Magic in the Kingdom 2012! BIG 2/16/2014 FINAL UPDATE!

[mom2rtk]

Monday December 10th, 2012: Continued

It was around 1:50. Thankfully Test Track was back up, so we headed over across to the other side of Future World. We used our "any time" fastpass so had a very short wait. It was sort of hard to figure out the new "design a car" components of the line, so I'm not really sold on the redo. But I did like the Tron-like effects. Something just seemed to be missing in pulling it all together though. And the interactive stuff with your car didn't really interest me, so that didn't help. But the ride was still fast, so fun. But definitely not worth a crazy long wait. Thankfully we didn't have to wait that long.


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I only had 2 character meets I wanted to do in Epcot. I wanted to see Belle so she could sign Katie's new autograph book (since she doesn't sign in the MK) and Mulan (since she doesn't appear in any other parks). Who knew that could take so long? They are on opposite ends of the World Showcase. And it looked like rain, so who knew if they'd actually be "out" at their scheduled times? Turns out we must have just missed Mulan's set, as she was nowhere to be seen in China. So how to time things to hit opposite ends of the World Showcase at the right times ...... Hmmmmm...... We decided to try one of the boats. We probably could have walked it just as quickly, but it is always nice to use an alternate form of transportation at Disney when possible. Thankfully the boat let us out right near Belle's meeting spot and we met her around 4:10.


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Next we circled around to Japan for what is now a regular stop for us at Epcot..... Pick-a-Pearl. Katie loved her new pearl and we put it in her wreath necklace right away.


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[mom2rtk]

Monday December 10th Continued:

Then off to China to find the elusive Mulan. Along the way, we got our first ever up-close inspection of the drawbridge in Epcot. Truth be told, I had no idea there was a drawbridge there. We never stay for illuminations, and just never thought about it. But it was pretty cool to get such a great view of how they get all that fire power in there every night. First the globe went by, then one barge after another filled with fireworks. Probably 6 or 7 total.



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We got to China ahead of Mulan's meeting time and sat outside waiting for her to arrive. I noticed a lot of people going into the Temple, but didn't really know what they did in there. Since it was overcast, I knew there was a chance Mulan might meet indoors, so I peeked in, only to find a line had been forming there the entire time. I had Katie join me and we were done around 5:15.



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We had our first ever 'Ohana reservation that night at 6:55. It had been a pretty short day at Epcot, but we didn't really have enough time left to do much of anything. It's just too hard to pick one last thing when it requires hoofing it half way around the World Showcase. So we headed for the exit.
I asked for a table at the window, hoping we would have a view of Wishes at 8 PM. They came through, but unfortunately I hadn't thought to ask for them to trim the foliage in front of the window. We could have craned our necks to see around the trees, but it really just wasn't a good view. So we ate our dinner and left as Wishes was still under way. I enjoyed the dinner, but don't know that we'll do it again any time soon. I loved the noodles, as did Katie. But the coconut bread did not appeal to me, nor did the bread pudding with bananas for dessert. I did love the peanut sauce, but not enough to head back any time soon.

We took and extra trip around Epcot on the monorail so we could see Epcot at night, but then headed for the bus station for a relatively early night.

 

[mom2rtk]

Tuesday December 11th, 2012:


If I had my choice, I'd probably ride TSMM once, but not lose any sleep if we didn't make it back a second time. I knew FP enforcement would have an impact on this day for us, so we needed to make an early start.
We got to DHS around 8:45. I knew they had been soft opening a little early every day, to cut down the stampede to TSMM. We wanted to ride and get FPs before the big crowds hit the area. So much for well-laid plans. We sped back there only to find a variety of CMs along the route announcing that TSMM would be on a delayed start that day. HUH? My plan had gone perfectly. It was before 9 and we were AT the ride. And it wasn't open. We grabbed our FP's then just stood there for a bit. The line of optimistic people hoping the delay would be short was starting to form. So we jumped in to wait while we discussed the situation. It seemed nuts to be standing there doing nothing while we waited for a ride to open. One that theoretically might not open for hours. Thankfully that wasn't the case and around 9:15 they announced the ride was opening. YEAH! We were 4th or 5th in a line that stretched as far back as I could see by that time.


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After the ride, we headed for the hat to see if we could find Chip and Dale. We had already seen Chip and Dale in 3 of the 4 parks, so it occurred to me that it would be fun to find them in the last park, and do a scrapbook page on it. "Chip and Dale Around the World". Their line was closed, but they would be back. So we went back to use our TSMM FP's and came back. Chip and Dale returned around 10:45.



