Party of 13 in the Most Magical Place on Earth a March 2018 trip Update: 7/23/2018

[Stasieki]

That's a lot of steps!!!!! I think our most in the last few trips was 11 miles. And to do with 4 kids. WOW. I'm in awe of your stamina. LOL

 

[mommaof3boys]

To this day, Peoplemover is a family favorite ride! Especially when Space is down- they have the lights on and you can see the ride from the Peoplemover.

That happened to us later on in our trip. The kids really thought that was neat.

That's a lot of steps!!!!! I think our most in the last few trips was 11 miles. And to do with 4 kids. WOW. I'm in awe of your stamina. LOL

We walked a lot on this whole trip. My husband thinks we should've had a down day to rest. Next time, we will definitely plan one.

 

[mommaof3boys]

Dining with Royalty
Epcot Day 1 pt 1
​

We had an early morning breakfast reservation this morning. All 13 of us would be dining together. We were heading to the Boardwalk to the Bon Voyage breakfast at Tattoria al Forno. We left the condo at 6:55. We arrived at the Boardwalk and valet parked our car. We walked in the Boardwalk and all crammed into an elevator and headed down. Then, went outside and to the restaurant.

IMG_6453 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

IMG_6455 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr
Boardwalk in the morning.

We arrived at the restaurant at 7:15. They were not yet checking people in for reservations. We waited a little bit and then checked in. We were early for our 7:35 reservation. The kids wasted time looking at their pins.

IMG_6456 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

And posing for pics!
IMG_6458 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

IMG_6463 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

IMG_6464 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

We were sat at 7:30. Brett's family was called in first. They sat in a booth. My family along with my parents were called in next. We were sat at a table. When you walk into the restaurant, all of the staff lined the walkway to the tables welcoming you and clapping for your family.

IMG_6471 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

IMG_6469 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

While we waited to order, the kids went back and forth between tables.

IMG_6472 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

They brought out our drinks and the pastries to start.

IMG_6468 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

Everyone got a fruit bowl. Peter, Trent, and I all ordered the
King Triton's Shipwreck al Forno
Calzone with Scrambled Eggs, Bell Peppers, Soppressata, Bacon, Sausage, Blend of Cheeses, and Sunday Gravy

IMG_6483 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

This was delicious! I would definitely order it again. It was a huge portion, and I could only eat half.

Annabelle and Ronan got Flounder waffles

IMG_6485 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

Annabelle and Ronan had no complaints about the waffles. They didn't eat great. All of the excitement at the breakfast, they couldn't concentrate on eating.

Brody ordered the stack of pancakes on the kids menu

IMG_6484 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

Brody really enjoyed his pancakes.

Flynn Rider came along before we received our food. He was very good. Annabelle was being super shy. I should've prepped beforehand that the characters would be coming to our table. She seemed shocked that he was right there talking to her.

IMG_6474 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

The boys giving their best smolders

IMG_6476 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

Annabelle finally posed for a pic but only if Mimi would stand with her.

IMG_6482 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

Next up Rapunzel! Annabelle was ready now. She was prepared with her question. She asked, "How is your hair so long?" Rapunzel responded, "from lots of magic!"

IMG_6491 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

Ronan wanted to show her his smolder.

IMG_6493 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr
Then Trent's turn
IMG_6499 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr
And Brody's
IMG_6501 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

Eric was the next visitor at the table. Surprisingly, Annabelle fell for him over Flynn. She asked him, "Where is your dog?" He replied, "Max is at the castle. He can't come to breakfast anymore because he loves food to much. He brought him once, and he ate 18 plates of food." Annabelle thought this was hilarious.

IMG_6508 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

The final guest to our table was Ariel. Annabelle asked her, "why she brushes her hair with a fork?" Ariel responded, "because Scuttle told me to!"

IMG_6525 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr
I love Ariel!

IMG_6530 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

Ariel and Eric led a parade around the restaurant. Annabelle was a little timid to join. Eric grabbed her hand and whisked her away. She loved it! None of the boys wanted to join. Abby and Avery both joined the line.

Our waitress boxed up another round of pastries for us. We snacked on these throughout the day.

I highly recommend this breakfast. The food was great and the characters were lots of fun.

We were done eating and paid the bill by 8:35. We headed to the bathroom, and then walked to the International Gateway to start our day at Epcot.

IMG_6533 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

29511891_10100924100223170_783052131371408609_n by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr
The 7 grandkids after breakfast!

We were through the tapstiles and waiting for Epcot to open by 8:45.

Up next a fun, family filled day at Epcot!

 

[kswildcatsX5]

Loved Bon Voyage, my one complaint was the seating. We felt left out being on our own so I wish I had spoken up and tried to get a different arrangement. Still a fun breakfast though!

