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

[dismagiclover]

Love your trip report so far and I now totally want to go on an Alaskan cruise! It looks like you guys had a great time and it looks just beautiful!!

I can highly recommend an Alaskan cruise. It was absolutely beautiful and a great way to travel.

 

[dismagiclover]

After Piglet visited we went up and filled our plates. It was the same Disney breakfast buffet that we have come to know and love. Though there were no fresh raspberries this year like there have been in years past. This is such bright and sunny place in the morning.



Next up was Eyore.







Even John wanted an individual.



Last up was Pooh. Everyone was happy to see him again.









Breakfast was great! We just love this breakfast. By the time we finished the park was open. Any guesses on where we headed?

 

[momabbate]

I really need to do a meal at CP. I can't decided between breakfast, for a prerope drop, or dinner for their rolls. Pooh and friends were my favorite growing up. Seeing your pics they look like big stuff animals hugging your kids.

 

[dismagiclover]

I really need to do a meal at CP. I can't decided between breakfast, for a prerope drop, or dinner for their rolls. Pooh and friends were my favorite growing up. Seeing your pics they look like big stuff animals hugging your kids.

We've never done anything but breakfast at Crystal Palace. I've booked lunch there before, but I've always ended up changing it to breakfast. It's cheaper and I just love heading into the Magic Kingdom before open. The characters really are like big stuffed animals and they are super cuddly. I highly recommend it!

 

[Queenofallthings]

Great pictures! The last time we were at CP, Shanleigh was probably Wendy's age...how quickly the time goes!

 

[DisneyJo]

Great TR so far but wow you drove 14 hours I can't even do 4 without collapsing

Your Alaskan cruise looked amazing, I'd definitely like to do it one day :

 

[dismagiclover]

Great pictures! The last time we were at CP, Shanleigh was probably Wendy's age...how quickly the time goes!

Sounds like you need to schedule a trip to Crystal Palace for next summer!

Great TR so far but wow you drove 14 hours I can't even do 4 without collapsing

Your Alaskan cruise looked amazing, I'd definitely like to do it one day :

Welcome! That was a crazy drive. You are a Brit so long car rides just aren't in your blood. You do live on an island after all. (Even though it is a very large island.) I grew up in the west and midwest USA where road trips are called vacation.

 

[dismagiclover]

I have a confession to make. I was not planning on writing a trip report for this trip so I didn’t take my usual number of pictures so that it would be easy to document our day. Add that to the fact that we were there for a lot of days that sort of run together in my head and you have a recipe for some memory lapses. Thus I will do my best to recount our day accurately, but it may or may not be factual. I’m pretty sure that our plan of attack was to go for Big Thunder fastpasses and then head over and knock out Fantasyland. So we hoofed it over to Big Thunder just to get the fastpasses. At times like these I missed DH because he is usually our fastpass runner. (I missed him other times too.) This will all be obsolete when the whole Magic Band thing gets up and running and that could be an advantage to the Magic Band. I’m not sure I like the whole plan rides out in advance, but I do like the idea of being able to sit at my table at Crystal Palace and get a Big Thunder Fastpass on my phone. We’ll have to see if it plays out in a way where that is actually possible. Anyway, after picking up the fastpasses we headed over to Fantasyland. I’m pretty sure we rode Peter Pan and then probably Pooh. Eventually we made it over to the Tea Cups and the reason I know this is because there is photographic evidence.



That is Wendy and John in the teacup. Michael rode in a separate teacup with me because we are both prone to motion sickness.



After that we decided to head over to the new Circus area. This area is so cute. Very well themed. We went for a ride on Dumbo.







