The Last 5th Birthday Trip Report (June 5-19, 2022) - Completed 7/7/22

[Jobelle]

I love your report so far! We're considering a trip next year and my DDs will be 2,5,8. If it was just me I'd go opening to close but I know that I have to slow down with my family. It's so helpful to read about your experience with your kids!

 

[deejdigsdis]

Wow, you really accomplished a lot that morning in DCA!

Bummer that DD15 wasn't feeling well enough to go on GotG. Hoping she had another chance!

We have never been to Turtle Talk or Animation Academy or Philharmagic. I took my DD5 at the time to see the Disney Jr. show for the first time in January. She liked it a lot, but I didn't love sitting on the floor. Do all the other shows have actual seats? My next trip is in August, taking DD now 6, DS16 and his friend (a first timer). I HATE the heat but August is what worked for the boys so I know it will be a different trip for me, focusing on finding all the A/C I can.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

We really enjoy LL. We always sit indoors, since technically, I'm allergic to the sun. It's why I have to take prescribed Vitamin D. I'm a child of the night....lol

That must make DLR challenging! There are definitely more spots with shade on the DL side than the DCA side. Do you wear sun hats and sleeves? DH's aunt is also allergic to sun, and she has some super cute light-weight long sleeved outfits and gorgeous movie-star quality sun hats that she wears when they do WDW.

You should, with the size of your party, see if you can get into that special room downstairs. It is usually reserved for parties of 8 or so....

I think if we'd had the original full group of 13 they would have seated us in the special room, which is what I'd hoped for. But we loved our placement and view, and now I just have another reason to plan a big trip!

Waiting to hear your thoughts on WCT! Did the FeistyFam love it?!

Update coming next!

I love your report so far! We're considering a trip next year and my DDs will be 2,5,8. If it was just me I'd go opening to close but I know that I have to slow down with my family. It's so helpful to read about your experience with your kids!

Welcome to the report and thanks for joining! Those are such incredible ages. I'm glad my experiences can help!

Wow, you really accomplished a lot that morning in DCA!

Right? I was shocked at how well it went, especially given the ride closures and that we never felt rushed up until going between GotG and Lamplighter. Even that wasn't a real rush, more a walk with purpose and determination!

Bummer that DD15 wasn't feeling well enough to go on GotG. Hoping she had another chance!

We had another DCA start, and hoppers so we were pretty sure she'd have future chances.

We have never been to Turtle Talk or Animation Academy or Philharmagic. I took my DD5 at the time to see the Disney Jr. show for the first time in January. She liked it a lot, but I didn't love sitting on the floor. Do all the other shows have actual seats? My next trip is in August, taking DD now 6, DS16 and his friend (a first timer). I HATE the heat but August is what worked for the boys so I know it will be a different trip for me, focusing on finding all the A/C I can.

I highly recommend both Turtle Talk and PhilharMagic over Disney Jr. We've done Disney Jr once, and while the two youngest enjoyed it, everyone else was bored and uncomfortable on the floor. Turtle Talk and PhilharMagic both have theater style seating and excellent AC. The young kids can sit on the floor at the front of the Turtle Talk theater, and I recommend that for the best experience. As parents, DH and I sat in the comfy seats while our kids sat up front.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

Itinerary: Day 6 - DCA & World of Color - Part 3a​

Evening:​

• Dinner: WCT @ 4:30 - it was the best time I could get, as this is a Grad Nite.

After rushing to check in for dinner at 4:30, we ended up with a 30 minute wait for a table. This was not ideal, and it took a lot to keep the kids engaged and prevent meltdowns. Even DH was losing his patience near the end! I swear - I really spoiled the family for waits this trip with too much efficiency. Even a pretty short 30 minute wait for a table had them at wits end! Too much LL, mobile order, and advance research!

Once we were finally seated, the food and the service was great.

I started with the Wine Flight - Tour of Italy (Placido Pinot Grigio, Veneto; Ruffino Chianti Superiore, Tuscany; Fontanafredda Nebbiolo, Barolo - $19). The pours felt generous to me, and I enjoyed all 3.

The pinot grigio paired perfectly with my Caprese Salad (Tomatoes, Basil, and Mozzarella drizzled with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar - $9).

The chianti was a little bit strong for my Chicken Parmesan (Breaded and Fried Chicken Breast with Tomato Sauce and Mozzarella served over Spaghetti - $25), which needed a bit more sauce. The nebbiolo (which I had never had before) was a better match. I did finish both glasses though!

DH started with a Trattoria Old Fashioned (Bulleit Rye Bourbon, Rosemary Reduction, Bitters and Club Soda - $15.50). He thought it was ok, but a bit heavy on the rosemary for him. He did have more than one though.

For food, DH had the Roasted Vegetable Lasanga (made in-house with Mushrooms, Eggplant and Bell Peppers, served with Bolognese Meat Sauce - $21). The saucing was generous enough that he shared some with me, which made my dish perfect. He cleaned his plate and said it was delicious!

I know, I know - super unflattering pic of DH. We have an ongoing thing where he purposefully takes pictures of me eating and posts them on FB. It is pretty hilarious, so I thought I would return the favor for once!

I think DC12 had the Fettuccine Shrimp Alfredo (A creamy Alfredo Sauce, Parsley, Garlic, and Chili Flakes - $27), but they were on the far side of the table and I didn’t get a picture.

DS had the Chicken Parm as well, but couldn’t quite finish the adult portions.

