"Surprise! We're going to Disney World today!" -April 22-27 TR (6/15 - 2 NEW Posts!!)

[If U Had Wings]

The pictures of the topiaries are just beautiful. I missed most of them when I was there in March, as I needed to run off for a bit of alone time and went over to DHS by myself for awhile. The trip was so short I never really made it back over to explore most of Epcot.

Sorry about the No-Bird. I've been lucky with my nieces that they never really get too bad. My brother has a rule with them that they need to try something (ride, food, etc.) at least once and if they hate it they don't have to try it again. Usually they are good with this, but the biggest problem is usually food and my older niece. Ugh! Seriously it's just painful to watch her eat. I've never seen anyone take so long to eat the simplest things. Rides and stuff though they are usually pretty game to try. My younger niece will do just about anything, and as far as I can tell the older one really only likes to avoid ToT, although she's not a huge fan of the 3d films.

 

[skier_pete]

Sorry about the No-Bird. I've been lucky with my nieces that they never really get too bad. My brother has a rule with them that they need to try something (ride, food, etc.) at least once and if they hate it they don't have to try it again. Usually they are good with this, but the biggest problem is usually food and my older niece.

ACtually, the problem is...she's tried many of these rides...she's LIKED them...yet then next trip refuses to ride them. I have video of her coming off Test Track saying: "That was awesome! It went like this and this!" etc..but then she goes back, and she doesn't want to do it. Grrrrr....drives us nuts.

As far as food, I think she is on the less picky side of most kids. She'll eat most grains and fruits, will eat several vegatables if prepared blandy, and even eats some meats. (Hamburgers, chicken.) She's pretty adventurous...but not at Disney World!

 

[skier_pete]

So, when we last left the TR, DD and I had returned to our room, leaving DW time to explore F&G and DTD. We made it back to the room about 3 PM, and I read DD a few stories and told her she had to close her eyes for at least 30 minutes...if she didn't fall asleep after that, she could get up and color or read. Well, she fell asleep pretty darn quick, within about 10 minutes. And she slept for almost 2 hours! In fact, I had quite a hard time getting her to wake up! When she finally did, she wanted to go for a swim. We had a little time before we needed to meet DW, so we went to the pool for 1/2 an hour, then came back and changed to head back to Epcot.

Good Bus Karma again, we didn't wait 5 minutes for the bus to show. On the ride, we could see clouds forming to the West...uh oh. I tried calling DW several times on the ride over, and even once we got into the park, and of course she didn't answer. (She's terrible about answering her cell phone.)

I asked DD as we passed SSE if she wanted to ride...it was about 6:45 PM, and she wanted to do another KP Mission. Unfortunately, the KP Station where you sign up was closed. DW finally called us back, and we met on the way to Mexico. We could see the storm coming as we went into the Pavillion, and after we rode Rio Del Tempo...or whatever its called now...we came out to an obvious "storms a coming" situation, so we decided to get some food. We decided to try the Orange Blossom Cafe in the China Pavillion. We got an order of Egg Rolls for DD (she likes Egg Rolls and Lo Mein, but they didn't have the latter.) I had the Shrimp Fried Rice and DW had the vegatable stir fry, and we also had an order of pot stickers - which turned into two orders.

By the time we were seated the rains came - and it deluged! The area is well-covered but open-air seating, and we were a good 20 feet from a window, but it was raining so hard we could feel the rain from where we sat. We pretty much knew (A) we were staying here until this passed and (B) we probably weren't staying for Illuminations.

The food, by the way, was OK, I would say average Chinese Take-out. A bit dissapointing for China...i hate it when places like this cater to what tourists think lf "Chinese" food. I would wonder if the TS restaurant was better. We should have been across the lagoon in England with JLR and her DD! (Shout-out!)

When the rain finally let up, it was about 8:15 PM, and we decided to call it. There was a TON of lightning around, and though when I asked a CM if Illuminations was still on I was told "Yes!" I wasn't relishing sticking around here for an hour. We pushed our way to the front and got on a bus.