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We got our photos and headed for Sunset Boulevard toward Tower of Terror and Rock 'n Rollercoaster. Katie was pretty sure she wanted no part of ToT. We've only done it a few times and I didn't really like that sensation of not knowing how far we were going to drop. But Drew wanted to do it, so I left my bag with Katie and rode with Drew.

I have to admit it's really nice being able to leave Katie waiting for us while we do a ride. At age 12, not only do we not have to worry about who's watching her, but she can watch my bag! And I think she enjoys that little bit of independence. She enjoys the chance to walk around a gift shop with nobody looking over her shoulder. And I think Disney is a great place to let her spread her wings in small doses. Not a completely safe place, but as safe as it's going to get.


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[mom2rtk]

Tuesday December 11th 2012 Continued:

I knew we would eat lunch at Starring Rolls that day. I had heard their sandwiches were as good as the ones at the Main Street Bakery and wanted to try them for myself. And the chance to try one of those sandwiches coupled with one of their famous Butterfinger cupcakes all for just one counter service credit was just too tempting. Too bad the sandwich was a disappointment. I didn't care for the sauce on it and the Butterfinger cupcake was just so-so. Live and learn. I'm glad we at least tried it.

When it's just Katie and myself we usually don't see the Indiana Jones Show. But Drew really loves it and wanted to see it again on this trip. The next show was starting soon so we headed over to the theater right after lunch. I know we weren't exactly early but I was still shocked to see the theater nearly completely full when we walked in. We ended up sitting down near the front on the far right. The show was good but I've seen it enough lately and probably won't do it again next time.



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I missed the great movie ride on the last trip so wanted to make sure I caught it this time. (Drew and Katie did it while I ran back for a camera battery). We had the gangster side and I enjoyed our trip through.


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We haven't seen Wreck It Ralph yet but Katie wanted to stop and see the characters in the Animation Building so that was our next stop. It was strange meeting characters I knew nothing about, but I'm sure I'll appreciate having the pictures later. We usually bypass the most current characters since we're not familiar with them and then I usually regret it later. This time we won't.


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[jenseib]

You are an updating machine today!!!!

We short changed Epcot this year too. It is kind of a pain to have to walk so far to get to things you want to do. Test track was still down when we were there, so I have yet to try the new version.

We have not stopped to see mulan yet ever. It's a good thing you peeked inside and found her line. I wish they would have a CM out telling people when they move a greet inside.

You got the great ToT pictures in line. Drew looks grumpy on your DHS day. Were you yelling at him?

 

[mom2rtk]

Tuesday December 11th 2012:

Given that we were staying in a Little Mermaid room I didn't want to miss her show at Hollywood Studios. It's far too short a show, but I enjoy it a lot since the music is my favorite part of that movie. And of course I always love photographing Disney shows.


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Katie wanted to get fastpasses for Rock 'n Rollercoaster. I knew our friends were in the park. They had texted me when they arrived earlier. It turns out they were eating at Starring Rolls. So we went over to say hi and left Katie with them for a few minutes while Drew and I went on the Backlot Tour.


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When we met back up Katie had suddenly been converted into a Tower of Terror fan and was willing to ride with all of us as a group. It was our first ever ride at Hollywood Studios with our friends.


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After Tower of Terror, Katie and McKenna did Rock 'n Rollercoaster. Katie been looking forward to that for a long time and I think she really loved riding that ride with her friend. It was one of the things she had looked forward to most with this trip.


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I was watching the clock closely because I knew Beauty and the Beast with starting very soon. I have seen that show on every trip since 2008. While I love the show, I have probably seen it too much. But with Beauty and the Beast being such a focus of this trip, it made no sense to skip the show.


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[mom2rtk]

Tuesday December 11th, 2012 Continued:

I still wanted some pictures of Katie and McKenna to commemorate our first trip to Hollywood studios together. Since we were close, we stepped around the corner and took pictures with their favorite bellhop Chris at Tower of Terror and by the Rock 'n Rollercoaster guitar.


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We had reservations at the Hollywood Brown Derby at 5:10. I didn't really want to spend two dining credits eating there, but had heard good things and wanted to try it. Besides I wasn't really sold on any of the other table service restaurants at Hollywood studios. So my compromise was to let Drew order an entree, and me order from the appetizer menu and pay out of pocket.

Katie was having a ball with McKenna. She rarely gets to enjoy Disney with anyone her own age. So we talked it over and she decided to hang with the our friends while Drew and I went to dinner. The Hollywood Brown Derby turned out to be one of my favorite meals of the entire trip. Drew ordered the pork chop. I ordered the Cobb salad and grapefruit cake for dessert. Neither of my two items wowed me, but I had a taste of Drew's pork chop and will definitely be ordering it myself one day.

