The Darling Family's Endless Summer Vacation: August 2013 New 1/24

[dismagiclover]

I wish that path went all the way around the lagoon as well. It would make for a great run/walk loop as well as give another transportation option when you stay on the monorail loop.

How nice that your parents take the kids on a cruise. That will be a great memory for the boys. I guess if the camera never came out of the suitcase then it just means that they were too busy having fun!

How fun for you and Wendy, a few days of girl time!

Christine

Maybe someday they will build the walking bridge over the canal. Perhaps if the monorail gets too crowded it would become a real option to ease congestion. My boys had a great time on the cruise and the only person that seems to mind that there are no pictures is me.

 

[dismagiclover]

We were off to Hollywood Studios for the evening for a couple of firsts for Wendy. Believe it or not, Wendy had never seen Fantasmic. DH and I saw it on a couples only trip one race weekend, but we’d never taken the kids. It just seemed like too much of a pain. With just Wendy though I figured it would be easy. Plus we could go to the 10:30 show because one thing Wendy had requested about her days without the boys was no rope drop. She wanted to actually sleep in. Because of that there was no reason not to stay late at the parks. So it was a Hollywood Studios evening. We walked into Hollywood Studios and one of the first things we did was head to the Photopass guy. Time for pictures with just girls.





Then we had to decide what we should do. We had an ADR scheduled but not until after 7:00 so we had some time to kill. Of course the ride lines were long and fastpasses were in short supply. Plus it was hot. Wendy thought we should try for the Little Mermaid show and I was good with that idea. However when we arrived there was quite the line and we decided it wouldn’t be worth waiting for. So guess what my suggestion was? The drawing class! Wendy agreed and we headed into the Animation Building. There was a line for the drawing class too, but we could just plop ourselves down and wait in the air conditioning. Wendy didn’t mind waiting under these conditions because she had her Ipod and there was free WiFi in the parks. So we waited about 30 minutes I think for the drawing class. I told Wendy to take the camera and go visit with some characters while I waited in line. So she took the camera, but all the lines seemed too long for her. So she took pictures of the characters with other people. Instead of showing you the pictures she actually took I’ll show you some pictures of the characters by themselves.





For Sorceror Mickey I’ll show a flashback photo of when we did actually meet him.



That was back in 2009. It was finally time for our drawing class. This time we drew Tigger. Here is Wendy’s.



And here is mine.



Always so fun! With the drawing class completed, I felt like my Hollywood Studios evening was a success. We did, however, still have things to do. Like our ADR. It wasn’t a first for me, but it was a first for Wendy. Where were we headed?

 

[DisneyJo]

How lovely that your parents took the boys for a trip ad you got to spend some wonderful girlie time with Wendy!

 

[RGirl]

Dang! I can't keep up during the work week!!!!

How awesome for the boys to get to go on a Disney cruise with the grandparents - what a neat idea. I bet they had a blast!

Fun shopping trip - I LOVE all the Disney kitchen stuff. I always want to buy everything!!!

Ugh - the crowds!!! I'm glad you two found something to do IN THE A/C! Can't wait to hear about the ADR.

 

[chattadisser]

Dang! I can't keep up during the work week!!!!

I'm with you Roni...what's with them actually wanting work out of us??

A little girl time in the park sounds delightful, especially the sleeping in part.

Hmmm...let me take a stab at dinner...Brown Derby? A special meal for the special girls?

Christine

 

[dismagiclover]

How lovely that your parents took the boys for a trip ad you got to spend some wonderful girlie time with Wendy!

It was really great both for the boys and for Wendy and I.

Dang! I can't keep up during the work week!!!!

How awesome for the boys to get to go on a Disney cruise with the grandparents - what a neat idea. I bet they had a blast!

Fun shopping trip - I LOVE all the Disney kitchen stuff. I always want to buy everything!!!

Ugh - the crowds!!! I'm glad you two found something to do IN THE A/C! Can't wait to hear about the ADR.

I really have picked up the pace on this trip report, but like I said I want to get it done before we head back. And we will be there in a month! I love the hotpads too. They are the most used item that we brought back from this trip! The crowds were big, but I think they won't even compare to what we're going to see over Christmas time! However, I think we won't have to worry about the heat.

I'm with you Roni...what's with them actually wanting work out of us??

A little girl time in the park sounds delightful, especially the sleeping in part.