BTW, DD was much better after her nap...So, we managed to do "The Seas", "The Land" (but not Soarin'), "Imagination". One KP mission and the Rio Del Tempo...all in a single day, who hoo!

Actually, again, I didn't mind that much...getting DD a bit of rest was more important, because we couldn't have her wiped out for our last day. Getting through MK in a single day would be pretty hard core.

 

[skier_pete]

I don't really have time to write up Day 5 right now...but when I got home, i wrote out a quick note to remind myself what we did that day. Our MK days are usually pretty hard core anyways, and having only one day made it twice as bad. Here's the note I wrote - I thought my fellow DIS'rs might get a kick out of what we accomplished in a single day at MK:
Dumbo
Peter Pan
It’s a Small World
Winnie the Pooh
Barnstormer (2X)
Mickey and Minnie’s Houses
Donald’s Boat
WDW RR
BTMRR
Jungle Cruise
PotC
Columbia Harbor House (Lunch)
Haunted Mansion (Me) / It’s a Small World (DD/DW)
Haunted Mansion (DW)
Splash Mountain (FP)
Peter Pan (FP)
Buzz Lightyear (FP)
TTA
Dream along with Mickey (Castle Show)
The Plaza (Dinner & Ice Cream)
TTA
Carousel of Progress
Buzz Lightyear (FP)
Jungle Cruise (FP)
PotC
Spectromagic.

We also had Space Mountain FP that we didn’t end up using, not because we didn't have time, but we just decided not to bother because it was down BOTH times we rode the TTA and didn't want to risk it. Believe it or not, that was NOT a rushed pace, we really took our time, but didn't wait more than 5 minutes for anything. I will share more details and picture in a bit.

 

[JLR]

So, when we last left the TR, DD and I had returned to our room, leaving DW time to explore F&G and DTD. We made it back to the room about 3 PM, and I read DD a few stories and told her she had to close her eyes for at least 30 minutes...if she didn't fall asleep after that, she could get up and color or read. Well, she fell asleep pretty darn quick, within about 10 minutes. And she slept for almost 2 hours! In fact, I had quite a hard time getting her to wake up! When she finally did, she wanted to go for a swim. We had a little time before we needed to meet DW, so we went to the pool for 1/2 an hour, then came back and changed to head back to Epcot.

Good Bus Karma again, we didn't wait 5 minutes for the bus to show. On the ride, we could see clouds forming to the West...uh oh. I tried calling DW several times on the ride over, and even once we got into the park, and of course she didn't answer. (She's terrible about answering her cell phone.)

I asked DD as we passed SSE if she wanted to ride...it was about 6:45 PM, and she wanted to do another KP Mission. Unfortunately, the KP Station where you sign up was closed. DW finally called us back, and we met on the way to Mexico. We could see the storm coming as we went into the Pavillion, and after we rode Rio Del Tempo...or whatever its called now...we came out to an obvious "storms a coming" situation, so we decided to get some food. We decided to try the Orange Blossom Cafe in the China Pavillion. We got an order of Egg Rolls for DD (she likes Egg Rolls and Lo Mein, but they didn't have the latter.) I had the Shrimp Fried Rice and DW had the vegatable stir fry, and we also had an order of pot stickers - which turned into two orders.

By the time we were seated the rains came - and it deluged! The area is well-covered but open-air seating, and we were a good 20 feet from a window, but it was raining so hard we could feel the rain from where we sat. We pretty much knew (A) we were staying here until this passed and (B) we probably weren't staying for Illuminations.

The food, by the way, was OK, I would say average Chinese Take-out. A bit dissapointing for China...i hate it when places like this cater to what tourists think lf "Chinese" food. I would wonder if the TS restaurant was better. We should have been across the lagoon in England with JLR and her DD! (Shout-out!)

When the rain finally let up, it was about 8:15 PM, and we decided to call it. There was a TON of lightning around, and though when I asked a CM if Illuminations was still on I was told "Yes!" I wasn't relishing sticking around here for an hour. We pushed our way to the front and got on a bus.

