Screw In the Light Bulb-All New x 13 4/25!!

[1000HappyWishes]

That breakfast looks like so much fun! The photos are really, really cute. Can't wait to hear more!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Girl, I was totally confused by PP+ for like the first day or so. My Mom had it all under control, so I was like "whew! Dodged that bullet!" (pppsssttt....I don't like people to think I don't know what I'm doing. .)

I love the idea of deluxe, but for me it's just way too much food. This is also a person who lives on a normally 1200 calorie per day diet......deluxe would = Danielle going happy go pukey at some point.

Close to the buffet is always best! That way, when you get too full to walk long distances, you're good!

That first picture of Maddie with Mary is so funny! Maddie's face is like "okay.....are we done?"

I did not know that about the bathrooms at 1900 Park Fare. Good tip.

 

[Queenofallthings]

It's been a long time since we've been there for breakfast so thoroughly enjoyed all your pics!

Maddie's dress is so cute....I love that costume!

 

[Caretames1]

We are very similar in our thoughts on character meals, actually dinding in general. I'm happy at the end when Kadence had a fab time, and we ate enough to fill out bellies. Yes, it's a bonus when the food is great, and service was efficient, but right now it's about the kiddo.

Loved all of Maddies faces, she was so into it all. We loved the interaction of 1900 PF as well.

Thanks for the tip on the bathrooms, we have a costume change after our dinner there coming up, and I will have 2 girls to change and will need the space!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Oh wow, I can totally understand now why everyone on here is so in love with Maddie. Those interactions are absolutely precious. I especially love the "candid" photos the most.

 

[Bkoz]

So excited to be following your trip report. I was a lurker on your last one. Our daughter is 5 and just as princess obsessed as yours. It was such a great help in planning our last trip. Our next trip we are thinking of staying inthe royal rooms so I am really looking forward to reading your trip.

 

[sunfun94]

I was hooked to your last tr... imagine my surprise when a friend I was messaging with told me about a tr she was in love with to find out it was yours and I had missed all of these awesome updates! Checking in... late but still here!
You totally have me excited now for POR! We too have never stayed there and we booked the royal room...we haven't told our girls about what the room can do or the decor! Lol..
Those ziplock bags you used for the dresses, what size did you get? For our youngest dd we need something like that because her dress is kinda poofy..lol

Can't wait to read more!

 

[rabbruzzetti]

I was hooked to your last tr... imagine my surprise when a friend I was messaging with told me about a tr she was in love with to find out it was yours and I had missed all of these awesome updates! Checking in... late but still here!
You totally have me excited now for POR! We too have never stayed there and we booked the royal room...we haven't told our girls about what the room can do or the decor! Lol..
Those ziplock bags you used for the dresses, what size did you get? For our youngest dd we need something like that because her dress is kinda poofy..lol

Can't wait to read more!

What an awesome friend you have!!!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

I really appreciate your comments on dining reviews. Granted, we are fairly easy to please food-wise, but I think that people give a lot of restaurants bad reviews unnecessarily here. Also, the comments about the price always get me because WDW is still a theme park at the end of the day. When I go to Six Flags, I pay $9.00 for a funnel cake so it astounds me when people act like things being overpriced at theme parks is some crazy new phenomenon.

I think once we are accustomed to the regular dining plan, we will be looking into the deluxe dining plan. Once we do, I will definitely be re-reading your TRs for tips because you guys seem to have it down to a tee!

It very well may have been because of the PP+ card. With the card, you get all of the pictures they take. Whereas, if you were just going to buy the photo package, you would get the one picture they choose to put it in. At least, that's my understanding!

AH I love the 1900 Park Fare border! I didn't have that option in January! I hope we get it this time! You guys look great and Maddie's pose with her dress is perfect.

Love the picture of Maddie giggling with Mary Poppins. I feel like those shots make the best memories!

So glad Alice didn't disappoint! I wonder if we had the same server at 1900 Park Fare or if that's just something with the restaurant. We had the same problem when we had breakfast there. She was perfectly nice but she was never to be seen again after we got our drinks.

 

[sunfun94]

What an awesome friend you have!!!

yeah, shes got my back!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Looks like a great time with the characters, and I'd have to agree about paying for the experience more than the food. Still, I can't say I've ever had a bad meal at Disney. Looking forward to the parks!

 

[TinksThree]

We had such a bad experience at 1900 PF that I don't know if I will ever get Keith back. But our one bright spot was the service! The step-sisters were great but Cinderella and Prince Charming were more interested into moving onto the next table. So I do think many experiences can vary because a restaurant may be having a bad day!

I had booked a breakfast for just Madison and I at Thanksgiving but since it looks like those plans are being changed, we may have to delay our breakfast. Madison wants to do it solely to meet Alice and the Mad Hatter! Great update!!

