Mom, Can You Quit Hanging on to Me and Just Hang on to Yourself? Update 11/2/16

[DopeyDonald]

I LOVE how detailed your writing is; feeling like I was there! You have such a cute family, even your face making son. I remember those days in my teenage years, wait, I still ruin photos will silly faces!

Can't wait to see how the rest of the trip went.

Thanks for being here and reading along! You will see many more of pre-teen boy being obnoxious.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Excellent reasoning for going to AK first Emily. That's some great DISer logic there!

I was actually really curious to see who would arrive first. Looks like driving was a bit better this morning.

Ugh... that Florida rain really comes out of nowhere.

Awww, poor Cassidy on Dinosaur. Plenty of adults get scared on that too so certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

 

[DopeyDonald]

Excellent reasoning for going to AK first Emily. That's some great DISer logic there!

Thanks - it was really hard not to head to MK first, but we survived

I was actually really curious to see who would arrive first. Looks like driving was a bit better this morning.

I think the ONLY bus I would consider is the bus to Epcot (or MK if I don't have a stroller) The bus to AK stops at Grand Floridian and Blizzard Beach first. The bus to Hollywood Studios stops at Typhoon Lagoon First or is that the bus to DTD? I can't remember, but either way - YUCK.

Driving is so quick and quiet and uncrowded and cool - renting a car is a must for me However, I am weird and my family loves the bus - so we get the best of both worlds at Disney!

Ugh... that Florida rain really comes out of nowhere.

It does. It's not the first time we've gotten soaked and I'm sure not the last!

Awww, poor Cassidy on Dinosaur. Plenty of adults get scared on that too so certainly nothing to be ashamed of.

I know - but it's like the 3rd time she's cried hysterically the whole ride. We don't learn quick at our house, I guess - Wyatt hates it too, but voluntarily braves it just so I can have my "Wyatt in a fetal position on Dinosaur" annual picture.

 

[amberg93]

All caught up!

Oof that much of a drive early in the morning, so not cool, but you've got to do what you've got to do.

Envious of your tetris skills in packing the car. I can barely fit everything in a suitcase when I need to.

Travel days are tough, especially when there's a lack of sleep. I don't blame you for being annoyed.

WL looks so great, I've never even been inside.

Sounds about right that Cassidy would be the first to 'use' the bed and not use it Isn't that always how it works when someone else wants something.

Ooh an awesome room location is worth the hassle of packing up.

Even if the stopping wasn't supposed to be done you did get some awesome pictures, so there is that.

That rain just comes out of nowhere sometimes.

Poor Cassidy being scared on Dinosaur. But at least you both did survive!

And at least you had a car to go and buy tennis shoes at Target. So it could have been worse.

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm joining! Can't wait to hear about the whole trip.

It never fails. The one time I don't bring a pair of tennis shoes, I need them. I feel the pain.

 

[DopeyDonald]

So, when I last left off, Cassidy and I were heading to Target to shoe shop.

While we were in Target, we also picked up some contact solution for Wyatt since the ding dong didn’t bring as much as he should have and some more water I think – I can ALWAYS find something to buy at Target!

After leaving Target, we called the rest of the fam to see what they were up to. It was drizzly again at this point and they were back in the room and DH was napping. Perfect opportunity for Cassidy and I to make another detour, this time to DTD.

Goofy’s was calling our name. I have the best parking mojo ever, so I LOVE to stop at Goofy’s. It’s the best place to pick up those yummy treats with the least amount of effort!

I scored a spot pretty much as close as you could and Cassidy and I headed to Goofy’s.

First order of business was a slushes for Cassie and I. GRAPE all the way!!

From there we got in line to choose our goodies from the counter. Our haul included 2 ear hat brownies (one mint and one plain), a choc covered pineapple for me, and a chocolate chunk cookie. Add to that 2 buckets of cotton candy and we were good to go.

Sufficiently sugared up, we headed back to the lodge.

We got back, unloaded and decided what to do.

It was still raining out so we decided to unpack, do some laundry and see what happened.

