Our January 2014 Family Quest for Fun...It WASN'T a Total Wash out!

[imama]

What is this "Quest for Fun" that I speak of? Well, of course, it was our January trip to the World...our 3rd, and what could be, BEST trip yet! But before we get into all of that, I'll introduce you to the cast of characters...

I'm Malinda, the mother, wife, and resident Disney planner of this bunch. I'm a homeschool mom of three kids, who I will introduce shortly. I rotate between researching Disney trips and researching homeschool curriculum. My husband is pretty convinced that I should have been a lawyer with all the researching I like to do. But planning trips is a GREAT (albeit expensive) hobby, and I like nothing more than having a trip in the works. You can check out my newest pre-trip report that I just started "I Guess this Officially Makes us Disney Freaks". Which means, I am DETERMINED to finish this trip report before our June trip. Goals. I have them. Every time my children ask me what my favorite park is, I have to tell them that I love Disney parks like I love my children...all equally, but in different ways. But if you FORCED me to make a decision, I guess I would have to pick Magic Kingdom because it houses Wishes, which is my favorite show.

My husband, Jamie, is a fabulous guy and loves Disney as much as I do. In fact, he was hugely supportive of my crazy idea to return this June (just the two of us) for a 15th anniversary trip. I mean, really...I couldn't have asked for a better match for my Disney addiction. Jamie's favorite park is really a tie between DHS and Epcot. But he enjoys everything about Disney. Especially ice cream. No...really.

Jay is our 12 year old son, and oldest child. I am SO PROUD that I am raising a kid that knows all the words to "It's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow" and says that COP is his favorite attraction. Jay is also a Star Wars fanatic (as is my husband) so getting to take him to Star Wars weekend during our last trip in June was a special treat. At 12, he is still a huge Disney fan and claims that this will never change, even if the rides aren't as thrilling as other parks. I hope that is true. I love vacationing with him...he is usually fairly reserved, but at Disney, he comes alive and dances to the music at the parades and everything. Soooo unlike him. He says that his favorite park is Animal Kingdom because of the awesome theming. He likes anything nostalgic and appreciates details. That's probably why Disney fits him so well.

Annie is our middle child, who is ten. She fell in love with Disney during our first trip when she had an amazing run in with Stitch that I might go into later. She and Stitch have been best friends since then, and Stitch is so nice to remember her EVERY TIME we return. Just another part of the magic! Annie's favorite park is a tie between Epcot and MK. O'hana is her VERY favorite restaurant and she has forbidden Jamie and me to go there without her this summer. We will comply with her wishes. I'd miss her there, anyway.

Jane is five, and the youngest in our family. She also goes by the nickname, "Hurricane Jane". It is a well earned nickname. Jane's first trip took place when she was barely two and she still remembers so much of it. She was a joy during that trip, even if I worried that she would melt down. Our second trip took place when she was three and she was MUCH more of a challenge that time. I was very much looking forward to taking her this time and seeing her reaction to things. Aside from a few days of sickness, that I will go into later, this trip was much smoother than our last, which I am VERY grateful for. We princessed her out this time, and both of my older children were sweet enough to go along with this plan without complaint. This is such a fun age to do all the princess things and I didn't want to miss out on them. Jane loved every moment...which I guess would make her favorite park Magic Kingdom. She ALSO knows all the words to "It's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow".

Yep. You are right. I have awesome kids.

Also along for this "Family Quest for Fun" were my inlaws, who will be known as Tish and Papa. This was their very first trip and I was excited to show them All Things Disney. One of their "Bucket List" items was a Disney trip and I was hoping that they would love it as much as we do. But I was a bit nervous that they wouldn't. Or that the walking would be too much. Or that our touring style would run them into the ground. Or that we might kill each other. Did any of that happen? You will just have to keep reading to find out!

Now...I mentioned that this was one of our best trips yet. But it was not without its challenges. The weather was one. We had several days of cold and rain. We also had a sick one during a few days of our trip (and I have awesome tips for dealing with THAT...you'll just have to keep reading!). But, for the most part, we made the best of things and carried on, Disney style! It was an amazing trip and I hope you enjoy reliving it with me!

