SuPeRcAlIfRaGiLiStIcExPiAlIdOcIoUS

[thornton0511]

This is the song that plays in my head in every aspect of my Disney vacations.
It's there as I sit at my computer at the mark of my 180, at the booty crack of dawn, waiting to score the coveted dining ressies....only to rearrange and tweak them obsessively for the next six months.
Ahhh....Disney planning....and then... there's... the packing. Nonstop Mary Poppins while I make sure my family and I are prepared for every season on our trip.. knowing we will probably experience them all at some point on our one week vacation to central Florida.
Rope drops, fastpass bull running, park hopping, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

Hi....I'm Jenn! to my pre-trip report!!

Now, I know that you might be thinking about clicking your mouse over that little x right now and browsing on to the next trip report that catches your eye...and that's okay. BUT...will that next trip report person give you FREE ice cream Mickey Bars....hmmmm? Well....I'm not going to either but I will promise to randomly post Disney pictures in my report if you get bored.


See? ahhhh.....Disney

So I would be more than happy to have anyone tag along on our upcoming adventure to the world! Up next...intros....I know you are all on the edge of your seats right now...

 

[thornton0511]

Table of Contents



INTROS


DISNEY KITTY CATS

4TH OF JULY DETOUR

GETTING DOWN TO THE BASICS

SOMETHING NEW FOR 2013

LET'S TALK FOOD!

OUR DISNEY HISTORY PT.1

DISNEY HISTORY CONT...

MAY 2012 MINI TR

EPCOT AND TROPICAL STORM BERYL

DINNER WITH THE FAB 5

LIGHTS!CAMERA!AND MORE BERYL?

OHANA AND THE FEAST OF THE NOM NOMS

GOOD DAY SUNSHINE

HATE THE MAGIC CARPETS

A DAY OF PARK HOPPING CONTINUES

AND THE RAIN RAIN RAIN CAME DOWN DOWN DOWN

MAGIC KINGDOM ALL NIGHT LONG

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU

DINNER IN MEXICO

A DREAM IS A WISH YOUR HEART MAKES

SNACKS SQUIRRELS AND SUGAR RUSHES

IT'S SO HARD TO SAY GOODBYE

ON WITH THE SHOW

HOLLYWOOD

WELCOME TO THE MAGIC KINGDOM

A Neglected Pre Trip Report

Dumbo Disney Movie Night

Pinocchio Disney Movie Night

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Disney Movie Night

Toy Story Disney Movie Night

Peter Pan Disney Movie Night
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A Bug's Life Disney Movie Night​

Finding Nemo Disney Movie Night​

45 days and Mickey Mail....JINGLE BAM!!!​

An October Update​

Monsters Inc Disney Movie Night​

The Little Mermaid Disney Movie Night​

Update with Magic Bands!​

Star Wars Disney Movie Night​

Beauty and the Beast Disney Movie Night​

One week to go...​

 

[DisMomJill]

Joining in . That is my DD's favorite song.

 

[blessedmom4]

Hi Jenn!! I will tag along.

 

[thornton0511]

Joining in . That is my DD's favorite song.

Yay! Glad to have you along for the ride! I am also following along on your PTR too

Hi Jenn!! I will tag along.

Excited to have you join! Planning to read the report in your siggie when I get the chance too!

 

[blessedmom4]

Excited to have you join! Planning to read the report in your siggie when I get the chance too!

You are welcome anytime, I know how busy life can be!

Judy, Pete, Christian, David, Rachel and Lisa
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[thornton0511]

Intros

Okay so let me tell you a little about us....

