Somebody's Gonna Pee in a Cup, West Coast - Link to new TR 1/21

[kastoney]

Just finding your thread and subbing in. Can't get over the crowds at MGM and the stroller battering rams, glad you made it out alive ; ). I can't believe your good forfend with the room upgrade. Fingers crossed there is more pixie dust like this coming your way.

 

[RGirl]

Hi Andy!!

Wow - the DHS crowds sound insane! :scared1 I’m so glad you were able to get in to see the sing-along.

OMG Stroller Lady and Pushy Pete sound HORRIBLE! What is wrong with people? And then for DD to get hurt in the crowds as well. How awful! I don’t think I could have stood to be in the park another second. I do not blame you a bit for leaving as soon as you were done with dinner - it just sounds horrid in there.

Awwww - I can’t believe your DS already gave up on the princesses. But it sounds like your MK morning was off to a great start. Well, other than losing DD, of course…. ETwB seems like a really fun experience - we should finally get to do it this summer!

 

[SarahDisney]

I don't think I've ever taken the monorail to MK ... the only time I ever had a car, we took the bus. I'm sure it would have been a nice first approach to MK for the in-laws, but oh well.

The welcome show is pretty cute, but even though you missed it, at least you got to see and hear some of it, which is better than nothing.

I totally understand the bathroom break shortly after getting into the park ... I'm like that too. It's the small bladder thing. At least you and the kids took advantage of the time.

I will be the first to admit that I'm not a kid person, but I love seeing that look on a kid's face at the park. That's what Disney is all about - bringing out that smile!

Wow, they grow out of princesses early these days! Although, really, he could have smiled so that his sister could get a good picture.

Kids ... they do something once, it's cute. When they don't stop, it gets really annoying and you wonder why you thought it was cute in the first place. I'm glad she enjoyed Barnstormer, though - I think that's a great first roller coaster for kids.

By the time we took the checkered flag, it was time to go ride Peter Pan. With our FP+, we were quickly in a pirate ship and headed to Neverland. I don’t remember what the posted wait was, but it definitely paid to have an FP+. I would have liked to see the new queue… but I’m not losing any sleep over missing it.

Agreed. I'm in the same situation for my next trip - I want to see the queue, but I don't want to wait in that line, so I've got a FP+. Interactive lines are nice, but shorter lines are better.

I understand why they separate the kids in ETWB, and it's great that they get a better view with no adults blocking them, but ... I'm not wild about the idea of separating kids from their parents. Sometimes the parents can't see their kid or the kid can't see their parents, and there's panic. Add to that the language barriers that come with international guests ... there's a lot of potential for scary moments. I'm glad you found DD okay and the scare didn't last too long. But I definitely don't blame you for not wanting to leave them in the future. And DD made an adorable chip!

Aladdin carpets is totally different than Dumbo ... the carpets tilt! Doesn't that make it totally different? (We do all of the Dumbo-esque rides, but I can see why you wouldn't want to spend time on it).

Looking forward to reading about the rest of the trip!

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

We woke up on Sunday morning feeling refreshed after a good night of sleep.

That alone might help the situation today.

MK was scheduled to open at 8am the whole week while the other parks were opening at 9am. I had considered taking the bus, but with MiL and FiL going for the first time, I kind of wanted to give them that extra experience of approaching the MK via monorail.

That’s actually a great idea. And to think… it was you that thought of it.

We drove to the TTC and naturally, when we arrived we found that the monorail wasn’t open yet. I had hoped to make it to the park in time for the welcome show, but the train was rolling up to the station as we were getting off of the boat. At least we got to see and hear it as we were walking up to the bag check area.

Now that’s just not right!

You might have walked over to the Polly and hoped on the loop rail, but then again
that goes in the wrong direction and still wouldn’t have gotten you there on time.

Monorail outages seem to be arising more often.
Is that my imagination or does anyone have a notion as to what’s up with that?

We made it through security and got into the park. This is where I finally realized one of the nice things about FP+. I was taking my time walking down Main Street.

That is nice when you can do it. I’ve had my visits where we were off to the races and
the times when we knew there was no sense in it. The latter situation is far more relaxing.
We’ve yet to hit the park while FP+ has been in effect so that will be new when we get around to it.