Hmmm...let me take a stab at dinner...Brown Derby? A special meal for the special girls?

Christine

Great guess for dinner and you are right on! I'm posting the update now!

 

[dismagiclover]

One of the things that Wendy requested for our girl time was that we eat at a nice restaurant. California Grill would have been perfect, but it was still under renovation so I had to come up with an alternative. So I decided on the Hollywood Brown Derby. I thought this would be fancy enough to please Wendy, but it isn’t stuffy at all. This was a good choice because Wendy really did enjoy it. She also really impressed me with her entrée choice. She went for the Noodle Bowl. This is how Allears describe it: Wok-fried Coconut Tofu, Soy Beans, Sugar Snap Peas, Bok Choy, and Shiitake Mushrooms in a Red Curry Broth. I was quite impressed she was so adventurous because she could have just chosen the steak. Here is a photo of this dish.



Wendy even used her chopsticks. I just had the Cobb Salad.



My favorite thing at this restaurant is the Grapefruit cake.



Yummy! Someday I’ll make an ADR just for that cake. I love it. Anyway after we finished our dinner we still had a bit of time to kill before we needed to be in line for the late Fantasmic show. So we headed over to the last showing of the Voyage of the Little Mermaid.



As we were sitting in our seats waiting for the show to start Wendy mentioned how the theater didn’t slope as much as most theaters (implying that it made it a bit harder to see if you were in the back. We were in the 3rd row so it didn’t matter to us.) My reply to her, “That is OK because all of the seats have high backs.” Then I sat back and thought about what I’d just said and realized it made no sense whatsoever. I turned to Wendy and said, “That comment made no sense, did it?” She laughed and told me she’d been thinking that exact thing. To my credit, I’d been up much longer than Wendy because I’d gone running that morning. Anyway, throughout the rest of the trip at random times Wendy would just look at me and say, “It’s OK. All the seats have high backs.” Sometime it’s tough being a mom. Anyway here are some pictures from the show.







After the show we headed out into a nearly empty park. It was almost 10:00 (park closing time) and everyone was either gone or heading over to Fantasmic. We joined the crowd heading over to Fantasmic. We had to wait a few minutes and then they let us into the theater. The late show is definitely the way to go. We had a much shorter wait and no trouble getting seats. Here are a few shots from the show.







Wendy loved it! So did I. Maybe next time we’ll try to bring the boys to see it. Anyway as we were exiting Fantasmic I intentionally exited the same way we came in instead of turning left right after leaving the theater. So instead of having to walk with the crowds through backstage and getting dumped out right near the park entrance, we came out into the park right by the Beauty and the Beast theater. Then we enjoyed the park ambience as we strolled toward the park entrance. I love the parks at night.



We exited, hopped into the car, and before we knew it we were back at BLT and tucked in for yet another night of Disney Dreams.

 

[RGirl]

Yum - love HBD! Always a "must do" for us.

Fantasmic sounds like so much fun. Can't believe we still haven't managed to get to it.

DHS is so pretty at night - I think one of the prettiest of all the parks when the lights go down.

 

[wiigirl]

Great update!

 

[dismagiclover]

Yum - love HBD! Always a "must do" for us.

Fantasmic sounds like so much fun. Can't believe we still haven't managed to get to it.

DHS is so pretty at night - I think one of the prettiest of all the parks when the lights go down.

HBD is great! It's definitely the best food at Hollywood Studios. You should try Fantasmic sometime, but go for the late show. So much easier to get seats! DHS is really pretty at night. I love the summer nights in the park!

Great update!

Thanks!

 

[dismagiclover]

Once again my day began with a run. I did the same route as the day before and then headed to the pool with my book afterwards. Definitely could get used to that routine. Eventually I headed up to the room to rouse my sleeping beauty, Wendy. We had places to go and things to do this day. Today was definitely girly. First up was a late breakfast with the princesses. So after getting ready we walked over to Magic Kingdom, up Main Street and into the castle. After a short wait it was time to meet our beautiful hostess. Here is the photo that came with the meal.



Here is what I think is a cuter version of the same photo.



After our welcome we headed upstairs for breakfast. For our breakfast meal I chose the Lobster Crepe.



Wendy went with the French Toast.



Both were good, but mostly this meal was about the princesses. First up was the lovely Aurora.



