Grand Theft 3D Glasses: A May 2022 Report. FINAL THOUGHTS 9/26

[Verstehen]

Shame about Rise! Especially for a first timer!

I love how that is how you got the title!

I know! If I had to do it again, we'd definitely have tried to go back and re-ride, especially since we were staying at the Boardwalk.

Jungle Cruise is a good first pick. It'll be my choice for tomorrow.

Love that they have an early parade now.

Always a solid choice!

Haha! Smart girl!



Great choice!

I love that walk along the canal.

It's an awesome walk. Back when I was a regular runner, I once did an early morning run along that route. It was gorgeous!

 

[Verstehen]

Day 5 (May 8th), Part 1

Today was the day for my DH to come visit! It was also Mother’s Day, though we didn’t do anything particularly special for that.

DH works second shift at his job and is a natural night owl, so it would be awhile before he’d come by. We decided to spend the first half of the day at Epcot, since it was so easy to get there and back from the Boardwalk.

We had breakfast in the room and then walked over to the park. I went into the little Guest Services office by International Gateway (I have never seen a line here, by the way, and the CMs are always super friendly and helpful), and mentioned the Rise issue from the night before. I wasn’t sure what they would offer but I was flexible. They said they could change it to a Remy LL to be used any time that day for all three of us, and I thought that was an acceptable solution, so we went for it. We tapped into the park, and immediately went over to France to use the LL.

April has actually been on Remy a few times since it opened, and pretty much every time she is excited until we actually board and the ride starts. Some of the effects just freak her out, I think, so that makes me feel like a bad mom, but I hold her and she survives. The consensus among our party was that Remy is very cute but definitely not as involved of an experience as Rise. If I could do it again I might have just asked if we could extend our Rise LL to the day after, since we planned to do Hollywood Studios that night, but I didn’t feel like I was getting ripped off or anything. Just a lesson to tuck away later if it ever happened again.

Since my uncle had not seen any of World Showcase when we visited Epcot a few days prior, that was the focus of our visit today. We kept walking around the lagoon and as usual, he was quite impressed. We stopped in Germany for another Snow White M&G because a queue was forming and now that hugs are back, why the heck not?

April was still nervous about hugging Snow. She has since warmed up to face characters, so I’ll definitely be bringing her back here at some point.

We also had to stop at the drums in Africa, which if you’ve read some of my previous reports you know are a big hit with April.

I stopped in China for some crab rangoons and this awesome bubble tea.

I checked out the wait time for the Anna and Elsa M&G as we passed. I assumed it would be pretty long since hugs were back, but it was only listed at about 10 minutes! So we stepped in. Again, April was a bit shy. Anna did her very best and we made it work and got some cute pictures. I think if we went now, she’d love it a lot more.

Next up we ducked into the Mexico pavilion and explored the shopping area. We got our customary sombrero pic and April found a guitar she liked and refused to let it go. So that was a fun few minutes.

Finally, we wrenched it away from her and enjoyed the boat ride. After, I got a tostada and the vampire taco from Mexico. They were both good. I don’t know why they call it a “vampire” taco but it was tasty.

Dad went to get a refill of his beloved maple popcorn, and I got in line at the Orange Blossom booth for some tuna and decided to get the Orange Bird cup as well. April called it “Baby Red Bird” because I guess it reminded her of Baby Red Bird from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse? IDK lol. We just went with it and now that cup and the old version I also have are both called, “Baby Red Bird” in our house.

I also got the Orange Bird Golden Book they offered for like an extra $5, because you can never have enough books when you have a toddler!

April ended up drinking most of the smoothie that came in the Orange Bird cup. I was a little sad, but it felt like a good enough “lunch” for her in the heat (she’d also had one or two of my rangoons).

We walked the rest of the way around World Showcase and then went out IG to head back to the Boardwalk.

April was pretty tired so I set her down for a nap, and shortly after, DH texted to let me know that he was pulling into the parking lot!

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Day 5 (May 8th), Part 1

Today was the day for my DH to come visit! It was also Mother’s Day, though we didn’t do anything particularly special for that.

DH works second shift at his job and is a natural night owl, so it would be awhile before he’d come by. We decided to spend the first half of the day at Epcot, since it was so easy to get there and back from the Boardwalk.

