The One Where I Go To Disney World for the Tenth Time: Aug '14 TR - COMPLETE 5/21 LIFE U/D 7/7

[heathsf]

Great trip report! I'm really enjoying your writing as you share about the fun you had with your friends. It sounds like so much fun to go with friends, all of my trips have been with family--which is fine--but different than going with friends!

Those pics of the Poly are so, so sad! I know it will be all better for next summer when we're headed there, but it still makes me a little worried! I have read a bunch of reviews from people who stayed there this summer & fall who said that it was still magical, but I'm sure others had to be disappointed by it.

Yay Ohana! I keep thinking that maybe we won't go to to Ohana next year (because we won't be on the dining plan and that will be an expensive meal for my family of 5), but then I see great reviews like yours and I add it back on my must-do list for next year. Yum, yum, yum, I can't wait!

I'm looking forward to hearing more, thanks for a great trip report so far!

Thank you so much for the compliments. I love hearing that people are enjoying the report.

Going with friends is fun but I honestly think family trips are more magical. I have such amazing memories of trips with my parents and brother and I can't wait until DH and I can take our first trip with a child.

I'm sure the Poly is going to be amazing when it's done. That's wonderful that you are staying next summer. I am so jealous! (My DH would be too! )

I had read a bunch of negative reviews of Ohana before our trip and at first they made me sad and took away some of my excitement for going. Then I decided not to let it bother me because DH and I loved it so much our first time. I agree with the naysayers who didn't like the lettuce wraps but other than that everything was just as great as last time. And I'm pretty sure the lettuce wraps are already off the menu and they're back to serving a salad again. I totally get what you're saying about it being an expensive meal for a family of 5 to pay OOP. You have some time to think about it (or save for it! )

 

[heathsf]

Episode 15​

The One with Fireworks in New Fantasyland ​

When we got off the monorail at MK there was an incredible Florida sunset happening. The sky was so gorgeous and while I love the pictures I got, they just don’t do it justice. It was so much more stunning in person.

We entered the park for a night of fun in the most magical place on earth.

So just about the time I was enjoying this view, my stomach got REALLY mad at me about the whole overeating at Ohana business.

We headed to Tomorrowland to book a FP for Buzz. M & S took care of it while I sat down and curled into a ball. My stomach was killing me. I officially ate way too much at dinner. Oh gosh, it was awful. They got our FP for 10 minutes in the future, which basically meant we were able to get in line in just 5 minutes. As we walked through the queue, my stomach was getting worse and worse and when we got to the front by Buzz I realized there was no way I could get on this ride. I told a CM I needed to exit and I left DH, M and S to fight Zurg without me. I had my own battles to take care of.

I’m so proud of DH for remembering where the camera was and at least attempting to take a great ride photo. He was trying to grab both guns and look tough but he didn’t quite do it fast enough. It’s okay, it happens to the best of us.

While they were on the ride I went to a FP kiosk and booked HM for an hour from now. Next we went on the Peoplemover (at my request, duh). I know we had just been on it but it NEEDS to be ridden at nighttime because that’s the best. No one else wanted to ride it. I was going to ride it alone and got on line and then DH followed me because he felt obligated. Then M and S decided at the last minute to come too. Seriously, what is wrong with my friends?

This ride must have been just what I needed because my stomach started to feel better. After our perfect tour of Tomorrowland M and S wanted to try Stitch’s Great Escape because they had never done it before. I felt obligated to warn them against this experience, but they were intrigued M has a lot of back issues so I warned her to sit up very straight while waiting for the shoulder restraint to come down AND put her hands above her shoulders to block it from pressing on her back at all. DH didn’t like this last time we did it but was still willing to do it again. He does love Stitch after all. I really didn’t want to do this but everyone had just ridden Peoplemover for me AGAIN, so who was I to say no? So we walked right in and waited for the preshow to start.

We’d been standing in the room for a minute when my stomach started yelling at me again. I sat down on the floor to see if that would help but it didn’t. The thought of being pinned to my chair with such an unpredictable stomach terrified me way more than any Level 3 Alien Prisoner ever could and I decided to leave. I almost had a panic attack when I realized I couldn’t exit the way we had come in and there was no CM in the room. An exit was marked in the corner of the room so I decided to just go for it and walked down an almost pitch black hallway until I found an exit door. Thank goodness.

