Who ever said January was LOW season?? :) UPDATED 2/15/13!

[PISCESANGEL]

Hi everyone!

We just got back from a 5 day, 4 night trip to WDW (January 21-25) and had a great time! Some of you know me as PiscesAngel, others just as a Disney Fanatic!

The who:

My DS, 13, also loves Disney, the Nightmare Before Christmas and video gaming!

My DD, 20, nearly rivals me for the title of Disney Fanatic, also LOVES to sing! (mayyy be some foreshadowing here!)

Then there is me, 36, and Disney fan for my whole life. I've been 15+ times and can't wait to start making plans to go again!

We stayed in a Royal Room at POR and we rented a car... up next... the first day!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Hi!!! I hope you don't mind me joining your report! Can't wait to hear all about it!!!

 

[PISCESANGEL]

Our day started with breakfast for the three of us at Bob Evans. We went with my boyfriend and my daughter's boyfriend, both of which were taking us to the airport. As we were sitting there eating we noticed that it had started to snow. I was so happy we were about to get out of dodge before it got bad!

We made it to the airport and our flight was ontime other than a few minutes to de-ice the plane.

We had a beautiful view once we got up above the clouds!

Me and my girl, excited and ready to get there:

We've arrived!

Once we arrived we got our rental car, and went straight over to our home away from home...

We got checked in and couldn't wait to see what the new Royal Rooms looked like!

Up next, we're heading to Downtown Disney for some shopping and Raglan Road- yum!!

I apologize in advance that all of my pictures were taken on my phone, so I'm making the best of what I have!

 

[PISCESANGEL]

Hi!!! I hope you don't mind me joining your report! Can't wait to hear all about it!!!

I don't mind at all- I'm happy to have a reader!!

 

[Roccosmom]

Hi I'm here to follow along on your trip report! Can't wait to hear more... We were at BCV 1/24 - 1/30.

 

[PISCESANGEL]

Hi I'm here to follow along on your trip report! Can't wait to hear more... We were at BCV 1/24 - 1/30.

Thank you so much for joining!! ::

 

[PISCESANGEL]

So we left off with us heading to Downtown Disney. We had an ADR for 6:45 so we had some time to look around.

As soon as we arrived at RR, I knew I needed to get things started off with a beer:

Next, we ordered our food. My DS had the steak with onion rings on top, my DD had the king cod and mashed potatoes, and I had the 'It's Not Bleedin' Chowder':

Can I tell you amazing that was? I HIGHLY recommend the chowder if you are into seafood at all. Soooo wonderful!

Then for dessert I had a pear pie of some sort with vanilla bean ice cream (I'm sorry that the name is escaping me but it was also wonderful!) My DS had the Dumbrody Kiss (his is in the background of my pic) and my DD had some sort of trifle:

After our meal, we were so stuffed! We had to go shopping and walk it off of course! We visited several of our usual favorite stores and stopped for a picture. It was time to head back and get some rest because the next day was looking like it would be extra busy with all we wanted to accomplish!

Will be back soon!

 

[gracer9977]

Joining. We are going to be at WDW from Jan 18-25th next year. We have never been in Jan before so looking forward to reading a report from pretty much the same time we will be going.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

WOOT! I'm here and subbing (and you better believe I'll be reading, even during my downtime on our trip!)

LOVE the title, btw, those were my EXACT sentiments last late January when we went! I'm trying to keep my expectations low this year and just plan for RD and using FP's as often as we can! Off to read and check out all the pics now!

 

[PISCESANGEL]

Joining. We are going to be at WDW from Jan 18-25th next year. We have never been in Jan before so looking forward to reading a report from pretty much the same time we will be going.

Thank you for joining!
Be prepared, we thought it would be warmer but we were definitely glad we had jeans and sweatshirts in the evening... though the hot tub after a long day was still nice and we stayed warm long enough to get back to our room!

WOOT! I'm here and subbing (and you better believe I'll be reading, even during my downtime on our trip!)

LOVE the title, btw, those were my EXACT sentiments last late January when we went! I'm trying to keep my expectations low this year and just plan for RD and using FP's as often as we can! Off to read and check out all the pics now!

Thank you so much for coming over to read! It will be short and sweet but we had some really magical moments that I was looking forward to sharing.
Please bare with me and my horrible photos!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Wow, you and your daughter look like SISTERS! What did you think about the royal rooms? Did you like them? I have Raglan Road on the next trip schedule (yes, the trip in OVER a year, after this one!)

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Hi Carla! Looks like a fun time was had by all at DTD! At least I will get to go there during my mini trip to Orlando in March. I've never been to Raglan Road, although I've read some really nice reviews and your pictures look yummy!

 

[PISCESANGEL]

Wow, you and your daughter look like SISTERS! What did you think about the royal rooms? Did you like them? I have Raglan Road on the next trip schedule (yes, the trip in OVER a year, after this one!)