When we left we found saw it had been raining but it stopped just in time for us. I had to tear Katie away from McKenna but I really wanted her with us to visit the Osborne lights.

The lights were great as always. I know Drew and Katie didn't want to wait in any lines, but I asked for one photo pass shot. It turns out I chose the wrong line. We got in the line under the canopy of lights and when it was almost our turn the lights started dancing. No big deal, we just waited. The problem is that when the lights stopped dancing they didn't come back on. So we waited. And waited. And waited. They said they had people working on the problem, but didn't know if or when they would come back on. I had visions of someone in back jiggling the plug...... I thought the canopy made the picture so much prettier, so we waited. Thankfully they came back on after the next dance and I got my picture.



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[mom2rtk]

You are an updating machine today!!!!

We short changed Epcot this year too. It is kind of a pain to have to walk so far to get to things you want to do. Test track was still down when we were there, so I have yet to try the new version.

We have not stopped to see mulan yet ever. It's a good thing you peeked inside and found her line. I wish they would have a CM out telling people when they move a greet inside.

You got the great ToT pictures in line. Drew looks grumpy on your DHS day. Were you yelling at him?

Thanks Jen. Timmy's home for the weekend but I don't want to completely overwhelm him. Nor did I want to play video games this afternoon.

Now what was that you told me yesterday about posting while you're still updating?

I probably wouldn't have figured out Mulan was in side there if that mom with 2 fully decked out princesses hadn't walked into the Temple!

And I think we were all wearing out by that DHS day. It was our 5th full day in the parks.

 

[mesaboy2]

Great job as always--your photos are so clear.

Thanks for the finale!

 

[jenseib]

I know, I am not following my own advice there!
Great shots of the osborne lights! (you double posted one,,,just so you know, I hate when i do that and no one tells me)
It's funny how brave kids become when they have a friend. I know Claire rode EE only because of Alexis and she loved it. She rode ToT because of Alexis, but wasn't so keen on a 2nd time.

Good to hear about Brown Derby. I always here it is not worth 2 credits. ACtually, not many places are.

 

[KCmike]

Nice to see an update from you Janet. Bout time to start a pre-trip report on Disneyland, huh? I'm 13 days away from our surprise trip with the kids. So excited. Loved your shots of the Osbourne Lights.

 

[mom2rtk]

Great job as always--your photos are so clear.

Thanks for the finale!

Thanks Mesaboy! I really want to finish up. I hate leaving things unfinished, and I also like having the photos edited when I get ready to scrapbook them later.

And that's not the finale yet. I have 5 more days to go.

Yikes..... the days might start having fewer photos as I go along!

I know, I am not following my own advice there!
Great shots of the osborne lights! (you double posted one,,,just so you know, I hate when i do that and no one tells me)
It's funny how brave kids become when they have a friend. I know Claire rode EE only because of Alexis and she loved it. She rode ToT because of Alexis, but wasn't so keen on a 2nd time.

Good to hear about Brown Derby. I always here it is not worth 2 credits. ACtually, not many places are.

Thanks Jen! I took out the offender. Heaven knows what was supposed to be in its place. But with 5 days to go, I'm willing to let it slide.........

I really don't think Katie would have done ToT without McKenna along. That night ended up being one of her favorite memories from the trip. I'm glad she got to enjoy it.

I can't speak for the other entrees at the Brown Derby. But that pork chop was amazing. I'd probably do what we did this last time though, with me ordering an appetizer and sharing Drew's 2 credit meal. Or maybe one of these times we're just going to have to keep up with Jen and do the deluxe plan.

Nice to see an update from you Janet. Bout time to start a pre-trip report on Disneyland, huh? I'm 13 days away from our surprise trip with the kids. So excited. Loved your shots of the Osbourne Lights.

Thanks Mike! 13 days! That deserves one of these! I really can't wait to hear all about it.

Can I pick your brain a bit? Are you planning to do World of Color? Are you doing a dining package or going for a fastpass? I still don't have a plan yet. And I think with an updated show for the holidays it's going to be busier than ever.

 

[KCmike]

Oh yes we are planning on doing WoC!!! We love it! We usually see it at least twice during a week long vacation. This time we will only have a 3 day hopper but we plan on seeing it one time. We almost always get fastpasses only and we ALWAYS get blue which is fine by us. Blue will put you smack dab in the middle if you arrive early. One time with blue we worked our way down all the way to the railing front and center. Not a good view to take it all in but fun to do at least one time. We did the picnic meal one time which gave us blue fastpasses which we could have got just by getting the normal pass. I really can't help with you with a Carthay Circle Meal pass. We've done the late show before too. There is less than half of people each time I've seen or walked by that performance.