I would have preferred a visit to the Tangled bathrooms but I settled for one in Tomorrowland instead. Then I waited for them in the Stitch gift shop. I couldn’t wait to hear what M and S thought of it. Shocker! They didn’t like it. At all. How unexpected... It didn’t help that M wasn’t able to keep the restraint off her shoulders and was extremely uncomfortable the entire time.

Wishes started just then so we watched for a few minutes from Tomorrowland. The view really wasn’t great though so we started walking toward New Fantasyland and ended up right by the entrance where the new castle walls were built behind the carousel. What a fantastic place to watch the fireworks. We had a view of both castles and the fireworks were going off all around us on all sides. It was spectacularly magical. I was overflowing with happiness for the awesomeness of the fireworks, hearing and watching Wishes in person after listening to it countless times on my ipod for the last 3 years, and the magic of finally being in Disney. This is another of my favorite moments of the trip.

Once Wishes ended we headed to the Haunted Mansion to use our FP.

 

[heathsf]

​

The One with the Real-Life Update​

I'm very excited to finally share that DH and I are expecting our first baby!

We are due on May 27, 2015 and today I am 12 weeks 5 days!
We are so, so excited!
I am especially excited because this baby is my ticket back to WDW!
DH made me agree that we wouldn't take another trip until we had kids so that left me no choice but to get pregnant ASAP
Just kidding.
Kind of.

In all seriousness, we had been planning this for a long time and we couldn't be happier. Today we saw baby jumping all over the place and waving at us. I can honestly say it was the most magical experience of my life and we are already in love

 

[melduckie]

Congratulations!!

 

[ariane37]

Congratulations to you and your DH!!!!!
:

 

[Leshaface]

Okay, I don't know #2 or #3 or the joke. Help!

DH can fall asleep anywhere can't he! I feel like i've seen him sleep almost everywhere in the World at this point.

Ooh your meal at Ohana sounds delicious! Too bad about the wraps though. Oh well, more room for noodles and dumplings!

Your story is hilarious! I love when you just keep laughing and there's no end in sight! Thank goodness no one got hit by the airborne broccoli!

Sorry I know you were in pain, but I had to laugh at your line, "own battle to take care of"

AGH! I'm grinning like an idiot here staring at your ultrasound pictures! CONGRATULATIONS! How are you feeling now? HOpefully less tired and more hungry at this point?

 

[heathsf]

Congratulations!!

Thank you!!!

Congratulations to you and your DH!!!!!
:

Thank you!!!

Okay, I don't know #2 or #3 or the joke. Help!

I didn't know #3 or the joke either.

#2: Elton John
#3: Pizza delivery truck
Joke: Because Donald Ducked!

DH can fall asleep anywhere can't he! I feel like i've seen him sleep almost everywhere in the World at this point.

I know, right? I'm sure there are a few places he hasn't slept yet. We better head back so he can hit them all!

Ooh your meal at Ohana sounds delicious! Too bad about the wraps though. Oh well, more room for noodles and dumplings

Your story is hilarious! I love when you just keep laughing and there's no end in sight! Thank goodness no one got hit by the airborne broccoli!

Yup, everything else was so good. There wasn't room to be too sad over the lettuce wraps. It was such a fun dinner.

Sorry I know you were in pain, but I had to laugh at your line, "own battle to take care of"

I was trying to be true to the story of what happened without giving TMI

AGH! I'm grinning like an idiot here staring at your ultrasound pictures! CONGRATULATIONS! How are you feeling now? HOpefully less tired and more hungry at this point?

Yay!!! Thank you!! I know you've been waiting for me to say something here
Thank you for being so excited, it means so much to me. I'm feeling so much better now. I'm way less exhausted and I mostly have my appetite back although I can't eat much in one seating and I'm really picky about what I'm in the mood for in any given moment. But overall I feel really good and I'm excited that I'm starting to really see a belly!

 

[kastoney]

First and foremost, congratulations on the baby. What wonderful news. Disney is awesome, but experiencing it through the eyes of a child has no comparison.

Oh your poor stomach. Looks like you made the most of it though. Darn Ohana.