Why thank you! We get told that we look like sisters alot- in fact there is a time during this trip we were told that by someone who works at Disney... you will all hear about that a little more later! We LOVED the Royal Rooms- they were absolutely beautiful and so thoroughly decorated. They really captured the magic with these rooms. My DS even commented that these were the best rooms we have stayed in yet, so they really weren't over the top princesses.

So glad to hear you have RR on your trip plans (it'll sneak up quick even if it is more than a year away!) You won't regret it- all 3 of us agreed it was one of our top meals on property. Very good quality and really good service.

Hi Carla! Looks like a fun time was had by all at DTD! At least I will get to go there during my mini trip to Orlando in March. I've never been to Raglan Road, although I've read some really nice reviews and your pictures look yummy!

We really enjoy DTD, in fact we even talked about how it just isn't a trip to Disney World without it, and even if we couldn't go the parks we would still go there! I'm sure you will enjoy it too- it has such a fun atmosphere. I highly recommend a trip to RR even if it's just for dessert- it was all so good!!

Thanks ladies- I'll be back with an update soon!

 

[PISCESANGEL]

So we left off with us heading back to our room, and decided a dip in the hot tub was just what we needed. We got down there and there must have been 20 Brazilian teenagers in there! My DD and I stayed for about 20 minutes, and then went back to the room. My DS was already settled in playing his PS Vita. It wasn’t long before we were all sleeping soundly…
The next morning we were up by 7:30, went to the food court to get refills in our mugs and I grabbed a bagel to go. Our destination first today was Animal Kingdom!

We arrived at about 8:55 and this place was already starting to fill up! We headed straight back to KS, which only had a 5 minute wait when we got there. (By the time we got off it was already up to 25 minutes.)

Next, we decided to split up and I went to do It’s Tough To Be A Bug, and the kids went to do Primeval Whirl. It was getting so crowded we decided we needed to move on to our next destination for the day- MK!

This was a photo on our way out, sooo beautiful!

When we got here, we knew our first goal was to eat at Be Our Guest for lunch! The line was already about 30-40 minutes long and it was only 11! My son wanted Cosmic Ray’s so we split up again. I have to say, it was so nice going with my children at this age (20 and 13) because they are able to do what they want and I can do what I want because they are responsible and we have phones when we split up!
This was in the line at Be Our Guest. A lamppost (too cool!)

After placing our order my daughter and I made it to one of the dining rooms. They are so beautiful, we were just soaking in the atmosphere.

I ordered the steak sandwich with fries, and a strawberry cupcake. And my daughter had the turkey sandwich with fries, and a chocolate cupcake. They brought it out to us in a glass case, and it really was a classy way to serve counter service. Everything was delicious but the highlight was my cupcake. OMG that was good!

After lunch, we met up with my DS and did the People Mover and Buzz, then headed over to Frontierland. The kids wanted to do BTMR, so I waited awhile and watched people over on Tom Sawyer island.

Then I went over to HM and rode that because I wanted to make sure I didn't miss it! It was so crowded that by 4pm I had still only rode 4 rides total (not including the movie at AK.) We decided to head out, because it was almost time for our ressie at ‘Ohana! We were so looking forward to this one…

 

[Victoriasmom98]

I'm soooo anxious to try Be Our Guest. Did it really take 40 minutes to get in??

 

[PISCESANGEL]

I'm soooo anxious to try Be Our Guest. Did it really take 40 minutes to get in??

I'd say it took every bit of 30 minutes, but it was well worth it! The food and atmosphere were great- and there were things to look at once you got inside in the queue.

 

[Queenofallthings]

You have no idea how happy I am that you are doing a TR!!!!

Love that you did RR on your first night....we love it too and I agree with you, that dish you had is to.die.for!!!

I have read on a few TR's how delicious that cupcake you had at Be Our Guest so...so I have officially added it to the "must do" list for December! It looks gorgeous in there!

Love the pics...you all look so wonderful!

 

[PISCESANGEL]

Well, it was time for ‘Ohana now… we arrived around 4:30 and the line to check in was crazy long. We got signed it and sat for about 10 minutes before we were led into the dining room.

Once seated, we were immediately greeted, got our drinks and then some yummy bread. I’ll be honest, I didn’t have high expectations because the last time we were here it seemed like the quality was declining. It is a must-do on my DD’s list though, so I made sure to get that ressie early!

Surprisingly, everything was delicious! MUCH better than I had remembered. So good in fact that I got a picture of the salad (yum!), the chicken wings (yum!!) and the potstickers. And that is all.

We also had chicken, steak, pork, shrimp, lo mein noodles and mixed vegetables. Then it was time for the part I knew wouldn’t let me down- the bread pudding. Oh man, the sauce you pour on top is like liquid gold- I swear I could almost drink it if I wasn’t so full!

