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

[TinksThree]

Whew! Caught up finally!!! When I read the title with "Drag Queen" I immediately thought "It will be Aurora!" and it was...what is up with that?! But she looked to be amazing...along with Cinderella! Maddie had looks of pure joy on her face!

I have heard lots of positive things about The Plaza. It will be on my list for someday!

 

[elphie101]

All caught up! I love the bracelets Maddie made for the princesses! So adorable (and I'm sure they loved them too).

Ah, how well I can relate to the brief 10-minute window of hunger before total shutdown Luckily WDW is packed full of delicious treats!

I feel like The Plaza is typically overlooked due to lack of characters/signature food items, but I've never seen anyone report a bad meal from there. I'd definitely try it someday

 

[TruLovesKiss]

Sorry I've been MIA for the past few weeks. I was super busy getting ready for our first trip to WDW!!! Yaaaaay!! We're back now and our trip was absolutely amazing!! Even more magical than I ever thought it would be! I'm still going through photos (I have over 3000+!!!) and trying to come up with a catchy TR title ~ and then I'm hoping to take a shot at this TR thing

So I'm all caught up now. Loving all of your updates! They were a bit of a cure to my post-Disney blues. (Time to plan another trip, right?) There was so much that I wanted to comment on -I should have kept notes as I was reading through! Waaay back you mentioned Sesame Place. We live about 50 minutes from there and get season passes for our family each year. LOVE it!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[Cinderella909]

My two favorite pictures of your trip thus far....

Maddie's excitement and glee after meeting Aurora! And, Maddie and Cinderella checking out their shoes!

Too cute!

Karen

 

[marDgreen88]

Caught up! Sounds like a great trip so far. I just love that Maddie made bracelets for the princesses. That's the sweetest thing!

Sent from my iPod touch using DISBoards

 

[danielle79]

All caught up and I love all the pics so far!!!! I also checked out your Etsy shop, very nice job! My girls are getting so big that I'm afraid no one will want to wear matching Minnie shirts when we go in February! The picture of Maddie with her bangs pulled back and her missing teeth makes her look so big!! I love when they lose teeth, it makes for great pics! I can't wait to hear more!!!

 

[shan23877]

Hey guys! I'm so sorry for being MIA these last 2 weeks. I've been crazy busy trying to get Etsy orders out for Halloween.

In the last 2 weeks, I've made 2 Alice dresses and 8 Lilo dresses and still have more to do! I'm down to my last 5 though, and am confident that I can get back to my real life sometime next week .

I've been writing an update in my spare moments (basically while Maddie is at ballet) and I promise a big update very soon.

I'm also behind on commenting on your TRs, but that's another thing in the list for when Lilopalooza '13 finally ends.

Thanks for sticking with me!!

 

[KatMark]

Hey guys! I'm so sorry for being MIA these last 2 weeks. I've been crazy busy trying to get Etsy orders out for Halloween.

In the last 2 weeks, I've made 2 Alice dresses and 8 Lilo dresses and still have more to do! I'm down to my last 5 though, and am confident that I can get back to my real life sometime next week .

I've been writing an update in my spare moments (basically while Maddie is at ballet) and I promise a big update very soon.

I'm also behind on commenting on your TRs, but that's another thing in the list for when Lilopalooza '13 finally ends.

Thanks for sticking with me!!

You are one busy lady! Have fun and enjoy; we'll be here when you get back. I totally knew something was up when you posted on my TR and didn't say a word about Mark's picture with Rapunzel.

 

[afwdwfan]

Hey guys! I'm so sorry for being MIA these last 2 weeks. I've been crazy busy trying to get Etsy orders out for Halloween.

In the last 2 weeks, I've made 2 Alice dresses and 8 Lilo dresses and still have more to do! I'm down to my last 5 though, and am confident that I can get back to my real life sometime next week .

I've been writing an update in my spare moments (basically while Maddie is at ballet) and I promise a big update very soon.

I'm also behind on commenting on your TRs, but that's another thing in the list for when Lilopalooza '13 finally ends.

Thanks for sticking with me!!

Wow... Lilo is popular.

Who knew?

 

[mickeystoontown]

How the heck did I miss seeing that you started? I'm soooooooo far behind! I'll catch up and come back to post.

 

[shan23877]

Maddie reminds me so much of Connor. He fades fast if not fed every couple of hours too. (I just wish he ate more when he does eat, because he is still underweight). When Maddie and Connor are in good moods, they are so much fun to be around. I was laughing at your drag Queen comment but have to admit I agree. The other two princesses look far more feminine and Cinderella is quite beautiful. It sounds like Maddie had a great time with Aurora on this trip. That is good, because I know she had been kind of a dud with Maddie on previous trips. I remember Aurora as the first princess to charm both of my boys, so we've had good luck with her.

I agree with your review on the Plaza. The food was better than I expected but not super great. Sounds like the server really made the meal for you. It was so nice of her to offer free bottled water due to no filter. Most places do not have one, so that was fantastic. Even though the guest services CM was not nice, it sounds like the issue was resolved in time for paying for the meal. Hopefully, you did not have any more issues.

Aurora is always sweet, but rarely memorable to us. This time she was perfect though!

Haha! You understand the need for DxDP then!

I liked the Plaza, but you're right it was the service that really put it over the top. She was super.

Maybe just a few more issues....

We made our May ressies last night. We will be at the Boardwalk from May 3-10.

DQ Aurora is BEAUTIFUL! I'm not really a fan of the dress redesigns they've been doing but Aurora's looks so pretty. And comfortable. And less velvety than before. Which I'm sure she's grateful for when it's hotter than the surface of the sun.

Love the Cinderella shoe picture!

I was nervous that you weren't looking forward to your Plaza reservation because it may be one of my favorite TS locations. It's simple but delicious and the service is always great. Always. Thank goodness you loved it!

You have got to get the tomato bisque when you go again. It's the best soup EVER!