Again Hi! I'm Jenn and 32 years old....except when I am at Disney and then I am 5. Like most married women I am married to the most awesome man in the whole world (but its really true in my case ) We have two wonderful kids who are 11 and 7. I work part time as a hostess at Chilis and have been employed there for almost 16 years. (It was the first job I took as a teenager) No that's not usually normal for most people but when your employer lets you make your own schedule so that you can be available for your kids when they are small....well I was sold! Anyways like most people on here I am overly obsessed with Disney and this place is like group therapy for me. Love the disboards! I am very shy around people I don't know and also the most socially awkward person in the world....seriously I am making this PTR awkward right now...Despite all of this somehow I managed to make a career out of being the first person you have contact with when you enter a restaurant and also majored in theatre in college. Go figure?
Next up, my prince charming

Philip and I started dating when I was a junior in high school. He is still my best friend in the whole world. We got married in 2000 and have lived happily ever after since. Philip is 36 years old and works as a platform engineer/manager for a networking company. This allows me to work where I do....LOVE HIM! He is not obsessed with Disney as I am (his obsession is golf) but enjoys vacationing at Disney. He wants no part of the planning, just tell him when to be where, and cannot get excited until like two weeks before vacation starts....whereas I have a countdown calender made like one year in advance lol.

Here are the children

Cory is 11 and our little academic. He is in the gifted and talented program in school and loves to read. He also plays little league baseball and wants to play football now that he will be in middle school. He has a kind soul and will do anything for anyone. He also has southern charm and knows when to use it to get his way or out of trouble. He has always loved Star Wars and Disney, but I am sad to say he is growing up and losing interest in both...makes me really sad.
Sydney is 7 and she is ALL girl. She has a very shy disposition, like her mama, but when she is in her comfort bubble watch out She is super silly and very funny. She gets straight A's in school and loves to read just like her brother, but that is where the similarities stop. She thinks that school is where she goes to hang out and play with friends.....ah well to each his own. This girl is, however, my Disney companion. We can talk nonstop all day long about it and never get bored...I can totally see girls only trips to Disney when she get older Love it!

 

[thornton0511]

I almost forgot the other two members of our family! Unfortunately they have to stay behind when we vacation to Disney because kitty cats are not allowed! Milo is our orange one. He is part Maine Coon and a very sweet cat. We call him our kitty dog because he acts more like a dog than a cat! Tilly is our calico and she is your typical feline. Both cats really enjoyed wearing their limited time mouse ears if you cannot tell from the pictures. Most people use these as hats or keychains but not us. Nope. I automatically thought....kitty sized mouse ears yay!! Don't worry it was a one time thing and now my DD uses them for dress up with her Disney dolls and Duffy.


So that's who we are, now you know! So I guess I should get on with it and tell you the details of the upcoming trip right? Stay tuned

 

[thornton0511]

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! We had a relaxing day at home during the day and then out for dinner. We had planned on driving to town to see the city fireworks but decided at the last minute to stop by the old firework stand to purchase a few fountains and sparklers and just go home and have our own show. Turned out to be a great idea, the kids had a blast and we did not have to fight traffic in the end. Win Win for everyone We took a few pictures and I hope no one minds me posting them!

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Here's the fam in our backyard

Kids with sparklers

Pretty Lights.....
Anyways back to the Disney PTR in next post!

 

[thornton0511]

Getting down to the basics​

So the last two times we vacationed in Disney it was in May so we thought this time we would change it up a bit. I LOVE the Christmas season so the idea of putting the two together was a no brainer! I will be interested to see the change in weather and also the crowds. We are used to moderate May crowds, and the time of the month we are going is supposed to be a bit slower, so I think it will be awesome!

Oh and our dates are Friday, December 6th- Saturday, December 14th ​

Sydney and I decided to make a countdown calender for the trip

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We have been using it since day 365 so please excuse the wear and tear lol​

So our first trip in May 2011 we stayed off site at Wyndham Bonnet Creek and last May we stayed at CBR. We absolutely LOVED staying on site but were not too impressed with our resort choice. I know a lot of people who love CBR and it wasn't horrible by any means, I just think the theme was not for us. So we decided that we wanted to give POR a try this time around and I was really counting on Free Dining.....then the rumors started and my confidence for getting it was falling. At this point also we were planning to arrive the day after Thanksgiving. So I went to plan B. We changed our dates and booked a room only by renting points with a DVC member. I know that is putting a whole lot of trust in a person but I did my research and feel confident with this. By doing this we are able to stay deluxe and save some $$$ on room cost. And we get to stay at......

