"I'm NOT a Princess, I'm Izzy!" - May '15 Land/Sea ~ Updated 6/4: Link to Disneyland TR!!!

[Dugette]

I'm glad you were still able to eat at LTT even though you were late - I had that salad last time and it is sooo good!

I'm glad it worked out. And I do think I enjoyed that salad quite a bit, especially on such a hot day.

I sat on our diaper kit while waiting for Illuminations one night - it works great! Too bad it was so hot for the parade though.

They should advertise those things as an instant bench!

That Tink looks like so much fun. We have never actually done that meet yet. Looks like a fun afternoon!

Oh, wow, you've never met Tink? She tends to be a fun meet!

Progress!

Indeed, if she eats any of the butter delivery device, that's success!

I'm like that too. Although I like mine melted.
With a lobster.

But that's just me.

She would not go for that. She'd be okay with a butter stick on a stick, like a Mickey bar, though (or so she says, we have not actually tried this).

Jealousy. Love it when it's others about me.

Yes, her teacher wants to climb in a suitcase and go with us on our trips, I think.

True. That couldn't hurt.

Okay. I can see that. You get a pass.

But just barely.

Fruit Loops.... with.... marshmallows????? What is this sorcery?!?!?

They are magical! I should have stocked up when they had them at Aldi for a while. Mmmmm....

And until she's older, butter will never be on the table.

Because it will be in her tummy?

I'm with Izzy. I want all the toys too.

She's been talking a lot lately about "when I'm a grown up" - and one of the things she's told me repeatedly is that she's going to have a LOT of toys in her house.

Ain't gonna happen.

I much prefer the bus. But of course if you have the car, might as well use it.

Exactly - and you'll see later that it was part of my master plan for later that evening and getting back quickly. As you may have noticed, we left it at the TTC.

And you're smiling!

I always smile for cameras. I have the most boring ride photos for that reason.

Ditch 'em. MK awaits!

No, I had to see her face when she saw the castle.

Big girl.

Didn't notice the time at first. And then I was... WHOA!

Not something you see everyday.

Bad dog?

You'd have to ask someone who did meet him.

Cute shot.

Thanks.

That was nice of them.

It was. So glad they did that.

"Why did you make me late for this ADR? I hate being late!"

Shocked! I'm shocked!

As you should be.

I love those too!

They are fun!

Really? Odd. I don't think we ever had that problem.

I don't know what it is, but I'm very surprised when we actually DO get the dessert or even drink that comes with her kids meal. It's rare unless I specifically ask/remind.

mmmm.. that looks good.

It is!

I hope that happened!

Yes, and she loves it!

Worth it?

I think so. We had really nice curbside spots without having to hold them for a long time or be elbow-to-elbow with the crowd. But they no longer have this option. Now you have to suffer through a meal at Tony's, I hear.

Smart! Better than the alternative.

WAY better. I was so happy we decided to bring that thing "just in case". Hadn't thought of this scenario, but it was so useful.

Me neither.

Glad I'm not the only clueless one.

Me too. Normally I'm "Parade? Pass." But not that one.

Totally agree. Though, since having Izzy, parades did move up on our priority scale, as she loves seeing the characters. Oh, also, Paint the Night at Disneyland is AMAZING.

Atta boy, Dug.

Great shot!

Thanks.

I want that.

Who wouldn't? Until you see the price tag. (I don't remember...maybe $20 or $30? )

She's wonderful. I miss her around here. She was so nice.

I miss her too. She was so nice in person as well - felt like we'd known each other forever.

I'm so sorry. I was more fortunate. It was down for refurb.

 

[pkondz]

She would not go for that. She'd be okay with a butter stick on a stick, like a Mickey bar, though (or so she says, we have not actually tried this).

Are you sure?

Yes, her teacher wants to climb in a suitcase and go with us on our trips, I think.

Who wouldn't!!

Because it will be in her tummy?

That too.

She's been talking a lot lately about "when I'm a grown up" - and one of the things she's told me repeatedly is that she's going to have a LOT of toys in her house.

Sounds like she has life all figured out!

I always smile for cameras. I have the most boring ride photos for that reason.

I think so. We had really nice curbside spots without having to hold them for a long time or be elbow-to-elbow with the crowd. But they no longer have this option. Now you have to suffer through a meal at Tony's, I hear.

Hey! I like Tony's!

Oh, also, Paint the Night at Disneyland is AMAZING.

Oh? I wonder if it'll be on when I'm there.

 

[Dugette]

I'm glad you had a great trip! It's funny, we were actually in MN last weekend and Michael had some things to take care of so I was on my own with the kids for the afternoon. I thought about seeing if you were available for a meetup and realized you were in WDW! It ended up being so cold that we didn't leave his parents house anyway.

Ha, funny! Well, if you're in town again, keep us in mind!

That is AMAZING about the comped room! WOW! Lucky you! We'll be at WDW for one day in October as part of the cruise we are doing, but it sounds like you'll be there before us.

It is amazing! I still can't really believe it - way more than they needed to do! When in October will you be there? We're still deciding on dates.

And YAY for another cruise! I'm glad you guys are taking advantage of your OBB credit. The Wonder is the one ship I haven't been on yet. The new upgrades should be awesome!