 

[Clarf]

Love the updates!

And I agree with your review disclaimer. We're much like you. Right now, it's about the kids. We have yet to eat at Chef Mickey's, but it's #1 on my girls' lists for next time. I know the food isn't spectacular, but they'll have a spectacular time and seeing the joy on their faces is far more important than an outstanding meal. And with my dh, food=good, no matter where or how it tastes. He just likes to eat.

We did 1900 for breakfast last fall and my girls loved it. It was our first meal of the trip and I thought a great way to start it. My oldest DD Lucy was wearing an Alice dress and Alice kept telling Lucy to put the dress back in her (Alice's) wardrobe when she was done borrowing it. Hilarious. I want to do the dinner with the step-sisters sometime.

And I laughed really hard at the picture of Maddie taking the bite of waffle between characters.

 

[butterflygirl3]

Loving the last two updates!!!!! We are thinking about staying in POR in May so I'm loving all your pictures and updates Also loving the food reviews so far; appreciate the honestly And of course my favorite part of it all; the cute Maddie pics!!!!!

 

[BeckyEsq]

That looks like a fun character breakfast! DD isn't really into Alice yet but once she does we'll have to put that on her list. The pictures of Maddie with the Mad Hatter are priceless!

 

[amazingact21]

I'd have to agree with your review of 1900 Park Fare. Character breakfasts aren't known for their menu items; it's more about the interactions with beloved characters. And it looks like you had a great experience with that. I loved reading about Alice's reaction to seeing Maddie dressed in her costume. I'm sure it's always a nice change of pace to see an Alice costume versus the more popular princess dresses.

 

[afwdwfan]

I think your method of doing dining reviews is very fair. I've enjoyed them in the past and gotten some good information out of them and I'm sure I'll be able to say the same on this TR! I always seem to view them from a more broad scale with the Disney restaurants. If I see a bad review of a restaurant, it won't really affect my plans, but if I see bad review after bad review of the same place... then I'll have to think about it.

I'm glad you enjoyed your breakfast at 1900PF. I'm a big fan of breakfast for character meals for the same reasons you are. You really should have had some video of "Alice" and the Mad Hatter though.

 

[scholastica]

Hi there! I lurked on your last TR, then went back and read the Preschooler one too. I just wanted to say I like your style and enjoyed all of your TR's. I'm glad to follow this one as it goes.

 

[amandaw]

Sounds like y'all had a fun breakfast @ PF! Another place I would love to try but as you know.....too much testosterone voting in my house.

I am really glad that Alice didn't disappoint Maddie. That had to be a very special moment for her.

Can't wait to see the next costume change! She's like a one-woman show!

 

[shan23877]

First, Maddie's dress is adorable and so is she! She looks a lot like you. I love the picture of her grabbing a bite of waffle between characters, she is a gal after my own heart, leaning over her plate to avoid syrup drips on her outfit. What a little lady

Thank you! She's a little diva, she knows not to get syrup on the dress

I love Maddie's Alice dress. She looked so beautiful (as always). I found myself thinking about how big and grown up she looks compared to the first TR of yours.

Thanks so much! I looked back at some pics after I read your comment, and she really does! I wish I could keep her little forever!

Four updates?!?1 I only have half my hair curled for work and I don’t even care, TR is more important!! Awwwee, I can just imagine Maddie walking down the stairs in the grand just livin it up, being the princess that she is! Ah! So perf!

I hope you weren't late to work! She was so pleased with herself and her very own red carpet. Bry and I wouldn't feel 100% comfortable staying there, but Maddie totally would.

Great disclaimer!

Thanks Katt! I hoped it would come off okay.

I really like the ambience in there, it’s very Alice and Mary like! Lol Awee! Pooh is so cute, and I love that he made sure to stop and get you in a picture and hug too! Cute!! Double Alice! Yay! She’s so cute, I’m glad that the interaction was great!! AHHH!! That’s by far the best Hatter I’ve seen, and my favorite! He was the one we met at our first MNSSHP and he was just amazing!! So glad that Maddie had fun with him too!

Glad you guys enjoyed it. I do find that the servers always disappear at buffet meals, I always try to just settle the bill up front! Good washroom tip!!

It is very Mary and Alice! I hadn't thought about it that way! That was the most fun we've ever had with Pooh, I thought it was very sweet of him.

Alice and Alice was the highlight of course. It was so much fun, and the Hatter was hilarious.

What's up with that? So annoying!