Wendy and Aurora matched this morning. Next came Snow White.



Then Ariel





And last was Jasmine.



When Wendy was young Jasmine was her very favorite, but we really haven’t met her much in recent years. So it was fun to chat with her again. It reminded me of the first time Wendy met her.



Anyway, it was a lovely breakfast with great company. As we ate we discussed the plans for the day. Wendy had one priority and the plan was to head there straight after breakfast. So we finished up and headed out. Which way did we go?

 

[RGirl]

Awww - as you know, we are BIG CRT fans! I'm glad you two had a good time. You got some great photos with the princesses!

 

[dismagiclover]

Awww - as you know, we are BIG CRT fans! I'm glad you two had a good time. You got some great photos with the princesses!

CRT is great! I just wish it wasn't so darn pricey. I've never taken my boys there because I see no reason to pay those prices for them when they refuse to interact with princesses. The whole family is going to Askerhaus at Christmas so we'll see how the boys do with the princesses there.

 

[dismagiclover]

Wendys biggest priority this day was Enchanted Tales with Belle. So we headed straight there. Wait time was posted at 30 minutes. It always seems to be posted at 30 minutes. Today we were going to wait it out though. We did actually wait the whole 30 minutes, but most of the line was in the shade. Wendy had her Ipod Touch so she was entertained and I didnt mind the wait either. We made it in to Belles cottage and I started to admire some of the details here.









Unfortunately at this point the line seemed to start moving faster. I would have liked a bit more time in here to really look at things, but what ya gonna do? We were escorted into Belles fathers workshop and there the story begins. We made it through the magic mirror and into Belles castle. Here we were introduced to this lovely character.



We were told we were going to help Belle tell her favorite story. The rolls were cast and Wendy was Felipe. She must have done an excellent Neigh. Here she is awaiting her big moment.



Belle came out and the storytelling began. I must say Felipe did a most excellent job.







The cutest part was Belle dancing with the Beast who was a little boy of 7 or 8. After the play was over they gave all the participants a chance to meet with Belle for a picture. Unfortunately Wendys picture did not make it onto the Photopass, but I did take this shot of her.



Im sad that I didnt get a better shot of her with Belle. Belle has always been her favorite princess (It has something to do with the name she uses outside the DIS) and weve always gotten pictures of her with Belle. Here are a few over the years.











Im a bit bummed that there really arent any opportunities to meet Belle at the Magic Kingdom without going through the Enchanted Tales. Oh well. I guess for the foreseeable future if we want a picture of Belle in the yellow dress well have to book Askerhaus. Anyway, Wendy and I both thought Enchanted Tales with Belle was a fun experience. Maybe not an every trip experience, but wed do it again. If we could be assured Michael would be the Beast we would do it in a heartbeat. I would love to have pictures of him dancing with Belle. Alas, that cannot be assured, but we do have a fastpass+ reserved here for our Christmas trip and I've even bribed Michael with a stuffed animal if he gets picked to dance with Belle. (This is to encourage him to try to be enthusiastic during casting.) So who knows? We may get that picture of Belle dancing with Michael. (Doubtful, though.) You can, however, be assured that we were not done with the Magic Kingdom or our quest for all things girly. Stick around.

 

[RGirl]

ETwB looks like so much fun! I'm glad you girls got to do it.

CRT is great! I just wish it wasn't so darn pricey. I've never taken my boys there because I see no reason to pay those prices for them when they refuse to interact with princesses. The whole family is going to Askerhaus at Christmas so we'll see how the boys do with the princesses there.

We are huge fans of Akershus too - I bet you'll have a great time even though the boys will have to deal with princesses.

 

[norybell]

I was way behind, and caught up over a period of many days, so forgive my totally disjointed comments!

I cannot even imagine a line out the pavilion for Mexico!

My only experience with school bread was actually a little disappointing. It was stale. Yours looked awfully good, though...I guess I'll have to give it another try next time.

Pottery painting is a really cool craft! I would totally enjoy that, and you're right, what a great souvenir. Wendy's Pooh turned out great! (As did your candy dish, of course.)

I love the old pic of your kids in Italy, behind the pillars. How cute!

That's awesome, that you and the boys got to go on Dino Dumbo and the kiddie coaster (whose name is escaping me and I'm too lazy to look it up) so many times in a row without exiting. That has only ever happened to me at MNSSHP during the parade (on Splash and Big Thunder), and it really is the coolest feeling.