(photo borrowed from internet)​

Animal Kingdom Lodge!!!​

I cannot explain the excitement I have for staying here in 5 months! We are booked in a standard studio in Jambo house. We opted not to pay more for a savannah view and figured that the animals will be everywhere so no biggie. I am really looking forward to just having everything under one roof and location. At CBR we stayed in a pirate room for the kids and everything was just so spread out, so I thinking just being able to have everything RIGHT THERE will be neat too.

So now that we have the when and where, what about a little extra surprise magic for our third trip?

 

[thornton0511]

Something New for 2013​

So now that we have had two prior trips under our belts and felt that we knew our way around the world pretty well, my DH and I started to talk about the possibility of inviting family along this time....but who?

Taking extended family with you on vacation takes A LOT of thinking, especially if you have never been on vacation together before. You never can tell how well and how long everyone will be happy go lucky with one another once you are stuck together. We took this into serious consideration. Plus when it comes to us and Disney I plan....A LOT. This means we have to find family that is easy going and kind of goes with the flow of things. The last thing I need is to plan out a day 180 days in advance only to have someone in our party questioning why we are doing this and that. Also it has to be someone who will appreciate the magic at Disney....you know what I mean right?

My side of the family went to WDW in 1995 with my grandparents (Mom, dad, me and younger sis) so I knew that they had at least one trip under their belt. My DSis is married with 3yr old twins and I did not think that we were ready to tour with toddlers quite yet for this trip, so she was out. My mom and dad are now divorced and my mom lives alone, but she has several health issues and we were not sure if she could get the money together and take off work. My dad and stepmom and stepbrother would be the ones to question EVERYTHING all the time so that was not going to work either.

So then there was DH side, none of whom have ever been to Disney. DH is the youngest of three boys and we knew right away the brothers were out. One lives states away and the other...well he is the one who has no interest in Disney and just doesn't get it. And then there were DH parents. They have vacationed with us before. One week in San Antonio years ago when the kids were small, and they are VERY go with the flow type people. Both have a great relationship with our kids (they watch them a lot in the summer while I work) and would just be in awe of Disney.

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So we had picked the family and now we just had to ask. Honestly though we were not sure if they would say yes or be able to. The reason is because my DFIL and DMIL are missionaries. They travel to South America several times a year and they teach children and also train adults so that when they leave a small city or town, the people have the knowledge and resources to continue the work that my DH parents start. Its really awesome. So when they said YES, that they could make it we were like and then like and maybe even a little . Anyways you get the idea.

So that makes 6 of us, staying for 8 nights at AKL in two studio rooms, with 9 day tickets (that we will be upgrading to park hoppers when we arrive) ready get those memories started!

 

[thornton0511]

Let's Talk Food ​

Disney food....NOM NOM NOM.
Okay so here is where I get a little crazy. You see as soon as we decided last October or November that we were going back I was already planning for the food....good grief I still am. And yes I was up at my computer on a Sunday morning at the booty crack of central standard time on my 180 to make my ressies. And yes I have already been messing around with them. This little game will probably continue for the next 5 months. Its what I do. So without further ado here are the ADR's as of today......subject to change at any time.

Fri Dec 6th: Raglan Road @ 6pm

Sat Dec 7th: Sci Fi Diner @1:25pm/Boma @7:05pm

Sun Dec 8th: Crystal Palace @ 1:05pm

Mon Dec 9th: Chefs De France @ 1:10pm (may cancel)

Tues Dec10th: Sanaa @5:15pm (DH and I for date)/ Rainforest Cafe @5:15pm (DFIL, DMIL, and kids)

Wed Dec 11th: Ohana @5:05pm

Thurs Dec 12th: Garden Tea Room @1:35pm /(DMIL, DD, and I) /Via Napoli @ 7:45pm (DH, kids, and I) San Angel @7:45pm (DFIL and DMIL for date)

