Firsts, Fourths, and Farewells (4/28 Back to the Future!)

[thecapells]

We headed out of Adventureland and towards the Frontier.

It was time to grab the iron horse and take a tour of that there land of Tomorrow.

We arrived in the vacation spot of the Head Cheese himself – Mickey’s Toontown Fair!

From there, we ventured towards “Dad’s Secret Path.”
I love this path – there’s no one here.
It’s nice, quiet, scenic, and a great shortcut to Tomorrowland!

Speaking of fun restroom signs…

This time around, we figured the kids were old enough to try Carousel of Progress.
Gotta love one of Walt’s classics…

Then it was on to a dimensional doorway into the land of Monsters!
Monsters Inc. to be specific.
And there’s tons of great details in here…

Then, one of my FAVORITE rides in the Magic Kingdom (and now X’s as well) – the People Mover!
And yes, the name is back on the signs!
No more TTA!!!

 

[thecapells]

By now it was getting late and time to head out for dinner.
So we stopped for some last scenic pics and some Photopass shots before heading out.

On the way out, we found a family of 5 just coming in and handed off our Peter Pan fastpasses (remember we skipped it due to the Brazilian tour group).
And then we headed out for some food and fun!
So who’s hungry?

 

[dawnbu40]

I love the boys Monsters Inc shirts! Stacey does such a great job outfitting the kids

The family photopass pics are great! I especially like the magic shots

How nice that you passed on your FP tickets to another family. Sharing the magic is awesome

 

[MEK]

Cute picture of X! What did the kids think of CoP? I love that attraction. I didn't ride it in June and I'm missing it.

I didn't see you PP pics the first time I read through your update. ARe you in a middle of update? So confused.

 

[MEK]

OK - back to add that those PP pics are wonderful. The colors are outstanding. Love the pic in front of the castle!

 

[thecapells]

I love the boys Monsters Inc shirts! Stacey does such a great job outfitting the kids

The family photopass pics are great! I especially like the magic shots

How nice that you passed on your FP tickets to another family. Sharing the magic is awesome

It's fun finding the "right" family to pass along the magic to.
Some people just look at your weirdly like we're trying to sell them something.
Some just don't understand.
We usually look for a family with youngsters who are dressed up and looking to enjoy the magic!

Cute picture of X! What did the kids think of CoP? I love that attraction. I didn't ride it in June and I'm missing it.

I didn't see you PP pics the first time I read through your update. ARe you in a middle of update? So confused.

I might have been updating as I posted twice to get everything in.
Sorry about that.
DS liked Carousel of Progress but our princess thinks it's "weird."

OK - back to add that those PP pics are wonderful. The colors are outstanding. Love the pic in front of the castle!

Thanks!
We love our photopass pics!
Can't wait to try a new set of photographers in Disneyland this November!

 

[thecapells]

Cute picture of X!

I love the look he had - he was really enjoying the ride and checking out all the views.
He loves the Peoplemover now - just like his Dad!

 

[thecapells]

Aloha!
That’s right, we hopped on the monorail at headed over to the Polynesian Resort!

Our first order of business was to find a little hideaway called the Neverland Club.
Our kids seemed the right age for this so this trip we decided to try the kids clubs.
If you recall we did Simba's Clubhouse earlier this trip and now it was time to give this one a try.
And while the kids would play, Mom and Dad get to enjoy a nice signature meal.
So it was off to Neverland!

The Neverland Club is definitely our favorite of the kids clubs at Walt Disney World.
The office is themed as Wendy’s room and to enter, the kids must go through Wendy’s window and off to Neverland.
Yes, they have to go through the window.
And yes, that’s the kids’ favorite part…

 

[thecapells]

After we checked the kids in, we headed back to the Ceremonial House.
I called Jared one last time to check in and see if he was up for joining us at dinner.
Unfortunately, he was still not up for it as he decided to grab some food at Everything Pop and stay in.
So we headed upstairs for what turned out to be a date night.
And what better way to spend a date night at the Poly than at ‘Ohana!

We had a cozy little table for two near the side that has a view of the castle.
First up, I ordered a lapu lapu – I was dying to try this thing and was not disappointed!

