Tale as Old as Time...a Feb 2017 Princess 5k and B-Day Trip! NEW 4/7 THE END of our trip!!

[chunkymonkey]

Steak Heaven!!! I'm glad you can substitute sides because there's no way I'm eating a whole mushroom.

Haha I know lots of people like that. You either love or hate mushrooms, never knew anyone who was in between lol.

That seems to be what everyone is saying. I think they built so much hype around it and then it got delayed so long that it can't live up to anyone's expectations.

Yes exactly. I think it was too hyped up and with all the delays and stuff I think people were expecting it to be amazing. It was pretty good but I think I'd rather see Fantasmic.

I felt like I was right along with you running to ROL. Glad you got into the later show. And your YS review made me hungry. That porterhouse looked amazing.

Thanks! If I'm running I'm taking everyone with me!! Haha.
Thankful we got to see the later show. I hope in the future those with the package get a choice of show. It just makes more sense and relieves some of the overcrowding of the earlier show.
Our steak was so so good. Always a great meal at Yachtsman!

Oh your steak at Yachtsman looks so good!!!!!! We've done the porterhouse before too and it's oh so good. Especially those beef fat potatoes. #Perfection

Perfection is right!! I loved everything that it comes with. Although I'm assuming you didn't get the mushrooms?

Can't believe all the trouble you all had with RoL but so glad you finally got to see it from the best seats in the house. I never thought about the lack of fireworks and the animals, but that makes complete sense. Everyone seems to be largely underwhelmed but it, but it's gotta be better than the jungle book show And if I can get tiffins out of it all the better

Yeah such a pain - but was the result of a misunderstanding, I hope they figured out that they are not supposed to be telling people 7:45pm.
I never saw the Jungle Book show but I guess it wasn't anything to get excited over? And yes, sign me up for Tiffin's anytime!

Another great meal at Yachtsman's that was so sweet preparing a special menu for your birthday. We're thinking of having Thanksgiving dinner at Yachtsman's since we'll be staying at the BC.
I can't believe you had to run from the entrance to Dinoland after dinner and then to be told no seats no standing room left Thank goodness for the CM's I'm glad you got to see the entire show and with great seats.
I agree with you about the Electric Water Parade just hearing the music it's so simple but brings back so many memories we love it

It was really sweet of them to give me a special menu and dessert.
I think you can't go wrong with Yachtsman and I think Thanksgiving dinner there sounds like the perfect place. I love how it looks and feels like a traditional restaurant.
Ugh, yeah running to ROL was no fun. I can't believe it was so far away. I'm just thankful we got to see it in the end and that our running and rushing was not for naught.
I miss the electric water parade. It does remind me of my Disney trips long long ago...

Wonderful updates, we have not been to RoL yet, we had a dining package in February but canceled it because we would have had to change the FP+ for the day, so after your Tiffin review and @kastoney review we are doing the Tiffins Dining package, hopefully, it hasn't come out yet, at the end of August. Your review sounds the same as others I have read, it is beautiful but a bit underwhelming.

Thank you! I think you'll have a wonderful time at Tiffins! It really is a great restaurant, and I'm so happy there's another option to eat at at AK.
RoL is nice the first time, but not sure I'm gonna go out of my way to see it again...

Your steak dinner and sides look very good as well, nice to meet up with friends and have a great waiter!

Ahh the electrical water parade, I loved it when we stayed at the monorail resorts, very nostalgic and made me feel like a kid again!

Always a plus when we're at Disney together and we get to meet up and eat at one of our favorite restaurants.
Definitely feel like a kid again when we watch the water parade. I hope they don't change it like they are changing so many things at Disney...

 

[bcwife76]

I've already told DH that if we visit WDW again I would like to stay at Beach Club We'll see if he agrees!

Your dinner at Yachtsman, oh my goodness, looks so delicious!! So sweet of them to make the menu ahead of time - Disboarders ARE the best!!!