We had breakfast in the room and then walked over to the park. I went into the little Guest Services office by International Gateway (I have never seen a line here, by the way, and the CMs are always super friendly and helpful), and mentioned the Rise issue from the night before. I wasn’t sure what they would offer but I was flexible. They said they could change it to a Remy LL to be used any time that day for all three of us, and I thought that was an acceptable solution, so we went for it. We tapped into the park, and immediately went over to France to use the LL.

April has actually been on Remy a few times since it opened, and pretty much every time she is excited until we actually board and the ride starts. Some of the effects just freak her out, I think, so that makes me feel like a bad mom, but I hold her and she survives. The consensus among our party was that Remy is very cute but definitely not as involved of an experience as Rise. If I could do it again I might have just asked if we could extend our Rise LL to the day after, since we planned to do Hollywood Studios that night, but I didn’t feel like I was getting ripped off or anything. Just a lesson to tuck away later if it ever happened again.

Since my uncle had not seen any of World Showcase when we visited Epcot a few days prior, that was the focus of our visit today. We kept walking around the lagoon and as usual, he was quite impressed. We stopped in Germany for another Snow White M&G because a queue was forming and now that hugs are back, why the heck not?

April was still nervous about hugging Snow. She has since warmed up to face characters, so I’ll definitely be bringing her back here at some point.

We also had to stop at the drums in Africa, which if you’ve read some of my previous reports you know are a big hit with April.

I stopped in China for some crab rangoons and this awesome bubble tea.

I checked out the wait time for the Anna and Elsa M&G as we passed. I assumed it would be pretty long since hugs were back, but it was only listed at about 10 minutes! So we stepped in. Again, April was a bit shy. Anna did her very best and we made it work and got some cute pictures. I think if we went now, she’d love it a lot more.

Next up we ducked into the Mexico pavilion and explored the shopping area. We got our customary sombrero pic and April found a guitar she liked and refused to let it go. So that was a fun few minutes.

Finally, we wrenched it away from her and enjoyed the boat ride. After, I got a tostada and the vampire taco from Mexico. They were both good. I don’t know why they call it a “vampire” taco but it was tasty.

Dad went to get a refill of his beloved maple popcorn, and I got in line at the Orange Blossom booth for some tuna and decided to get the Orange Bird cup as well. April called it “Baby Red Bird” because I guess it reminded her of Baby Red Bird from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse? IDK lol. We just went with it and now that cup and the old version I also have are both called, “Baby Red Bird” in our house.

I also got the Orange Bird Golden Book they offered for like an extra $5, because you can never have enough books when you have a toddler!

April ended up drinking most of the smoothie that came in the Orange Bird cup. I was a little sad, but it felt like a good enough “lunch” for her in the heat (she’d also had one or two of my rangoons).

We walked the rest of the way around World Showcase and then went out IG to head back to the Boardwalk.

April was pretty tired so I set her down for a nap, and shortly after, DH texted to let me know that he was pulling into the parking lot!

I love that Guest Services at IG! Definitely a perk of staying at the Boardwalk area resorts.

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Meanwhile, my dad was texting and trying to call me. Turns out that while Rise was down, the fates aligned and April picked that moment to have what my father could only assume was the biggest poop of her life. I’m not sure what he expected me to do about it, or what advice I could have given him. He still talks about how gross it was. And no, I don’t know how many diapers he changed when I was little.

This is my dad to a T. Hilarious!!! Also April & the stolen glasses... too funny! Typical toddler.

Following along, can't wait to read more!!

 

[Paulaparm]

Enjoying your report and pictures. April is such a cutie

 

[LifeTheDisneyWay14]

Hope everyone is okay! We are at nearly the 60 day mark for our next trip in October, so I'm hoping to speed up the posting process for this in order to get it done before our next trip. It may be down to the wire if I make it at all!

Day 3, Part 2

We elected to head out to Magic Kingdom at about 6 pm. It does seem crazy that by this point, this was my uncle’s THIRD Disney park in two days. Taking a newbie to MK first seems like a no-brainer, but it’s just not how it worked out with park passes! Curse you, park passes!

On our way in, we got some Photopass pics.