I'm really looking forward to experiencing the new things (and all the things) on the Wonder. Izzy was just telling me tonight that she cannot wait to be having fun on Mickey's boat.

Wow, this sound Wonder-ful! (Haha!). I cannot BELIEVE they gave you a SIX NIGHT stay-- just-- wow! Talk about pixie dust! So you are going in February and again in October? Super fun! We also combine conferences with Disney-- I love it, since it means I get to do things like eat ice cream for lunch and ride things my husband doesn't like as much as I want You are going to have a blast!!

Yes, it does sound quite Wonder-ful! I really can't believe they gave us that stay either. Until we had it in writing, I felt like there must have been a mistake. But, yes, that's the plan - quick February trip and longer October trip. Combining conferences is great - that's how we went to Disneyland too. And it gets Dug's airfare covered and our WDW lodging (NOT very nearby, though) this trip. And we want to keep February cheap, so I think Izzy and I will be splitting cream cheese pretzels and the like for lunch. (Though I did grab an ADR for Beaches & Cream and for Be Our Guest - both lunch - just in case we need to get away from the crowds that it looks like this weekend will have. But we can still share some fun things and call it lunch).

I get that! I'm looking at my notes now and going "What the heck was that?"

I am so glad that I make super thorough notes after the trips. My memory is not great and, with no notes, this TR would be some muddled mess of "we went on a boat and went to disney and star wars, then we came home." To be honest, my notes are mostly in paragraphs and some people would probably consider them a TR in and of themselves. But I like to polish them up a bit.

Sorry to hear that.

Thanks, no fun.

Great!

It was!

Are you freaking kidding me?!?!?! Wow!!!! That's awesome!! Good for you!!

I can't believe it. I was in the shower when they called and Dug was very tired (early morning) and I got out and just kept asking him if he was SURE that's what they said.

More pixie dust!

Absolutely!

Yep. I remember 29. (psstt.... you have a typo in your siggie)

You are too kind! (Though I do "joke" that having a young kid allows me to subtract up to 10 years and probably get away with it).

awww...

Welcome to the addiction APs are dangerous!

Oh, I know! This is my third one! We had them in 2010 and did 5 trips (4 fully planned and 1 "spontaneous", but we did have a plan to possibly do a spontaneous trip if we found cheap airfare). In 2014, I got one on the June trip w/Lauren, since I knew we were probably doing this May 2015 trip, so made sense. But, of course, having it meant I had to make a spontaneous trip over Labor Day Weekend 2014. And we know there's the chance that we make an extra 2017 trip due to APs, if the stars align and all that. We'll see.

Glad to hear a bit about your recent trip - glad it went well. I am very glad it worked out for you that they let you have both girls ride together on 7DMT ... though kind of annoyed (at Disney, not you) about the inconsistencies as they were very clear is asking my daughter if she was 7 as that is what they said you needed to be to ride without an adult

Are you sure they knew she was with you? That's all I can think of, otherwise poor/inconsistent CM training. As I said in your thread or wherever, both CMs I encountered were 1000% okay with two 4-year-olds sitting next to each other.

Wow, that is awesome they gave you the free nights! Disney is usually pretty good about over compensating for mistakes but that is more than I have every heard - very cool!

I agree completely. When we got home (before we got the email offer confirmation, just had verbal), I googled the heck out of free stays in values and came up empty handed. I figured if they were offering this to us because of a lack of toilet paper and plastic cups, surely they do it often? But, no, couldn't find any reports. Dug did wonder if they had some of these offers prepared to compensate for the computer pool (right by our building) being closed for renovations, but I don't know if that's related (we did not bring up swimming at all).

And very exciting about the cruise - and as we are booked on the Wonder for Feb 2018 I will definitely be picking your brain! (Tiana's looks amazing and the new kids area looks cool too!)

Pick away! I am super excited to experience a different ship and all the new/unique things!

Oh wow that is totally awesome!

And making me wonder if we would have pressed the bug issue if they would have comped us with anything...(Our LM room at A o A was FILLED with tiny little bugs- scared my DD. I put in a complaint when we got home, and got an apology, and a reassurance that they weren't bed bugs (which I knew), but I should have taken more pictures and/or brought it up when we were there!)

I wonder - I mean, your problem was a lot more severe than ours. I think we just got lucky in that the Duty Manager became aware of our issues and had power to make things happen. On another note - since we want to stay in a LM room - what floor were you on? I don't want bugs!

Wow! Those are some exciting plans! Another cruise and a free 6 night value stay...pretty awesome!!!

I'm ridiculously excited! (Though I am dreading falling even more behind on TRs!) Cannot wait to cruise again!

I cannot wait to hear about your latest girl's trip to the world. I saw some photos on Lauren's facebook, and the girls looked they were having so much fun.

I saw your post the day you made it and you inspired me to actually post our trip photos on FB. It was a really fun time and the girls had a great time doing things together - lots of magical memories!

Izzy hit the 40" mark? Oh my goodness, she's growing up so fast!

She sure is! She was comfortably over the 40" too.

Sorry you are sick, hopefully the holidays and work are kind to you and let you rest up some.

Thanks. We all ended up getting this cold or whatever and Izzy's still hacking away, but Dug and I are mostly over it. I'm still extra tired/achy, but the cough stopped finally. One of those obnoxious ones that drags on forever.

