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

[MickeyReeds]

ToT is not my favorite either! I used to stay back with my DS when he was little and didn't want to ride. Then one year, he wanted to try it so I put on my big girl pants and tried it. I've ridden it several times now and I still get anxiety! The only thing that helped was on our adults only trip, I had a little liquid courage before riding and it didn't seem so scary!

 

[pattyw]

I've been on TOT a couple of times- but I nearly give myself a panic attack worrying about the drops. So, I choose to let DH and sons go on while I wait. I love sitting in the room with benches where the ride exit is. It is so fun to watch the pure joy ( and fear) as the riders come off.

I love the Citizens of Hollywood! their performances are great!!

 

[ariane37]

While they were pin trading, we saw the Easter egg hunt maps. We picked up one to do once we got into World Showcase.

Love the Easter Egg hunt! I did it myself a couple years ago when DH and I were on a trip without the kids lol. No shame in being a grown up looking for eggs!

In Germany, I got the Schofferhofer grapefruit beer. I shared both of these with Peter.

I finally tried this a couple years ago too after hearing about it repeatedly on the Boards and I'm so glad I did. It is SO refreshing, especially on a hot day! Luckily I've been able to find it locally.

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.

What?? Oh no! Now you need to book another trip LOL it's a cute ride, sorry you couldn't find the entrance but definitely do it next time.

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

Hey, I got Belle last month also

I lifted Annabelle up so she could see. A CM saw Annabelle waving to Daisy and waved her forward past the ropes. Annabelle went up and had an informal meet and greet.

rody had on his Donald hat today. Donald waved him forward, and he got to have a special meet with Donald. At this point, it was 8:24.

So cool! I don't think they were coming out last Nov. when DH and I did RD, but we did see them last month and we saw them select the Family of the Day. Very neat for Annabelle and Brody.

This pic cracks me up!

ha ha love it

Peter and I decided to try our fate on Tower of Terror.

Ooh, now that's my absolute favorite I need to ride it as many times as possible each trip! Sorry you didn't love it. My 16 year old does and DH is ok with it. I admit I guilted DS now 12 into riding with me when he was 11 because we were there by ourselves for a few days and no way could I be in HS and not ride! He did fine and even rode again a few months later, but now he waits for us. He wasn't necessarily scared but it's just not his type of ride.

Annabelle lost the tooth because she took a bowling ball to the face.

Holy crap

 

[disneyshakeygirl]

ToT still gives me nightmares! I went on it for the first time a couple years ago and my poor friend nearly lost her arm!

 

[mommaof3boys]

I am so enjoying your TR. Your family dynamics is awesome.
I was wondering if you got a parking pass when you stayed at Bonnett Creek. You answered my question.
I am thinking of staying there. Who do you contact to make a reservation.

Thanks for reading a long. My parents are Wyndham owners, so they book with their points.
This thread has a lot of places you can rent from. https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-we-loooooove-bonnet-creek-thread-part-4.3366139/
We always get a parking pass. I know a lot of people don't. The automatic gate was broken to enter for half of our trip, and the gate attendant checked for our parking pass every time we entered. If we wouldn't have had the pass, we would have had to stop and be checked to enter the grounds. We really do love Bonnet Creek. We have never had a bad experience. It is a short drive to all of the parks. The shuttle system is not the best, but we had our own car.

What?? Oh no! Now you need to book another trip

Any excuse to book another trip

Ooh, now that's my absolute favorite I need to ride it as many times as possible each trip! Sorry you didn't love it.

Now, that I know what to expect, I might like it better.

ToT still gives me nightmares! I went on it for the first time a couple years ago and my poor friend nearly lost her arm!

Peter was glad he didn't let any words fly

The only thing that helped was on our adults only trip, I had a little liquid courage before riding and it didn't seem so scary!

I could've used some

It is so fun to watch the pure joy ( and fear) as the riders come off.