I’d made a few more LL slots by this point, so we headed to Winnie the Pooh first, which is always a family favorite.

Next April saw the carousel and wanted to ride it. I may have mentioned in my last report that my dad tried to get her on the carousel but she was freaked out over it and we immediately got off before the ride started. So I was worried that would be the case here, but I was willing to try it anyway. Unfortunately, the line was super long, and I didn’t feel like it was a good use of our time to wait in a 30+ minute line for a ride she might not want to do. She had a mini tantrum, but after a few minutes we were able to distract her with a ride on Peter Pan’s Flight, which we also had a LL for.

After that, we took a moment to assess what we wanted to do. I had one more stacked LL for Haunted Mansion, but it wasn’t for another couple of hours and we couldn’t get another LL yet, and all the standby lines for things we wanted to ride were longer than we were willing to wait. I took a look at other return times and found out it’s a small world had a return time we could use immediately, so I elected to switch it to that, and then once we tapped in I made another HM return time for later.

This moment kind of represents a pattern I’ve noticed with LL. The demand for any individual attraction remained pretty consistent throughout the day. So if at 9 am you see a return time for a ride that’s just a few minutes in the future, you can be pretty assured that any time you want to get a return time for that ride, you’ll be able to. On the other hand, if the return time is several hours ahead by that point, you should snag it while you can if it’s important to you. Demand generally didn’t speed up or slow down for any attraction that I noticed.

After iasw, we were hungry and ready to get a spot for fireworks. I had a brilliant idea that I still maintain is brilliant despite some hiccups. We went over to Main Street and found a spot in the road in front of Casey’s, and while we were on our way over there I put in a mobile order for them. So we got to have a quick, delicious dinner without giving up our fireworks spot.

The hiccup in question came mostly when it was time to actually pick up the food. My dad took my phone because it had the order number on it, but it was apparently a madhouse in there, because I’m sure a lot of people had the same idea we did. So it took awhile for him to come back with the food, but when he did, it was great. I didn’t take pictures but I know we got a couple of hot dogs and corn dog nuggets, plus lots of fries and a couple of the mint lemonades. The lemonades were my absolute favorite thing of the meal, maybe one of my favorite things I’ve ever ate at Disney. I drank all of one by myself, and a significant portion of the other one.

Soon after we finished, the fireworks started. I have to say, I don’t love Enchantment. I had the pleasure of seeing Happily Ever After opening night and instantly fell in love with it. I thought the music was catchy, the projections and use of fireworks were great and memorable. I honestly struggle to remember the music for Enchantment and can’t tell you any visual moments that stood out for me, and by now I’ve seen it several times. I hate to sound like a curmudgeon but I do hope Happily Ever After comes back.

When the show was over, we decided we didn’t want to leave with the massive crowd and acted like salmon swimming upstream to get to Haunted Mansion for our fastpass. This is the kind of ride I think every Disney first-timer should experience. I love it.

Next we figured we had time for one more ride before we left, and we gave April the option of the carousel or the Tiki Room. She picked the carousel, so we headed over there, and by now there was no wait. Again, I was nervous about how she’d do on it since she would have to sit on a horse by herself, but she ended up loving it.

After that, the park entrance had cleared up enough that it finally felt like time to head back to the Wilderness Lodge. We got on a boat and then headed up to our room, where we all had a good night’s sleep.

Overall how was going with April as a 2 year old for you? I’m taking my daughter in February, when she’ll have just turned two.

We went last February as well, at one, but I found that trip quite exhausting/not as magical as I’d hope for a Disney trip. She was too young. But even though I originally planned to go back at 3 I can’t stay away!

 

[Verstehen]

I love that Guest Services at IG! Definitely a perk of staying at the Boardwalk area resorts.

Yes, love it! I love any CM interaction where we're not crowded with other guests, honestly.

This is my dad to a T. Hilarious!!! Also April & the stolen glasses... too funny! Typical toddler.

Following along, can't wait to read more!!

She's insane haha.

Enjoying your report and pictures. April is such a cutie

Thank you!

Overall how was going with April as a 2 year old for you? I’m taking my daughter in February, when she’ll have just turned two.

We went last February as well, at one, but I found that trip quite exhausting/not as magical as I’d hope for a Disney trip. She was too young. But even though I originally planned to go back at 3 I can’t stay away!

