It's a Small but Magical World - a Thanksgiving 2018 Trip Report

[chocolateMinnie]

Fantastic TR. I can’t believe how much luggage you took (envy as an international visitor) and your girls look beautiful in their unique outfits.
Never seen a picture of the Bon Voyage meal before. Looks a great venue.
Shame about BOG we had two lovely lunches there.

 

[TNGirlwCamera]

Love all the pictures of the girls with the princesses! So cute.

 

[Cloe Colton]

Finally all caught up! I don't know how I got so behind!

I knew we wanted to do mobile ordering for this one, so we paused outside the safari to place our order, and then started walking toward Dinoland. I waited for our food to be ready while the rest of my family found a table. We ended up sharing a table with another small family. While waiting for our food, I was surprised by the number of people who didn't do mobile ordering and were standing in a long line!

I agree! I'm always shocked when people don't mobile order! I hope they all never figure it out!

We stopped for a Photo Pass photographer at the entrance to Pandora. There was one family ahead of us, but while we were waiting, a mom and her daughter literally just jumped in line ahead of us. I really do try to give people the benefit of the doubt that maybe they don’t realize there is a line, but this was maybe the third time someone had cut in front of us this day, so I was starting to get annoyed. When the photographer turned back around, I think he knew we had been in line next and looked surprise to see the other people, so he asked, “Um, who was here first?” The mother and daughter jumped up for their turn like they didn’t hear the question, so we told him, “It’s fine, they can go first.”

During my trip in October I encountered quite a few rude photopass families. It's kind of crazy the things people will do! At least the photographer made up for it by getting some great shots and ones of you and your husband! It's always nice when they recognize people doing unkind things.

We paid $179 before tip. When you’re paying over $200 for a character meal, I personally feel there should be a focus on making sure each table has a quality experience (even if it is just 1-2 minutes) with each character. We decided that character meals with fur characters probably just aren't for us right now.

That is so sad that DD4 thought Mickey was ignoring her. And it sounds like he was or was just too overwhelmed by people not following the rules. It amazes me when people forget that others are also paying a good amount of money to be there and expect to have a great time too!

Once we got inside the castle area, the line moved really quickly. It was our turn in no time. Merida was just awesome with the girls, but especially with DD4. She got down to her level and invited DD4 to sit on her lap and chat. She didn’t rush us at all. This was probably our favorite meet of the trip! We got so many awesome photos from the photographer. In fact, the photographer must have been snapping away, because we got over 50 pictures in the 2-3 minutes we spent with Merida. DD4’s expression says it all

Now this is how a Disney meet and greet should be! I also don't understand how Disney is switching from actual photographers to an automated box. I just can't imagine a box grabbing sweet photos and memories like these!

 

[jrmint427]

What a nice CM and def had to be a mom.

I definitely thought she had to be a mom too. There's no way I would have thought of something like that before having kids!

My daughters always look for the pig.

I don't remember where the pig is! I'll have to watch for it next time.

YOu got a LOT of fastpasses this day! I am impressed! Gives me houpe for being there this time of year.

We got really lucky! The extra FPs weren't for major headliners, but we got to do a lot more than I expected. I had better luck with the extra FPs this day (Saturday after) than on Thanksgiving day. I thought it would be even busier!

I grew up in Mobile. I love this tunnel. The game is, you hold your breath going in to see who can make it to the end.

We loved the tunnel each time we passed it too! Phew, that is a tough game... I would have passed out lol!

Fantastic TR. I can’t believe how much luggage you took (envy as an international visitor) and your girls look beautiful in their unique outfits.
Never seen a picture of the Bon Voyage meal before. Looks a great venue.
Shame about BOG we had two lovely lunches there.

Thank you!! Extra luggage is definitely a perk to driving. I'd say I would have packed lighter if we were flying, but we flew the year before and I still brought several outfit changes! Bon Voyage was amazing, I really can't wait to do that one again. I'm glad you enjoyed BOG! I wonder sometimes if we just catch some places on an off day.

Love all the pictures of the girls with the princesses! So cute.

Thank you! They really loved meeting all the princesses. Lots more to come - just wait until our Epcot day :-D

Finally all caught up! I don't know how I got so behind!