BTW, DD was much better after her nap...So, we managed to do "The Seas", "The Land" (but not Soarin'), "Imagination". One KP mission and the Rio Del Tempo...all in a single day, who hoo!

Actually, again, I didn't mind that much...getting DD a bit of rest was more important, because we couldn't have her wiped out for our last day. Getting through MK in a single day would be pretty hard core.

I don't really have time to write up Day 5 right now...but when I got home, i wrote out a quick note to remind myself what we did that day. Our MK days are usually pretty hard core anyways, and having only one day made it twice as bad. Here's the note I wrote - I thought my fellow DIS'rs might get a kick out of what we accomplished in a single day at MK:
Dumbo
Peter Pan
It’s a Small World
Winnie the Pooh
Barnstormer (2X)
Mickey and Minnie’s Houses
Donald’s Boat
WDW RR
BTMRR
Jungle Cruise
PotC
Columbia Harbor House (Lunch)
Haunted Mansion (Me) / It’s a Small World (DD/DW)
Haunted Mansion (DW)
Splash Mountain (FP)
Peter Pan (FP)
Buzz Lightyear (FP)
TTA
Dream along with Mickey (Castle Show)
The Plaza (Dinner & Ice Cream)
TTA
Carousel of Progress
Buzz Lightyear (FP)
Jungle Cruise (FP)
PotC
Spectromagic.

We also had Space Mountain FP that we didn’t end up using, not because we didn't have time, but we just decided not to bother because it was down BOTH times we rode the TTA and didn't want to risk it. Believe it or not, that was NOT a rushed pace, we really took our time, but didn't wait more than 5 minutes for anything. I will share more details and picture in a bit.

Thanks for the shout-out! It would have been fun to have you at our table in the pub at the UK. It was packed! That rain storm was impressive! You know, that rest seemed to be just what the dr. ordered. I am amazed at your MK day! Truly impressive with a small child in tow!

 

[khertz]

The topiaries are gorgeous!! I'll have to now add F&G as a time of year when I need to visit WDW. And apparently, I need to choose the same days y'all did this year if you got all that done in MK in 1 day!!! Pretty impressive.

 

[skier_pete]

Thanks for the shout-out! It would have been fun to have you at our table in the pub at the UK. It was packed! That rain storm was impressive! You know, that rest seemed to be just what the dr. ordered. I am amazed at your MK day! Truly impressive with a small child in tow!

The topiaries are gorgeous!! I'll have to now add F&G as a time of year when I need to visit WDW. And apparently, I need to choose the same days y'all did this year if you got all that done in MK in 1 day!!! Pretty impressive.

And it's funny, arrival at MK felt like the first time the whole trip that it was really "crowded"...and the morning felt busier than most other days we've spent at MK, but usually the crowds really pick up in the afternoon, and that day it didn't. It also helped that the FP return times were really close up...I could have easily gotten 10 sets of FP had I really tried!

Oh well, I can't give away all the details just yet.

 

[skier_pete]

So, I knew this day would be the tough one...both Epcot and MK are super hard to do when you only have a single day, but MK is the worst, as to me there are so many "must-see" things here. Again, we were lucky in that we just came in December, and are coming again in October...so we could miss some things we wouldn't otherwise, but there was really a lot we wanted to see.

Of all the parks, getting to rope drop at MK is most important for one reason, and one reason only....DUMBO. I have no special place in my heart for this ride, its OK and all, but the idea of waiting for ANY length of time for this ride, never mind 90 minutes, is horrible to me. So, we do everything we can to get on Dumbo as early as possible. Usually we end up on the 2nd ride of the day. We were actually a little further back in the crowd, and as we were walking down Main Street USA, DW had a bit of a "bathroom emergency". Fortunately, she let me take DD on Dumbo by myself, and we were able to snag the FIRST ride.

It's amazing how SLOW this ride loads. We were literally in the first group, the ride isn't 90 seconds long, yet by the time we got OFF the ride it was 9:15 already.