It looks like we'll probably overlap then! Maybe we'll run into one another!

The dress re-designs aren't all good, but I agree that Auroras is. It looks much nicer than the boring one she used to wear.

The Plaza was great! It was our favorite TS in MK this trip!

The foreshadowing may have been a little thick there.

Too much?

What's a dining plan?

Oh! Is that what I paid all that money fore???

Well, that stinks. Maybe she needed a snack like Maddie.

Maybe!







This will be fun when she's a teenager![/QUOTE]

Can you imagine how much she'll eat then? Scary!

The princesses were great, we've always been very lucky with them.

Cute pics!

Thanks!

I think one of the things that SUCKS the most about Disney is that stick in the mud grumpy cm. I feel like it catches us so off guard as they're usually so perfect and awesome that it seems even worse than it may be. In a regular customer service situation I'd almost expect it! Lol. Glad that it at least got things sorted out, although you didn't mention it...unless I'm blind and skimmed right past it!

That's exactly it. We're so spoiled by amazing CMs that the bad ones are super memorable.

BOOOO for crappy Punzie!! I've come across a couple, and actually, when I was solo at MNSSHP last month the WORST meet of the night was Rapunzel and Flynn... :shocked: I feel like Rapunzel has way more friends now than before and that's lacking. Aurora and Cindy seem to have made up for it though, I'm so glad that they liked the bracelets are were so loving and fun!! I had to say that I don't find any DQ resemblance in Aurora, but I've seen some pretty bad auroras, lol! I do think the new dress, hair and make up help a lot though.

Plaza isn't on my list of places to try, but I'm sure I'll end up there someday, and it seems like a good choice lol Mom had the Mint Choc Chip from the ice cream shop and it wasn't the greatest, wasn't minty enough for me, but glad Maddie liked it!

Yay!

I don't know what was up with Rapunzel, but she wasn't into it at all that day. Disappointing, but Aurora and Cindy made up for it.

You should try the Plaza some time! It was such a nice quiet meal. I loved it!

Love the character interaction with the Princesses. It's funny how a "different" princess can be at different times. We had a blast with Rapunzel (I've not gotten near that in my TR as of yet) and found Aurora to be very boring and blah.

You seriously doubted our "last meal of every trip" restaurant? Shannon...shame on you. We love the Plaza for the quaintness of the restaurant and we have always had such stellar service there. Next time, lone of you must try the Reuben (Mark swears by it) and the potato chips (we usually each order one or the other so we can share).

The Hot Fudge Sundae there is the best. I don't do whip cream or cherries and I always ask for extra hot fudge. They never let me down.

I promise to never to doubt the Plaza again! It was fantastic!

I loved reading about Mark and Rapunzel! So very cute!

Cute update! I love DQ Aurora, and I can totally see it. I've also seen a lot of drag queens, and she could pass! Sorry Rapunzel was such a downer, but so glad the other 2 made a big deal out of the bracelets!

Sorry you had to deal with a crabby CM. That just shouldn't be tolerated at WDW!

Glad the meal at The Plaza was better than expected. Definitely some place we'll have to try.

Can't wait to see what rides you went on!

Haha! I'm so glad I'm not the only one. She was fab!

It was a shock. Crabby CMs are just not the norm there!

Try it! We were so glad that we did.

man, sometimes I wish kids came with instructions .... like if they were a mogwai


and for some reason I think that DQ Aurora is just about the funniest thing ever - so glad you had a number of good princess interactions

Wouldn't that be great? Rule #15 Feed every 120 minutes. Would have saved us some melt downs over the years.

DQ Aurora made me so happy!

To be fair, let's call it 1 character meeting experience since you just waited in line once.

I'm sure we'll still see how many individual interactions you had if you do your tally at the end of the TR listing each character she met and how many times she met each one.

Fair enough. I think the rides may actually stand a chance this time!

Thanks. It took me 2 hours to read this update because I got this far and had a sudden urge to pull my phone out and play Candy Crush.

Nice "before and after" pictures. I'm glad that some food had such a dramatic impact on Maddie's attitude. I totally agree. Feed her as often as you have to!!!




Your Maddie?

Didn't want to swim???

Wanted to ride rides!!!

What did they put in that ice cream?




I'm glad your experience at the Plaza was so good. I'd be kind of leery about booking it with DxDP as well, but most people do seem to like it and I've always thought of it as a good value for an out of pocket lunch.[/QUOTE]

We have to feed that kid! She may have been drugged. Who knows??
The Plaza was great. This time we had a credit to use up, but next time we'll probably do it OOP. Not many app choices for DxDP, but we weren't disappointed.

ok...not impressed with snarky cm! are you sure you have a dining plan? what kind of question is that? good for you for being so nice! and i almost choked on my lunch when i read about DQ Aurora. TOOOOOOO FUNNY! i think you might have been right, but hey--if you can look that pretty as aurora, more power to ya!

kids and their food....at our house, the parents need a snack too or it's not just kids that are the grumpy ones.....

we've never been to the plaza before and i wanted to try it in January, but it's going to be closed for refurbishment when we're there. so, next time you go it should be all spruced up!

That CM was not at all magical! Ugghh.

Haha! I'm glad you didn't choke! She's a gorgeous gal DQ or not.

I'm sorry it's closed when you'll be there! Keep it on your list for next time. I'll be excited to see what they've done.

I'm like you and just try to focus on the good stuff and let the bad stuff fade. It's also possible that I have true rose coloured glasses permanently applied when it comes to Disney that it's so surprising (albeit naive) when things are less than magical. Bad CM attitudes just really make me sad.

And then I look at your little angel and her bracelet gifts for the princesses and my faith is totally restored.

Drag Queen Aurora... You know from now on whenever I see Aurora I'm going to be looking for an Adam's apple.

Oh you are so sweet! She loves to make gifts for the princesses. I suspect they'll be receiving more bracelets this spring.

