Just Keep Swimming - a January 2019 TR (Complete & new TR link 8/26)

[cinderaimee]

Tuesday, January 15 - Hollywood Studios

I have to start this day's report by apologizing because I just did not take many pictures, and my memory of it at this point has gone a little fuzzy, so we'll just have to muddle through.

Our FP's for this day were 9:00 RNRC, 10:00 SDD and 11:00 Star Tours. At this point, I knew the kids would not like RNRC so we decided to just let it fall off so we could start looking for more Toy Story Land FP's after we did Star Tours.

We had another sort of relaxed morning. I went to Roaring Forks for coffee and picked up a breakfast platter for the kids to share and a bagel sandwich for DH and me. We split those in half and also had cereal and bananas in the room.

The bagel sandwich was so good that we wished we had ordered two of them. The only disappointment was the potatoes that came with the sandwich were so dry and flavorless, not even extra salt and ketchup could help them. Just not good.

We got on a bus around 10:00 and were at the park by 10:30. We saw Donald and Daisy out meeting, but they had long lines and we were already inside our SDD FP time, so we didn't stop.

When we got up to the stage, there was a Star Wars show starting and DS1 really wanted to watch it. We told him we had to get to SDD and we'd come back to watch it later. Well, that answer really did not make him happy. We stopped for a PP photographer with no line and DS1 was just not having it.

At that point, we had to kind of say, okay this trip is for the kids, if he wants to watch the show, let's watch it. Once the show ended, I told DH to stop at the lines behind the stage so we could watch the characters leave, and DS1 loved everyone walking right past him.

Moods bolstered, we headed to TSL with just a few minutes to spare on our FP. My picture time stamps show us in the queue at 10:55 and boarding at 10:58.

I love everything about this queue and for some reason Slinky Dog doing the safety announcements in Spanish really tickled me every time I heard it.

I didn't want to post this ride photo because I look terrible, but the joy on DS2's face makes me so happy.

We stopped for a PP picture outside the ride-

(DS2 is mad he couldn't ride it again )

After this, we headed out of TSL for our Star Tours FP. This was the first day the crowds really got to me. Our first HS day was the Saturday of Marathon weekend and the crowds were really not bad at all. I figured by Tuesday, most of the marathon people would be heading home and the MLK weekend people wouldn't be showing up for a few more days. Well, I was wrong. This Tuesday at HS was just packed, for some reason. We felt like cattle trying to get out of TSL, and I remember saying to DH "where did all these people come from?!?"

We got over to Star Tours and despite the crowds, it still only had a 15 minute SB wait.

This time we go the scene with Darth Vader at the beginning, and one where we were like flying through asteroids and then the snow planet. So much fun, as always and DH was not bothered as much by the 3D this time.

I'm going to stop here so I at least have a few pictures to put in the second part.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

When we got up to the stage, there was a Star Wars show starting and DS1 really wanted to watch it. We told him we had to get to SDD and we'd come back to watch it later. Well, that answer really did not make him happy. We stopped for a PP photographer with no line and DS1 was just not having it.

This one's a keeper! You've got years to lord that sourpuss over him.

TSL always felt super crowded to me, too. I think it being a dead end and having the two newest rides in the park, it's always crazy in there, even if the rest of the park isn't busy.

 

[missangelalexis]

What a great ride photo! And I love the PP photo with Slinky Dog coming down in the background!

 

[cinderaimee]

TSL always felt super crowded to me, too. I think it being a dead end and having the two newest rides in the park, it's always crazy in there, even if the rest of the park isn't busy.

Not just TSL, but the whole park was so much more crowded on this random Tuesday than it was on Saturday and it didn't make any sense to me.

What a great ride photo! And I love the PP photo with Slinky Dog coming down in the background!

The photographer was great! He made us wait to get the shot with the coaster in the background and was super nice and gave the kids a bunch of stickers, I wish I had got his name.

 

[cinderaimee]

Tuesday, January 15 - Hollywood Studios (Part 2)

Again, apologies in advance for the lack of pictures in this post. I struggled to get my camera out a lot this day. DH was taking a ton of footage on his GoPro that I need to go through, but these are the pictures I have now.

At the end of the last update, we had just been on Star Tours. This was our 3rd FP of the day, so I started refreshing trying to get another ride in TSL. We actually didn't use our first FP of the day - 9:00 RNRC. After the kids' reactions to some of the more intense rides, combined with nothing else we really wanted a 2nd tier FP for, we opted to just let that one expire on its own.

