Heat, Humidity, and Our Favorite Disney Dog Was a Thug! LINK TO NEW PTR!!

[Tiggerrn2]

Glad the evening ended up on a good note!
Looks like you had a nice little stroll back.
A shark!? Where do kids come up with this stuff?

 

[dizneeat]

Happy New Year!

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[DisneyJo]

Your evening sounded lovely, I love the character photos and bless Willow for thinking there's a shark in the pool

 

[librarygeek]

Ack, I didn't realize I had fallen so far behind! Catching up now!

Oh, I absolutely hate the Stitch attraction. I think it's really creepy! I don't want him burping on me and whatever else was going on. It's been years since I rode it, but never again. Monsters Laugh Floor, on the other hand, is one of my favorites! I'm glad you got to do it. With the audience interaction it's different every time so we do it a lot. The Speedway is cute too - I'm a terrible driver there as well When we went on our honeymoon they gave us a "Just Married" sign to put on the back of our car!

Oh no, I'm so sorry you didn't have a good meal at Be Our Guest! We absolutely adore it, but it sounds like you just got unlucky. Hopefully you'll be able to give it another try in the future and have a better experience. And I can imagine how frustrating and embarrassing it would be to deal with a situation like that. Those things happen, but it's hard to have it happen during a Disney trip!

I have to say, after a few days at Disney my little (okay, not so little) legs are tired too! I have to practice walking a lot before going on a Disney trip, haha. And Miss Willow is so brave to do ToT so many times! I finally rode it for the first time in years a few weeks ago, and while I enjoyed it more than I thought it would I couldn't handle going on it more than once in one day!

That Monsters University area is cute! I've been wanting to see them but have never been quite able to find their meet and greet area!

I LOVE AKL, and Jiko! I had those scallops too and they were very nice - as you pointed out, not a huge portion. I ended up picking a different app, but I wanted to try that salad. It sounds good!

Glad you had a great Christmas, and I hope you two have a very Happy New Year!

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Wanted to be sure to wish you both a very Happy New Year!!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

I am so glad you met a "normal" Pluto. Meeting those friends are enough to cheer a person up for sure! Charlotte also lived those light up sidewalks. It was so hard to get her off of it. At least your night ended up on a positive note.

 

[hstrickland]

Happy New Year!!!

I'm officially caught up - believe it or not?!!! Got up early this morning and the kids were still sleeping, so I got LOTS of reading done. Love all the pictures, Roni! The dresses are adorable, and I'm quite impressed that you did it. What fun for Willow to be able to dress up each day. Really like her new haircut, too. Absolutely adorable! I have to laugh at all the meltdowns We can so relate! Anyone that goes to Disney with small children will eventually encounter one or two or three!

Would you believe that we just got back from a mini trip to the World?! Very last minute to say the least. My sister's kids have never been, so while they were down from CT, we decided to take them to the MK. Crazy, yes.....and super crowded but we had a ball!. Stayed at ASMu - it was fine for a couple of nights. Did the HDDR - awesome! And even with the crowds, we were able to accomplish everything. The MagicBands worked really well for us - loved them. We arrived at MK at 7am and basically had the park to ourselves for a couple of hours. As you know, you can get lots done when there are no waits.

Anyway....didn't mean to get off on a tangent Looking forward to all the cruise pictures!!!!! And I'm assuming that you'll be continuing on with a TR to Disneyland I know y'all are excited!

Heather

 

[lovelygirl1975]

Happy new Year to you and Ms. Willow! It looks like you ladies had a good holiday despite the flu. Your holiday pics were so cute. I was sick one year at christmas I don't remember much except a lot of sleep, presents, and then more sleep. I just love Willow's hair cut that looks so cute on her. Back to your TR...as I am now caught up. The pics of Willow dancing with the beast so sweet, and yeah I would jump at the chance for someone to put me in a stroller. I love your honesty whether it was a good moment or not. I immediately told DH about your Jiko experience that restaurant is on our list, BOG is too but the reviews have me nervous but the ambience looks great. Epcot is so beautiful at night I would love to be strolling through there on any evening.