 

[imama]

Every since our first family trip in 2010, we try to make it to Disney every two years or so. We have, thus far, managed to make it about a year and a half between visits. For this trip, we decided that a January time frame fit us best. That would mean that we would avoid the hot (and costly) summer months, and the Spring and Fall when our kids are so busy with sports we don't see anything but a soccer field or lacrosse field for months on end.

So, we settled on January. And after researching the lowest crowd weeks, we finally settled on January 26th-February 3rd. We decided to book at our favorite resort for five, Port Orleans Riverside. The price is just right for us and the size of the room is completely doable for the five of us. We discovered this resort on our second visit and got hooked.

Shortly into planning this trip, I had the bright idea (after watching numerous awesome trip videos) that it would be fun to take a set of grandparents. My parents are awesome and love spending time with all of us, but what they do NOT love are theme parks. I knew we would all be miserable if I was dragging them around the parks. We all agreed that scheduling a DIFFERENT vacation with them would be the best bet. Lol! And so, after talking about it, Jamie and I decided to extend the invitation to his parents. I wasn't sure how they would react to this invitation. I didn't want them to feel obligated, just because I was asking. But they surprised me and jumped all over the invitation! They had always wanted to visit Disney, but the whole planning thing just overwhelmed them. They were very appreciative that I would plan the whole thing and just tell them where to show up. They decided to join us for the first five days of our trip.

With those plans in hand, we began working out the logistics to GET to Disney. Originally, we had decided to drive from Oklahoma since it would be cheaper and Jane is old enough now to travel long distances without wanting to kill her. However, the day I was slotted to schedule dining reservations, Jamie decided to look at plane fare. He found us a cheap flight out of Dallas (which is a four hour drive from where we live) and we jumped on it. We were to arrive in Orlando at 3:30. Even better, Tish and Papa scheduled a flight that day as well and their arrival time (from Mississippi) was at 4:00. We would be able to meet them in the airport and walk to Magical Express together. Thank goodness, because I did NOT want them to have to navigate MCO to ME.

So, the details were worked out and the days had been counted down.

Annie and I had gotten our nails done for the occasion.

And I had sewn some clothes for Jane.

It was finally time to begin our Family Quest for Fun! (don't worry, we left the cat at home)

 

[imama]

**I promise that there are pictures coming, but this next post or so just tells a story about our departure day and is short on pictures. There are more to come though.

It was finally departure day!!! January 25th was the day that we were traveling to Dallas, Tx so we could spend the night and catch our flight to Orlando the next morning. The bags were packed! We were ready to go!

Slow down there, bucko...trouble is brewing.

I got up on the morning of the 25th, raring to go! We had decided we would leave around 11:00, after a quick lunch, for our four hour drive to Dallas. We wanted plenty of time to check into the hotel, organize our stuff for the next morning, grab a bite to eat (and navigate around Dallas to GET that bite to eat) and be back to the hotel to get the kids to bed pretty early. Sounded like a plan to me! But first...coffee time!

During coffee time, I typically read the DISboards for any new information. Plus, I was just darn excited! After checking the boards, I realized that I knew next to nothing about the hotel we were staying at in Dallas. Jamie had scheduled it months ago when he booked our plane tickets. I started wondering if it had a pool and if the kids could get a quick swim in that day. As I pulled up the information for the hotel, I was immediately alarmed by the number of stars it had for reviews.

As in...there WEREN'T any.

I started reading review after review about large roaches in the hotel. About holes in the sheets. About large openings in windows were bugs flew in all night long. WHERE was this place Jamie had scheduled us to sleep in??? I called him into the room to check out these reviews and he freaked out as much as I was. We were BOTH ready to cancel and find a new place to stay. However, we were within the 24 hours required for cancellation. We knew we were about to eat that 100.00 we had payed to stay in this hotel. Ug.

But, I am not one to give up easily. I called the hotel and told them a sob story about not realizing we were not going to be able to make the trip (to their hotel) and that I just found OUT that we were not going to be able to make the trip (to their hotel) and could they possibly let us out of our reservation and not make us pay the 100.00 fee. Because if I had known earlier that we couldn't make the trip (to their hotel) then I certainly would have called earlier.