The one thing I wished I had gotten a picture of (but I did get video) was of "behind the walls". They had just put the walls up and closed off Ariel's Grotto and Pooh's Playful Spot. From ground level, you just see the walls there, but from Dumbo, you COULD see over the walls. On the other side you could see that Ariel's Grotto was mostly still there, though the ground was being ripped up (taking up the pipes?) and over by Pooh's spot there were a dozen or more guys taking the stuff there down. Kind of neat.

One last comment, I love most of the fantasyland expansion....but moving Dumbo I am not thrilled with. Part of what I like about Dumbo is circling around in view of that beautiful castle. With the Dumbo move, that piece will be gone. By the time FL expansion is done, DD will be 10, and with Dumbo back there, I don't see a lot of motive to head over there in such a rush.

So, after Dumbo, we hit our other FL favorites. Peter Pan (DD and my favorite), Small World (DD and DW favorite, though I like it to) and then Winnie the Pooh. The first two were walk-ons, the third about a 5 minute wait. I also grabbed our first set up FP for the day, to return to Peter Pan later. I decided to try and grab some pictures in MAoWtP (we'll call it Pooh for short). We had just in the fall taped the original Pooh movie, and I had never realized this ride story was lifted directly from that movie:

Piglet and Gopher on a blustery day.

Pooh floating away.

Tigger bouncing up.

Tigger meets Pooh (for the first time, according to the movie)

Heffalumps and Woozles

..and the rain rain rain came down down down...

It was now just before 10 AM, and we had really done all we wanted to in Fantasyland. We decided we would head over to toontown and FINALLY ride Barnstormer, a ride we had never ridden before.

 

[skier_pete]

Considering we have a 6-year old on her 5th trip to WDW, you would think we would have been to toontown once before...right? Well, strictly speaking we have been, including visiting Tink and her buds last trip, but we had never taken DD on Barnstormer, nor through Mickey and Minnie's house. We had a long discussion about whether we should just ignore them, since they will be gone shortly...is she better off having seen it, and know there gone, or having never seen it?

Well, we decided to err on the side of "Let's see it once!" So, we went through the queue on Barnstormer and got to the front with no wait. We rode it...and "that was it?"...it was incredibly short. Most places I've ever been the kiddie coaster goes around 2-5 times since the track is so short. Well, good thing there was no line, because the CMs let us hop right back in and ride it again! Cool!

Next stop:

Mickey's house! DD tends to blitz through things like this. I went with her through Mickey's house;

then swapped with DW and she took her through Minnie's house while I went and got FP for Buzz Lightyear. (MY MK rules #1 - as soon as you are eligible for a FP - GO GET ONE!) DW takes her time, and she took lots of pictures. you gotta love some of the little details. From Minnie's bedroom:

Minnie does Norman Rockwell:

The Spice Cabinet:

Note from Mickey on the fridge:

After that, we went to Donald's Boat for a little bit, but DD didn't seem in the mood to get wet...so we thought that it was about time to swing around to the other end of the park and hit BTMRR and Splash Mountain. We decided rather than walk, we would take the WDWRR around the front of the park. As we got to the train station the train was coming, but then they backed it up, apparently had to take it off the track for repairs. A little bit later another train arrived, and we were able to travel 2/3 of the way around the park to Frontierland.

A side note: the WDWRR is pretty awesome...yeah its only a train ride, but how often nowadays do you get to ride a full size steam railroad train.

So, I had mentioned that it seemed like the crowds were fairly heavy for the morning. We were planning on getting over there and getting a FP for Splash Mountain then riding BTMRR. Well, we were too quick, and were not yet quite eligible for another FP, so we went over to BTMRR. Well, the sign said 15 minute wait, but it turned out it was a walk-on(!!!!). BTMRR a walk-on at 11:15 AM??? Don't know why but didn't care. We rode, got our FP, and moved on to Adventureland.

Next up...the "no-bird" rears its ugly head.

 

[littlelovebug]

Hi Pete! I followed your link from the post in my TR and I'm subbing! I have sooo much to comment on but I've stayed up way too late already! Can't wait to read more!