 

[pkondz]

I am so glad that I make super thorough notes after the trips. My memory is not great and, with no notes, this TR would be some muddled mess of "we went on a boat and went to disney and star wars, then we came home." To be honest, my notes are mostly in paragraphs and some people would probably consider them a TR in and of themselves. But I like to polish them up a bit.

You're better than I am!

I can't believe it. I was in the shower when they called and Dug was very tired (early morning) and I got out and just kept asking him if he was SURE that's what they said.

I bet!

(Though I do "joke" that having a young kid allows me to subtract up to 10 years and probably get away with it).

 

[Dugette]

Gotta say that I never even think of the Garden Grove (to the point that I was thinking in my head of the Garden Grill and was confused why you stopped at the Swolphin) ... so yeah, "hidden" is a good word for it

I wondered if anyone would think of the Garden Grill, given the similar names and character line up! I never thought about it before it was recommended so strongly.

Does seem very empty and the food looks rather good - did Dug like the seafood he god? It looked good but looks can be deceiving with seafood

I just asked and he loved the food. He's like, "Are you kidding? I got lobster!"

Cute story with Pluto digging in the dirt with Izzy

It was a sweet moment.

Garden Grove looks like a great spot for a character meal! It looks like there's hardly anyone else there. Definitely a hidden gem! So cute that Pluto & Izzy were digging together.

It was great! Pretty quiet and fun characters!

We went to Garden Grove for my sister's rehearsal dinner for her wedding. Easy to work with good food (the format changed to a soup and salad bar, choice of entree and dessert bar) and we had great character interaction as well, though it was only Goofy and Pluto
View attachment 212696
View attachment 212697

Cute pics! Glad you had a good experience! Your post made me look into it and I THINK they still are doing the seafood buffet with all 4 characters on Friday nights (we were there on a Friday), but they have your experience the other nights of the week.

You're asking us?!?!?

Maybe someone was watching?

I'm not sure if I've heard of it before or not....

Maybe.....

But you're right. It doesn't get mentioned much.

I almost never see anything about it here.

Well, that's inconvenient.

Sure was!

"No. Just stalking an ex-boyfriend."

No kidding! Goodbye iPhone!!

Thanks! Had no idea.

You're welcome.

I'm going with.... yummy!

Dug would agree with you!

Corn dog nuggets! She's branching out!

Hey. Watch the hand, buddy.

Oh? Why? Easier? Cheaper? What?

Because uploading videos to Photobucket (in my experience) is much like playing a slot machine. You do it over and over and over and it mostly just never shows up, but every so often it does and it's very exciting. I'm not kidding that I tried to upload one video 20+ times with no success (and it met all requirements) - that was what finally sent me looking for alternatives and Dug mentioned he'd used Vimeo for work before and it was good. Seems fine so far and uploads on the first try! Plus, it embeds on the DIS, which is nice.

Okay, so I wasn't missing something.

Nope.

<fist bump>

<fist bump>

Maybe I missed it... What's Dale doing there?

He's trying to write out BAYMAX on the table with his finger.

Awwwwww....

Dale was so relieved that Dug finally got it!

Dog. By the tree. Waiting.

Surrrrrrre.
Waiting. Uh, huh.

Too cute!

It was really adorable before the kids all descended upon her moment.

"Back off kids! The dawg's ours!"

Exactly!

 

[Dugette]

Your videos of Izzy are so cute. The Vimeo videos work well. Dale was certainly persistent in trying to get his message across to Dug! We love Garden Grove - we stayed at the Swan in 2009 and ate there a lot! I think their character breakfast is one of the best. Anyway your videos made me look out an old video of Hannah and Peter. I really need to get them transferred - that was the holiday my video camera was stolen at the airport but fortunately that tape was separate. Here's a photo of my 2 - Peter was 4 at the time. They were having a great time!


View attachment 213007

Thanks! Very cute photo - you can see the pure joy!

I have always wondered about this meal-- yours is the first-ever real-life report I've seen of it! It looks very cute-- you got some great interactions. The tree is really magical!

I know - other than the DIS-er that recommended it, I don't recall seeing any other TRs mention it. But we had a good time and would go back. Especially if staying in the Boardwalk area again - very convenient!

I don't think I've ever read a report with a review of Garden Grove before. Thanks for venturing there and giving everyone here the rundown of the place. Maybe now some of us will find a time to visit. I can't believe how empty the place looked in your photos.

It was fairly quiet for most of our meal, though it did fill up more than you see there. But it never felt packed or crowded compared to most character meals.

Ugh, the dead battery game. I'm glad to hear there was an outlet the CMs let you use, but that standing around had to be annoying. I don't blame you for sticking close to your phone. Those things aren't cheap, and they hold a lot of important information. Not something you don't want to have eyes on at all times.
Random story. Our international flight to Germany was on board a military-only flight and we all had to wait at BWI for about 5 hours pre-boarding. Thanks to the family line, Alex and I got to the gate early and snagged an outlet for our devices. Of course, throughout the night people kept coming up asking to use it, and one guy just plugged it in and then left. Like, went out of the airport to take a quick walk. So there I was, kind of feeling like I needed to babysit this random guy's phone. It was so awkward. And your story just reminded me how I would never do something like that, surrounded by military families or not.

