The 4th 5th Birthday - Spring Break 2019 - Trip Report

[deejdigsdis]

Really enjoying this! Thanks for posting!

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

Itinerary: Day 6 - BBB AKA Princesses Everywhere! and WoC

Day 6: Wednesday March 13
Park Hours: DL 8am-11pm; DCA 8am-10pm (EMH @ 7)

The Plan: One of the only things I have managed to keep secret are reservations for all of the kids with BBB on Wednesday, so that will be our princess day. DD5 currently loves Elena and Tiana most, adores Elsa & Anna, but she still swoons over Belle, Ariel, Aurora, Cinderella and Snow White too. If I’ve managed my pre-trip plan and put together makeover bags for the kids, this is the morning I will bring them out! Not sure if I will bring them to the park and only give them to the kids when we get to BBB for the appointment, or if I will just do it at the rental house before we leave in the morning. Chances are high that I will somehow blow the surprise before then anyway (I am just too darn excited), but assuming I don’t blow it, if anyone has ideas about which timing is better let me know. Logistically getting dressed up probably makes more sense before we leave the house, so I’m leaning towards that. Here’s the rough itinerary for the day!

BBB stayed a surprise until the very end. I convinced the kids to get their dress up clothes on with varying levels of success, and it was a thrill for everyone. Lots of logistical hiccups throughout the day, but nothing quite like the string of ‘oops’ events from Monday. Another successful day, but also another day of me feeling less optimal than one could hope.

Morning:

• Plan: Breakfast at house, and then a leisurely walk to DTD for (more) coffee. Would like to be in the DTD area before 8, but not wanting to RD or anything.
  • Reality: I got up at 5, showered and enjoyed the first 45 minutes of the morning by myself while everyone else slept. Things went downhill as soon as I started waking the others. I knew that a wonderful experience was waiting for the kids, but they didn’t know it, so convincing them it was important to fully brush their hair that morning was a major struggle. DD5, the guest of honor, had a complete meltdown over brushing her hair. This triggered my oldest (DD11) who threw her own kind of tantrum. It was easier to distract DD11 this time (I let her do my eye makeup - which I never actually do; she did a cat-eye look and it was the most unique look I’ve ever sported). The two girls being upset triggered DS, who likewise threw a fit over being awake and not knowing exactly what was happening. Instead of being in Fantasy land and taking a leisurely stroll through the park, we barely made it on time to our 10:30am BBB appointment!
• Plan: First up: Get WoC FP in DCA; I was thrilled when we found out WoC would be up in time for our visit!
  • From a FP standpoint, we were so late into the parks we’d missed out on RSR again, but I was able to grab Buzz and then ST for later. We actually didn’t need a WoC FP because I had changed gears and booked the WCT WoC package after all. DH had commented how much he enjoyed doing WCT last trip, so the splurge seemed worth it - plus with our luck with FP, it was a good thing we’d booked the package
• Plan: In DL - this is the day I will FINALLY go on Peter Pan. I have never been on it - every single trip something has conspired against me. It was down for refurb my first visit, lines were too long on our first family trip and then DD5 wanted to meet Rapunzel so badly and we couldn’t do both, on the 3rd trip I was sick the morning everyone else went on it, and by the 4th trip it was down for refurb again. This trip my kids have declared we HAVE TO go on PP and they are prepared to wait. Our BBB makeovers start at 10:30, and if PP is the only ride we manage before that, it will still be ok!
  • Reality: There were absolutely no rides before our BBB appointment. In fact, we were lucky to make it to the castle before they called us! DH took a quick side trip for snacks to avoid hangry monsters, and BIL1 took DS to BLAB because his reservation wasn’t until 11:30. However, they called us all back together (5 makeovers nearly at the same time - well done BBB staff). So I sadly missed PP that morning again. More on my PP saga later
• Plan: Assuming PP doesn’t take ALL of the morning, I’m also hoping to get some nice pix with Maleficent scrim in the background if it is available! Plus snacks! Must feed the kids something before their appointments, or I will end up with cranky gremlins instead of gorgeous prince and princesses.
  • As previously noted, we didn’t even get to go on PP before our BBB experience, but it didn’t matter. We got some good pictures with Maleficent later. DH had handled snacks before the makeovers, and I focused on BBB magic.
• Plan: During all this makeover madness, I’ll probably be doling out FPs to the rest of the group and sending them off to Matterhorn, Indy, ST, BTM - whatever we didn’t hit on Monday or what they loved the most. BBB will be doing 2 of our kids at a time, back to back to back. The last one to start is my son, who I assume will take the least amount of time.
  • Reality: I totally ignored the FP options and focused on the makeover magic. It was such an incredible experience! Each fairy godmother had a slightly different approach and tone, and it seemed like every child was perfectly matched with the right one. I don’t know how it happened that way, but literally every single kid had an incredible time. They all cheered each other’s reveals, and I was able to grab pictures and videos while still enjoying the moment and being there.