The kids decided to swim during all of this, so they and DH were out swimming in the rain, while I laundered and organized. We were just kind of enjoying our vacation at this point.

It was around this time that I checked my MDE App on my phone and discovered that MK did NOT have EMH this night like I had previously thought. They had it scheduled for this night at SOME point of this I am sure. I learned my lesson, though to keep checking that schedule right up until vacation time.

The boys weren’t as gung ho about MK by now as football was going to be on and Wyatt’s Broncos were playing. So we decided that we would see what Whispering Canyon had for dinner reservations. I was able to book one for 8pm.

We got cleaned up and headed to dinner at the Whispering Canyon. We were a bit early, so we decided to take some lobby pictures.

Kids in front of the fireplace

Happy Cassie – she loves Whispering Canyon! (you can see my Donald luggage tag that I got from Disney Movie Rewards on the stroller. That thing was so huge, I laughed when it came, but it came in so handy for the stroller – I left in on there and it made it so easy to spot my stroller in the stroller parking areas! – thanks Disney Movie Rewards!)

Daddy and his girls (and Wyatt’s arms –) You can also see DH’s new long sleeved WL shirt in this pic

We checked in at WCC about 30 mins early and were seated right away. We SO love this place. The food is pretty consistently yummy (though the quality has gone down hill a bit since we first started coming 5 yrs ago.) and the staff is so funny. We really enjoy the antics. We ordered skillets all around and bottomless milkshakes for the kids and DH.

Near the end of dinner, the girls and I made the decision to head to the MK even though it was closing at 10pm. I REALLY wanted to see Mickey’s Philharmagic once before they closed for refurbishment the next day. It would be our only chance to ride.

So it was about 8:30 at this point. The girls and I needed to move fast if we were going to make it to MK in time. We decided to drive to the TTC in case we wanted to head to DTD again after. Because who really wants to watch football on your first night in Disney???

So we made it to the TTC and took the monorail over.

Monorail pics

We made it through the gates at 9:02. We RAN to Philharmagic (we had to go around to the left since they were getting ready and blocking things off for Wishes).

Got there with some time to spare. Here are the girls in their fancy glasses.

Now silly faces

These are 2 of my very favorite pics from the whole trip

I am SO SO SO glad we made it to Philharmagic. I love this show and it was a great way to end our first night. Sitting in the theater with my girls, watching my fave duck – it was an awesome feeling. But it was about to get even better!!

It was about 9:45 when we got out of Philharmagic – we had time for one more ride. We decided on Splash. Here we are running again – it’s a fair piece to Splash from Philharmagic when you are on a time crunch. We made it with time to spare. We breezed through the cue and were ready to get on the next log that pulled up.

And the next log pulled up. And the ride shut down. *sigh.

So we waited and waited and waited. The CM’s were so great – they kept everyone laughing with trivia etc. We were pretty bummed at the thought that we just wasted our last ride of the night on a ride we might not even get to ride!

Finally at a few mins after 10 the ride started back up. We boarded our log – yay!! AND you guys – the wait was so worth it. As we come around the corner where you can see the castle – WISHES was going off.

I cannot describe the feeling – sitting in a Splash log with my 2 girls watching WISHES. *happy sigh. IT JUST DOES NOT GET ANY BETTER.

Here is our pic – I love that we all 3 fit in the front row – Cassidy was a bit nervous, but determined to ride Splash. She rode it when she was 4, but then for some reason didn’t want to ride it last year. She was much more of a dare devil this trip and it was great. She rode A LOT!

We ended up getting VERY wet in the front row – a huge WAVE washed right over the front. It was so funny.

After getting off of Splash, we just decided to take our time and shop down Main Street instead of heading to DTD.

We, of course, had to stop for a castle pic, since our pace was now much more reasonable.

We ended up waiting to watch the Kiss Goodnight- that’s another “never done” for us. It was so beautiful

Right after the kiss goodnight, I was walking into one of the Emporium doors and I wiped out on the slick tile. I was holding onto the stroller still and both my legs just went. I’m sure I looked so graceful. I had quite a knot and bruise on my shin for the rest of the trip.

