We have 2 pirates & 3 princesses to feed!: Our March 2017 trip with the QSDP *FINAL UPDATE 4/25*

[GlassAct]

Wonderful report, and beautiful family!

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Wonderful report, and beautiful family!

Thank you and welcome along

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Day 4: Saturday 3/4 - Everything Pop breakfast, Hollywood Studios - Hollywood & Vine lunch, Starbucks, and Backlot Express dinner

We got an early start on this day. Our goal was to be at Hollywood Studios before they started letting those of us without pre-park opening ADRs in so that we could be among the first to make Jedi Training Academy sign ups. We successfully got everyone ready with time to spare to have breakfast at Pop's food court. We made it down to Everything Pop at around 7:20 a.m. and believe it or not, it looked like a ghost town. We were able to order our food and get through the check out line swiftly. DS8, DD15, and I had the French toast platter with fruit topping, sausage, and bacon. I was very pleased with it and it was a good breakfast option to be a counter service selection. DH and our other kiddos had the Bounty platter with pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, and a biscuit. I unfortunately didn't take any pictures of it. I was too preoccupied with us finishing up and getting to that bus stop, lol! But DH gave it two thumbs up and he is one that is very particular about his eggs and pancakes . Here is a photo of my plate though.

We were at the bus stop a little after 8:00am and within minutes a Hollywood Studios bus pulled up

I want to say that they let everyone through the turnstiles around 8:30-ish because we went straight to the Jedi Training Academy sign-ups (we were the fifth or sixth group in line) and this was the photo I took of the line behind us at 8:37a.m.

Our Hollywood & Vine lunch ADR was for 12 noon so we signed up for the 2:10 p.m. JTA show with a 1:40 p.m. check in. It was a bit of a stampede over to TSMM at rope drop, but we fortunately had a 9:05 a.m. fast pass. So instead of getting in the fast pass line right away, we were the first family in line to meet a couple of our favorite pals .

You probably noticed our kids wearing birthday celebration buttons. With the exception of DD3, all our kids' birthdays are within two weeks of each other in February, so even though it was early March, this trip was definitely a big birthday celebration/family vacation. Would you believe that DS8 shares the same birthday as the twins? Yep, so DH and I have five kids but only three birthdates to remember, lol!

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Hollywood & Vine Disney Jr. lunch/Fantasmic dining pkg

DD3 is a big Disney Jr. fan so this ADR was definitely made with her in mind. Even though this was our third Disney World rodeo with a toddler/preschool age child, this was our first time doing the Hollywood & Vine Disney Jr. character meal. We booked this as the Fantasmic dining pkg (which was a splurge for us) because surprisingly, we have also never seen Fantasmic and it was at the top of our Hollywood Studios must do list for this trip. When I say this ADR was a splurge, it really was . The bill for 5 Disney adults and two children for this character buffet with Fantasmic pkg was ..... But....the food was delicious, the character interaction was excellent, and our Fantasmic seats were front and center in the Sorcerer Mickey section, so it was all worth it . This meal was definitely a pleasant surprise though. I'm not sure why we went in with low expectations; but the buffet spread had me making a couple trips . For the kids, they have typical kid friendly offerings like macaroni and cheese, baked chicken, nuggets, etc. But the main spread had a nice variety of dishes like grilled salmon, barbecue meatballs, pork tenderloin, buffalo baked chicken, Mediterranean pasta, shrimp alfredo macaroni, fried plantains, traditional pasta salad, tossed salad, rolls, etc. The fried plantains were such a treat for me. My paternal side of the family is from the West Indies and they cook plantains as a side dish with their meals a lot, so this brought me back to my childhood . The dessert bar was also very cute. They had cute little key lime tarts and mini cheesecakes in addition to the traditional dessert offerings.


DD3 striking a Mickey pose

I promise you, she did enjoy the food

A couple of my plates

My girl, Sofia the First!

DD3's idol, Doc McStuffins!

DD10 and DS8 with Handy Manny, who was their idol back in the day, lol!

Yo ho! It's Jake!

 

[Sailormoon2]

I want to say that they let everyone through the turnstiles around 8:30-ish because we went straight to the Jedi Training Academy sign-ups (we were the fifth or sixth group in line) and this was the photo I took of the line behind us at 8:37a.m

And being up and out of the hotel early pays off again!! We are always super-duper early RD people!!

Bounty platter with pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, and a biscuit.

I'm always impressed with how decent this QS breakfast is for the cost, especially if you order the "kids" portion, which is practically the same for half the price.

o instead of getting in the fast pass line right away, we were the first family in line to meet a couple of our favorite pals .

Well played!! That character line always seems huge right after we exit our RD Toy Story ride...which I'll be honest I try to get in atleast 2-3 go rounds in standby right at 9:00.

 

[OasterP]

Enjoying your report!

Your family is gorgeous. And that hat .....the kids looked so thrilled to be in that picture So fun.

It looks like you are had a great time! My husband and son absolutely loved Pop food. They kept getting the pizza deal where you ordered a pizza, two desserts and two drinks, and it was a large pizza! My daughter wasn't born the first time, or eating pizza much the second, but I'm sure next time she will be in on that as well.