• DH did one more additional splurge - we had brought along all our Disney dress-up stash, but DD9 was between sizes and nothing fit. He took her on a 1:1 sprint shopping spree at the boutique and she selected a quite lovely Jasmine costume.
• Plan: Once makeover is complete we will do Royal Hall to meet princesses. Hopefully the snacks from earlier will tide everyone over so we can make it through the character line with smiles on! And then lunch at Red Rose Tavern. DD5’s name is Rosie, so she’s going to LOVE it.
  • Reality: DD11 told her fairy godmother how I had surprised them all with the trip and she made me Princess of the Day! I was so honored (and a wee bit ashamed of my petty sulkiness over all the small stuff I’d been cranky over the previous 2 days).
  • We had a special escort to King Aurther’s Carousel, where we got to get on with no line. I picked the lead horse Jingles (previously I did not know the names or that Jingles was the lead horse so all new Disney lore to add to my enjoyment). This was truly a pixie-dust magic moment!

• After the ride, we headed back to the Royal Court where we met Elena, Snow White, and Ariel. DD5 absolutely LOVED Elena, and in fact was wearing her Elena dress for her makeover, so that went incredibly well too.
• There were a few more characters around to meet (Jasmine & Aladdin, Aurora, and possibly others), but kids were getting a bit antsy so we headed to Red Rose Tavern for lunch. As expected DD5 was thrilled to be eating at HER restaurant! We made use of mobile ordering, and DH quickly picked up our food. The gray stuff was a major hit!

Afternoon:

• Plan: If we missed Tiana on Monday, we’ll definitely catch her after lunch before leaving DL and heading to DCA for the afternoon.
  • Sadly we did NOT catch Tiana in person at all this trip.
• Plan: If Elena is scheduled, we’ll definitely hit her up too, likewise with Jasmine & Aladdin.
  • Thankfully we got to meet Elena earlier in our day, so we didn’t have to wait in lines after lunch. Getting in/out of Fantasy Land with the castle closed was enough of a challenge.
• Plan: Little Mermaid is going to be a must-ride this day (it was on refurb last trip).
  • We’d managed to get Little Mermaid in on Monday, so this wasn’t as big a priority. We ended up spending some time in TL instead of hopping to DCA, since we’d already hit the rides we really wanted and the ones we’d missed were FP anyway.
  • Various combinations of the party enjoyed more AstroBlasters, Space Mountain, and Star Tours. We skipped the Nemo sub and Autopia this time.
• Plan: Snacks throughout the day at the food carts for Food & Wine
  • Monday we used most of our F&W punch cards, and since we didn’t hop anyway, we just snacked on popcorn, churros and ice cream.
• Plan: Meeting Anna & Elsa while the kids are still all fancied up and maybe catching Frozen in lieu of going to the rental for a break (last trip it was a great nap location for our then littlest). This is when I’ll miss bugs land the most, but things change and there are lots of other fun things to do!
  • Didn’t hop in time to hit up Anna & Elsa.
• Plan: Monsters, Inc ride might be good here. Captain Marvel comes out the Friday before our trip, so I’m guessing she’ll be doing M&G, but also guessing the lines might be pretty long. DD5 wants to meet Black Panther, but not sure about other characters.
  • Didn’t hop in time to do any rides.

Evening:

• Plan: Dinner: Two majorly different options:
  • A: WoC dining package at WCT. I have reservations at 5:50, but I’m not in love with it. I had already adjusted budget to NOT have WoC available, and eking out time & budget for this package is possible but doesn’t feel like a ‘must’ to me this time. Very likely that I cancel in the next few days and commit to option b.
  • B: Re-hit any DCA sip & savor that made an impact, and CS. The specifics will depend on whether or not we have evening FP for RSR or some other evening FP, and how long lines are for the food booths. I’m hoping mobile ordering will help us avoid some of the food waiting.
  • Reality: We stuck with WCT WoC package. Turns out DH has loved every experience at WCT and was looking forward to an evening there, and also loved the idea of reserved seating. It was a big win that I had grabbed the res, as it was one of the highlights of the whole trip for all of us, especially DH.
• Plan: After eating dinner, it’ll be close to queue time for World of Color! If we have time, we’ll try to get on Mermaid again or even Golden Zephyr, but I want to get there 90 minutes in advance whether we did the dining package or not. There are so many fun things to see in that general area though, that even if it is still pretty early, I’m sure we’ll find things to do.
  • Reality: this is a big of a blur to me. I believe we did some shopping at this point, and bought more souvenirs, but that might have been Monday night.
• Plan: World of Color show times aren’t available yet, but I’m guessing the show will be around 9 or later (DCA closes at 10pm, MMM w/ fireworks is scheduled at 9:30). Once the show is over, we’ll grab bedtime snacks either in DCA or in DTD and head home for bed.
  • Reality: another drawback of waiting 2 years to finish a write-up is some details are just gone. I don’t remember exactly when the show was. I do remember waiting in line to get our spots, being very close to the front, and grabbing a lovely spot for the littles to have a clear view near the rail. I must have been slightly off in my placement because the show as only okay this time around. DH and I both reflected on the walk home that we remembered it being somehow more impactful last trip, but it was a great magical moment for the kids. We were a bit close to the pyro special effects, which freaked out DS a bit, but nothing we couldn’t all smile over.