Oh a night time ride on the PeopleMover. One of my favorite things too. Though I am in the minority of people who actually like Stich (shh don't tell anyone).

Fantasyland is our favorite place to watch fireworks. Glad you enjoyed!

 

[heathsf]

First and foremost, congratulations on the baby. What wonderful news. Disney is awesome, but experiencing it through the eyes of a child has no comparison.

Oh your poor stomach. Looks like you made the most of it though. Darn Ohana.

Oh a night time ride on the PeopleMover. One of my favorite things too. Though I am in the minority of people who actually like Stich (shh don't tell anyone).

Fantasyland is our favorite place to watch fireworks. Glad you enjoyed!

Thank you! I absolutely cannot wait until we can take our first trip as a [bigger] family.

I'm so glad you appreciate the People Mover As for Stitch, I think the concept is cute (and way less scary than the Alien version that came before it which terrorized me) but I cannot get past how awful those restraints are. I am usually too uncomfortable in my seat to fully enjoy the stinky chili dog burp

I think Fantasyland has become my favorite place to watch fireworks too. You can't beat how amazing it is to be surrounding plus no staking out spots an hour in advance

 

[heathsf]

Episode 16​

The One Where I Won’t Leave​

We had just watched Wishes from Fantasyland and it was spectacular. Next we headed toward the Haunted Mansion to use our FP that I had scheduled a little while earlier while everyone else was on Buzz. Unlike last night, the FP actually saved us time. Since it was an EMH night, the park was significantly more crowded than it was the night before. There was definitely a noticeable difference in both the wait times for rides as well as the amount of people walking around.

After we said goodbye to the grim, grinning ghosts, my three companions came to the agreement that even though MK was still open for another 3 ½ hours, they were all ready to call it a night and go back to our room.

My brain couldn’t even comprehend this. I had been looking forward to our one MK EMH night for over six months, since the calendar came out. In the end I was okay with leaving “early” the night before, but my husband and dear friends would have to knock me unconscious and carry my body out of the park if they wanted me to leave early tonight. My response to this blasphemy was that they were, of course, free to go but I would be staying. I wasn’t tired, my stomach was feeling better, my feet weren’t hurting, and I had plenty of things I still wanted to see and do. I had no reason to leave and every reason to stay. None of them wanted to leave me because they all felt bad that I would be alone and M and DH were worried about me. Let’s be real, both reasons are laughable. Nothing bad is going to happen to me in the MK. I’m a 29 year old grown up in my favorite place on Earth (hmm… do we sense the irony in that statement? Whatever ) And I would be more than happy to be alone. I can do whatever I want, even if that’s just wander around and take it all in, and no one will be pressuring me to leave my happy place. You wouldn’t believe how much convincing it took but by the end of the conversation I was basically begging them to leave me. And finally they did. Spoiler alert: the rest of my night was absolutely fantastic.

This was my first time solo in MK. It was seriously like a dream come true. I could have exploded with pure joy. I began my solo time by spending some time with Cinderella’s beautiful castle.

So if you remember, last night M and I convinced our husbands to ride IASW by promising that we wouldn’t make them ride again the rest of the trip. I didn’t take for granted that I could ride whatever I wanted without worrying about what anyone else wants to do. At 10:51 I got a FP for IASW for 10:55. I got there at 11 and the posted wait was 10 minutes, but really it was a walk on. The FP was totally unnecessary. The only people it got me in front of were the ones I walked faster than down the ramps (don’t worry, I wasn’t pushing anyone out of my way, we were walking down separate aisles).

I had a row all to myself which was great but it was so empty I wished I could have had a boat all to myself. How epic would that have been? Anyway, I took a selfie to send to the three losers back at the resort.

I watched a little bit of the MSEP from the castle and then went to visit a bunch of friends who would never miss out on their one and only opportunity for EMH at MK.

Where were these friends? Performing at the concert hall of course.

When I walked in to Mickey’s Philharmagic there was no wait at all and the next show was about to start. I grabbed my opera glasses and walked right through the waiting open doors to the theater. It could not have been more perfect. I will never get enough of this show. For the first time I was consciously aware of the wind blowing on me in the flying scenes. So awesome.

