"If your heart is in your dreams, no request is too extreme." September 2015 TR

[Sisa]

9/3 Evening at MK

Cooled off and freshened up with a change of clothes, we headed to the MK for one specific thing in mind...the main street electrical parade.


We arrived at the MK around 8pm. MK is a whole new park at night and so gorgeous!














We snagged a spot on main street for the parade. We shared sundaes from the Main Street Bakery while we waited.


Finally it was time, the music started...which instantly brought me back to my childhood. This parade was my favorite parade and Disney memory as a child and the music was something I always loved. Having my kids see this parade was something that meant the world to me. I didn't think they would get a chance to see this parade before Disney retired it. It was everything and more than I remembered, I made sure to video tape the entire parade so I can watch it at home as much as I want (this is why I have no photos). DS got scared of the steam from Elliot, but otherwise liked it. DD enjoyed it, but thought it was too short (that's my girl). DH cannot stand the music, he thinks it is annoying.





After the parade, we waited for Celebrate the Magic to start. In all my research and reading TR, I purposely skipped over anything regarding Celebrate the Magic because I wanted to enjoy it in person and be surprised. This show is one that I wish I had recorded as well, it was so magical watching clips of Disney movies playing on the Disney castle. I don't know how you can get more magical than that, then you put Walt Disney on there. Ugh, I got teary eyed, it was just so perfect!


This night could not have been better for me. MSEP and the amazing Celebrate the magic just made for the best night of the whole trip for me and I wish I could have seen them both every night of our trip, I could never get tired of watching those, it is truly Disney at it's finest.


Wishes was about to start and knowing DS has been scared of fireworks, we ducked into Emporium and wandered around.


DS had fun trying on hats.








They both fell asleep while in the shop.





We head out to a crowded bus stop. We made it on the 3rd bus, but they came very quickly, we didn't wait long. But boy do they pack those buses tight, holy moly. It felt like the longest bus ride ever, but we made it back to POP and hit the pillows hard.

 

[STLMickeyMom]

I love the pic of the kids with daisy at tusker house. Is DS being shy or just looking awesome in his super cool shades? I vote for awesome!

I always love seeing the hidden Mickey head island with the flamingos. Since I found out that's what it is, I always point it out to the girls. We love finding hidden mickeys!

Flame tree meal looks yummy! We still haven't tried eating there yet but it always smells so amazing!

Love the nighttime MK pics! The parks at night are my fave!

 

[skojo]

Following along. Really enjoying your TR so far. My kids will be DS5 and DD4 when we go next Fall. We are also planning on staying at POP.

 

[missangelalexis]

Great pictures in front of the Tree of Life! Love the shirts you guys have on this day.

Such adorable pictures with Mickey & Minnie!

Aww poor DD, wanted to be included but then didn't enjoy the ride She looks petrified in the ride photo! On the Dinosaur one too!

Sounds like brunch came at the perfect time. I'm glad it was enjoyable.

I can imagine it's very stressful to work on KS. I'm sorry it wasn't the best ride for you.

I'm glad you got to see Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo- both great shows!

I love Flame Treet BBQ, but I agree those birds are obnoxious!

I'm so glad you got to see the parade and made such a special memory out of it!

A long and hot day I'm sure, but it sounds like it was fun!

 

[LadyW1nger]

Following along. You have the cutest kids!! Looks like a great trip

 

[MissMaryQC]

What a great day! I love that you went to MK for the parade!!

The obligatory sleeping children photo is great!

 

[stitchfan75]

My youngest got into pin trading while we were there. We learned that CM that trade are trained by Disney to identify scrappers, they are also not allowed to trade their own pins and are given pins to trade so I only let her trade with CM. If a child trades with an employee they will not refuse but will take the suspected scrapper and throw it in a box so it's out of rotation. We bought a starter set and pins from the park kiosks. The most expensive pin we bought was the hard to find "Villians: Izma" one we found in Epcot. Dh collects rare pins and doesn't trade.

 

[DisneyJo]

Loving your report

 

[Sisa]

Chef Mickey's looks like such fun!!

I'm so glad your kiddos like pin trading!! We love it; great way to start a conversation in a line!!