 

[skier_pete]

Hi Pete! I followed your link from the post in my TR and I'm subbing! I have sooo much to comment on but I've stayed up way too late already! Can't wait to read more!

Thanks, can't wait to hear your comments...without the feedback, it often feels like you are writing these things to yourself. I appreciate anything anyone has to say. That's why I try to post on other's TRs that I am reading...I guess I think other people feel like me.

 

[SnackyStacky]

Howdy, fellow Buffalonian!

I enjoy the pictures!

 

[If U Had Wings]

I can't even remember the last time I was on the Dumbo ride. Even when I was there with the nieces we did Aladdin instead because my older niece is a Jasmine fan. I think that one loads a little bit faster. (I've also been sucked onto that one at the AK. I just remember it being really hot, since there is no shade around it).

I can't believe that you hadn't really explored Toontown before this. Did your DD end up enjoying it?

 

[skier_pete]

I can't even remember the last time I was on the Dumbo ride. Even when I was there with the nieces we did Aladdin instead because my older niece is a Jasmine fan. I think that one loads a little bit faster. (I've also been sucked onto that one at the AK. I just remember it being really hot, since there is no shade around it).

I can't believe that you hadn't really explored Toontown before this. Did your DD end up enjoying it?

Magic Carpets also has 50 % more ride vehicles AND can hold 4 people per vehicle so it actually DOES run people through it about 3 times faster than Dumbo. Honestly, you are missing very little by skipping Dumbo. The only thing I could think that would be cool about it would be timing it so you were riding it DURING the fireworks.

DW and I did check out toontown back in 2000 before we had our daughter. And DD had played on Donald's boat back on our first trip in 2006, but we hadn't done, Mickey or Minnie's house or Barnstormer until now. DD liked Barnstormer a lot, she wanted to do it again after the first two go-arounds, but they wouldn't let us ride it a third time without going back through the queue. I never felt attachment to toontown the way I do the rest of MK because (A) it wasn't there when I was an impressionable youth and (B) it's really pretty trivial with 1 ride and a few display house / M & G. I feel like if you miss Toontown you really miss nothing of consequence. Not that I think the idea of a Toontown couldn't work, I just think it was done on much too small a scale to really be interesting.

Plus, DD has been particularly ANTI-Meet and Greet this trip, other than the fab 5 at Epcot, we really didn't do any at all. The few we did, she was super-shy about. We told her when we go for halloween, we ARE going to meet some characters, and if she just wants to sit on the side, that's her choice.

 

[skier_pete]

Howdy, fellow Buffalonian!

I enjoy the pictures!

Thanks for joining in! The more the merrier, especially a fellow Buffalonian. I didn't really talk about it in the TR...but we were there during the end of the Sabres playoffs. I wasn't able to watch the game, but both Friday and Monday night I was watching ESPN for score updates once we got back to the room. I had tickets for the Game 7 game should they have made it.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Really enjoying the TR! You have a great writing style.

Your DD is adorable!

 

[skier_pete]

Really enjoying the TR! You have a great writing style.

Your DD is adorable!

Thanks very much...I try to write as if telling a story, and to include my views, opinions, and what I felt I learned whenever possible, and also have a little humor as well (not sure how good I am there, since my humor is so dry). Sort of the same way you would tell a friend about your trip. I guess I always think that people reading are both enjoying hearing about what we did, but are also using the info to help with their own future trips.

We still got what I consider the funniest part about our trip - which involved a stuffed bat! Coming soon...

 

[skier_pete]

So, we made it to early afternoon - and we headed over to Adventureland to hit the Jungle Cruise. This is one of DD favorite rides,and I have to say it has charmed me over the years. A good skipper that sells the (horrible) jokes properly really makes this ride. DD doesn't even get half the jokes but still loves it. The other night in the tub she was playing with little plastic animals and said to one of them: "Uh oh, a plane crash....you know what that means! Hippos!"

The first law of the jungle - don't be a zebra!

Spider from the queue:

SNAKE!

Whew, they've got their trunks on!

