Faith, trust & a whole lotta pixie dust :: Aug/Sept 2015 TR (UPDATED 07/03/16)

[Wills Mom]

Well hello there!

First things first, welcome to my trip report! This has been postponed many times before now. The dreaded post Disney depression hit with a bang after this trip and it's taken me til now to feel up for it!

You may be wondering what's with the name of the TR...well, stay tuned to find out just how much pixie dust we received!

We travelled from our home on the green island of Ireland to the World on August 23rd and had a wonderful 12 nights off-site in a villa followed by our first ever on-site stay for 3 nights at the Contemporary Resort! To say I was excited is a huge understatement!!

A little background first - I'm Pamela. Wife to James and mother to the two best little boys in the world, Will and Jamie (ages 3.5 and 19 months for this trip) It was mine and James 7th trip to WDW, Wills second and Jamie's first.

Here's the four of us from this past trip

​

Also travelling with us was my SIL and her DS aged 11 though I will be leaving out pictures of them where possible as I haven't asked her permission to post them.

This trip wasn't meant to happen for another several years. DH had said he wasn't stressing himself out bringing the kids while they were so young but, well one thing lead to another and before we knew it we were booked!

As with a great number of things that are unplanned we ended up enjoying this trip probably the best of any trip we have done and thats including our 2009 engagement trip and 2011 Disneymoon!

And without further ado here we go!

 

[Wills Mom]

Itinerary

Travel Day
Day 1 Part 1: Epcot - A Productive Morning
Day 1 Part 2: Epcot - Meeting Aurora
Day 2 Part 1: Magic Kingdom - We're HOME!
Day 2 Part 2: Magic Kingdom - Hot, Hot, HOT!
Day 3: Lazy Day - Magic Kingdom? Why not!
Day 4: Animal Kingdom - Washed Out!
Day 5 Part 1: Hollywood Studios - Fun in the Studios
Day 5 Part 2: Hollywood Studios - A Fantasmic Evening!
Day 6: Animal Kingdom - Let's Try This Again, Shall We?
Day 7: Break Day
08/31 - Day 8: Blizzard Beach
09/01 - Day 9: Magic Kingdom
09/02 - Day 10: Magic Kingdom
09/03 - Day 11: Lazy Day
09/04 - Day 12: Moving to Contemporary!
09/05 - Day 13: Magic Kingdom/Epcot
09/06 - Day 14: Last Day!
09/07 - Day 15: Travel Day

 

[Wills Mom]

Reserved

 

[Wills Mom]

TRAVEL DAY

I apologise in advance for the lack of photos today, but I will more than make up for it as we go along

We got the kids to bed at 6pm the night before we flew but of course it was about 10.30pm by the time I hit the hay.

We had the car packed and everything ready to go so when we got up at 2.15am I only had a few last minute bits to pack and get myself dressed before we woke the kids at 2.40am!
I regret not being ready with the camera as they were jumping around with excitement.

Bundled into the car and on the road shortly after 3am. Dublin International Airport is about 70 minutes drive from our house so we got there just after 4am. We parked the car and got on the shuttle to the terminal, only realising halfway there that Jamie had taken off his shoe in the car. We debated going back for it but it would have been a 20 minute round trip so we left him as he was (he hates shoes so going barefoot in the stroller was the way to go for the entire trip!)

After we checked in and dropped off our copious luggage we barely had time to get to the gate and drink half a coffee before we were called to board.

First leg was uneventful and we arrived at London Gatwick at 8.40am.

We had our breakfast at Wetherspoons in the terminal which we found to be quite costly but it did the job.

Once again we got to the gate just prior to boarding and we were the first group invited to board. The British Airways ground staff were just wonderful! The boys fell asleep just after take-off and slept for over 2 hours, we joined them in their slumber and then we all woke for food. I had vegetarian lasagne which was ok. Jamie stayed asleep throughout the food so I watched Insurgent for a while.

The boys managed very well on the flight, Jamie only got a little antsy after about 7 hours and even then it was just because he wanted to be up and about. We had a tea of chicken and basil sandwiches shortly before landing and he was fine at that stage.