After Star Tours, DS1 found some Star Wars toy in the gift shop that he really wanted, but DH and I thought it was kind of junky and told him to think about it, if he still wanted it at the end of the day, we'd come back for it. We kind of waffled a bit on what to do next. It was a little before 12:00 and there was an Indiana Jones show at noon I thought we could do, but the kids weren't interested in it. There was a Jedi Training going on and they wanted to watch that, so we let them watch it for a few minutes and then DH decided he actually really wanted to see the stunt show so we convinced the kids to give it a shot and headed up there. By time we parked the stroller and got to the entrance, they were turning people away because the theater was full. Since the stroller was already parked and we were in the area, we decided to get in the stand by line for the 12:30 Frozen show.

While we waited I refreshed and refreshed and refreshed my app looking for FP's. I started with a 3:15 Star Tours FP, then managed to modify it to a 2:00 Swirling Saucers and then with a magical refresh, a 1:45 SDD FP popped up! I felt like I had won the lottery!

We enjoyed the Frozen show, we even got the same Aria that I loved when we saw it in 2016, not my favorite Eric, but it was still a good time.

After the show, we had some time to kill before the SDD FP and decided to go to Woody's Lunchbox for lunch. I mobile ordered as we walked into TSL and was able to bypass a looooooooooong line of people waiting to order and get our food with hardly any wait. Unfortunately, every seat in the area was taken, mostly by people without food. I know when this location first opened, they were enforcing a rule that you had to have food to take a table, but this was not going on today. We managed to find some room on a bench eventually, but what a headache this whole area is.

We used three QS credits - DH had the brisket melt, DS1 picked the grilled cheese, and I had the totchos. DS2 is super picky so he ate most of DH's tater tots and an applesauce pouch I had in the bag. I got a mystic portal punch with DS1's food and also asked for a cup of ice water, which I used to water it down and split it between the kids since it was super sweet. I had the Grown-Up's Lemonade with my totchos and it was pretty amazing (description: "Three Olives Cherry Vodka, odwalla® All-Natural Lemonade and Black Cherry Purée"). DH had a diet Coke because he's boring.

Some of the reviews of Woody's Lunchbox I've seen haven't been great, but this was one of our favorite QS meals. DH and DS1 really enjoyed their sandwiches (I had some of the grilled cheese and it was delicious), and the totchos were everything I wanted, and a bigger portion than I expected. DS1 said the grilled cheese was his favorite thing he ate of the whole trip.

Once we were done eating, we headed over to SDD to use our FP and the kids were even more excited to ride it this time around. I really think this is a great ride by Disney. It's not super thrilling, but it is just so much fun.

After our ride was over, DS1 posed while DS2 pouted because we couldn't ride again.

And pouted.

And pouted.

Eventually we got him moving and decided to make our way out of the park.

It was just too crowded and there wasn't anything left we wanted to do and our FP luck had seemed to have ran its course. We had a 7:10 Ohana reservation with Fairy Godmother and her DH, so we decided some quiet time for the boys was needed for any hope of making it through a late dinner without any meltdowns.

On our way out of the park, we went through the gift shops near the entrance since DS1 still hadn't forgotten about the toy he wanted earlier. Those shops didn't have it, so we had to go back to the Star Tours shop to find it since DS1 insisted there was nothing else he wanted in the park. (Where is that toy today? Who knows! Forgotten in a toy bin somewhere)

Annoying piece of plastic purchased, we were now free to leave the park with happy children. We got back to our room around 4:00 and the boys had a little quiet time watching TV and DS1 worked on his travel journal for school, and there was apparently some headstand practice on the couch.

DH and DS2 ended up having a little nap, so DS1 and I snuck down to Roaring Forks for drinks and ended up with a cupcake that looked like a campfire and one of their magic cookie bars. I'd heard a lot about this magic cookie bar but I didn't think it lived up to the hype. My sister's ex-MIL used to make something very similar to these whenever they had people over and hers were much better. I think the one at Roaring Forks had walnuts in it, and I'm not a big walnut fan, so that's probably why I wasn't impressed.

Fairy Godmother had texted me that they were heading over to the Poly ahead of our reservation for drinks and that they would meet us there. We took the bus to the MK and then the monorail to the Poly, and I was really worried we would be late for our reservation since everything just seemed to take forever, but we checked in right on time.

We met up with FG at the bar while we waited for our table. And waited and waited and waited. I know it's pretty common for Ohana to run behind, but after about 30 minutes, FG was beyond annoyed. She said she was going to talk to someone (FG used to work for Disney and was fairly high up in management at one point) I don't know if it was her doing or just coincidence, but before she even made it back to our group, I had the text that our table was ready. We were led to a great table in the middle of the restaurant, with a perfect view of the fireworks.

Which my kids barely even looked at or appreciated, so I'm very glad I put so much thought into this reservation time.

I wish I had taken more pictures, but when I get together with FG we just talk and talk and talk. We realized after the trip that we didn't even get a picture of all of us together, which is pretty sad. (FG says we will just have to go together again so we can get a picture!)