The updated show looks interesting but I will hold my judgements until I see it in person. I know that Team Anaheim always does a marvelous job on all the new stuff. They never skimp which I appreciate. The other two nights we will hit the late parade and then catch fireworks and fantasmic!.

We have reservations for Club 33 this time around and I would love to surprise my wife with a tour (one we've already done though, Walk in Walt's Footsteps) so we can go in Walt's Apartment. My Disney bucket list is Club 33, Walt's Apt, and then lastly to visit the Walt Disney Museum in San Francisco. I don't think we have enough time this go around for the tour which makes me sad.

Did you say you are going to spend all your time in the resort area? I think I read your doing Paradise Pier? That will be fun. I can't wait to see the photographs you get of World of Color from there. Make sure you ask for the room that faces the show/park if you can!

Do you have any other game plans yet?

 

[YodasMom]

Can I pick your brain a bit? Are you planning to do World of Color? Are you doing a dining package or going for a fastpass? I still don't have a plan yet. And I think with an updated show for the holidays it's going to be busier than ever.

Hey Janet........I'm sorry I haven't had time this week to update my report because my ABD photos came through and I was going through them, but I did go to WOC twice on my trip. The first time was for the early show and was when I was on the ABD - BSM tour. We all ate at Carthay Circle and then went out to the show. Service was slow and we left the restaurant about 5 minutes before the show started so where I stood was not very good, had lots of heads in front of me and I'm short. Some of the group were up high and were able to see pretty well. I only saw the colors and not the projections. The second time, I had made a reservation at Carthay Circle for the dinner / WOC package for the late show but again service was so slow that I only had a short time to get out for the show. I did have a better view but with a post in front of me which blocked some of the projections. I constantly tried to get the server at Carthay to step things up, but she kept saying it was "fine" dining and did not oblige. I'm done with that restaurant!

If it were me, I would not do the package again with Carthay, but it may just have been a bad week for them. In my opinion, you either want to stand at the top so you don't have heads or beams in front of you or in the first row, but then you would get wet. And, yes, there are fewer people at the late show. I'm sure you will enjoy the show. Not my favorite, but it sure has a lot of potential. The winter show sounds intriguing, though. I will look forward to your photos when you return!!

 

[mom2rtk]

Oh yes we are planning on doing WoC!!! We love it! We usually see it at least twice during a week long vacation. This time we will only have a 3 day hopper but we plan on seeing it one time. We almost always get fastpasses only and we ALWAYS get blue which is fine by us. Blue will put you smack dab in the middle if you arrive early. One time with blue we worked our way down all the way to the railing front and center. Not a good view to take it all in but fun to do at least one time. We did the picnic meal one time which gave us blue fastpasses which we could have got just by getting the normal pass. I really can't help with you with a Carthay Circle Meal pass. We've done the late show before too. There is less than half of people each time I've seen or walked by that performance.

The updated show looks interesting but I will hold my judgements until I see it in person. I know that Team Anaheim always does a marvelous job on all the new stuff. They never skimp which I appreciate. The other two nights we will hit the late parade and then catch fireworks and fantasmic!.

We have reservations for Club 33 this time around and I would love to surprise my wife with a tour (one we've already done though, Walk in Walt's Footsteps) so we can go in Walt's Apartment. My Disney bucket list is Club 33, Walt's Apt, and then lastly to visit the Walt Disney Museum in San Francisco. I don't think we have enough time this go around for the tour which makes me sad.

Did you say you are going to spend all your time in the resort area? I think I read your doing Paradise Pier? That will be fun. I can't wait to see the photographs you get of World of Color from there. Make sure you ask for the room that faces the show/park if you can!

Do you have any other game plans yet?

Hey Mike! I really an quite anxious to hear your reports from DLR once you get back. I'm really curious to see if WOC is busier because of the new version. And I'm so jealous you're going to eat at Club 33! What a memorable trip this is going to be. Will your daughter be on Thanksgiving break from college? I'm also curious about the logistics of surprising 3 older kids.

We have 5 day hoppers, with one day off in the middle. We will be there over the one weekend they are doing the Candlelight Processional, and I expect it to be very busy that weekend. It's been sort of a pain trying to work in everything we want to do around potentially crazy crowds that weekend.

We are staying at Paradise Pier, but just a standard room, so probably no view of the parks. I might wander up to the roof one night though with a tripod and long lens to see what I can find to photograph.

