Rope Drop is Tip #1!! A June 2016 TR...updated 10/31 pg 19 post 373 THE END!

[ArielSRL]

I'm a little behind but trying to get caught up.

We've been guilty of losing lots of time in The Seas. There's just so much to see and explore. TREX is one of our family favorites. Dennis would eat there every trip if he could. I love the fact that Disney has so many playground for kids to just play.I really think young kids would be happy just to swim in the pool and play at the playgrounds.

You got some really good photo pass pictures @ Disney Springs. I really enjoyed your fireworks pictures too. I'm really bummed we missed this.

No problem on being behind! I, quite regularly, get behind on the Dis! Not so much in the summer but since I've been back at work, it happens quite often!

My boys would've stayed longer had I let them. May need to build more time in for them to do just that next trip!

TRex was definitely a cool place. And I'm sure we will hit it again in the future. I'm sure the boys will enjoy it even more as they get a little older.

Yes, the playgrounds and pools are probably the hands down favorites of most of the young ones!

Thanks on the compliments about both the PP photos and the FW photos!

 

[ArielSRL]

Ok, so totally random but I looked at my room charge bill tonight and I discovered that the drink I got at AK was at The Feeding Ground, in the Discovery Island area and it was a Frozen Mango Rum Lemonade! So there ya go! I'm sure you were all waiting on the edge of your seat for that! Haha.

 

[ArielSRL]

FYI: I am currently trying to get about 150 items prepared to sell in the consignment sale at my son's church preschool and it is quite a lengthy process when I only have time after the kids go to bed to do it. I'm hoping to grab a few minutes here and there to start writing something and save it to Word (I've written one paragraph thus far...lol) and eventually, when I get a moment to add the photos, post it. But, it could very well be next week before I have time.

Sorry, readers! I mean, how dare life get in the way of my DIS time?? LOL

 

[ArielSRL]

Just a couple notes before the update. Both are reasons my DH is currently on my good side...lol. One, he installed a new browser on my mom's laptop (the one I am borrowing) and so now I can get on the Dis and update my report without having to use DH's crap laptop! Yay!

The other good thing is what he said when I told him about a Dis thread I read the other day. It was posted by a woman who had gone to Disney this past summer with her family and had planned to go back next summer. When she and her DH discussed it though, she was shocked when he said he had no intentions of returning to Disney next summer and that once was enough because most people don't even get that. I told my DH he had better NEVER say that to me and his response was, "I'm afraid I'll get down there and never want to leave!" HAHAHA. I'm already converting him and we haven't even made the trip yet!

It's going to be time to start sending him menus soon, I think. As a matter of fact, after reading about the Trail's End brunch @ariane37 posted about in her DR, I've decided to add that ADR to our departure day and I found an article with all the offerings listed, along with the very reasonable price by Disney standards, and I already sent that to DH. He was totally on board!

Onto the update...

Day Six 6/9/2016 ~ Magic Kingdom (part 1)

Today was a bit of a sad day because it was our last Magic Kingdom day. It was also a day that I could’ve very easily gone off on my dad but I held myself in check. It also was a day that I could have had a mini meet up with @Jfsag123 but instead I was probably silently seething in our 1 bedroom villa at SSR waiting on the rest of my family while she was at MK with her crew getting a bunch of stuff done! Haha.

So we had FPs scheduled for Monsters Inc at 10, Space Mtn at 11, then Splash (for most of us) at 7:15 and Aladdin for Will and me (but really whatever adult didn't want do Splash or did it later with a Child Swap pass) at 7:05. We had ADRs at BOG at 11:30 and Chef Mickey's at 5:30 (after almost losing the 5pm ones, I did end up being able to switch to 5:30 like the day before when it popped up on ressie finder and I called in the dining...no more trying online for me!).

I have in my notes that we hit Tomorrowland around 10:30am and AJ wanted to ride the Speedway again. So I ended up changing our Monsters FP to Pooh for after our BOG lunch. We did standby and it did take awhile. Both boys and my dad and I ended up riding. Mom waited in the shade for us somewhere. After that AJ wanted to do the People Mover so even though it was time for our Space FPs, we jumped in line for the People Mover and it was probably one of the longest lines I had ever seen for it with the queue winding around before we even got to the escalator to take us up.

