The Year of the Mouse! A SURPRISE trip, with another one in the making! COMPLETE 8/11

[DVC Emily]

Loving this trip report! Your pictures are fantastic! I loved the BOG ones especially, that's one of the places on my "someday" list. It looks absolutely gorgeous there! Looking forward to reading more

 

[KathyM2]

Wow...your kids are sooo brave!! My DD is 9 and won't do any of the mountains!!! I'm impressed that you had the energy for a swim after the day that you had!!!

 

[Choozee]

Your girls are so cute! This is a wonderful family vacation thank you for sharing it!

 

[LiLs]

A friend of mine made the girls and I some shirts for the trip! They came out so cute and I can't wait to show them to the girls!

I love the LOVE shirt, how cute is that? The ones on the top are for the girls, the bottom ones are mine.


']We are actually going to try and put their initials on the Mickey heads, looks like it's missing something![/URL]

http://[URL=http://s14.photobucket....a330/BBTheriot/FullSizeRender.jpg[/IMG][/URL]


']12 days to go! I need to get the "surprise box" together. I'm going to include the shirts, magic bands, and some other Disney related stuff that I haven't picked out yet. I also need to get some snacks together and a few odds and ends like sunscreen, ponchos, etc...

[/URL]']I work all weekend, so I'll get started next week.

[/URL]']

[/URL]']Eeeekkkkk, it's almost time![/URL]

This is late but I just discovered this. SOOOO Cute! I want one for myself!

 

[hokieinpa]

Joining in!

We're going on a fairly last minute short trip in November that's going to be a surprise for our 3 sons! We're also going in May 2016 and they know about that trip. So our situation is very similar to yours!

It sounds like a great first day at MK! You got so much done in just a few hours - even with dinner at BOG thrown in!

We were standing in front of a lady who asked me where Magic Kingdom was. I was like. I felt very sorry for her if that was how her day was going....

I laughed out loud at this! I always wonder how people can go on such an expensive vacation and do little to no planning!


Excited to read about the rest of your trip!

 

[Hardheadedwoman]

Following along! We are also having A Year of the Mouse with a trip to Disneyland in November (God willing!) and one we just returned from to Disney World.

Love the photos and I totally know the feeling of feeling so happy and blessed on your first night at Disney! Also know how crappy it feels on your last night at Disney, LOL

 

[kastoney]

Your evening in MK looks like a ton of fun. Can't believe you got to do splash twice in a row and then BTMRR. Too much fun.

9 pm pool close does sound really early, but of course beignets and ice cream are worth getting out of the pool for.

 

[bbak30]

Loving this trip report! Your pictures are fantastic! I loved the BOG ones especially, that's one of the places on my "someday" list. It looks absolutely gorgeous there! Looking forward to reading more

Thanks for reading--you must try BOG. We loved it!!

Wow...your kids are sooo brave!! My DD is 9 and won't do any of the mountains!!! I'm impressed that you had the energy for a swim after the day that you had!!!

My kids have crazy energy. And they are ALWAYS up for a swim!

Your girls are so cute! This is a wonderful family vacation thank you for sharing it!

Thanks for reading!

This is late but I just discovered this. SOOOO Cute! I want one for myself!

Thanks! Everyone and their mama does vinyl stuff now so I have several options!

Following along! We are also having A Year of the Mouse with a trip to Disneyland in November (God willing!) and one we just returned from to Disney World.

Love the photos and I totally know the feeling of feeling so happy and blessed on your first night at Disney! Also know how crappy it feels on your last night at Disney, LOL

Fun, fun! would love to make it to Disneyland soon!

Your evening in MK looks like a ton of fun. Can't believe you got to do splash twice in a row and then BTMRR. Too much fun.

9 pm pool close does sound really early, but of course beignets and ice cream are worth getting out of the pool for.

Agreed! I was actually kinda glad the pool closed early. I was beat!

 

[LanaBear-ox]

Well I was going to follow your TR but now I definitely am as your DD shares the same birthday as me! (Oct 29th). It is such a cool birthday to have, as you know, it is all about Halloween! I can't wait for more!

 

[bbak30]

DaDay 2, Part 1: Animal Kingdom!
​

Our first full day started in Animal Kingdom. We usually have breakfast at Tusker House, pre park opening. However, we decided to change things up a little bit. We had breakfast in the room (cereal, granola bars) and headed out to the bus stop. AK had an 8am opening and I had plans to ride EE at rope drop, hopefully a couple of times.