Keep an eye out! I swear there could have been one!

How sweet of Maddie to have bracelets for all of the princesses. Those are really some of the most lovely princess PP I've seen. I love that the princesses accept their gifts so graciously. That's what its all about.

The Plaza is one of my favorite places for lunch. I love the burgers there. There is just something better about a burger being served to you at a table versus waiting in line. I'm so glad you got a nice CM. I'm also glad she insisted you have dessert. That milk shake looks delish.

Did that CM think you were actually trying to get him to add the DxDP on your cards when you hadn't really purchased it? Really? Rude!

She was so pleased at the way they reacted to their gifts. It really made her day.

The Plaza was awesome! I'm not a big milkshake drinker, but his was outstanding.

He must have. Honestly, it says it right on the KTTW! He was too much.

Sadly my husband remains unconvinced about your recommendation for POR. He wants to know what Brian says. (Like he has a say.) I agree with Kat about bad service being so unexpected at WDW that it seems worse that it might actually be. My how they have us groomed our expectations. Our Rapunzel wasn't to much to write home about either. Glad Maddie perked up and was ready to move on. Can't wait to hear how the rest of the trip goes.

Bry is the one who is really pushing to return to POR. He said while at POR when I was asking how he liked it in comparison to CBR "I'd rather visit the real Caribbean than Disney's version, but I'd rather visit Disney's Bayou than the real one". He liked that it was peaceful and more of a retreat from the parks, he liked the boat to DTD, didn't think it was as big and sprawling as CBR, and liked the main buildings better. He LOVED POR all around!

 

[shan23877]

Whee! Okay! Let's watch Sleepless in Seattle! And after that we can watch You've Got Mail!!!!


ummmm....
er....


I mean (said in as deep a voice as I can muster), if we have to watch a Meg Ryan movie, I'll watch Top Gun.

Haha! I'd forgotten she's even in that one! We could do Courage under Fire after that. It's kind of a guy movie!

Guest Disservice.

I like that.
Your word choice that is, not getting disservice.

I was channeling Nebo by making up my own words.

Seriously, though. Really? He really said that?

He did. I can only hope he was fed up with the truly clueless and just took it out on me.

I've never played it, though.
I don't think I want to start. I just don't have the time!

Good call! Trust me, unless you want to watch hours of your day disappear, don't start.

Still haven't seen it.

The man card's gone Ponz, may as well watch Tangled. It's super cute!

So let's see... Considering that I've pretty much permanently lost my man card, if we ever have a Dis meet, I'll know what to wear.

I know several Disers who would pay good money to see those photos

Oh, how I miss those days....


Well, no. Not really.

Does this mean it gets better as they get older? The teen years scare me.

Must've missed something. I don't get it.

Nah, I was just making fun of myself. I used the word chair a few too many times in the preceding sentences for my own taste.

Ya know what's better then dining with a view of the castle?



Nothing.

(Well, possibly dining in the castle.)

You're exactly right my friend.


Glad it worked out, and now it's on my list.
Thanks for the update, Shanapalooza! [/QUOTE]

Try it Ponzoopi! You won't be sorry! Thanks!

What a great princess meet-and-greet Maddie had!!! You got some REALLY good PP pics in there - much better than any PP pics we got this last trip.

The Plaza lunch looks delicious and relaxing. I know how non-thrilled you were about that ADR. I'm glad it exceeded all expectations!

This makes me so sad. I wish you had hundreds of amazing character photos.

I was NOT thrilled about it, but I'm pleased to say that I was being a jerk. It was goooood!

Ok, I am with you on the Queens thing, and you are so right! That is perfect Queen makeup and hair.

I have to admit, when I get hungry, I head south fast myself. Apparently apples and grilled cheese were a magical cure!

We have never been to the Plaza, but I think we may need to check it out.

Thank you! I'm glad I'm not alone!

Try apples and grilled cheese next time you hit your food wall, it may work!

I think everyone should try it! It's such a nice peaceful place in the middle of all the hustle and bustle.

We had the same feeling about The Plaza before we went there! We had the best server too during our trip and would definitely choose to eat there again! I love vanilla milkshakes and that is now on my list to try there! Shanleigh and I are going to try and split everything next trip so that'll give us both room to try it!

Maddie, too cute, as usual!

You HAVE to try the vanilla shake there. Bry swears it was even better than the one at 50s Prime time! I love your idea to split everything. You can try so much more that way!

I am 30 years old and still get really grumpy if I don't eat every couple hours, so I know how Maddie feels. Sounds like the meets with the princesses was fun, sorry that Rapunzel didn't seem as thrilled as the other ones about her bracelet.

So you get it then. We had so many great character meets, I suppose they can't all be perfect.

Wait, there was a Drag Queen Princess? I thought I had left WDW by then?!

Wow, what a snarky CM. I would have totally been a jackwagon and called him out on it. It's one of my weaknesses.

I love Drag Queen's too! Because I can kinda be like one sometimes. For real. The quantity of makeup worn, all that business. LOVE IT!

Awww, she does look like a grump in that picture. But she's an adorable grump.

The Plaza always gets great reviews on everyone's TR, I'm glad you liked it. Nothing better than being prepared for something lackluster, and then getting something great.

YOU WERE STILL THERE! Danielle you could have met her! For the record, I don't think you look anything like a drag queen, but I knew you'd appreciate them like I do.

I hate confrontation, but that guy deserved it. It's probably a good thing that Bry was outside.

I love when things exceed expectation!