One last pic

By then the park had cleared out, so it was a breeze getting on the monorail and heading back to the TTC and the Wilderness Lodge. It was a rockin first day!!

Up Next: MK and Cassidy’s first ride on BTMRR!!

 

[DopeyDonald]

All caught up!

Oof that much of a drive early in the morning, so not cool, but you've got to do what you've got to do.

Envious of your tetris skills in packing the car. I can barely fit everything in a suitcase when I need to.

Travel days are tough, especially when there's a lack of sleep. I don't blame you for being annoyed.

WL looks so great, I've never even been inside.

Sounds about right that Cassidy would be the first to 'use' the bed and not use it Isn't that always how it works when someone else wants something.

Ooh an awesome room location is worth the hassle of packing up.

Even if the stopping wasn't supposed to be done you did get some awesome pictures, so there is that.

That rain just comes out of nowhere sometimes.

Poor Cassidy being scared on Dinosaur. But at least you both did survive!

And at least you had a car to go and buy tennis shoes at Target. So it could have been worse.

Whew! I feel like you must have been taking notes while reading!! SO glad to have you reading along again!

I agree- the room location was SOOO worth packing up...and it wasn't the last time we moved..... but you will have to wait to read about that!

And yes, I was so glad for the car to get to Target. My mom happened to call me while we were there, and she was like, "You are in Target....AGAIN?!" "You dont' go to Target this much when you are home!"

 

[DopeyDonald]

I'm joining! Can't wait to hear about the whole trip.

It never fails. The one time I don't bring a pair of tennis shoes, I need them. I feel the pain.

Yay - I am so glad that you are here - It's so fun to relive my trip when I have people actually reading it!

And yeah, I don't know where my head was with the shoes- I literally racked my brain for an hour while packing, thinking, "now are we SURE we don't need these shoes?" Oh well.... she got some cute new shoes out of the deal.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Ah boo to no EMH. I seem to remember them making a change like that at some point.

I really wish they had resort specific merch for all the resorts. Shirts anyway.

Definitely a huge bonus of being at WL. So close to MK you can even go late and get there in time.

Aww I love Philharmagic too. So incredibly bummed it was in refurb when I was there. I really missed it.

YAY!! I have always wanted to time riding Splash when Wishes was happening. The problem is... Wishes is happening which means that's where I am, lol.

What a wonderful way to end your first day, just you and your girls in MK.

 

[SimplyGoofy]

I'm joining in!

I'm guessing you're from northern Minnesota given your distance from the Minneapolis airport? I grew up in Minnesota and love to find other people from there.

I'm glad you were able to get back to the Magic Kingdom for Philharmagic! I saw it for the first time just a few years ago and can't believe I skipped it for so many years. Even better that you capped off your day at Splash. What a great day!

 

[amberg93]

To answer your comment, I have notepad open when reading TRs and write comments down as I go

And I'm sure the Celebration Target appreciates all your business


We have never been to Goofy's in four trips. I think we need to correct that in the near future.

I've heard good things about WCC. We cancelled our reservation this trip, but again, it's another thing we need to correct.

Aww Philharmagic We did not get to see it during our trip because of the closure.

Wishes from Splash? That sounds super magical!

And we've never seen the Kiss Goodnight either. I should be marking down things to do.

 

[DopeyDonald]

Ah boo to no EMH. I seem to remember them making a change like that at some point.

I really wish they had resort specific merch for all the resorts. Shirts anyway.

Definitely a huge bonus of being at WL. So close to MK you can even go late and get there in time.

Aww I love Philharmagic too. So incredibly bummed it was in refurb when I was there. I really missed it.

YAY!! I have always wanted to time riding Splash when Wishes was happening. The problem is... Wishes is happening which means that's where I am, lol.

What a wonderful way to end your first day, just you and your girls in MK.

