

Fortunately we'd met Pooh at Studios so when he was the last to come around we decided just to skip him.

I won't even attempt a review of the food. We all ate. None of us were impressed, but given the rest of the experience they could have been serving Michelin-starred cuisine and I don't think we'd have enjoyed it much. Nothing stands out in my mind as especially good or bad and we certainly won't be back. In fact, this was the first time I've ever had an experience at Disney that was so bad that I wrote to guest services about it when we returned home. I never did get a response.

Dinner left a bad taste in all our mouths, metaphorically speaking, but the park was open until 1am and we had rides to do so we shook off our annoyance and forged ahead.

First stop, Haunted Mansion which was up and running now. The interactive queue is really fun. We let quite a few families pass us by while we were playing.

I love the new effect at the end too. I rode with Pocahontas and the hitchhiking ghosts swapped our heads!

As much for my mom as for Boo we stopped to ride Small World again. Stitch and my brother sat it out - they're both "too cool" for Small World! Then we headed over to Philharmagic, which is another of my mom's favorites. After that she decided to call it a night, as she was getting tired and had seen all of her favorites. My brother went too, ready to call it a night. No stamina, those two!

We were having no such problems though!

The girls rode the carousel twice so they could each take a turn choosing which horses to ride, then decided we had to see Philharmagic again. Without a doubt this is the best of Disney's 3D movies.

Then all three kids rode the tea cups twice in a row with DH while I watched.

We hit Winnie the Pooh but didn't even ride; the kids just played in the queue for about a half hour.

We rode Snow White's Scary Adventure for the last time (though I thought that in March too! I guess third time is the charm - we'll be there again the week before it closes forever) Then it was one more ride on the tea cups before heading back to Tomorrowland to finish out the night.

Back in Tomorrowland we traded off riding Space again. Ken took the big kids while Boo & I walked on Buzz a couple more times. She really loves this ride now, it was all she wanted to do!

Then I took Pocahontas for another round on Space while Stitch decided to take Boo on Astro Orbiter. I'm happy to skip that one these days because for some reason the height makes the spinning effect more intense than the grounded rides like Dumbo & the Magic Carpets, but Boo loved "flying" way above the Magic Kingdom. Then we all rode Buzz one last time before deciding to call it a night. Stitch won, as usual. The only time I win is when it is just me and Boo riding!

It was well after midnight by the time we made it back to Main Street so we stopped in to use a couple snack credits at the bakery and confectionery on our way out, knowing that everything at Pop would be closed by the time we got back. We got back to our room around 1am and fell right to sleep. Ken & Pocahontas had an early morning ahead of them and we were all pretty wiped out from a very long, very fun day at the Magic Kingdom.

 

[Colleen27]

Day 7 - Jan 30

Despite the late night, DH and Pocahontas had to get going early for her YES Ocean Discovery class. The meeting time was 8:30 at the flagpole at the Epcot gates, so the buses were running in plenty of time for them to be there. They tried to be quiet when getting ready so that the rest of us could sleep in a bit, but Boo & I woke up as they were leaving so we decided to head to Epcot for a little just-us time.

Stitch decided to sleep in, and with my mom & brother next door I didn't think twice about leaving him behind.

Boo & I got to Epcot around 9:30.

The first stop was to see Daisy and Stitch just inside the gates, since we hadn't run into either of them elsewhere yet. Neither of them had much of a line and it didn't take long to meet them both.

Then it was on to a morning of riding Journey Into Imagination over and over, playing in the post ride area, and eating popsicles on the bench under the monorail beam.

Pocahontas really enjoyed her class. In fact, she wants us to plan our future trips around YES open enrollment so she can try some of their other programs. They toured the Living Seas with a particular focus on conservation. The main topic of the class is sea turtles but Pocahontas said they got to spend quite a bit of time with the manatees too and she loves manatees.

The class wrapped up around 11:30 and DH called to see what the rest of us were up to, so they met up with us and we headed off to see some of the World Showcase characters we didn't catch on our first Epcot day.

We met Mary Poppins in England, Aladdin and Jasmine in Morocco, Snow White in Germany, and Mulan in China.

Mary Poppins had Pocahontas hold her parasol while she signed the purse.

And Boo danced with Mr Penguin.

Aladdin was impressed with Boo's dress and Pocahontas' purse, and decided I must have phenomenal cosmic powers.

Pocahontas got her henna tattoo in Morocco and was very excited to show it off to her friends when we got home.

In Japan, we watched Miyuki for the second time and got pictures with her this time too.

We stopped for lunch at Tangerine Cafe, where two meals was way too much food for the 4 of us but everything was very tasty. I wasn't minding counter service as much as on past trips, I think because now I know the parks well enough to have a sense for where to find better options. The last time we did the basic dining plan was '07 and I really didn't like most of our counter service experiences.

While we ate we talked about the options for the afternoon. My original plan had been to go to the waterpark but it was a little on the cool side and very breezy so getting in and out of the water didn't sound like much fun.

Then we debated going over to the Magic Kingdom to try some of the Kingdom Keepers Quest scavenger hunt since Pocahontas had gotten the materials at Thursday's seminar, but she was sort of tired from the late night/early morning and we ultimately decided that swimming sounded good.

I expected to find my brother and Stitch when we got back to Pop but as it turned out they'd gone over to Disney Quest again when they woke up, and my mom made a last minute appointment for a massage at Saratoga Springs spa. So it was just DH & I and the girls at the pool. It wasn't bad swimming at Pop - the trick was not getting out of the water, so it was a good thing we decided against the water park!