Right, don't want to lose all those photos and videos mid-trip! I can't believe someone just expected you to watch his phone!

I don't get this. I know kids are charged at 3 but c'mon, even most 3 year olds don't eat that much. You'd think Disney would err on the side of the parents and just not charge unless the kid is clearly past 3. It's not like they are eating an entire steak dinner here...(then again, my kids could easily demolish a steak if they shared, but I understand that my kids' metabolisms are not the norm!)

So true, Izzy still usually barely eats (except for the meals where she pigs out to make up for it). But it happened three times on this trip - I believe it was Garden Grove, Garden Grill, and Akershus that charged for her until we mentioned it and all reversed the charge.

It looks like you guys did the seafood meal buffet? I was considering surprising Andrew with that dinner. He said we can skip Cape May (!!!!) bc he knows I don't enjoy it, but this would be a win win with all the seafood (and other options) for him and characters and stuff too.

Yes, I believe that is what we did - on a Friday night. That would be a great surprise for Andrew, I'm sure. Dug enjoyed the seafood quite a bit. And I found enough stuff to eat that I was happy. Plus, good characters and nice atmosphere.

 

[Dugette]

Are you sure?

That she's not done that? So far as I know...

Who wouldn't!!

That too.

Sounds like she has life all figured out!

She does - almost every night lately, she has been wanting to "talk about when I'm a grown up." She is going to have a house right next to us with 10 bathrooms and we'll have sleepovers and there will be a door so we don't have to go outside to get between our homes. She's also is going to ask for a table next to me at work, so she can work with me every day and then commute with me and talk. Kid has a plan.

Hey! I like Tony's!

I've never been there, just reciting back what I've heard. Maybe that parade package is for you!

Oh? I wonder if it'll be on when I'm there.

When will you be there? I hope so - it's great!

You're better than I am!

Well, it's either that or not have much of a TR.

I bet!

Thanks!

 

[Dugette]

Magic Kingdom in the Middle of the Night

We had a lovely walk from the Swalphin back to the Boardwalk, with pretty scenery :





Wonder if that was an Illuminations cruise going out?

Looks like there was some entertainment happening on the boardwalk:



So, you may remember that we stayed at the Boardwalk Villas both before and after our Disney Cruise. We had a great Studio Villa prior to our cruise and an equally great one after the cruise. Both were in a prime location near the lobby with nice views. I believe this one was #3061 and the best feature was the enormous balcony. But, first, we were greeted in our room with a little bit of pixie dust:





In case you are wondering, or have a great memory, this was in May and our wedding anniversary is in October. However, this “land and sea” was such a major trip for us that we called it our “10th anniversary trip” because we didn’t do anything big for our actual anniversary. This was it. But we weren’t expecting recognition of it or anything. The balloon was a big treat for Izzy, though. And the Boardwalk chocolates were cute, as was the card.

But back to that giant balcony:



And the view of the Boardwalk area:





We had a Wishes view this time!

We also got a nifty Mickey towel:



And Izzy didn’t waste any time taking off with that exciting balloon:



I have a note that Izzy was very excited to see her backpack again. I believe we had left it in “long term storage” with the Boardwalk while we were on the Dream. It was really nice to be able to leave our WDW-only things behind and just bring the necessary luggage onto the cruise.

We took a bit of time to settle into our new room and get Izzy bathed and ready for bed. Then we all went to sleep around 9pm. But my sleep was only a nap!

A little after 11pm, I was back out in the hallway, walking past a room with a couple having a very loud argument. Great Disney memories being made in there!

I quickly moved on and out to the Boardwalk:



As you can see, it was raining out! I had no idea and hadn’t brought an umbrella down with me. I also got a text from Tracy (@Tracy161 ) that she was heading out of the MK early. And Danielle (@IheartDDuck ) later did as well, instead of staying until 6am. Not the best late MK night. I went back to the room and grabbed my umbrella and seriously debated whether or not to go back out. I mean, I was pretty tired (not easy to get up from that nap!) and the weather was crummy and the DIS-friends were leaving. But I decided to forge ahead, since I really wanted to use the Rider Swap I was holding for Test Track and I was planning to get to MK via Epcot – just was hoping Test Track wasn’t down yet with the drizzle.

It was a nice, quick walk over to the International Gateway (great perk of staying at the Boardwalk!) Epcot was open very late this night (maybe 1am?), likely to draw people away from the 24-hour MK bash. My first stop in Epcot was at the Cronut stand, but it was only to get a glass of ice water. Then I remembered the Disney Food Blog had made me drool with pictures of a warm peanut butter brownie at Sunshine Seasons, so I headed that way for a snack:





Here’s my yummy treat:



I was able to savor every bite, as I was solo and nobody needed anything from me. Ahhhh. I seldom get to sit all the way through dinner at home. It’s a treat to eat in peace. I browsed the DIS while I ate and enjoyed the moment. However, strangely in a nearly empty dining room, there were some kids that chose to play right next to my chair. Weird. But, at least they weren’t mine and didn’t need anything from me, haha.