Finally caught up!
Maddie looks ADORABLE, especially in the Alice costume! 1900 Park Fare looks fun! I'd love to try it one day!
That sounds like a fantastic morning at the Magic Kingdom! New Fantasyland really is amazing! I love the Little Mermaid ride! Im sure Maddie loved Enchanted Tales with Belle! I certainly did! My sister got to be the Beast! I was Mrs Potts, it really is such a fun attraction!
It doesnt sound like it was too crowded for you either. I went to Disney just after you and the crowds weren't nearly as bad as I expected!
Im sorry to here about the bad Rapunzel, she is my FAVOURITE, so i would have been upset! Its a good idea to give the characters gifts, my sister gave them drawings at Cape May and they were all delighted!
Looking forward to reading more

Thank you so much! 1900 is really fun for breakfast.
I love ETwB. It's adorable, and NFL did not disappoint.
It got more crowded as we went along, but we were able to use FP wisely to avoid a ton of waits.

He wasn't but I wish he had been! He did ask the Character Attendant for a picture with Belle at the end though!

Oh I wish he would have been chosen! I love that he got a photo though!

We encountered many an un-magical guest, and a few CMs too on our trip. We tried to ignore it, but by the end of the trip, we both agreed that rudeness was pretty rampant.

Um hello, I think you would know if you were on the dining plan or not. Especially talking about the DxDP. It really just disgusts me when the basic principles of customer service are lacking because it happens so often these days and it really just isn't that hard. I'm constantly hearing that it's the "work ethic" of this generation but I am of "this generation" and I know how to treat people, especially in a customer service role so it's just people choosing to act that way which I don't understand.

Off my soapbox now.

So sad that Rapunzel disappointed. She has such a character and personality that it's upsetting when there's just one who's eh. Glad that DQ Aurora rotfl2 made up for it!

Oh my. The picture of Maddie laughing after meeting Aurora is like, exploding with cuteness.

Yay Cinderella!

I'm with Maddie-- I'm pretty cranky if I'm not fed regularly as well so I can't blame her! Glad the Plaza far exceeded expectations and glad to hear a review of it!

Got room for me on your soapbox? Couldn't have said it better myself.

I've heard a lot of grumbling on these boards about the customer service going downhill, but I don't want to believe it. I just keep hoping next trip will be better. I'm sorry to hear that you had a similar experience. I did get asked to participate in survey, and I mentioned the bad CMs several times.

You would tour perfectly with us! The Plaza was perfect. I can't wait to try it again.

I have to say, our trip this year had the worst CM's and guests as well. Not everyone was bad, of course, some were great and ranged from cordial and polite to over the top friendly, but we had some real gems in the mix as well. We were really surprised at how rude some of the CM's were, rude enough that I would be surprised if they managed to keep their jobs for very long, if that's how they treat guests all the time.

As for the eat-every-2-hours rule, that is a great one to adopt! Adison is also verrrry cranky when she gets hungry or tired. Hungry in July heat in Florida, yes, that would turn her into a grump for sure. When she starts getting in a bad mood, I know that I need to get some food in her mouth immediately, send her to bed, or prepare for the world to end

That's exactly how we felt. A lot of CMs were great, but so many were bad. I could have lived with merely not wonderful, but rude was surprising.

Oh yeah, that's pretty much how it goes for us. Feed her or suffer the consequences.

I forgot to add, about the cranky child if she has no food? I've been there, but it's not my kids. My DH turns into a beast if he has no food. And he's way worse to deal with than the girls in that situation.

you understand then!

Whew! Caught up finally!!! When I read the title with "Drag Queen" I immediately thought "It will be Aurora!" and it was...what is up with that?! But she looked to be amazing...along with Cinderella! Maddie had looks of pure joy on her face!

I have heard lots of positive things about The Plaza. It will be on my list for someday!

Hahahhaha! I love that you knew it would be Aurora!

Put it on the list! I loved it!

All caught up! I love the bracelets Maddie made for the princesses! So adorable (and I'm sure they loved them too).

Ah, how well I can relate to the brief 10-minute window of hunger before total shutdown Luckily WDW is packed full of delicious treats!

I feel like The Plaza is typically overlooked due to lack of characters/signature food items, but I've never seen anyone report a bad meal from there. I'd definitely try it someday

Thanks for saying that! She loved making them the bracelets, and I hoped they'd like them.

Haha!

We've always over-looked it and I'm sorry that we did. It was gooood!

Sorry I've been MIA for the past few weeks. I was super busy getting ready for our first trip to WDW!!! Yaaaaay!! We're back now and our trip was absolutely amazing!! Even more magical than I ever thought it would be! I'm still going through photos (I have over 3000+!!!) and trying to come up with a catchy TR title ~ and then I'm hoping to take a shot at this TR thing

So I'm all caught up now. Loving all of your updates! They were a bit of a cure to my post-Disney blues. (Time to plan another trip, right?) There was so much that I wanted to comment on -I should have kept notes as I was reading through! Waaay back you mentioned Sesame Place. We live about 50 minutes from there and get season passes for our family each year. LOVE it!

Can't wait to read more!

So glad you're back!!! Where is the TR???? I'm dying to read about the trip!!!

My two favorite pictures of your trip thus far....

Maddie's excitement and glee after meeting Aurora! And, Maddie and Cinderella checking out their shoes!

Too cute!

Karen

Thank you Karen! Those were 2 of my favorites too!

Caught up! Sounds like a great trip so far. I just love that Maddie made bracelets for the princesses. That's the sweetest thing!

Sent from my iPod touch using DISBoards

Now it's my turn to get caught up on your TR Marissa. I've been reading along, but have been very bad about commenting. I'll do better!

Thanks!

 

[shan23877]

All caught up and I love all the pics so far!!!! I also checked out your Etsy shop, very nice job! My girls are getting so big that I'm afraid no one will want to wear matching Minnie shirts when we go in February! The picture of Maddie with her bangs pulled back and her missing teeth makes her look so big!! I love when they lose teeth, it makes for great pics! I can't wait to hear more!!!

Thank you! Oh no! I hope they don't outgrown the matching shirts.

Missing teeth pics are my favorite

You are one busy lady! Have fun and enjoy; we'll be here when you get back. I totally knew something was up when you posted on my TR and didn't say a word about Mark's picture with Rapunzel.