So you ran and ran and ran.....and then they let you in the late show..... Like, I appreciate the pixie dust but could have done without the extra sprint through those crowds You ended up with a GREAT spot for ROL.

I agree, visually stunning and I would love to see that (thanks for the video clips! ) but yeah...I need more......we are spoiled teehee

 

[chunkymonkey]

I've already told DH that if we visit WDW again I would like to stay at Beach Club We'll see if he agrees!

I'd like to stay there too! It always seems to be the most expensive when we visit though so we end up staying elsewhere. Hopefully one day!

Your dinner at Yachtsman, oh my goodness, looks so delicious!! So sweet of them to make the menu ahead of time - Disboarders ARE the best!!!

I know! So sweet of my friend Betsy to cook up something with David. I really appreciate all the friendships I've made on the Disboards because amazingly, my friends IRL are not as Disney-crazed as I am. Only Chunky Sis is on par with me, hehe.

So you ran and ran and ran.....and then they let you in the late show..... Like, I appreciate the pixie dust but could have done without the extra sprint through those crowds You ended up with a GREAT spot for ROL.

I agree, visually stunning and I would love to see that (thanks for the video clips! ) but yeah...I need more......we are spoiled teehee

Yes, never doing that again! I would rather skip that show than run for it, LOL. I appreciated the CM allowing us to go in for the late show, but then again, it wasn't our fault that we were late so I can't see them being strict with that. It was a nice show but definitely not mindblowing good. I'd rather watch any of the other shows in the other parks over this one. But I'd do the ROL dining package again though! And then maybe give my tickets to someone else.

True we are spoiled after doing WoC especially with the dessert party!

 

[CallieMar]

How sweet you got a birthday menu! And your dinner looks fantastic. I think steak should be its own food group, haha. I also thought the surprise treats at the end were cute.

Running across the park to get to RoL must have been so stressful especially after all that hard work and planning you put into it! But I'm glad it ended well, even if the show wasn't as great as you hoped it would be. That was nice that you got first pick of seats, and it looked like a nice way to end the night.

OMG your DBF and my DH should get together and have a Gaston bromance. My DH keeps quoting lines from the movie..."Ten points for Gaston" is a favorite. He also says he wants to get antlers for the house. It's hilarious. I think on our next trip we're going to have to bite the bullet and wait on line to meet Gaston. I may bring a book. With no pictures, hahaha.

OMG they would totally bond over their love of Gaston. Your DH meeting Gaston would be hilarious, they would totally have a bromance too and the pictures would be awesome. I can see why you would be hesitant to encourage this though

 

[Dugette]

Whew, sorry it took me so long, but I'm here and all caught up...read the whole thing tonight! Love your report, as usual, and looking forward to more!

 

[natebenma]

Read through your first two Day 2 updates.

CONGRATS on the 5K!!! That is fantastic, especially given the roadblocks leading up to the run.



I'm also extremely impressed that you were able to redo you 'do on the bus.

Yay! for meeting friends in line.

I love your shirts and the other inventive costumes. Your friend Ann is adorable as Piglet!

About every half mile or so we saw a character...and really rare ones too! Oh Chunkysis is gonna be so jealous! Whenever we saw a line for a character, we ran over to line up.

When you posted this I thought of your sister's magical transportation powers.



Your pictures are all great. I love the side-by-side with you and DH as well as the character pictures. I think my favorites are the fish and coral near Nemo.

Once again,

 

[Heidi Lou]

It was so nice meeting y'all! I cant believe about the "running to rivers of light" ordeal bc guess what...same! I couldn't believe how unprepared anyone who had anything to do with the show that we encountered was that night. When we finally got to the correct entrance, people were just standing there like "o well, not even going to try even though we GOT THE DINING PACKAGE!" so my little pregnant sister wasn't having it and threw a fit and guess what...we all got let in! What a night!

 

[Reflections of Earth]

Your Yachtsman's dinner looks wonderful, and your birthday menu is adorable!