After finishing my brownie, I decided to go check out the wait time for Soarin’. Well, when I got there, I was shocked to find a 5 minute wait posted! Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that! I had to take a picture of the sign, per DIS trip reporter guidelines, so I did just that. The CMs working there were very nice and chatty. The older fellow told me that the younger guy had been working for 18.5 hours that day! Then he told me that I should take his picture, so I did:



They were fun to chat with, but I had to move on to ride. Got Row 1 and had a lovely flight. Then time to get to Test Track! On the way there, I seriously considered jumping into the Character Spot, as it was probably empty (but open), however, I didn’t want to miss Test Track over it and kept moving. Would have been fun, though.

I was so happy to hear cars whizzing by on Test Track as I approached. Yay, the drizzle didn’t shut it down! Headed inside and they had everyone in the Fast Pass line walk straight through the car design room and get onboard with no wait:



Had a great ride – glad I went out that night!

After that, I made my way out of prettily-lit Epcot, right as it was closing, I believe:







I made it to the monorail at 1:07am:



As we waited for a monorail, a bunch of us noticed cockroaches on the tracks – yuck! They were all over, but this was the best zoom I could get on my phone:



When the monorail arrived, a ton of people got off at Epcot. I guess they must have parked there and hopped over to MK’s late night? At any rate, we got on and soon saw this:



I was walking down the ramp at the MK at 1:38am and happy to see that the rain had completely stopped!

My first destination inside the park was the FP+ kiosk in City Hall. I wanted to see if there was anything useful I could get here in the middle of the night. Earlier in the day, we’d gotten me a FP for Under the Sea somehow, so I had that going for me. However, the only last-minute thing available this night was It’s a Small World, and that just wasn’t striking my fancy at nearly 2am, so I just skipped FP and moved on:



First thing I did was use my Under the Sea FP. After that, I saw that Dumbo had zero wait, so hopped on there:



Then I wandered through Big Top Souvenirs, as I don’t think I ever had looked around it before and was right by it.

After that, I realized that the Lunching Pad was actually open! Go figure, we try to go there at “normal” times during our trips and they’re closed, but 2am? Come on over! So, I grabbed myself a delicious cream cheese pretzel:



I had a nice chance to eat it while I waited in line for the Peoplemover :



Why, yes, this is a parallel dimension where the Lunching Pad is always open and the Peoplemover has a line! It moved pretty quickly, though, so I was soon doing this (again, per DIS TR-er guidelines ):





I checked Space Mountain next and, unfortunately, it had a very long standby wait, so I skipped it. But I wanted to ride SOMETHING else, so I found another coaster, this one without a line and new to me: the Barnstormer! Figured I might as well try it out before taking Izzy on it (she was tall enough and would be riding it later on this trip):



I had a fun 30-second spin. Nice to try it. And it was something to ride without a wait. The 24 hour day really did bring out the crowds and lines. I knew that going into it and tried to just go with the flow and do what I could and just enjoy the atmosphere.

I walked by the Cinderella carriage, but I think there was quite a line for photos:



Then it was time for me to head out:



The park was obviously open for a few more hours, but my goal was to leave around 3am, as we had a big day ahead of us: our Star Wars Weekend Package Day!

As I walked, I grabbed a bit of video of the band playing in front of the castle:

(click to watch)

I was about 15 minutes behind my goal time:



I was actually feeling pretty awake by then – probably due to my sugary snacks!

I took the monorail back to the TTC:



Then I took the tram WAY back to our rental car:



I successfully found my way back to the Boardwalk Villas and to our new room. Dug and Izzy were asleep and you’d think I’d have joined them in that ASAP, but instead I showered and made sure everything was ready to go for the next day, as I wanted it to go smoothly (and still had energy this night, but probably wouldn’t in the morning). And then I did hit the hay, probably after 4am. Not much sleep for me this night!

Up next: Returning the rental car, then off to DHS for some Star Wars fun!

 

[amazingact21]

But we weren’t expecting recognition of it or anything. The balloon was a big treat for Izzy, though. And the Boardwalk chocolates were cute, as was the card.

How nice. And a balloon is always a win for kids.

I was able to savor every bite, as I was solo and nobody needed anything from me. Ahhhh. I seldom get to sit all the way through dinner at home. It’s a treat to eat in peace.

Awesome! Probably the most relaxing part of the night for you!

After finishing my brownie, I decided to go check out the wait time for Soarin’. Well, when I got there, I was shocked to find a 5 minute wait posted!

Wow. I think I've seen the wait at 10 minutes before, but definitely never at 5. I guess everyone really was at the MK that night.

And then I did hit the hay, probably after 4am. Not much sleep for me this night!

Whew, that sounds like it made for a couple long days. And add in a toddler to that, and I'm amazed you were able to do it. You definitely have more Disney drive than I do.

 

[Imagineer5]

Wow, I can't imagine heading out at that time of night. Nope, never. BUT sounds like you had a nice time, and enjoyed some kid free snacks and rides!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Are you sure they knew she was with you? That's all I can think of, otherwise poor/inconsistent CM training. As I said in your thread or wherever, both CMs I encountered were 1000% okay with two 4-year-olds sitting next to each other.

So I was just thinking about this again as it came up on Facebook, someone asked and responses were debating it. Someone linked to the official policy from Disney and it is very specific in its vagueness - it said that for an attraction "anyone under the age of 7 must be accompanied by someone over 14" - but it doesn't go further than that to explain what "accompanied" meant.

