We're Changing The Plan Again?? You mean there's a Plan? New TR Posted/Link Posted

[TinksThree]

I apologize for falling off the face of the earth!! This holiday has kept me super busy!!! I hope ya'll have had a great 4th of July!!!

Great wait times!

Mops and buckets ? I wonder if it had been closed earlier because someone got sick? I imagine it's much less intense with the lights on. That's nice that they gave you the bonus FP!

I wish we always got those kind of wait times!!!

I had the exact same thought about the mops and buckets!! It still gets you with the twists and turns and dips but it is different since you can see it coming. The only thing is, there are so many tracks that at times you may think you are going one way and head another! It was fun but I still like the dark ride version!

Oh well. I was close - you did go back across the park, but not to HM.

I am usually the only one laughing on the Jungle Cruise too. My kids are too young to get the jokes and most people don't seem to listen.

I agree about the queue at Pirates. It is quite a hike back there!

How awesome that you got bonus Space fps! That was great.

I'm looking forward to hearing about your lunch since we love CP so much!

I know...and somehow I totally missed HM during the day! How I managed to let that happen is beyond me!! Sometimes I have to explain the jokes to my kids and then they are "Ohhhh, I get it!"

I thought it was nice of them to offer since we were still able to ride Space!

CP coming up! I am taking a break and I am going to try and fit in one little update!

 

[TinksThree]

Soon it was our long awaited lunch reservation at Crystal Palace. My excitement is probably evident with the previous posts of CP and the statement: "We will be eating here soon!!" I had debated on which meal to eat here and since (originally) I was unsure what our arrival time would be, I decided a later lunch. I have heard so many great things about CP and was looking forward to eating here. Another reason I chose this character meal is due to Piglet: my mom's favorite little pig!!

So how did CP measure up? Well, we arrived around 15 minutes early (so this would be 12:45pm for a 1pm reservation). Last year we managed to be 15 minutes late for every ADR so I was determined to break that trend this year!!

We found a spot to "sit" until some benches on the porch opened up. This was our waiting view:

While we waited we drank cups of ice cold water they had provided on the veranda (I love the sound of that! But they probably call it the porch!! ) And also while we waited, I broke a cardinal vacation rule: I made a work phone call and talked about...work!!! I know!! Shame on me!! But this was the only time I did this!!

Soon we were hearing our name called and I believe we got into the restaurant right on time!! The inside is so pretty!!! It is bright and just lovely!!

And this was our view from our table!! I could eat with this view anytime!!

The only down part was when the little kids standing outside stood there staring in the window while you ate. No I take that back, the worst part was when the adults stood outside the window staring at you while you ate!!

The characters are not in our room so we decide to take off for food!!

A second helping of the Fireroasted Corn Spoonbread and the salmon. The salmon was very good!! The spoonbread....

And desserts!!! The Key Lime was very good! I liked the square chocolate looking item but the kids did not! It was something with amaretto flavoring and it did not appeal to them. The fruit tart was not great...pretty bland so I just ate the little pieces of fruit off the top! And the bread pudding was pretty good!

More on my opinions in a few....

Then the characters began coming around! First was Eyeore! I loved his "pinned" on tail!!

Then Pooh came around:

And Tigger:

And last, the one we came to see! Piglet!!

So my thoughts on Crystal Palace? If you have not eaten here...GO!!! Go soon!! This has become one of my favorites! The food was so good!! I plan to do an early breakfast next time! The food was all very good and a great variety!

I liked the prime rib and the salmon. The salmon was not too fishy--a complaint I have on any fish. I don't want it to be too fishy! I know, I know...it is fish! I also got a chicken dish that was good. The collard greens were tasty as was the rattatoullie and broccoli rabe. The mashed potatoes were extremely yummy too. My favorite though was the Fireroasted Corn Spoonbread!! It was unbelievable!! The salad bar had a good variety and the fruit was good and fresh too. I told my dessert thoughts above...because dessert should always come first!!

So everything I had heard was correct and my anticipation was rewarded with an awesome meal!!

Now, up until midway through our meal we still had not gotten a text on our rooms being ready. I was hoping for an afternoon break and was getting a little anxious. Well, midway through eating we get the text...our rooms are ready!! But first we have a little something we need to do!

