Well, this trip was....different. UPDATE - 9/1!

[MEK]

Those are adorable pictures of Reid with the characters! Especially Pluto!

 

[petals]

Sorry Reid was being moody but glad you enjoyed O'Hana. I loved it there when we went.

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

I'm glad you had a good experience at the Ohana breakfast well except for Reid- but doesn't that happy sometimes even with the best of them... I think Ohana is one of the best character breakfasts on site...

Your date night at Citricos sounds awesome... You sold me... I'm putting them on the ADR list for next summer...

I have to get to Universal... It really sounds like a good time... but the characters not having handlers? I can't even imagine that...

 

[fi46re129]

Ohana is the best! One of our all time favorites as well. Stinks that it started with a meltdown but glad things turned around. I love it when we go at the beginning of the trip so we can cover the stroller in leis and find it faster in stroller parking!

 

[afwdwfan]

The Ohana breakfast looks great. Its a shame Reid wasn't at his best behavior, but I totally understand how that works. It looks like he managed to have a good time and enjoy it anyway though.

 

[TinksThree]

So far behind...so very, very far behind!! First, so glad your Thanksgiving weekend turned out great! I have heard so many good things about the Great Wolf Lodges! We never tried staying there but it seems to get really good reviews. That room was adorable too!!

I adored your pictures of IoA! I have not been but we are thinking of trying it the next time we go to Orlando...whenever that may be! The Dr. Seuss area is so colorful and just looks so happy!

I am glad to hear the positive review on Citricos. I had contemplated going there in October but decided to forego a "fancy" dinner. And the price for the Neverland Club was great!

Finally...Ohana breakfast is one of our favorite character meals (Tusker House and CP are the other two). The food is usually good and I love that juice!!!! Sorry about the meltdown...yuck!!!!

Maybe I can stay caught up now that some craziness has passed!!

 

[CandleontheWater]

I'm a few updates behind-

We have very similar taste in rides, I could happily ride the Hulk all day long, but you couldn't pay me to get on that free fall ride ever again! I made the mistake of letting DH talk me into it the one time we went to IoA, and I screamed "LET ME OFF" from the moment I was strapped in, until the ride was over.

I'm so glad that date night went so well! I agree that it is a really good deal, especially considering that it includes a meal. It is cheaper than the going hourly rate of a babysitter in the DC area, and I never thought I'd see the day when anything in Disney was cheaper than real life!

I'm glad that things ended up OK with your breakfast. I agree that family style is so much easier than buffets, especially with little kids. I'll have to keep it in mind for the future. I don't love the scrambled eggs, but I'd just have a good excuse to eat more bacon.

 

[amandaw]

It sounds like we had the same meal at 'Ohana! I really liked the food, the characters were good. No reason at all not to go back! You're right. The family style part is nice. No getting up and down and being afraid we'll miss this character or that.

Sorry Reid was being such a pistol. I hope that wasn't the theme of the day.

Yeah, I'm really glad I decided to try out that character meal. I think it's one of the better ones we've gone to.

Well....let's just say it was the theme of the morning with him.

That was really neat

This is what I like about the family style too....truth be told...I never get to eat much when I am feeding everyone else...

Hubs always quotes a line from A Christmas story "My mother hasn’t had a hot meal in 15 years"~that's me

Love that movie & love that line! It's so true! I can't even imagine for you. I only have one and hardly every get a hot meal.

I'm on finally caught up and excited for the update. We've never done Ohana breakfast and it sounds amazing! I'm glad y'all had a good time after Reid's meltdowns. You know we'll never believe he acts like that because he's just so cute in this pics. LOL

It really is a nice meal! I say it's definitely worth a try.

He better be thankful he's cute! He'd stay in a lot more trouble if he weren't.

 

[amandaw]

Sorry for the meltdown, but Reid sure turns around quick with the smiles. I'm glad you enjoyed your breakfast at Ohana (never been...perhaps if they offered different options for the family style we would consider it).

I think my favorite photos this round are Reid and Pluto.

I'm glad we gave 'Ohana a try. I think it was a good fit for our family and I could actually see us returning there.

Thanks....he really had so much fun playing around with Pluto. It was hard for me to be mad at him at that point.

I have always wanted to try the breakfast at Ohana. I even had it scheduled once, but had to cancel for illness. Boo!

Can't see your pics now, but I will definitely stop back later today because I bet they are great.

Too bad Reid was not lving the lei, but at least he settled down for character and picture time.

I say it's definitely worth trying out at least once. I loved that it wasn't a buffet!

Yeah, I was glad he swung his mood in the other direction so that the entire breakfast wasn't ruined.

Ah yes the dreaded Disney meltdown....you never know when it is going to rear it's head! Been there.....(ok not specifically at an 'Ohana Breakfast) but you get my drift!

It's their darn cuteness that saves the day....and Reid sure has that! Glad you were able to enjoy the breakfast and make it to MK for rope drop! Perfect!