It was fun, but I do miss the magic of flying over Fantasyland with the castle in the background. The move over to the circus area just lost some of the wonder for me. Oh well. If I want to fly over Fantasyland I guess I can head to California. Details get a little fuzzy for me at this point. I’m thinking we probably went on It’s a Small World, Haunted Mansion and Pirates as we waited for our Thunder Mountain Fastpass time. Then I think as we left Pirates the boys saw the new Pirate Adventure game building. We had some time to kill so we stopped in and got our first map. Then Wendy and I proceeded to follow the boys all throughout Adventureland as they searched for clues. This is like Phineas and Ferb in Epcot and is actually quite cute, but it drove Wendy crazy! The boys finished the first map and insisted on heading back into the little house to get another one. I told them we could get the map, but we weren’t going to use it right then because it was time for our fastpasses. So we went back into get the map and the cast member noticed Wendy seemed a little disgruntled. I told her it was because she didn’t like trailing the boys all through Adventureland. The nice Cast Member said she could do something about that. She then proceeded to write out another special fastpass for us and told us it could be used anywhere they had fastpass or fastpass +. Score! Wendy promptly told me we were using it for Storytime with Belle. Then we headed off to Thunder Mountain. I took some selfies both without and with the flash.





After we finished our wild ride, Wendy was really feeling like she needed to do some shopping. So we stopped in the Frontier Trading Post where we saw this lovely display.



This picture has a bit of a backstory that involves DH (the one we left behind.) DH has loved the Lone Ranger his entire life. When he heard Disney was making a Lone Ranger movie he was over the moon. He envisioned that cowboys would become the new pirates. He’d been talking for months about how the Lone Ranger would be all over Disney when we went this summer. He was envisioning Meet and Greets and merchandise galore. Then the movie came out and it was a flop. DH claims it should not have been a flop. He saw it twice and thought it was a dang good movie. “Much better than that Pirate stuff.” Anyway, DH’s dream of being surrounded by the Lone Ranger in Disney was not to be. However, we did see this small display in Frontierland. That is all there was, folks. Poor DH. On a happier note, Wendy found some adorable Minnie Ears to buy. Here is the photo of her with her new accessory.



Our lunch ADR time was upon us so we headed over here.



I really like the Liberty Tree Tavern’s lunch. If you remember we were on the Deluxe Dining Plan for a day so we were still using those credits. I wanted to use some of them for dinner though so we just split a couple of meals between the four of us. It was more than enough food, especially since we got both appetizers and dessert. Wendy loved the crab dip. She still talks about it.



The boys liked the Thanksgiving dinner.



The thing I loved was the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake. Too bad I had to share it.



Anyway after our yummy lunch, Wendy was all ready to go visit Belle, her favorite princess. We headed over that way. Would the magic fastpass actually work?

 

[RGirl]

Your CP pics are so cute!

And what a fun and busy MK morning!

Lunch looks delicious. We really need to try that place one of these days.

Can't wait to hear about ETWB!

 

[norybell]

I've only gotten to do that CP breakfast once, and I LOVED it...I try for it again every time, but can never get an ADR!

Looks like a great morning at the MK, and that was so nice of the CM to give you and Wendy those FPs! The Pirates game does sound fun, though...I tend to love anything that involves a map.

Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake...yummmmmmmmmmm.

 

[dismom9761]

Looks like fun! I was just trying to decide if I want to cancel Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch. Glad to have your review!

 

[DisneyJo]

Welcome! That was a crazy drive. You are a Brit so long car rides just aren't in your blood. You do live on an island after all. (Even though it is a very large island.) I grew up in the west and midwest USA where road trips are called vacation.

Actually I lied, 2 hours and I'm done We just don't do road trips here at all, probably because we haven't got that far we can go

The nice Cast Member said she could do something about that. She then proceeded to write out another special fastpass for us and told us it could be used anywhere they had fastpass or fastpass +. Score!

Awww that was lovely

I wanted to use some of them for dinner though so we just split a couple of meals between the four of us.

Were they OK with you only using 2 TS credits for 4 of you? We do it all the time with CS as the portions are so huge but have never thought about splitting at TS!

 

[chattadisser]

Glad to hear a good report on LT. It seems like it get knocked so often. We ate here one time back when they still had the characters and I thought it was good. That Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake looks too good!

I wish they had kept the characters; it was nice to have another character option in the park. Plus…they are just too cute in their colonial grab.

Christine

 

[dismagiclover]

Your CP pics are so cute!

And what a fun and busy MK morning!

Lunch looks delicious. We really need to try that place one of these days.