That hotel may have been covered in grime and roaches, but they were very nice and let us out of our reservation with no penalty.

And that's how Jamie learned that it is important to ALWAYS READ REVIEWS.

Now the scramble was on to find a more appropriate location to lay our heads that night. This would be easier said than done. We had a certain budget, needed a room that slept five, needed transportation to and from Love Field Airport, and needed free parking for the week. That's not a lot to ask for $100.00 is it?? I spent an hour on the phone with different hotels and the closest I could find to what we were looking for was going to cost us 150.00 a night. Ug. But Jamie rallied and found us a LaQuinta that had stellar reviews. And when I called, they had a wonderful suite for us, right in our price range. Finally, we were in business!!
And so, I jumped in the shower to finally get dressed. We were running behind, but not terribly so. We loaded the bags into the car, got the new directions keyed into the hotel, told the cats and dog goodbye and HIT THE ROAD JACK!

The ride to Dallas is boring. It is especially boring if you are excited to get there. And we were EXCITED. We made the four hour drive with only one bathroom stop for Jane. Record time. Awesomesauce! We checked into what ended up being a fantastic room for the night. Lots of space and a good set up. I got our bags organized and laid out clothes for the next morning and we made arrangements with the front desk for a shuttle ride to the airport the next morning.

Jamie ran a search of near by restaurants that we might want to try. AND HE READ REVIEWS, I MIGHT ADD. We ended up going to this most AMAZING burger place in downtown Dallas. We ate fantastic burgers and split two of the largest pieces of cake I have EVER seen. The kids thought we were the best parents EVER for ordering dessert. And. We. Are.

Back at the hotel, the kids changed into pajamas, and piled down in the main room to sleep. Jamie and I headed to our room and watched a bit of The Help before finally going to sleep ourselves. And amazingly, I slept pretty well (benedryl and ear plugs helped). It wasn't long before I was waking up to the sounds of my alarm playing, "When You Wish Upon a Star"!

Disney Day. It was upon us!

 

[imama]

As the opening notes to "When You Wish Upon a Star" rang through the room, I sat up and realized that Disney Day was upon us!! I had set my alarm clock for about twenty minutes earlier than needed so that I could get up and drink a cup of coffee before getting directly into the shower.

I tiptoed out to the main room where the kids were sleeping. It was VERY IMPORTANT to not wake them until the last possible moment and I REALLY wanted a little coffee time before any of my "helpers" awoke. I checked out the coffee maker in the tiny kitchenette area. It seemed to be all ready, with the exception of not being plugged in. I looked for an outlet. Um?? Why would they not have an outlet in the kitchenette area?? But there really didn't seem to be one, so I had to stealthily carry the coffee maker and tray into the bathroom and clear a space there. So. Much Work. And when the coffee was finally ready? Worst coffee ever. I pitched it, jumped in the shower and resigned myself to just going downstairs and getting coffee before the shuttle arrived.

After I showered, Jamie jumped in while I got dressed. We finally got the kids up and dressed. Everyone was mildly bouncy this morning.

Our flight was scheduled to leave Dallas at 9:25 and since we were flying out of the smaller, Love Field Airport, we knew we wouldn't have to be there too early. We went downstairs to the free continental breakfast to check it out. The spread was huge with biscuits, gravy, sausage, bacon, waffles, fruit, cereal, pastries, eggs and yogurt. I grabbed a piece of sausage and banana for myself, and fixed a plate for Jane. She appreciates a good continental breakfast more than anyone else in our family, and I think I fixed her one of everything. We ate, goofed around and waited for the shuttle to arrive to take us to the airport.

We didn't have too long to wait before our faithful driver arrived, loaded our bags and we were OFF to Love Field! It was a short, ten minute drive and in no time, we were curbside. We hauled bags inside, using Jay and Annie as a great set of extra hands. It was nice to have helpers this trip. We checked in at the counter and were directed to our gate. The security line was non-existent and we were through that in ten minutes.

We only had two hours to wait until our flight. Sigh.