I did have a note that it took the bus quite a while to get there, longer than 20 minutes. We were there in plenty of time for rope drop. We booked it to EE, I was excited for Kate to ride it--she was finally tall enough to ride it. We made it into the line and were literally there next ones to get on, and it started POURING. And then the lightening and thundering started. Ughhhh. I wanted to wait it out in line, but Allie said she needed to go to the bathroom, which I think was only because she is scared of the weather. So we got out of line and went to the bathroom.

This was NOT the plan....


So we hung out in the gift shops for about an hour. I started to get really frustrated once 10:00 hit, then 10:30. They told us the Safari was still operating, but I really didn't want to go to the other side of the park. I was sure the Safari, Lion King and Nemo were all packed.

Eventually it opened again and we were able to get back in line with our FP+. Then, I kid you not, it started raining. Again. This time we sat and waited about 20 minutes and it started running again. I was pretty cranky by this time, as it was close to 11:00 and we had accomplished NOTHING.

After we finally rode EE, we headed to Dinoland. The girls took a spin.


And then we let them play on the playground for a little while. It was getting close to our lunch reservation and we didn't think we would be able to squeeze anything else.

For lunch we decided to try Rainforest Cafe. I admit that I had pretty low expectations, but figured we would enjoy the theming if nothing else.









We were seated in the back and had a wonderful waitress. She quickly got us some cook drinks, which was awesome because it was SO hot outside. We ordered and our food came quickly as well.

DH and I both chose the same thing:
Ribs, Steak and Shrimp Trio - a hearty platter featuring slow roasted St. Louis style pork spareribs basted with our Smokin' Mojo BBQ sauce, char-grilled flat iron steak topped with steak butter and Caribbean Coconut Shrimp. Served with Safari fries and coleslaw.

I asked for shrimp scampi instead fo the Caribbean Coconut Shrimp


DH had the Caribbean Coconut Shrimp with his


We really really enjoyed our meals here. The shrimp scampi was delicious and the coleslaw was amazing! The ribs were my least favorite, but still yummy!

Kate had the pepperoni pizza and orange slices, which she devoured


Allie had the mini-hamburgers and applesauce, which she also demolished


And I'm sad to say that I don't recall what we had for dessert, nor do I have a photo. Please forgive me as I leave you with a family photo!



All in all, we really enjoyed our meal here. We have another reservation for lunch during our October trip. Allie requested it, she saw them sing Happy Birthday to someone in the restaurant. They had some kind of dessert with pretty elaborate candles on it.

Next up: The rest of Animal Kingdom!

 

[bbak30]

Well I was going to follow your TR but now I definitely am as your DD shares the same birthday as me! (Oct 29th). It is such a cool birthday to have, as you know, it is all about Halloween! I can't wait for more!

Yayyy for October birthdays! She LOVES that her birthday is around Halloween!

 

[KathyM2]

Oh no....I'm so sorry about all the rain....hate when that happens and kinda wrecks plans...but at least you got in a couple rides...and a good lunch so far...

 

[bbak30]

Oh no....I'm so sorry about all the rain....hate when that happens and kinda wrecks plans...but at least you got in a couple rides...and a good lunch so far...

Thanks, I was pretty whiney about it. But eventually I perked up. A bad day in Disney is better than a good day at work!

 

[bbak30]

Day 2, Part 2: Animal Kingdom​

After lunch we had a FP for the safari. I wasn't sure if this was even needed, but we used it anyway and walked right on.

I did not taken any photos of the safari. I told myself I was going to just enjoy it this time. And it was raining, so I didn't pull out my camera.

Next up was the FOTLK. I wasn't sure if we needed a FP for this one either, but I couldn't change it to anything else so off we went.








We LOVED this show. LOVED. Our seats were good, it was nice and cool there. It was one of the highlights of this day. I can't wait to see it again!

After FOTLK we browsed some gift shops and headed out.

On the bus!


We finished up at AK around 3:00 and it was soooo hot. So we decided to head back to the resort for some swimming. DH also wanted to take a little nap, he was still playing catch up from the drive.
I don't have any photos though because I decided to put on my mom suit and join the girls.

Around 6:30 we headed back out to EPCOT to get some dinner and see what rides we could get on. I really wanted to head to the WS and get something fun, but we were literally starving. So we stopped at Electrical Umbrella. Not my first choice, but it was fine.

I got the chicken nuggets, which were delicious as always! But the cheesecake was just ok. The girls also shared an order of these nuggest as well. There wasn't anything on the kids menu that appealed to them.


DH had a burger and fries and enjoyed it. He scarfed it down before I could get a photo though.

After dinner, we took a spin on Spaceship Earth




By this point, it was close to 9:00. The stand-by line for Soarin' was only 20 minutes and the park closed at 9:30 so we hopped in line.