DD8 had the adult sized Spaghetti Bolognese with Meatballs (a rich Ragù of Beef, Italian Sausage, Tomatoes, Seasonings, and Meatballs - $25). We had learned our lesson about ordering kids’ meals for her, and she finished the whole thing!

I thought we were ordering a kids’ size spaghetti and meatballs for DD5, but they brought out the same size dish as DD8, and no broccoli, so we ended up with two of them. DD5 ate quite a bit, but couldn’t finish.

DD15 just had the Italian Wedding Soup (it was the soup of the day - $7), as she initially said she wasn’t hungry and loves that soup. She happily devoured all the leftovers from her siblings, so it turned out she was hungrier than she thought! I was glad about the mistake with DD5’s meal.

We normally get desserts, but DH and I knew we had the WoC dessert party coming up, so we skipped them this time. The kids were full enough that they didn’t mind at all.

• After eating dinner, we’ll need to kill a little time before lining up 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 60 minutes in advance - I splurged and got dessert party for my fam! This will be our first time and I am surprising the kids; they won’t know until we line up. 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.
  
  • Got an idea to pick up some sourdough at Pacific Wharf to eat during WoC - We did not end up doing this; too much walking!

During dinner, IC finally came up! The sad news was, the LL times were too late for us, and standby too long, so I knew we had to skip it, plus I wanted to minimize walking anyway. As planned, we did Mermaid again - not quite the walk-on from earlier, but only a 5 minute wait. Afterwards, I wanted to check out the shop that is normally open near there, but it was under refurb! I was bummed - it usually has some cool WoC merch, and I am a sucker for that. It did save me some $$ though. Instead we browsed the smaller cart directly across from Mermaid, and DD5 talked us into a new bubble wand while DC12 talked us into a pin. Something tells me they will end up a pin trader if we do make a trip back!

We got the Ariel Clamshell model ($27) at her insistence. I wanted the Mickey one - but I’m not the kid!:

Turning Red pin ($9.99) shown on Turning Red mini-backpack ($18) purchased prior to the trip at Target.

We did a potty break near Mermaid and headed to Redwood Creek Challenge. There we had a surprise! Raya was doing a meet & greet! We were third in line, when the CM let us know that Raya would be taking a short break but would be right back. Sure enough we had about a 15 minute wait total, so not bad at all.

DD15 had opted to stay with DH on a bench outside the area, so it was just the four for pictures. I took several, and at least one child had eyes closed or was looking somewhere else. This is the best of the bunch:

DC12 wanted to just chill, but DS, DD8 and DD5 all wanted to try smoke jumpers. I was worried about DD5, but all 3 loved it. They went off to explore the rest of the area, and I headed to the dessert party check-in at 7:10pm. There were about 20 people in front of me.

I messaged DH to bring everyone over at 7:40pm, so imagine my surprised when they started checking in at 7:15! I didn’t keep very good track of the progress, as I was checking out LL availability in DL for after WoC in case we wanted to hop. Suddenly I realized there were only a couple parties in front of me and in a panic texted DH to come NOW! It was about 7:30, and he got there within a couple minutes, just as the CM got to me. It was amazing timing! All the front high tops were taken by the time they got to me, but I wanted a hightop second row behind the low tables, based on information I learned on the DIS boards, and was excited it was available.

So my wait was only 25 minutes, but now the entire family had to wait 30 minutes to be seated. As mentioned before, my family was a bit spoiled and 30 minutes was a long wait for them. By comparison, our 2019 trip saw us wait 30+ minutes several times with little problem, including nearly 2 hours for Fantasmic, and 90 minutes for WoC. I wasn’t really prepared for their impatience, but I did have tricks up my sleeve. We busted out the bubble wands again, and the younger kids had fun playing with pine needles. Go figure!

Too many pictures, second half in next post!

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[FeistyDisneyMom]

Itinerary: Day 6 - DCA & World of Color - Part 3b​

Evening continued:​

• World of Color should be at 9, based on normal timing on other Grad Nites. Once the show is over, we’ll send any of my sleepy heads home for bed.

At 8 on the dot the CMs started leading people to the seating area. They did the 20 parties in front of me, and we had to wait at the front of the line for the 2nd walk over. We did the march to the dessert party section, left the stroller with the CM at the entrance, grabbed our 2012 light up Mickey ears & new bubble wand, and headed to our seats. We had two tables. DH, DD5, DD8 and I were at one table, with DD15, DC12 and DS10 at the other. They did not seat anyone with the kids. I sat in the seat closest to their table, and had to remind them to settle down several times, so I am sure it worked well to not have another guest being bothered by them!

Our view:

Our tables ended up having different servers, but both were amazing. I have never had that level of care and service at Disney, and I have had some great service. They made us feel like VIPs! They took drink orders and brought out a single tray first for each table:

The kids were excited enough with the single plate, and started discussing how to split it up… The reaction when the servers brought MORE plates, one for each of us, was priceless:

I felt like mom of the year, and for once the kids immediately voice their appreciation. WoC Dessert Party ($89 per person) was my second top priority for reservation, and I was so nervous to book it! After I was successful, I was nervous whether the family would think it was worth it. Once we got there and got the desserts and saw our view, I knew I'd done the right thing. DD15 told me I knocked it out of the park, and DH noted how nice it was to sit. I don’t think he can ever go back to standing though! Even the younger kids thanked me for setting up such a great experience.