It was probably so stressful running all that way.. just to be told you were late. Glad you got to see the later show and got first choice for seats, that definitely makes up for everything!

 

[cinderkelly]

aaaahhhhhh, I'm so far behind! I still need to go back and read your last 3 pages, but just wanted to stop by and say Hi!

 

[chunkymonkey]

How sweet you got a birthday menu! And your dinner looks fantastic. I think steak should be its own food group, haha. I also thought the surprise treats at the end were cute.

Yes it was such a great pre-birthday dinner! Thank you! And steak should definitely be it's own food group.

Running across the park to get to RoL must have been so stressful especially after all that hard work and planning you put into it! But I'm glad it ended well, even if the show wasn't as great as you hoped it would be. That was nice that you got first pick of seats, and it looked like a nice way to end the night.

Ugh yeah it was super stressful especially because I'm the sort of person that doesn't like to be late for anything. But in the end it did work out and I'm glad it wasn't such a big deal that we were late.

OMG they would totally bond over their love of Gaston. Your DH meeting Gaston would be hilarious, they would totally have a bromance too and the pictures would be awesome. I can see why you would be hesitant to encourage this though

Haha that would be the funniest thing! I am actually happy that DH found a character to bond with as he's never really had much attachment to any other character before so I'll indulge him with the Gaston t-shirts but will probably have to put my foot down when he starts buying antlers for the house.

Whew, sorry it took me so long, but I'm here and all caught up...read the whole thing tonight! Love your report, as usual, and looking forward to more!

Hi Dugette!! Great to see you here! I'm almost all caught up on your TR too - but have yet to respond...will do though!!

Read through your first two Day 2 updates.

CONGRATS on the 5K!!! That is fantastic, especially given the roadblocks leading up to the run.

Thanks! It was a little bumpy but thankfully it is over!

I'm also extremely impressed that you were able to redo you 'do on the bus.

I was just kinda rushing it and I actually didn't care after a while. Next time I'll see if I can do something more interesting with my hair.

Yay! for meeting friends in line.

I love your shirts and the other inventive costumes. Your friend Ann is adorable as Piglet!

Thanks! It was really cool to see all the costumes. Some were really really detailed and intricate. I'm not sure how they could run in some of these outfits but I guess for a 5k it doesn't matter too much...the half though, I'd hate to be wearing Lumiere gloves the entire time!

When you posted this I thought of your sister's magical transportation powers.

Oh trust me, there were many occasions I wished I had her powers on this trip...you'll see!

Your pictures are all great. I love the side-by-side with you and DH as well as the character pictures. I think my favorites are the fish and coral near Nemo.

Once again,

Thanks! The coral and fish outside Nemo were cool as I haven't seem them before but we saw them later that week at the FOF parade!

It was so nice meeting y'all! I cant believe about the "running to rivers of light" ordeal bc guess what...same! I couldn't believe how unprepared anyone who had anything to do with the show that we encountered was that night. When we finally got to the correct entrance, people were just standing there like "o well, not even going to try even though we GOT THE DINING PACKAGE!" so my little pregnant sister wasn't having it and threw a fit and guess what...we all got let in! What a night!

Oh no you guys ran for ROL too? And with your pregnant sister? It's kinda crazy how far away the show is from the main entrance...either that or we went the wrong way. Haha. It felt so far...I was thinking, AK is not this big...right? I guess I haven't been to Dinoland for a while. I've never even seen Finding Nemo the musical so I've never actually been to that theater so we had no clue where it was. Hahaha. But at least we all got in, right? I'm glad your sister threw a fit though, she deserved to!! In all honesty I would have thrown one too...I am not normally like that but we were literally told the wrong time and it wasn't our fault! But whew crisis averted in the end. Hope you had a fabulous rest of your trip!

Your Yachtsman's dinner looks wonderful, and your birthday menu is adorable!

It was probably so stressful running all that way.. just to be told you were late. Glad you got to see the later show and got first choice for seats, that definitely makes up for everything!