LOVE Soarin'! The best part--it was only 9:20 when we got off so we go right back on. SCORE! 2 rides on Soarin' in less than 30 minutes!

We caught the end of IllumiNations walking out of the park.

And of course we stopped for a snack when we got back to the resort!




Now, I'm not a big fan of sweets, but I LOVED these sugar cookies. And how awesome is it that you can get one of these as a dessert on the dining plan?!?! I had a few throught out stay!


After our snack, we headed to bed to prepare for a new day!!

Next up: Pre-park opening BOG breakfast and Magic Kingdom!

 

[bbak30]

Day 3, Part 1: BOG and MK!​

Day 3 started with some unplanned "plans". BOG opened up for breakfast weeks prior to our trip, and I went ahead and snagged one for a pre-park opening. Unfortunately, this was the only day we had available to do it. This was supposed to be a sleep in day, but turned into a very early day at MK.

Our reservation was for 8:05 and we were let in around 7:55.

Main Street was empty and I took the opportunity to snap a few photos!


This was our attempt at a castle selfie...


Until a nice lady saw the struggle and offered to take one for us!


I promptly returned the favor for her. Everyone was happy!

We strolled through the castle on the way to FL.


We checked in a little late, around 8:10 for our reseravtion. We were let in pretty quickly and stood in line to order.

***I highly recommend ordering online if you can. I didn't think this would take long, but it took a good 15 minutes. Those who had pre-ordered zipped right on past us. ***

Placing your order was pretty simple and we headed to find a table. We had hoped to eat in the West Wing, but it was closed. The girls didn't care for the rose gallery, so it was back to the ballroom for us!
There was a nice station set up for beverages, and we grabbed some silverware and napkins from a cart.

I had tea, which I helped myself to. Allie and DH had soda and did the same. Kate had chocolate milk, and that was delivered with our meal.



Within about 2 minutes of sitting down, our food arrived!

I went with the Croissant Donut - topped with Banana-Caramel Sauce, Pastry Creme, and Chocolate Ganache
This was delicious! And very rich, I do wish it was served with a protein to balance it out a little bit. I did enjoy it though!


DH went with the Eggs Florentine - Puff Pastry Shell with Scrambled Eggs,Cheese, and fresh Spinach served with Country Ham, Roasted Plum Tomatoes
He enjoyed this as well and cleaned his plate!


Both of the girls got the scrambled eggs with bacon and fruit, another win! They also cleaned their plates!


The basket of pastries, they were good and we ate a few of them but not all.


We really enjoyed our meal here and would do it again--but only if on the dining plan. The thought that we would have had to pay around $100 with tax for that breakfast would be a dealbreaker. Definitely overpriced. But we will be back in October if they extend breakfast and if I can get a pre-park opening reservation!

We didn't feel the need to explore the restaurant since we were just there 2 days ago. We headed out and directly across to.....



I wasn't sure how this was going to work and I honestly wasn't even planning on attempting this. I was not interested in fighting people. We were planning to head to Peter Pan or something!
However, there were CMs directing people to the FP line and it was pretty short and tame so we went for it. It was around 8:40 by this point. Around 8:50, they let us through the line and there was no sign of the rope drop stampete. We were on the very first ride--how awesome is that?!?!? We enjoyed our ride through the mine and hopped off. This time, I saw the rope drop stampede! OMG. It was insane. We quickly got out of their way and headed to do other things!

It seems that that is the norm, at least one ride on the mine before they release the stampede. It was a nice bonus for sure! Best part is we were free to head to the rest of FL and knock out some other favorites!

Next up: More Magic Kingdom and a snack at Casey's Corner!

 

[Choozee]

Awesome about the 7dmt! And I appreciate the fair an accurate review of breakfast at BOG. We are doing the same thing in Sept on our trip

 

[bbak30]

Awesome about the 7dmt! And I appreciate the fair an accurate review of breakfast at BOG. We are doing the same thing in Sept on our trip

Hopefully you will have the same luck as we did!

 

[bbak30]

Day 3, Part 2: Magic Kingdom!
​

After our yummy breakfast and ride on the mine, we continued around NFL. First up was Peter Pan, followed by Pooh, IASM and the Carousel. All were walk-ons!










We really really enjoyed our morning in MK, even though it wasn't an initial part of our plan. It was fairly relaxing and the crowds were low.

Then it was time for the Hall of Presidents. I kid you not, my child had been BEGGING to go there. She is in kindergarten and they were studing Presidents. She had a report due and her president was Ronald Regan. So she was thrilled when we finally made it over there.