Despite what I had heard about how strictly they checked ages, the servers brought out the cool kid globe drinks for DD5, DD8 and DS10. He is very thin for his age, and seems more like DD8’s age, and nobody asked they just brought them out. All the kids got the Cherry Spritz (basically 7-Up and grenadine). DD5 and DS10 found it too bubbly for them, but the others loved it. DD5’s direct quote was: ‘it bubbles my throat. It tastes like Disneyland!’ The CMs seemed to really love DD8 and DD5 and their incredulous looks and joy. When one girl commented she was getting chilly, the CM suggested we get some hot cocoa! I hadn’t even realized that was an option! So of course we got cocoas for all 5 kids.

The CM also brought small water bottles for all of us. DH got the specialty cocktail and I wish I’d taken a picture. I simply ordered coffee because I wanted to have energy in case anyone wanted to hop afterwards. I tasted the drink (tequila based I believe) and regretted my choice as it was delicious! Coffee was the right decision though, so I am glad I did that. Another alcoholic beverage for the day might have upset my stomach and would definitely have made me sleepier.

Some might question how much time we spent in lines and being seated before the show, but I wanted to maximize our time to enjoy the atmosphere and our treats before the show actually started. I knew I wanted to get in the section right at 8 if possible, and I knew I needed to show up to check-in earlier to get the table I wanted. It still ended up less time for the entire family than we waited for WoC on our regular dining package in 2019, but slightly more time for me. Definitely willing to do it again!

Action shot of DD8 amused that her mouth turned blue:

One of our CMs offered to take family pictures before the show started - I was so appreciative! Sadly even with 4 or 5 options, I didn’t get a single decent one without DS’s eyes closed

The show was incredible. We’ve had good views before, but always closer to the front. Sitting back and having more of a wide angle view gave the show more impact in my opinion. I’d love to do a trip where I experience both vantage points and can compare them more immediately, but for now I would say the wide angle gives a more emotional/inspirational experience, while the up-close gives a more exciting experience. Last trip, the fire effect during the Pirates section did scare now DD8, so it was also nice to be farther back from that. It concerned both DD8 and DD5 this trip as it was!

After the show, while the fountains were still lit behind us, the CM offered to take another picture! Unfortunately we rushed it, and handed her DD15’s phone, which had a greasy camera. Which picture turned out better?

• Nightowls will hop to DL with me to close it down

During our previous waits, I had stacked Indy & BTMRR for after WoC, but when the show ended BTMRR was down. DS10 did not want to ride Indy, and DD5, DD15 and DH were in favor of bed, so we left. I am once again glad for the decision because DD5 fell asleep hard in the stroller on the way back again, and all 4 walking kids had some varying level of complaint about how tired their feet were. DD8 was so tired, she fell asleep sitting up at the house while I brushed her hair!

The day was incredible - somehow even more jam-packed than our previous day at DL. I was a bit nervous how our morning would work for a DL start the next day even though we got home a bit earlier than previous. Did we launch? Did we make it before 8am? Did we have more morning meltdowns? Questions answered in tomorrow’s update!

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[deejdigsdis]

What a great World of Color experience! I love how happy your family was about the surprise and getting a plate for everyone after thinking there was just one plate for the table!

I still need to try WCT. I just don't spend a ton of time in DCA. I really want to try that restaurant, though. I would definitely need more sauce as well.

 

[CeCe0906]

"and I headed to the dessert party check-in at 7:10pm. There were about 20 people in front of me.

I messaged DH to bring everyone over at 7:40pm, so imagine my surprised when they started checking in at 7:15! I didn’t keep very good track of the progress, as I was checking out LL availability in DL for after WoC in case we wanted to hop. Suddenly I realized there were only a couple parties in front of me and in a panic texted DH to come NOW! It was about 7:30, "

Does the whole party have to be there for check in? I have a member of our party that has difficulties with close quarters and long waits; usually with her DAS we avoid most of that. My plan was for myself to wait in line, while the other adult did something else in the area with the kids, a ride, bathroom, etc, and bring everyone else in closer to showtime, waiting for over an hour would be an issue.

 

[fireworks fan]

I’m thinking about trying for the dessert party for our December trip, mainly because I think everyone will want a seat away from crowds at that time. It sounds like it was worth it for your family. Did you end up with a lot of leftovers from the desserts?

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

I still need to try WCT. I just don't spend a ton of time in DCA. I really want to try that restaurant, though. I would definitely need more sauce as well.

My family loves WCT, and DH requests it every trip. However, some feel it is effectively and Olive Garden. I personally like Olive Garden, but I also think WCT is a bit more than that and has a pretty nice vibe. We have been seated inside and outside, and enjoyed both. It has a relaxed but nice atmosphere, and if you are into wine I have always enjoyed it. I hope you get a chance to try and would love to hear what you think!

Does the whole party have to be there for check in? I have a member of our party that has difficulties with close quarters and long waits; usually with her DAS we avoid most of that. My plan was for myself to wait in line, while the other adult did something else in the area with the kids, a ride, bathroom, etc, and bring everyone else in closer to showtime, waiting for over an hour would be an issue.

Yes, the whole party needs to be there to get their wrist bands, but they don't have to STAY afterwards. So you could get in line at 7-7:15, eyeball how long the line is, and as long as your group stays relatively close, you could message them to come back when the CMs start checking people in and giving wrist bands. Then, once you all have your bands, the rest of the party can wander until 8, when the CMs start escorting groups to the seating section. At that point the line moves very quickly and you should have no problems even if you ended up farther back than I was. With the bathrooms very close, it would be easy for the party to hit them up between getting bands and 8pm I think. I hope that helps!

I’m thinking about trying for the dessert party for our December trip, mainly because I think everyone will want a seat away from crowds at that time. It sounds like it was worth it for your family. Did you end up with a lot of leftovers from the desserts?