And my sis says not to worry about trading fake one; a CM has the ability to swap out a fake ion for a real pin, so that CMs aren't trading fakes with guests.

Nothing like an evening swim after a great day at MK!!

I'm glad to hear that CMs can make sure they give out real pins because I've heard they can, but many people said they had traded real pins and received fake ones. That had me worried.

Great reviews. Your kids are adorable

Thank you so much!

I'm really enjoying your report so far! I always love to hear about people's first WDW trips.

Thank you! Glad to have you reading along!

I love the pic of the kids with daisy at tusker house. Is DS being shy or just looking awesome in his super cool shades? I vote for awesome!

I always love seeing the hidden Mickey head island with the flamingos. Since I found out that's what it is, I always point it out to the girls. We love finding hidden mickeys!

Flame tree meal looks yummy! We still haven't tried eating there yet but it always smells so amazing!

Love the nighttime MK pics! The parks at night are my fave!

HAHA, I like the being super cool in his shades!

My DD loves finding hidden Mickey's too! Even at home, she'll find something Mickey shaped and say it's a hidden Mickey.

We really enjoyed Flametree!

Thanks!

Following along. Really enjoying your TR so far. My kids will be DS5 and DD4 when we go next Fall. We are also planning on staying at POP.

Thanks for reading along! Your kids are going to have a blast, these ages are so fun! POP was great for us!

Great pictures in front of the Tree of Life! Love the shirts you guys have on this day.

Such adorable pictures with Mickey & Minnie!

Aww poor DD, wanted to be included but then didn't enjoy the ride She looks petrified in the ride photo! On the Dinosaur one too!

Sounds like brunch came at the perfect time. I'm glad it was enjoyable.

I can imagine it's very stressful to work on KS. I'm sorry it wasn't the best ride for you.

I'm glad you got to see Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo- both great shows!

I love Flame Treet BBQ, but I agree those birds are obnoxious!

I'm so glad you got to see the parade and made such a special memory out of it!

A long and hot day I'm sure, but it sounds like it was fun!

Thank you, I was so happy DH found a Lion King shirt at the last minute because I love how we all had park appropriate shirts.

Thanks!

Yea, she was definitely petrified (good word). Poor girl, she was so brave to give it a try.

Glad it wasn't just us thinking those birds were obnoxious.

Yes, a long and hot day but I would do it over in a heart beat!

Following along. You have the cutest kids!! Looks like a great trip

Thanks for following along! Thank you so much for your kind words! It was an awesome trip!!!

What a great day! I love that you went to MK for the parade!!

The obligatory sleeping children photo is great!

HAha, they saw the picture when I was editing it and said "What when did you take that? Why?" LOL, they didn't appreciate it.

My youngest got into pin trading while we were there. We learned that CM that trade are trained by Disney to identify scrappers, they are also not allowed to trade their own pins and are given pins to trade so I only let her trade with CM. If a child trades with an employee they will not refuse but will take the suspected scrapper and throw it in a box so it's out of rotation. We bought a starter set and pins from the park kiosks. The most expensive pin we bought was the hard to find "Villians: Izma" one we found in Epcot. Dh collects rare pins and doesn't trade.

I've also heard that CMs can spot the fake ones and don't trade them, but I've heard from so many people that said they bought authentic ones and traded and got fake ones and will never trade real pins any more. Maybe we will have to try the real ones next time and see what we get.

Loving your report

Thank you!

 

[ariane37]

I too love all your AK shirts! I wish my boys would still let me match them like that, but DS13 is done with Disney shirts, period lol.
We plan on eating at Flame Tree for the 1st time next month-food in your picture looks yummy

 

[Sisa]

9/4 Typhoon Lagoon & DTD


I will start off apologizing for lack of photos due to not having a waterproof camera.

Today was not a scheduled park day, so we slept in and it felt so nice! We all adapted to the time change easily after the first day, all my worries were for no reason thankfully.

We ate breakfast at Everything POP, I chose the bounty platter with pancakes which was average BF food. DH chose make your own omelette, DD got a pancake kids meal and DS got a french toast kids meal. The place was crowded and loud, luckily we found a table. We realized getting up early was the way to go in regards to everything.

After breakfast, we caught the bus to Typhoon Lagoon where we saw Lilo.