I spotted a Dunkin Donuts and high tailed it over for a cup of coffee. Eventually, we just sat down at our gate with respective electronics (a family who ipads together STAYS together...) and waited for boarding.

We were FINALLY called to board and we loaded everything up and headed to the plane. I wondered how Jane would do on the flight, since the last two times she has been nervous to sit in her own seat and wanted in my lap. This time was completely different. She wanted to do her seatbelt "By myself!" and got all situated. I set up her movie and headphones and before long we were in the air. The big kids sat a couple of rows behind Jamie, Jane and me. All went smoothly and we landed in St. Louis with about an hour before our next flight.

After disembarking, we set off in search of lunch and our connecting flight. We seem to have had two options. One was a California Pizza Kitchen that seemed quite pricey. The other was a Burger King with a REALLY long line. We opted for pricey since we only had about 45 minute between planes. It's a good thing we decided that way too, because by the time we arrived at our gate with the pizzas, they were calling to board us. Good grief we cut that close!

We brought our pizzas on board the plane and settled in for lunch and movies. Once again, a smooth flight and before long, we were in ORLANDO!!!! Excitement abounds!!! We got off the plane and immediately checked the boards to see which gate Tish and Papa's plane was landing at. It was two gates from where we had gotten off, so we walked over and I reorganized all our gear and decided to get out the MAGIC BANDS!!

Jane and I had spent time decorating our Magic Bands and we were VERY proud of them. The other kids and Jamie didn't want anything done to theirs. Spoil sports. No matter...it was time for a picture!!

Magic Bands unite!!

Or maybe not, because the boys wouldn't join our picture. Something about looking stupid in front of a gate full of people waiting on a plane. I pointed out the DISNEY BAGS they were all carrying and told them that no one here cared. Still a no go. Whatever.

The girls and I kept a lookout for Tish and Papa's plane and in about fifteen minutes it was landing and pulling in!

I sent them a text that said, "I can see your plane!" It was all very exciting!

Finally reunited with grandparents, the children were full of stories and laughter and bouncing. I tried my best to herd the crew towards the fake-o-rail and the ME. Jane had to stop every few feet for pictures.

After a fast and harrowing journey on the Fake-o-Rail, we finally made it to the ME check in area. Now was the true test...would the Magic Bands actually WORK?

Now...I had painted these bands weeks ago with the understanding that no matter how many coats of polish you put over them, they would still work. Admittedly though, I was a *little* worried that it wouldn't ACTUALLY work when it came down to it. I put mine up to the Mickey head and bingo! It worked! I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that I had not ruined my Magic Band and thus been reduced to a Grey Band of Shame.

We were lead directly to a bus, with absolutely no waiting at all! Yay!! Only it was a Mears bus. Boooo!! No matter though, unlike last trip, THIS Mears bus at least played the video, which is all I really cared about anyway. Tish and Papa were SO SO SO excited to be on the bus and headed into Disney World. POR was the last stop, so they got to see a few other resorts on our way in. They were so impressed with all they saw, and the size of the property amazed them. They were already thanking me for planning the trip and taking care of the details. It was nice to be appreciated for my Disney powers.

Finally, we arrived at POR and it was time to check in and get our rooms. Papa and I took care of that, while everyone else went outside to look around. Before too long, we had our room assignments and found that all of our requests had been granted. We even had adjoining rooms! The kids were so excited that we could walk back and forth between the rooms so easily!

The kids were itching to get to DTD as quickly as possible. Tish and Papa were itching to get a beer from the bar. I explained to the kids that we WOULD get to DTD, but that the grown ups needed time to decompress a bit and they were just going to have to go with the flow. They complied nicely and we spent about an hour at the bar with refillable mugs for me and the kids and beers for everyone else. It was time well spent and before too long everyone was ready to hit DTD for dinner and a bit of shopping.

We took the boats from POR to DTD, which is always such a nice ride. Tish and Papa were once again blown away by the details! As we arrived at DTD, the volcano at Rain Forest (or is it T-Rex?? Can't remember) was putting on its show. It was an awesome welcome and we stopped to watch.