Honestly, I don't think vacationing with a kid at any age is really a vacation haha. My dad tried his best to help but she's very clingy with me especially in the heat. I think it's all about what you make of it. I enjoy myself way more when we just go with the flow, and don't really have any expectations except that at some point, somehow, we will eat something. Her and I being locals makes the dynamic a bit different as well than if this were something we only did every few years. I would say the trips got theoretically easier once she started walking, but she still wants to be carried a lot.

 

[Verstehen]

Day 5, Part 2

I greeted DH in the lobby. It was nice to see him after a few days and have a couple of minutes without our kid screeching at us, haha. He wished me a Happy Mother’s Day, and we went back to the villa. We chatted with my dad and uncle for a bit and then decided to wake April up since it was about time to head over to our dinner ADR.

I had snagged a table at a place that was new to all of us: Beaches and Cream! I’d eaten at the takeout window a few years ago, but have never been inside.

We checked in at the podium and waited a bit for our table to be ready. We had a view of the pool and there were some ducks enjoying the water.

I think it was a little past our actual ADR time when we were called in. It's pretty charming inside!

I warned everyone that the “highlight” of the restaurant was the ice cream, but the entrees looked good too! April got the kids’ mac and cheese with watermelon.

DH got the French Dip.

I got the reuben with onion rings. My uncle also got this but with tater tots.

And my dad got the burger with onion rings. It might have been a plant-based burger, can’t remember at this point.

The food is standard diner fare; nothing super fancy or gourmet. But it is quite delicious and hit the spot after all that walking! I really liked the vibe in here. I don’t think it’s something I’d hit on every visit, but I’m really glad we tried it and was overall impressed.

Of course, we had to get ice cream for dessert. We very briefly considered the Kitchen Sink but knew we couldn’t tackle it. So we decided to share the No Way Jose. Which, honestly, was great and the perfect dessert for all of us to share after our meals.

Once we were finished, we took the long way around back to the Boardwalk past Yacht Club. It was a great way to digest after our big meal!

Next time we stay here, I want to rent a surrey bike.

When we got back to the Boardwalk, I was excited to see some street performers were setting up. That’s one of the main reasons I wanted to stay here; the last time we were here, live performers on the Boardwalk weren’t back yet, and I wanted to be able to experience them at least once on this trip. I had no idea what this specific entertainment was when I saw them laying out the barrier, but I didn’t care. We sat patiently and waited.

It turned out to be a mother-daughter juggling team! They were great.

After the show we went back to our room and had a brief dip in the pool. DH and I took April to the main pool while my dad and uncle went to the hot tub. It was getting late, though, and soon the pool was closing and we headed up to the villa, where DH and I put April to bed for the evening.

Once she was down, us grownups sat on the balcony and chatted for a bit. During that time, just before midnight, I got an alert from Mousekepros. We’d had Topolino’s booked for the next morning, but it was either just for four people (DH had since decided he wanted to come too), or too early/too late. Too early and none of us would be able to get there on time. Too late, and DH would be late for work. The sweet spot was around 11 am. I had one for that time for 4 people, and had been “assured” by folks on Facebook that they would let us add one person at check-in, but I know that’s hardly official, especially when you’re talking about going from an even to odd number of people at one of the most sought-after restaurants on property. So to be safe, I had an alert on Mousekepros. I know that normally, Disney doesn’t let you have more than one ADR at the same time within a certain window (like two hours), but whether there was a glitch or what, I am ashamed to admit I was collecting ADRs for Topolino’s like candy, and I was loathe to let them go until I found the perfect one. Which, finally, I did! 10:55 am for five people the next morning. Perfect.

Not long after, DH decided to go home. Even though it would certainly be easier for him to stay over and come with us to the restaurant in the morning, he didn’t want to leave our dog alone for the night. So we parted and then all of us headed to sleep.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Look at that quick reservation grab!


One of these days I will get to beaches and cream!

 

[rdkeim]

A fun morning in Epcot. You got some good Snow White action and yummy looking treats. Love the Orange Bird - so cute! Your food at B&C looks very good. Not fancy but at least satisfied your hunger. Nice your DH could join you for part of the day. You really lucked out on the ADR. Hope it's a good experience!