Fri Dec 13th: Be Our Guest @6:50pm

The real headache has been rather or not to have the DDP. Since we are renting DVC points we can add the plan without having a package through Disney. I know that if you pay most time you are not getting your money's worth and trust me I have done the calculating both ways. Also my DS is a "Disney Adult" but he eats like a bird and is not an adventurous eater. But my DH loves the dining plan and he wants his parents to be able to go and not look at the menu prices (they are very cost watching people). I even considered going the whole "put money on a GC" and use that like the dining plan, but when I try to budget the in laws maybe ordering the most expensive thing at every meal to cover that it doesn't save us much and is not worth the headache. DH would just rather us get it and not worry about it, and he doesn't put too much into the planning so if he has a request well....Then I saw that Disney just raised the price per day recently for the plan and if that happens then I am sure the prices I am seeing on the menus right now are going to rise right along with the price increase of the plans.....except for DVC members adding the plan. The price increase does not apply for them until 2014 (I checked). So we are probably just going to get the DDP and be done with it, but no decision has to be made until around Oct so I still have a little time to figure it out. If we get the plan though I have to drop lunch at Chefs

 

[thornton0511]

Our Disney History Pt.1​

I thought it would be cool to show everyone some highlights of our past trips to the world.​

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Our first trip ever as a family was in May of 2011. Cory was 9 and Sydney was 5 and we thought this would be the perfect age to take them. They had no idea this place existed so there really was no "WHAT?! DISNEYWORLD!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME WOOHOO!!!!" moment with the kids. Philip had never been either so this would be a first with him too. I had been once as a teenager in the 90's. I knew enough though to plan plan plan. That is when I can across this lovely site and used it for much of my planning.

We stayed off site at Wyndham Bonnet Creek, which if you stay off site I would highly recommend. It's right next door to CBR and is very nice. We had a 2 bedroom 2 bath condo. We flew,rented a car, stayed for almost two weeks, had 10 day tickets (no park hoppers), ate at a lot of offsite restaurants, cooked some meals in the condo, and ordered kid meals from QS in the parks, and it was wonderful. The first trip held the most magic for us I think because you are experiencing everything for the first time...I get emotional even thinking about it! So here we go....

This is at the resort as soon as we arrived on day one with our matching Mickey shirts​

Some pictures of the resort that I borrowed from the internet

We spent most of our days at Magic Kingdom, met lots of characters, rode lots of rides....this was definitely the family's favorite park

I remember spending two days at Epcot which I LOVE this park. My family hates this park and would rather skip it all together...that will never happen. We ended up splitting it up with one day at WS and one day at FW.


Hollywood Studios we spent a day and a half at. Rope drop was something I had never experienced before in my life! The plan was for Philip and the kids to head left to sign Cory up for Jedi Training and I would head right to grab FP for TSM. I can only imagine that this is what running with the bulls is like in Spain. Every man for himself! By the time I met the family by Star Tours they were still in line for sign ups. Wow that took FOREVER! But we got Cory in for an afternoon show and that made his day. This trip we also saw Fantasmic! for the first time and that was AWESOME!!!

To be continued...

 

[thornton0511]

So when I left off had spent some time at Hollywood Studios.​

The kids really enjoyed the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground and we had made sure to watch the movie with them before the trip so that they would have some appreciation for the movie set

The final park that we went to was Animal Kingdom. I know that this park gets a bad rep but we really enjoyed our time here. We only had one day here and this ended up being bad because this was the one day it rained...all day. And it was a gully washer. The good thing is that we had a few hours already in before it started so the day was not a complete waste. And I don't care what people say about "well at least you're at Disney...better than being home" listen people, touring a park in a torrential rain storm is not pleasant...rain ponchos or not. And even when the rain stops all of the rides are wet which equals wet booty and that is not pleasant either. Anyways it was a blast with or without rain.