It was a good ride except it did stop once while we were in the dark parts. While on the ride, we discussed whether Dad and I could do Space. I was all for trying because I knew we had a grace period with our ADR but Mom and Dad insisted we did not have time. Oh well. I didn't really want to skip Space for the second trip in a row but it looked like that was the way the cookie was going to crumble. We got off the ride and headed to Fantasyland toward BOG. Once we got there, my dad pulled a fast one and said that he was going to go back over and ride Space! I was like, wth??? "Are you gonna miss lunch?" He said, "if I have to", and took off. OMG. Let me tell you how mad I was at that point! We had just talked about riding and he had said we didn't have time! If he was going to pull this, we could've attempted it before even coming to lunch. And in the process of pulling this, he left Mom and I to take the kids through the line at BOG. So I just got more and more mad as we waited and waited. And honestly, what was up with this waiting business? We had pre-ordered our food, yet we still had to wait to get into the order room to verify our order?? This was the first I had heard of this happening. We did wait in a different line but we were still sharing terminals with the non pre-ordering crowd. It made no sense to me. What was the point of pre-ordering? Honestly, I'm still not sure what happened here as I had never heard of pre-orders being dealt with this way. So we had to wait quite a long time, while I was getting more and more angry and the boys were bored and acting up. I did get a photo though:


Eventually we made it to the terminals to verify our order. I had heard that you could exchange your drink for a French Onion soup, so I had attempted to do that with my pre-order, but apparently the way I did it wasn't correct so they had to make some change on that. After we got that straightened out, we walked over to some other CMs standing between the room with the computers and the seating areas. One of them walked us out to a table in the main dining area. I asked about eating in the West Wing but she shrugged and said it was probably full. I just accepted her answer because I was just trying to hold my anger at my dad in check and didn't want to lose it on someone else.

In a few minutes, our food was brought out:

I got the Turkey Sandwich with Pomme Frites and the French Onion soup.

We each got a different cupcake. Mom ordered Lemon, I ordered the Strawberry (the absolute best one hands down), and we got Dad the Masters (with the grey stuff). With Dad being a diabetic, we all ate on his.

Mom got the Croque Monsieur with Pomme Frites.

Maybe this is Dad's meal on the top? Looks like Turkey so it could be mine again. I really don't know what Dad got so I am guessing. I think this soup is the Turkey Noodle that comes with the Grilled Cheese (below) for the kids.

Dad ended up joining us after his Space Mountain ride. He had tried to call me several times and I didn't hear my phone but I might not have answered even if I had. And honestly, what ticked me off the most is just how selfish it all came across to me. I mean, I had been keeping my mouth shut all week even though he kept messing up (for selfish reasons) my plans for the family to be more productive, and here he was doing it again. I was quite cold to him at lunch but I held my tongue. To this day, I doubt he has any clue that I was even mad at him that day.

Here's a few more photos of the restaurant and the boys:





Continued in next post...

 

[ArielSRL]

**Continued** Day Six 6/9/2016 ~ Magic Kingdom (part 1)



So, my final thoughts about BOG...beautiful place; absolutely love the theming. French Onion soup was great, turkey sandwich not so much. But I'll fully admit that I got it without the Dijon mustard because I don't like mustard. I thought maybe I could substitute mayonnaise but it certainly didn't appear so, so the sandwich was just too dry. The Strawberry cupcake was the bomb, though! Mom also wasn't impressed but she got the Ham without the bechamel because she isn't very adventurous when it comes to food. As a matter of fact, she didn't want to eat there at all and I had to talk her into it.

So with all that said, I'm still planning to schedule it for next June...for the theming and the cupcake alone! My plan is to get the French Onion soup, the kid's Grill Cheese, and the strawberry cupcake, of course! I had toyed with a PPO breakfast ADR but it's just a tad overpriced for paying OOP (no DDP for us next trip) and there's a good chance Disney will move the opening back to 8am (which they did this past June) so the ADR won't be a PPO anymore.

Up next: Day Six 6/9/2016 ~ Magic Kingdom (part 2)

 

[Jfsag123]

Hooray for updates and computer fixes and your DH already looking like he may be coming around! I told my DH about the same thread and jokingly said I would leave him if he tried to pull that. His response: "I would leave me if I tried to pull that!" Lol. It's nice knowing I'm not the only crazy addict in the family.