We had never seen the show and it was starting to get busier, and hotter, so we stayed for the show.

Kate was thrilled!




By this time it was around 12:00 and MK was starting to fill up. Our first FP of the day was at HS, so we started making our way up front. We decided to stop at Casey's Corner for a little snack to hold us over until our dinner reservation at The Hollywood Brown Derby. The girls and I shared some nachos and fries, and they were sooo yummy. We managed to snag a table outside and there was some kind of show going on at the castle--no clue what it was. But we were able to see some of it and enjoy our little break.







DH opted for ice cream from The Plaza. All of this for a snack credit!





After that we headed out and made our way to Hollywood Studios!!

Next up: HBD dinner and Fantasmic!

 

[bbak30]

Day 3, Part 3: Hollywood Studios!​

By the time we made it to Hollywood Studios, it was HOT.

Kate did this...


We took the opportunity to do something we have never done before...


Then we realized why we haven't done it before, lol. Not impressed, but it was nice to be in the a/c.

Then we used our FP for TSMM and the Frozen Sing-a-long. I regret that I don't have any photos of the sing-a-long. It was probably one of my favorite parts of the day. I sang my heart out and LOVED it. It thought it was a great show and very funny. Can't wait to go again!

We also did the Indiana Jones show, which was fine, but sooooo HOT. Ugh. I was sticky and tired by this point.

We took a few photos.


Luckily it was about time for our dinner reservation, another new restaurant for us. The Hollywood Brown Derby with the Fantasmic package!



We started with some bread.


And yummy soft butter!


We each got an appetizer. Both girls chose the celery and carrots with ranch.


Ben and I both had the crab cakes, they were delicious and pretty filling!
Crispy Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes - over an English cucumber and plum tomato slaw with a sweet chili sauce.


Kate had the grilled cheese.


Allie had a hot dog.


Ben and I both had the filet.
Charred-glazed Filet of Beef - with a red wine reduction, topped with a cabernet and roasted shallot butter, over white truffle oil wild forest mushroom mashed potato, and sauteed haricot verts


This was amazing! The steak was tender and the sauce was just perfect. I really enjoyed the mashroom mashed potato as well!

We didn't get a choice of appetizer, we got this sampler plate.


The one all the way to the left was the grapefruit cake, the middle was creme brule and something chocolate on the right side. I really didn't care for any of these. But I was too full to care!

We were given our passes for Fantasmic!


Recap: We really enjoyed HBD. The service and food were both fantastic. We would eat here again for sure, but are trying Mama Melrose in October just to have something different.

After dinner we walked around a little bit. We were frustrated to find a few things closed, like the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. There just wasn't much for us to do. So we decided to stand in line to take a photo in front of Cinderella's Carriage!

And then Allie decided to lose a tooth!


She was sooo excited! And the tooth fairy may have accidently left her $21 instead of $2 since she was so tired.

We got some great photos in front of the carriage.






We started walking slowly to the Fantasmic theatre, stopping in One Man's Dream.

We found Ronald Regan, again.


This was really neat. I had never been through there. I'm looking forward to taking my in-laws in October, this is the kind of thing they enjoy.

Around 8:00 we headed in. There was a huge section in the middle roped off for dinner packages. We had spectacular seats!


I'm so embarassed to say that we have never seen Fantasmic prior to this trip. By the time we left we were kicking ourselves. We absolutely LOVED it. Can't wait to bring the rest of my family back!!!!









The park was closing at 9:30 and we noticed a 20 minute wait for Rockin Roller Coaster! Sad to say we had never been on this either. Even though we were exhausted, having been at the parks for almost 14 hours by this point, my wonderful hubby agreed to stay behind with Kate so Allie and I could go!

We LOVED LOVED it!


So glad we stayed to ride. The park was closing and we took our time walking out. We checked out some gift shopes where I purchased some souveniers of my own!


Minnie Mouse bowls, a cutting board, a muffin pan and a sandwich cutter!

While we enjoyed Fantasmic, RNRC and the Sing-a-long, I'm just not a big fan of HS. I'm planning for a 1/2 day there in October as I don't think most of my family will be too impressed either. Am I the only one?? Our Mama Melrose reservation is for 2:30, which is totally inconvinent and odd. I'm thinking of nixing the Fantasmic package and just getting to the theatre early. There were still tons of seats when we arrived. Ugh, decisions.

We finally headed back to the resort, happy and exhausted after our 14 hour day. I was very impressed with how the girls handled the long day and sooo happy with how much we got accomplished.

Next up: We get to sleep in, spend some time Downtown and Extra Magic Hours at the Magic Kingdom!

 

[mjmstd1]

Following along!