I know, I was SO bummed about the no EMH. I really learned my lesson to check directly before you leave! It really was a bummer that the boys didn't come with us, and yet, the girls and I had some special time together, so I suppose it all worked out

Yeah, I'm not really sure what the designer/buyer for Disney is thinking sometimes. I really think resort specific merch DOES sell - especially at the resorts that have a strong following. Even WL, which does have resort specific merch - has had the same old stuff, until this trip. They are really missing out in my opinion. We would buy pretty much all they had every time if they changed it!

I still am in awe of our WISHES moment on Splash. It was just so perfect! We love WISHES, but it seems like we only see it (like actually stop to see it) once a trip. I will definitely try in the future to see it again from Splash though! Great view!

 

[DopeyDonald]

I'm joining in!

I'm guessing you're from northern Minnesota given your distance from the Minneapolis airport? I grew up in Minnesota and love to find other people from there.

I'm glad you were able to get back to the Magic Kingdom for Philharmagic! I saw it for the first time just a few years ago and can't believe I skipped it for so many years. Even better that you capped off your day at Splash. What a great day!

So glad you are here! And Yep, Northern MN Been here for the last 20ish years. Was born in ND, so not too far away. It's funny because I got asked about my accent about 4 times! No one else in my party did, so I'm not sure if I talk a lot or it's just more pronounced for me. Of the 4 times 3 people asked if I was specifically from MN and one person asked if I was from Cananda.

And yes, I agree Philharmagic is such a nice surprise, it's so much better than people give it credit for I think. Course I may be biased, since I love anything with Donald....

 

[DopeyDonald]

To answer your comment, I have notepad open when reading TRs and write comments down as I go

And I'm sure the Celebration Target appreciates all your business


We have never been to Goofy's in four trips. I think we need to correct that in the near future.

I've heard good things about WCC. We cancelled our reservation this trip, but again, it's another thing we need to correct.

Aww Philharmagic We did not get to see it during our trip because of the closure.

Wishes from Splash? That sounds super magical!

And we've never seen the Kiss Goodnight either. I should be marking down things to do.

I am actually very impressed with your note taking during reading. So often I think of comments while I am reading and then don't even know where to begin when I want to comment!

You SOOOOOOO need to go to Goofy's! Be aware it's quite addicting though!

And You SOOOOOOOO need to go to WCC also!! We've eaten there at least once every trip - the food is good, the CM's are wonderful and you can't beat that atmosphere!!

And I highly recommend the kiss goodnight. It was neat to see and also it helps thin the crowds out who are leaving. Annie and I left directly after Wishes one night and NEVER AGAIN! We will either leave before it's over or wait quite awhile after!

 

[MusicMicha]

We are trying WCC on our adult's Dec. trip. I feel better about trying it now after reading your review. The girl's silly pics are very funny, it looks like you girl's had a great time at MK with you. We waited an hour for Splash before it decided to break for the night in June and for some reason that I cannot remember, we never tried to ride it the rest of the trip. I have never had a slushee at Goofy's I may have to try next trip. They just have so much to pick from it's hard to decide what I want.

 

[DopeyDonald]

We are trying WCC on our adult's Dec. trip. I feel better about trying it now after reading your review. The girl's silly pics are very funny, it looks like you girl's had a great time at MK with you. We waited an hour for Splash before it decided to break for the night in June and for some reason that I cannot remember, we never tried to ride it the rest of the trip. I have never had a slushee at Goofy's I may have to try next trip. They just have so much to pick from it's hard to decide what I want.

Yes, you really should try WCC. It's good food (the skillet is a bit spendy, but it's all you can eat of it), and the CM's are awesome. I find that they are more consistently up to shenanigans than those at 50's Prime Time Café are. We never seem to get a CM that wants to "play" at 50's but we've ALWAYS had it happen at WCC. You can tell that they really love their jobs.

And the slushy's at Goofy's are SO good - especially in September, when it's SO HOT! They will give you samples of the different flavors also if you ask, so you can make sure you will like the flavor.

 

[DopeyDonald]

I left off on Sunday night – The boys had watched football in the room and the girls and I closed down Magic Kingdom. We were pretty tired and crashed when we got back.