 

[RGirl]

Oh no, poor Willow.

Oh, shocking that she tested positive for the flu. Sometimes, the people who work at the clinics just drive me crazy.

We definitely have some less-than-stellar medical care in this town. I'm glad I insisted! Sheesh!

I'm so glad that the family ended up coming over and her cousin came by. I have several cousin's, but my cousin Michelle in Texas was always my girl, so I would have been devastated if I couldn't see her!

I was so glad they came. As an only child and only having one cousin, it is a BIG deal for Willow to visit with her the twice a year that they get to see each other. She had looked forward to it sooooo much.

I have a kid story coming up later in my TR, when Gavin started acting the fool. You'll appreciate it.

GAVIN was acting the fool????? I can't wait for that!

Hahaha. A shark in the pool. Kids, I tell you.

Right????

our oldest loved those light up sidewalk squares too! she could have played on those all night!

For some reason, I think this was the first time Willow had seen them. She was certainly intrigued.

I had to laugh when I read that willow thought there might be a shark in the pool. I used to sometimes feel the same way! i'm not sure why I was convinced there could be a shark in there, but I remember a few times on vacation, swimming in a hotel pool with my dad, and telling him I was done after only a few minutes. he'd just shake his head and take me out. where do we get these ideas?

I think it's something about an empty pool, especially at night. It does feel a little creepy!

Yeah! More character pics!

No surprise there, right?

I am glad to hear that you decided to walk through Epcot. It is so beautiful at night and so easy to get to the BWI via the International Gateway.

It really was a beautiful walk. We both enjoyed it so much.

It's lovely to see how she is playing with the lights. They are so fun, even for adults.

I agree - they are really pretty! I think that may have been the first time Willow had seen them - she really enjoyed them.

OMG ..... a shark in the pool! How scary. Kids have some imagination for sure!

It sure was a quick swim!!!

I hope you had a great New Year's celebration, Karin! I expect to make it over to the cruise boards to check for updates on your report before the end of the evening. So excited that we will both soon be reporting on the same cruise!

 

[RGirl]

Just stopping by to try and get caught up. Glad you all had a great Christmas and that Willow rebounded from the flu. It has been going around here as well and there is only so much you can do to avoid it.

Yep - a bad flu season to be sure! I hope y'all had a great christmas!

I'm also glad she rebounded from her snit and apologized. It's funny to read this now as we just went through (or are going through) a snit period now in our house. I love it when they finally get why they are being punished and that apologizing does really make things better.

Yeah, I finally reached my limit on the snits and such from Willow sometime after we came home. I realized that I needed to change my approach; I'm happy to say that things are going a LOT better over the last few months. Phew! This parenting stuff is hard!

Glad to see that Pluto could start to redeem himself in Epcot.

He was definitely back to being the Pluto we know and love!

I also remembering being her age and thinking "things" were in the pool with me, especially at night and if there was no one else in the pool. I think it's something to do with it being so quiet and such a big pool. Now I would think it was just relaxing!

Yeah, I definitely can understand the creepy feeling from an empty pool at night. The shark thing was hilarious though!

Great! Another thing to worry about-sharks in the WDW pools!

BEWARE!!!!!

I'm glad Willow rallied and got to go swimming. Love the character pics! How cute is Minnie cradling Baby Goofy? She's so sweet.

You know we love our character meets!

About like my daughter. She has been going to Disney since she was born.

Awww - so sweet!

Such cute pics!

Thanks!!!

Really enjoyed reading this. Thanks for posting!

Thanks for reading! I hope you will stick around for the second half!

Glad the evening ended up on a good note!
Looks like you had a nice little stroll back.
A shark!? Where do kids come up with this stuff?

It ended up being a pretty darn pleasant evening -despite the shark!!

Happy New Year!

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Thanks Karin! Happy New Year to you as well.

Your evening sounded lovely, I love the character photos and bless Willow for thinking there's a shark in the pool

It was a really nice way to end the day. Other than the shark, of course…

 

[RGirl]

Ack, I didn't realize I had fallen so far behind! Catching up now!