Can't wait to hear about ETWB!

It was a fun morning, but what MK morning isn't? I really do like Liberty Tree lunches. I think lunch is better than dinner.

I've only gotten to do that CP breakfast once, and I LOVED it...I try for it again every time, but can never get an ADR!

Looks like a great morning at the MK, and that was so nice of the CM to give you and Wendy those FPs! The Pirates game does sound fun, though...I tend to love anything that involves a map.

Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake...yummmmmmmmmmm.

You must wait a bit to do ADRs because it's usually pretty easy for us to get CP. Or maybe we are just lucky. If you are a map lover the pirate game is for you. I actually liked the game, but I also like just kind of wandering around the MK so it was right up my alley. It did nothing but annoy Wendy.

Looks like fun! I was just trying to decide if I want to cancel Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch. Glad to have your review!

Liberty Tree Tavern is great for lunch! I would definitely keep it. Even if it is just for the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake.

Actually I lied, 2 hours and I'm done We just don't do road trips here at all, probably because we haven't got that far we can go

Awww that was lovely

Were they OK with you only using 2 TS credits for 4 of you? We do it all the time with CS as the portions are so huge but have never thought about splitting at TS!

They had no problem with us splitting TS credits. We were on the deluxe plan so we got Appetizer, entrees and dessert so it was plenty of food. They actually would usually plop the food in the center of the table and give us separate plates so it was family style. I'm pretty sure most of the servers didn't even charge us for the extra drink though I was expecting to pay for it. Normally you have so many credits on the Deluxe plan there would be no need to split, but we had one night credits that we spread over 2 days. We used those credits for 4 meals so it worked great for us.

Glad to hear a good report on LT. It seems like it get knocked so often. We ate here one time back when they still had the characters and I thought it was good. That Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake looks too good!

I wish they had kept the characters; it was nice to have another character option in the park. Plus&they are just too cute in their colonial grab.

Christine

We ate hear a few times with the characters as well. It is sad that they took them away. One year they brought them back when Crystal Palace was closed for refurb. If I'm remembering correctly I ate there with characters for lunch in Jan. 2010. I think they were even serving character breakfasts there. I actually prefer the lunch menu to the dinner menu. Though we are eating dinner here on our Christmas trip. DH requested it because it seems like a holiday dinner.

 

[dismagiclover]

So we headed over to Storytime with Belle. Wendy was very excited about this new attraction. Belle has always been her favorite princess and this would be our first visit to her cottage. We confidently walked up to the Fastpass+ entrance and handed the cast member our special fastpass. She proceeded to tell us it wouldn’t work here. It only worked in places that used normal fastpasses. Oh well. Wendy was a tad disappointed, but she quickly adapted and decided she would use it to visit the princesses in Town Hall. So we decided to head down Main Street. We hatched a plan on the way. I checked my phone and fastpasses for Mickey Mouse weren’t too far out so we’d get traditional fastpasses for Mickey and we would use our special fastpass to meet the Princesses. As we walked down Main Street we were diverted by another character sighting. Pluto and Marie were out. Pluto’s line was pretty long. Marie’s was quite a bit shorter. Michael is a big Pluto lover and Wendy really wanted to meet Marie. I told them I was willing to stand in both lines, but it was hot and none of them wanted to wait in both lines. It didn’t take too much persuasion to get Michael to meet Marie and save Pluto for another day. I’m pretty sure Wendy pulled the “I followed you around Adventureland in that Pirate game for an hour” card. So the kids hopped in line and I ran over to pick up the Mickey fastpasses. When I returned Michael proudly displayed the pictures he’d taken.







So he’d gotten some photos of Pluto after all. After a pretty short wait we were meeting this lovely kitten.



After Wendy met her Marie motioned for John and Michael to come up. John reluctantly complied and Marie showed him how much she appreciated it.



You can imagine how much John loved that. Michael refused to meet her, but I hopped in for a quick picture.





Marie liked me OK, but it was Michael she really wanted to meet. She literally chased him down. He tried to run away, but his brother and sister made sure he didn’t miss his chance to hug Marie.