Then it was for Jay and Annie's FAVORITE store...the Lego store. Sigh. I have really tried to love this place because of all its amazing creations outside...and I do love that part. But I HATE going in that store. It is soooo loud and sooooo busy. I lose a little piece of my mind going in there. And believe me, I ain't got much to spare.

So, I traded with Jamie and told him I would take Jane into The World of Disney while he took the kids to the Lego store. He has never BEEN in the Lego store, so he didn't know what he was getting into. I'm sneaky like that.

Jane and I shopped the aisles for a while and she settled on about fifty items that she "needed". Among them was an Aurora bank, Merida's bow and arrow, some princess bath toys, and some hair clips. We made our purchases and headed to the Lego store to collect the others. Thankfully, they were finishing up and I didn't have to be tortured...er...deal with the Lego store for long.

We made our way over to our favorite, Wolfgang Puck's Express. There wasn't too much of a line and we got a great table in the back. I had my standard meatloaf, which was FANTASTIC, as always. I do not, for the life of me, remember what everyone else ordered, I just know that Annie was SO excited to be able to order off the grown up menu for the first time. The food was fantastic and everyone left full and happy.

Our first night had been a success! Now it was time to board the boats back to POR. Illuminations could be seen as we floated down the river. It was a perfect way to end the night. We all headed back to our rooms, I did some unpacking and the kids decided who was sleeping in what room. We hit the rack early that night because we had a big day the next day...Magic Kingdom time and time to see if all my park planning had paid off!

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[imama]

Great pics!

Thanks! I have lots from the first couple of days, but then we had a camera tragedy, which I will get to later. Lol! Thank goodness for photopass and my husband's cell phone!

 

[DVC Kristen]

This looks like your family had a fantastic time! I love the nail designs that you girls came up with! I hope to visit Disney very soon

 

[ttcl516]

Great report so far.....we stayed at POR just last year. Loved it!!

 

[shesCamii]

We stayed at POR too! I love reading about other's experiences there.

And the meatloaf at wolfgang puck express IS fantastic! Love it

 

[Tinkerbell_Girl]

Great report! I'm thinking about staying at POR for my fall trip. Can't wait for more!

 

[imama]

This looks like your family had a fantastic time! I love the nail designs that you girls came up with! I hope to visit Disney very soon

Thanks so much! We DID have a fantastic time...although it was not without the occaional bump, which you will soon see. Even with the bumps though, I think it was my favorite trip yet!

 

[imama]

Great report so far.....we stayed at POR just last year. Loved it!!

Welcome! So glad to have you! I love POR so much! I am excited to try Pop this next trip, just for our anniversary, but I am afraid I may miss POR at little.

 

[imama]

Great report! I'm thinking about staying at POR for my fall trip. Can't wait for more!

Welcome! So glad to have you reading along! I'm getting ready to post another update...it's been such fun to relive the trip through writing about it!

 

[imama]

It's a Magical Day for Magic Kingdom!


Rise and shine everyone! It is time to get moving for our FIRST park day to Magic Kingdom! My children are of the opinion that the trip doesn't REALLY begin until we set our eyes on the castle and take our first ride on Peter Pan. Traditions. We have them.

We were up and moving far easier than I thought would be possible after our travel day and fairly late night the day before. Jamie and I both enjoyed a cup of the Joffery's coffee. WHAT. AN. IMPROVEMENT. Jamie even ventured down to the food court to fill our mugs up. Coffee at Disney has purely been for medicinal effect before, but now it was actually ENJOYABLE. The heavens sang and the parents rejoiced this early morning treat!

Tish and Papa were up and moving around as well, and after short order, everyone was dressed and ready to go. It was looking promising for rope drop.

Unfortunately, the lines for the busses were FULL. Where in the world were all these people coming from? I thought it was the slow season?? Turns out that POR was filled to capacity with all of the dance teams in Disney that week. Thankfully, the only time we ever really felt the crowds were at the bus depots. Even then though, we were usually able to get on a bus pretty quickly.

The bus arrived and we packed ourselves in, excited for our day! I got those familiar butterflies as we pulled into the Magic Kingdom and heard the music over the bus. THAT'S how I know I'm home!