 

[kswildcatsX5]

We also didn’t get pastries to go, we had a different waitress. She didn’t offer that and I didn’t know we could ask so next time I would ask for some to take with us.

 

[mommaof3boys]

Loved Bon Voyage, my one complaint was the seating. We felt left out being on our own so I wish I had spoken up and tried to get a different arrangement. Still a fun breakfast though!

I wish we were all sat together. That would've made it that much better!

We also didn’t get pastries to go, we had a different waitress. She didn’t offer that and I didn’t know we could ask so next time I would ask for some to take with us.

Our waitress was super helpful. They were a nice treat later in the day.

 

[TinkTank01]

I’m enjoying reading your trip report!

 

[amazingact21]

Just found your trip report and am following along! Made it about halfway through your MK day but have to stop because the boards are about to go down for the night. I'll come back to finish, though!

My dad told him to leave the bike alone and wait for the police. At this time, my dad walked around to get the license plate in case the guy took off.

I went to college in Tallahassee, and this doesn't surprise me. People drive CRAZY there. Oh my, I hated driving in that city...

a deck of Nightmare Before Christmas playing cards.

I remember seeing those; they looked very cool!

Every time we went to get a rider swap pass on our trip, they never asked us to prove that everyone had a fp for the ride.

This is good to know, because I had been seeing those same reports and wondered if I'd encounter issues on my upcoming trip.


Your condo looked really spacious and comfortable. Seemed like it was the perfect place for several families to stay, and that pool looked awesome!

Loved the "silly ghosts" on Haunted Mansion. How funny...

I like your son's logic about going on Space Mountain since technically he went inside it on PeopleMover.

 

[Stasieki]

We just did Bon Voyage for the first time this February. Really enjoyed it!!!! We did the last seating so it was our breakfast and lunch.

 

[amazingact21]

Loved your recap of the Bon Voyage Breakfast. That calzone sounded delicious!

I had to smile at the group photo of your kids with Eric, because your daughter looked so smitten with him. It sounded like an adorable interaction. And what a great memory for her to have him whisk her away to join the parade.

 

[mommaof3boys]

I’m enjoying reading your trip report!

Thank you! I'm enjoying reliving all of the fun.

Just found your trip report and am following along! Made it about halfway through your MK day but have to stop because the boards are about to go down for the night. I'll come back to finish, though!

Welcome! Thanks for joining in.

This is good to know, because I had been seeing those same reports and wondered if I'd encounter issues on my upcoming trip.


Your condo looked really spacious and comfortable. Seemed like it was the perfect place for several families to stay, and that pool looked awesome!

Loved the "silly ghosts" on Haunted Mansion. How funny...

I like your son's logic about going on Space Mountain since technically he went inside it on PeopleMover.

I was glad we never had any issues with our rider swap. It makes it a lot easier. Then, the kid who doesn't ride the "thrill" ride still gets to do a ride they want to do.

The condo is really nice. My parents are Wyndham owners, so we always stay in Wyndham properties. With 4 kids, we just need the space. The pools are all amazing there.

Sometimes having 3 big brothers is helpful. Not much scares her. They can usually make anything seem less scary to her.

We just did Bon Voyage for the first time this February. Really enjoyed it!!!! We did the last seating so it was our breakfast and lunch.

I think that Bon Voyage is a great character experience. It's nice that they include the princes.

Loved your recap of the Bon Voyage Breakfast. That calzone sounded delicious!

I had to smile at the group photo of your kids with Eric, because your daughter looked so smitten with him. It sounded like an adorable interaction. And what a great memory for her to have him whisk her away to join the parade.

The calzone was one of my favorite things I ate all week. I think Bon Voyage is a great character experience. My boys even liked it a lot. Yes, I'm so glad he took her. She still talks about it.

 

[mommaof3boys]

The 13 of us take on Epcot
Epcot Day Part 2
​

We had finished up breakfast and walked to the International Gateway in Epcot. We were through bag check and the tapstiles in no time. There weren't many people in front of us. I checked with the CM to make sure I knew which way we could go to get the Frozen ride. We had to go to the left through United Kingdom and Canada around and then through Mexico to Norway. I'm sure everyone at International Gateway had the same plan as us.

When they dropped the rope and let us in, everyone started walk/jogging in that direction. I should've let my parents in on the plan in advance. They looked bewildered in the hustle. I tried to keep the everyone together, but then we just decided it best to meet up at the ride. As we rounded toward Mexico, I could see the front gate crowd coming. I frantically told my party to hurry. We were not running but definitely walking at a fast pace. The wind picked up and it started to sprinkle on us. It was really quite comical. The kids not in strollers just blindly following and trying to keep up. We made it to Epcot, threw kids out of strollers, parked strollers and bolted for the entrance of the ride. We some how managed to all get there. My parents were not impressed with the mad dash. We really did not have a wait just the time it took us to walk through the queue. We had to wait one round, so we could all 13 get on the same boat.