I woke up Monday morning all rested and snug in my WL Bed. And no wonder I felt rested - IT WAS 10AM. ARG.

This is why my husband cannot be trusted to wake us up. We are sleeper-iners and he is an early riser. It seems that he had checked email that morning and there was a crisis at work. (that apparently only HE could solve *eyeroll)

So while he took care of the crisis, the rest of us were sawing logs. *sigh. Oh well. We got up and fed everybody poptarts, granola bars or yogurt. By then the big kids and DH were dressed and ready to roll.

Cassie and I, not so much. She slept later than everyone else and I was still in my jammies. So I changed all of our fastpasses and sent the older kids and DH on their way.

Today was MK day, so they set off on the boat around 11am. I set their first fastpass for Space Mountain, since neither Cassie or I can ride that one. Cassie cause she’s too small and me because I enjoy my balance function. So they were set for Space at 11:20-12:20.

Our next FP was for 12:30-1:30 for Splash, so Cassie and I didn’t have too much time to dawdle. We finished getting dressed and the backpack packed and headed out to the boat. And of course it was the small boat, which meant folding up the stroller. Oh well, I didn’t have too much in my back pack this year, so I shoved the ponchos and cooler in there and we boarded.

I really enjoyed riding the smaller boat this day as it was a beautiful day.

Cassidy enjoyed the ride also:

We made it to the MK in no time and soon we were walking through the gates. We headed back to Splash, stopping to meet up with the rest of the fam in Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe.

We browsed for a few minutes and picked out the ornaments we wanted to buy – planning on getting them later in the trip *spoiler alert – we never did.

On the way to Splash, we passed the Country Bear’s, whose next show was starting in 2 mins. So even though the kids were itching to get to Splash, we stopped. I’m so glad we did. We always seem to walk by this show, but we really do enjoy it.

Cassidy wanted her pics taken with all of the bear pics

After the Country Bear’s we continued on our way. We made it to Splash just a few minutes after our window opened at 12:30. We walked right on, passing a fairly hefty line. The family was VERY impressed with my skills (knowing about and utilizing fastpass – lol)

Cassidy was a bit more timid today than she had been the night before. I talked to her throughout the ride and she did better as we went along. As soon as we got off the ride, she wanted to go again! It was the first of many times that I needed to tell her that we’d have to come back after we could get more fastpasses or when the line wasn’t so long.

Our photopass pic for this particular ride on Splash never made it on to our magic bands

We were super early for our next fastpass which was BTMRR at 2:20, so I hopped on my phone and was able to change it to 12:45 I think. I know it was just a few mins that we had to kill. I was a smidge nervous about taking Cassie on this, but forged ahead.

We pretty much walked right on in the fastpass line. We were directed to the very end car, where I quickly switched with Wyatt – I heard that the last seat can be kind of whippy. So we boarded and……Cassidy LOVED it. BTMRR is one of the few thrill rides I can go on – once anyway….I’m not sure that I could have gone directly back on it without feeling yucky. Cassie of course wanted to ride again right away and pouted a bit when we couldn’t.

This is why she is a tad grumpy looking in the photopass pic at the end of Big Thunder:

We decided some lunch was in order and headed to Pecos Bills. It was crazy in there! We all ordered and then the girls and I went to scope for a table. We found one JUST as the boys walked up. I love the seating in Pecos Bills – so nice and cool and dark – a nice break from the bright sun.

The girls had kids burgers, and Larry, Wyatt and I all ordered the Bacon Cheeseburgers. We all ate well (there had been some discussion as to whether or not to share some meals) and it hit the spot.

From there, we decided to head over to our last fastpass (we’d stopped at the kiosk by the Jungle Cruise to book the older kids and DH a 4th one) at Buzz. On the way, I made them stop at the Magic Carpets, since there was pretty much no wait.

Wyatt and Annie can take this or leave it, but Cassie loves it and I love it even though I can’t ride it. I love the pics and video I get. Well……they were having some mechanical issues and they got kind of stuck in line. Wyatt was NOT happy with me. He glared at me from the line for the whole 10 mins they had to wait. LOL

Oh well, they got on and rode and I got my pics.