Plan: It’ll be tough for me to resist the urge to hop to DL for a couple night rides, but our MM is the next day, and I’ll need to be rested and fresh!

Reality: I was tired enough that I was able to resist the urge. Plus DH was also tired and not interested in pushing two strollers home by himself. Kids crashed so hard, one of them fell out of the stroller as we walked home - no injuries, just a bit sheepish (and right back to sleep when we got to the house).

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

Itinerary: Day 7 - DCA, DL & A Very Special High Tea

Day 7: Thursday March 14
Park Hours: DL 8am-midnight (MM/EMH @ 7am); DCA 8am-10pm

Plan: Thursday is the only day I can use our MM. It is possible that we end up not using it at all if everyone has gotten worn out, and I am going to try so very very hard to NOT be too aggressive in waking everyone and marching them to the parks.

Reality: It is a bit of a blur. I know for sure we did NOT rope drop. I vaguely remember being flustered at BIL1 not waking up that morning, but I can’t remember if I decided to go without him or not. Spoilers: I for sure remember leaving him to his own devices the next day! I would like to think that I let it go and was relaxed and chill, but that isn’t really like me, so most likely I gave up on rope drop before even waking up that day, but still tried hard to take advantage of MM. Beyond that the morning is a blur - I only really remember when we split up to head to Tea Party and DCA respectively. Even my journal is not much help - my main note was ‘late starts, being rushed, not enough rides; tea party rocked’.

Morning:

• Plan: Early wake up - 5:30am (5 for me)! Breakfast at the house, attempting to leave by 6am.
  • Reality: nope. Woke up closer to 6:30, light breakfast at the house. Likely left about 7.
• Plan: Get through security and DTD quickly this time - no leisurely stroll for coffee today!
  • Reality: since we missed the rope drop crowd for MM but were there slightly before actual park opening, lines were pretty decent. We DID pick up coffee this time though.
• Plan: At RD, we’ll take the ‘safe’ route to FL, going along the parade route path to the right of SBC, and queue for Alice. Being pretty inexperienced with RD, I don’t think it makes sense to try for PP.
  • No rope drop
• Plan: After Alice, we’ll do the rest of FL, whatever order makes the most sense at the time. I’ll FP Matterhorn and then hopefully FP IJ or BTMRR or ST.
  • I don’t remember what FP we grabbed; I do remember not letting anyone do Splash before the tea party, but beyond that I’m clueless. Maybe we slept in and that’s why I can’t remember anything more!
  • The first picture I have for the day was 10:50am. We had gone through TL again, and checked out nemo but skipped it because of the line. DD11 and DD9 were adorable in their matching Stitch hoodies (DD11 was NOT thrilled that her lil sister picked the same thing), and we were watching some real birds acting hilariously in the little bay.
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  • DD5 was looking adorable. Her BBB hair didn’t last for the tea party, but she was undaunted. She was sporting her new hoodie, and our first ever DLR balloon is in the background. I can’t believe we’d never gotten balloons before: it made the stroller much easier to locate in crowds, which was especially useful when we were separated and regrouping. It also was adorable and lasted quite a while. Definitely worth the $$ and a souvenir the kids still speak of and remember, even if the balloon itself barely survived the trip home, and was put out of its misery a few days later.
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  • After hanging out there, we made our way to Pixie Hollow. DS made his sisters a bit jealous telling them all about our adventures from the night before, but luckily Tinkerbell was seeing guests and we were able to make a shared memory before feelings got too hurt. Our littlest (DD2) was also dressed in full Tinerkbell outfit and loved it!
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  • On the way out of Pixie Hollow, Tinkerbell told us to go quickly to look for Peter. I can’t remember the message she told us to tell him, but the kids were enthralled. Sure enough, we ran into the one and only Peter Pan! The kids eagerly participated in a game of Peter Says!
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  • DD2’s outfit was so compelling, Peter attempted to take off with her. DD11 was one part thrilled and one part concerned when she grabbed at her baby sister to protect her from the Pan.
• Plan: We’ll do some more substantial snacks in FL, and possibly even try to do brunch/super early lunch around 10:30 but I’m not sure where.
  • We ate Starbucks breakfast foods and snacked throughout the morning

Afternoon:

• Plan: The girls and I will head to Steakhouse 55 @ DLH for the Mickey’s Tea Party Celebration. Our reservations are at 1:05pm, but the DLH lobby sounds pretty neat so I hope we can get there well in advance and check things out beforehand. I’ll be the only adult wrangling 4 girls, ages 5-11. DH & the other two guys will have DS and the baby. I have no idea what they will end up eating - probably something at DTD.
  • Reality: This worked well. We split at DTD, with DH, DS, DD2 and BIL1 heading to DCA, and the rest of us heading to S55 for the tea party.
• Plan: Baby will need a nap, and whether DH manages to get her down in stroller or heads back to the rental will be a game day decision.
  • DD2 napped in the stroller while BIL1 took DS on IC twice, and they ate at the hotdog stand… I think Angry Dogs.
• Plan: I think the tea will be around 2 hours, and the kids will likely be exhausted from the early morning, so we will plan on heading back to the rental for a rest.
  • The kids surprised me! The tea party was a HUGE success: I enjoyed my bubbly and for once it did actually settle my nerves. Plus I do enjoy a good tea. The kids LOVED the elegance. The biggest surprise was how much they all loved the chicken salad sandwiches, which were only served with the adult portions (myself and my oldest). We had all shared the offerings with each other, since DD11 and I both wanted to nibble some of the child offerings, and the guest of honor DD5 very happily told our server that the chicken salad was the best she’d ever tasted and to make sure the chef knew it was yummiest. The server surprised us with extra servings of the chicken salad sandwiches! I think DD5 was happier to get that than the scrumptious specialty cake - which also was a surprise. Apparently he also arranged for an extra dessert cake because it was her birthday. The pixie dust was certainly flowing!
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  • Goofy was doing autographs in the lobby when we came out, and even though we weren’t there for Goofy’s kitchen, the kids got to interact with him and loved it.
  • We met up with DH, BIL1, DS and DD2 I think in DTD. The rest of the afternoon is a blur again; I know we ended up staying in the parks all day with no trips back to the house. I am pretty sure we hit Splash that afternoon/early evening, and it became her second favorite ride.

Evening:

• Plan: Early dinner at the rental.
  • Reality: we ate at the park but I cannot remember what. Possibly hot dogs? Seriously no clue.
• Plan: Back to the parks from some evening fun! If we got evening FP for RSR or other DCA ride(s), we’ll head there first. This will be our last opportunity for night time stuff at DCA, so unless the kids are done with it or it ends up too crowded, we won’t hop to DL until late.
  • Reality: I think at some point BIL1 left us to presumably go back to the house, but probably just was done being around kids. My notes tell me that despite this being the only evening chance for DCA, I didn’t actually enter that park that day. I’m fairly sure we did Splash with FP, and I believe hit Pirates, HH, and Winnie the Pooh.
• Plan: Revisit any favorite Food & Wine offerings and/or grab any we’ve missed so far. I’ll be making a checklist of Food & Wine items as well as a list of the Get Your Ears on offerings so we can attempt to try everything!
  • Reality: We either used more of those than I remember using, or BIL1 did go back into DCA and used the remaining punches we had left, but my fam didn’t go back into DCA in the evening and we had no punches left Friday. I vaguely remember popcorn being consumed in large quantities, but the tea had been very filling so none of us really had big appetites.

Night:

• Plan: If we need a do-over for WoC, we’ll be doing that tonight, or if we really liked MMM and want to check a different vantage point we’ll hop to DL around 8. I’m assuming we’ll have seen it from Main Street the first night, so we’d probably do train around to Toontown and grab a spot near iasw. Time allowing, kids can hop on iasw before the show, but I won’t plan on it.
  • At this point we actually hadn’t seen MMM, so that was what we were shooting for. We grabbed a nice spot on Main Street, very close to Gibson Girl. DH & DD11 grabbed ice cream for all of us, while I talked through the excitements of the day with the other kids.
  • The entire family LOVED MMM. In fact, they still love listening to the soundtrack and dancing around with it. Even DH was in the groove! I couldn’t have asked for a more magical moment - we had a great view of the projections, and the fireworks were lovely, but the singing along from the kids was just perfection. I wish I had video or pictures of the moments, but I was also enjoying it WAY too much to bother with that. Sometimes you have to just be there, you know?
• Plan: Hopefully all the kids managed a late afternoon nap and can enjoy the night. If not, we’ll send the tired ones back home with a grown up around 10, and I’ll lead the charge for nighttime DL rides. Odds are high DD5 and DH will be tired and ready for bed before the rest of us, and possibly DS and their cousin too. But DD11 and DD9 have been eager for nighttime rides and I am looking forward to spending time with both of them. It is a midnight close, so it is doubtful we will have the energy to stay that late but I can always hope!
  • Reality: The kids were exhausted, except for…. DS! So DH walked all the girls (DD11, DD9, cousin, DD5 and DD2) back to the rental and I headed off into the night with DS for quite an adventure! First, we made a light sabre for him (this was before Galaxy’s Edge, the economy version build your own sabre at the Star Tours gift shop). Next, we adventured through Pixie Hollow, which is always magical at night.
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  • After obliging me and posing for several pictures, DS asked if we could take a picture with the partners statue. He had mentioned it several times - I’m not sure why or how it became so important to him, but that’s one of his favorite things at DL! I told him pictures at night would be very tricky, but he really wanted me to try. This is as good as it got.
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  • Our adventure continued in FL. DS was deeply concerned that I still had never been on Peter Pan, so he said we should get in line and wait it out. It had been around 20 years since I had been in FL late at night, and wow! It is so pretty and magical! The line for PP was of course long, but we had a lot of fun. DS noticed the evil queen near SW - it was the first time I’d ever seen that! Next we decided to try out the play disney app, and did the PP line game. It was so much fun! DS’s face when we lit up Tinkerbell was special indeed. At long last, we finally boarded the ride. It did not disappoint! I had so much fun with him!
  • After PP, we did a leisurely walk down Main Street. The park was closing, and we got a couple more pictures in. DS was getting a bit tired at this point, and we had another day to explore the parks, so we decided to head back to the house. It drizzled on us just slightly on the walk back, and he definitely wished I had a stroller for him to ride in, but he soldiered on knowing it was the price to pay for a 1:1 night with mom in the park. I hope this memory lasts with him for a lifetime; I know it was one of the highlights of the trip for me.
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It was about midnight when we finally got back to the house, and I nearly had to carry him the last few steps. Well worth it, and I fell quickly to sleep after tucking him in.