I love reading your report and thinking about where we were in the World at the exact same time as you. Seems like we only barely missed you this day! Oh my gosh, I was so frustrated for you reading about your dad and Space Mountain! And I'm sure you're right to suspect that he was probably unaware of the fact that you were even mad.

And very strange about what happened to you at Be Our Guest. Our lunch, which happened a mere 4 days later, was nothing like that. No extra line to wait in since we pre-ordered, and we seated ourselves with our choice of tables. The kids actually wanted The West Wing, but I was desperate to sit by the snowy windows. Sounds like we may need to try that strawberry cupcake next time! It sounds like you held it together well despite some frustrations and were able to get some great pics in the process, which is always a win.

 

[ArielSRL]

Ok, an edit to the update....I realize now that Mom got the Turkey sandwich, like me, and also like me, without the Dijon mustard. I still am not sure what Dad got but I know it as the third photo down so I *think* that was the ham. If it is the ham, I'm not sure if he got it with the bechamel or not, nor do I know if he liked it. Partially because I wasn't conversing with him at that point and also because I don't think he mentioned what he thought of any of the Disney food, unless it was to mention something about it was "ridiculous" or "expensive" or something else negative...because, well, that's my dad. But, we love him anyways....lol. He truly does have some redeeming qualities, I promise. I am very much highlighting the negative for the sake of my report and because it really tended to shine through on this trip, but please don't think I'm this horrible person that talks so badly about my dad.

 

[ArielSRL]

Hooray for updates and computer fixes and your DH already looking like he may be coming around! I told my DH about the same thread and jokingly said I would leave him if he tried to pull that. His response: "I would leave me if I tried to pull that!" Lol. It's nice knowing I'm not the only crazy addict in the family.

I need my DH to take a cue from your DH!

I love reading your report and thinking about where we were in the World at the exact same time as you. Seems like we only barely missed you this day! Oh my gosh, I was so frustrated for you reading about your dad and Space Mountain! And I'm sure you're right to suspect that he was probably unaware of the fact that you were even mad.

He is just oblivious to that kind of thing, most of the time, unless I specifically point it out...and sometimes I do but there wasn't going to be any good coming out of it at that moment, so I 'let it go' (again). I mean I was in the perfect place for that, right? LOL

And very strange about what happened to you at Be Our Guest. Our lunch, which happened a mere 4 days later, was nothing like that. No extra line to wait in since we pre-ordered, and we seated ourselves with our choice of tables. The kids actually wanted The West Wing, but I was desperate to sit by the snowy windows. Sounds like we may need to try that strawberry cupcake next time! It sounds like you held it together well despite some frustrations and were able to get some great pics in the process, which is always a win.

Yes, I really don't understand the process that day. I have heard there have been different processes different days but none such as what we experienced, so who knows. I have heard the West Wing is really dark so it might not have worked out for us anyway, and where we were was kind of perfect for Dad to find us after the "traitor" got back from his solo ride on Space Mtn...haha. As far as the cupcake, it probably was the best on property that I tried. The only other one that might have been as good was the seasonal Pink Lemonade one from Starring Rolls.

 

[ErinF]

Hello there!!! I've been catching up on the report here and there, but just haven't had much time to comment. Sorry about that! Life is just too crazy busy right now. I see you're up to the date we got a quick meet. Nice to think about that and relive a little bit of Disney through your report, can't believe it was 3 months ago. I'm sorry your dad continued to be such a stinker, messing with your plans, but it's great that you get to go back so soon! Hooray for another trip that's just around the corner and you're already having so much fun planning it!

I don't know why BOG was weird that day you were there. I'm with Kelley, we were there 3 days later on Sunday, and we did not have to wait in a line if we preordered. That was my first time there and I thought it was pretty special. The theming is so great and I really loved my food. I ordered the kid's braised pork and it was delicious. And I think the rest of my family enjoyed their meals as well.

Can't wait to read more of your report!!!