I'm just happy you're still here! I was doing really well and posting every day for awhile... and then I went back to work lol.

During my trip in October I encountered quite a few rude photopass families. It's kind of crazy the things people will do! At least the photographer made up for it by getting some great shots and ones of you and your husband! It's always nice when they recognize people doing unkind things.

This was new behavior for me to see! I wondered if the photographer offered the extra shots because we were nice about letting the other people go ahead of us. He definitely made up for it!

That is so sad that DD4 thought Mickey was ignoring her. And it sounds like he was or was just too overwhelmed by people not following the rules. It amazes me when people forget that others are also paying a good amount of money to be there and expect to have a great time too!

It was sad, but she didn't mention it again after the trip, so hopefully it didn't stick with her. I think he was just too overwhelmed too.

Now this is how a Disney meet and greet should be! I also don't understand how Disney is switching from actual photographers to an automated box. I just can't imagine a box grabbing sweet photos and memories like these!

Yes, this was a great experience! I am really sad to read about the automated boxes. I hope they fail miserably and are replaced by real humans again before our next trip. I can dream, right? There is no way a box could match the magic of the photo pass photographers.

 

[jrmint427]

“Rest” Day – Lunch at Sanaa – Sunday, November 25, 2018

We finally had a morning to sleep in! We woke up around 8:00am, which was nice. Unfortunately, my stomach bug had set in. I can't remember now if it was the night before or this morning, but I got sick just once and my stomach was kind of hurting. We had initially thought about swimming this morning, but after three exhausting days in the parks (not to mention, my stomach), we decided we would just relax and take our time packing up the condo. This was the day we would move to Animal Kingdom Lodge!

We had a reservation for Sanaa at noon. I have no idea how those morning hours passed so quickly, but they did. I decided I would head to Dunkin Donuts to pick up coffee for everyone. We still hadn’t bought any coffee to make in the coffee maker at the condo. And even though my stomach hurt and I probably should have avoided it, I can't skip my morning coffee for anything.

I wasn’t totally dressed, hadn’t done my hair, wasn’t wearing make-up yet, you get the picture. So, of course, I decided to go through the drive-thru. But then they got my order wrong. I ordered a hazelnut latte with almond milk for myself and tried a sip as I was driving away. It tasted gross to me – like maybe it was a plain latte with regular milk. Regular milk doesn't sit well with me and I didn't need to be adding any issues to my already upset stomach. So I parked the car and went inside to see if I could get my order fixed. The girl at the counter said she would remake it and then another girl walked by and asked, “Did I get another one wrong?”

My MIL wanted a banana and the girls had asked for apple juice, and Dunkin Donuts had neither (which really surprised me). Since I had already gone out in public looking like I did, I also swung by a Publix before heading home.

We showered and packed up and were out of the condo by 11:30am. We pulled into AKL at 11:45am. I was so excited!



We followed signs for Kidani Village and got to Sanaa right at noon.



And of course, my favorite ornament:



I really wasn’t feeling well by this point. I didn't eat much for breakfast and I had no appetite. My stomach really hurt. I was pretty bummed because I had been so excited to try the food at Sanaa, and wasn’t sure I’d be able to enjoy it. I loved all the decorations at AKL though!



We were sat on the far wall across from the windows. I was disappointed because we had booked this to see animals while we ate, but I didn’t say anything. We loved the feel of this restaurant.



The girls were excited just to have some crayons to entertain themselves!



Shortly after we were seated, I received a text that our room was ready. We planned to spend 1 night in a Savanna view room and then move to a standard view room for the rest of our trip. We loved the idea of the savanna view but couldn’t justify it for most nights, when we would hardly be in our room at all. So we planned to spend one night on our rest day (today) so we could enjoy the view.

I had given a list of 5 rooms we wanted based on Touring Plans recommendations, and then a few guidelines, like we’d like the 3rd or 4th floor. We got very lucky because they gave us one of the 5 rooms I had requested! We were in room 3221.

We started with the bread service.