Yes, we did end up with more leftovers than I thought! We had 4 boxes - I put all the cheeses in one, all the grapes in one, and still couldn't fit all the sweet goodies in a single box! I felt like we'd all eaten a pretty good amount and was very shocked at how much was left. If we had managed to get a baguette to go with it, there would have been even more left. I feel like it was totally worth it, although I probably wouldn't do it every trip and would still consider doing WoC without it, if budget wasn't there.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

Itinerary: Day 7 - DL & Fantasmic! - Part 1​

Day 7: Saturday June 11
Park Hours: DL: 8am-midnight; DCA: 8am-9pm

First a note - this day turned out WAY different than I’d initially planned. I’ll be interested to hear if people think it turned out better or just as good or worse! I also journaled this one a few days after the fact, so my recollection isn’t quite as good.

Morning:​

• Galaxy Edge/Tomorrowland/Adventure Land based on what the crew wants to do. Might even just hit Fantasyland again if that seems better for the kids!

As expected the night before, we got a later start on Saturday and weren’t scanned in until 8:20am. Here was the view up Main Street:

On the walk to the parks, I mobile ordered some wishlist items from Jolly Holiday and was able to pick up immediately when we got there: Iced Caramel Macchiato ($5.79) for DD15 (even though I don’t normally let her do caffeine), Blended Mocha ($5.29) for me, regular coffee ($3.49) for DH, and some treats!

Three Raspberry Rose Macarons (with Raspberry-Rose Almond filling and fresh Raspberries - $5.99) - so worth it! Also glad I only got 3 - it was plenty for all of us to share:

Two Matterhorn Macaroons ($3.49) - also delicious, but not as omg wow as the raspberry macaron to me, but DC12 preferred these and devoured one nearly herself! Still two were plenty, as the rest of us only needed a small bite or two.

Topless Macaroon because DC12 gobbled it faster than I expected:

One Parade Macaron (Yellow Macaron filled with Honey Buttercream and Lemon Curd, topped with Rainbow Sprinkles and Electrical Parade Drum Decoration - $5.99). Hilariously I read this as ‘pride’ macaron when ordered, and was surprised when I picked it up. It was tasty, but a little light on lemon flavor and a bit sweet for us. It was missing the freshness that the raspberries gave in the other macaron. Pictured with a bite taken out, as DD15 was faster than I expected - these kids love macarons!

After munching our treats, we split up for a bathroom break. I told everyone to rendezvous at Canal Boats, as it was a ride we’d missed our first morning in DL and had never been on as a family. There was a 15 minute wait, but DD8 and DS10 got to sit on the bow of the boat! Everyone enjoyed it.

Next we did a LL for Matterhorn and everyone enjoyed it too, even with the yeti. DS10 and DD8 simply kept their eyes shut pretty much the entire ride! DD5 was unphased by the yeti, but did say he was rude when we got off the ride.

We hit walk-on for Tea Cups again. DH once again sat out, but DD5 and the rest really enjoyed it. Such a simple ride to give so much joy! After tea cups, we hit up Pinocchio as that was another we hadn’t done this trip. It was a 5 minute wait, and it was fun.
We even got to see Pinocchio walking by the entrance!

At this point, we back tracked to Mr. Toad, because we hadn’t done it yet, and the other two rides we hadn’t done either had long lines (Peter Pan) or overlapped with Canal Boats (Casey Jr). We had a 15 minute wait, and had some fun in line.

DC12 booping Mr. Toad:

At this point it was after 10am, and as expected crowds picked up. We stopped at the castle walk through and had DD8 and DD5 put on their princess gowns over their clothes (Tiana & Elsa respectively). We did the walk through and headed to Fantasy Faire.

This was the first crazy line we ran into all day. Princess meet & greets start at 10, and the line was already quoted as an hour long. We did it anyway. DC12 sat out, resting in some shade near the queue and DH when to Maurice’s for snacks! Sadly no pictures, but we had a Cheddar Garlic Bagel Twist ($5.29) which was ok, and a Boysen Apple Freeze ($5.49) which was incredible. It really helped battle the heat, which was wilting my crew. We did our best to minimize time in the sun and maximize the shade, and the line moved a bit faster than I expected. Even so, we were still overheating - so DH brought another Boysen Apple Freeze to save the day. We made it to the front, and there was no princess in the first room. The CM suggested we practice our princess poses, so we did! We clearly needed the practice:

Try #1: DC moving:

Try #2 was also moving. Try #3, DD5 distracted by her wand:

Tries 4-6 more of the same. Try #7 I am wordless…

And on that note, practice time was over and we got to meet Ariel! I am happy to say I was able to get more usable pictures with the actual princess! 4 of the attempts were similar to the results above, but this one seems pretty decent!

Next we met Cinderella. Both Ariel and Cinderella interacted well with all of the kids - even engaging DD15. I wish DC12 was in these pictures, but I understood not wanting to wait in line. This was the best of 9 attempts:

So only Cinderella and Ariel were there, and this was disappointing to me but the kids were unphased. I think it was doing the calculation of wait time per princess - for 3 princesses, it would end up 20 minutes per princess, but with only two it was 30 minutes. I just can’t help the way my brain works sometimes.

Because Fantasy Faire took an hour, and the kids were pretty done with lines, we skipped Pixie Hollow and instead set off to Frontierland and the Mark Twain to find Tiana.