Mom went with a Pina Colada instead.
Not as adventurous but still in the spirit of the islands!

We sat and relaxed a bit and enjoyed some time without the kiddos.
Then the food started arriving.
First, those amazing pot stickers – I could just eat these all night and be happy!

Along with the pot stickers and salad came buffalo wings.
I’m not much of a wings fan so Mom dug into those.

And then our “couisins” came by with racks of meat.
Mmmmmmmm.
There was shimp, steak, pork, and chicken (which had replaced the turkey from last time around).
I was a bit disappointed as I had loved the turkey.
But the steak was better this time so I was happy.
And dipping everything into all the provided sauces just makes your mouth happy.
The picture does not do it justice…

We ate and ate and ate.
Gotta love it when the food just keeps coming and coming.
Finally, we called it quits only to switch to dessert.
Bread pudding which Mom loves.

I’m not a fan so I asked for just some simple ice cream.
To my surprise it arrived decorated…

After our meal, we decided to explore a bit on our own.
First stop was Trader Jack’s to see if there was anything interesting enough to buy.

Back downstairs, we found a nice couple to take some shots of us enjoying the Polynesian.

But alas, it was time to fetch the little ones.
So we headed out towards the torch-lit pathways through Polynesia until we came across Neverland.

The kids were having a blast and didn’t want to leave.
But on the way out the CM’s gave them each a Mickey Crazy straw and our princess got to pick a picture to take home.
However, our princess cozied up to the CM and talked them into allowing her one of each picture:

All in all, they had a great time.
They had chicken nuggets and grilled cheese for dinner along with chocolate chip cookies for dessert.
DS played video games in the pirate ship while our Princess played dress up and watched movies.
X watched movies and played with everything else he could find.

On the way back through the Ceremonial House, the Polynesian Princess stopped to point out several Hidden Mickeys.

Finally, we boarded the monorail back to the Magic Kingdom.
From there we hopped a bus back to the Caribbean Beach Resort.
We tucked the kids in for the night and then I grabbed one of the snacks we snagged at Karamelle Kuche earlier in the day – a marshmallow stick wrapped in chocolate and caramel.
MMMMMmmmm…

So, any guesses where we were heading tomorrow morn?

 

[dawnbu40]

Sounds like everyone had a great night! I've never seen pics of Neverland so I enjoyed seeing those. Glad the kids enjoyed their time there

Ohana is the perfect place for date. I'm with Stacey, I love those wings and that dessert! Sooo good!

Cute pics of the 2 of you! Love the matching shirts

 

[thecapells]

Sounds like everyone had a great night! I've never seen pics of Neverland so I enjoyed seeing those. Glad the kids enjoyed their time there

It's interesting because you are not allowed to take pics there.
They allowed me only to take pics from the lobby and only if no children were in them.
I leaned into the window in order to take those.
The kids clubs at Disney are very security conscious and that usually means no photography.
I asked one CM about it and they explained that they don't things like the placement of the security cameras and windows to fall into the wrong hands.
I never thought about it like that but it does make some sense.

 

[MEK]

Wow - the Neverland club is really cute and I have only heard good things about it. It's so wonderful that they have that option for children and their parents. I am, however, surprised that they don't off some type of discount on the second and third child. I would think that adds up pretty quickly if you have more than one kid. *cha-ching* Still, its a splurge and I think parents deserve a date night while they are in Disney.

You don't like the chicken wings???? what?????? OMG - they are my favorite part of the meal. That and the shrimp. Love your specially decorated ice cream!

 

[TheCapellsMom]

I love the boys Monsters Inc shirts! Stacey does such a great job outfitting the kids

Thanks Dawn! I especially like to try and find outfits that are not just plain old Mickey shirts from Walmart (not that there's anything wrong with those).
So I was especially psyched to find Mosters Inc. shirts for everyone. Unfortunately, DD refused to wear her Boo T-Shirt because she was obsessed with Rapunzel at the time!

How nice that you passed on your FP tickets to another family. Sharing the magic is awesome

I LOVE passing the magic on to other people whenever we can- and the kids really take the task of finding a "worthy" family VERY seriously!
They won't hand those valuable fast passes to just anybody.