We landed at 3.45pm, had disambarked by 4pm and straight to Immigration as fast as our legs could carry us! Having gotten severely delayed there on a previous trip we were anxious to avoid it this time. Luckily enough we got through within 15 minutes, our luggage was on the carousel so we grabbed that and straight down to car hire.

We were finished at the Alamo desk within 15 minutes despite the ginorous queue and on our way out of Orlando International Airport by 5.20pm! Definitely a new record for us!! The pixie dust begins!!!

We stopped off at a Target on our way to the villa at Indian Creek for some essentials like bread, milk, fruit and cereal and we picked up a McDonalds for dinner too. We pulled into the villa at 7.30pm EST, which was 12.30am by our time. We had been on the go for 22 hours but we just had to have a quick dip in the pool before bed! The boys were troopers and fared remarkably well before they all but passed out around 9.30pm - a full 24 hours since we had woke them in Ireland!

 

[SnowWhiteOz]

Joining in! Sounds like a great trip and cant wait to hear all about it. I hope writing it helps with the Disney depression - I know it did for me

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

A great start, looking forward to more

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Joining in! I completely get PDD, hopefully relieving your trip through this TR helps!

Sounds like you had a great travel day, love British Airways!

 

[Wills Mom]

Joining in! Sounds like a great trip and cant wait to hear all about it. I hope writing it helps with the Disney depression - I know it did for me

Thank you for being here!! I'm finding the same true for me thus far! I'm loving looking back over my notes and photos...although checking and re-checking flight prices for next year for a trip that ain't gonna happen is definitely my downfall

A great start, looking forward to more

Hoping to get the next installment done today!

Joining in! I completely get PDD, hopefully relieving your trip through this TR helps!

Sounds like you had a great travel day, love British Airways!

Thank you for joining in It was our first time flying BA and we found them great from beginning to end! And the fact we got them at a great price too was the icing on the cake

 

[Wills Mom]

Day One Part One - Epcot: A Productive Morning

After a hectic travel day our boys did wonderfully well and slept through til 6.30am! We were over the moon with that. They were adjusting to the time change nicely.

I was greeted by this sight when I woke. My little monkey with his little monkey



We had a small breakfast at the house. None of us really felt like eating too much with the heat - and it was HOT We all got showered and changed but we took our time. We didn't mind being slightly late and we wanted to keep things as calm as possible for the boys.

Out the door and straight to Epcot for 9am.



We collected our tickets at Will Call, also got our Memory Maker all linked up. It was our first time having MM or any Photopass product so we were excited to make the most of it - and boy did we!! We also bought MBs for convenience and we were glad we did.

Got some obligatory Photopass pics at Spaceship Earth

Do you spot the barefoot child? Disaster for shoes! I love Will's face in that photo. He's a right little actor!

After that it was straight on to the Character Spot for our first FP+ of the day which was for 9.30am. Here we met Mickey, Minnie and Goofy. Will adored the characters immediately but Jamie was very cagey for the first week or so bless him. Still, we got some great photos (again thanks to MM!)

I love Will's face in this photo - the pure joy is captured forever!





As our luck would have it we forgot to buy an Autograph book BEFORE the M&G! Oops! But we'd see them again, no fear of that!!

So autograph book in hand we decided to walk over to Nemo as it was showing a 5 minute wait on the app. On our way there we saw a Chip N Dale meet and greet so we got in line - more like Will ran towards them bypassing the line the moment he saw them The queue was about 10 minutes which wasn't bad!



We walked straight on to Nemo and the boys loved it. Jamie fell asleep on the ride which was handy, the heat had his tuckered out. I loaded him into the stroller and the others went off to our Spaceship Earth FP+.

I strolled around with my sleeping son and did some people watching while they were gone!



It was HOT, HOT, HOT!!

Next: Lunch in the UK and Soarin'!​

 

[Wills Mom]

Day One Part Two: Let's Meet Aurora!

After their Spaceship Earth journey I meet the others back at Club Cool where we got everyone to try the "delicious" Beverly



After which we made our way to the UK for our 12pm Rose and Crown ADR. It was time to get in out of the heat!!



Our table was ready almost immediately so we had a quick bathroom break before being seated. We opted to get just a main course each. I got the fish, of course. My entire reason for making an ADR here. It was delicious as always. DH and SIL got the bangers and mash and they really enjoyed their food also, though DH did steal some of my fish I do not share food!! Will had sausage and chips and Jamie had his own fish and chips. There wasn't a crumb left on any plate! The bill came to about $90 including tip for the 6 of us.