I agree with so much that you said in these posts. The characters really do feed off the kids at most restaurants. When my kids are in a great mood, they get great reactions from the characters. Often the opposite is true when they are not. That is probably a good thing, because a persistent character could probably upset a kid not in the mood. I can think of two big standouts as an exception to this rule for my kids. One meal at Minnie and Friends Breakfast in the Park (Disneyland), Minnie saw that Xander was not in the mood for characters that morning. It may be because it was early and not busy, but she came by our table three times and tried really hard to change his mood. On her third stop, she succeeded. We have some amazing photos from that. She even insisted on signing the portrait package we bought for him (and we never get autographs, so that was special). The second time was Captain Hook. Xander is not a fan, so he pretty much ignores him every time he comes around. Captain Hook was determined to get Xander to play with him. It finally worked the second time he stopped by the table when he "stole" Xander's balloon. It was pretty neat.

Thanks Kimberly, that's been our experience every time. Maddie's not always super full of energy and the characters back off a little when she's not.

What a fun story about Hook! Did Xander love it?

I love the pictures of Maddie with Alice. They are super sweet. I agree with the restrooms. The ones closest to Park Fare are busy all day long.

I wish I'd discovered the 'secret' bathrooms 2 trips ago! The ones in the 1900 hallway are always a madhouse!

I agree on the food too. You are paying for the interactions sans lines, so the food is not the best. We like to stick to breakfasts mostly, because it just works better with our schedules. We are actually doing a lunch character meal on our upcoming trip though. I am thinking of doing a dinner on the one after that again too.

It's never about the food for us, and that's okay! We love to Chef Mickey for dinner, but we'll do our first lunch on our next trip.

Getting absolutely terrible service is rare for us too. Although I do dislike when you never see the server again after they bring your drinks (especially at buffets where the check is paid up front), I know it could be worse. At least table service restaurants have to bring a check, so I can get a refill when they bring it (as long as it has not been too long). Then, I am just anxious to leave when the check arrives.

Me too! Especially at WDW, I'm always ready to go when we're done!

The only thing I disagree on is the necessity of reviews. Crap works in quality assurance, so he and I are both used to reviewing restaurants, hotels, spas and more. His last two jobs often picked up his check in favor of his reviews (which worked as long as the server did not know who he was). If they recognized him, our service was always over the top, so I went in alone sometimes. His new job does not pick up the check often, so he is not able to personally review places as much. He relies on the reviews provided by customers to analyze employee performance and strive for improvement. Every review whether good, bad or indifferent is super important to him. Since he gets the importance of reviews, he often writes reviews for other companies as well.

That said, I do get your point that an off night can negatively affect a restaurant. That is why Crap and others should look at all of the reviews collectively rather than a single one. If the majority of the reviews are negative, a picture is probably being painted that someone needs to step in and improve the service. The only WDW restaurant I disliked for food and service was Coral Reef. I discovered a lot of other people did as well. Therefore, I will not likely return or it will be a long time before I do. They need to hire someone like Crap to fix the issues and I may return.

I totally appreciate your point, and someone like Crap who is asked to review places is great. It is necessary. It just bothers me when people take it upon themselves to trash places on the internet even though they aren't qualified to.

Absolutely. I'm going to be as honest as I'm comfortable with, but I will still have a few bad things to say. I hope that folks take all reviews into consideration, not just one bad one.

Thanks for reading Kimberly!

wow - what great interactions at the breakfast!

And some great pictures - I love the family one with Maddie courtesying and also the ones with Alice and the Mad Hatter.

I definitely agree with you regarding food reviews and that you have to keep in mind restaurants can have good and bad days. Just because your particular steak was overcooked doesn't mean "this restaurant overcooks their steaks." That said, if you start aggregating reviews and start seeing trends that can tell you something

Thank you! We've never bought restaurant pictures before, but we loved the option of getting them with PP+!

Exactly! Too many people are willing to pass themselves off as experts, I wanted to make clear that I'm not Thanks for your feedback on that!

Geeze lousie, a busy weekend in Real-Life Land and I come back to your TR to a slew of updates!

I literally just messaged DBF as I was reading your report of the royal rooms - whenever I (eventually) make it over to POR I absolutely want to stay there! Your photos completely won me over. I feel like those rooms are full of hidden mickeys AND hidden princess references!

I would recommend POR to anyone! It was such a peaceful resort, and the princess rooms were perfect! I hope that you get to stay there!

I know they say there's no sleeping on a Disney vacation, but man that's a rough wake-up time. But Princess Alice-Maddie is simply adorable! That dress is the cutest, I can't wait to see her costume change.

Hooray for food porn! Looks like you had some fantastic character interaction! Though I feel your pain on a bad batch of Mickey waffles - that's pretty disappointing. Still, where they're such a Disney breakfast staple I'm sure this isn't the last we've seen of them!

Can't wait for your next update!

It was an early morning, and we couldn't have done it if we were anywhere but WDW!

Thanks so much! You're right-it's not the last of the waffles by a long shot