I love the AK trails when they're empty. Well, really, I guess I love everything at WDW when it's empty.

I won't ride Kali anymore because of that threat of getting drenched. Just not worth it!

What a great BLT view! Though I always rue the parking lot. It's why I would never book a MK view there, either, though I got upgraded at CR once (to club level, MK view!) and it sure was great for the fireworks.

I keep meaning to go back to Tony's. I know the food isn't all that, but we used to go there every trip when I was little, and I want to go for old time's sake. (And I bet the food there is better now than it was back then!)

The BLT pool does look way too small. I so love all those MK resorts, but all their pools are too small. Maybe, in our imaginary world, when they build the bridge so you can walk from GF to the MK (I read some very practical reason why they can't, but I can't remember it anymore), instead of building another resort in between, they should build a giant Stormalong Beach-style pool for all the MK resorts.

Of course, then all those resorts would be in even more demand, and I'm not sure I'd like that!

How special, that your boys got to go on a cruise with their grandparents. And how special that you and Wendy got to have a girlie Disney weekend!

I, too, always skip Fantasmic, it always feels like too much of a pain to me. I've only seen it once. Something else to add to the someday-but-probably-not-someday-soon list.

Hooray for princess breakfasts! Though something about that Cinderella looks very non-Cinderella-y to me, can't quite put my finger on it.

Isn't Belle's cottage amazing? I, too, wished we'd gotten more time there. I wasn't that crazy about the storytime itself (granted, I was trying to calm a very fussy Simba at the time), but the atmosphere is really something.

Whew. I think that's it. Looking forward to more!

 

[minniemumma]

I am enjoying reading your trip report! I am kinda new to the boards so I haven't read any I your previous trip reports but I was wondering if Wendy, john and Michael are actually your children's names or alias'? If they are real I love it that their last name is darling too! Peter Pan is one of my fav movies! Looking forward to reading the rest of your report! Mumma/daughter weekend is something I would love to do

 

[dismagiclover]

ETwB looks like so much fun! I'm glad you girls got to do it.


We are huge fans of Akershus too - I bet you'll have a great time even though the boys will have to deal with princesses.

I think it will be fun and lots of the fun will actually be watching the boys deal with the princesses.

I am enjoying reading your trip report! I am kinda new to the boards so I haven't read any I your previous trip reports but I was wondering if Wendy, john and Michael are actually your children's names or alias'? If they are real I love it that their last name is darling too! Peter Pan is one of my fav movies! Looking forward to reading the rest of your report! Mumma/daughter weekend is something I would love to do

Welcome! I'm happy to have you along for the ride. My kids are only Wendy, John and Michael on the DIS. In fact the DIS is the only place we are Darlings as well. I came up with the names for my first report back in 2009 and now they have just stuck.

 

[dismagiclover]

I was way behind, and caught up over a period of many days, so forgive my totally disjointed comments!

I cannot even imagine a line out the pavilion for Mexico!
I can't either. I guess I'll see next month if it is rumor or myth.

My only experience with school bread was actually a little disappointing. It was stale. Yours looked awfully good, though...I guess I'll have to give it another try next time.

Pottery painting is a really cool craft! I would totally enjoy that, and you're right, what a great souvenir. Wendy's Pooh turned out great! (As did your candy dish, of course.)
We always have a good time with the crafts at the Community Center, but I think these ceramics may be the best ever. They are actually on display instead of shoved in a closet somewhere.

I love the old pic of your kids in Italy, behind the pillars. How cute!

That's awesome, that you and the boys got to go on Dino Dumbo and the kiddie coaster (whose name is escaping me and I'm too lazy to look it up) so many times in a row without exiting. That has only ever happened to me at MNSSHP during the parade (on Splash and Big Thunder), and it really is the coolest feeling.
That was so much fun for the boys. We'll try to make 7:00 am EMH in December, but I don't think we'll be able to replicate the multiple rides without getting off thing.

I love the AK trails when they're empty. Well, really, I guess I love everything at WDW when it's empty.
I'm with you on that one!

I won't ride Kali anymore because of that threat of getting drenched. Just not worth it!