 

[Verstehen]

Look at that quick reservation grab!


One of these days I will get to beaches and cream!

I'm like an ADR ninja.

A fun morning in Epcot. You got some good Snow White action and yummy looking treats. Love the Orange Bird - so cute! Your food at B&C looks very good. Not fancy but at least satisfied your hunger. Nice your DH could join you for part of the day. You really lucked out on the ADR. Hope it's a good experience!

Definitely hit the spot! I had heard that these coveted reservations can open up just before midnight, but I never realized it would be so down to the wire!

 

[Verstehen]

Day 6 (Monday, May 9th), Part 1

I woke up around 9:30 but it ended up being a rush to get out the door on time. I had assumed DH wouldn’t be on time or early to the Riviera because he generally, well, isn’t on time to anything. But I think his nervousness about going to a breakfast reservation before work made him eager to be punctual, and so he texted me that he’d arrived just as we were leaving the Boardwalk to head to the Epcot Skyliner station. As the person responsible for getting him up so early (even though it was his choice to come), I was a bit embarrassed. But we were still going to be on time; we just weren’t going to beat him.

Luckily, the Riviera is the first stop after Epcot, and there was I believe a minor slowdown at some point, but we never stopped, so we got to the resort pretty quickly, and I’d been to Topolino’s before so I knew exactly where to go.

We checked in, waited in the lounge area for a bit, and were soon brought to our table, a half booth, half table situation. We ended up not getting a high chair for April since she wanted to sit between me and DH in the booth, and it was easier for her to interact with characters that way anyway.

Now, as I mentioned, DH is not a Disney fan. In fact, he’s pretty cynical about it all. But having a child has made him mildly (very mildly) more interested, and he had expressed interest in the months leading up to this trip in seeing April interact with characters. Now that hugs were back, I guess he decided it would be worth checking out. I had been preparing April by asking her frequently if she wanted to hug Mickey or Minnie, and she always said yes, but since our interactions with characters so far had been a bust, I was nervous that we were about to pay a whole lot of $$$ for her to scream and hide.

But Minnie came out first, and it turns out, the problem had just been that every single character she’d met so far hadn’t been Minnie.
The amount of time she spent hugging Minnie could be counted in minutes. To the point where Minnie actually let go at one point to see if April would too, but she didn’t. I can’t recall what finally made April back off. But I can tell you I will treasure that moment forever.

For our meals, we were all very impressed. April got Mickey waffles. I had been hoping to get the hash, which I had gotten the last time I went to Topolino’s in 2021 and really loved it. Unfortunately, it’s no longer available, so I got the sour cream waffles instead with a side of quiche. I think my dad got the omelet with the side of bagel with lox and I believe DH got steak and eggs though I didn’t get a picture. I also got a cappuccino and a few of us got the POG juice, and of course we got a pastry bucket for the table.

More characters made their way to us and each interaction was great, though none as wonderful as that first Minnie encounter. We ended up seeing each character twice, which was nice. Even DH got into it with the characters! Here's a quick pic dump, not necessarily in order.

It was interesting how differently Topolino’s handles characters compared to Artist Point, which made a big deal about us seeing each character once and only once, whereas Topolino’s wasn’t strict about it at all. As long as you were still seated, if the character came by, you could meet with them.

Overall, I think Topolino’s is a standout character breakfast! I know it’s already a tough get but if it’s not on your radar, don’t sleep on it. I would come back here in a heartbeat. We all were very impressed with the food as well; it doesn’t feel like they skimped on quality just because you get characters as well.

Eventually, it was time to leave this magical restaurant, especially since DH had to drive back across the city in order to get to work on time. We walked him down to the lobby and said our goodbyes, then the rest of us went off to enjoy our last park day!

 

[KPeterso]

Love the pics of April with the characters at Topolinos and I think your husband might be coming around to the characters. He looked like he was enjoying himself too!

 

[rdkeim]

Oh my the pictures of your DD with the characters are SO great. Especially Minnie. I have a grandson a little older than her so it really tugged at my heart. I would say you got your money's worth! Your DH looks very happy - maybe he's turned the corner Hope the rest of your day went well - you're off to a good start!

 

[Paulaparm]

The picture of you and DH watching April with Minnie is fantastic!