Next I visited everyone’s favorite bathroom. This whole area is so gorgeous. It’s more like a rest stop than a restroom with all the seating available. It’s really incredible, where else in the world do people talk about bathrooms in this way?

Next I headed toward the HM because I wanted to check out the interactive queue which I had never walked through before! The wait was posted as 15 minutes and snobby me didn’t want to wait that long. So I changed my mind and decided to visit later and instead found myself in Adventureland at PoTC. There was a 10 minute posted wait and that’s pretty much how long it actually took. I used my time in line to text DH some of the pictures I had taken of my adventures.

What’s going through my mind in this picture is, “Haha, I’m about to go on Pirates and you made the silly decision to leave.”

It was now 12:15 and I noticed on my phone that BTMRR had dropped from a 40 minute wait to 10. I headed straight there and walked all the way through the queue down to boarding. This was one of the greatest moments of the night when I was just so overwhelmingly happy that I stayed. This was seriously my most wild ride in the wilderness. Besides the magic of nighttime riding, I had a row to myself so I was sliding all over the place, back and forth across the entire row. Thank goodness for that safety bar! It was so awesome. I hoped that the wait for Space Mountain would eventually drop as significantly as BTMRR did.

Next I headed right next door to Splash Mountain. I saw that there was no wait posted so I pulled my poncho out of my backpack and put it on. I usually would never do this but I knew that this late at night I would never dry and I didn't want to be uncomfortable for the rest of the night. With my poncho in place I headed down to the queue and realized why there was no wait posted. It was closed! Oops. I felt so silly. Off went the poncho

I finally went back to HM to check out the interactive queue. I guess I should have stuck around the first time because the posted wait was actually a little longer now at 20 minutes. It’s kind of funny that the HM wait was double BTMRR, but I got in line hoping it would be less because I really wanted to see the queue. It ended up being about 20 minutes and the parts of the queue I did get to see were cute. It was honestly hard to see everything because it was dark and some of the queue was inaccessible because the wait wasn’t long enough to need the entire extended queue area and parts were roped off. I played with some of the music things but not much else. It was cool that the lights in the area would flicker and dim. The ride was great though. I had my own doom buggy and put my feet up and relaxed. It was perfect.

I was loving every moment of my solo time. I was so insanely happy I probably had pixie dust falling out of my ears.

 

[Leshaface]

That SO sounds like something I would do. Begging and pleading with everyone to go so I could have alone time. So jealous!

I love the selfies you took too! Great idea trying to make them see what they were missing out on.

Please tell me you went solo on the Peoplemover!

 

[kastoney]

You go solo girl. How awesome to have an evening doing exactly what you want to do. Pixie dust indeed.

 

[heathsf]

That SO sounds like something I would do. Begging and pleading with everyone to go so I could have alone time. So jealous!

I love the selfies you took too! Great idea trying to make them see what they were missing out on.

Please tell me you went solo on the Peoplemover!

It was so great. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip (but I've been saying that for a lot of things haven't I? )

You KNOW the Peoplemover was on my to-do list!

You go solo girl. How awesome to have an evening doing exactly what you want to do. Pixie dust indeed.

Yup, it was perfect

 

[heathsf]

Before this next update, I just want to share that DH and I found out that we are having a BABY GIRL!!!

Episode 17​

The One With the Kiss Goodnight​

It was getting pretty late at this point, but I was still going strong. The park was emptying and I was just loving every second of my solo time. I found myself wandering through New Fantasyland.

I had Gaston’s Tavern all to myself so I spent some time chillin in his chair, ya know… because I could.

Little Mermaid was a walk on so I did that too. The queue was totally empty again but this time without M, S, and DH I really had it all to myself. It was awesome.

At around 1:15 I walked to Tomorrowland to take a ride on the People Mover but it was closed My one regret of the night was getting there too late. But Buzz was also a walk on and since I had missed out earlier I decided I would make up for that now. The CM who scanned my magic band for my photo loved my picture. Gotta be honest, I love it too.

P.S. I wasn’t really tired at all!

It was time for my last ride of the night: Space Mountain. I got in line at 1:30 and there was a posted 20 minute wait. It turned out to really only be 10 minutes. I rode with two other girls and they screamed (more like shrieked) their heads off the entire time. It kind of ruined it for me. If it was genuine “oh my gosh, I can’t contain myself because this is so much fun” yelling that would have been okay. But this was fake, high-pitched screaming-just-for-the-heck-of-it yelling. From the moment we took off to the moment we got off the ride.