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This also happened to be the park that we got sprinkled with a bit of pixie dust . Here's the story:

Cory had previously bought a star wars watch with his money at the Lego store at Downtown Disney. We when left Bug's Life at AK he noticed that it had fallen off his wrist and he had it on before the show. A nice older cast member was kind enough to let DH and DS back into the show to look for the watch....and they found it! Then the CM asked us if we wanted VIP access to the next FOLK show.....um yes please, are you kidding?! We were super grateful to the CM for everything and ended up sitting front row of the giraffe section on the bench for the show. AMAZING!!! Then the CM that lead the giraffe section asked DD if she wanted to help lead our section. She was very shy but the CM was very sweet about it and helped her with her part.

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Then both kids got to help with the show toward the end. It ended up being one of the best highlights of the trip!

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We also had some downtime days on this trip which we enjoyed. One one day in particular we hopped on over to Ft. Wilderness so that Sydney could ride a pony, which may not seem like a big deal, but this was to be her first pony ride and what better place to do it than at WDW! Since Cory had gotten to do the Jedi training this was Sydney's special thing....it was really neat and we enjoyed walking around the resort and taking the ferry from MK too.

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Soon enough it was time to go back home, but I had already been secretly planning a return...I just had to wait for the opportune moment to strike

 

[thornton0511]

May 2012 Mini TR
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Our second trip to Disney ended up being one year later in May 2012. I had waited patiently for the family to start talking about how much they missed Disney, and to see if there were going to be any discounts out there. I really wanted to stay on site this year and make the trip different from the last. So they took the bait and a trip was planned. We did however plan this at the end of May, instead of the middle, to keep from having to take the kids out of school. Man I could really tell a difference in a few weeks. I am sure the crowds were still moderate, but school was definitely out for the south lol. So for this trip we had 7 nights at CBR, 7 day park hoppers, and the DDP. To make up the cost for staying on site we decided to not fly and try to drive to WDW....from East Texas.....for 16 hours.

Day one the plan was to get up super early in the morning and try to make it to Pensacola Fl by lunch time. This drive went smoothly and we made great time.

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We stopped at the Naval Aviation Museum (when growing up my family took summer trips to Destin and stopping here was always tradition) to explore and stretch our legs a bit.

Then we had lunch at Chilis (you will find we do this a lot on vacations since I get a discount).
The drive after this was pretty uneventful and we ended up making it to Osceola Fl before stopping for the night. I think it took us about 15 hrs of driving to get this far.The next morning we got up and drove the remaining 1 hour to Disney World! Now our pkg was not going to start until the following day so we were staying off site for this one night at the Royal Plaza by Downtown Disney.This hotel was perfect for our one night stay. Very nice.

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We ended up spending the day in Downtown Disney and played a round of mini golf at Fantasia Gardens.We also had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe

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We we got back to the hotel the kids had a surprise waiting for them...

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The next day we would be getting up and starting our first onsite Disney vacation!

 

[thornton0511]

EPCOT and Tropical Storm Beryl​

We got up early the next morning to check in to our pirate room at CBR and hopefully make it to EPCOT by rope drop. That is when we got our first taste of Disney transportation. Let me just say that being able to park your car at a resort and not get back in it until you are leaving at the end of your vacation is wonderful. Our room was not quite ready so we gave them the okay to text us when it was and hopped on a bus to my favorite park

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We really had no agenda today and just kind of wandered around. Test Track was still under rehab so we were not able to do that this time around. Soon enough we found ourselves in WS and hungry. I really wanted to give La Cantina a try and was excited to be on the DDP so that is where we headed....but then we saw this headed for us

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That was good ole tropical storm Beryl rearing its ugly head into the Disney World bubble as we raced to Mexico. We had just gotten our food when it hit BIG TIME! Everyone had a look of panic because we had food in hand standing in a outside patio area when my DIS ninja skills kicked in. I remembered the La Hacienda was used as QS seating during the day so I found the hidden door to dry land by the patio and we were able to enjoy our lunch why Beryl unleashed its wrath outside. Oh and I have food pics yay!!!

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We split 2 orders of nachos and 1 order of Tacos de Carne followed by 3 orders of Churros thanks to the DDP. Total credits used 3QS. This food was YUMMY and was plenty to split with the 4 of us.