Thanks Kathy, sorry I've been such a bad DIS friend. I vow to do better.

Wow... Lilo is popular.

Who knew?

Certainly not me! I was NOT prepared for it!

How the heck did I miss seeing that you started? I'm soooooooo far behind! I'll catch up and come back to post.

I'm just glad you're here Lisa! Luckily I haven't gotten too far!

 

[shan23877]

The One With the Apology​

Hey everyone! I owe you all a HUGE apology for being such a bad DISer and TR host.


I hate to make excuses, but honestly the Etsy at Halloween business took me by surprise. I was literally at my sewing machine every minute that I wasn't at work or sleeping for 3 weeks. Toward the end I never wanted to see another Lilo dress again. Of course someone ordered 3 for a June trip to WDW last week.


I finished up Bryan's Halloween costume late last night (the cobbler's children have no shoes and all that...) so I thought I'd try to make it up to you by sharing some pics from tonight. And with a HUGE update tonight of course

​

​

​

​

 

[shan23877]

The One Where It’s Cloudy with a Chance of Monsoon​

Having enjoyed a delicious and restorative lunch at the Plaza, Maddie had declared it time for more rides. I checked the MDE app-which I found very handy.( In the past we’ve had cell service with Sprint and found connectivity within WDW property to be spotty at best. This year we’d switched to Verizon and had much better luck with cell service). The app showed that BTMRR had FP returns that weren’t too terribly far away, so we made the hike to Frontierland to secure some for ourselves.

​

Since we couldn’t ride the wildest ride in the wilderness quite yet, we walked the path into Adventureland and took advantage of a short wait for Pirates. Maddie made a few half-hearted attempts at telling us that the ride is too scary, but we reminded her that she’d enjoyed it last year and hopped in a boat for our pirate cruise.

Even princesses can't resist playing with the swords in the dump shop

​

As we exited the ride I noticed that the sky was looking darker, but wasn’t too worried.



You see, I went in to this trip very confident in my understanding of Florida-in-the-summer weather. A little cocky even. When I was growing up, my grandparents and I visited my great aunt and uncle in Florida nearly every summer. I’d warned my family that it would rain for 20-30 minutes every afternoon, but it wouldn’t last and that the showers might actually make the weather bearable for a little while once they’d gone. Going into the trip I’d checked the weather daily-even saved WDW as one of the locations on the weather app on my phone-and I did see that thunderstorms were forecasted every day. I felt certain that it was just indicating those pesky afternoon showers and didn’t worry my pretty little head about it.



Despite the gathering clouds we strolled over to Magic Carpets of Aladdin and queued up to take a spin. Maddie and I were the only takers for this ride, I know that Bryan sat it out, but have no idea what he did while we rode. Maybe powdered his nose? We waited about 15 minutes before it was our turn to sail high above Agrabah.

​

As we rode I noticed the sky was starting to look even more ominous than before, but still I was unconcerned. I did suggest to my family that we hurry to squeeze in our BTMRR ride just in case they shut down the ride while it rained.

There was quite a mob at the FP entrance, a tour group was waiting for their FP time to come up, and the CM stationed there seemed more than a little frazzled. She appeared to be very relieved that we had valid FP and waved us through.

Enjoy these photos, there aren't many more from the afternoon

​

I won’t go as far as to say that the loading area for BTMRR is the hottest place on the face of the planet-that’s Animal Kingdom-but it might be the most humid. I’ve never visited WDW in the winter, but I imagine that even then it would be unbearable.


In short order we were standing in the belly of the humid beast and being loaded onto our waiting train.


As the ride came to an end, we felt the first drops of rain. As we headed down the exit ramp it seemed to be coming down a bit harder, and by the time we left BTMRR proper it was full on raining. It was coming down more heavily by the minute, so we went to the little covered area across from the Big Thunder exit to poncho up.


We dug into the backpack and found Maddie’s poncho right away, and mine was right underneath it. We kept searching and searching, but we didn’t seem to have Bryan’s.


The park bag packer-who will remain nameless- had apparently not laid Bryan’s poncho out to be packed. In her defense, we’ve carried Bryan’s poncho with us every minute of each of our WDW trips and it’s never seen the light of day. He doesn’t like ponchos, he prefers getting a little wet to creating his own personal sauna inside the plastic. So it appeared that the park bag packer had just left it out. (Incidentally, the park bag packer was demoted shortly after this and was relieved of all park bag packing duties)


So there we stood in the most remote point in the park, huddled under an inadequate shelter with 50 or so of our newest friends, and watched the rainfall increase from “annoying” to “pretty bad” to “wall of water” to “frightening” all within a few minutes.


We quickly came to a few conclusions.

1. The amateur meteorologist and resident Florida weather expert was wrong (she was relieved of those duties for the duration of the trip as well)

2. The storm was only going to get worse

3. We needed to get out of the BTMRR area


We decided to brave the rains and hoped that we’d be able to take shelter in the cluster of buildings between Frontierland and Adventureland. Sadly, every park visitor that day had the same idea. With no real plan in place, and communication becoming difficult from beneath curtains of plastic, we pressed on. We ended up in the cross-through between lands and found ourselves becoming intimately acquainted with the entire population of Rhode Island.



The rains had only gotten worse while we walked. It was coming down in sheets so thick that it was impossible to see more than a few feet in front of you. You know those out-of-nowhere storms that are so bad that you have to pull over on the highway? It was one of those, except we were not going 65 MPH, we were moving at the speed of a slug and still couldn’t see a thing.



We had a brief family meeting in that little pass through-Bryan’s vote got a little more weight than usual since he was the one soaking wet-and decided that the storm was only getting worse and we needed to leave. Bryan carried Maddie since it was getting harder and harder to walk in the gathering rains, and we made our way toward Main Street. The walk seemed to take forever, it probably took us at least 15 minutes to make it to the Emporium even though we were literally the only people out in this mess.