Afterwards we slowly made our way over to France to check if there was an Aurora M&G any time soon. There was one scheduled in 15 minutes time so we were second in line. Now, Aurora was, and still is, Will's most favourite princess! He was beside himself at the idea of meeting her - alas it was not to be! The M&G was cancelled due to the threatening rain!

We took that to mean the rain was not far away so we high tailed it to The Land and walked on to Living with the Land just before the heavens opened!

The others took Will on Soarin' for our 2pm FP+ while I grabbed a seat in Sunshine Seasons with Jamie and we ate a red velvet whoopie pie while they were gone. It was yum but very heavy.



We then Rider Swapped when they came back so I went on Soarin' with Will and my nephew. Will absolutely loved it and still talks about the "flying ride"

Once we left The Land we saw it was now fabulously sunny again so we walked back over toe France to try again for the M&G with Aurora. We were the fifth family in the queue this time but Aurora did indeed come out so it didn't matter if we were last. This M&G had to happen!





The interaction wasn't anything spectacular but it didn't matter to Will. He was mesmerised!

After the Aurora meet we went back to the UK to try hunt down Winnie and Tigger and we just so happened to be the last family allowed into the queue! Yay!!

The wait was only about 10-15 minutes. These guys were super cute!




And Jamie was even warming up enough to give a semi-high five


We walked over to Mouse Gears after and planned on buying some souvenirs but we decided to come back another day instead. We slowly walked back to the car. It was about 4pm.

We did squeeze in another PP photo on the way out! Will wasn't in the best mood as he really did not want to leave!



We hit up Wal-Mart for some more essentials and got a take away from China Gourmet on SR535 before heading for home. We had discovered China Gourmet on a past trip, portions are huge and cheap as chips and its super yummy.

We all had a really early night in anticipation of our big day tomorrow

Next: Magic Kingdom! Now we're really HOME!!!
​

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

$90 at Rose and Crown is a pretty decent price for 6 people to eat at a Table Service!

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

A great start, especially meeting so many characters. It's nice not to do too much on the first day and get back for a bit of relaxation.

 

[Wills Mom]

$90 at Rose and Crown is a pretty decent price for 6 people to eat at a Table Service!

I was very impressed! That was 3 childrens meals (included main course, dessert and a drink for each child) 3 adult mains and 3 beverages. We got in out of the heat of the afternoon which was a massive bonus

A great start, especially meeting so many characters. It's nice not to do too much on the first day and get back for a bit of relaxation.

We were delighted to get so many ticked off the list on the first day! We didn't think the boys, well mainly Will, would take to the characters so well but he became a right character junkie

 

[Stargazer9]

I'm in! Can't wait to read more! The boys are just adorable. And I'm interested to know how you all survived the heat! We'll be there next June and it will be broiling for sure..

 

[Wills Mom]

Day Two Part 1: Magic Kingdom - We're Home!

We had aimed to hit rope drop this morning but due to the monorail being down we had to queue for buses from the TTC to the park so we got a little delayed. We arrived at the turnstiles just after 9am.



Our first stop was Main Street to get a nice castle shot with a photographer! The PP photographer we got was hilarious and we had great interaction with him!



This next shot had passersby laughing as the photographer told us to hold the post for about 60 seconds even though he only took one shot so we were posed kissing with our eyes closed



It was SUPER hot on Main Street, even in the shade! James said I looked like I had jumped in the pool - very attractive!

We made our way over to our Cinderella and Rapunzel FP+ at Princess Fairytale Hall, grateful at the thought of air con!! We were straight in through the FP+ queue despite the 50 minute wait time in the Standby queue! Darn it, I wanted to stay in the air con all day

We all really enjoyed the interaction here, especially Rapunzel who was so happy and bouncy








Our next FP+ was at 10.05am for Buzz Lightyear. Will was particularly excited for this ride! We were in within 5 minutes. We were lucky the boys are still small enough for the 4 of us to share a pod although I scored terribly! I was sure concentrating though, check out that face




Will bought his first souvenir in the store afterwards - a Buzz lazer gun! It drives me mad on a daily basis!!