I wasn’t crazy about most of the dips, but it’s really hard for me to say if that’s because I wasn’t feeling well or if I truly wouldn't have liked them. Most likely, the fact that I was forcing myself to eat when my stomach hurt was the reason for that. I know I liked the hummus and cucumber raita. I think I also liked the tomato-date jam. A lot of them were a little too spicy for me. I ended up eating some of the bread plain, which was just what I was in the mood for.

My MIL wasn’t too hungry either, so we decided to split the Quinoa Vegetable Taboulle Salad – quinoa, black rice, vegetables, paneer, and citrus dressing.



It was a beautiful salad! But I wasn’t crazy about it. Again, I’m not sure if I didn’t like it just because I wasn’t feeling well. I think it was the rice that tasted funny to me. My MIL also wasn’t a fan. We barely put a dent in the salad, so I would definitely order something different next time.

Pat ordered the tandoori chicken. I think he liked this!



Looks like I missed the picture, but we ordered the girls a kid’s cheese pizza. They were bouncing off the walls a bit here. We were seated in a round table with a bench and kept having to ask them to not jump up and down on the seats.

We left the restaurant around 1:30pm. It was time to go check out our room at Jambo House!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We finally had a morning to sleep in! We woke up around 8:00am, which was nice. Unfortunately, my stomach bug had set in. I can't remember now if it was the night before or this morning, but I got sick just once and my stomach was kind of hurting. We had initially thought about swimming this morning, but after three exhausting days in the parks (not to mention, my stomach), we decided we would just relax and take our time packing up the condo. This was the day we would move to Animal Kingdom Lodge!

Not that you want to be sick on vacation, but at least the day was already a planned rest day! Kind of good timing.

e planned to spend 1 night in a Savanna view room and then move to a standard view room for the rest of our trip. We loved the idea of the savanna view but couldn’t justify it for most nights, when we would hardly be in our room at all. So we planned to spend one night on our rest day (today) so we could enjoy the view.

That is smart!

 

[jrmint427]

Not that you want to be sick on vacation, but at least the day was already a planned rest day! Kind of good timing.

It did work out well! And I was thankful that it was me who was sick and not the girls. At least I could make myself power through it, if they had gotten sick, we would have been out for a couple of days.

That is smart!

It worked out well! We actually asked about the price to stay in the room so we wouldn't have to move AGAIN (this was already our 3rd room in under a week), but it wasn't available. Which in hindsight was a good thing, because we would have spent way too much money out of laziness of not wanting to move! We were never in our room again during the day to have enjoyed the view if we had stayed.

 

[jrmint427]

Animal Kingdom Lodge

After lunch we used Bell Services at Jambo House to unload our van just outside the lobby. I did not realize that we wouldn’t be allowed to take the cart to our room ourselves – once it was checked into Bell Services, I was told we couldn’t get our bags back until they brought them to our room, likely in 30-60 minutes. Well my husband thought we were taking the cart straight to our room, so he had left the diaper bag with all our other luggage. As soon as we were in the lobby we realized DD2 needed a diaper change, so I went back to the Bell Services desk and asked if we could at least get our diaper bag off the cart. Thankfully the guy agreed, and met me outside where our cart was still waiting so I could grab it.

The bathroom break must have taken awhile because it was 2:15pm before we were in our room. Thankfully the bags came just 15 minutes later.

The room was beautiful! The beds were comfortable, and we loved our savanna view.



We had some discussion over what animal we thought this mirror was supposed to represent. Any guesses?



We ultimately decided we think it's a frog.

The view was just what we were expecting. We were on the 3rd floor; a very short walk from the lobby, bus station and the restaurants, but also a great view of the savanna.





We weren’t in the room very long before 3 giraffes walked into view and to the feeding areas closest to us. How often do you get to see giraffes right out the window of your bedroom?! This was a special experience for us.





I took some video from the balcony. Here are a few clips.

At one point in the video, DD4 spots a rabbit down just below us. She goes, “Mom, did you know that rabbits are my favorite?” Eventually she gets bored and announces that she wants to check if anyone is in our room. This is because I had told her she had a special surprise visitor coming!