Thanks! Yachtsman is one of our true staples at WDW now. Always consistent and always great service. And I loved my birthday menu!
At ROL They let see the late show so it was cool. Thankfully it was a misunderstanding, and not our fault so it was fine... yay!

aaaahhhhhh, I'm so far behind! I still need to go back and read your last 3 pages, but just wanted to stop by and say Hi!

Hi Kelly! I miss you!! I just responded on your TR too!

 

[chunkymonkey]

The night before...

When we got back to our room from RoL I started feeling a little congested and I was really worried I had caught DH's bad cold so I took a Sudafed. I don't like to take it as it makes me really drowsy but it's honestly the best thing I've found for me to ward off any cold before it really happens so I told myself a day of feeling sleepy would be worth the chance of not getting DH's cold. So I popped one and got into bed. My friend Betsy had also gone to MK while we were at Rivers of Light and she texted me her picture of the Tangled magic shot. It was sooooo pretty! I really wanted to do it but didn't know if I had a chance to, because we had dinner at California Grill on my birthday and I thought MK closed at 9pm and we wouldn't' make it (it was also our last night). Well, lo and behold I found out that MK closed at 11pm so looks like I might be able to get my magic shot after all! Also, I told Betsy we were doing the Tiana Ice Cream Social and she signed up for it too the same day! YAY!!! I was sooo excited...then promptly dozed off.

Day 5 Part 1: A Strap Mishap and a Birthday Cupcake for Breakfast!

We had to wake up early today because we had a PPO breakfast at Be Our Guest. But of course since I took that sudafed, I did NOT want to wake up. YAWN. But I didn't feel that congested anymore so it was working. Maybe I should have slept in on my birthday too...but we really enjoyed having PPO breakfast on our last trip so that's why we were doing it again.

So up and ready...we headed out and walked towards MK. When we reached the Contemporary lobby, I suddenly felt like something went loose...one of the straps of my dress had broken! Like literally, the stitching had come undone. Oh no! I was thinking I should go back to the room to change but dammit, I was wearing a Princess and the Frog dress that I bought for this occasion and I was going to meet Tiana and Naveen in this dress! I also did not want to walk all the way back to the room...so quick thinking led me right to the front desk and I asked for a safety pin. They did not blink at my request and they literally had a ton of safety pins in different sizes to choose from so I took two and we were on our way! I tucked my strap under my bra just so it'll hold up and put my sweater on to hide it. I figure I'll fix it when we get to BoG because I didn't want to be late for our ADR.

Half-naked crisis averted, we continued walking towards MK and at the entrance we got this picture:

My hair's a little straggly but I didn't have the energy to do it today. Of course my bad had day had to be my b-day, right? LOL

I loved the print and color of my dress but aside from the broken strap (cheap, Hot Topic clothing ugh) it was also too big. I didn't mind it too much when I got it (online purchase). I was too lazy and didn't really have time to exchange it so I figure if I tightened the straps it'll work but what I didn't notice was that the waist of the dress now sits at an odd place above my natural waist and was just a little frumpy and made me look a little wider. But oh well, lesson learned.

Walking into MK I noticed how much crowded it was...I was like, what happened to pre-park opening crowds?!? Everyone can't be here for breakfast! But then I remembered the opening show is now at the castle instead of at the train station. So everyone here early is now on Main Street.

Oh but we saw a lovely little proposal! Congratulations to the happy couple. It was so sweet. She started crying, and everyone clapped! A PP Photographer caught this too!

So yeah...no more empty Main Street pictures early in the morning...

Castle Selfie!

We had to go to the left of the castle which is where they were letting people through with PPO breakfasts. Think we had to scan our magic bands or tell them our name, can't remember...

Since it was my birthday I had to stop for some solo pictures:

And then we finally made our way to Beast's Castle and checked in. We had pre-ordered our meals so we went straight to the separate cashier where we paid and then we were told to sit anywhere we liked. I always like to sit in the library because it's nice and bright but for some reason it was closed for breakfast that day so we sat in the main ballroom. I excused myself and went to the bathroom and fixed the strap of my dress. I pinned it down and it seemed to work ok without looking obvious that I stuck a pin in it, thank goodness.