Next up, momma gets her groove back and we tackle DCA her way!

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

Itinerary: Day 8 - Last Disney Day (only chance for F!) (Part 1 of 2)

Day 8: Friday March 15
Park Hours: DL 8am-11pm; DCA 8am-10pm (EMH @7am)

Plan: This is the day I want to start in DCA and try to recapture some of the magic from our last Disney trip. We won’t have EMH, but park opens at 8am anyway, so walking over and getting through security we may be able to rope drop DCA which we’ve never done before! We’ll end the evening in DL for sure, as this is the only night F! Is scheduled during our trip and it was on refurb last time, and I was sick the trip before - it has been 7 years since I’ve seen it, and I absolutely loved it! Can’t wait to see it again, and from a totally different vantage point.

Reality: Nailed it! The magic of the previous evening stuck with me, and I woke up a changed woman. I was sure of myself and sure of my plan and ready to make some of my own pixie dust for the family. While we didn’t really rope drop per se, we were close to open, and it was absolutely as lovely as I remembered it, albeit for a different reason. We crammed more rides into our morning in DCA than we’d previously done in an entire day. And F! was a smashing hit, AND we stayed for MMM in the same seats. Those were the highlights of the trip for nearly everyone.

Morning:

• Plan: Light breakfast at the house, and a coffee pickup in DTD before queueing at DCA, ideally by 7:30
  • Reality: Nailed it!
• Plan: Explore Pacific Wharf and all it has to offer!
  • Reality: Purposely skipped pacific wharf this morning to focus on using MaxPass and getting more rides in.
• Plan: Use MP to grab FP for morning returns in DCA, and then for afternoon Space Mtn which should be off refurb finally! Hopefully we’ve gone on all the other ‘big’ rides at least once, and I can focus on FP for attractions we want to repeat. Either way, I’ll be using MP to grab them!
  • Reality: This worked better than I possibly could have imagined! We entered the parks around 8:15 and I had snagged an 8:50 return time for Soarin’. The kids + DH went through and I did RS immediately after so DD5 and DS got to ride twice. Somehow I managed to get TSMM, RSR, GotG and GFS in times that lined up perfectly. The only hiccup was DS left his ears on Soarin, and I had to send DH ahead with the others while I waited to be allowed to check for it. It was right where he’d left it in the basket
  • TSMM was a HUGE hit. This was the first time we’d ever gone on - and it is now a must-do. Even our somewhat grumpy DD11 loved it - and at the time had the high score for the day.
  • After TSMM, we used mobile order to order breakfast at Flo’s. It was timed nearly perfectly so that by the time we had made the walk from TSMM to Flo’s the food was ready! It was a bit challenging finding a spot to eat, but we managed and the kids love the theming there.
  • Next the first batch went to RSR on our FPs; I got FP for everyone, plus we used RS. So once again DD5 got to go twice - once with me and once with DH.
  • While I was going through RSR with DD5, DH took the kids to wait for Luigi. I believe we went on that, but I don’t have it on my list so I might have skipped it.
  • I sent DH and the kids on ahead - BIL1 had finally entered the park, and so they were meeting up. I treated myself to a solo trip on IC.
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  • We met up near GFS for our FP there. I waited with the baby while DH took the kids on; we then used RS and I went with DD5. While the rest of the fam waited for us, they did Jellyfish:
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  • At this point, we had one more FP for GotG (because it was DD5’s favorite), and I started stacking for an afternoon and evening in DL. I managed to stack FP for BTMRR, HM, Space, and then a 2nd BTMRR.
• Plan: Get any must-have photos we don’t have yet, hopefully utilizing the photopass photographers.
  • Reality: Really under utilized photopass again this trip. Someday I will get the knack of this and be better at identifying the photographers

Afternoon:

• Plan: Lunch: CS either on our way out of DCA or on our way into DL. We’ll probably be ready for food by 11, but this will be our goodbye to DCA and the kids may want to linger.
  • Reality: Breakfast from Flo’s was so filling, we weren’t really hungry until a bit later. As we wandered DCA, we decided to grab some snacks. Some kind of miscommunication happened at this point, because I ended up on Buena Vista street with DD11, eating ice cream, and the rest of the group was wandering aimlessly, eating popcorn, maybe pretzels. After a few cell phone calls to figure it out, we all managed to group back together in time to hit Turtle Talk; but somehow due to another snafu we had some kids who had to use the bathroom. DH took DD5 to Turtle talk and I wrangled the rest with bathroom and then checking out some of the other offerings there. We decided to skip Anna & Elsa.
• Plan: If we haven’t managed to do Splash, we’ll be doing that now too. I’ve got to remember to bring ponchos because it is likely to be chilly if we get damp, but we can always change clothes during rest time.
  • Reality: The kids had done splash already, so it wasn’t a focus. We stayed longer in DCA, since our first day had been so wet and chilly.
• Plan: Explore Tomorrowland! The specifics will depend on when our FP for Space Mtn are, but I’m sure we’ll have a lot of fun here. We will check out Nemo & Autopia - I lean towards Autopia, but we probably won’t have time for both. If we haven’t managed to meet Tinker Bell and spend time in Pixie Hollow, that’ll be a bigger priority than the rides.
  • Reality: We’d actually spent a lot more time in TL than I thought we would have, and had hit Pixie the day before. So once again, we were free to spend more time in DCA.
• Plan: We’ll take the monorail back to DTD and head to the house for a rest and naps so we are fresh for F! Later.
  • Reality: We did NOT take naps at the house. We did have fun exploring Redwood Creek Challenge Trail:
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  • DD2 and DD5 napped in the stroller, cousin and DS rested as well. It was pretty heavy pushing though for us adults!
• Plan: I’ll see if any FPs are available for DL stuff to stack - especially looking SM so I can get one more ride in!
  • Reality: Stacked a great lineup for the evening, as noted above: BTMRR, HM, Space.
  • I counted it up, and DD5 ended up on 8 or 9 rides at DCA alone! Fantastic use of MaxPass - worth every penny (especially since we got the $10 rate!)

This basically wrapped up our time in DCA for the trip. Next is part 2 of our last day in-park.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

Itinerary: Day 8 - Last Disney Day (only chance for F!) (Part 2 of 2)

Evening:

• Plan: Head back to DL by 4:15 and head towards Critter Country.
  • Reality: Nailed it!
• Plan: Dinner: We have On the Go F! package from HB at 5pm.
  • Reality: It was delicious! A bit of mayhem induced minor stress at finding a spot to eat & getting all the food. We found a great place on the lower level, near water and in shade. Perfection.
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• Plan: Explore Critter Country - Winnie the pooh is a must for the small fry (and I enjoy it too). We will probably skip Splash this time to avoid being wet all evening.
  • Reality: I know I skipped splash, but I seem to remember DD5 and a couple other kids going again with someone, maybe BIL1. It all kind of ran together at that point. We definitely hit BTMRR with FP and used RS, so DD5 rode twice.
• Plan: Explore NOS some more. Maybe PotC if we haven’t managed it earlier, or as a repeat (I could do this everyday but who knows how the little ones will react, dark rides are always a gamble).
  • Reality: We made it to HH thanks to FP, and we did PotC.
• Plan: Explore Adventureland - and evening Jungle Cruise seems like it might be fun! Possibly IJ if that FP lined up. I’d definitely like to catch Enchanted Tiki Room this time - I don’t think any of the kids have done it, and it has been half a lifetime (or longer) for me!
  • Reality: We did not manage IJ this day, but since we’d caught it Monday I wasn’t too disappointed.
• Plan: Space Mtn again if we can - I love that ride so much, and it’ll only be up the one day we are there, so I will feel lucky to get on it once, but if I can get it twice you bet that’s what I’m going to do!
  • Reality: We made it to Space! Hooray! By far my favorite ride, and I had missed it the previous 2 trips - once down for refurb and once my 1st trimester all-day motion sickness made it impossible.
• Plan: Evening snacks - with dinner so early, I am thinking we’ll want some substantial snacks before F! Possibly some Bengal BBQ skewers or maybe even a light 2nd dinner at Rancho del Zocalo. Either way, we’ll be staying in that general area of the park until time for F!
  • Reality: I don’t remember when we ate the Bengal BBQ skewers, but holy cow I had never done Bengal before and absolutely loved it. We also managed the tiki room and it was a blast - kids loved it. And we got the obligatory dole whip as a delicious snack.
• Plan: F! Is at 9pm, so I’m planning on queuing at 8. I believe that is early enough for the dining package and it isn’t a 90 minute line up like with WoC (but I will be rechecking with the wonderful DIS-experts as we get closer to our trip). After F! we will be staying in place to catch MMM from that vantage point.
  • Reality: We stuck pretty close to this plan. After the whirlwind of activity that morning, only a minor rest in late afternoon, and another flurry of rushing around to Space and back, the kids were rather happy to be resting in strollers while we waited in line. I am pretty sure the adults were happy for the rest too!
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Night:

• Plan: After MMM, since it is our last day, we will all probably stay in park.
  • Reality: Fantasmic! was incredible. It was even better than my memory of 2012! We realized it had been down for refurb in 2016, and the family had gone while I was at the rental with a sick one in 2014, so 7 years between viewings for me. DD2 did get a little frightened by Maleficent, but overall it was voted best entertainment by all - adults and kids alike. I think DD2 honestly prefered MMM, and it was brilliant that we could stay in the same spot and catch it immediately after F! Seeing it from a different location didn’t detract from the joy either, and if anything the kids enjoyed it even more the 2nd time simply because they knew how much fun it was the first time and got to really focus on parts they may not have noticed the first time. We were totally jazzed up and energized after our MMM dance party, so everyone decided to stay for a while.
• Plan: Assuming the train runs again after MMM, we’ll hop on and ride around it until we get to wherever we want to explore next (hopefully Tomorrowland for Space Mtn again!), and try to close the park.
  • Reality: We skipped the train this trip, partly because PotC was walk-on! The whole family decided to go again.
• Park closes at 11pm even though it is a Friday, so theoretically we should be able to stay up late enough for closing.
  • Reality: This actually worked out quite well. The only hiccup was PotC broke down! All the kids had decided they wanted to stay with mom, with only DD2 being taken back by DH. However, the breakdown lasted at least 25 minutes, and DD11’s mood soured a bit. She decided she’d go back. That left me with DD9, DS7, Cousin7, and DD5 and without my right-hand gal, but it was all good. We kept one stroller and sent the other and all the swag we’d acquired that day with DH and DD2. At the last minute, Cousin7 also opted to go back with DH, because she was just too tired.
  • At some point during a bathroom break or possibly while we were watching F! Based on time stamps, I had left my phone in the stroller. A passer-by took advantage to snap some selfies (not really sure why, but hey - now I know I was at the bathrooms at 8pm that day) - thanks for not stealing my phone
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  • DD5 had been more than a little hurt that I’d spent a special night with her brother, during what was supposed to be HER special trip, and decided the most important thing to do was head to PP and ride that with me the way DS had done the night before. So we headed to FL, taking in sights and sounds as we went.
  • The line for PP was its normal length (long), but Toad had nearly no line, so we decided to do that! The kids obliged me with a photo op on the way out:
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  • We made it to PP, and DD5 was thrilled to sit with mom. It was rather convenient that DS was old enough to ride with DD9, but we did have to reassure CMs that he was in fact over 7.
  • The park was closing at this point, and DD5 was fading FAST. We got her bundled up in the stroller, and she zonked out by the time we were at Main street. We paused for one last selfie in the park (the balloon was tied to the stroller DD5 was in - I was NOT attempting to carry her home in my arms, although I do love snuggling my kiddos):
    

Summary: Long, exhausting day to be rewarded with a long, exhausting drive home the next day, but while at Disney, we don’t think about such things until we must! This day could not have worked out better, especially for the guest of honor, DD5. She managed a whopping 14 rides, making me feel like a master planner and like I finally knew how to use MaxPass and Rider Swap to create a magical day.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

Itinerary: Days 9-10 - Farewell Surf’s Up Brunch & Going Home
Day 9: Saturday, March 16

Plan: Early day for the adults to pack up the van and ensure we are ready for check-out. Another day of leisure for the kiddos, with a surprise brunch at PPH to help ease us back into normalcy and then the long drive home.

Morning:

• Plan: Early coffee & very light breakfast at the house.
  • Reality: As had been the case all trip, nobody was as interested in early rising as I was, and having stayed late the night before, I wasn’t all that interested either.
• Plan: Pack up, clean up, and check out by 10 (preferably earlier)
  • Reality: No matter how early I had HOPED to check out, and I really did want to get to brunch early and have time to explore more, we were just made it under the wire. Clothes were easy - we just threw all the dirty clothes back into suit cases. But packing up all the souvenirs was more time consuming than I would have hoped, and ensuring each kiddo had a comfortable spot in the van took some care and consideration.
• Plan: Donald’s Surf’s Up Breakfast at PPH @ 10:30am.
  • Reality: Another smashing success. It was a wee bit stressful on the way in (ok, I was near melt-down over our lack of punctuality; everyone else was over me being stressed). The oohs and ahs from the kids just at looking at the lobby was great. They loved surf board Goofy, and I actually found the ears I had wanted the entire trip at the resort gift shop! DH also had a pixie dust moment when he ran into someone sporting the corporate gear from his favorite soccer team, and he got to talk shop a little.
  • The food was great; enough similarity to the offering at Plaza Inn that it felt comfortable, but enough variety that it felt interesting. I have read reviews that are unfavorable, but my entire family enjoyed it at least as much as Plaza Inn brunch. If you enjoy the food at one, you would likely enjoy the food at the other (for breakfast/brunch purposes).
  • The character interactions were AMAZING. The kids had previously all become a bit obsessed with Stitch, so the extra 1:1 interactions with him were perfect. My youngest two also were partial to Daisy, so meeting her in person was such icing on the cake of a fantastic trip.
  • I wish I could share a ton of pictures from this - but sadly DH and I had massive miscommunication and we didn’t get our hardcopy ordered, AND we weren’t able to get the code to link up with our photopass account.