DH and DD played around in the wave pool for a little while. DS wasn't a fan of the waves, but we sat and let the end of the wave hit our feet.

We made our way to Blustery Bay Slides (kid slides), both kids had a blast on them. DS surprised me and just kept going and going. After spending a good chunk of time here, we found Ketchakiddee Creek. The little inter tube ride was a big favorite for both kids. It wasn't very busy so they got to go as much as they wanted with no wait.

DD was ready for something bigger, DH and DD went on Keelhaul Falls. DD was smiling so big when she got off and immediately wanted to go again. DD and I went, inter tube rides are my preference, I of course thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately, at the end where the slide ends is too deep for DD to touch. She is a good swimmer and has many swimming lessons. She ended before I did and went under the water, and by the time I noticed the life guard had jumped in after her. DD came up right as the life guard got to her and she said "Oh sweetie, you scared us." DD was fine and acted like she purposely took her time coming up. Stinker. That poor life guard got soaked for nothing which I guess I'd prefer it that way as opposed to really needing her help. It was time to get DD a life vest, she was not happy about that.

DH and DD went on Mayday Falls next while I took DS back to Ketchakiddee Creek where he took two more raft rides. Since he was having so much fun with this inter tube ride, I took him on Keelhaul Falls. I was worried it might be too fast for him, but he loved it so much we went again!

Another visit to the wave pool was in order for a short time. DH and DD were just having so much fun. DS was even being brave and ventured out farther than before. Unfortunately, our time ended with both kids getting scrapes on their legs which meant leaving the wave pool.

DH took the kids to get band aids at first aid while I went in search of cool drinks. This was a mistake on my part. While in the nice A/C first aid, the kids were visited by none other than my favorite character...STITCH!!!! They got a private character meet as no one else was in there, this was a huge highlight for them. They of course had to brag about that one for awhile.

While they had their fun with Stitch, I found some frozen lemonades which totally hit the spot!

DH and DD wanted to hit the storm slides, I'm not sure how many they went on but they enjoyed them greatly. DS and I played in the gorgeous, soft white sand. I wish I could buy some and bring it home with me. Most our beaches near us are rocky, so this was a big treat.

When DH and DD come find DS and I, we head to Crush n Gusher. This was a ride I really wanted to go on, however a thunder storm blows in out of no where. We were told that all rides were being temporarily closed and to seek shelter. We decided to try and wait it out, as most people were leaving, we knew the park would be empty if they reopened. Under the shelter, we played in the beautiful sand some more. But the wind really picked up and we were still wet, we were starting to get cold. Then it started pouring and with the wind it was making the rain go sideways, the shelter was pretty much useless at this point. After about an hour, we finally decided to head out of the park.

We got on the bus right away, but it FREEZING! We waited for quite awhile on the bis before leaving. There was a family from Louisiana who we chatted with, they were hilarious and made sure to advise us to never visit New Orleans as it has become a very dangerous place. I guess I have a thing for accents, because I just enjoyed listening to them talk, they could have just said the alphabet over and over and I would have been entranced.

We arrived at POP to change and head out to DTD. We did some shopping at World of Disney, but the entire store was packed with people. Actually, the whole DTD area was just extremely busy, this was the start of the Labor Day crowds and it was nuts!









After grabbing the few items we wanted, we headed to Wolf Gang Puck Express for dinner. It was packed here too, the line was almost out the door, we were packed in there like sardines. When it was our turn to order, I chose the meatloaf sandwich and creme brulee.





DH chose the bacon meatloaf and creme brulee.

DD ordered the pepperoni pizza and brownie.



DS ordered the mac & cheese with brownie.



This was by far the best food we had so far! I love that WGPE accepts the dining plan and that it only costs a QS. I totally would have used a TS easily for this meal. My meatloaf was so amazingly delicious as were the homemade chips it comes with. I also enjoyed the fact that they carried Cherry Coke (my fav) and that I could get refills, I took advantage of that. But the real hit here for me was the creme brulee, it was to die for good, DH agreed! DS wasn't crazy about his mac & cheese, but kept asking DD for more of her pizza. DD loved her pizza, neither kids liked the brownies for some reason.