 

[TheCapellsMom]

You don't like the chicken wings???? what?????? OMG - they are my favorite part of the meal. That and the shrimp. Love your specially decorated ice cream!

I agree with you, MEK: The sticky wings and the shrimp are my favorites! Oh- and the pot stickers, and the banana bread-pudding...

 

[HilJoy14]

How lovely to have an adult night out! We have never done that, but I'm thinking our time might be coming. Maybe during Food & Wine - at least one of our kids wouldn't try any of the food anyway - might as well enjoy it without them!

 

[TheCapellsMom]

How lovely to have an adult night out! We have never done that, but I'm thinking our time might be coming. Maybe during Food & Wine - at least one of our kids wouldn't try any of the food anyway - might as well enjoy it without them!

OOOOH- Food & Wine would be a GREAT opportunity for a date night!

On our last trip, we put the kids in the Sandcastle Club- which is the kid's room at the Beach Club Resort- and they LOVED it! They have "old fashioned" freestanding video games like the original Ms. Pacman from the 80's.

That would be the perfect place for the kids to hang out while you do Food & Wine because it's so close to Epcot if you use the back entrance and take the boat.

I like the way you are thinking! We just may have to do that sometime soon...

 

[thecapells]

We awoke early to start Day Seven and got to the buses by 6:45 or so.
We boarded one towards the Magic Kingdom and the driver was nice enough to drop us off at our destination (we were the only ones on the bus after all).
Yup!
We were headed BACK to the Polynesian!!!

This time we had our matching Polynesian outfits and even had Jared in tow.
He was finally feeling better and ready to get back into the World again.
It was an early start as we had a 7:30 date with Lilo and Stitch for breakfast.
Yup, it was back-to-back ‘Ohana for us – except this time everyone was invited!
After a great picture with the ‘Ohana backdrop that we just had to buy, we wandered the 2nd floor a bit…

The princess and I then went on a Hidden Mickey Hunt…

But then I decided to check out a little detail of the Poly.
On the second floor, along one of the sides is a hut.
Upon further inspection, you can plainly see that it is the Customs Office.
However, the official is nowhere to be found.
Apparently they are “Out to Lunch” and will be “Back in August.”
The details in the office are perfect though.
Take a look!

Back in civilization, little X was hiding.
Was this really the best he could do?
Little bugger...

Luckily, he didn't have to hide long as they called us in about then...

 

[thecapells]

As soon as we got to our table, Lilo was making her way over.
So we started with some pictures of course!

Our seats were right next to the window with an awesome view of the Castle.

After Lilo, we started with breakfast which is always a blast here.
Eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, and biscuits all family style along with Aloha Juice, Mickey waffles, and fruit!
They even made some “cheesy eggs” for the kids after a special request.

Then Mickey made his rounds.
Ummm, Mickey – I think there’s something growing out of your head.
You might want to get that looked at…

Pluto was next.
Silly doggie!

Next up was the parade!
The kids always grab some maraccas, find a character, and have a blast!

After the parade, Lilo strolled by but was playing hide ‘n’ seek.
She finally came over to see what X was doing…

And then she posed with the rest of the gang one more time.

Last but not least was Experiment 626 himself.
Bring on Stitch!

But before we headed out, Mickey came around again.
So we figured we could get an actual picture with Mickey this time.
That is, a nice picture without anything growing out of his head.

 

[thecapells]

And then it was back to the tikis.
This is always where we hang out while the kids take turns changing in the restrooms.
And it’s always fun since those tikis are so mischievous.
Then again, is it the tikis that are mischievous or my kids?

Once everyone changed, we headed towards the monorail.
The boys were so excited they were wrestling.

While J decided it was a good place to sit down.

Finally, everyone settled down.
And relaxed.
How cute is this?

So, can anyone guess where we were headed today?

 

[MEK]

I'm so glad the kids did not miss out on Ohana afterall! I have always wanted to try breakfast there and it really does look yummy.

I love everyone's matchy-matchy shirts. Cute!

I'm not sure what X is thinking about Lilo. He looks a little...skeptical...shall we say?