I really enjoyed Ohana! The boys loved the potstickers and the noodles, and the meat was great (I think DH ate a whole skewer of shrimp), and the dessert was amazing. We would definitely do this again. I ordered a Mai Tai and DH ordered a Lapu Lapu - he doesn't drink very much so half of this was all he needed, so I took one for the team and finished his drink too. These were probably the strongest drinks we had of the whole trip, so I was feeling pretty happy as we made our way out.

To get back to WL, we took the monorail to the Contemporary, and then the boat over to WL. When we were going through security, one of the CM's was really concerned that the boats had finished running so he radioed in to make sure we'd be able to get back that way, which I thought was really nice.

FG has a bad knee and it had been acting up this whole trip, so she was going pretty slow. The boat dock at the Contemporary is really long and when we got outside the boat was already there, so DH ran ahead with the kids and asked if they would wait for FG to get to the boat, which they did and everyone was really nice about it.

We stopped at FG's room for another glass of wine before heading in for the night. This wasn't the most exciting day with a ton of rides and things done at the parks, but I think a slower day was what we all needed at that point.

Tomorrow we're heading back to Epcot!

 

[SueK72]

I am very sorry about your mom.

 

[cinderaimee]

I am very sorry about your mom.

Thank you so much

 

[missangelalexis]

What luck getting a SDD FP!

Sounds like a great dinner at Ohana, a nice way to end the day!

 

[Cloe Colton]

LOL at DS2 pouting after SDD. Its tough to not understand at that age that you could ride again but after a VERY long wait lol

 

[disneyAndi14]

I have heard good things about the sandwiches at Woody’s lunchbox and have it on our list to try this summer.

Good luck with SDD FP, I pound the app quite a bit now and usually can get something decent!

Ohana is a favorite of mine, yum!

 

[cinderaimee]

What luck getting a SDD FP!

Sounds like a great dinner at Ohana, a nice way to end the day!

I was so pleased with myself for getting that 4th SDD FP!

Ohana was such a nice evening!

LOL at DS2 pouting after SDD. Its tough to not understand at that age that you could ride again but after a VERY long wait lol

He wanted to just stay on the ride and ride it again. Not really how it works!

I have heard good things about the sandwiches at Woody’s lunchbox and have it on our list to try this summer.

Good luck with SDD FP, I pound the app quite a bit now and usually can get something decent!

Ohana is a favorite of mine, yum!

I would def. recommend the grilled cheese at Woody's! Compared to our lackluster meal at ABC Commissary, I think it's a great QS option in HS!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

What great FP luck!

We originally had 'Ohana on our list but it got bumped for other things. Did they have the coconut races or other activities while you were there?

 

[cinderaimee]

What great FP luck!

We originally had 'Ohana on our list but it got bumped for other things. Did they have the coconut races or other activities while you were there?

Nope, I think I vaguely recall someone walking around with a ukulele and singing, but there weren't any of the kid's activities or the storytelling or any of that they used to have.

 

[missjackiemcg]

Oops, I somehow stopped getting notifications from your TR! But, all caught up

Your boys are simply adorable! I know I have said it before, but it's worth repeating! I especially love the pouting faces over SDD...I bet that's how I'll be this weekend when I FINALLY get to ride it myself!!!

Way to go finishing up your mai tai and the lapu lapu. I fully intend to take on that challenge, as well

 

[disgeek009]

Such a fun day! Getting the Slinky dog fastpass must have been almost as satisfying as the ride itself. I love the series of pouting pictures after the ride too. Good job documenting, mama.

Dinner at Ohana sounds fantastic too. I've never been, so maybe I'm overestimating it, but I have never read a bad review.

 

[cinderaimee]

Real Life Update

Sorry for being so quiet around here, life and work have been so busy lately, but I do have some exciting news - we are under contract to buy a brand new house!

I don't want to get into too much detail about the property or location, but would you look at this kitchen?

There's also a pantry and another set of cabinets to the left, which is approximately 400% more space than we have at the current house.

We are moving from our old, tiny townhouse to a much larger, brand new end-unit townhouse with a garage, which is a major, major upgrade for us. Yes, it is another townhouse, but this is the DC area and we are just government employees, so this is what we get.

As long as everything stays on course, we should be moving in early to mid-June. It's been a pretty stressful couple of weeks and my eyeball won't stop twitching, but other than that everything is just great.

Oh yeah, and DS2 turned 5 this weekend, which I believe means I am officially out of the baby/toddler stages forever. I thought I would be sad but I really love the ages they are now and I really don't miss washing bottles or changing diapers

Anyway, on with the TR!

_________________________

Wednesday, January 16 - Epcot (Part 1)

After our late night at 'Ohana the day before, this was a sleep in day for the kids. The first thing I had scheduled for the day was a lunch reservation at Via Napoli for 11:50, so we had a light breakfast in the room and the kids played with their toys and watched TV for a little while. We opted to take the bus this morning instead of our previous 90 minute boat-monorail-monorail trek. I have us on the bus at 11:10 and we made it in the park with plenty of time to get to our ADR.