I'm sure my face was that of fear and relief

 

[mommaof3boys]

Hollywood Studios Pt3
​

We finished our ride on Toy Story Mania and were ready for lunch. It was around 1:00. On all of our other trips, we had eaten at Pizza Planet. I had read that PizzeRizzo had opened in it's spot and had basically the same menu. We decided to go there. We ordered each kid a cheese pizza kids meal. It came with a drink, pizza, cookie, carrot sticks, and Danimals yogurt drink. Peter and I ordered the meat pizza to share. It came with the pizza and Caesar salad. I know a lot of people don't like this pizza. We think it's good. It's not great, but my kids eat it and that's what counts. It's typical fast food pizza. We sat upstairs. The restaurant was pretty empty, so we were able to relax a little while.

After lunch, we headed to see the Muppets 3-D. I enjoy this attraction. Most of all I love watching my kids watch. Annabelle really loved all of the 3-D shows we watched. She would try to catch all of the flying things and just giggle. The boys were doing the same. I love just watching them be kids and take it all in.

IMG_6658 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

IMG_6659 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

After Muppets, it started pouring rain right as we were walking by the Jedi training stage. They announced the show was over and kids were just frantically standing there. I was glad we made the decision to do the early show. I had made a FP for the Little Mermaid show after we used our TSMM FP. We were in our window, so we put on ponchos and headed that way.

While waiting for the Little Mermaid show, I made a FP for Disney Jr Live. After LM, we had a little time, so we looked in the shops. Annabelle picked out a Little Mermaid bubble wand for her souvenir. Then we headed over to Disney Jr. Annabelle and Ronan loved it! They were singing along and trying to catch the bubbles and gold doubloons. Trent and Brody were even having fun. When we got out of the show, it was raining again. So ponchos back on.

IMG_6665 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

IMG_6663 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

IMG_6662 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

We went down to see how long the wait was for Buzz and Woody. It was over 30 minutes. We saw Cruz Ramirez was down a little farther with no wait. We went down and visited her. She was fun and interactive. Annabelle couldn't believe Cruz was talking to her.

PhotoPass_Visiting_STUDIO_410245340694 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_STUDIO_410245340697 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

While waiting for Disney Jr to start I made a FP for Star Tours. Haley saw that I had made a FP and made one for Brett and Jackson at the same time. We were getting close to our FP window for Star Tours, so we headed that way. When we got over by Olaf's meet, Brett and Haley were just coming out. They said it was a short wait, so we went in. There was only one family in front or us. Olaf meet was a lot of fun. He gave great hugs!

PhotoPass_Visiting_STUDIO_410246026363 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_STUDIO_410246026368 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

After meeting Olaf, we headed to our Star Tours FP with Brett and Jackson. Annabelle grudgingly agreed to ride one more time. My parents had left the park for a little while and were heading back. Haley, Abby, and Avery met them to see Little Mermaid while we rode Star Tours. When we got off Star Tours, the wait was only 10 minutes, so the boys decided to go for another ride. Annabelle and I waited at the stroller. While they rode, I secured our family and my parents a FP for Fantasmic! Brett and Haley had reserved seating for the Star Wars fireworks with their tour. I also looked around to see what else we could do in the park. That's when I remembered that "Wizard Mickey" had a meet in HS. Ronan loves Sorcerer Mickey. He calls him "Wizard Mickey". I knew this was a must. Annabelle had her fancy Minnie hat on, and Ronan had his wizard Mickey hat.

Once the boys got off the ride, we headed toward Mickey and Minnie. The posted time was 15 minutes. Thank goodness the line was covered because the skies opened and it started pouring. The wait ended up being closer to 30 minutes or more. It was pouring the whole time we were in line, so it's not like we would be able to do anything else. This was one of the best meet and greets we had all week. Minnie loved Annabelle and her hat. She spun her around and gave her lots of attention.

PhotoPass_Visiting_STUDIO_410247919870 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_STUDIO_410247919871 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_STUDIO_410247919880 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

When Ronan walked into see Mickey, Mickey pointed to his hat and got really excited. He took Ronan by the hand and led him to his spell book. He showed him his spells and other things around the room. Then, he asked Ronan to cast a spell with him. Ronan grinned the entire time. I'm so glad we stuck it out in the long line!