The only thing that was a little off was that we sort of had a waiter, he brought our food and refilled our drinks. We were wondering at the end if we should be tipping. DH looked online to see if he could get an answer, many said they did and many said they didn't, but those who did said not to leave it on the table and to give it directly to the waiter. It was confusing and I was watching, trying to see what others were doing. We didn't see our waiter as we were leaving, so we didn't end up tipping, it was a very confusing situation.

At this point, we were ready to head back to the hotel to catch our Huskies play their first game of the season. I was thrilled that the game was going to be nationally televised and our hotel room had the channel. Side note...We are pretty big Husky football fans, DH was wearing his jersey this evening and a guy came up and said "Go Dawgs!" and high fived DH. We both thought this was really neat as we were so far from home, we didn't think there would be a chance of meeting another Husky fan.

And so ended our first "off" day and we really enjoyed it!

 

[missangelalexis]

What a great day! It sounds like you had so much fun at TL. So cool that Lilo & Stitch were meeting, but I'm sorry you missed out on Stitch!

And dinner sounds so yummy, I really want to try WPE one day.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Really enjoying reading along! I'm at work so the pictures aren't coming up, but it's still fun to read along! =]

 

[constantstar]

I love reading this report! I'll be taking DD4 & DS2 in February so it's giving me tons of ideas for what we should do & what we should avoid! I'm excited to hear about the rest of your trip!

 

[DisneyJo]

What a fun day you had, it's so great that your DS loved the slides so much but what a shame you missed Stitch!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

Isn't WPX so DELICIOUS? We loved it there!! Best QS ever!

Sounds like a great day! We've never done a waterpark but it does sound like a good time!

 

[ariane37]

WPE is awesome! We also love his TS in DTD; in fact, we were there for dinner on 9/4! That was our 3rd night in DTD that week and definitely the most crowded we thought. We ate at Earl of Sandwich on 8/31 and RR on 9/2

 

[accountingbabe08]

WPE is my favorite cs in ...yummo

 

[Hezzy04]

We had the same confusion about if we should tip at WGPE!! Ahhh....super confusing!

 

[Sisa]

What a great day! It sounds like you had so much fun at TL. So cool that Lilo & Stitch were meeting, but I'm sorry you missed out on Stitch!

And dinner sounds so yummy, I really want to try WPE one day.

It was such a fun day!

You really have to eat at WPE, it is SO SO good, I wish I was eating there now! It is worth the trip to DTD just to eat there.

Really enjoying reading along! I'm at work so the pictures aren't coming up, but it's still fun to read along! =]

Hi!!! So glad you are enjoying reading. Sorry the pictures aren't showing up, it's probably because photobucket says it resized my photos and then it doesn't. I am not a fan of that program, but I already uploaded them so I'll just deal for now.

I love reading this report! I'll be taking DD4 & DS2 in February so it's giving me tons of ideas for what we should do & what we should avoid! I'm excited to hear about the rest of your trip!

Hi! You are the reason I am writing a report, it makes me SUPER happy that my report is helping you plan your trip! A February trip sounds awesome, I will have to see how you like it, that is my birthday month and am considering a trip during that time.

What a fun day you had, it's so great that your DS loved the slides so much but what a shame you missed Stitch!

Thanks, yes so much fun! It was a bummer to miss Stitch, but I wasn't too worried since we had a breakfast date with him another day

Isn't WPX so DELICIOUS? We loved it there!! Best QS ever!

Sounds like a great day! We've never done a waterpark but it does sound like a good time!

Oh my, yes it is delicious!!!! We will definitely be going back there next trip for sure!

It was a great day and I totally recommend TL, it's a very fun park!

WPE is awesome! We also love his TS in DTD; in fact, we were there for dinner on 9/4! That was our 3rd night in DTD that week and definitely the most crowded we thought. We ate at Earl of Sandwich on 8/31 and RR on 9/2

Wow, that's cool that we both were in the same area on 9/4. I really want to try the TS too! We ate at EOS too, but later on in our trip. I've heard amazing things about RR too, did you guys enjoy that one too?

WPE is my favorite cs in ...yummo

Totally agree!!!

We had the same confusion about if we should tip at WGPE!! Ahhh....super confusing!

Okay, this makes me feel better. It was very confusing.