Thanks! You're so right....if they weren't so cute we could stay mad all day at them!

Yum! Ohana sounds delish! I really want to try it! The character interaction looked great! Sorry Reid wasn't in the best mood. At least he cheered up! I can't wait to hear about MK!

It was a nice meal! I would consider going back there on future trips. And I certainly don't feel that way about all character meals.

Sorry about Reid's weird mood. I'm glad he enjoyed the characters! It looks like such a fun spot for breakfast!

It was nice breakfast...minus Reid's initial behavior.

Those are adorable pictures of Reid with the characters! Especially Pluto!

Awww...thanks! He had so much fun with Pluto that morning.

Sorry Reid was being moody but glad you enjoyed O'Hana. I loved it there when we went.

It is a nice breakfast.

I'm glad you had a good experience at the Ohana breakfast well except for Reid- but doesn't that happy sometimes even with the best of them... I think Ohana is one of the best character breakfasts on site...

I have to agree! For the price especially....this is a great character meal choice!

Your date night at Citricos sounds awesome... You sold me... I'm putting them on the ADR list for next summer...

Yes, go! We truly enjoyed our meal there. I was a little worried at first since the service started out slow. But by the time we got our appetizers, it didn't even matter. It was a lovely dinner!

I have to get to Universal... It really sounds like a good time... but the characters not having handlers? I can't even imagine that...

It's such a nightmare without handlers for the characters! Part of me was glad Reid only wanted to meet Spiderman.

Ohana is the best! One of our all time favorites as well. Stinks that it started with a meltdown but glad things turned around. I love it when we go at the beginning of the trip so we can cover the stroller in leis and find it faster in stroller parking!

I'm really glad we finally had breakfast there.

The Ohana breakfast looks great. Its a shame Reid wasn't at his best behavior, but I totally understand how that works. It looks like he managed to have a good time and enjoy it anyway though.

Oh yeah....he was happy with everyone BUT me. I should be used to it by now.

So far behind...so very, very far behind!! First, so glad your Thanksgiving weekend turned out great! I have heard so many good things about the Great Wolf Lodges! We never tried staying there but it seems to get really good reviews. That room was adorable too!!

No worries....I completely understand! We really had such a nice getaway during Thanksgiving. It was so much fun!

I adored your pictures of IoA! I have not been but we are thinking of trying it the next time we go to Orlando...whenever that may be! The Dr. Seuss area is so colorful and just looks so happy!

Thanks! I think y'all would definitely have fun spending a day or two or there.

I am glad to hear the positive review on Citricos. I had contemplated going there in October but decided to forego a "fancy" dinner. And the price for the Neverland Club was great!

I definitely recommend trying out Citricos! It was so yummy and it was a really nice night for Ed and I.

Finally...Ohana breakfast is one of our favorite character meals (Tusker House and CP are the other two). The food is usually good and I love that juice!!!! Sorry about the meltdown...yuck!!!!

That juice...! We really liked the food and would go back there again.

Maybe I can stay caught up now that some craziness has passed!!

I know...I feel like I'm hardly on the boards these days. Don't hate me but I'm gonna try to post another update either tonight or tomorrow.

I'm a few updates behind-

We have very similar taste in rides, I could happily ride the Hulk all day long, but you couldn't pay me to get on that free fall ride ever again! I made the mistake of letting DH talk me into it the one time we went to IoA, and I screamed "LET ME OFF" from the moment I was strapped in, until the ride was over.

Sounds like we had a very similar experience on Dr. Doom's Fearfall! I've never been so terrified in all my life.

I'm so glad that date night went so well! I agree that it is a really good deal, especially considering that it includes a meal. It is cheaper than the going hourly rate of a babysitter in the DC area, and I never thought I'd see the day when anything in Disney was cheaper than real life!

I know, right?!? I couldn't get over how "cheap" the club was. We'll definitely be doing that again. And it was so nice to be able to have a nice date night with Ed. We both said how much we regretted never doing that during our Disney trips before we had Reid. But, when you don't have kids you tend to take things like that for granted.

I'm glad that things ended up OK with your breakfast. I agree that family style is so much easier than buffets, especially with little kids. I'll have to keep it in mind for the future. I don't love the scrambled eggs, but I'd just have a good excuse to eat more bacon.

I think even if you didn't want the eggs that there would be enough for a good breakfast: fruit, bacon, bread, Mickey waffles, potatoes, sausage. I would definitely give it a try. It's reasonably priced, the food is good and it's so nice to just sit down for a character meal.

 

[amandaw]

We had made it to Magic Kingdom in time for the Rope Drop show! I really love this show and insist on seeing it at least once every trip. Even Reid was excited:







And soon it was time for the show to start:











Then, we were finally on our way into the Magic Kingdom! I wanted to stick to a decent touring strategy this day, so we didn’t linger too long upon entering. We quickly started making our way down Main Street towards the Castle:



We walked through the Castle and went straight to our first order of business: grab FP’s for Peter Pan. Once that was done, we noticed how short the line was so we hopped in the standby and only waited about 5 minutes before taking our first flight to Neverland!