Afternoon:

• Plan: Possibly take one more drive by the ocean, but DH will likely be eager to be done with the trip and get on the road.
  • Reality: While we did linger over brunch (we basically closed the place out), and took a few extra minutes to explore the public areas of the resort, we all agreed it was best not to delay the inevitable drive home any longer.
• Plan: Say goodbye to California and start the loooooooooooooooong drive home. Defying all logic, I swear the return trip is twice as long as the way there.
  • Reality: The return trip DID seem twice as long, in part because we did not stop part way.

Evening:

• Plan: Dinner in Mesa, AZ or push on through to Tucson, AZ
  • Reality: We pushed long and far. I don’t remember where we had dinner, but I remember it was fast food.
• Plan: Change kids into jammies and load up on snacks and caffeine for the night drive.
  • Reality: Kids were reasonably comfortable, snacks were distributed, and adults caffeinated for the night. I typically drive most of the night hours, and I had managed to catch a nap during the daylight driving. It was still an incredibly long night, and I was thrilled to hand the keys back to DH to finish the home stretch.

Day 10: Sunday, March 17

Morning:

• Plan: Breakfast in Austin & drop off BIL #2, possibly visit other family in the area and do lunch to let kids burn off some energy.
  • Reality: BIL2 had to fly home previously, so we did not even go through Austin on the way back. This saved roughly 4 hours of drive time or more.

Afternoon:

• Plan: Drop off niece & BIL #1.
  • Reality: both niece and BIL1 were dropped off at their respective homes by 2pm.
• Plan: Make it home and collapse in heap and hope kids don’t trash the place while we rest.
  • Reality: DH and I got the kids inside and crashed. It was likely 3pm when we got home, but I was too tired to really think about it.

Evening:

• Plan: Dinner will be anything I don’t have to cook.
  • Reality: We ordered pizza!
• Plan: Massive amounts of laundry.
  • Reality: We got 2 loads washed and dried, but didn’t manage to fold anything. We had more than 2 loads left (we average up 7 loads a week and had been gone for 10 days).
• Plan: Prep for school the next day.
  • Reality: About this time I was thinking WHY DID I SCHEDULE THIS TRIP THIS WAY?! WE NEED ONE MORE DAY! The kids however were quite on top of their game, and managed to help pick out their outfits and snacks for the next day. Shockingly we had NOT eaten every single snack on the trip, and there was enough to send with them. The kids were eager to get to school and share their spring break stories with friends and teachers.

Plan: It’ll be an early bedtime for everyone, and back to the grind in the morning! Hopefully we’ll be able to pack up backpacks with any precious souvenirs the kids want to take to school.

Reality: It was not as early a bedtime as I initially hoped, because the kids were all still running on pacific time zone, had slept quite a lot in the van, and were too excited to sleep. We opted to NOT send any souvenirs with the kids, only pictures. This made backpacks much easier to manage.

Next up, a summary and some final thoughts.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

What to say! We finished this trip more than a year before I finished this trip report. There were hiccups to be sure, but the magic and the highlights far outweighed any stress or disappointment. The journals were far and away the best thing I prepped for the trip - the kids enjoyed them, but maybe more importantly I enjoyed them and using my notes helped me put together the trip report. I will for sure do them again, even though I no longer have the program I used to make them (they were made in MS Publisher, and I'm a Mac user now). In fact, I enjoyed them so much I plan on making journals for my sister's family for their Spring 2022 trip!

MaxPass was such a game changer - I'm not sure I can add $20/person/day to the budget, but if it is back and I can, I will for sure for our next trip.

Space Mtn still an all time favorite, but it was nice finally riding Peter Pan. Still not sure why it has the longest lines in Fantasyland as the other rides are just as charming!

Trying to do everything for everyone doesn't work. When traveling with others, I need to set the plan for my immediate family and be more hands off for others, and I need to be prepared for the lack of movement in the mornings. Maybe next trip I'll split up the group for the morning with the park stormers going with me, and the sleep-in crew coming with DH. On the one hand, I love the magic of being together. On the other, I hate feeling like my family is robbing me of park time

Nothing is more magical from this trip than the joy and wonder we all experienced during the two night shows, MMM and F! For my family, I think it is clear - the #1 thing that separates Disney from any other activity we could do are the shows. I will forever cherish the memories of my children getting along and singing and dancing during MMM, or the awe in their faces during F!

On that note, it is time to sign-off so I can start planning the next 2 (or 3) trips: June 2022 DLR (confirmed!), July 2023 WDW (tentative pending Girl Scouts info), October 2024 (DLR or WDW, tentative). Thanks all who followed this long saga despite my nearly 18 month absence! May you learn from my mistakes and successes