She gave him hugs and kisses and seemed quite besotted with him. He didn’t really reciprocate. As for Wendy, John and I, we teased Michael about his new “girlfriend” the entire trip.

After this fun meet we headed over to meet the Princesses. The boys were not particularly enthusiastic about this opportunity. They were still smarting about the fact that we didn’t use this special fastpass for Space Mountain. Wendy didn’t hesitate to inform them it was HER special fastpass and she WOULD NOT be riding Space Mountain. So once again we marched up to the cast member with confidence and handed her our magical fastpass. And once again she said it would not work. It was only for rides, not for meet and greets even if the meet and greets had regular fastpasses. However, she then whipped out some regular fastpasses from her backpocket and kindly gave them to us. They weren’t good for about 20 minutes, but she gave us the fabulous suggestion of riding the train a full loop while we waited. This sounded perfect for me because it was hot and I didn’t want to hoof it back up Main Street to ride something else. So we headed over to the train station and a train was waiting for us. We took a ride around the Magic Kingdom. Here are a few photos I’ve taken on previous trips of some of the scenery.





I like riding the train. It’s kind of like the People Mover: just a relaxing way to enjoy the sights, sounds and smells that are the Magic Kingdom. Anyway after our ride, it was time for the Princesses. Would we finally get to meet some?

 

[wiigirl]

Great update!

 

[chattadisser]

I love riding the full train loop around the MK. You're right, it is like the peoplemover...just a nice way to take a break and sit down for a little while.

Good for Wendy standing her ground with her fastpass! Although it seems like it should have been valid where ever she wanted to use it.

In my opinion, Michael could not have chosen a cuter "girlfriend".

Christine

 

[norybell]

You must wait a bit to do ADRs because it's usually pretty easy for us to get CP. Or maybe we are just lucky.

Yeah, I tend to be planning WDW trips only a month out or so, sometimes even less. Not a lot of ADR lead time!

If you are a map lover the pirate game is for you. I actually liked the game, but I also like just kind of wandering around the MK so it was right up my alley. It did nothing but annoy Wendy.

It really sounds like something I would love, but poor Wendy!

That FP confusion must have been sooooo frustrating! And silly, really, I mean why wouldn't they just let you use it for the princesses? Glad it worked out anyway, though. I'm curious to see how the princesses meet and greet went for you...I had FP+s for it on this last trip, thinking Simba would like to flirt with some pretty ladies, but I was so hot and sweaty by that time that I couldn't really stand the thought of any pictures of me! I regret that decision now!

Those pictures with Marie and Michael are too hilarious.

 

[dismagiclover]

Great update!

Thanks!

I love riding the full train loop around the MK. You're right, it is like the peoplemover...just a nice way to take a break and sit down for a little while.

Good for Wendy standing her ground with her fastpass! Although it seems like it should have been valid where ever she wanted to use it.

In my opinion, Michael could not have chosen a cuter "girlfriend".

Christine

The whole fastpass thing was rather confusing. It does seem like if you have a special fastpass they should let you use it wherever you go. Poor Michael and his "girlfriend." It was a running joke for the rest of the trip.

Yeah, I tend to be planning WDW trips only a month out or so, sometimes even less. Not a lot of ADR lead time!


It really sounds like something I would love, but poor Wendy!

That FP confusion must have been sooooo frustrating! And silly, really, I mean why wouldn't they just let you use it for the princesses? Glad it worked out anyway, though. I'm curious to see how the princesses meet and greet went for you...I had FP+s for it on this last trip, thinking Simba would like to flirt with some pretty ladies, but I was so hot and sweaty by that time that I couldn't really stand the thought of any pictures of me! I regret that decision now!

Those pictures with Marie and Michael are too hilarious.

The fastpass thing was a bit frustrating, but we were in Disney so that made a bit easier to bear. I'm planning on getting the next update posted tomorrow so you'll be able to hear all about the meet.

 

[RGirl]

The Marie meet was hilarious!!!!

How disappointing that you couldn't use the FP at ETwB and then to get dissed at the princesses too! Glad the CM there hooked you up.