Also, I was talking to Judi about this and she reminded me that it didn't come up so much on Mine Train (as by the time Peter was tall enough to ride Mine Train Olivia was already 7) but for Barnstormer the previous trip as we very explicitly got stopped even being allowed to enter the line and the CM at the front was clear that I could not take both of the kids with me on the ride at the same time. So perhaps it varies by ride? One thing I was thinking is that Mine Train has the separate lap bars rather than one across the car so maybe that way they are allowed to have the two girls ride together as long as they knew both were with you?

In any event, would be nice for some consistency

 

[Dugette]

So I was just thinking about this again as it came up on Facebook, someone asked and responses were debating it. Someone linked to the official policy from Disney and it is very specific in its vagueness - it said that for an attraction "anyone under the age of 7 must be accompanied by someone over 14" - but it doesn't go further than that to explain what "accompanied" meant.

Also, I was talking to Judi about this and she reminded me that it didn't come up so much on Mine Train (as by the time Peter was tall enough to ride Mine Train Olivia was already 7) but for Barnstormer the previous trip as we very explicitly got stopped even being allowed to enter the line and the CM at the front was clear that I could not take both of the kids with me on the ride at the same time. So perhaps it varies by ride? One thing I was thinking is that Mine Train has the separate lap bars rather than one across the car so maybe that way they are allowed to have the two girls ride together as long as they knew both were with you?

In any event, would be nice for some consistency

We never asked at the Barnstormer about riding three together, but I've heard that's not allowed there. It worked fine with Dug taking Izzy and me taking Aria on that, though.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

For some reason I have something against the Swolphin hotels - I think because they are tall and you can see them from the Boardwalk area and it takes me out of the immersion a bit. That said, taken in isolation they are very pretty and, especially at night, seem like nice areas to walk around

Your new room looks like a great location - especially the balcony!

That was nice to get the Anniversary pixie dust! We did our big 10th anniversary thing a bit off of our actual one (October vs June) as that was when we were at WDW as well (though for us it was dinner at V&A)

Bummer that the DISfriends headed out early so you didn't meet up with them, but seems like you had a nice time at night. Glad you got to use your FP for TT

And wow 5 minutes for Soarin'! Love the CM picture as well

Wow, that is amazing how crowded MK was that late and after there have being rain. I would have expected MK to be crowded for the 24 hours but not that crowded - guess as they are just so infrequent people really go all out for them

Why, yes, this is a parallel dimension where the Lunching Pad is always open and the Peoplemover has a line!

Glad it was smooth for you to find your car and get back to the Boardwalk

Hope you had enough energy for the next day!

 

[khertz]

The anniversary treats were such a nice touch!

Bravo for you heading out to the parks at 1 am! Not sure I would have attempted it myself, but it seems like a lot of fun to enjoy some kid free time and to get to experience the 24 hour event for a bit.

 

[cindianne320]

We were on the ground floor in our little mermaid room at a o a.

Sounds like you had a great night! I don't know if I could do it- especially in the rain- but you sure made it sound like a wonderful way to spend an evening! I'm so tempted to ask DH if I can do a solo MK night since I now have an AP...

 

[pkondz]

Because uploading videos to Photobucket (in my experience) is much like playing a slot machine. You do it over and over and over and it mostly just never shows up, but every so often it does and it's very exciting. I'm not kidding that I tried to upload one video 20+ times with no success (and it met all requirements) - that was what finally sent me looking for alternatives and Dug mentioned he'd used Vimeo for work before and it was good. Seems fine so far and uploads on the first try! Plus, it embeds on the DIS, which is nice.

Hmmm.... I've never tried to upload a video.
I'm finding Pbucket.... annoying. But once it starts loading.... it works.

Are you paying for Vimeo?

He's trying to write out BAYMAX on the table with his finger.

Give the poor guy a pen!

Dale was so relieved that Dug finally got it!

She does - almost every night lately, she has been wanting to "talk about when I'm a grown up." She is going to have a house right next to us with 10 bathrooms and we'll have sleepovers and there will be a door so we don't have to go outside to get between our homes.

"That's nice Sweetie... but wouldn't you like a house, say, on the other side of town?"

She's also is going to ask for a table next to me at work, so she can work with me every day and then commute with me and talk. Kid has a plan.

Awww... cute.

I've never been there, just reciting back what I've heard. Maybe that parade package is for you!

I don't mind the spag & meat balls.... and isn't that the only thing you should eat there?

When will you be there? I hope so - it's great!

End of March.

 

[pkondz]

We had a lovely walk from the Swalphin back to the Boardwalk, with pretty scenery :

Wonder if that was an Illuminations cruise going out?

Hmmm... could be. I've often wondered if it would be worth the price. Dunno...

But, first, we were greeted in our room with a little bit of pixie dust:

Nice!

But back to that giant balcony:

Geez! Did you set up a badminton net too?

We also got a nifty Mickey towel:

Huh. I thought that was all gone now.

And Izzy didn’t waste any time taking off with that exciting balloon:

Love the action shot.

A little after 11pm, I was back out in the hallway, walking past a room with a couple having a very loud argument. Great Disney memories being made in there!

Unfortunately, Disney can bring out all kinds of stressful emotions.

I went back to the room and grabbed my umbrella and seriously debated whether or not to go back out.