PhotoPass_Visiting_STUDIO_410247976168 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_STUDIO_410247976171 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_STUDIO_410247976194 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_STUDIO_410247976429 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

The only down side was the character attendant tried to rush us on pictures and not let us all get a picture with Mickey. I found this a lot when we did character meets. The way I see it is that each of my kids waited in line just as long as a kid who might be an only child, therefore they should each get to say hi. We didn't do individual pictures of each kid with every character, but we would do a group kid shot and a group whole family shot. If it was one of the kids favorite characters, then we would let them do an individual shot. Oh well, I didn't let it ruin our meet, and we all got in a picture.

After we met Minnie and Mickey, we were starving. We went into ABC Commissary to get some dinner. Peter and I ordered the salmon, green beans and couscous off of the kids menu to share. The kids got the chicken strips and French fries off of the adult menu to share. After dinner, we shopped in the shops on Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards. All we bought was some suckers for the kids to eat while waiting for Fantasmic!

My parents were waiting for us in front of the entrance to Fantasmic! We met up with them, and went in to get seats. It was 7:50 at this point. Fantasmic was scheduled to start at 8:30. Annabelle used her bubble blower. The kids ate their suckers. I was so excited for Annabelle and Ronan to get to see this show. Last trip, Ronan fell asleep right before the start of the show. Annabelle was too little to remember.

IMG_6675 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr
Our view

IMG_6677 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

IMG_6685 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

Everyone loved the show. I was so happy my kids got to experience this with their grandparents. Annabelle loved the whole thing. She was so animated the whole show. Ronan loved it too. He was dancing in his seat. I love this show. I feel it is just really Disney. I love how so many characters are included.

We made our way out of the theater and retrieved our stroller. We made our way out of the park and back to the condo at 9:36. Everyone showered and headed to bed.

 

[disneyshakeygirl]

How rude of the attendant! It’d be one thing if you were trying to do a 5 hr photo shoot but you weren’t. You (kindly and fairly) waited your turn. The photos are great though!

Typical kids and sounds like the children I nanny for - if they eat it without complaining - amazing!

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

The character photos are great. It's great when they interact with the kids and makes it a bit more special.

 

[jchurch0409]

I love the pictures from the Mickey meet! Those are precious!!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We think it's good. It's not great, but my kids eat it and that's what counts.

Really, sometimes that is the most important thing to us parents!

We went down and visited her. She was fun and interactive. Annabelle couldn't believe Cruz was talking to her.

We saw her waiting in line for TWM, I didn't realize she talked!

Awsome Pic!

I

A bubble wand and lollipop! What more do you need in life?

 

[mommaof3boys]

How rude of the attendant! It’d be one thing if you were trying to do a 5 hr photo shoot but you weren’t. You (kindly and fairly) waited your turn. The photos are great though!

Typical kids and sounds like the children I nanny for - if they eat it without complaining - amazing!

I am always super aware of taking too much time. I never want to be rude to others waiting. Thank you! I think the pictures are so cute. I love having MM, so I don't have to worry about capturing photos. I can just live in the moment.

Yes, I'm just thankful when they eat.

The character photos are great. It's great when they interact with the kids and makes it a bit more special.

Thank you! I love a great character interaction.

I love the pictures from the Mickey meet! Those are precious!!

Thank you! I'm always thankful we have MM for photos like these.

We saw her waiting in line for TWM, I didn't realize she talked!

We didn't either until Annabelle touched her and she talked. It was a fun surprise.

Awsome Pic!

Thank you!

A bubble wand and lollipop! What more do you need in life?

She was living the good life!

 

[pattyw]

Love the Minnie & Mickey meet!

Sorry about the attendant rushing you! I thought it just happened to us because we're all adults! Yes sometimes we like to get a couple of different shots with the characters. I guess I've learned to just ignore the rush attitude and take the pictures we want.

 

[mommaof3boys]

Epcot Day 2 Pt 1
​

Today we would be heading to Epcot. Brett and Haley and family would be heading to Magic Kingdom. Their kids did not want to do a second Epcot day. My parents were going golfing.

We made it to Epcot before park opening. It was chilly this morning, and I tried to convince everyone to grab their jackets. Peter and Brody decided they didn't need theirs. They let us in before 9 and then held everyone in front of spaceship earth. We stopped for some PP pictures.