We unloaded and got to watch the opening show, which Tish and Papa loved. Then, it was through bag check and our first scans into the park with our Magic Bands. They worked! And with the exception of the kids forgetting that they had to use their finger print, entry went quickly.

Soon we were walking down Main Street and taking in all the sights and smells. Tish LOVED all the landscaping, which I had been so excited to show her. It was really a great moment, with the trolley moving along, the Dapper Dans singing and the balloons everywhere. Then we caught sight of the castle.

Tish and Papa were thrilled! They were so excited to finally lay eyes on it, and my kids were over the moon too. And for the first time, I don't even REMEMBER my reaction to the castle because I was so intent on watching Tish and Papa's first time to see it. Worth it.

We stopped for some photopass pictures since we had the Memory Maker this trip. Part of my Christmas gift to Tish and Papa was the Memory Maker, a special photo album and printing all the pictures from our trip. I didn't want them to have to worry about anything. We took our time looking at the castle, not rushing to get to our first ride. We marveled over the details of the mosaics and all the other unique things that make Disney...well...Disney.

It was at this moment that I wished I had gotten CRT for one of the nights Tish and Papa were with us. Tish was SO excited over the castle and was dying to go inside. I didn't want to use up two of their dining credits though, so had scheduled this meal for later in our trip. No matter though, our current ADRs would prove to be delicious!

So, making our way into Fantasyland, we stopped first at Peter Pan, our traditional first ride. Jamie and I rode with Jane, Tish rode with Annie, and Papa rode with Jay. They all loved the ride and I think it ended up being one of Tish's favorites.

The park was so uncrowded and I was THRILLED. I hadn't been expecting that at all after our bus lines that morning. We had walked right onto Peter Pan and headed out to our next ride, but not before stopping to pull the sword from the stone.

It was a no go this trip. During our last trip Jane had been able to pull it out and could NOT figure out why it wasn't budging this time. Bless her.

After our failed attempts at being deemed worthy of the sword, we made our way into the new Fantasyland THAT I HAD NEVER SEEN! I was SO excited to see it all with the walls (well MOST of the walls) down! I loved all the details! We went straight for Journey of the Little Mermaid and walked right on, which didn't give us much of a chance to enjoy the cute queue. I loved the little animated crab that would appear in the windows. It was a great detail to add.

I had heard iffy things about this ride, but I have to say, we all LOVED it. I loved the part where you go "Under the Sea"! And Ariel's hair was most impressive...how do they make it move like that?!! Even Jay, who is most certainly NOT into princesses thought it was a neat ride.

After Little Mermaid, we walked over to Dumbo. It was the first time for us to go through the queue and, of course, we lost Jane to the play area. Jamie and I told Tish and Papa to go on with the big kids and we would meet them after the ride. Jane played for a bit, before finally consenting to actually RIDE Dumbo. Jamie GRACIOUSLY said he would wait for us and I could ride with Jane.

Now, Jamie REALLY just wanted to laugh at me since I have a horrible fear of heights. Roller coasters do not bother me, but something about Dumbo and Magic Carpets of Alladin send me SCREAMING. And Jane likes to control the elephant and go up and down as much and as fast as possible. Jamie enjoyed my screamed and MAY have waved sarcastically from the safety of the ground.

As I exited my Pachyderm of Doom we had a quick bathroom break (I was still looking in the WRONG place for the Tangled bathrooms) and then rode Goofy's Barnstormer. Over. And. Over. Jane really got a kick out of this ride this year. The last time we had ridden it, she HATED it. Thankfully, this too, was a walk on.

We were making AMAZING time and I was WAY ahead of my schedule that I had written out. So, we headed to Winnie the Pooh and soon were loading into our honey pots for our trip through Hundred Acres Woods.

We stopped in the gift shop for a while, where my kids bought those annoying sugar sticks. Because what we NEED when we are already on a Disney High is to add a stick full of straight sugar. Yay!

Tish and Papa bought some of those Chip and Dale Mickeyhead cheese crackers. I thought that was so funny! They raved over them and all I could think of was that I HAD to introduce them to some better snack options.