 

[ariane37]

OMG your dad!! That's totally something my MIL would have done a few years ago when she was still a bit healthier. I'm so sorry he got in the way of your plans SO much and what he did with Space REALLY blows I suppose one day my boys will be talking smack about me, but it will never be related to Disney unless it's because I've turned their wives into addicts lol!
Weird about BOG, wasn't like that for us when we pre-ordered breakfast or lunch. I have to agree that the strawberry cupcake is like the best Disney cupcake I've had!!

 

[ArielSRL]

Hello there!!! I've been catching up on the report here and there, but just haven't had much time to comment. Sorry about that! Life is just too crazy busy right now. I see you're up to the date we got a quick meet. Nice to think about that and relive a little bit of Disney through your report, can't believe it was 3 months ago.

Yep, we are up to that day, aren't we?? And yes, its already been too long.

I'm sorry your dad continued to be such a stinker, messing with your plans, but it's great that you get to go back so soon! Hooray for another trip that's just around the corner and you're already having so much fun planning it!

Yes, I haven't really focused too much on the next one yet other than drawing out a rough draft, but I did start sending menus to my DH so we will be all ready for ADRs in December!

I don't know why BOG was weird that day you were there. I'm with Kelley, we were there 3 days later on Sunday, and we did not have to wait in a line if we preordered. That was my first time there and I thought it was pretty special. The theming is so great and I really loved my food. I ordered the kid's braised pork and it was delicious. And I think the rest of my family enjoyed their meals as well.

Can't wait to read more of your report!!!

Yeh, I knew it seemed weird at BOG because I had never read of anyone going through a line that had pre-ordered. Maybe it was something different they were trying but it obviously didn't work! I do enjoy eating there, so we are definitely back next year!

Thanks for reading!

 

[ArielSRL]

OMG your dad!! That's totally something my MIL would have done a few years ago when she was still a bit healthier. I'm so sorry he got in the way of your plans SO much and what he did with Space REALLY blows I suppose one day my boys will be talking smack about me, but it will never be related to Disney unless it's because I've turned their wives into addicts lol!

Yeh, it isn't like he committed a cardinal sin, but just on top of everything else....causing me/we to miss so many things, then making sure he went back and did exactly what he wanted at our expense, just really hit me the wrong way. I hope I never do to my kids what my dad did to me on this trip!

Weird about BOG, wasn't like that for us when we pre-ordered breakfast or lunch. I have to agree that the strawberry cupcake is like the best Disney cupcake I've had!!

Yeh, hopefully next summer I won't have to deal with the line drama. It really added about a half hour to our meal I think. And absolutely, that strawberry cupcake...wowza!

 

[vamassey1]

My DH was very reluctant to go to Disney. The first trip that I took the older kids he didn't go since he was out of town working. When he finally did go it was just the two of us and he was hooked. I think your DH will be too.

Sounds like your Dad likes to be in control. Hopefully next trip will go better for you. I'm sorry you missed Space. It's not a favorite of mine but I would be disappointed if I missed it two trip running.

I totally agree with you on the strawberry cupcake. We had it too and loved it. You got some great pictures of the inside of BOG. Mine did not come out near that good.

 

[gracer9977]

So Sorry you missed out on going on Space Mountain two trips in a row and that really sucks that your dad did that to you, especially when you had just discussed it just a few minutes before. Hopefully you will finally get to do everything you wanted to do this trip on your next one.

I am so envious of all of you with Disney loving DH's. My DH hates Disney and has made me promise that we won't go back for at least 5 years. He would be happy if we never went back. Some of his lack of enjoyment is that we were with my family the last 4 trips we went on but 3 of those trips were paid for by my parents so we would never have been able to afford to go all those times if it wasn't for them. I of course love being with my family and love sharing the kids experiences with my parents and my kids love hanging out in the Happiest place on Earth with their cousins. My brother is turning 40 in Sept 2018 and my family is all planning to go back to spend his birthday there. I think my DH will probably divorce me if I even mention that.

I really hope that you are able to hit some rope drops and get alot more done on your next trip. I am a total night owl also. I work nights and sleep during the day. I find it easy to flip my schedule and wake up early when I am at Disney but just cause I love it so much. When not at Disney I can barely function before noon.

Sorry you had such a long wait and trouble with your order at BOG. We did the preorder meal when we went and it was a nightmare. They somehow charged all 5 meals onto the adult meals from the dining plan, when 2 of them were supposed to be kids. 2 of our meals were wrong and 1 of the meals had no drink. Took us almost 20 minutes to get everything correctly ordered. I think the preorder was still kind of new though. I absolutely love the atmosphere there.