No worries! It is so hard to keep up with everyone, isn't it?

Oh, I absolutely hate the Stitch attraction. I think it's really creepy! I don't want him burping on me and whatever else was going on. It's been years since I rode it, but never again. Monsters Laugh Floor, on the other hand, is one of my favorites! I'm glad you got to do it. With the audience interaction it's different every time so we do it a lot. The Speedway is cute too - I'm a terrible driver there as well When we went on our honeymoon they gave us a "Just Married" sign to put on the back of our car!

In my opinion, that Stitch thing is the worst attraction in all of WDW and DLR. I did not like anything about it!

That is SO CUTE about the "Just Married" sign!!!

Oh no, I'm so sorry you didn't have a good meal at Be Our Guest! We absolutely adore it, but it sounds like you just got unlucky. Hopefully you'll be able to give it another try in the future and have a better experience. And I can imagine how frustrating and embarrassing it would be to deal with a situation like that. Those things happen, but it's hard to have it happen during a Disney trip!

I have seen quite a few less-than-stellar reviews, so I'm glad to hear that you had a good experience there! We will definitely try it again sometime - if just for the Beast and atmosphere and nothing else!

I have to say, after a few days at Disney my little (okay, not so little) legs are tired too! I have to practice walking a lot before going on a Disney trip, haha. And Miss Willow is so brave to do ToT so many times! I finally rode it for the first time in years a few weeks ago, and while I enjoyed it more than I thought it would I couldn't handle going on it more than once in one day!

It was a relief to have the stroller the last couple of days. It was just too much with the walking and the heat. We will definitely take a different approach next time we go in the summer.

Miss Willow loves that ToT! You can't keep her away from it!

That Monsters University area is cute! I've been wanting to see them but have never been quite able to find their meet and greet area!

It took us forever to find it the first time we went! It is kind of behind the store there - there is some dining seating across a walkway from the store (maybe it's the store with the Muppet stuff?). Okay - I'm not going to be helpful here. It was a miracle we found it again!

I LOVE AKL, and Jiko! I had those scallops too and they were very nice - as you pointed out, not a huge portion. I ended up picking a different app, but I wanted to try that salad. It sounds good!

I'm glad you enjoyed Jiko too. I was very impressed with it.

Glad you had a great Christmas, and I hope you two have a very Happy New Year!

Thank you! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that you are enjoying the new year.

Wanted to be sure to wish you both a very Happy New Year!!

Thank you! Happy New Year to you too!

 

[Rosco1]

Thank you for your trip report. Your daughter is too cute!

We are going back for a family reunion in June--and it will be our first time there during summer. EEKK--But we will have a great time-heat and all.

 

[livsmom04]

Boo to Willow having the flu but knowing that you could get it too was not good either. I have to get the flu shot every year because if not I would be in serious trouble if I did not. Not only having severe asthma but I also have an immune disorder that I have been dealing with since I was a child could cause me to be hospitalized if I do get it. Olivia was sick over the holidays and was convinced she got it from her cousin who apparently coughed on her the day before Christmas. Olivia has an ear infection which is not uncommon for her at all.

The Epcot pictures are absolutely beautiful! We stayed at AKL this past June and loved the bus service there! Will definitely stay there again. Can't wait to read more! Hope Willow is feeling better!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[RGirl]

I am so glad you met a "normal" Pluto. Meeting those friends are enough to cheer a person up for sure! Charlotte also lived those light up sidewalks. It was so hard to get her off of it. At least your night ended up on a positive note.

It was nice to see Pluto in better spirits!

It was a nice evening over all - great dinner, nice walk through Epcot, characters, and a shark!

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year, Heather! It's great to "see" you!

I'm officially caught up - believe it or not?!!! Got up early this morning and the kids were still sleeping, so I got LOTS of reading done. Love all the pictures, Roni! The dresses are adorable, and I'm quite impressed that you did it. What fun for Willow to be able to dress up each day. Really like her new haircut, too. Absolutely adorable! I have to laugh at all the meltdowns We can so relate! Anyone that goes to Disney with small children will eventually encounter one or two or three!