Unfortunately when we got there, the ship had sailed - we watched it sail away. I had made a LL for Splash so we headed through New Orleans Square to Critter Country, and discovered Splash was down again. DD8 had a complete meltdown at this point. She was overheating and deeply disappointed at not seeing her favorite princess, and just couldn’t hold her big emotions in. We put the princess outfits away, and I decided we should do the canoes. We’d never done them before… DD8 threw a fit the entire time we changed shoes for the ride and headed to the line. Surprisingly there was a wait (probably because Splash was down). We waited just under 10 minutes, and she was reasonably calm to an outsider’s perspective but we all knew she was still on edge. She calmed a bit more as we boarded, so I no longer had to worry about her whacking a sibling with an oar. Sadly we have no pictures of our canoeing experience, and I wouldn’t want to spoil it for anyone else, but it is QUITE the experience. I easily got more wet sitting in front of DD5 on the canoes as I did on GRR the day before.

After we handed our paddle back, DD8 was back on track for a great day! Unfortunately, Splash was still down. At this point, even Winnie the Pooh ride had a long line (over 30 minutes), so we headed home. Our Splash LL turned into an MEP on our way back to the house.

More of day 7 up next!

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[FeistyDisneyMom]

Itinerary: Day 7 - DL & Fantasmic! - Part 2​

Afternoon:​

• Lunch: QS in whatever land we happen to be in.

We ended up eating at the house - some leftovers, some snack type food we had on hand.

I took a rest this time and the kids played quietly for a while, but then they wanted to swim. DH took a nap and I sat outside so they could have fun. I wanted them to all nap so we could stay late, but the pool was too much fun. It was 1pm and the day wasn’t quite going the way I had imagined:

• Tom Sawyer Island if we haven’t done it yet.

Never did get to Tom Sawyer island this trip. We’ve never done it, so I guess it means I have to come up with another trip!

• RR around park if we haven’t done it yet.

We never did get on the RR this trip either, although we came closest on our last day. More about that later.

• Monorail if family is heading back to house for naps and we are near TL.

We only did the monorail that first day in DL. All other times the lines were long, we weren’t near TL when leaving DL, or we just didn’t want to deal with the hassle of collapsing the double stroller.

• Splash Mtn again if kids liked it.

As I lounged by the pool, I kept checking the app to see if Splash was up or not. I considered doing DCA so the kids could do IC and GotG, but IC went down again, so I canceled my GotG LL. Splash LL’s were late into the evening, and we had plans, which meant if it came back up, we’d be using the MEP on it. I was able to grab a LL for MSFR for 5:30pm, and started getting everyone ready to head back to DL at 3:30.

We got to the parks about 4, and headed to Splash. It was up! I had been thinking positive thoughts the whole walk over, maybe that helped. We changed footgear again - I wouldn’t let the kids do the walk from the house in flipflops, and got in the LL line about 4:35pm. This line was LONG (for us) - we ended up with about 10 minute wait just to scan in, and another 35 minutes for the ride. We enjoyed the shade and AC for the queue inside the building though, and everyone stayed in good spirits.

DS having a great time once he found out we were going to Galaxy’s Edge next!

The whole family seemed relaxed after our afternoon at the house, and stayed chill in the queue this time:

We loved Splash! DD5 was absolutely ecstatic. DC12 did regret their choice to go first.
Unfortunately, I’m having issues with our Splash photos - they refused to link properly at the time, and when I linked them after getting home they show up but the site wants me to pay separately. After paying for Genie+ for 5 days I am not going to pay $15 per photo now! Here is the best I can do for now:

DH & DD15 visible, DD8 invisible in front of DH (this started an ongoing trend of DD8 being impossible to see in ride photos. It was pretty funny how consistent it was!):

The rest of us - DC12 in front, regretting her choices, DS loving life, DD5 having the time of her life, and me trying to avoid involuntarily crying again on the drop and attempting a smiling scream:

With Splash finally conquered about 5:10pm, DH went to retrieve the stroller (it was WAY back near Harbor Galley), and the rest of us headed to Galaxy’s Edge for our first time ever.

More of day 7 below!

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[shosh1530]

Catching up with your trip report and enjoying all the photos and descriptions!

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

Itinerary: Day 7 - DL & Fantasmic! - Part 3​

Evening:​

• Haunted Mansion

Nobody but me was interested in HM this trip. We had so many other things to do, and it isn’t my top priority either, that we skipped it entirely. Instead we explored Galaxy’s Edge!

Galaxy’s Edge was INCREDIBLE. From the moment you step inside and hear the music/sound track, it transports you to another world. DS was in absolute heaven. We entered from the Critter Country entrance, so our first views were the rugged outskirts, and the RotR queue. We took our time, hoping DH would catch up by the time we got through to MSFR. The kids were enthralled by the shops in Black Spire, and we were all impressed as we caught our first sight of the Millenium Falcon.

DH managed to navigate the area even with a stroller, and met us at MF. We were able to scan immediately, and had really no time to fully appreciate the queue! I kind of wished for a longer time at that point, but it was less than 5 minutes. There was some debate about how would we split up. We ended up with DD15 - pilot, DD8 - engineer, DD5 - gunner (in front of me) and me (engineer) in one, and DH - engineer, DS - gunner, and DC12 - pilot in another. Two additional guests rode with us, but they sent DH’s crew through alone, which made it quite challenging for them!

DC12 thought they did a reasonable job of piloting, given they were solo. DH looked like he had a different opinion, but said nothing. DD15 told me to never let her pilot again even if she thought it was a good idea. There was a lot of crashing involved. DD5 could push the buttons as the gunner, but didn’t quite get the point that she was supposed to push it every time it flashed, and did not get some of the other things to do. DD8 felt pretty good about her choice as an engineer, and everyone agreed - pilot is HARD! We’d all rather be engineers! Even so, it was a ton of fun!