 

[ariane37]

I've been reading along! Sorry I haven't gotten to post yet. Your family is lovely I'm glad you and DH enjoyed the grey goose slushes, that's DH's fave and one of mine! Also that shrimp on the skewer from La Isle Fresca? My DH had that 4x last week lol.
Your french toast at the Pop food court looks delicious

Would you believe that DS8 shares the same birthday as the twins? Yep, so DH and I have five kids but only three birthdates to remember, lol!

Whoa! I have a friend whose DS and DD share a birthday, but those are her only 2!

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I'm always impressed with how decent this QS breakfast is for the cost, especially if you order the "kids" portion, which is practically the same for half the price.

Well played!! That character line always seems huge right after we exit our RD Toy Story ride...which I'll be honest I try to get in atleast 2-3 go rounds in standby right at 9:00.

Even though we only ate actual breakfast entrees twice at the food court (other days were muffins/pastries with snack credits, cereal in the room, BOG breakfast, and Chef Mickey's), I agree that the quick service breakfast entrees are pretty good for them being a counterservice option.


Yes, that Buzz and Woody line can get really long. On our first trip we were in that line for close to an hour, and we completely skipped it on our last trip because we met Buzz in Tomorrowland at MK. We were so happy to meet them together at HS like we did on our first trip. My kids love the props in that meet and greet.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Enjoying your report!

Your family is gorgeous. And that hat .....the kids looked so thrilled to be in that picture So fun.

It looks like you are had a great time! My husband and son absolutely loved Pop food. They kept getting the pizza deal where you ordered a pizza, two desserts and two drinks, and it was a large pizza! My daughter wasn't born the first time, or eating pizza much the second, but I'm sure next time she will be in on that as well.

Thank you for reading. We really did enjoy the food at Pop!

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

After our Hollywood and Vine lunch we headed over to check in for JTA. After JTA, we indulged in some use of our snacks credits with Mickey bars, Mickey ice cream sandwiches, and my favorite -Starbucks (which was such a delightful use of snack credits )!


DD10 and DS8, my younglings turned Jedi trainees

Me and DD15 enjoying our Starbucks

We progressed through the remainder of our day and enjoyed a refill of our popcorn bucket on the way to our late afternoon fast pass for Tower of Terror. Fantasmic was scheduled to start at 7pm, so we ended up eventually making our way over to Backlot Express for a quick dinner. It is well known that the counter service options at Hollywood Studios aren't that great and our choice for dinner wasn't what I would consider one of our best, lol! What's nice about Backlot Express is that the lines move quickly and there is plenty of seating. Because of having such a big buffet lunch and having ice cream bars, popcorn, and Starbucks late into the afternoon, we just wanted something simple and quick for dinner. Backlot Express does have options that are better than what we chose but again we just went simple and had some hot dogs and french fries! Pretty impressive, huh? . This probably explains why I didn't take any pictures of our Backlot Express dinner .


Up next: Art of Animation - Landscape of Flavors lunch, Animal Kingdom treats, Flame Tree Barbecue dinner, and more Starbucks

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I've been reading along! Sorry I haven't gotten to post yet. Your family is lovely I'm glad you and DH enjoyed the grey goose slushes, that's DH's fave and one of mine! Also that shrimp on the skewer from La Isle Fresca? My DH had that 4x last week lol.
Your french toast at the Pop food court looks delicious



Whoa! I have a friend whose DS and DD share a birthday, but those are her only 2!

Thank you for joining! Yes that shrimp on the skewer was tastier than it looks, lol!

 

[Heidi Lou]

O my goodness...your family is precious! DD3 smiling with the characters is priceless. She looks so happy!
"Wishes for the last time"... this group of words literally break my heart. That along with the picture of your family CANNOT DEAL!

Loving the report!

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

O my goodness...your family is precious! DD3 smiling with the characters is priceless. She looks so happy!
"Wishes for the last time"... this group of words literally break my heart. That along with the picture of your family CANNOT DEAL!

Loving the report!

Thank you! I was bummed I didn't get to see MSEP one last time so I was happy we got to see Wishes. I'm confident Disney will have another awe inspiring nighttime show, but Wishes is very sentimental. I know MSEP is back at Disneyland now. I haven't been to Disneyland since I was ten years old so I might have to plan a trip back out west .

 

[TexasPete]

Following along. Your kids are so cute! I also have a DD10.

 

[alohamom]

Fantastic report so far. I adore all the coordinated outfits, makes for some excellent photos. You seem to be such a loving family, Disney should use you guys for commercials!

 

[Texans_loyal]

Adorable family! Enjoying your TR!
I am a huge fan of pop century food court, perfect after a long day at the park.

 

[Realfoodfans]

Loving your review! We are doing QSDP this October 4 adults 2 grandchildren (DGS8 on spectrum too) so really making notes!!! What a beautiful family you are

 

[suse66]

I just got all caught up on your report and want to say what a lovely family you have! I also have 15 yr old twins but mine are identical boys. I also have an almost 17 year old son. I thought travelling to Disney as a family of five was busy so hats off to you for managing it as a family of seven! Loving your reviews, so much yummy food and treats! Looking forward to reading more.

 

[Eddie512]

How did your kids like Jedi training? Mine are the same age and I think they would love it, but it's a hassle with the sign up and everything. Did you feel it was worth it? We won't be doing the early breakfast so we'll be up early and waiting...

 

[Sailormoon2]

I love watching JTA...so, who did your children face? Vader or Kylo Ren, and how did they feel about the experience?