The service was great, though we did find out they used 2 of our DDP credits and we had to sort that out later, but nonetheless we all left full and happy!!
After dinner, we thought it would be good to go to EPCOT and walk off all of that food. So if you’re keeping track, we hit 3 parks that day. We were seriously whooped that night as I recall, so no hot tub for us!

(See those crowds! Ugh, I can't believe how busy January was! )

At EPCOT we decided to check out the Innoventions west building, where the kids decided to try the Sum of All Thrills attraction. It was a make-your-own virtual roller coaster type thing. Very cool, they loved it.

Then we did the Nemo ride, and Spaceship Earth. Test Track had a 50 minute wait so we had to skip it unfortunately. Somehow the kids found room for ice cream (DD) and a smoothie (DS) though. Not me, I was still full!

So after our full day we headed back. Tomorrow would be our Hollywood Studios day, and what a day it turned out to be!

 

[PISCESANGEL]

You have no idea how happy I am that you are doing a TR!!!!

Love that you did RR on your first night....we love it too and I agree with you, that dish you had is to.die.for!!!

I have read on a few TR's how delicious that cupcake you had at Be Our Guest so...so I have officially added it to the "must do" list for December! It looks gorgeous in there!

Love the pics...you all look so wonderful!

Hello Queen! Thank you for coming over to read!

You know, I totally thought of you when I booked RR for our first night. I guess you got through to me subconsciously or something that it would be a good way to start our week, and you were right! It was awesome!

Definitely put the strawberry cupcake on your list, mmm mmm I wish I had one now.

Thank you for the nice compliment too- my kids are growing up so quickly and I'm so happy they will still do Disney with me and let me get their pics!

I'll be back soon- hope you're well!

Carla

 

[PISCESANGEL]

So today was going to be our Hollywood Studios day alllll day. This is my DD’s favorite park, and I’ve gotta say it’s a close second for me next to EPCOT.
We just had snacks in our room and headed to the park at rope drop. We had a plan to go straight to TSM and only had about a 15 minute wait. I also grabbed fastpasses to come back between 11:50 – 12:50. The first time around my DS beat both my DD and I so we lost our bet. I owed him $5 and my DD owed him a snack credit lol! The line wasn’t too bad when we got off so we rode again of course! While waiting this time my DS stopped for a picture. I had to get this one because I have one from when he was 9 and I couldn’t wait to see the difference!

Wowza my boy has grown up in 4 years!!
More goofing off in line…

Next we walked over to Art of Animation. They had just started a class so we figured we’d catch one later. We decided to just walk around and look at things and play with the games they have on the walls.

We left there and starting working our way to the middle of the park talking about lunch. It was only 10:30 so we had a little time to kill until lunchtime. My DD thought it would be best if she tried out for American Idol before we ate since she had a nervous tummy anyway. She tried out last year but didn’t make it so she thought she would switch up her song and try again. Couldn’t hurt anyway!

We go over to sign her in and they said she could only take one person back. She picked her brother saying they already agreed that he would be her ‘manager’ whenever she gets famous… I personally thought it was awesome that she wanted it to be him to go with her and he wanted to!

So, this is me. Sitting in the sun waiting.

They said it would be about 30-45 minutes so I really didn’t want to wander off too far, and plus I didn’t really want to do anything that was around me without the kids. Then I got a text from my DS saying that she made it to the next room, so it would be a little longer. Please Lord, what does that mean??! Does that mean she made it, made it, or she is still trying out??
Well, it wasn’t long before he texted again and said they were done. When I walked up this is what I saw:

Holy Cow, my girl made it onto American Idol at Hollywood Studios!!! Proud and elated do not even BEGIN to cover it!
So then our day was turned into a mad rush for a bit to get her to the first show! First we ate a snack and had to have her back by noon. For hair and makeup and practice with a voice coach, no biggie. WOW. While she was doing that my boy and I went back over to burn up our fastpasses for TSM! Then, we were at the American Idol experience entrance at 12:30 with VIP passes baby!

At sound check:

During the show:

I wasn’t allowed to video or shoot photos while she sang as to not distract her. But they did introduce me and my son to the whole audience and the hostess said ‘wow, your mom looks more like your sister!’ ( Karen!) They also gave us a photopass card of the whole performance, so I will have to get with my DD to see about getting that!

In the end she didn’t win, but she did do an AMAZING job. She sang Carrie Underwood’s Before He Cheats and boy did she kill it! Even my son was just gushing over her. She said she already felt like a winner and didn’t feel bad about it at all. What an amazing experience for us all.
A pic of me and my girl ‘all done up’... (and a hint of where we were headed!)

Gotta stop here, I’ll be back with the rest of the day soon!!