I hope everyone is having a Happy 4th of July!! I hear the grill calling my name and hungry kids so I must go!! Have a great one!!

 

[mermaid764]

You got such beautiful pics of the interior of Crysal Palace, it's such a pretty restaurant.

I've never tried the corn bread there, but your review has me definitely wanting to next time.

Can't wait for more

 

[IheartDDuck]

Sounds like you guys had a great time at Crystal Palace!

I totally wouldn't know what to do if people were sitting outside the window watching me eat. I'd be a little self conscious. I'm not the most graceful eater.....

 

[pinkxray]

CP is one of my favorites too. I enjoyed the food at dinner, but like the breakfast a bit better. I think that might just be b/c you can get in the park early. I would go to any meal there though. I love the food, the location, the characters, and the building. It is so light and airy

 

[TinksThree]

You got such beautiful pics of the interior of Crysal Palace, it's such a pretty restaurant.

I've never tried the corn bread there, but your review has me definitely wanting to next time.

Can't wait for more

It really is a pretty restaurant. And, it is such a nice reprieve from the hot park!! The corn spoon bread was very good!!

Sounds like you guys had a great time at Crystal Palace!

I totally wouldn't know what to do if people were sitting outside the window watching me eat. I'd be a little self conscious. I'm not the most graceful eater.....

It was very awkward. It wasn't any of the people outside when I snapped the picture. The gawkers came later in the meal. And it wasn't like a glance either...it was more like window shopping! Standing...facing the window...and meeting our eyes when we looked up!! They were probably counting how many plates of food we were consuming!!

CP is one of my favorites too. I enjoyed the food at dinner, but like the breakfast a bit better. I think that might just be b/c you can get in the park early. I would go to any meal there though. I love the food, the location, the characters, and the building. It is so light and airy

I have heard several friends say that about the breakfast. If I had realized how easy our morning and arrival time was going to work out, I would have made it breakfast rather than lunch. But the lunch was so delish!! CP and Tusker House are our new fave character meal locals with Ohana a very close 3rd!!

 

[ksl5f123]

I am so happy that you liked CP!!!! Even your plate of food looked bright and colorful! I love the view out the window but about people watching you eat. My kids are always trying to peak in those windows while we wait and I am always telling them to turn around!

 

[mtgirl29]

We did HOP this year and it was SOOOO AMAZING! Definitely one of our faves! Made me tear up a bit.
I all or your pics! I think lots of photos makes for a FABULOUS TR.
Space Mtn. sounds interesting with the lights on! Glad to hear that you all scored more FPs!!!
We did CP this past visit, too! Hubs loved the Spoonbread stuffing, too! That place is so beautiful. Not sure I would have liked anyone staring through the window at me while I ate, either. We were seated by a window, but not next to the veranda....so that was nice! Your view of the castle was amazing, though!!!
Looking forward to your next update!

 

[TinksThree]

I am so happy that you liked CP!!!! Even your plate of food looked bright and colorful! I love the view out the window but about people watching you eat. My kids are always trying to peak in those windows while we wait and I am always telling them to turn around!

It was so yummy and such a pretty restaurant! I am wanting to go back right now!!! For kids, I think it may be a natuarl curiosity of where they are about to go but i can't find an excuse for the adults!

We did HOP this year and it was SOOOO AMAZING! Definitely one of our faves! Made me tear up a bit.
I all or your pics! I think lots of photos makes for a FABULOUS TR.
Space Mtn. sounds interesting with the lights on! Glad to hear that you all scored more FPs!!!
We did CP this past visit, too! Hubs loved the Spoonbread stuffing, too! That place is so beautiful. Not sure I would have liked anyone staring through the window at me while I ate, either. We were seated by a window, but not next to the veranda....so that was nice! Your view of the castle was amazing, though!!!
Looking forward to your next update!

I love taking pictures! My family hates that I love taking pictures so much! I am so happy you are enjoying then though! I definitely think we will go back to HOP. It was a lot better than I ever anticipated!!

Hopefully I will have a new installment soon! Summer tends to occupy so much time that it just slips by me!!

 

[TinksThree]

I think this has been the longest day EVER!!! I can't believe I am still on our first park day....I will try to move this thing along!!

We left Crystal Palace with very full and satisfied tummies!! The break was wonderful and we were ready to do one last thing before going back to the resort!! We had Fastpasses for

This is one of my most favorite rides and I smile and sing along the whole time!!