We didn’t linger in the Emporium. It was so packed in there it was almost impossible to move, but we pressed on through. As we emerged into Town Square we discovered the downfall of Walt’s plan to make Main Street USA slope downward. The rain had gathered there in one big pool. It was so deep that it was past my ankle bones and creeping up my calves. The flip flops I was wearing kept slipping off and floating away, so after chasing them down a few times I removed them and waded out of the park barefoot.



We finally made it to the bus stop and were relieved to see a POR bus waiting for us. It continued to pour all the way back to the resort.



Once there we got off the bus at the main (South) depot and decided that a visit to the food court for snacks was in order-it had been a few hours since the princess had eaten after all. Maddie chose some grapes, I got a chocolate cupcake, and Bryan decided to sit this one out.



If you guessed that our snack credits weren’t available, then you’re smarter than I. Having successfully used dining credits for our lunch I was lulled into believing that the sourpuss at the MK had taken care of the problem.



Since Bryan was still soaking wet, I volunteered to be the one to visit the front desk of the resort while Bryan and Maddie hung out it in the room. I headed to the concierge desk and explained what was happening. The nice CM listened patiently, pulled up a history of our charges for the day, and said she was going to go ‘in the back’ for a few minutes to get some help figuring things out. I waited at the desk for a while, but after about 30 minutes or so I moved to the armchairs nearby. The CM did pop her head out periodically to assure me she hadn’t forgotten about me.



While I waited I played some Candy Crush, sent some Facebook messages (Hi Roni!), checked my email, and got caught up on Twitter. Eventually though even the iPhone couldn’t hold my interest so I decided I may as well enjoy the chocolate cupcake that I was still carrying around. The cupcake was tasty, but messy. Though I tried to clean it up, I certainly left my mark on the lobby of POR that afternoon.



After about 45 minutes the CM returned and asked if I minded walking down to the food court with her so that she could see exactly what the computers there were showing when I tried to use a snack credit. Having soiled the lobby with my chocolate cupcake just minutes before I wasn’t hungry, so we decided I should try to buy a bottle of Coke. Again, no snack credits appeared to be available. I was glad that she took that step though. She seemed truly stumped by our problem, and I think seeing how the registers were reacting to our KTTW cards probably helped.



Back to the lobby we went, the CM to her back room and I to my armchair. I considered taking a brief catnap, but instead I caught up on the DIS and played some more Candy Crush.



An hour and half after I first approached the desk, the CM returned victorious. She said that the next gen software was already on their computers, and to the best of her knowledge it was having a problem separating our package reservation from our room only reservation for the previous night. She went on to explain she thought it was fixed, but we might still have problems at QS and snack locations. If we did, we were to have that location call POR and then over-ride the charge. Not exactly the resolution I’d been hoping for, but it was better than nothing.



I met up with Bryan and Maddie in the room where I got cleaned up for dinner and then got Maddie ready to go. She chose another gown for the evening's activities. Bryan had fallen asleep while we were primping and still needed a shower so Maddie and I suggested that we go ahead of him and check out the gift shop while he readied himself.



We were pleased to see that the rain had finally stopped and enjoyed a leisurely walk back to the main building. We browsed the gift shop for a few minutes before we got a text from Bryan that he was on his way to meet us.



As Bryan approached I immediately noticed that he wasn’t wearing the bright red PP+ card around his neck. He couldn’t understand my sign language, so he had to walk all the way to us before I could tell him we needed the card. To his credit nary a harrumph escaped him as he turned to trek back to the room (incidentally, the PP+ card rememberer was relieved of his duties as well).


Maddie and I continued to wait on the bench outside the gift shop watching buses come and go and the minutes tick by. I pulled out my phone to see what time it was for the 4th time (patience may or may not be my strong suit, plus I hate being late) and saw that I’d missed a call from Bry.



It seems that in the aftermath of the DxDP/KTTW disaster of 2013 Bryan had been revoked of his room entering privileges.



Maddie and I made our way back to the room. We tested all of our keys, grabbed the PP+ card and then headed back to the front desk. We knew we would be way too tired when we returned that night to get the mess straightened out, so we had to get it done right then.



As we approached the desk a CM beckoned us to her line, but I pointed at the young lady standing next to her and said “she knows us”. The poor CM who’d been helping me all afternoon looked up, and though her mouth said “how can I help you?” her eyes said “oh no, not you again”. In hind sight this was probably not the right way to go about greeting her. Picking up on the non-verbal cues, Bryan stepped up to do the talking. I realized that the young lady was probably just as frustrated as I was with the whole situation so I suggested that Maddie give her one of her thank you notes. The CM seemed to be charmed by that (honestly though, if a 6 year old dressed in a princess gown gave me a thank you note I’d be pretty cheered up too) and had not only Bryan’s KTTW card, but all of them, reissued in record time.



At that point we knew there was no hope of making our dinner ADR if we took a bus, so we asked one of the bellman to hail a cab for us. There were several waiting in the parking lot, and within 3 minutes we were on our way.



If anyone is interested-the cabbie was super polite, a good driver, and got us to our destination in record time. The ride from POR to the Polynesian cost $13 plus tip, and since it kept me from freaking out it was worth every penny.


UP NEXT: We eat!

 

[shan23877]

The One With 'Ohana​

We arrived at the Polynesian in plenty of time for our ADR at ‘Ohana. This was our second time eating here. We’d enjoyed the food, atmosphere, and service on our last visit, but personalities had erupted at our table which kept us from loving the experience. We were eager to see how this meal would go.

​

We checked in at the podium, got our buzzer, and while Bryan stayed in the vicinity of ‘Ohana Maddie and I couldn’t resist checking out the gift shop, and the view from the lobby.

​

Incidentally, I remembered them taking a meal photo at ‘Ohana last time we were there, but on this night they did not. I knew it wasn’t included in PP+ so I didn’t expect to get it for free, but I assumed they’d still take it. Does anyone know if this is a permanent change or just a weird night?