Glad you got your computer problems ironed out.

 

[kastoney]

Yikes, what trouble with your Dad. We went with my parents a few years ago and i was totally expecting some of that from my Mother as she generally has no concern for anyone but herself. Surprisingly she was fine, it was my Dad who drove me nuts as he video's every stinking thing we did and then would watch it as soon as we got done with the ride. Drove me nuts. But hold that tongue I did too ; )

 

[ArielSRL]

My DH was very reluctant to go to Disney. The first trip that I took the older kids he didn't go since he was out of town working. When he finally did go it was just the two of us and he was hooked. I think your DH will be too.

My DH has not been since he was a kid, I think before Epcot was even built! He was working this past June and couldn't get off because he had to take off the next week for a wedding in his family in Louisiana that we all had to go to. This year, no other summer trips are planned so he should be good. My only concern for him is the crowds, which is why rope drop will be essential. But it shouldn't be a problem, because he will cooperate, unlike my dad. LOL

Sounds like your Dad likes to be in control. Hopefully next trip will go better for you. I'm sorry you missed Space. It's not a favorite of mine but I would be disappointed if I missed it two trip running.

Yeh, Dad definitely likes everyone to do it his way! He thinks he knows best about everything but no, he doesn't. LOL. As far as Space...no huge deal because I know I will be back, but just the way it all played out totally ticked me off!

I totally agree with you on the strawberry cupcake. We had it too and loved it. You got some great pictures of the inside of BOG. Mine did not come out near that good.

Oh yes, the strawberry cupcake is good enough to dream about! Thank you on the photos! I'm shocked because I just used my iPhone.

 

[ArielSRL]

So Sorry you missed out on going on Space Mountain two trips in a row and that really sucks that your dad did that to you, especially when you had just discussed it just a few minutes before. Hopefully you will finally get to do everything you wanted to do this trip on your next one.

Thank you!

I am so envious of all of you with Disney loving DH's. My DH hates Disney and has made me promise that we won't go back for at least 5 years. He would be happy if we never went back. Some of his lack of enjoyment is that we were with my family the last 4 trips we went on but 3 of those trips were paid for by my parents so we would never have been able to afford to go all those times if it wasn't for them. I of course love being with my family and love sharing the kids experiences with my parents and my kids love hanging out in the Happiest place on Earth with their cousins. My brother is turning 40 in Sept 2018 and my family is all planning to go back to spend his birthday there. I think my DH will probably divorce me if I even mention that.

Well, I don't have one yet but regardless of it he loves it or not, if he wants to keep me happy, he will keep going back! Haha! And I understand about the family thing. Several of my trips have been with my family because they were the financiers! This past trip I paid half though! So I was proud of myself for that! As far as 2018...just go without him! That's what I usually do!

I really hope that you are able to hit some rope drops and get alot more done on your next trip. I am a total night owl also. I work nights and sleep during the day. I find it easy to flip my schedule and wake up early when I am at Disney but just cause I love it so much. When not at Disney I can barely function before noon.

I really think we will get more done and definitely hit rope drop with DH around.

Sorry you had such a long wait and trouble with your order at BOG. We did the preorder meal when we went and it was a nightmare. They somehow charged all 5 meals onto the adult meals from the dining plan, when 2 of them were supposed to be kids. 2 of our meals were wrong and 1 of the meals had no drink. Took us almost 20 minutes to get everything correctly ordered. I think the preorder was still kind of new though. I absolutely love the atmosphere there.

Glad you got your computer problems ironed out.

OMG, that does sound like a nightmare. Yours is probably the only bad pre-order story I have heard (other than my own) but you definitely win! Yes, I'm so happy to have the computer issues worked out!

 

[ArielSRL]

Yikes, what trouble with your Dad. We went with my parents a few years ago and i was totally expecting some of that from my Mother as she generally has no concern for anyone but herself. Surprisingly she was fine, it was my Dad who drove me nuts as he video's every stinking thing we did and then would watch it as soon as we got done with the ride. Drove me nuts. But hold that tongue I did too ; )

Thanks for the sympathy! And good for you holding your tongue! I know how hard it can be!