We make it to Splash in no time and go through the FastPass line. I am so grateful to not be in the stand-by line!!

I was so excited that my mom was adventourous. She doesn't like roller coasters, tight spaces, water, or heigths and she never has. But even before we left on this trip she had made statements about wanting to ride as many things as possible, and for the most part she did!!!

Madison and my mom

I just love this view as you float along!!

Those crowds still do not seem too bad!

Our first "drop"!

That isn't anything!! But we had my mom holding on tight for it!! I know...we are bad!!

A few ride pictures. I did not take many because I was just enjoying the ride itself!!

Our ride picture!

We exit Splash very happy that we have found our "laughing place" and we are off to finish our zippity-doo-da day!!

We head out of the park and stop momentarily to watch the piano guy at Casey's

We meander down Main Street stepping over people sitting all around....it is Parade time!!! (Well not literally, but it makes my story sound good!! ) We make it to the Confectionary and I ask my mom if she wants to watch the parade. She does so we stop. They sit back against the wall in the shade. She says she can see fine. Surprisingly there was a space curb side available that I could stand and get pictures. Since I had arrived at parade time though, I made sure to move back anytime the ones already there leaned my way. This resulted in a few "head shots" but oh well the parade was still so much fun! I will let the pictures do my talking!!

Continued on following page.....

 

[TinksThree]

With the parade over we decided to walk into the Emporium. My mom had decided to buy a princess item for my niece and get the princess to sign it. We decided we needed to do this today in case the princess proved to be elusive!! We go into the Emporium and decide on Belle. While my mom pays, I walk out and take some pictures along Main Street!

Farewell dear castle...but only for a few hours!!

It was now time to head to the resort! We make our way to the bus and soon we are on our way!! I have one major thing on my mind: swimming!!!!

We get to the resort and move our van to the "right" parking lot. Well, let me just say this resulted in an unbelievable hike!! We had rooms 5305 and 5306. Aside from being on the 3rd floor (those stairs at the end of the day are real monsters!) Building 5 is AWESOME!!!!!! We had the best location I could possibly ever ask for considering we did not pay preferred rates and I made no special requests. I have been instructed, however, that from now I must request ground floor!!

So back to the parking lot....we park in the area marked Building 5 and get some bags out. Then we proceed to hike to our building...and we walk....and we walk....and we walk....whew! We were worn out. Next up finding the elevator! We find it but it is way away from our rooms!! Thus we never use the elevator again!! Finally we make it and discover we can throw a stone and hit the food court to our right and in front of us is the pool!! This is very good!! Later we move our car to the area for Building 4 and our car is within 5 minutes rather than 10! So just a tip for anyone heading to POFQ in a car!!

I was very excited to see the rooms because they had just been renovated and believe me they were beautiful!! I loved them!! I must apologize though because I took a ton of pictures and they are mostly gone...poof....disappeared! I don't know what happened but I wish I had realized this before the trip was over so I could have retaken several I wanted to share!! So sorry for that one!!

Maybe the photo disappearance is due to my excitement to hit the pool...I am unsure but we did head down to the pool and swam for 45 minutes or so. The pool was very crowded and is definitely aimed more at kids. I loved the POR pool....POFQ not so much. In fact this is the only time I go swimming! The area is cute though. Just as we were getting ready to leave, the pool is emptied due to a thunderstorm in the area. It never rained but it really cooled things off! We get cleaned up and back to Magic Kingdom we head!! First though a few more resort pictures:

Standing on the corner next to the food court's outside entrance, Building 5...our rooms were 3rd floor just behind the tree limbs!! Did I say AWESOME location?!?!?

Looking down the "street"

Going into the main building. I just turned around without taking any steps snapped this one...that was how great our rooms were!! Okay, I won't say that again!!

Then we went into Jackson Square---the gift shop:

Where I find a t-shirt I fall in love with!! As a matter of fact...I am wearing it as I type!!!

We head to the bus and back to Magic Kingdom we go!!

We have these to use!!!!!!

I know how we got the Space and BTMRR FPs but the Splash FPs are a mystery. somehow during the day we had accumulated additional FPs!! Oh well, works for me!!!

Next up: We have big plans...but so does Mother Nature. Whose plans win out???