One of her best friends from school back in Texas was visiting family in Tampa. Her family was about an hour away, and her mom (a friend of mine) and I had talked about possibly meeting up while we were in Florida at the same time. I hadn’t told DD4 about this ahead of time because I wasn’t sure if the timing was going to work out. The day before this, we were texting about when we could possibly meet up. She talked about coming later in the week, but we had plans at the parks all day, every day (all you planners understand me here, right?). So I had mentioned that today would be our resort day and a great chance to just hang out at the hotel and get dinner together. She confirmed they could meet us on Sunday for dinner, so I quickly contacted my travel agent, and she was able to add 3 people to our reservation for the evening. Yay!

While going between the room and the balcony, DD4 tripped and fell (there is a small ledge there) and scraped her knee. It was bleeding a little, and while I was sure I had packed a band-aid, I couldn’t find one. I decided to take her to the front desk. I was sure they must have a first aid kid.

DD4 had to be carried down because her knee hurt. Not only did the front desk have a band-aid and something to clean the wound, but they offered her a pink “feel better” tiara. I thought that was a really sweet touch! She loved it and wore it the rest of the day.

We had talked about swimming, but I was on the fence. I really wasn’t feeling well, DD2 clearly needed a nap, and I felt like I could have used a nap. But DD4 was persistent and reminded me that I had promised she could swim here. So I decided to be a good mom and follow through on my word. My MIL said she would come with us, and Pat agreed to stay in the room with DD2 to get her a nap.

You know how getting ready to go to the pool with a 4-year-old can take forever? By the time we got on swimsuits and sunblock and made it down to the pool, it was already 4:45pm. We had a 6:35pm reservation at Boma, but we were expecting our friends to be there closer to 6:00, which did not leave much time for swimming and getting ready before dinner. I calculated that we could stay at the pool for 15-20 minutes, which wasn’t long, but hopefully long enough for DD4.

The pool area was really nice and I wished we could have had more time here. The water felt really cold to me at first, but as soon as you were in it, the water felt much warmer. I ended up only putting my legs in once I realized that I wouldn’t have much time to get myself together after swimming. Grandma got in the water with DD4, so that worked out nicely because they got to have some alone time together. I sat on a ledge nearby where I could have my feet in the water.





I got a pedicure right before our trip and loved how my toes came out.



I was only able to get DD4 out of the water by telling her that her friend from school would be there soon! We got cleaned off and dressed as quickly as we could. I wanted to take DD4 down to the lobby so we could greet her friend when they arrived. I admired the view from our room once more before we headed out.

 

[jrmint427]

The Wallpaper

This post is short, so you get 2 tonight!

Before I get into our plans for the evening, I just have to say that I was in love with the wallpaper in our room at AKL! They had the same wallpaper in both the savanna view and standard view rooms we stayed in. I would have included these with the room pictures, but I’m limited to 10 uploads per post, so the wallpaper gets its own post. Enjoy!













Any Marie Kondo fans out there? This wallpaper brings me joy. I would put it in my own home if I could.

Up next… dinner at Boma!

 

[jrmint427]

Boma

DD4 and I waited in the AKL lobby for a bit for our friends to arrive. I wasn’t sure exactly what time they would get there but thought it would be just after 6:00 and wanted to greet them. I loved the music and the giant Christmas tree in the lobby, so DD4 and I sat in the over-sized chairs while the rest of our family was getting ready for dinner.



There was a Photo Pass photographer taking pictures in front of the tree. I asked DD4 if she would take one with me but she said no. She was willing to pose for a few pictures just for me. though. She’s not a big fan of pictures, but she's okay when they are on her terms!



It was eventually time to head down to the restaurant to meet the rest of our family - we somehow missed them in the lobby. Around this time I got a text that our friends had hit some traffic and would be a little late. We checked in for our reservation and were sat within 10-15 minutes.

Almost right after we got to our table, I got a text that our friends were parking. DD4 and I headed back to the elevators to greet them and our timing was perfect – they were walking out just as we got there! The two girls seemed so happy to see each other.

I’m not going to post pictures just because I’m not sure my friend would want them here, but the 4-year-olds were hugging and super excited to see each other. My friend’s best friend from back home came with her, so it was fun to meet her too.