 

[Verstehen]

Love the pics of April with the characters at Topolinos and I think your husband might be coming around to the characters. He looked like he was enjoying himself too!

He recently went to the parks with us for a couple of days and he definitely loved seeing her with the characters. He also loves seeing pics of her with characters when I bring her solo. I know Disney is never going to be his favorite place and I'm cool with that, but I'm glad he gets joy from seeing her have fun.

Oh my the pictures of your DD with the characters are SO great. Especially Minnie. I have a grandson a little older than her so it really tugged at my heart. I would say you got your money's worth! Your DH looks very happy - maybe he's turned the corner Hope the rest of your day went well - you're off to a good start!

Thanks! Topolino's definitely gives you lots of face time.

The picture of you and DH watching April with Minnie is fantastic!

Thank you!

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Awww the Minnie story warms my heart

 

[Woth2982]

Minnie Mouse FTW! My daughter lit up like a Christmas Tree the first time she saw Minnie (and it was just at a distance in the xmas Parade last year). I tell everyone who gives me heck for taking a baby to Disney because "they wont remember it" that it is moments like THAT, that I will treasure forever. Sometimes it isn't about the kid and we deserve memories too! My DD has that same shirt April does, shes about to out grow it .

I love how much your uncle is enjoying the trip and taking everything in! It is so special and how nice for your dad to have these moments with his brother and granddaughter as well.

 

[Verstehen]

Awww the Minnie story warms my heart

I still get chills!

Minnie Mouse FTW! My daughter lit up like a Christmas Tree the first time she saw Minnie (and it was just at a distance in the xmas Parade last year). I tell everyone who gives me heck for taking a baby to Disney because "they wont remember it" that it is moments like THAT, that I will treasure forever. Sometimes it isn't about the kid and we deserve memories too! My DD has that same shirt April does, shes about to out grow it .

I love how much your uncle is enjoying the trip and taking everything in! It is so special and how nice for your dad to have these moments with his brother and granddaughter as well.

I know! What are we supposed to do, just keep them at home until they're five?

 

[Verstehen]

Day 6, Part 2

We took the Skyliner back to Epcot. Today, we just wanted to explore the park, particularly the World Showcase some more. By now, I’d changed April into her princess dress of choice: Belle.

We didn’t do anything in particular in World Showcase, just enjoyed the atmosphere. I know for sure April had to do some more drumming.

And I do think we browsed around the shop in China for a bit. But other than that, it was a chill afternoon.

We also stopped at the playground between World Showcase and Journey Into Imagination. April kept asking to go on the swings, but they didn’t have any.

Then we rode Journey Into Imagination finally, so my uncle could experience it. I am a big fan of the original incarnation, and my dad was hoping he’d like seeing Eric Idle, but I don’t think he was that impressed. Same. But we did check out some character M&G after the ride, and those were fun!

We also went through the butterfly garden after, and I think shortly after this was when I realized one of the straps on my Orange Bird dress had busted! I still have to fix it, but of course I didn’t have a spare outfit on me or any way to fix it at the time, so I had to rely on my dad to kind of tie the strap to my bra, which I found out later looked embarrassingly awful, but oh well.

We did more World Showcase after that, checked out some more shops and took some more pictures.

The drummers were out in Japan and my dad and uncle wanted to watch them. I saw a bunch of people with the violet sake they sold at the stand across from the stairs to the restaurants so I decided to snag me one of those.

By that time, it was well past April’s naptime and she was getting cranky from the heat. Dad and uncle wanted to stay and watch the drummers, so I left to head back to the resort. So happy it was a short walk! I downed my drink right before the park exit since I forgot I wasn’t allowed to leave with it, and then went back to our villa.

It took April awhile to fall asleep for her nap but eventually she did. I took some time to decompress, called up my mom to chat with her, and waited for my dad and uncle to come back. We didn’t have any solid plans for the evening, but the longer they stayed out, the more our options would be narrowed.

I think it was over an hour before they finally made it back, after slowly making their way around more of the countries.

When they did get back, I decided to wake up April since it was getting late and I didn’t want her to be up all night. We decided we wanted to check out Hollywood Studios some more and so we walked over there as it was a very pleasant night.