I may have gotten my pics, but they weren’t good ones – those turds would make their carpet go up right before it got to me, so that I kept missing them! I should have made them ride again!

We all regrouped and begin walking to Tomorrow Land. It was HOT. I know it’s always hot in Sept, but with our late start, we were in the park later in the afternoon than we usually are. And we were feeling it.

Of course, I still made them stop for a pic on the bridge from Adventureland:

And then another pic on the bridge to Tomorrowland. I took this mostly for a pic of the bridge. This bridge is probably my most favorite place in all of Disney – weird, I know. I just love it!

No matter, as Buzz is a great way to cool off! Again, with our FP’s we walked right on.

I barely had time to snap this pic! My Disney lovin “little” boy

I rode with Annie, DH with Cassie and Wyatt all alone. And guess what? – I got 166,000!! Yay! I usually never get past the ten thousands!

After Buzz, we were sooooo close to the People Mover, that I decided we should ride.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the People Mover. It is the PERFECT ride.

A)It’s in Tomorrowland B) You get to sample all that Tomorrowland has to offer C)You get some great photo’s of the Castle D) You can usually stay on for multiple rides without getting off. – what more can you ask for in a ride!???

According to the rest of my family – a lot.

They tolerate the PM, but I love it and they humor me. Next time I’m not bringing those whiners on…

Here is DH showing me how much he loves PM and how excited he is to be riding….

And now look how thrilled Annie is:

Now look at these ingrates – Annie looks so pouty because she claims that riding backwards makes her sick *eyeroll – this kid can spin on the teacups and ride EE 4 times in a row - I'm not buying it.

ALMOST a nice pic – 2 out of 3 ain’t bad – that is Annie’s exasperated smile – love that face

NOW – here is one of the reasons I love PM – how beautiful is this pic!? As you can see, it was a picture perfect day in MK

Here is what my ridiculous husband was doing at this point *eyeroll – Too bad Mister, you missed a great ride!

We were fairly melting at this point, but we were sooooooo close to the Tea Cups and we HAVE to ride them on our first day, so off we went. While the kids and DH walked right on, I headed over to get us some frozen lemonades from the Cheshire Cat Café. YUM.

I love this pic of DH and Cassie

Daddy let her do the spinning this time:

I think Wyatt and Annie were regretting the mach speed that they spun their tea cup at….

I LOVE those frozen lemonade. I had ordered 3 thinking we could share. Once they got off the ride we quickly determined we would need one more. Wyatt ran to get another, while the girls and DH went back on the Tea Cups for one more ride.

Sufficiently cooled off and dizzied up, we now decided it was time to head out.

We stopped for a pic at our favorite photopass spot – we always seem to get lovely pics here:

We took our time walking out and stopped to browse Main Street. Cassidy had been asking for a Balloon and since it was so early in our trip we decided to buy her one. She chose the metallic Minnie/Mickey.

Balloon purchased, we walked further down Main Street. It was then that I noticed Annie looking longingly at the balloons. I asked her if she wanted one and she shyly said she would. My poor girl – sometimes I forget that she’s only 9. We quickly remedied the balloon situation – she chose a pink mickey.

We began walking out once again, but this time we were sidetracked by the Main Street Philharmonic. My DH loves to stop and watch things like this. I’m so glad he does, because I tend to walk right by things like this when I’m on a mission to get somewhere. They were very entertaining!

Then, Cassidy and I ran back into the emporium to buy something special that I had seen. I ran into a gentleman with an angel Donald and a devil Donald on his shoulders – I thought it was a custom made shirt, but he told me that they were just magnetic figures that he had picked up at them Emporium.

So while Cassie and I detoured in there – DH and big kids took a photopass pic (I trained them well)

One last family photo pass before we leave:

This is why I love September – here is MK on a Monday afternoon – around 3pm. So quiet!

OK, now we were REALLY heading out! We got right on a boat and headed back to the WL to do some swimming.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

As much as many grumble about FP+, you really showed a lovely plus. Being to to change things on the fly when you... need a little extra sleep.