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410256236288 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410256236294 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410256236296 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

We were not heading to one of the big 3 this morning, so I let the kids pick what they wanted to do first. They chose Nemo. While we waited for the park to open, there were drummers playing. The kids enjoyed listening. At 8:50, they let everyone in. It was fun to watch the crowd split in 3 directions Test Track, Frozen, and Soarin. We were in no rush, so we walked toward Nemo. Peter decided he wanted a coffee from Starbucks, so I headed there with the plan to meet at Nemo. Starbucks wasn't open, and I don't think they were going to open a minute before 9, so I gave up and met up with my family.

We walked down toward Nemo. When we got to the entrance of the door, it was locked. We waited thinking they just weren't letting anyone on until 9. 9 came and the doors still weren't open. A little after 9:05, 3 official looking people showed up, surprised the doors weren't open. They unlocked the door and away we went. We boarded our clam shell and enjoyed our ride on Nemo.

IMG_6691 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr
Waiting for Nemo to open

After Nemo, we checked to see if Turtle Talk was open, but I guess it opens later. When we walked out to get our stroller, a squirrel was in our stroller eating Ronan's granola bar. He thought this was hilarious.

We headed to a new to us ride, Living with the Land. This was a nice, relaxing, and informative ride. We all really enjoyed it. Trent enjoyed finding hidden Mickeys. Brody wants to grow some of those huge winter melons. After Living with the Land, it was time to use our Figment FP. Since we love this ride so much, we rode once with FP and once stand by. We did a few of the Photo Booth pics in the play area. We also shopped some in the dump shop. Trent and Brody got a Figment funko pop. Brody found Stitch gloves that he wanted, but we told him to wait. I found a shirt, but also decided to wait until later to get it.

We headed to Mousegear to do some shopping after that. I know Annabelle picked an Ariel doll. Peter got a Mickey bottle opener. I know we bought more because the bags were big, and we didn't want to haul them all day. I took them to the car and also got Peter and Brody's jackets because they were freezing.

While I took the packages to the car, Peter took the kids to Canada and got cookies. The cookies were really good. We meant to buy more to take home, but we never did.

IMG_7360 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

Coming Up Next More Epcot

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

The cookies were really good. We meant to buy more to take home, but we never did.

I hate when that happens...

After Nemo, we checked to see if Turtle Talk was open, but I guess it opens later. When we walked out to get our stroller, a squirrel was in our stroller eating Ronan's granola bar. He thought this was hilarious.

Glad he found it funny and not horrible.

Phot

Great pic! I need to remember to do more pics of just my and my husband.

A little after 9:05, 3 official looking people showed up, surprised the doors weren't open.

I thought you were going to say they were surprised that anyone was waiting. Ha!

 

[mommaof3boys]

Love the Minnie & Mickey meet!

Sorry about the attendant rushing you! I thought it just happened to us because we're all adults! Yes sometimes we like to get a couple of different shots with the characters. I guess I've learned to just ignore the rush attitude and take the pictures we want.

Thank you! Yes, I need to not let things like that bother me. I'm glad we got the pictures, and the meet was a lot of fun.

Great pic! I need to remember to do more pics of just my and my husband.

This PPP had us do this, and I'm so glad he did. We did get some alone later in the trip, but I definitely wasn't good about asking for just the two of us.

I thought you were going to say they were surprised that anyone was waiting. Ha!

Ha! Maybe that is what they were surprised about. People are waiting to go on Nemo right at 9

 

[mommaof3boys]

Epcot Day 2 Pt 2
​

I dropped the packages in the car and grabbed jackets, and then met back up with my family in Canada. From Canada we walked around the WS toward Japan. The kids wanted more candy, and I wanted to try Fruishi.

IMG_6692 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

The fruishi was delicious. I also got Peter a spring roll and myself teriyaki chicken and rice that I shared with the kids. We also watched the drummers. After our pit stop in Japan, we had to go back to future world for our next FP, character spot.

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410262511772 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr
Mickey loved the kids outfits, especially Ronan's shirt.

Goofy loved Trent's outfit, but he did not approve of Brody's Donald Duck shirt. Brody was so confused. He kept saying I thought they were friends. I told him Goofy was just jealous that Brody was showing Donald love. Trent and Goofy got some cute pictures together.