Everyone else got back to the room around the time the girls got tired of swimming and we sat down to decide where to head for the evening. I hadn't made dinner plans, thinking we'd probably go to ESPN Club and then to Studios for evening EMH because we never quite finish Studios in a day. But since we did so much on our full day there no one was all that interested in going back.

My brother had seen T-Rex on one of his many trips over to Downtown Disney and wanted me to check if we could get in there. The Disney site wasn't showing any openings but I'd read on the DIS to call and that got us a table for 7 at 8:00, which gave us just enough time to get everyone dried off, dressed, and ready.

I wasn't sure about trying T-Rex with Boo because on our last visit to the local Rainforest Cafe she got scared every time the thunderstorm cycle started and I spent most of our lunch holding her. She had no such problems with T-Rex, though. The space is so much larger and the ceilings so much higher that the sound doesn't boom and rumble the way our local RFC does, and she really liked the jellyfish decor. We were seated against the wall under a pterodacyl, with a good view of the jellyfish bar area.

Everything we ordered was excellent. The food isn't creative or especially unique but the portions are large, everything was very tasty, and compared to Disney's restaurants the menu selection was massive. I was glad they added this place to the dining plan because it ended up being one of the best meals of the trip. I had a seafood combination plate with a mixed seafood scampi and grilled shrimp on a skewer that was just wonderful, and Boo was thrilled to find popcorn shrimp on the kids' menu. Stitch had a pulled pork sandwich but didn't leave me a bite, DH had chicken-fried steak that was as big as his plate, and Pocahontas got a rib dinner that was enough to have midnight-snack leftovers for DH & both big kids to share later.

I was surprised that there were no menu restrictions or rules for the DDP with the exception of requiring 4 people to combine desserts to order the extinction sundae, and we did just that. It was plenty for all 7 of us and the kids loved the smoking (dry ice) presentation.

While we were there we almost had a disaster - Pocahontas was taking pictures of the restaurant and stopped in to use the restroom, and left her iPod Touch on the toilet paper holder in the stall. Fortunately for her some kind soul turned it in and when she asked about it at the hostess stand they had it waiting for her. The manager was great about it too, asking her to describe the case (which is rather unique - she has a heat-sensitive color-change back on hers) to be sure it was hers and making a fuss over her case which really helped calm her down.

After dinner we took our time heading back to the bus stop. I almost bought Boo a pair of headphones until I saw the price tag - $50 is a bit much for headphones for a 3yo, even if they do have Minnie ears. I'll probably buy them for her eventually because they're the style she likes and that even Pocahontas prefers when size isn't an issue, but I'm watching for a sale or coupon for DisneyStore.com before I order. They are so very cute, though!

We stopped in at the outdoor bar at Raglan Road to have a drink since we weren't in any hurry to get back to Pop. The patio area there is really nice, with outdoor heaters that offset the cool night air just enough to make it pleasant, and we probably spent most of an hour sipping on our drinks before finally heading back to the bus stop. Since it was such a cool night the kids didn't want to swim, and they fell asleep pretty quickly watching the new Planet of the Apes movie on the iPod.

After they dozed off Ken & I grabbed a couple of the beers out of our fridge - we had to finish them before we left after all! - and went for a walk down by the lake and got to talking to a security guard who was riding around in his golf cart. He was a really nice guy, a recently retired NY cop working Disney security a couple nights a week, and boy did he have some stories to tell... I never would have thought of Disney resorts as a place where security would have to remind young women not to swim topless! LOL Apparently some of the college cheer groups and the Brazilians can get pretty wild late a night.

It was probably close to 2 before we got back to the room and we were asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows. The weather forecast was looking good for finally squeezing in some waterpark time so we didn't want to sleep too late the next morning.

 

[dara00]

what a fun MK day!

I love this:

You can see Push's control guy in the background!

 

[NLD]

All caught up and enjoying it! As always, Boo's outfits are adorable and your photos are fantastic.

We were at MK the same day, the 29th. Way more crowded than I had expected for late January. And the 28th... yikes. (That was arrival day for us and we were at MK that night. I had wondered if it was just MK, but your AK pictures confirm the crowds weren't restricted to one park!)

 

[pld5]

I was there the same time as you, but it looks like the only overlap we had was the Epcot Extra Magic Hours. What great weather we had that week!

I'm loving your report. I love the outfits that your Boo is wearing.

 

[Colleen27]

what a fun MK day!

I love this:

You can see Push's control guy in the background!

Funny! I didn't even notice him until you pointed that out!

All caught up and enjoying it! As always, Boo's outfits are adorable and your photos are fantastic.

We were at MK the same day, the 29th. Way more crowded than I had expected for late January. And the 28th... yikes. (That was arrival day for us and we were at MK that night. I had wondered if it was just MK, but your AK pictures confirm the crowds weren't restricted to one park!)

I was there the same time as you, but it looks like the only overlap we had was the Epcot Extra Magic Hours. What great weather we had that week!

I'm loving your report. I love the outfits that your Boo is wearing.

Thanks. I forgot to mention... At Epcot on the 29th I actually got to meet a fellow DISer who recognized Boo's dress from the DisBoutique Project Runway competition! I was so totally flattered that it made such an impression!

The weather really was perfect for January. Watch out for that week next year, though - our last two winter trips had nice weather, but the following year the same dates got hit with record cold. So expect Jan '13 to be a chilly one!