 

[mermaid764]

Wow what an awesome first day you guys are having and your room location looks awesome

Yay for the fastpasses to use, can't wait to hear about your evening at the MK!

 

[SimmerBaggins]

You guys seem to have such a great time! I had to laugh when you said your mom didn't like big rides, water, etc, then we see that you put her in the front of the boat for Splash!!

Can't wait to see if you manage to do all of those FPs!!

 

[TinksThree]

Wow what an awesome first day you guys are having and your room location looks awesome

Yay for the fastpasses to use, can't wait to hear about your evening at the MK!

This has really been a dream day. The whole day was pretty much covered in Pixie Dust--including our rooms!!

I love fastPasses! I have a rule that we never wait longer than 30 minutes for any ride we can have FPs for...it cuts down on everyone's bad moods. Which was why I created that rule!!

You guys seem to have such a great time! I had to laugh when you said your mom didn't like big rides, water, etc, then we see that you put her in the front of the boat for Splash!!

Can't wait to see if you manage to do all of those FPs!!

We did have a good time...just so relaxed and having fun! My poor mom but she still loved it and rode again later! And using all of the FPs was doable...but were we able to do it????

 

[mickeystoontown]

I was a couple of updates behind.....real life got in the way of my Dising. I am so happy that you tried Crystal Palace and enjoyed it. It's a tradition for us to eat dinner there on our last day in Walt Disney World. Isn't the Fireroasted Corn Spoonbread awesome! I love it! It reminds me of the dressing that my Mama makes at Thanksgiving. Yummy!

Your mother reminds me of mine when she went to Disney with us 10 years ago. She said she wanted to ride everything and she did....even Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain. How'd your mother like Splash? Did she get super wet?

I had to laugh when you said ya'll walked and walked and walked until you got to your room. That's the same thing we did. At least when you opened the door, you were greeted by a beautiful room. It's lovely!

 

[TinksThree]

I was a couple of updates behind.....real life got in the way of my Dising. I am so happy that you tried Crystal Palace and enjoyed it. It's a tradition for us to eat dinner there on our last day in Walt Disney World. Isn't the Fireroasted Corn Spoonbread awesome! I love it! It reminds me of the dressing that my Mama makes at Thanksgiving. Yummy!

Your mother reminds me of mine when she went to Disney with us 10 years ago. She said she wanted to ride everything and she did....even Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain. How'd your mother like Splash? Did she get super wet?

I had to laugh when you said ya'll walked and walked and walked until you got to your room. That's the same thing we did. At least when you opened the door, you were greeted by a beautiful room. It's lovely!

I really hate it when real life gets in the way of Disney!! I know what you mean though because it has been crazy busy here...although not as busy as your schedule!

My mom really liked Splash and even does it again! She didn't get too wet. Somehow it missed her! I will get to that later...

It was a hike! It really wouldn't have been that bad had we known where we were going, didn't use the elevator and parked a little closer. So thankfully that was the unneccessary hike for the trip!

 

[TinksThree]

Warning: This post will be heavy on pictures, so consider yourself forewarned!!

We leave POFQ at 6:17pm and arrive at MK, go through bag check and watch people have trouble doing the whole ticket/fingerprint thing and get a picture taken in front of the train station by 6:38pm...not too bad I don't think. Twenty minutes is pretty good in my book for transportation time!

We leave today……

Now the plan for tonight is very basic: eat at Columbia Harbour House, MSEP and fireworks. Nothing else except for those FPs we have in our pockets!

So, where to first?? I spot the wait time for the princesses is only 10 minutes so we decide to go there and get Belle's autograph on the souvenir my mom had gotten my niece. We make our way in and see:

After a little visit with Jasmine (and instructions to Chris on how to hold a Princess’ arm!) we see:

Sleeping Beauty (Aurora)…she was so sweet. I think every time we have seen Sleeping Beauty she has been so sweet. She is definitely our most seen princess! And finally:

My mom’s favorite! She and my mom have a great little conversation and we discuss how uncomfortable the wagon ride is from Mississippi to Orlando.

Then we are out of there. Right…no Belle!! It never crossed my mind to ask who was there…oh well, it was fun and took little time. Plus my mom saw Cinderella. This was actually our first time to ever see Cinderella!!