Thank you! It was fun making all the dresses and such. This was definitely a more difficult trip for us - that heat and the crowds really made it hard not to get a little grumpy from time to time. Definitely will take a more relaxed approach next time.

Would you believe that we just got back from a mini trip to the World?! Very last minute to say the least. My sister's kids have never been, so while they were down from CT, we decided to take them to the MK. Crazy, yes.....and super crowded but we had a ball!. Stayed at ASMu - it was fine for a couple of nights. Did the HDDR - awesome! And even with the crowds, we were able to accomplish everything. The MagicBands worked really well for us - loved them. We arrived at MK at 7am and basically had the park to ourselves for a couple of hours. As you know, you can get lots done when there are no waits.

Oh, how exciting!!!! I really want to do HDDR next time - glad to hear it was great! And really happy to hear a positive experience with FP+ etc. I am still nervous about it - seems that it basically forces us to keep up this crazy crack-of-dawn approach if we want to ride anything more than the FP+ attractions. And those hours are just so hard when coming from the West Coast.

Anyway....didn't mean to get off on a tangent Looking forward to all the cruise pictures!!!!! And I'm assuming that you'll be continuing on with a TR to Disneyland I know y'all are excited!

I am super-excited to be moving on here shortly to the DCL portion of this report!

I am excited about DLR, although I haven't really had time to think about it. Willow doesn't know - going to tell her on her birthday.

Happy new Year to you and Ms. Willow! It looks like you ladies had a good holiday despite the flu. Your holiday pics were so cute. I was sick one year at christmas I don't remember much except a lot of sleep, presents, and then more sleep. I just love Willow's hair cut that looks so cute on her. Back to your TR...as I am now caught up. The pics of Willow dancing with the beast so sweet, and yeah I would jump at the chance for someone to put me in a stroller. I love your honesty whether it was a good moment or not. I immediately told DH about your Jiko experience that restaurant is on our list, BOG is too but the reviews have me nervous but the ambience looks great. Epcot is so beautiful at night I would love to be strolling through there on any evening.

Happy New Year!!! I hope you had a great Christmas too.

I'm excited that you are going to Jiko - it was really a great experience. I hope that you will really enjoy BoG - at the very least, the restaurant is incredibly beautiful and very special as far as the atmosphere. And meeting the Beast is always a treat.

 

[RGirl]

Thank you for your trip report. Your daughter is too cute!

Thank you so much! I hope you will continue to read along - I am always to the cruise portion of our trip!

We are going back for a family reunion in June--and it will be our first time there during summer. EEKK--But we will have a great time-heat and all.

Oh, you will have a wonderful time! The best advice I can give is, if you aren't used to the summer heat and crowds, plan to take things a lot easier. I will definitely be doing that next time!

Boo to Willow having the flu but knowing that you could get it too was not good either. I have to get the flu shot every year because if not I would be in serious trouble if I did not. Not only having severe asthma but I also have an immune disorder that I have been dealing with since I was a child could cause me to be hospitalized if I do get it. Olivia was sick over the holidays and was convinced she got it from her cousin who apparently coughed on her the day before Christmas. Olivia has an ear infection which is not uncommon for her at all.

Oh, I'm sorry Olivia was sick over the holidays too. That's just no fun at all. I hope you both stay flu-free. We get the flu shot every year too because of my lung disease; I guess they didn't guess right on the strain this year!

The Epcot pictures are absolutely beautiful! We stayed at AKL this past June and loved the bus service there! Will definitely stay there again. Can't wait to read more! Hope Willow is feeling better!

Oh, that's great to hear! I really want to stay at AKL, and I know I need to just get over my transportation fears.

Willow is feeling much better. Thank you!

And Happy New Year!

 

[RGirl]

Breakfast with Minnie​

I never plan a park for our last day - I like to leave that day open so that we can decide based on what we had missed prior days or what we really wanted to do one more time. I always choose MK! But I usually let Willow make the final choice. Going into this trip, I had been quite confident that we would be spending our last day at DHS. I had NO idea that we would be back at AK!!!!

