I made up the plan. It is MY plan! - A March 2015 TR - update 6/30 Epcot morning

[ursalita]

Ugh! Stomach bugs are no fun. 10 days is a long time! Glad everyone is feeling better.

 

[SarahDisney]

Ouch. Stomach bugs are rough. I hope everyone's all better!

Back to the happy stuff - I love the ETWB pictures! D going for his bookmark and then running out of the picture is hysterical!

 

[KatMark]

I'm sorry to hear about that bug...glad you are all feeling better. Love the additional pictures.

 

[ksl5f123]

OK, I know. I vanished again. After we all finally started feeling better, my parents arrived for a 3 week visit. And it was C's dance recital. And T had 2 weeks of swim lessons and both girls had basketball camp. Our Girl Scouts also had 4 days of Twilight camp and an overnight of tent camping (i have the 27 mosquito bites to prove it!) We are busy bees around here!

Back to the fun stuff! We left ETWB and headed to it's a small world. The posted wait time was 20 minutes, but we were on in about 10. D enjoyed this very much and C and I always like it.

We ended up in a back-up to unload the boats however. We stopped in the big white room and then had to inch along all the way to unloading. I texted Gabe when we were boarding iasw at 10:34. At 10:36, they were arriving at BTMRR. As per my advice, we chose BTMRR for their FP and I told them to ride Splash first. They got to splash at about 10 am and it had a 5 minute wait.

When they got off, the wait was up to 20 minutes and the wait for BTMRR was at 40. I was happy that I got that one right! At 10:45, Gabe texted that they were done with BTMRR. This was exactly when we got into the back-up. I told him to meet us at haunted mansion thinking it would only be a few minutes. It was another 15 minutes before we got off iasw!

We finally met up with them at Haunted Mansion a few minutes after 11 am. However, by this point the wait for HM was now 35 minutes and we had a SDMT fp for 11am-noon! So, we decided to turn around a take a quick ride on the only thing around without a wait.




MIL and FIL had come off of BTMRR feeling a little sick. FIL decided to sit out SDMT and D wanted to hang out with Papa so I took C and headed to the Peoplemover while J, T, DH, and MIL rode SDMT. It was now 11:35 am. We had a good ride on the Peoplemover. It stopped a couple of times and they shut it down just as we exited at about noon.

Meanwhile, back at SDMT, they had an eventful ride. My poor MIL tossed her cookies on the ride. The pictures show a green looking MIL and a frightened J (who was riding with her). I'll leave those to your imagination. DH and T, who were blissfully unaware, really enjoyed the ride. He got snacks for the kids and we met back up around noon just in time for our next FP - A & E!!

 

[ksl5f123]

Our A&E FP was for 12:10-1:10. We quickly got J changed into her Elsa dress and headed in. J, C, MIL and I had FPs and we brought D along. While we were in there, the boys rode iasw. It is starting to be too far out from the trip, because I don't remember any of the comments from the characters. I do remember finding Anna very funny. So, I'll just share the pictures!


And now my pictures

 

[KathyM2]

What adorable princess pics!!! Sounds like you were stuck a while on SW....I hope your little one didn't mind!!

 

[TinksThree]

Boy I fell way behind but all caught up now!! Wow I LOVED the Contemporary room and that view!! Our last trip, it seemed like every meal lasted longer than usual which began to annoy me! I make a plan and want to stick to it!! Poor MIL and SDMT! I loved the Elsa and Anna pics! Anna was very funny for us too! Can't wait for more!!

 

[SarahDisney]

27 mosquito bites ... ouch. That's pretty close to my record (which I think is 29)!

IASW and carousel are always good rides! And good call with Splash/BTMRR - I think BTMRR's wait gets longer faster.

Poor MIL ... I hope she was feeling better after the ride. I guess it's a good thing your FIL decided to sit it out, or he might have had the same problem!

I love all of the Anna & Elsa pictures - they both seem really engaged with the kids!

 

[KatMark]

You got stuck on IASW? You poor, poor thing. I avoid that ride because we always get stuck on it and I just can't handle it. Unfortunately, I'm sure I'll be riding next month.

Sorry your inlaws came off BTMR feeling a little off, and then your poor MIL losing it on the Mine Ride.

Awesome pictures with the Princess and Queen. We loved when they were together when they were first there, and we loved Anna alone (Elsa was kind of dull).

 

[ksl5f123]

What adorable princess pics!!! Sounds like you were stuck a while on SW....I hope your little one didn't mind!!

He did OK for the most part. He was just starting to get a little restless and it was becoming a challenge to keep him sitting down. I think we got off just in time!

Boy I fell way behind but all caught up now!! Wow I LOVED the Contemporary room and that view!! Our last trip, it seemed like every meal lasted longer than usual which began to annoy me! I make a plan and want to stick to it!! Poor MIL and SDMT! I loved the Elsa and Anna pics! Anna was very funny for us too! Can't wait for more!!

The Contemporary is beautiful. The rooms are really classy. Disney just doesn't seem to fully understand us extreme planners! I am glad I made the FP for A&E even though the girls said not to bother.