• Winnie the pooh again

After MFSR, it was getting close to our HB pick up time, so after a potty break we said goodbye to Galaxy’s Edge and headed back to Critter Country. We decided to skip Winnie and just looked for some empty tables on the lower level of HB. We found two tables with plenty of room for us right away. I took DD15 and DC12 with me to get the food, and DH wrangled the rest of them. DD8 had gone from happy to lucky right after to MSFR to hangry, so it was a challenge. In fact, when I was verifying what everyone wanted, she refused to answer and said she didn’t want anything. It was a rough day for DD8 at that point.

• F! Hungry Bear Dinner package @ 6:30pm

DD15, DC12 and I enjoyed some conversation while waiting in the queue for HB check in. In just the short time between my sister’s visit (June 1-5) and my HB package day (6/11) they had made a lot of changes and things were running more smoothly. The line was ordering and moved quickly. I was excited to discover they DID let me add items from the regular menu! In addition to the package meals, we added two Peach Honey Tea Slushes (topped with Honey sweetened Peaches and Whipped Cream - $5.99) and two PRIDE Cookie (Mickey-shaped Shortbread Cookie dipped in White Chocolate - $4.49).

It took a bit to get our food - about 15 minutes in the queue and waiting for food. It took a few trips to get it all downstairs.

I had the Grilled Salmon Salad. The salmon was great, but the salad was undressed. I personally drown my lettuce, so that was a little disappointing. The rest of the food was good:

Peach Honey Tea Slush - DELICIOUS and well worth it; so refreshing:

PRIDE cookie - sadly not great. I had a nibble and it was a pretty straightforward sugar cookie. DD15 and DC12 were the most disappointed. Only one was eaten with dinner, so I guess no one else loved it. At least it was cute:

Not pictured - everyone else’s food. They had already started eating while I was still transporting dishes, and I had to go back for the slushes which weren’t ready yet. The only complaint from the little kids was that the broccoli was too spicy. It was seasoned with garlic, which DH and I loved, but had a building burn to it, so we got to finish theirs. DD8’s mood vastly improved after food, as expected!

• Normally I’d try to do Pirates, but it won’t be open yet

Sadly it really did stay down for our trip. At least I was prepared for it and able to break the news to the kids in advance! They weren’t too upset either.
We wouldn’t have had time anyway, as dinner took a while to finish. We did another potty break instead, and I headed to check the line for Fantasmic!

• Line up for F! Around 7:30pm

About 7:15pm, I got to the line up area, and the line was already quite long. I asked the end of the line if it was for the dining package, and they said yes. I got in line while DH went to park the stroller - from past experiences, we knew strollers were not allowed. Not all of the guests realized that, and it caused some stress for them later. The kids all stayed with him to help carry the blankets, glowing items, and diaper bag. The line started moving while they were still collecting things, and I gestured wildly to them. I ended up letting quite a few people by me before the rest of the family caught up, and then we discovered we were in the BB line, not the HB line. I hadn’t noticed there were TWO lines, because the HB line was lower down/closer to the water. It had gotten all the way back to the end near Harbor Galley! That section wasn’t being seated yet, so we got to wait a while.

This is the look of a woman who was in the wrong line, and the family that loves her anyway:

It was 7:40pm when we made it into our section and grabbed the spot I’d had my eye on anyway - as far to the right as we could get, right up against the BB section. We were three back, and had to put our second blanket kitty-corner to the first one, because a couple had the back row against the garbage cans in the far-right position already. DH was not thrilled to be waiting nearly 90 minutes, and stood the entire time.

DD5 made friends with a little girl near us, and they played happily with DD8. DS was pretty bored, but we chit-chatted about the day, and he loved talking about Galaxy’s Edge and what all he wanted to do next time we went. DH busted out the glow sticks around 8pm. The BB section next to to us stayed pretty empty for a while. After the initial batch of people who had lined up before 7:15, everyone else kind of slowly arrived from 8pm on. By 8:30 it was pretty full too. A family from Indonesia was sitting next to us on the BB side, and also made friends with DD5. We shared glow sticks and traded stories of our adventures in DL so far! Magic moments like that with other guests is part of the Disney difference to me. We just don’t have that kind of experience at other venues!

Shortly after 8:30pm, they made an announcement for HB section to squeeze together and eliminate some extra space to allow more people in. We were able to move forward a bit, and move the 2nd blanket right behind us. About this time, DH was eyeballing the chairs setup behind us and wanted to know how to get those next time. I explained that they were for literal VIPs and those on the VIP tours. He let me know we needed to try that next time because sitting on the ground was garbage. I told him that unlike the WoC, the VIP tour was definitely out of budget… But that Dessert Party had really resonated with him, and now I’m not sure I’ll ever get him to do regular sections for shows again - I’ll have to up the budget for sure now.

They made the final announcement: show about to begin!

The conclusion of day 7 next!

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[FeistyDisneyMom]

Itinerary: Day 7 - DL & Fantasmic! - Part 4a​

Night:​

• F! This is a must do for us. We will be watching fireworks in place afterwards.

The lights went off, and… DD8 announced she had to go to the bathroom. DH quickly led her out of the area and to the bathrooms. They made it back in less than 10 minutes, so didn’t miss too much of the show.

The kids all enjoyed the show, but somehow not quite as much as they did in 2019. It seemed like they liked WoC the night before even better, which was a flip-flop from last trip.