I will have to admit, I booked this ADR solely because Joe and Ashley of SeeYaReelSoon on YouTube love it so much and always go there on their trips. We checked in and were seated right away, super close to the pizza ovens, which was fun.

We got two orders of the arancini to split, and a mezzo metro pizza - half quattro formaggi (shout out to Ashely for the rec lol) and half pepperoni.

This pizza was so good and everyone really liked it. Between the four of us, there were only a few slices of quattro formaggi left at the end. We paid out of pocket for this meal since it made more sense to split one big pizza than use TS credits on individual pizzas.

Stuffed to the gills with dough and cheese, a stroll through some of the WS was in order. We stopped at the Kidcot station in Italy and the boys started their little suitcase collections, and we bought a passport in the gift shop to fill out.

We headed back to Germany next, where the boys stopped at watched the trains for a very, very long time. My younger son is obsessed with trains and spends hours building tracks and playing with his Thomas trains. At one point, he was ready to jump the fence so he could get even closer to the trains.

In Germany, we found the Kidcot spot, which had a sign directing us to the cash register to get our stamps. This was the first of several countries we visited without a designated Kidcot CM, which was a change from our last visit in 2016. Not sure if this is a result of cutting staff or a waning interest in the Kidcot activities.

We stopped in Karamell Kuche to use up some snack credits, but when we walked in the door, the line to pay stretched far down into the next shop and we just decided to move on. The whole park had seemed pretty quiet all day, but I think everyone in the park was actually just stuck in line in this little shop.

We continued on, through the Africa Outpost and China.

(Thanks for the smile, DS1! )

And onto Norway, where we had probably our favorite character interaction of the whole trip with these Vikings. I need to try and get the video off of DH's GoPro and upload it to YouTube or something, but they were so funny with the boys, I laughed so hard I actually had tears coming out of my eyes.

Our last stop in the WS for now was Mexico. The boys love Coco, so this pavilion was fun for them with all the new (to us) touches from that movie.

(this day was the cloudiest and coldest so far of the trip, but it never rained!)

We had planned to go on the Gran Fiesta Tour, but we were quickly approaching the end of our 1:30-2:30 window for Test Track, so it was time to head up there.

I'll stop here - next we take a break from travelling around the world to ride some rides.

 

[missangelalexis]

Congrats on the new house! That kitchen looks gorgeous!

Sounds like a great lunch at Via Napoli and a nice time exploring WS! I can just tell from the pics that those Vikings were probably hysterical!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Congrats on the new place!

I thought I would be sad but I really love the ages they are now and I really don't miss washing bottles or changing diapers

Amen!!

Lunch looks yummy, and it's reminding me I have no idea what to do about dinner .

It's weird that you didn't have kidcot stations on your trip. Every pavilion had a dedicated spot with a CM or two when we did it March, and we hit every country. Maybe they cut back on staff in January for the winter crowds?

 

[abarriger]

Just a quick update to the August trip - I saw yesterday that SWGE is opening the week after we're there!!



We finally made it into the Magic Kingdom around 9:45, and what do you know? Still decorated for Christmas.

Um, I just started following along and I am so with you here. I am avoiding going on winter break because I am not into the Christmas situation... it really seems like it takes over a bit. Though I know some people love that.

 

[cinderaimee]

Congrats on the new house! That kitchen looks gorgeous!

Thank you so much! I am so excited!

Sounds like a great lunch at Via Napoli and a nice time exploring WS! I can just tell from the pics that those Vikings were probably hysterical!

I really need to get the video up somewhere, they were outstanding!

Congrats on the new place!

Thanks!

Lunch looks yummy, and it's reminding me I have no idea what to do about dinner .

Pizza always works for us

It's weird that you didn't have kidcot stations on your trip. Every pavilion had a dedicated spot with a CM or two when we did it March, and we hit every country. Maybe they cut back on staff in January for the winter crowds?

Ah, maybe that was confusing. Most of the countries did have the kidcot stations up and running, but for at least two or three, we would get to the kidcot station and there would be a sign directing us to the cash register, where we would have to bother a CM in between customers to get the stamps/stickers. This happened in Germany, the UK and at least one more... maybe Japan? It was odd.

Um, I just started following along and I am so with you here. I am avoiding going on winter break because I am not into the Christmas situation... it really seems like it takes over a bit. Though I know some people love that.

I mean, I love Christmas - for the month of December. Christmas at Disney runs from early November to mid January and it just seems like a bit much.

And honestly, the decorations don't even really bother me that much - it's the music. I want Disney music at Disney, not the same stuff they play in the mall at Christmastime. If they didn't touch the music I wouldn't mind as much!