Btw, I hope your recent trip was awesome!!!

 

[ArielSRL]

So before I start the update, I'll update on some June 2017 plans. We are planning to leave GA around 6am (maybe earlier if I can convince DH) and arrive at Disney in the afternoon on Saturday June 3rd. We will do a resort/pool/Disney Springs afternoon/evening and I have been going back and forth about what to do for dinner. But I think I have decided. I think it will be Art Smith's Homecoming, if I can get an ADR. I sent DH the menu and again, he was all for it! So exciting!!

Day Six 6/9/2016 ~ Magic Kingdom (part 2)

Ok, so in my last update we finished BOG, but I didn't mention that while we were eating I got a notification that Pooh was down and that we could use our FP for several other rides *OR* wait for Pooh to come back up and use it for that. Well once we finished lunch, we checked and Pooh was back up and running. So, of course, we decided to ride that since AJ had requested it (again). But this ended up setting up a few issues with our FPs. I didn't realize it but instead of using our Pooh FPs (because the ride had gone down and the FPs had been converted to multi ride FPs) it ended up using our anytime/any ride FPs (that we received from the exec office prior to our trip) instead. Who knew that the system would prioritize those first? But for future reference, if you have anytime FPs issued to you and you have regular FP for a ride that goes down and those get converted, you have to check with the CM to make sure the correct ones are prioritized!

Pooh was Pooh except Will (again) hated it and clung to me the whole ride. Oops. Maybe by next summer he'll be okay with it. After Pooh, we talked about heading for a break but ultimately decided to hop over to Adventureland and ride Jungle Cruise with our anytime FPs instead. The standby was long, as usual, so we just hopped in the FP line. Except the Mickey head did not light up green! At the time, I had no idea what was going on but fortunately the CM just let us through. She obviously saw the converted Pooh FPs because that was what was left. Those were not good for JC, but she let us through anyway.

It was in the JC line that I calmly discussed with my parents what we had lost out on by missing rope drop on the trip. I belong to a June 2016 FB group and members were posting about all they had accomplished by hitting rope drop on the trip and I just shared that with my parents. They didn't really say too much, as there wasn't much of an argument they could offer.

After the ride, we decided it was finally time to head out for our break. I think it was getting close to 3pm and our Chef Mickey's ADR was for 5:30. I'm not sure how much of a break we really got or what we did but I'm sure I showered and its possible I gave the boys a bath.

We did end up heading to CR for our CM ADR and just guessing, we probably were a little late just because we were late to everything on this trip...lol. We arrived and got to park valet for free because of Dad's handicap placard, which helped with time and trouble. We got in and took the elevator up to CM. We checked in and got our photo:


We didn't really have to wait very long for a table after that. Here's the photos from our dinner.
Goofy:


Minnie:


My fancy glow cube drink:


One of my plates (the lobster mac-n-cheese was the best part, I think):


The big cheese:


Pluto:


My dessert plate (yum):


Donald (we had to wait quite some time for him):


Oh and it was Donald's birthday that day, so they had a (fake) cake for him:


I did get to have a mini Dis meet with @ErinF but sadly, no photos! She was very nice in person, so I am so glad we actually got to meet face to face!

All in all, I wasn't extremely impressed with this meal. I have done breakfast here and enjoyed it. I *may* have done dinner before but I don't remember too much about it. The food is just okay and the price is high. The positive is you get to meet all of the Fab 5. So I would probably consider it again for breakfast but maybe only dinner if we decide to do the dining plan again.

Oh and it was on the way to CM that I discovered what had happened with our FPs. I didn't know why but I did know that our anytime FPs were gone and our Pooh FPs were actually still there (allowing us to use them for multiple rides but NOT JC...lol).

After dinner, we headed back to the MK. We still had a (couple) FPs to use and a parade to see. But I'll save that for the next update!

Up next: Day Six 6/9/2016 ~ Magic Kingdom (part 3)

 

[ariane37]

Just noticed you've updated!
I feel like you needed that fancy glow cube drink on this day lol
It's weird the converted pooh FP's weren't good for JC-were they good for everything else? Even if there were a couple other exclusions, why JC? I maybe could understand if it was the holidays and it had become Jingle Cruise.....just seems odd??