Country Bears!!! I approve!

Oooh the back on Big Thunder is the only spot that will do for me. Too slow otherwise, lol. Awesome that Cassie is enjoying the thrill rides.

We may have to revoke the other's Disney privileges if they don't soon get on board with the awesomeness that is the PeopleMover Emily. This is classic Disney.

Awww that is a lovely family castle photopass photo.

 

[MissMaryQC]

What a great MK Monday! I've always heard such horrors about MK on Mondays, but you guys got to see quite a bit. You're awesome FP+ karma helped too!

Great photos of the family. I especially like the shots of the girls and your DH on the mover; the great joys of WDW! The one of your DS on Buzz is great too, very genuine; no caca teenager face in sight!

I got a rad bit teary eyed when y'all got Annie the ballon. I'm the oldest of 4 and got "too big" for that stuff all too quickly. I'm glad she still gets a kick out of something so simple at age 9. It was an I desiring moment to hear about.

Can't wait for the next installment!

 

[DopeyDonald]

As much as many grumble about FP+, you really showed a lovely plus. Being to to change things on the fly when you... need a little extra sleep.

Country Bears!!! I approve!

Oooh the back on Big Thunder is the only spot that will do for me. Too slow otherwise, lol. Awesome that Cassie is enjoying the thrill rides.

We may have to revoke the other's Disney privileges if they don't soon get on board with the awesomeness that is the PeopleMover Emily. This is classic Disney.

Awww that is a lovely family castle photopass photo.

Yes, I have to say, I wasn't sure I would like the new FP+ system when I first read about it, but it is exactly what our family needed. We never really took advantage of the old FP system as we never had a need to. Sept is so quiet and if we did encounter a line that was over 15 mins we would just try again at a quieter time.

So FP+ is perfect for us - it's allowed us to ride the few rides that we never had (TSM) since they are never really slow and we DO NOT do lines. I never had too much trouble changing them on my phone on the fly. My only "complaint" would be to let us add that 4th and above on our phones. The kiosks are kind of a pain. So hopefully that is something that will be implemented in the future.

I did notice that it did make some of the stand by lines longer - we are not used to seeing many, if any lines in Sept, and we saw quite a few longer stand by lines.

I know, I'm quite disappointed that they can't at least humor me on the PM. I really do love it. But...it's a good thing I love riding alone just as much as I do with my family!

What a great MK Monday! I've always heard such horrors about MK on Mondays, but you guys got to see quite a bit. You're awesome FP+ karma helped too!

Great photos of the family. I especially like the shots of the girls and your DH on the mover; the great joys of WDW! The one of your DS on Buzz is great too, very genuine; no caca teenager face in sight!

I got a rad bit teary eyed when y'all got Annie the ballon. I'm the oldest of 4 and got "too big" for that stuff all too quickly. I'm glad she still gets a kick out of something so simple at age 9. It was an I desiring moment to hear about.

Can't wait for the next installment!

You know, I hadn't originally planned to be in MK that day for that very reason, but since the boys hadn't been there yet, we needed to go. I was pleasantly surprised. Those FP's were a must though, as even a 20 min line is too much in our minds. We are spoiled, I know. I actually hadn't even thought about how much we had gotten done until I typed it out for my trip report!

Yes, genuine faces of my son seemed especially hard to come by this trip. More than once he pushed my buttons by making me take 5 pics of the same pose just to get one normal face. He could usually tell when he pushed me too far and straightened up, but then he would go back to doing it for the next pic -

Annie is so good that way - Disney really brings out the kid in her. I think that the world wants our kids to grow up so fast, but inside they really are kids. Another example, is on the last trip we took in March I never even thought about making a BBB appointment for her, I figured she was too "old". But then again, I caught her looking longingly at Cassie's dress and smacked my head. It was too late to get her an appointment, but we did get her a Snow White dress. She was in heaven. This trip I was ready and booked her a BBB and she was so excited - I'll keep my girls little as long as I can