Don't blame you. Tough call. Glad you did and it stopped raining.

My first stop in Epcot was at the Cronut stand, but it was only to get a glass of ice water.

I beg your pardon???? NO CRONUT?????

Here’s my yummy treat:

mmm.... looks good.... You're forgiven for not getting the cronut.

I seldom get to sit all the way through dinner at home. It’s a treat to eat in peace.

Reminds me of that scene from A Christmas Story.
"My mother had not had a hot meal for herself in 15 years."

However, strangely in a nearly empty dining room, there were some kids that chose to play right next to my chair.

Of course! You need entertaining! They need an audience.

The older fellow told me that the younger guy had been working for 18.5 hours that day!

He works my hours!

they had everyone in the Fast Pass line walk straight through the car design room and get onboard with no wait:

Nice.

Love that sidewalk. I want one.

Nice shot.

As we waited for a monorail, a bunch of us noticed cockroaches on the tracks – yuck! They were all over, but this was the best zoom I could get on my phone:

What?!?!? "Yuck"?????
Jimminy finally finds a gal to take on a date and you say "yuck"???

I was walking down the ramp at the MK at 1:38am and happy to see that the rain had completely stopped!

Yes!

the only last-minute thing available this night was It’s a Small World, and that just wasn’t striking my fancy at nearly 2am, so I just skipped FP and moved on:

Please. Skip that... always.

After that, I saw that Dumbo had zero wait, so hopped on there:

Huh. I never would've even thought of that.

Then I wandered through Big Top Souvenirs, as I don’t think I ever had looked around it before and was right by it.

Still haven't been there.

I grabbed myself a delicious cream cheese pretzel:

You what?!?!? I thought those were gone!! You telling me they're still there?!?!?!?!?!!?

I had a nice chance to eat it while I waited in line for the Peoplemover :

Um..... what???

Why, yes, this is a parallel dimension where the Lunching Pad is always open and the Peoplemover has a line!

I was soon doing this (again, per DIS TR-er guidelines ):

Gotta follow the guidelines.

Figured I might as well try it out before taking Izzy on it

Smart.

The 24 hour day really did bring out the crowds and lines. I knew that going into it and tried to just go with the flow and do what I could and just enjoy the atmosphere.

Good plan. You're in MK. Have fun.

And then I did hit the hay, probably after 4am. Not much sleep for me this night!

Very curious to see how much sleep you actually get!

 

[BlvInMagic]

Your solo adventure sounded AMAZING! Such a wonderful treat to have a few hours to yourself to explore and play

The cockroaches.... ewww! ewww! ewww!

 

[Dugette]

How nice. And a balloon is always a win for kids.

Definitely - we found an old pack of very basic balloons at home and blow one up every so often - Izzy LOVES them!

Awesome! Probably the most relaxing part of the night for you!

It really was a little piece of heaven.

Wow. I think I've seen the wait at 10 minutes before, but definitely never at 5. I guess everyone really was at the MK that night.

I guess so! I couldn't believe it was only 5 minutes (or basically the time it takes to walk through the queue).

Whew, that sounds like it made for a couple long days. And add in a toddler to that, and I'm amazed you were able to do it. You definitely have more Disney drive than I do.

Haha, I don't know that it was in my best interest, but I did it and survived.

Wow, I can't imagine heading out at that time of night. Nope, never. BUT sounds like you had a nice time, and enjoyed some kid free snacks and rides!

I knew you never would! You'd be more likely to be there so early you'd catch the tail end of it. I'm glad I did the Epcot part, since that was pretty awesome to just get right on the big rides, but the MK part was so-so. I knew I wouldn't get on many big rides (and wasn't willing to do long lines), but I was expected more "atmosphere" with the big event and other than the band and lots of people and some extra Photopass (w/long lines), I didn't really feel that it was that special.

For some reason I have something against the Swolphin hotels - I think because they are tall and you can see them from the Boardwalk area and it takes me out of the immersion a bit. That said, taken in isolation they are very pretty and, especially at night, seem like nice areas to walk around

True. But, yes, they do light them up pretty.

Your new room looks like a great location - especially the balcony!

Both were great! I wouldn't hesitate to stay in that room again!

That was nice to get the Anniversary pixie dust! We did our big 10th anniversary thing a bit off of our actual one (October vs June) as that was when we were at WDW as well (though for us it was dinner at V&A)

Also sounds like a great way to celebrate an anniversary. Funny how we basically swapped timing.

Bummer that the DISfriends headed out early so you didn't meet up with them, but seems like you had a nice time at night. Glad you got to use your FP for TT

Yeah, it was a nice time and I do like to be solo, but still a bummer to not have anyone there to meet up with, which I had expected to have.

And wow 5 minutes for Soarin'! Love the CM picture as well

I love that picture too. They were having a lot of fun at that point in the night, I think.

Wow, that is amazing how crowded MK was that late and after there have being rain. I would have expected MK to be crowded for the 24 hours but not that crowded - guess as they are just so infrequent people really go all out for them

I think probably a lot of people try to tough out the whole day and say they did 24 hours, rain or not. But, yeah, for that late at night, it was BUSY!

Glad it was smooth for you to find your car and get back to the Boardwalk

Hope you had enough energy for the next day!

Well, I managed. But was pretty drained by the end of it.