I however loved every moment! Maleficent showed up in all her infamy! (Picture from the internet - I didn’t take any, I was too enthralled with the show, and examining reactions of the kids)

The show wound to a close and we all applauded. Definitely glad I did the HB package, but might try for the RBT premium next time for seats for DH, if we don’t end up doing a VIP tour (this is SO unlikely though!). I highly recommend watching Fantasmic, and doing any of the dining packages. BB is going to have the best, most central views, but if you go to the far right in the HB section, or the far left in the RBT section, you get nearly the same quality for less price. It continues to be a must-do for me, and I honestly could have watched it multiple times this trip, but kids were a bit more focused on rides in the evening, so we never did walk up for the second showing.

• I’m hopeful my fam can catch the second showing of MSEP or hit some rides like BTMRR, and explore GE after dark. If not, we do still have one more DL day!

Immediately after F! they made the announcement that you could stay in place to watch the fireworks show. This was my plan whether it was Disneyland Forever or Mickey’s Mix Magic. I was surprised at how many people quickly vacated the area though, and we were able to slide more to the center and had tons of room around us.

It turned out to be Disneyland Forever! This was our first time ever seeing this show, and it was quite lovely even with the fireworks offset from the projections. I know that the very BEST view of fireworks is from the hub, where you can clearly see the projections on the castle and the fireworks perfectly center above the castle, but I found the Rivers of America projections and our angle worked just fine. If you only have one night and want to catch both, but can’t stay late enough for the second Fantasmic show, I think this is a perfectly suitable alternative.

The kids enjoyed the fireworks - DD8 sang and danced along joyfully, no sign of her earlier moodiness. They all agreed though, Mickey Mix was their favorite and preferred show! Something about the energy of that show really resonates with them, and they sing it/play it at home frequently.

DD15 headed to the bathroom right before the show ended, unbeknownst to me. If I had known, I would have explained she needed to wait until after the show so she’d know where to find us, since I knew we’d have to move so the CMs could clear the area for the 2nd Fantasmic show. This was by far my most stressful moment. If the kids being stranded on Splash stressed out DH, being separated from DD15 in the dark was a disaster for me. Due to some parental controls at the cell service carrier level, DD15’s phone was refusing calls and texts. I was getting agitated. DH and I had to scramble to figure out how to unblock her. I was melting down. I was scared and annoyed. The drama eventually passed, but I was riled up. DH took DC12 and an exhausted DD5 to meet up with DD15 and go back to the house for bed, and I stayed with DD8 and DS10 to work through my bad mood and recapture the magic.

I made a LL for BTMRR and we headed there first. We asked to sit in the front and it was great! DD8 had to potty again and so did DS, so we quickly used the Frontierland bathroom and then rushed back to use the rest of the LL (I had made it for all 7 of us, so we got to ride twice). This time we asked for the back and it was wild! I really wish there was some kind of ride photo for that one we rode so many times!

The kids decided Tomorrowland should be next so we headed that way and got stuck in the 2nd show of MSEP. It was kind of fun to get to watch part of the parade while waiting for the CMs to guide us across the hub. Once we made it to Tomorrowland, I got LL for Star Tours since Space Mtn was out for the night, but we didn’t even need it - ST was walk on! Next we did a LL for Buzz, which wasn’t really necessary - it was less than a 5 minute wait. We actually did Buzz twice, and DS didn’t melt down either time, despite losing both times. I managed rank 4 once - my best score ever!

After that I was tired and it was 11:30pm so we were headed out, but kept seeing great photo ops! I decided to try to grab a picture of the castle all lit up from the path from Tomorrowland:

Followed by a low quality selfie in front of the Tomorrowland statue. I love the way it looks at night!

I tried to get one of DD8 and DS10 with the little village at Pixie Hollow in the background, but they were ready to move on…

Picture limit! Part 4 concludes next.

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[FeistyDisneyMom]

Itinerary: Day 7 - DL & Fantasmic! - Part 4b​

Night continued:​

We finished making our way back to the hub in front of the castle and spotted the Churro cart. I decided we had to have some - hoping it would give both kids enough energy to get all the way back to the house before crashing. I was surprised to see a special blueberry MSEP listed! Plus a yummy blueberry sauce to go with it! I don’t quite remember how much it was, but the sauce was extra and TOTALLY worth it. The churros themselves were ok and covered in blue sugar. I didn’t get much blueberry flavor from them. The sauce however was divine! I was so happy that we started the day and ended the day with a tasty treat; it really made the day positive for me. I might not have grabbed a picture of the churros, but this selfie in front of the castle shows the blue mouths!

Seeing me struggle to get all of us in a decent selfie, another guest offered to take our picture. I think it turned out ok!

We were definitely ready to head for the house, but as we made our way through the hub we ran into a PhotoPass opportunity in front of The Partners statue. This is one of DS’s favorite spots, so we asked if she was still doing pictures, and she said yes! We’d be her last guests of the day! The kids were tired, and so was I so they aren’t the best photos of us, but much better quality than the blurry and dark ones I’d taken with DS10 the last trip:

Also - I swear those leggings look better in person; they are little pink roses! At least my Mickey & Minnie sweatshirt looked good.

We made our way down Main Street, and through the tunnel. We hadn’t gotten a family pic in front of the entrance, so I grabbed one:

And one last selfie attempt at 12:06am before we finally left:

The kids barely made it home. The churro rush only lasted through DTD, and the struggle began then. I stand by my decision to stay late though, because it was so much fun, and we made some special memories for the 3 of us. These two middle kids don’t always get as much attention as the older and younger ones.