What a great BLT view! Though I always rue the parking lot. It's why I would never book a MK view there, either, though I got upgraded at CR once (to club level, MK view!) and it sure was great for the fireworks.
If I'm honest I think I prefer the Lake View at BLT to the Magic Kingdom Parking lot view. The lake is just so relaxing and makes you feel a bit more removed from the hustle and bustle.

I keep meaning to go back to Tony's. I know the food isn't all that, but we used to go there every trip when I was little, and I want to go for old time's sake. (And I bet the food there is better now than it was back then!)

The BLT pool does look way too small. I so love all those MK resorts, but all their pools are too small. Maybe, in our imaginary world, when they build the bridge so you can walk from GF to the MK (I read some very practical reason why they can't, but I can't remember it anymore), instead of building another resort in between, they should build a giant Stormalong Beach-style pool for all the MK resorts.
We are both full of great ideas! Disney should hire us and give us an unlimited budget.

Of course, then all those resorts would be in even more demand, and I'm not sure I'd like that!

How special, that your boys got to go on a cruise with their grandparents. And how special that you and Wendy got to have a girlie Disney weekend!

I, too, always skip Fantasmic, it always feels like too much of a pain to me. I've only seen it once. Something else to add to the someday-but-probably-not-someday-soon list.
It is a good show, but I don't think it is worth an hour's wait. We actually have a fastpass+ here in December so I guess the boys may finally get to see it.

Hooray for princess breakfasts! Though something about that Cinderella looks very non-Cinderella-y to me, can't quite put my finger on it.

Isn't Belle's cottage amazing? I, too, wished we'd gotten more time there. I wasn't that crazy about the storytime itself (granted, I was trying to calm a very fussy Simba at the time), but the atmosphere is really something.
I found it quite ironic that the line really began moving once we were inside the cottage. Wish it had moved that fast while we were standing out in the heat.

Whew. I think that's it. Looking forward to more!

Coming right up!

 

[dismagiclover]

After Storytime with Belle we headed out into the hot Florida summer. We were both feeling a bit parched so we decided to stop into Gaston’s Tavern.



We would have stopped anyway because we’d never been there. This was a cozy little place with some cute details.







Of course we had to go with LeFou’s Brew. We decided we’d just share one and if it was fabulous we’d just get another. Wendy made herself right at home in Gaston’s chair.



So did we love the Brew so much that we went back for more? Uh no. Actually the exact opposite. We ended up throwing half of it away. Way too sweet for our taste. People often compare it to Butterbeer. I’d say there is no comparison. Butterbeer is way better. At least we tried it. Now we know it isn’t for us. We left Gaston’s Tavern and went looking for girly things to do. The manliness of Gaston’s wasn’t working for us on this girly day. So we went in the shop next door, Bonjour Village Gifts. This was a fun shop with some unique merchandise.











Lots of it was pretty pricey though so I’m sure it won’t be too long until the unique stuff is replaced with the standard stuff. After this we went for a quick spin on Under the Sea and then we decided we needed to actually meet the mermaid. One of the things I remember about this Ariel meet ‘n greet were the two kids ahead of us in line. They were a boy and a girl that looked to be around 4 and 6 years old. When it was their turn they went and sat on each side of Ariel and just grabbed her in a big squeeze. Then they stayed that way the whole time. They didn’t ever let go. They also never talked to her. They just sat there squeezing her and smiling. She jabbered away to them and they never answered her. They just keep squeezing. It was so adorable. At the end she even said, “Oh my. I don’t think I’ve ever had such great hugs.” That is one of those things I just love about Disney World. My kids are growing up. They still love the World, but they no longer look up at the characters with that complete adoration and awe. There are still other kids that do though and I love that as part of my vacation, I get to see the Magic that exists in a 4 year old eyes as they meet their favorite characters. I love it. And I think this calls for a flashback. I have no pictures of these small children in that 4 year old Magic (cause let’s face it. That would be a little scary if I started taking pictures of other people’s children as they met the characters.), but I do have pictures of my 4 year olds’ faces as they met their favorites. So flashback time.







OK. Back to 2013. It was Wendy’s turn to meet Ariel. Guess what they talked about it. Hair and the accessories need to take care of it. (Think doppelganger.) You can tell they are talking about hair in this picture because Wendy is grabbing hers.



Then they did a proper pose.





It was a fun meet. We’d never actually met Ariel with her fin so that was something new. However, the best part wasn’t her meet with us. It was watching Disney magic at work with the little ones.