When I told our server I was vegetarian, she asked me if I needed a chef to walk me through the line. This is the second restaurant where that wasn’t just offered and it sounded like it would be an inconvenience, so I asked her if the food on the line was marked with what was vegetarian and not. She said, “Yes, it’s marked.” So I told her I’d be fine. Of course when I got to the line, the food was not marked with a “V” or anything to designate items as vegetarian. I asked a chef behind the counter what was vegetarian in the first section and he immediately said he’d have someone come out and walk me around. The chefs at the buffets have always been so nice!

I love Boma because there are so many vegetarian options and I really liked the food last time we came (in 2013). I was excited to give it another try! My stomach was still hurting and I didn’t have a big appetite, but I was determined to try as much as I could. This was my plate – sadly I didn’t finish it all, but I enjoyed what I had.



The watermelon rind salad and curry pasta salad were my favorites. The girls ate pretty well here. We once again got a couple of plates of dessert and all shared. The lemon tarts and sugar cookies were my favorites. The sprinkle sugar cookies tasted just like the ones I used to get at the mall when I was little! Surprisingly, the rest of the desserts were all “meh” to me – once again, probably because of the stomach bug I was dealing with.





Gratuity was already included in our ticket because we were a party of 6+ and Pat and my MIL each had a Tusker Beer with dinner. The total for our party of 5, including tip, was $220.51. And that was after my 10% discount and DD2 being free. The food was pretty good but for the amount we ate, I can’t imagine dropping over $200 on that again any time soon.

After dinner we walked out past the pool to use the night vision goggles to see the animals. You couldn’t make out details, but it was pretty cool to be able to see the animals at night! There was a CM out there who talked to us about the animals and told us more about the ones we had seen from our room.

We walked back to the hotel lobby and took some group pictures in front of the tree. I was disappointed because the Photo Pass photographer was no longer there, but another guest was very nice and took some pictures for us. Then we said our goodbyes around 9:00pm. I was so glad our friends had made the drive out to meet us for dinner! It was a really special memory for DD4.

Earlier in the day, we realized that we needed to pack up to move rooms the next morning. After moving once already, we really didn’t feel like moving again. Pat suggested earlier in the day that we at least ask if our savanna view room might be available the rest of the week, and if so, how much it would cost to upgrade. I had asked, but they were full and needed our room, so it wasn’t an option. This was probably for the best - we weren't in our room enough the rest of the week to have really enjoyed that view. So we set an early alarm for the next morning so we could pack up and call Bell Services before heading to the parks.

Steps: 6,227
Miles: 2.2

 

[chocolateMinnie]

I love Boma and would be broken hearted to visit Disney and not eat there. I’m a carnivore who ALWAYS chooses mainly if not all vegetarian food there.
Moving room is a pain. We only did it once.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

So nice to have a visit from a friend work out. I hope you were fully recovered for the next day.

BOMA is a family favorite for all of us. We all love it.

 

[jrmint427]

I love Boma and would be broken hearted to visit Disney and not eat there. I’m a carnivore who ALWAYS chooses mainly if not all vegetarian food there.
Moving room is a pain. We only did it once.

We will definitely go back to Boma again! Just maybe when our family will eat a little more to get our worth It is a great restaurant for vegetarian food and they are really accommodating. I was vegan the first time I ate there and the chef was able to make me a vegan version of just about every dish!

Moving was a pain. It was bad enough to do it once, but the second move pushed our limits. We are planning a split stay for our next trip, but only moving once this time.

So nice to have a visit from a friend work out. I hope you were fully recovered for the next day.

BOMA is a family favorite for all of us. We all love it.

It was so nice for the girls to see each other! I wasn't recovered the next day, but powered through. I was much better two days later, though!

 

[jrmint427]

Epcot – Monday, November 26, 2018

I was told the process for switching rooms at the same resort involved calling Bell Services to pick up our bags, and we had to be in the room when they came. They would keep our luggage in storage all day, and then when we returned to the resort, we would call Bell Services again to deliver our luggage to our new room. I wondered, if they knew what room we were going to be moved to, why couldn't our luggage just be delivered while we were at the parks? I thought this is what happens when you move between resorts? There must be some sort of security reason for it.