27 mosquito bites ... ouch. That's pretty close to my record (which I think is 29)!

IASW and carousel are always good rides! And good call with Splash/BTMRR - I think BTMRR's wait gets longer faster.

Poor MIL ... I hope she was feeling better after the ride. I guess it's a good thing your FIL decided to sit it out, or he might have had the same problem!

I love all of the Anna & Elsa pictures - they both seem really engaged with the kids!

Mostly healed from the mosquito bites now although I took C's troop camping this weekend and got a few new ones along with my first tick bite since I was 9! The bugs are just out to get me this year!
I am also glad FIL bailed on SDMT. It would have been pretty miserable to have them both sick!

You got stuck on IASW? You poor, poor thing. I avoid that ride because we always get stuck on it and I just can't handle it. Unfortunately, I'm sure I'll be riding next month.

Sorry your inlaws came off BTMR feeling a little off, and then your poor MIL losing it on the Mine Ride.

Awesome pictures with the Princess and Queen. We loved when they were together when they were first there, and we loved Anna alone (Elsa was kind of dull).

I like iasw, but wrangling a toddler in a stopped boat in the "goodbye sign room" was pretty challenging!
I agree about Anna. She is certainly the better character to meet. Luckily Elsa played off of her a little bit.

 

[ksl5f123]

After our A&E meet, we joined back up with the boys. We still had about 20 minutes until our FP time for the Speedway. There wasn't much that had that short of a wait time, so we decided to give Carousel of Progress a whirl. We walked on just as it was about to start and ended up in the front row - not my favorite. I don't like bending my neck like that. But, I do love the show!

After CoP, we headed off to our FP. The girls are now tall enough to each drive their own car! J drove along at DL last summer, so she had a clue what she was doing and did a little better this time. C was alone for the first time. I am glad that I was behind her because she had a lot of trouble keeping the pedal down and it was a really stop and go ride. DH rode with T and I rode with D. We were pretty much all over the track. MIL and FIL smartly sat this one out.

After the ride, I went to make a 4th FP. I got Buzz at 6 PM. It was now about 1:45 PM and getting pretty hot. We had an ADR for California Grill at 4:15 PM, so we decided to head out. Here is the path through Tomorrowland as we were exiting - pretty busy!


We got back to the Contemporary and took this one last picture before taking down her hair.


Gabe then took the big kids and headed for the pool while I put D down for a nap. The CMs at the pool were all very impressed that C managed to do the slide at least 20 times and never got her hair wet!

While D was sleeping, I took some daytime "view from our room" pictures.


You can clearly see where the buses drop people off for the MK in this picture. D enjoyed sitting on the balcony and yelling "BUS" at every one of them (it was one of his new words).
Look to the right:


Look to the left:


Zoom a little on the castle:


Zoom a little on Mickey:


As you can see, we were straight up from the Mickey on the 10th floor. I don't think we could have had better rooms!

 

[ksl5f123]

Soon, they all returned from the pool and got cleaned up. I woke up D and we headed for the Cali Grill! Just to prove that I am a DIS geek, I have a picture of the napkin.


Sitting at the table:


You can see some doors behind DH that led to a little deck. D was grumpy from being woken up, so he spent much of his time out there with rotating adults until the food came.

We started with a couple of appetizers (descriptions from allears.net):
Dragon Roll - Spicy and Tataki tuna, shrimp tempura, avocado, Dragon sauce, Hijiki-Shirataki salad $25
Mushroom Flatbread - marinated grilled portabello's, organic white albas, balsamic onions, smokey blue $15

Each of the girls had this as their entree:
Kabocha Squash and Mascarpone Ravioli - squash puree, sauteed spinach, caramelized baby fennel, pinot noir syrup $35

They LOVED it. We actually had to try to replicated it when we got home.

I had this:
Atlantic Swordfish - parsnip silk, roasted heirloom beets, arugula, macadamia vinaigrette, beet syrup $45

It was SO good! I enjoyed all the pretty colored little beets. Very yummy!

T opted for a kids meal:
Provolone and Fresh Tomato Cheese Pizza - Served with choice of small lowfat milk, small bottled water, or small apple juice, Choice of Dessert fruit salad, ice cream sundae, or yogurt parfait $9.00


I don't remember what D had, but I can guess that it was likely pasta with fruit on the side.

DH had this which I don't currently see on the menu:


For dessert, we had this:


and this:


and these (my picture was blurry)
Warm Homemade Fritters - Banana-stuffed, Cinnamon-dusted Fritters complemented with a Trio of Dipping Sauces $13

Everything was fabulous! We called this meal "stepping outside our comfort zone" as the girls and I both ordered things that we usually wouldn't choose. We all found new foods to love and generally enjoyed this meal. I think going back will be a must!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

ack, it is never fun to get in that back-up on IASW ... but glad to see you survived!

Oh no! That is not good to hear about your MIL throwing up on 7DMT! That ride does zip around quite a bit and I can see it messing with people if you let your field of vision move around.