Definitely a bit dark the ballroom inside but hey, it set the mood! We helped ourselves to our beverages...think I got some OJ and coffee and DH got some coffee.

Soon out food magically arrived!

DH got the Croque Madame: Open-faced Ham Sandwich topped with a Fried Egg, Gruyere Cheese, and Béchamel served with Fresh Fruit and a selection of pastries.

He enjoyed it, I think he has gotten this before so it wasn't new to him.

I got the Open-Faced Bacon and Egg Sandwich: Poached Eggs, Applewood Bacon, Brie Cheese, and Arugula on a Croissant served with Fresh Fruit and a selection of pastries.

I had also had this before and loved it but this time it was served on a croissant instead of a baguette and I much preferred the baguette. Thought the bottom half of the croissant got a little soggy after the ingredients were on it for a while, So i ate everything but the bottom half of the croissant. Hmm, maybe I should have titled this TR "Bring back the BAGUETTE at Be Our Guest"

Here's our included platter of pastries...they were decent but I don't really love the pastries here in any case.

However, the one reason I wanted to come here on my birthday was because I wanted the Master's Cupcake. I love this cupcake even though I rarely eat cupcakes anymore. The grey stuff IS delicious!

I got cake and got to eat it too! I think I prefer my sweets at breakfast hehe...

After we ate, we quickly dashed off because we wanted to head straight to 7DMT!! This is the greatest reason to wake up early and haul yourself to Fantasyland for breakfast...we got to ride 7DMT on standby with minimal wait!

OK I seemed to not have the pictures from the ride, I think I forgot to download those.

We could have ridden a third time but the line was probably like 20 minutes by then since the park had opened so we decided to knock off a few other rides on standby. Like literally this was the only time the entire weekend that we got to ride anything on standby with any sort of reasonable wait. It really does pay to come early.

We rode Pooh and Pirates and Jungle Cruise! Oh and then BTMRR with our first FP+

After we did those few rides we realized the park was back to being crowded again in a very short time! Even HM was packed so we didn't get to go on it...boo.

I wanted to go on the Peoplemover so we went by and cut through Fantasyland and then decided to get our pictures under the Big Top. Minnie and Daisy's line was insane but Goofy and Donald was bearable.

OK you know that it's crowded when there was a small line for the Peoplemover! They were letting people up a few at a time...

Finally we were on!

While on this ride we witnessed something cool (or freaky, your pick)...we went through Space Mountain with the lights on! Guess it was down or something, but it was kinda cool but kinda scary looking at the same time and it definitely looks a bit rickety...check out my video here:

After Peoplemover I think we went on 7DMT again using our FP+ which still took some time because it was so crowded. Sorry no ride pics here again. I guess I didn't download everything!

We had some time before our next FP+ at Peter Pan so we grabbed a light bite. We knew Tiana's Ice Cream social would be full of sweets so we wanted something savory. The thing was, every place was so crowded! There was lines of people ordering food, and no places to sit. This was everywhere we went. We finally decided on Torguta Tavern beacuse seating was inside and it was very warm that day. I want to get a seat while DH ordered something. I think we agreed on some sort of taco salad...

It took a while to find a seat and then even more time to get our food.

It was ok, your typical Taco style salad. Nothing bad to say about it in any case. We shared the salad just so we'd have something in our bellies before all the sweets we'd be having later.​

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My friend Betsy was in the park now and would meet us in Fantasyland. We said we'll hop on the last of our FPs and meet her at the exit to Peter Pan before we board the Liberty Belle for our afternoon Ice Cream Social with Tiana!​

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Stay tuned...
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[bcwife76]

Well I'm glad you didn't wake up with the cold!

Yikes about the strap on your dress, quick thinking to ask for a safety pin!