Since PP wasn’t clamoring to take photos of us, we took our own!

I may have started tickling



​

After about 20 minutes of waiting (only 5 minutes past our ADR time) our buzzer sprang to life and we headed toward the podium.

​

One of Maddie’s favorite things about her previous dining experiences was getting a lei at check in. She was excitedly asking me what color she’d get as we approached the CM waiting to seat us.


The CM who took us to our table was great. He was friendly, kind, and chatty. We loved him, and he got one of our special “Maholo” thank you notes (which he seemed to love and showed to several other CMs on the way to the table). When we arrived at the table, Maddie realized that she would not be getting her lei and was incredibly disappointed. She was so sad that Bryan said he’d go see what he could do about it. He went back up to the front and found our new favorite cousin and explained the situation. The CM rooted around in the bottom of the host terminal and found one. Bryan assured him that he had the gratitude of our entire family (seriously, no one wants to listed to a disappointed Maddie for an entire evening).


The Bread

​

Lei firmly around her neck, Maddie was ready to get on with the meal. Unfortunately our server was not. He’d stopped by and taken our drink orders and explained the meal to us, but hadn’t made it back to us since. Right away we thought that he wasn’t the most friendly fella we’d ever met, but he wasn’t rude. He did kind of warily ask if we needed alternative kids’ food. Maddie gave him a look that spoke volumes and said “no thank you”.


Finally our drinks arrived, and so did the food! The salad was one of Bryan’s favorite parts of the meal last time, but he wasn’t wild about the change of the salad dressing. I liked it just fine. It was quite tasty, but just a little sweeter than before.

​

Next came my favorite part of the meal-the noodles! They were of course served with broccoli and pot stickers. We all enjoyed the pot stickers, but I’m the only one who put a dent in the noodles, and the poor broccoli was largely untouched. I’m pleased to say that the noodles were just as wonderful as I remembered.

​

Once we’d done all the damage we could do on that course, it started to become obvious that our server wasn’t too quick on the courses that evening. Looking around I realized that he’d gotten “in the weeds” as we in the biz would say. It appeared that a nearby table of 8 was keeping him occupied for large chunks of time, and just as he would peel off from them a 4 top next to them would grab him. Having been there myself I adjusted my attitude about him. He was clearly overwhelmed and just flat out busy.


Eventually we did get meat, and we all dug in. Around this time we all got refills as well, so that was enough to keep us happy for a while.


During the main course, the children’s activities began too. Maddie hadn’t participated last time since we’d been seated around the corner from the main area and she really didn’t know it was going on. Lucky for us this time we were front and center for the games and music.

​

Maddie loved the coconut races and dancing. She thought it was fabulous. The whole time it was going on though I kept thinking that the woman running the activities reminded me an awful lot of Jackee Harry-star of ’80 sitcom 227. She had that same high pitched voice and took tiny little steps. Also? She didn’t seem to like children all that much. She was getting visibly upset when the little darlings weren’t following instructions. Honestly it was all pretty funny.


Our gal Jackee is in the corner surrounded by the rowdy children

​

When the dancing wound down Jackee gave all the kids a lei and offered then an extra if anyone in their party was celebrating anything. So, I suppose that made up for the lack of leis as greeting as far as Maddie was concerned.


Finally, dessert was served. I did my best to put a dent in the bread pudding and Bryan did a great job making the vanilla ice cream disappear. Maddie inspected her leis. Also? I got another birthday cupcake!

​

We got the attention of our server, paid the bill, and heaved ourselves out of our chairs. Once we left ‘Ohana we headed straight to the monorail. The night was young!


‘Ohana
Food 7
Service 4
Would we return? Yes, the food was good and we enjoy the atmosphere. It’s not an ‘every trip’ kind of place for us, but we’ll certainly go back.

 

[shan23877]

The One Where We Dance the Night Away​

We monorailed back to the Magic Kingdom for a few more hours of fun. We had no real plan in place, we just moved toward Tomorrowland.

​

As we passed, we saw that Buzz only had a 15 minute wait so we got in line. Our wait was only as long as it took us to board our ride vehicles though.

​

Maddie decided to ride with Bryan, so I was on my own. I’m not great at Buzz on a good day, but on this night I was scoring almost no points. Eventually I decided to switch guns to see if that made any difference, and within 60 seconds I’d maxed out the score. This is the 2nd time I’ve managed to do that, and I have no idea how I did it.

With no more points to score I took a photo



​

Bryan noticed my score and was accusing me of cheating, so I began to explain the defective/hyperaffective gun situation-at the exact time the photo was taken apparently.

​

I was in need of the ladies room, so we headed toward the ones near Space Mountain. On the way we stumbled upon the Greatest Dance Party EVER! I left Maddie and Bryan to boogie while I took care of business.

​

On my way back to them I got a text from Bryan saying “Stitch just came out and she screamed as though it were Mick Jagger”. Needless to say we stayed and danced with some character friends for a while. I did take some video, but it’s impossibly dark.

​

Having danced with some friends for a while we left Tomorrowland. Maddie was itching to try to be cast as the Beast at ETwB, and since the app showed a 15 minute wait we went there next.


Maddie practiced her roar the whole way there, and while we waited in line. Sadly she was not cast in the coveted roll this time. She was chosen to play Mrs. Potts and she didn’t seem to be disappointed at all. She loved it! The little boy chosen to play the Beast and on the young men chosen to play a suit of armor were a riot, and the CMs in the library were amazing. It was another great show at Enchanted Tales.

​

We’d been enjoying ETwB during the MSEP, so our timing was perfect to slide into the hub to watch the new castle show.
The castle show was incredible, and all three of us were blown away by it. Predictably, people surged into the hub right before Wishes. Soon we found ourselves packed in like sardines. It wouldn’t have been too bad, but the gentleman who chose to share my personal space was having deodorant issues. Like he hadn’t put any on. Ever. I was getting a smidge nauseous, so I moved off to the side to enjoy the show. Enjoy my photos of “Wishes with a Side of Water Fountain Area Roof”.