We saw Jamie start to show signs of tiredness so we said we would bring him on the People Mover. That thing is just chock-full of sleepy dust! It always worked on Will on his first trip!

Alas it was down for maintenance just as we reached the top of the queue. It was back up and running within about 10 minutes but unfortunately Jamie had reached over tiredness at that stage We rode anyway but he didn't succumb to the sleepy dust!

We mosied on over to our next FP+ at Splash and got a Rider Swap pass valid for a whole week - though we didn't end up using it as James hates water rides! Will absolutely loved Splash, though he disliked the vultures on the climb up before the drop. We got a bit delayed here and I think he just had too much time to really look at them. He was fine on the drop - my little trooper



We didn't get very wet on Splash, unfortunately for us

Still no sign of Jamie nodding off so we queued for the Woody and Jessie M&G after Splash but it was taking so long we had to leave the queue or risk missing our ADR for The Plaza at 12.15pm. Air con, sweet air con!!

There was about a 15 minute wait to be seated but while we were waiting outside sat on the curb a PP photographer was passing and snapped a gorgeous picture of Jamie. I was pleasantly surprised by this

Next: Lunch & the HEAT! ​

 

[Wills Mom]

I'm in! Can't wait to read more! The boys are just adorable. And I'm interested to know how you all survived the heat! We'll be there next June and it will be broiling for sure..

Thanks you Oh you are in for a treat! Some days it was hotter than others but we managed just fine Thanks for following along

 

[Wills Mom]

Day Two Part Two: Hot, Hot, Hot!!

So after waiting 15 minutes we were seated in the wonderfully cool Plaza restaurant. I would quite enjoy this view every day for lunch!



I ordered the Plaza Club which came with fries. James got the Grilled Chicken Sandwich and we got a childrens chicken nugget meal between the boys as they had been snacking up til this point.



Mine was absolutely delicious, and I can definitely see why people rave about the Plaza fries - they are gorgeous!!!

While we were waiting who should pass by the window only Snow White! Will's reaction was the cutest!



We got dessert because, well, they just look so darn delicious!! And trust me, they are!! The boys had their Mickelodeon which came with the kids meal, I got the Plaza sundae and J got a mint choc chip sundae. The bill including tip for 3 adults mains, 3 adults drinks, 3 adults desserts and 2 kids meals was $55!! We thought that was an absolute bargain!



During the meal we saw that Jamie was turning into little Mr grouchy pants due to lack of a nap so afterwards I bit the bullet, found a quiet-ish corner at the side of The Plaza and rocked him to sleep. It took about 10 minutes, during which time there was an impromptu Snow White M&G on the lawns in front of the castle so James brought Will to meet her!

I *might* have mentioned it previously but today was HOT! And not ideal for a M&G with relatively little shade. However Will and Snow White, bless her, battled on and despite the sheen of sweat on them both in the photos Will was happy with getting to meet her.





While this was going on my SIL and her son went for their FP+ at Space so after the M&G here we strolled around the park for a while with a sleeping toddler in his stroller. It was blisteringly hot though so we soon organised to meet back up with my SIL and slowly made our way back to the car.

Jamie woke on the monorail after about an hours sleep and once we got back to the car we drove to a Publix as I just HAD to have the Grapery Cotton Candy grapes I had heard so much about. And they were worth the trip

The evening was spent in the pool, which was a welcome way to cool down after the heat we had experienced!

Next: Day 3 - Back to Magic Kingdom? Yes please!!​

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

The surprise photopass photo of Jamie is darling, I just love his eyes.

Glad you enjoyed The Plaza, great food for good prices.

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

We too love the Plaza, went again in July and enjoyed it, especially the sundaes and milk shakes!

 

[Wills Mom]

The surprise photopass photo of Jamie is darling, I just love his eyes.

Glad you enjoyed The Plaza, great food for good prices.

Thank you He gets those eyes from his Daddy!

The Plaza is a must do next time. Such a great value TS when paying OOP!

We too love the Plaza, went again in July and enjoyed it, especially the sundaes and milk shakes!

Ooh I do regret not getting any milkshakes!! Must remedy that next trip The sundaes were unreal, I wouldn't be a huge dessert person but I'd make the exception at The Plaza