Soggy croissant bottom notwithstanding, looks like a yummy breakfast haha, never too early for the gray stuff, eh? oh and of course, Happy birthday again

 

[Imagineer5]

My DH has that same Turkey Leg shirt! hehehe. Love your dress, I can't see the pattern but looks super cute. (Also, kudos to figuring out what to do about the strap so quickly, good to know they had safety pins at the ready!!) What a fun birthday morning, and glad you were feeling better at least. I get the cronut at BOG for breakfast, but both your options look great too, and you really can't beat that first hour in MK after the park opens!! (we're early birds so typically always do a PPO bf or at least rope drop).

 

[chunkymonkey]

Well I'm glad you didn't wake up with the cold!

Oh me too...I was lethargic for almost the whole day though...but glad I didn't get the full-blown cold.

Yikes about the strap on your dress, quick thinking to ask for a safety pin!

I was confident that they would have one at the front desk, I mean, Disney has thought of everything, right? I'd like to think so LOL.

Soggy croissant bottom notwithstanding, looks like a yummy breakfast haha, never too early for the gray stuff, eh? oh and of course, Happy birthday again

Thank you!! Breakfast was tasty as usual but I still prefer the baguette! Maybe next time I'll try something else. But really, I'm only there for the grey stuff.

My DH has that same Turkey Leg shirt! hehehe. Love your dress, I can't see the pattern but looks super cute. (Also, kudos to figuring out what to do about the strap so quickly, good to know they had safety pins at the ready!!) What a fun birthday morning, and glad you were feeling better at least. I get the cronut at BOG for breakfast, but both your options look great too, and you really can't beat that first hour in MK after the park opens!! (we're early birds so typically always do a PPO bf or at least rope drop).

I love that t-shirt! Although I'm not sure if DH has worn it while actually eating a turkey leg. Must make that happen on a future trip, hehe.
Yeah I was so shocked my dress broke! Actually not really since the hot topic quality is not the best...so now the dress is in the donation pile so hopefully someone will be able to fix it and get much more enjoyment out of it! And Disney is prepared for anything, right? LOL.
Loved the first hour the park opens, we were able to get so much done. If it weren't for that hour we'd barely have done any rides the whole trip!
Oooh cronut! May have to give that a try one day. I had an actual cronut from the Dominique Ansel bakery in NYC...and it was ok at best. Too much going on I thought. But the Disney ones look pretty good.

 

[krrrristen]

The last several times I've been to MK there have been lines for the PeopleMover! I saw a video on YT of someone riding Space Mountain with the lights on... never putting my hands up on there again! Glad that you got to enjoy BOG and a cute dress (despite the almost-wardrobe malfunction) for your bday

 

[disneyAndi14]

Happy Birthday day! Looks like a great Birthday so far. Your dress is very cute, perfect for the Tiana social. We did this in February too, we really enjoyed it. Love the Masters cupcake at breakfast lol!

 

[the2ndstar2theright]

Glad you were able to make your dress work for the day! Can't wait to read about Tiana's Ice Cream Social!

 

[wdwnut61]

What a wonderful way to spend your birthday and the dress is very cute. Nice save with the safety pin and I love your necklace it's so pretty.
Unfortunately because we travel at popular times Spring Break and Thanksgiving we always lose our PPO breakfasts when they extend park hours.
Your breakfasts look yummy and so does that cupcake.
I love all your pictures my favorite is the birthday selfie on the bridge with the castle in the background
I don't think I want to ride Space Mountain anymore after seeing it with the lights on
Really looking forward to Tiana's Ice Cream Social.

 

[Tracy161]

Say what you want about your dress, but you look fabulous in it!!! I love the color, it's so cute! Sounds like you were able to pack in a lot that morning, despite the crowds. Yes, it sure pays to get there early! I haven't done a PPO breakfast yet... it's definitely enticing!

 

[Reflections of Earth]

Yay for not waking up with a cold on your birthday! I absolutely love your dress and that you had your cupcake for breakfast. Sweets are always better in the morning!