​

All evening Maddie had been hinting that she’d really, really love to own the Cinderella dress (she knew she’d be choosing another princess gown at BBB). Having glanced at the prices of stuffed animals (averaging $20-$30) which we’ve traditionally bought her one of each day, I offered up a deal. She could either get a stuffed friend each day, or she could trade in 3 days worth for one princess dress. She happily agreed, and we set off to the Emporium to make the purchase.


The Emporium didn’t have her size, but since the Magic Kingdom was open unit 11 that night I suggested going to Castle Couture instead. Bryan wasn’t really feeling that, but it didn’t take long for us to wear him down. Luckily that store had the dress (and all the accessories! My great idea for saving us some money wasn’t looking too smart any more) so we purchased it and headed back down Main Street.


The shopping trip had actually worked in our favor as most of the post-Wishes bus lines had died down. We only waited about 10 minutes for a bus which was our shortest nighttime wait of the trip.


Maddie fell asleep on the bus, and once back in the room was alsleep before Stacey could even get warmed up. Bryan and I watched a little TV, but weren’t far behind.



UP NEXT: Breakfast with a very special pirate

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Love the update! I am glad your Etsy business is booming!

Your 'Ohana pics made me hungry and miss the poly!

Cant wait for more

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

I don't think anybody could possibly be upset when real life gets in the way of the DIS. Being that busy can only be a good thing (albeit tiring I'm sure). I'd be more sad if you weren't busy for Halloween.

Hmm, definitely a WDW pet peeve of mine is when people or groups hover around the FP entrance waiting for the their time to come and basically blocking the entrance. So frustrating.

Yeah, so I am now stealing the phrase "poncho up" just for the record.

Aww it's a shame Maddie failed to pack Bryan's poncho, but demoting her seems a little harsh.

I have to say, no matter how often I've seen it, Florida storms always amaze me. The volume of rain in such a short period of time is one thing, but the fact that they hit so quickly from nowhere and intensify so quickly is quite amazing.

Holy, an hour and a half to get that situation not really fixed. Clearly the proper method is to have a 6 year old thank you note presentation to unlock the magic. I sincerely hope this is the last of your issues.

Aww, so glad Maddie got her lei, and it looks like it matched her dress really well (said I in the manliest way possible).

OMG congratulations of maxing out on Buzz!!! I've come close but never done it, so to do it when initially using a different gun, well,

 

[afwdwfan]

I finished up Bryan's Halloween costume late last night (the cobbler's children have no shoes and all that...) so I thought I'd try to make it up to you by sharing some pics from tonight. And with a HUGE update tonight of course

The costumes look great!

Even princesses can't resist playing with the swords in the dump shop

Who can???

You see, I went in to this trip very confident in my understanding of Florida-in-the-summer weather. A little cocky even. When I was growing up, my grandparents and I visited my great aunt and uncle in Florida nearly every summer.

Uh oh... a backstory about your Florida weather expertise. This can't be good...

There was quite a mob at the FP entrance, a tour group was waiting for their FP time to come up, and the CM stationed there seemed more than a little frazzled. She appeared to be very relieved that we had valid FP and waved us through.

The crowd blocking the FP entrance, waiting for their window is always annoying. But at least you were able to make your way through the masses before their window opened and they ended up in line in front of you!

I’ve never visited WDW in the winter, but I imagine that even then it would be unbearable.

Nah... it feels fantastic in late Nov/early Dec.

We didn’t linger in the Emporium. It was so packed in there it was almost impossible to move, but we pressed on through.

If you're already soaked, there's no point in staying under cover anyway.

And I'm sure Bryan was loving the A/C...

We finally made it to the bus stop and were relieved to see a POR bus waiting for us. It continued to pour all the way back to the resort.

I hope the driver killed the A/C.

Yeah... I'm kind of with Bryan. I think I'd prefer getting a little wet as opposed to sweating it out under a poncho. I just don't like the part about the ever-present AC freezing you to the core until you dry off.

An hour and half after I first approached the desk, the CM returned victorious.

Wow... I hope they get these bugs worked out soon. I'm glad she was able to do something to help anyway. At least we hope it helped.

It seems that in the aftermath of the DxDP/KTTW disaster of 2013 Bryan had been revoked of his room entering privileges.

The poor CM who’d been helping me all afternoon looked up, and though her mouth said “how can I help you?” her eyes said “oh no, not you again”.

and the poor broccoli was largely untouched.

Naturally.

She was getting visibly upset when the little darlings weren’t following instructions. Honestly it was all pretty funny.

I think she's in the wrong line of work.

I’m not great at Buzz on a good day, but on this night I was scoring almost no points. Eventually I decided to switch guns to see if that made any difference, and within 60 seconds I’d maxed out the score. This is the 2nd time I’ve managed to do that, and I have no idea how I did it.

Wow... if only you could predict the weather as well as you can blindly shoot a laser.

Bryan noticed my score and was accusing me of cheating, so I began to explain the defective/hyperaffective gun situation-at the exact time the photo was taken apparently.

That might just be the best Buzz Lightyear ride photo I've ever seen!!!!

She was chosen to play Mrs. Potts and she didn’t seem to be disappointed at all. She loved it!

I'm glad she was able to enjoy it anyway, despite the possible disappointment.

It wouldn’t have been too bad, but the gentleman who chose to share my personal space was having deodorant issues. Like he hadn’t put any on. Ever. I was getting a smidge nauseous, so I moved off to the side to enjoy the show.

That could ruin the experience.

She could either get a stuffed friend each day, or she could trade in 3 days worth for one princess dress. She happily agreed, and we set off to the Emporium to make the purchase.

Good compromise!