The anniversary treats were such a nice touch!

They were - and very unexpected!

Bravo for you heading out to the parks at 1 am! Not sure I would have attempted it myself, but it seems like a lot of fun to enjoy some kid free time and to get to experience the 24 hour event for a bit.

I usually like late night solo time - it's late, but recharges me a bit from all the "momming". But I maybe should have cut my losses and just done Epcot. MK was a bit of let-down as far as "special"-ness.

We were on the ground floor in our little mermaid room at a o a.

Okay, note to self, request high floor.

Sounds like you had a great night! I don't know if I could do it- especially in the rain- but you sure made it sound like a wonderful way to spend an evening! I'm so tempted to ask DH if I can do a solo MK night since I now have an AP...

In general, I totally recommend a solo night! But maybe not the 24 hour event. The best part of a solo night is being able to do so many things without a line and no crowds - like the Epcot part. MK gets like that too during late parts of EMH and that I love.

 

[Dugette]

Hmmm.... I've never tried to upload a video.
I'm finding Pbucket.... annoying. But once it starts loading.... it works.

Are you paying for Vimeo?

I find that Photobucket is okay for photos, so don't intend to change that (I do pay, otherwise their ads are atrocious). But I was having so much trouble getting videos to upload. I'm not paying for Vimeo and don't think I'll need to. They have some daily/weekly upload limits, but I don't do that much video uploading at once, so I think I'll be okay. Hope so, at least. I like it about 4000 times better for videos so far, though.

Give the poor guy a pen!

If only we'd had an autograph book on that trip.

"That's nice Sweetie... but wouldn't you like a house, say, on the other side of town?"

I don't know, I wouldn't mind having her nearby. But, of course, if she wanted to move to Florida and we had to follow her, that wouldn't be the worst thing...

Awww... cute.

She is so obsessed lately with, "Let's talk about when I'm a grown up. It's going to be SOOOO fun! I'm going to have a big house with 10 bathrooms and I'll have money to buy everything I need. I'll take the bus with you to work and we'll talk and nap together and then I'll sit next to you at work..." I guess we're making being a grown up look pretty glamorous.

I don't mind the spag & meat balls.... and isn't that the only thing you should eat there?

Probably the safe bet. I don't mind it either, as I rarely have it.

End of March.

Hope you have a great time there!

Hmmm... could be. I've often wondered if it would be worth the price. Dunno...

I remember looking into these several years ago, as I was trying to figure out an anniversary surprise for Dug (ended up doing Keys to the Kingdom). I found there was a thread somewhere on here for people who wanted to share Illuminations cruises. Made the price much more reasonable if you got enough people together.

Nice!

Geez! Did you set up a badminton net too?

Probably could have.

Huh. I thought that was all gone now.

Well, this WAS almost two years ago...did they do away with that?

Love the action shot.

Ha, thanks! Most shots of Izzy are action shots, it seems.

Unfortunately, Disney can bring out all kinds of stressful emotions.

Very true. This couple was really in need of a vacation from their vacation, I guess.

Don't blame you. Tough call. Glad you did and it stopped raining.

Me too. And I'm glad that I mostly caught the drizzle type rain and not downpours.

I beg your pardon???? NO CRONUT?????

mmm.... looks good.... You're forgiven for not getting the cronut.

Priorities.

Reminds me of that scene from A Christmas Story.
"My mother had not had a hot meal for herself in 15 years."

So true!

Of course! You need entertaining! They need an audience.

I guess so. Just so bizarre, but I tried to ignore them.

He works my hours!

Nice.

I don't really care about designing a car, so this was great for me.

Love that sidewalk. I want one.

I'd love one too!

Nice shot.

Thanks - it's so pretty at night that it's hard to get a bad shot.

What?!?!? "Yuck"?????
Jimminy finally finds a gal to take on a date and you say "yuck"???

Yes!

Please. Skip that... always.

Well, I figured I'd ride it enough with Izzy, no need to ride it myself. The one at Disneyland is fun with the addition of Disney characters, though.

Huh. I never would've even thought of that.

Well, it was right in front of me...

Still haven't been there.

Someday when you need to do something and all the lines are long and you have no FP.

You what?!?!? I thought those were gone!! You telling me they're still there?!?!?!?!?!!?

Well, again, May 2015 - but I could swear I heard they got rid of them, but then brought them back. Hope so!

Um..... what???

Bizarro land.

Gotta follow the guidelines.

Requirements must be fulfilled.

Smart.

Worked out well - at least it wouldn't be an unknown to me when I took her.

Good plan. You're in MK. Have fun.

Very curious to see how much sleep you actually get!

Um, not very much.

Your solo adventure sounded AMAZING! Such a wonderful treat to have a few hours to yourself to explore and play

I love solo nights. My favorite was probably Disneyland (TR still pending). I got to ride both Pirates and Splash totally by myself!

The cockroaches.... ewww! ewww! ewww!

It was one of the few "non-Disneyfied" things we all saw that night.

Hey, all. So, I've been home sick with Strep Throat yesterday and today. This resulted in me writing an entire day worth of updates on this report. I think there's maybe 6-8 parts, due to the max photo limits per post. So, get ready for an onslaught of updates, as I proof/edit/smiley-fy/post them. Gotta get this report done someday!