After finishing up with Pooh, we noticed that the carousel had no line. Tish was DYING to ride, and so were my kids, so we loaded up for the shortest carousel ride in the history of mankind. It took us longer to load and get started than to actually take the ride.

I did manage a few pictures.

After our carousel ride we still had a little while before our Be Our Guest fastpasses were ready, so we decided to take the Happiest Cruise on Earth through It's a Small World. Jane and I kept our eyes out for Hidden Mickey's. She found lots...well...lots that weren't ACTUALLY Hidden Mickey's, but we aren't telling HER that.

With all of us safely back on land, we walked SLOOOOWLY over to Be Our Guest. We were still a few minutes early for our lunch fastpass. But THIS? This is where I turned from your Everyday Park Planner to the SUPER WOMAN OF ALL PARK PLANNING...henceforth known as SWOAPP. I think it makes a nice acronym, no?

Papa caught sight of the line coming out of Be Our Guest. It was LOOOONG. "We are eating THERE?" He asked, gawking at the line. I could see the wheels turning and him thinking that we were going to be standing there for an hour.

Instead, I told them to follow me (I was all confident, but INSIDE I was thinking, "please work! please work! please work!"). I had had a hard time setting up this particular fastpass since Tish and Papa were on a different reservation from us. It took me a LONG time to get it figured out and I was HOPING that I had done things correctly and they were going to be expecting us.

Sure enough, they had our names down and waved us right on through to the fastpass line. We walked past all the people waiting in line to eat and went straight into the restaurant. Now, I know that that line goes quickly, but THEY did not know that line goes quickly, so in that brief moment, I was a ROCKSTAR and my praises were being sung from all the people in my party.

It was a moment I may never forget.

We looked at the menu and then walked to the different kiosks to order. Jamie and I were cracking up at the family in front of us who had three kids WHO ALL WANTED TO TOUCH THE SCREEN. The mother was having a heart attack because their order kept getting messed up and the kids were making it twice as difficult.

We only laughed because we knew we would be dealing with this EXACT scenario in a few minutes.

And we were, though we had the help of a fabulous cast member who helped us through the various screens, especially the one WHERE JAY REMOVES EVERYTHING FROM HIS SANDWICH EXCEPT MEAT AND CHEESE. I'm pretty sure I couldn't have done that without his help.

And now we were sent off to find a seat and wait for our food to magically appear. I thought about going room to room, just to see if the food would follow me, but decided I was too hungry.

We checked out each dining room, but ended up sitting in the main dining room because this was where Tish and Papa had landed, and they already had their food.

Now, I apologize because I have no food pictures. I am with people who do not understand the trip report aspect of things and taking pictures of your food is just plain weird to them. So, picture it in your mind if you will.

Jamie had the braised pork, the big kids and I had the Prime Roast Beef sandwich and Jane had the Mickey Meatloaf. I got a strawberry cupcake and everyone else got the Grey Stuff cupcake. Tish and Papa both got the Prime Roast Beef Sandwich as well and the lemon cupcake and the lemon-rasberry cream puff.

Every bit of our food was fantastic! I was so thrilled to have another counter service option at Magic Kingdom, especially with such a great sandwich offering. I would happily eat there again! And my strawberry cupcake?? YUM. I tried the kids' cupcakes as well and they were delicious...I LOVE chocolate, but MY cupcake was still my favorite. This was such a nice break in our day, and it was so nice to sit down and have our meal delivered to us rather than having to find a table with a tray full of food.

And it didn't hurt that this restaurant made me look like a SWOAPP.

I'll leave you here, with visions of Prime Rib sandwiches and strawberry cupcakes dancing through your head. Our Magic Kingdom day was SO PACKED that splitting it up into more than one entry will be necessary.

 

[imama]

We stayed at POR too! I love reading about other's experiences there. And the meatloaf at wolfgang puck express IS fantastic! Love it

It IS awesome meatloaf, isn't it! Lol! That is always one of my favorite meals...and I love that it's a counter service.

 

[disneyshea]

Following along. Over from the June FB page. Only on MK day one but loving the TR so far!