Sounds like a nice meet with A&E. Anna can be quite friendly and funny!

So glad you had a good meal at Cali Grill - it is one of our favorites! I love the pavilion areas to watch Wishes from. Always fun to try new foods from time to time as well

 

[ursalita]

As per my advice, we chose BTMRR for their FP and I told them to ride Splash first. They got to splash at about 10 am and it had a 5 minute wait.

Nice timing!

It was another 15 minutes before we got off iasw!

Wow, that was quite a delay!

Meanwhile, back at SDMT, they had an eventful ride. My poor MIL tossed her cookies on the ride. The pictures show a green looking MIL and a frightened J (who was riding with her). I'll leave those to your imagination.

Aww, poor MIL.

It is starting to be too far out from the trip, because I don't remember any of the comments from the characters. I do remember finding Anna very funny. So, I'll just share the pictures!

I'm having that problem as well. You got some great pics, though. And Anna seems pretty animated in them.

I don't think I've seen this! You had a great view!

Everything you had a Cali Grill looks great! I definitely have to go there someday.

Great updates!

 

[KathyM2]

Wow!! Those are some amazing aerial type shots of around MK!!

I'm so impressed with your girls trying new foods...I don't think I could pay my DS a million dollars to eat anything like that lol...but then...I didn't get very adventurous with food until I was about 16 so maybe there's hope...The desserts looked amazing though!!

I can't believe how crowded it looked in your Tomorrowland shot...gah!! I guess good thing for FP+ when it's like that!

 

[KatMark]

Yay for some pool time!!!

Sorry that D didn't like being up from him nap and had to go outside for a bit.

Do you know in over 25+ visits we have never eaten at California Grill? Since I've not had lunch that chocolate dessert is making me drool.

 

[ariane37]

Wow, I had quite a bit to catch up on! Love the daytime view shots from your room Also enjoyed the Cali Grill pics, we're eating there for the first time in Nov.

 

[Echo queen]

I'm late to the party but will catch up. I was at WDW 3/11/15 for a week and loved that time of year. Enjoying your review.

 

[SarahDisney]

That view is amazing! If I ever stay at the Contemporary (which I'm hoping to eventually), I want that view!!

Cali Grill looks & sounds great! I think it's nice to step outside your comfort zone somethimes, and I'm glad it worked out well for you!

 

[ksl5f123]

ack, it is never fun to get in that back-up on IASW ... but glad to see you survived!

Oh no! That is not good to hear about your MIL throwing up on 7DMT! That ride does zip around quite a bit and I can see it messing with people if you let your field of vision move around.

Sounds like a nice meet with A&E. Anna can be quite friendly and funny!

So glad you had a good meal at Cali Grill - it is one of our favorites! I love the pavilion areas to watch Wishes from. Always fun to try new foods from time to time as well

I can see why Cali would be a fav! It was so good. We didn't get to watch Wishes there because it was too early in the day, but I can imagine it would be awesome.

Wow!! Those are some amazing aerial type shots of around MK!!

I'm so impressed with your girls trying new foods...I don't think I could pay my DS a million dollars to eat anything like that lol...but then...I didn't get very adventurous with food until I was about 16 so maybe there's hope...The desserts looked amazing though!!

I can't believe how crowded it looked in your Tomorrowland shot...gah!! I guess good thing for FP+ when it's like that!

Thanks! It was a great room. My girls are very adventurous with food and squash ravioli was right up their alley. T, on the other hand, is the stereotypical "kid eater" - pasta, hot dogs, cheese pizza.

The crowds were awful. This was our fourth time going that same week in March and the absolute worst crowds we have had at that time.

Yay for some pool time!!!

Sorry that D didn't like being up from him nap and had to go outside for a bit.

Do you know in over 25+ visits we have never eaten at California Grill? Since I've not had lunch that chocolate dessert is making me drool.

It was time to escape to the pool! Everyone felt better after that break.
There was some of that Mickey head confetti out on that balcony so he had lots of fun picking it up. Luckily, he was good once the food arrived.
The chocolate dessert was YUMMY! I would give it a go!

Wow, I had quite a bit to catch up on! Love the daytime view shots from your room Also enjoyed the Cali Grill pics, we're eating there for the first time in Nov.

I hope you like Cali Grill. It is pricey but worth it for a treat in my opinion.

I'm late to the party but will catch up. I was at WDW 3/11/15 for a week and loved that time of year. Enjoying your review.

Welcome! Thanks for reading! We like going in March for the weather and the Flower and Garden Festival.

That view is amazing! If I ever stay at the Contemporary (which I'm hoping to eventually), I want that view!!

Cali Grill looks & sounds great! I think it's nice to step outside your comfort zone sometimes, and I'm glad it worked out well for you!

We couldn't have had a better view! I really enjoyed sitting out their while the big kids were swimming and D was napping. I am usually pretty firmly rooted in my comfort zone, but something told me that Disney would have a pretty capable chef at Cali Grill. I am pretty sure we cleaned every plate!