I didn’t want to call Bell Services until we were close to being packed up to go in case they came quickly (ha!). So it was 7:20am when I called, and I was told we were 4th in line to have someone come to our room for the bags. We waited 30 minutes. I tried to not stress too much because the park wasn’t opening until 9:00am, but I was eager to get to the bus stop. We enjoyed some time on the balcony while we waited, but I think we just saw some birds and other animals at a distance. Still, not a bad view to have while waiting!



I suggested we swing by the Mara for coffee on our way. This was going to be our “busiest” day at the park, as we only had one day to spend at Epcot and our list of “must do’s” list was quite long. I used Touring Plans to make a plan to fit it all in, but I warned the group that there wouldn’t be time for a coffee stop when we got to the park. This was one day that we had a schedule to follow! And I needed all the adults to be in good moods.

We ordered regular coffee for Grandma, an iced latte for Pat, and a flavored hot latte for me. I watched the barista fill the iced coffee cup up with 80-90% milk before adding any coffee so I called out to ask if she could dump some of the milk so that it was more coffee than milk. I didn’t see signs posted telling me how much my latte would be, and I was curious, because it was smaller than the cup they gave me for the regular coffee. I asked the cashier at check-out how much the lattes were, just out of curiosity. Her response was, “I only charged you an extra $0.50 for the flavoring.” So I had to wait for the receipt to check - $4.50. I know I’m not supposed to stress about costs at Disney, but it says something when they won’t even tell you how much it costs as you are paying for it!

The adults weren’t hungry, but I grabbed a bagel and cream cheese for the girls. We had breakfast bars in the room, but I knew they would want a snack soon and didn’t want to spend park time that morning looking for one. We had a schedule to follow!

We were on the bus at 8:23, and at security by 8:49. It was 9:01 before we were in the park. The girls were not in the mood for a picture! I was disappointed we didn’t see any Photo Pass photographers so we could get a full group shot. But I'm not sure if they're ever on this side of Spaceship Earth?



We had a 9:00am FP for Spaceship Earth, but the line was so short that they hadn’t even opened the FP line yet. We parked the stroller and walked right on. DD4 rode with Grandma and DD2 rode with me and Pat.



I always enjoy this ride, and the girls loved seeing our planet at the very top.

Did I mention we were on a tight schedule? Oh, only 3 times so far? I needed things to go exactly according to plan if we were going to make it to see Mulan in China for her 11am meet. But the park was busier than anticipated, and I quickly realized that was not likely to happen.

We headed to the Land pavilion next. Living with the Land is a favorite of ours, so it was on our “must do” list for the day. It was over a 10 minute wait, which is the longest we’ve ever waited for it! We shared the bagel and cream cheese while we waited in line. I still didn't have much of an appetite, but my stomach wasn't hurting like it had the day before.

I loved all the holiday decorations they had added.



I think I spotted a hidden Minnie!



They really had a lot of holiday decorations mixed into the plants, and these made me so happy.





The vegetable wreaths were my favorite.



Touring Plans actually thought we could be in China by 10:52, but at 10:30 we still had the Seas with Nemo and Friends and Turtle Talk to hit before heading back that way. We decided to skip Mulan and try to see her later in the day if we could, because we really wanted to catch these two attractions before moving to the World Showcase for the rest of the day. We stopped for a PP picture since the girls were wearing Nemo outfits.



We got on Seas with Nemo at 10:33 with a FP. The standby wait was over 30 minutes so I was glad we had the FP! DD4 loved keeping an eye out for Nemo.



Next up was Turtle Talk with Crush, no FP needed. We were in line at 10:45am. I had the joy of sitting behind a man who had a nearly naked woman on the back of his shirt. DD4 surprised us by wanting to sit in the front with the other kids! I was happy to see she was feeling comfortable. The show was great as always. I love how they interact with the audience.

With the show over, we had checked off all our must-do’s outside of the World Showcase. I really wanted to ride Soarin’ but had agreed we could miss it if needed. If we had time and could get a FP at the end of the day, we would come back for it – but we never did ☹ It will be a must-do on our next trip! We also planned to skip Test Track and Mission Space, neither were absolute favorites for us and we wanted this trip to be more focused on the girls, so we only planned for Rider Swaps on our favorite thrill rides.