IMG_6535 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

Boat selfie, hard to fit us all in.

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_8204169717 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

I loved this ride. I found myself singing along. I love Frozen. Annabelle was born the month it came out. She has been singing "Let It Go" since she could talk. My co-teacher and I have dressed up as Anna and Elsa and sang and danced for our entire Elementary School. I just really love it. I think our entire party really enjoyed the ride. My nieces, Abby and Avery, are not thrill riders. I was worried about the drops. They didn't seem to mind them too much.

After our ride on FEA, where else would we go but to meet the sisters themselves. The posted wait was 20 minutes. We figured it wasn't going to get any lower so we hopped in line.

I didn't realize in our excitement to get to FEA, Annabelle lost a shoe. My dad knew there was no stopping to put it on, so he shoved it in his pocket and waited until later to put it on her. While we waited to me A and E, he got her shoe back on.

IMG_6537 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

The girls waiting in line.
IMG_6539 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

I enjoyed listening about all of the woodworkings that were made for the sommerhus. Peter is an architect, so he enjoyed listening to the CM talk during our wait. We met Anna first. She was very nice to all of the kids and talked with them quite a bit.

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410209072140 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410209072143 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410209072146 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

Elsa was also very nice. I felt like both characters really spent time with our large group.

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410210410075 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410210410078 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410210410084 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

I felt pretty good about my Disney planning skills at this point. We were able to ride FEA with no wait and meet the sisters and it was only 9:35.

Up Next Epcot Day 1 Part 3

 

[sjrec]

How nice you could have your entire family on one boat for FEA! What a great picture!
I think for a large group you are very organized and seem to work well together.

 

[Stasieki]

My family knows is as "don't run, but walk with purpose"! So I just have to say "walk with purpose" and they know the drill. LOL

 

[mommaof3boys]

How nice you could have your entire family on one boat for FEA! What a great picture!
I think for a large group you are very organized and seem to work well together.

Thank you! Luckily all of us get along really well. My sister in law is also a big Disney planner, so we both enjoy planning for trips.

My family knows is as "don't run, but walk with purpose"! So I just have to say "walk with purpose" and they know the drill. LOL

I will have to use that one next time lol

 

[BellaBaby]

Enjoying your TR!! I agree, great organization for such a large group. You're already getting a lot done at Epcot!!

I think we sat in that same booth as your brother's family when we went to the BV breakfast! I didn't know you could take pastries to go! That would've been nice to snack on later.

We discovered that you do not have to actually touch the honey wall at WTP, you can just wave your hand in front and it does the same thing. I hate the germs too!!

 

[disneyshakeygirl]

Nearly caught up.

Holy moly at the motorcycle guy! At least your dad had his wits to take photos.

 

[mommaof3boys]

Epcot Day 1 Pt 3
​

After our time with the Frozen sisters, we headed to future world. We stopped along the way to get a PP pic in front of the Figment topiary.

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410209327174 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

Then, we headed to the Figment ride. We had a fast pass for this later, but the boys decided they wanted to ride it now. Figment is a family favorite. On our first family trip, the boys fell in love with Figment. We bought Ronan, 5 months at the time, a Figment stuffed animal. He still sleeps with it.

IMG_6543 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

IMG_6541 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

IMG_6546 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

We all enjoyed our ride. Then, we headed to our Soarin fast pass. Once we got over to the ride, most of the kids decided they didn't want to ride. So Peter, Brett, Trent, and Granddad went on the ride. The rest of us waited in the seating area off to the side. When they got off, we switched, Mimi, Trent and I rode. The rest of the group headed to the Figment play area. I really enjoyed the new Soarin' film, and the wait seemed to be much shorter since they added the extra screen. This older lady next to me was having the time of her life. It really made the ride that much better. Her excitement was contagious. When we got off the ride, we headed that way. We let the kids play in the play area for awhile. Then, it was time for our Figment fast pass. So, we went on a second ride.

29513010_10100924100612390_2499142403354919326_n by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

After our second turn on Figment, we headed to Club Cool to try the different pops. This was a lot of fun and of course I tricked everyone into trying the Beverly. The kids reactions were priceless. Ronan actually didn't think it tasted that bad.

29541933_10100924100632350_387578712087308145_n by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

IMG_6548 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

After Cub Cool, we stopped so the kids could pin trade. While they were pin trading, we saw the Easter egg hunt maps. We picked up one to do once we got into World Showcase. We headed to our Fast pass for spaceship earth. At this point, I had a headache, so my mom went to the first aide center and got me Tylenol. Haley, Avery, and Abby decided they didn't want to ride, so they sat and waited for us.