While we were waiting for the storm to pass we got our text that our room was ready!

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As soon as the rain stopped we strolled around WS a little while longer and then headed back to the resort to get cleaned up because we had dinner plans with Mickey and the gang....

 

[thornton0511]

Dinner with the Fab 5​

After relaxing at the resort we caught a bus to MK so that we could take the monorail to CR to have our first Disney table service meal ever...at CHEF MICKEY'S!!


The kids really enjoyed the food and the interaction with the characters. This was definitely the right meal to start our trip off with!
After dinner we headed back to the resort and settled in to our pirate ships and nodded off to neverland....tomorrow would be a day at the studios.

 

[thornton0511]

Lights! Camera! and more Beryl?

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We woke up for day #2 at Disney to find Mega Storm Beryl raining once again on our Disney parade....ugh. I think originally we had planned on going to MK this morning but with the storm we did a quick switch a roo to HS. Now last year we had experienced, first hand, the mad dash to TSM so I knew what to expect this time around....I am sure it was the same because I have no notes to tell me otherwise. Anyways after riding a few rides and using our FP for TSM the kids got to meet a Green Army Man. I thought it was cute that they sign their autograph as Green...Army...Man. Honestly I don't know what else they would sign I just thought that was funny.

We had lunch at Pizza Planet and had 3 Pepperoni Pizzas with Caesar Salads and Darth Vader Cupcakes to split. The pizza was okay but the cupcake was REALLY good! The atmosphere makes this place a cool place to bring the kiddos for sure. Total credits used 3QS.

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So after getting our fill of Hollywood and Disney Pizza we went back to rest, and then it was to the Poly for Ohana!

 

[thornton0511]

Ohana and the feast of the Nom Noms​

So it was the evening of our second full day at WDW and we were about to embark upon the greatest of all Disney foods. Now I have only experienced Ohana in 2012 so it may have gone "down hill" from what it used to be....and if what we had was the down hill version I cannot imagine the greatness it once was. This meal was soooo good. It officially has become the one meal we have to fit in for every future Disney vacation as declared by the DH.
And you know I took a picture of this...

Seriously look at all of that yummy​

Apparently the kids enjoyed the meal to because they got a case of the silly crazies

After the meal we explored the Poly a bit and then back to the resort we went to hang out in the room until bedtime (I believe it was still pouring rain). Tomorrow had better be pretty because we were itching to go to MK!

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[thornton0511]

Good Day Sunshine​

We awoke the next morning bright and early to see nothing but Florida sunshine as we got dressed and ready for a day at MK. This was the second trip that I had made matching shirts for us to wear....

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Soon we were out the door and on a MK bus .

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The first thing we did was hop in line to let Sydney meet Rapunzel

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then Cory and DH rode Barnstormer and Thunder Mountain enough times to make anyone sick

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We talked the kids into getting on Splash Mountain (which neither one is very fond of) and Sydney got wet...this girl HATES getting wet.

Fortunately she dried off in no time in the FL sun.​

After spending the day at MK we headed over to Downtown Disney to eat at the T-Rex Cafe. We have eaten at the Rainforest a few times but were really excited to eat with Dinos.

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I had previously bought some glow ice cube things for the kids online at the Disney Store so that they could have them for this trip. Worked out great and was definitely more cost efficient than buying the glow drinks in the restaurant

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We unfortunately did not get the opportunity to eat in the ice room

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but we did have a great time. And let me just say that if you eat at these restaurants a lot you should absolutely look into getting a Laundry's Select Card. It's worth it alone just to get the front of the line seating. We never make ressies and just show our card at the check in area and put at the beginning of the line no problem. Sure you may get funny looks from people who have been standing in line for over half and hour, but no more so that the same looks you get from people who you pass in a fast pass line. It's technically free to anyone to be a member and who want to wait for an hour to eat? Anyways enough about that. Overall I would say that we enjoyed our meal and the food is about the same as the Rainforest, but DH and I agreed that we like the Rainforest better. The kids liked the Trex the best though.

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Next up a day of park hopping....