After that, we decided to ride Pirates of the Carribean. Then, you can see where things can go horribly wrong with a small child. She wanted a souvenir, and again we had bought very little for her...I think I spent about $85 total on souvenirs this trip. They had this pseudo-lego set of different park rides. She chose the Jungle Cruise one. Well, we told her we could buy it, but we won't be able to put it together until we get home. So of course, she didn't want to hear that, and decided that since she couldn't play with her new toy - she would HATE everything else we will do for the rest of the day.

So, how about we go on Splash Mountain. (NOOOOO!) All right Mom and Dad are going to ride Haunted Mansion (NOOOOO!). Oops, the HM line is kind of long...let's get some lunch. (NOOOOO!) Well, we weren't going to give in and let her have the toy, so we decided to get some lunch. We chose Columbia Harbor House...we ate here the trip before, and really enjoyed the food. Yes, it was fried, but very tasty. DW had fish and chicken strips, while I had the shrimp. DD had the chicken nuggets, and we all had fries as well.

Well, by the time dinner was done, DD had calmed down. I decided I really wanted to do HM. The wait said 20 minutes, and the queue was pretty huge...much larger than usual. So, DW didn't really want to wait, so she suggested I do HM and she would take DD on IaSW.

Well, turned out the HM queue was pretty short, and I actually finished the ride before DW got out of small world, so I met them at the exit. (Saw them coming out of the boats.)

So, DW gets in line, and I sit down with DD to color in the shade of Madam Leota's cart. (A shopping cart near the exit to HM.) I tried my same trick to convice her to go on HM, pointing out all the little kids coming off the ride. No dice. Well, in addition, she is still insistant that she doesn't want to ride Splash Mountain, because she "doesn't like the drop". Well, she's ridden this ride each of the last 3 trips, sometimes a couple of times, and never complained. So, on the cart, they had these giant stuffed fruit bats, the same ones we'd seen at AK on Friday. They really had nothing to do with HM, but they were there none-the-less. So she asks again if she can have one. I say "I'll buy you a bat if you ride Splash Mountain with us." She agrees. Meanwhile, HM must've broken down for a bit, because we waited close to 30 minutes for DW.

So, she finally gets off, and we decide to start using our FPs. We head over to Splash, and ride it. Still my favorite ride! Then, we make our way back and get DD her bat. She is SOOO excited to have this bat. (Here's a picture of her with it that I took for this TR, to give everyone a idea how BIG this bat is.)

So, for the next few hours, she is carrying this bat around, pretending it is flying, having it hang from the chains in the queues. She got so many laughs while in the various queues from the people around her...and it was pretty funny. I said to DW..."All the other children are holding their Mickey or Pooh dolls...our daugher is running around with a giant bat!"

Continued in next post....

 

[GBShorts]

I've got to see how this trip ends!

Thank you for sharing our story-subbing in!!

 

[skier_pete]

I forgot to mention in the PP - we had gotten another set of FP at Jungle Cruise for later....but right now we're still around 2 o'clock.

We made our way around Fantasyland - using our Peter Pan FP on the way - over to Tomorrowland. On the way to Buzz, we ran into *PUSH*, the talking trash can! We had never seen PUSH before, but had met PIPA over at AK a few years ago. Well, PUSH was up to his usual hi-jinks, talking to the kids. Then, he saw DDs Bat...He says to DD:

"Hey, put that bat up on top of me!"
DD complies...then push says.
"Look at me! Da da da da da da da dah! Bat Can! Bat Can!"
It was freakin' hilarious. I didn't get a picture or video though - it happened too fast.

So, we hopped in line for Buzz, after I grabbed some additional FP for Buzz (it was now like 3 PM, and the return times were less than an hour away, yet Standby was about 40 minutes. what's up with that?

DD and DW rode together:

Meanwhile, I rode with Fruity, the Fruit Bat. I beat his score, too!

I propped him up on the gun, wrapping his wings through...and then red-necked the ride photo.

We had just enough time for a quick ride on the TTA before we headed over to the center of the park to watch "Dream along with Mickey"

Then, it was time for our ADR at The Plaza.

Next up...restaurant review of The Plaza!