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410264634294 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410264634291 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

Annabelle was dressed like Minnie. She was sad that her dress was pink polka dot and Minnie's was red. Minnie was excited to see Annabelle, and try to get her to curtsy. Annabelle said she didn't know how to do that.

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410262605582 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_410262727863 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

After our visit to the Character Spot, we headed back to WS through Mexico this time. We headed to Norway. I tried some of the lotion from the store there. I really like it, but the scent is a little strong, so I decided against buying any. The kids tried on the viking gear, and Annabelle tried to convince us to buy her everything Anna and Elsa.

We had some time before our 1:55 FP for Frozen Ever After. Peter has always enjoyed the Canada show, so this trip we decided to try Reflections of China. We watched the show. The kids sat on the floor because they were just too tired to stand. It was enjoyable, and Peter really liked watching.

After Reflections of China, it was time for FEA FP. We went on another boat ride to Arendelle.

PhotoPass_Visiting_EPCOT_8205291193 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

We then headed to Mexico to get Nachos and empanadas to share. Of course, the food was a big hit!

IMG_6693 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

After our snack, I got a Tiger Lily Sangria in Mexico to share with Peter. It was delicious and strong!

IMG_6694 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

The kids were getting tired at this point, but Peter still had some shopping he wanted to do in the countries, so we powered on. Trent finally decided on a hat he wanted. He got this one in China.

IMG_6697 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

We also bought some more Mango candy. The kids decided they wanted to do the Kidcot stations, so they got a Duffy.

IMG_6699 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

We then headed toward Germany. We bought some caramels. Peter also bought a topper you put on a bottle of beer that turns it into a stein.

We kept going around WS letting the kids stop at the Kidcot stations. I got a pear beer in the UK to share with Peter. It was also delicious. Ronan and Annabelle must have fallen asleep at some point because I have this pic.

IMG_6703 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

We made our way to the shop outside of the Figment ride to buy my shirt and Brody's stitch hands. We then headed out of the park at 4:00.

IMG_6702 by Katie Remsberg, on Flickr

I had been texting with Haley, sil, and my mom. We had decided to drop kids at the condo with the grandparents and do adult only evening at Epcot. We headed to the condo. My parents were currently playing golf, but were heading back to the condo soon. We rested up a bit and put on a little bit warmer clothes for the evening.

Next Up...Adult only night in Epcot

 

[BellaBaby]

Great update!

What exactly is the Fruishi? It looks good!

 

[mommaof3boys]

Great update!

What exactly is the Fruishi? It looks good!

It is a soy wrapper with coconut rice, strawberry, cantaloupe, and pineapple served with raspberry drizzle and whip cream.

I bought soy wrappers off amazon to make this at home, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. It's the only kind of sushi I will eat...so good!!

 

[jchurch0409]

Love your Character Spot photos and an adult only EPCOT night sounds wonderful! I can't wait to read about it!!

 

[ariane37]

I know a lot of people don't like this pizza. We think it's good.

We ate at Pizza Planet YEARS ago. As in, maybe 2010, maybe not since 2007. I did stop in PizzaRizzo when it first opened to take a look around but honestly I never think to eat there. We had the most horrendous, heinous pizza at the BW pizza window in 2016 and since then we haven't had pizza outside of some flatbreads. As long as it isn't as repulsive as THAT pizza, I guess I'd try it lol!

Olaf meet was a lot of fun. He gave great hugs!

This is one I've never done but everyone loves it! Have to talk someone into doing it with me at some point

The only down side was the character attendant tried to rush us on pictures and not let us all get a picture with Mickey. I found this a lot when we did character meets. The way I see it is that each of my kids waited in line just as long as a kid who might be an only child, therefore they should each get to say hi.

I agree 100%. Even if you did want each child to get an individual picture why shouldn't they??? Sorry you were made to feel that way

We then headed to Mexico to get Nachos and empanadas to share. Of course, the food was a big hit!

One of our favorite QS locations and we LOVE the nachos and empanadas

I got a Tiger Lily Sangria in Mexico to share with Peter

Wait, what is this??? Was this for the festival or is this there all the time, because I have never heard of it and I love Sangria! I must try it......