After Peter Pan, we went across to It’s a Small World, which was a walk-on.













Once we were done with our happy little cruise, we headed to the Carousel. It was also a walk-on.



The horse Reid wanted to ride was on the inside of the Carousel and I could not get any good shots of him. So, I took some shots of New Fantasyland stuff instead.

Prince Eric’s castle:



Can I tell y’all how disappointed I was that this wasn’t open during our trip?

The new walls:



They’re really lovely!

And the step-sisters were by the walls with Lady Tremaine:



After his ride on the Carousel, Reid wanted to try something new for him:



There was even a Photopass photographer there, so that was nice.





Continuation coming right up.........

 

[amandaw]

Once Reid was done trying to pull the sword out of the stone, we grabbed FP’s for Winnie the Pooh. Then, it was time to use our FP’s for Peter Pan. After that, I decided we should go here:



Reid let me know, in his own 4 year old way, that he was very unhappy with my decision. And I let him know, in my own Mommy way, that we were going into Mickey’s Philharmagic whether he liked it or now. And, of course, he ended up loving it just as he has in the past.

After that, it was time for us to use our Winnie the Pooh FP’s.



This is one of my favorite pictures from our trip:



I also took a picture of Beast’s castle while waiting in the FP line:



From there we went to the Teacups, which was another walk-on. Now, right before the ride started, we heard a little commotion by the side gate of the ride. Well, we turn around and what do we see? Alice is coming ride the teacups! I’ve never been on a ride when a character is riding. I’ve heard about it happening but had never seen it. She ended up riding in a teacup right next to ours. She rode with 2 girls, probably in their tweens. They were both so excited and it was fun to see some pixie dust thrown in the way of a little bit older kids.









We got off the Teacups and were trying to decide what to do next, when Tigger bounced right by us! I knew he must be heading to his meet & greet, so I hurried us over there. We’ve never met Pooh or Tigger before due to the long lines they get. Luckily, this time, we were the 2nd family in line and we didn’t have to wait very long.

When it was Reid’s turn, he ran right up to Tigger to give him big hugs!







I really felt kind of bad for Pooh Bear. Reid was just ignoring him. I had to remind him to tell him hello, too.



And then, it was all about Tigger again when it came to the final group shot.

 

[pas130]

So cool that Alice rode the teacups

OK, like Reid, I LOVE Tigger...he really gives great hugs too

Amanda, MY favorite pic so far is Reid watching the Rope Drop Show...SO Precious that sweet face

 

[jennyjinx3]

I love how Reid just seems to be loving it all, and just having a blast! It is true, his little face all lit up is adorable!. Sorry I seem to be using the word adorable over and over again to describe him, but I can't help it!!

 

[afwdwfan]

Ok, first of all, I might have gotten closer to the new Fantasyland stuff than you did, but your pictures are way better. I probably took and deleted about 20 pictures of the Beast's castle and none of them look anywhere near as good as the one you posted. I so wish our camera wouldn't have acted up on us.

We had made it to Magic Kingdom in time for the Rope Drop show! I really love this show and insist on seeing it at least once every trip.

That show is just an amazing way to start the day.

You really did a good job of getting in and getting things done. It's always nice to be able to do almost a full days worth of rides in a couple of hours.

I've never been on a ride with a character either, but that really is kind of cool, and nice that Alice interacted with some older kids too. It is nice to see them involved instead of just catering to the younger ones all the time.

Reid looks like he had a lot of fun with Tigger. We didn't get to meet them this time, but I'm sure our DS would be the same way. He loves Tigger, but I'm not sure he'd pay any attention to Pooh.

 

[emma212010]

Wow! Beautiful pictures!!!

That's so cool that Alice was riding with those girls! How fun!

Reid is adorable! What great timing you had to meet Tigger and Pooh!

 

[MEK]

Well, you know the drill - I'll have to check back when I can see your pictures although it sounds like a great update.

 

[catherines_mama]

We've seen Alice ride before, we were still in line, very cool she was right next to you!

Love Reid with Tigger- so cute! Loving the report- thank you!

 

[shan23877]

Love the FLE pics! Can't wait to see it in person.

You guys got a lot of rides done that morning! I can't believe how many rides had short lines. Love that Alice got on the teacups, and with some older girls. What a great memory for them.

That's an amazing photo of Ed and Reid. I can see why you love it.

 

[petals]

luvin all the pics. Reid looks so happy meeting Tigger but poor Pooh bear

 

[KatMark]

Great updates, Amanda. You got a lot done in the morning at the MK. I'm glad the photopass photographer was at the Sword for Reid. And I must agree with Reid...although I love Pooh, Tigger would be getting "all my love."