We headed off to the World Showcase! Next up, lunch...

 

[Lesley Wake]

The Wallpaper

This post is short, so you get 2 tonight!

Before I get into our plans for the evening, I just have to say that I was in love with the wallpaper in our room at AKL! They had the same wallpaper in both the savanna view and standard view rooms we stayed in. I would have included these with the room pictures, but I’m limited to 10 uploads per post, so the wallpaper gets its own post. Enjoy!

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Any Marie Kondo fans out there? This wallpaper brings me joy. I would put it in my own home if I could.

Up next… dinner at Boma!

I loved that wallpaper too! Whenever I was in the bathroom I would just be staring at it. Unfortunately no similar wallpaper in the studios (at least in Jambo House)

I was told the process for switching rooms at the same resort involved calling Bell Services to pick up our bags, and we had to be in the room when they came. They would keep our luggage in storage all day, and then when we returned to the resort, we would call Bell Services again to deliver our luggage to our new room. I wondered, if they knew what room we were going to be moved to, why couldn't our luggage just be delivered while we were at the parks? I thought this is what happens when you move between resorts? There must be some sort of security reason for it.

For the moving resorts, its the same as switching rooms. They transfer it to the resort and you have to call bell services to get them to bring it up. I didn't have issues with my luggage not arriving quickly (I think some people who go from values to deluxes have had issues), but I did have to call twice each time to remind them to bring up my bags!

Oh and I checked your Boma plates - looks like you didn't have the Malva pudding (with the butterscotch flavor), but you did have some sort of yellow tart I didn't see on my night, so maybe they switch up the desserts a bit?

 

[jrmint427]

Oh and I checked your Boma plates - looks like you didn't have the Malva pudding (with the butterscotch flavor), but you did have some sort of yellow tart I didn't see on my night, so maybe they switch up the desserts a bit?

I'm sad I missed the butterscotch dessert! But it does sound like maybe they switch up the desserts depending on the night you go. An excuse to go back!

 

[jrmint427]

Teppan Edo

We probably could have entered the World Showcase from either side, but we went with the Canada route. I loved all the holiday decorations, but I especially liked this teacup set in the UK.



We had a 12:00pm reservation for Teppan Edo but got to the restaurant just after 11:30. We were pretty hungry, so we decided we would head up to wait. As you can see, the Japan pavilion was empty!



Both girls were sleeping by the time we got upstairs. We didn’t realize that the restaurant wasn’t open until noon! I was a little surprised that lunch starts so late (I'm an 11am lunch-er at work!), but we decided to wait there and I took a few pictures while the place was empty.





Just before noon, all the servers came out and they did a little welcome show. Thankfully, they let us take our stroller with the sleeping kids inside with us. We were sat next to a family of 4 with two boys about the same age as our girls. Too bad our girls were sleeping! I offered to take a picture of them, and then they took a picture of us.



It was kind of nice to have a quiet meal with the adults in our party! We were admiring the vent hood (is that what it’s called?) above the grill. It was in pristine condition. We wondered how often they clean these things – daily or more than once a day? They must get dirty so quickly with the amount of cooking they do here.



We started with a salad. I really liked the dressing but I forget what it was.



I wanted to order the miso soup but they told me it wasn’t vegetarian. I think they said there was fish in it. I was surprised because nothing in the description indicated meat or fish, but decided to not order it since they insisted it wasn’t vegetarian.

They cleaned the grill and said they would cook the tofu I ordered first, with the vegetables, and then the meat. Mickey-shaped oil, we’re at Disney after all!



DD2 woke up around this time, so at least she got to see part of the show. Our chef added in a few cowboy references to our show, I think because we told him we were from Texas.



Here’s a video of some of the show. There was no fire in this show, which must have been due to rules at Epcot.

I ordered the Yasai with no mushrooms. The tofu came with only 2 small strips of tofu. I was disappointed with the serving size for the $24 they charge, as a brick of tofu costs less than $2 and I got maybe 40 cents of tofu, while the meat eaters got a larger portion of meat with their meals. But with the udon noodles and rice, it was actually a filling meal. Perfect because I felt full but not stuffed, and the food was really good! Especially with the yum yum sauce.