IMG_6549 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

After Spaceship Earth it was around 12:30, we all decided to head into World Showcase. At this point we split up and went at our family's pace. We did the Easter egg hunt as we went through each country. My kids really enjoyed this activity. It kept them busy. We stopped in Japan to do some shopping. There was a candy Peter was looking for that he got on our first trip. He found it and bought it for the kids. I wanted to do pick a pearl for Annabelle, but the line was very long.

I grabbed a few drinks as we walked through the world show case. In France, I got the orange slush. In Germany, I got the Schofferhofer grapefruit beer. I shared both of these with Peter. I had the Grand Marnier, orange slush, on past trips. I really enjoy this drink. It was very refreshing on this warm afternoon. I had read about the grapefruit beer here on the dis. It did not disappoint. I have found it here in Kansas since getting home. It is so yummy! We finished our way around the countries. Stopping in each one to find the Easter egg. We stopped in Mexico for some Nachos from the quick service there. I ordered the Nachos and empanadas from the kids menu. The nachos are always a big hit. The green salsa they serve in the condiment bar is so good! The kids really enjoyed the empanadas. They were served with this spaghetti stuff. It was delicious! I felt like this was a good bargain. We all shared the snack and rested our legs. It was around 2:00 and we had already had a busy day!

IMG_6553 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

IMG_6552 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

We ran into Brett's family a few times throughout the World Showcase.

29542897_10100924104290020_7582679221773040252_n by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

We have never ridden the Gran Fiesta Tour, so we decided we would try that. Before we walked inside, we ran into my parents. They decided they would ride with us. I had never been in the building in Mexico. We walked in and it was nothing I expected. It was very neat in there, but also very busy. It was posted on the app that the wait was 5 min. There was a huge line of people in the building. I can only assume that was for the ride. It was not moving. Anyway, we couldn't figure out where to go, so we gave up.

We turned in our Easter egg map and chose the Belle egg as our prize for completing.

IMG_6554 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

We headed toward the Pixar shorts attraction. We all needed a break, and my parents wanted to do this. It was a nice air conditioned break. I did doze off during it. I was losing steam.

After the Pixar shorts, we went to the Disney Visa meet and greet. There was about two families in front of us. While we were waiting in line, I realized that my sunglasses were missing. I could only assume I accidentally threw them in the bin with the 3D glasses at the Pixar shorts. I decided to wait until after our meet and greet to go check. We rounded the corner and Mickey and Goofy were the pals we got to meet. They were lots of fun. Dancing with kids. They definitely spent a lot of time with us.

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410220346262 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410220346272 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

My parents parted ways with us at this point, and I think headed to Nemo.

Meet and greet complete I went back over to check for my sunglasses. They were never found.

At this point, we were all getting grouchy and decided heading back to the condo was probably the best choice. We had to exit through the International Gateway, so we headed that way. Annabelle fell asleep on the walk. When we got to the Boardwalk, we decided to just sit down and take a break. Peter and I got another schofferhofer grapefruit beer to share. We let Annabelle nap a little while. As we were sitting there, my parents walked up.

IMG_6556 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

We all decided to head up and get our cars from the Boardwalk valet. It was very convenient to valet park at Boardwalk and walk to Epcot. We had to pay for parking everyday anyway since we stayed offsite. It was only $3 more to valet than park at the parks.

We arrived back to the condo at 5:00. We decided to make a spaghetti dinner in the condo. We all ate, and then Peter and I took the kids down to swim. We swam in the lazy river pool in front of tower 5 tonight. It felt great to float around the lazy river. It was just what my tired feet needed. We were back to the room at 8:15. We took showers and were in bed by 8:40.

Our steps for the day
fullsizeoutput_644 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

 

[mommaof3boys]

Enjoying your TR!! I agree, great organization for such a large group. You're already getting a lot done at Epcot!!

I think we sat in that same booth as your brother's family when we went to the BV breakfast! I didn't know you could take pastries to go! That would've been nice to snack on later.

We discovered that you do not have to actually touch the honey wall at WTP, you can just wave your hand in front and it does the same thing. I hate the germs too!!

I love Epcot. It's just such a different experience from Magic Kingdom. I feel like we can slow down, although we didn't go very slow, and take time looking and just enjoying.

I had a friend eat at Bon Voyage, and she gave me the tip to ask for pastries to go.

Good to know about the honey wall. I teach Early Childhood Special Education, so I'm around germs all the time. I'm still anal about hand washing and not touching everything we see.

Nearly caught up.

Holy moly at the motorcycle guy! At least your dad had his wits to take photos.

yes! My dad said he just knew he was going to run.

 

[BellaBaby]

Yes on the grapefruit beer! My DSIL and her DH introduced us to it at Epcot. Have since bought some at home!

Sounds like a very productive and fun day!! I'm sure that lazy river felt like heaven!!