We head out into the gift shop and contemplate seeing Mickey…we decide not to since the line was a little longer (about 20 minutes which isn’t bad but we know we will be seeing him later in the week). In the gift shop I snap a couple of pictures:

This area was really cool and I was glad I got to see it.

On our way out we get a private photo shoot with Daisy and Donald!! This was so cool!!!

Well, maybe that wasn't my pictures...but they were on my PhotoPass CD!!! Evidently I did soemthing to acquire several "bonus" pictures!!

Then we head down Main Street! The castle…look at the lovely blue skies behind it!!

 

[TinksThree]

A few more pictures along the way to Space Mtn!

We decide to try using those FPs we have for Space! We get to the front very quickly and while we are waiting guess what!? Yep, those stinkin’ lights come on!!

We stand there for about 15 minutes and finally it begins running again. The ride is perfect!! And much better in the dark!!! I feel pretty good that we got to ride twice today!!

Our Redneck picture:

And the one we bought because as I was snapping the "Redneck" photo the CM gave us the card with our photo number to purchase along withi instructions on where to go... So I felt guilty and we purchased the photo. I do like that it is put on the PhotoPass cd though and I wish they did more like Test Track's pictures!

The gift shop at Space:

We decide it is time to eat and begin to make our way to CHH. First though more castle pictures….

We get to CHH at 8pm to eat. I love CHH! This has become one of our favorite QS places and every time we are at MK this is where we end up!

We order our food:
The Lighthouse (AKA tuna salad sandwich) with chips and apple crisp—all very good!!

Fish and fries—also very good!

Madison got shrimp but I did not get a picture of it. The shrimp is actually my fave!!

We head upstairs to eat. Another reason we love CHH is the quiet, out of the way seating. Also there are windows and we can people watch! We get a great view of Haunted Mansion and some ominous looking clouds!!

We eat and watch some wicked lightening behind Haunted Mansion. It was creepy, cool effects!! Then we watch as all of the poor people below on the streets of Libertyland begin to scramble for cover. We see people finding any little place to hide and many ponchos begin appearing. This wasn’t just a sprinkle but a deluge!! We were more than thankful for a nice, quiet and DRY place to eat our supper!

We finish eating and people watch a bit longer. We see that the rain is much lighter so we decide to head out. First a bathroom break so while I wait I snap a few pictures:

Since we are so close to Haunted Mansion, we decide to head there.

There is no wait so we walk-on. The only sad thing for me in walking on was not getting to see the new queue! But it is pretty cool to walk right into the stretching room!!

 

[TinksThree]

I love watching the pictures stretch! They are pretty humorous too!

After our encounter with the ghosts—including a little head swapping—we make our way out into the wet street but luckily the storm and rain has passed. We had gotten to HM around 8:50pm and it is now 9pm…time for MSEP. Well it is delayed right now so the streets are empty and I couldn’t help wondering about the throngs of people we had passed in the center hub before we ate. People were lined up waiting for the parade and eating their dinner…I wonder how wet they are now!? We contemplate what to do next. Big Thunder and Splash were shut down also due to the weather so we decide to go back to Pirates! Another walk-on! One good thing about rain is that it makes crowds melt away!!

My try at a ghostly pirate picture:

More Pirates:

We exit into the gift shop and decide to look around a bit. Madison and I get into the pirate spirit:

Some pictures of a wet and pretty empty Frontierland:

There aren’t many rides operating so we head into a gift shop in Frontierland. I love these soaps! So clever!!

Madison and Chris tackle the Tic-Tac-Toe barrel.

We have managed to “waste” away 30 minutes and we decide to head towards the Hub to watch the fireworks. By now it is official that MESP is cancelled but the fireworks are a go!! Keith does not like parades or fireworks so the plan had us seeing both tonight before he joins us the next day…oh well! A few pictures as we make our way to the hub area:

The hub area has a good crowd but nothing like I have seen in the past. As a matter of fact we get a great spot at 9:40!! We watch the castle change colors.

I will stop there because up next is The magic, The Memories and You and Wishes....lots of pictures!!

 

[lbuzz52]

I was all set to say what a great view at CP ... until you added the next detail of the outside company.
seems like a great location at Port Orleans. the more i see of it the more excited i am to stay there our next trip!
Has the piano player at Casey's always been inside a fence? i don't remember that.