I think my MIL got the filet mignon and Pat got the NY Cut Steak but it looks like I didn’t take a picture of theirs! We asked to see the dessert menu, but Pat and I ended up just ordering hot green tea instead of something sweet. We really enjoyed this meal and are thinking about going back next year! Has anyone also eaten at Tokyo Dining for comparison? We're torn between eating here again or trying Tokyo Dining.

We finished eating just after 1:00pm. Our meal was $110 before tip.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

. We really enjoyed this meal and are thinking about going back next year! Has anyone also eaten at Tokyo Dining for comparison? We're torn between eating here again or trying Tokyo Dining.

I was wondering the same thing. We liked our visit to Teppan Edo but there are hibatchi grills around us. We haven't tried Tokyo Dining yet.

 

[jrmint427]

The Princess Tour Begins

DD4 woke up as we were leaving the Japan pavilion and announced she was hungry. As we passed the giant pretzels in Germany, she said that was what she wanted, so Grandma bought one for the girls to share. DD2 hadn’t eaten too much at Teppan Edo, so she seemed hungry too.



We had a 1:15pm FP for Frozen Ever After. The standby line was only 35 minutes, which is less than I’ve ever seen it before!

DD4 did NOT want to ride this. You know how everyone tells you that 3-year-olds won’t remember trips to Disney? I’m here to tell you that is not true. She remembered that when she rode this a year ago, “Anna and Elsa splashed me in the face!” We sat in the front row last year and did get splashed on the drop. And she was scared to ride again because of that. So I promised her she wouldn’t get wet this time. I asked if we could be in any row other than the front row and told Pat that we would need to protect her on the drop so she didn’t get wet this time. She was nervous and a little unhappy with us, but she did get onto the boat. Proof that we kept our word (DD4 is hidden between me and Pat):



Maybe we'll have better luck getting her on the ride next year!

I knew Mulan would be meeting again at 2:00pm, so I suggested we try to catch her when we got off the ride. It took me a few minutes to figure out where she would be, but we found a line of people and jumped in. Just before Mulan came out, a CM came by to tell us she wouldn’t have a Photo Pass photographer with her, so we needed to make friends with the people ahead and behind us in line.

I was sad I didn’t have Mulan dresses for the girls because she is one of their favorites. But I had a hard time finding what I wanted, and we already had 4 outfits planned for this day (just wait), so I settled for just a shirt for Pat. Mulan was great and spent a lot of time with DD4.





I think she was asking DD4 if the animals on her shirt were her guide animals.



I wasn’t crazy about how the family pictures came out (remember, no Photo Pass photographer), but I got some cute ones with DD4. DD2 was being a little shy and didn’t want to go chat.



We planned to meet Anna and Elsa next! Didn’t they used to have a Fast Pass for that meet? We stopped for our first outfit change of the day.



The girls loved these dresses!



When we got in line, the sign said it was going to be a 25 minute wait. Not too bad, I thought to myself.



But when we got up to the CM she told us the sign wasn’t working and that it would actually be a 45-50 minute wait. We debated, but decided we were already dressed up and in line, so we would wait. The CM turned out to be spot on with her timing prediction.

The girls were so sweet in line, telling me that they are best friends like Anna and Elsa.



They were a little antsy in line but did well considering how long we waited! Up next, it was finally our turn to meet the Frozen sisters.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

(DD4 is hidden between me and Pat):

I totally thought you had left DD4 in the stroller or something. Excellent water protection skills you two have!

We planned to meet Anna and Elsa next! Didn’t they used to have a Fast Pass for that meet? We stopped for our first outfit change of the day.

Great costumes!

They were a little antsy in line but did well considering how long we waited!

OMG!!! We waited WAAAAY too long for Anna and Elsa awhile back. It was when they were still in the Magic Kingdom, pretty sure we waited an hour and a half maybe almost 2 hours! Oye! And there were fast passes for it. but it was so popular back then you needed to book it 7 days into your trip and we only had 4 days. the things we do for our kids!