We are only doing DLR. I ended up booking us into SNA. I had been leaning toward LAX, but at the time I wanted to book, those flights had gone back up in price, so I went for the non-direct less expensive flights into SNA. And we're not leaving the property again until it's time to head back to the airport.

Hey Janet........I'm sorry I haven't had time this week to update my report because my ABD photos came through and I was going through them, but I did go to WOC twice on my trip. The first time was for the early show and was when I was on the ABD - BSM tour. We all ate at Carthay Circle and then went out to the show. Service was slow and we left the restaurant about 5 minutes before the show started so where I stood was not very good, had lots of heads in front of me and I'm short. Some of the group were up high and were able to see pretty well. I only saw the colors and not the projections. The second time, I had made a reservation at Carthay Circle for the dinner / WOC package for the late show but again service was so slow that I only had a short time to get out for the show. I did have a better view but with a post in front of me which blocked some of the projections. I constantly tried to get the server at Carthay to step things up, but she kept saying it was "fine" dining and did not oblige. I'm done with that restaurant!

If it were me, I would not do the package again with Carthay, but it may just have been a bad week for them. In my opinion, you either want to stand at the top so you don't have heads or beams in front of you or in the first row, but then you would get wet. And, yes, there are fewer people at the late show. I'm sure you will enjoy the show. Not my favorite, but it sure has a lot of potential. The winter show sounds intriguing, though. I will look forward to your photos when you return!!

So really, you're going to say you're sorry for not getting your TR started yet...... to the person that just hit the half way point on her TR from 11 months ago???????

Wow Karen, I would definitely not have been happy with your CC experience. I do know that if we decided to book a meal, it wouldn't be dinner. I was considering the lunch, but still am back and forth on it.

I really just want to get the best view possible. I'm not sure if we'll make it back to see it a second night, and it's one of the things I'm looking forward to most. I already warned Katie that we would probably stake out a spot in line quite early, and will do the same for Fantasmic. Which really isn't that bad. Life is so hectic on a daily basis, and it can be fun to just sit and chat. And she's finally old enough that if she wants to run into a shop for a bit while I wait, that's fine too.

I'd probably consider a late WOC show for the lower crowds, but we plan on doing EE every day at whichever park has it, and I'll probably run out of steam fast.

 

[YodasMom]

So really, you're going to say you're sorry for not getting your TR started yet...... to the person that just hit the half way point on her TR from 11 months ago???????

No, I did start the report last weekend on the "other" scrap site (posted last Sunday). Don't know if anyone saw it, but it was all the pre-tour activity which was pretty significant. Then the photos came in and I had to deal with that. I noticed there were some missing so I wanted to go through all of them and deal with the missing ones. I'm afraid to go back to the photo site to see if anything new was added. I hope you have a wonderful trip to DL. Can't wait to hear about it!

 

[rndmr2]

Wow you have been busy updating! I have gotten so far behind on so many of the TR's I have been following so I'm kind of glad I wasn't too far behind on yours.

LOVE Coral Reef! That chocolate wave is really good, they have a good chicken dish there too.

I really wanted to try some new things this trip, so after Soarin, we headed over for our first ride ever on Figment. I had heard of it, but honestly didn't really know it was a ride! I'm glad we tried it, but I'm sure we'll never do it again. Although it was a lot of fun to continually sing that song, driving Katie nuts the rest of the day.

I love Imagination, but the Original one was definitely better. I really miss the original "Image Works" too, there was so many more neat things to do than there are now.

 

[rowan1813]

Hi mom2rtk!!!! I'm finally posting after being a complete lurker on here and your other threads! (Boy, doesn't that sound creepy!)

Love your pictures!!! It makes me want to go to WDW so badly!

I just wanted to chime in on your WOC dilemma. I would highly suggest going. This holiday WOC is going to be pretty awesome because they are going to include a specially written song by a great modern choral composer (Eric Whitacre) that is sung by a 500 person volunteer virtual choir. Disney Parks Blog posted an article a couple months back inviting anyone to try out to be part of the choir and if chosen, your video (and audio) will be meshed with approximately 500 other individuals and will be projected onto the water screens during WOC. Here is the link. World of Color Honor Choir
We haven't found out if we have made it into the show yet (supposed to know by Nov. 15) but even if I haven't made it, I will definitely be going because this apparently the first time Disney has done a collaboration like this and it should be pretty cool.

 

[francis6306]

Wow! I fell behind and then you caught up in a HURRY!!!! Loved your updates! More comments from later!

 

[missangelalexis]

Glad to see you back! Enjoyed all the new updates