We barely made it home by 12:30am. I made them brush teeth before they could sleep because of the blue churro, but I think their eyes were closed before they hit the pillow. Even I was too tired to journal and crashed.

With the late night, would I still try to leave early in the morning? Would I even wake up? Would Incredicoaster be down again? Find out next!

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[FeistyDisneyMom]

Catching up with your trip report and enjoying all the photos and descriptions!

Thank you! Hope it is helpful and at least somewhat entertaining to other travelers

 

[KalamityJane]

This is amazing! I’m loving it! We have kids ranging from 14-1, so I’m feeling this 100%

Thank you! Hope it is helpful and at least somewhat entertaining to other travelers

 

[theluckyrabbit]

...

We loved Splash! DD5 was absolutely ecstatic. DC12 did regret their choice to go first.
Unfortunately, I’m having issues with our Splash photos - they refused to link properly at the time, and when I linked them after getting home they show up but the site wants me to pay separately. After paying for Genie+ for 5 days I am not going to pay $15 per photo now! Here is the best I can do for now:

DH & DD15 visible, DD8 invisible in front of DH (this started an ongoing trend of DD8 being impossible to see in ride photos. It was pretty funny how consistent it was!):

The rest of us - DC12 in front, regretting her choices, DS loving life, DD5 having the time of her life, and me trying to avoid involuntarily crying again on the drop and attempting a smiling scream:

...

Try calling PhotoPass to see if they can fix this for you. The CMs on the phone have always been super nice whenever we've had a PP issue.

 

[deejdigsdis]

I am thinking about trying the canoes again in August. I haven't been on them since the 80s. Might be a good thing to do in the heat with the possibility of getting wet!

How scary to get separated from DD15 in the dark! Makes you wonder how families reunited pre-cell phones. I do remember getting separated from my family when I was around 5 or 6 years old and Alice just waited with me until they came back for me! I don't remember being scared. Can't say the same for my parents.

Your nighttime adventures sounded so fun! I love staying until close!

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

Itinerary: Day 8 - Last DCA start - Part 1a​

Day 8: Sunday June 12
Park Hours: DL: 8am-midnight; DCA: 8am-10pm

This is the day we start in DCA and try to capture some of the magic from our last few Disney trips.

Morning:​

• Light breakfast at the house and a coffee before queueing at DCA, ideally by 7:30

HAHAHAHAHA! We were lucky every day to leave the house by 7:30. I was a dreamer when I wrote that plan.

Reality: It was a late night the day before, so I let everyone (including myself) sleep in. Even so, it was clear the bigs (DD15 & DC12) were still dragging, despite having even more sleep than the littles the night before. DD8 wanted IC so badly, and DS & DD5 were also eager to go to the parks.

I decided to take the three littles to the park and let DH bring the bigs later. He was appreciative of more time to relax and shower too!

• If we get there very early, we’ll want to hit RSR first; otherwise we’ll probably do Soarin’ and then Pixar Pier again since that’s DD5’s focus.

During the walk to the park I mobile ordered myself an iced coffee and a chocolate croissant at Cappuccino Cart at the entrance to Pixar Pier - the same spot my sister had told me about a few days earlier. We scanned in around 8:45am and I discovered IC and RSR were both down. DD8 was so sad. On our way to my order pick up, IC came back up! I told DS10 and DD8 to go on ahead and ride standby. They were so excited!

I got my order and made my way to Pixar Pier. When I sent DD8 and DS10 the wait was listed as 10 minutes but was an hour by the time I got there. I couldn’t see them in the outside portion of the line, so I guessed it would be about 30-40 minutes. I took DD5 to Silly Symphony Swings at her request and we rode twice as walk ons:

After our second ride, I was getty a bit antsy to reunite with DD8 and DS10, so we headed back to IC. I started getting nervous that I had missed them, and DD5 got bored within minutes. I messaged the crew back at the house at 9:30am to see if they were close and could take DD5 to do something else, but they were still getting ready to go and were over 30 minutes away. I decided I would ask for help from a CM if the kids weren’t off the ride by the 50 minute mark, to make sure I hadn’t missed them. Right at 45 minutes they bounded off the ride, all smiles - absolutely beaming.

Brother and sister enjoying the ride together (despite the look on DD8’s face)!

DS10 went on ahead to GFS while I took DD8 and DD5 to the restroom. The line was longer than expected when we got to GFS, but that meant DD8 could join DS in standby again. I grabbed an LL for a near immediate return, and settled in to wait with DD5 for the rest of the crew. It was so heartwarming to see DD8 and DS enjoying each other’s company. I watched them while they were in the queue, happily chatting with each other.

• Use G+ to grab LL for morning returns in DCA, and keeping an eye on Space Mtn. Hopefully we’ve gone on all the other ‘big’ rides at least once, and I can focus on LL for attractions we want to repeat. Either way, I’ll be using G+ to grab them!

We hadn’t done all the big rides yet, still missing RSR, WS, and RotR, and most of the family hadn’t done IC yet, so that changed my tactics. DH, DD15 and DC12 joined us shortly after 10. DD5, DC12 and I rode GFS on the LL at that point, and I canceled the other’s LLs so I could get IC.

DC12 spotted Mirabel walking along while we were on GFS, so we headed to her picture spot afterwards. Sadly she wasn’t there.

Encanto photo op, even without Mirabel - note DD8 is getting a bit sullen - this was because I told her we couldn’t go on IC right away.

Really struggling with uploading pictures - fewer seems better, but means more posts. Sorry!

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