But I can’t really complain. I had an incredible, amazing night. I headed back to the hub and hung around admiring the castle for a bit. It was very close to 2 a.m.

It was so close to 2 that I just had to stay for the Kiss Goodnight. Which of course made me cry. And I still didn’t want to leave. But I was actually starting to feel tired and we still had many more full days ahead. So I forced myself to head out of the park. Slowly. Very slowly.

I left the park thinking about nothing except how amazing my night was. I did SO much it was insane. It was perfect.

I ended up missing an AoA bus by 20 seconds. I watched it pull away and a CM told me another bus would be here in 10 minutes or less. No problem. But another bus pulled up within 30 seconds.

I took some notes on the bus about my night. I wrote, “It’s 2:18 and I’m tired! But so so so happy I stayed!”

Overall the park was WAY more crowded than it was the day before. I definitely feel that being an EMH night drew significantly more crowds. But if you can stay late enough, the park empties out and it’s wonderful.

When I got back to AoA I decided to use the bathroom and wash my face in Animation Hall so I would have less to do in the room and hopefully wouldn’t wake anyone up. Then I walked back to the room and took some pictures as I went. I still wasn’t in a hurry to end this night. Along the way I accidentally stepped on a frog I didn’t even see. It felt like I stepped on a sock, but when I moved my foot and looked down I saw the frog hop away! Poor froggy! I hope he was okay. I was so upset over it.

I eventually made it back to the room and fell asleep immediately. What a day

 

[disneyAndi14]

I just found your TR and love reading it. It makes me miss all the fun at MK, my DD and I were there in November. We stayed at the Poly, so fun. I really enjoy your pics and your style of writing. Our goal is to stay late at MK in April when we return. We have never made past 11:00pm, I know sad. Thanks for the good report and allowing another disney addict to get my fix yah!!

 

[ariane37]

First, as the mother of 4 (awesome but smelly) boys, I'm so jealous you're having a little girl lol! You get to buy all those adorable clothes they have for girls, much better than the stuff they make for boys IMO. Not to mention you'll have someone to do all the princess stuff with in WDW !!! I hope you're feeling well and enjoying your first pregnancy

I meant to comment on your "alone time" in the park earlier, I did that for the first time on our trip this past Feb. MK had EMH hours, opening at 8 a.m. The boys wanted to swim that day so I suggested getting to the park at 8, staying a few hours and then returning to go in the pool. It was day 8 of our 10 day trip and nobody else wanted to get up that early so I said fine, I'll go myself! I made it there right as the opening show ended. I walked *slowly* down Main St., really looking at all the windows/details I never have a chance to look at when 3 people are pulling me in different directions lol. I rode HM, LM, PP, and Astro Orbiter, had a cinnamon roll, shopped, and again walked real slow through the park, enjoying the almost empty sidewalks and slightly chilly Feb. morning. I only stayed until 10:30 but it was so relaxing and one of my best memories to date. I'd love to do it during late EMH hours, too!

 

[kastoney]

What a great night. Can't believe you got so much done. And good it get it in before the baby comes. Mine is almost 4 and we still have several more years before night time EMH are in our realm of the possible.

 

[Leshaface]

A girl!!!! Aw a little princess, how exciting! Congratulations!

Oh no I can't believe the People Mover was closed That would have been so much fun to be on that so late at night.

LOL! Love your Buzz photo, that's awesome!

Your picture with you in front of the castle - you don't look tired at all! Can't believe that was taken around 2 am.

And even crazier that you were still trying to make your way slowly to the room. You were definitely trying to make those last few minutes count

 

[jhoannam]

Love your adventure! Makes we want to return ASAP.

 

[Dugette]

Joining in! Just discovered your report and got caught up (and actually read the DL report too). I love your enthusiasm!

I loved hearing about your late-night MK solo time. I ended up missing my planned time for that on our last family trip, so I am REALLY looking forward to going out on my own (after DD and DH go to bed) next May and playing at MK!

Big congratulations on your little girl! If you think you like Disney now, just wait until you can introduce your own little princess to all your favorites!