We were out the door this morning at 7:30. We had an ADR at Cape May Cafe to have breakfast with Minnie and friends at 8:00. We had a nice walk over to the BC and arrived at about 7:40.

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We were seated by 7:45 for our 8:00 ADR, so that was nice! We had never been here before, and it was quite empty at this early hour. Our server here was very nice. The chef did pay us a visit but did not walk the buffet - just kind of told me what was safe. That was fine. She did promise me some gluten-free Mickey waffles, but they never arrived. The food here was fine - nothing great and not a huge selection - but decent, standard breakfast fare.

Willow's food:

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Mine:

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The characters were a blast though! Goofy was VERY goofy - he stole Willow’s Baby Goofy and started walking away with him. Later, he came back again and took Baby Goofy again and acted like he was going to throw him to Willow over her plate of syrupy waffles. He did hand Baby Goofy back.

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Goofy’s page:

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Minnie was adorable, of course.

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Minnie’s page:

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Donald!!!!

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Donald’s page:

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Minnie came back around, and Willow asked her where the bathroom was! Minnie took her by the hand and attempted to point the way for her.

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We had a great time at this breakfast! And we just love the beauty of the Beach Club! Plus, we had eaten and met all the characters and were heading out to AK by 8:30!!!

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We were on a bus by 8:34!

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Up Next: Seriously? We Love AK Now?

 

[hstrickland]

Well, I'm on top of things!!! Two posts in one day!! Just trying to keep up

We've never done Cape May but wanted to. I said if we ever get over to one of the EP resorts then we'll do it. Of course with my track record, it may be a long, long time before I brave that side of the World Weird, I know. Glad the characters were so enthusiastic unlike that hideous Pluto you encountered!

Were you sad to be leaving WDW? I always hate last days, but then you were getting ready to board the cruise ship!!! Maybe not so sad, huh?!

 

[RGirl]

Well, I'm on top of things!!! Two posts in one day!! Just trying to keep up

Go Heather! Go Heather!

We've never done Cape May but wanted to. I said if we ever get over to one of the EP resorts then we'll do it. Of course with my track record, it may be a long, long time before I brave that side of the World Weird, I know. Glad the characters were so enthusiastic unlike that hideous Pluto you encountered!

Cape May was really fun! I would not make an ADR there, however, unless I was staying at an Epcot resort. It is PERFECT if you are staying at an Epcot resort, but I wouldn't travel there for it.

Seriously, Heather! You have to hit up the Epcot resorts - it is so fun to stay there!!!!

Were you sad to be leaving WDW? I always hate last days, but then you were getting ready to board the cruise ship!!! Maybe not so sad, huh?!

You know, we really weren't. The Fantasy has been Willow's "dream vacation" since we cruised on the Wonder. We were both REALLY excited to get onboard that ship, and honestly, 7 days in that heat and those crowds - we were really looking forward to a relaxing week aboard that gorgeous ship.

 

[STLMickeyMom]

Cape may looks right up my alley! I'd live on the beach if possible (hmmmm--and here I am stuck in landlocked Missouri where it is currently snowing. There's something wrong with that!). I had to laugh at willows plate--love the Mickey waffle buried under a mound of whipped cream and chocolate chips! Looks like a great start to your day!

Can't believe willow picked AK for that day--I would have been all "ok, but are you sure you don't want to go to magic kingdom one last time?" I always have fun at AK, but I would never think to do it more than one day. Can't wait to hear about it!

 

[emmysmommy]

Darn! Thought I'd caught up AND commented... guess not. Bad Brenda!

Your post Jiko evening with the Character Spot guys sounds great. At least no odd-ball character interactions like your thug one.

Ha ha!! Fears of a shark in the pool - I can completely understand that. I thought that when I was little and Jaws was all the rage.

I just read your Cape May dining review as well.... sounds like a great character meal despite not being that hungry. Minnie's signature looks like she had a shaky hand.

Sounds like the day is off to a good start since you are ready to go to AK so early.