We were headed for Fantasyland so we decided to walk through the castle, which DD absolutely loved. She said it was “boofyful.”

a well-chosen word will paint the perfect picture every time.
Make sure you write all those words, phrases and pronunciations down before the kids
grow completely out of them or you forget them. Those are priceless bits of their childhood
(and potentially useful bits of black-mail farther down the road).

I was ready to hit the ground running, but DW said we needed a restroom break.

WHAT??? We’ve been in the park for 5 minutes!! You know how this works!!!

Tell them you’ll meet up with ‘em latter on.

I wasn’t about to waste early morning park time just standing around, so DD, DS and I went over to ride the Tea Cups.

Never mind…
You got it covered.

Great picture by the way.
That’s what it’s all about. End of story.

After the kids and I regained our balance it was off to the Hundred Acre Woods…

we headed around the bend to take a flight with Dumbo and we were quickly on an elephant with no wait…

We decided to head over to experience life under the sea…

Knockin’ ‘em out of the park this morning.
So much better then yesterday evening.

We were soon visiting with Ariel and we found out things had changed since our last trip.

Ohhhhh?

Last time we were here, DS enjoyed meeting and talking to princesses.

This time…

He informed us as we were leaving that “princesses are for girls”…

Oh no… the magic is gone
You knew that would be happening but one is never quite certain at what faithful point
the realization will actually strike. Our first trip to WDW with my son wasn’t until he was
already 5. He was immediately adamant that characters - and especially princesses - would
be met with only over his dead body. Needless to say, multiple appearances at The World
have produced very few character pictures containing members of my family
(and more with mom and dad in them then the boy).

On the up side, not all your young’ens are guys…
You’ll still be spendin’ plenty-o time in princess lines over the next decade or better.

Yes, he’s 4 folks. Pre-schoolers are growing up fast these days. They already think they’re like 3rd graders or something.

Very funny sir.
But just wait.. that roller-coaster has only just left the station.

Barnstormer had re-opened so we hopped in line to ride…

She absolutely had a blast! The funniest thing was, we had told her it was Goofy’s rollercoaster. The whole time on the ride she kept yelling “Yahooooey” the way Goofy yells.

Priceless!

It was cute then, but now she does it all. the. time.

The price of “priceless”

The kids had asked to ride the Speedway…

Because one can never spend too much time acquiring whiplash from being tossed like
rag dolls back-n-fourth off the rails and plowing into the back of the car in front of you
from time to time.

The Speedway was… well, it was the speedway. I don’t even know what else I can say about it.

Yep, that’s about all you can say about it. Small kids do love that one, but I wouldn’t be
broken hearted if they made a better use of that particularly large parcel of park residing
smack in-between Futureworld and Fantasyland. Seems like s few gifted Imagineers could
dream up a better transition show piece for that spot.

We got into Maurice’s workshop and did as told by the CM… kids went to the front and adults went over to the right hand side of the room.

Ummmm… That don’t sound like a good idea

People are filing into the wardrobe room and the kids were completely out of sight.

Yah… they need to rethink that one a might.
I’d have been like you and gone to hunt down my young’en regardless of the admonishments.
Losing sight of your kids in such a crowded environment is not acceptable.

DD was doing anything the CM asked them to do throughout the auditions. She ended up getting to be Chip!

Awwwww!

Almost makes up for that moment of terror.
Almost.

She had a blast and we thoroughly enjoyed watching her. DS, on the other hand, was just glad to be leaving that Princess powered cootie breeding factory.

Unless I end up acquiring granddaughters in the future…
There is likely no way I’ll ever see the inside of that “cootie factory”

We decided we’d go ride It’s a Small World

It’s a trap!!!!

I think MiL and FiL were also kind of excited to have finally seen the Disney classic. But FiL did comment several times later in the day that he just couldn’t get the song out of his head. We’d be walking along and I’d hear him start humming it.

Told ya’…
That song is an ear-worm of apocalyptic proportion.

Pecos Bills is kind of our first day tradition. Every trip, on our first day in MK, we always eat lunch there. I don’t know why, but we enjoy it and it works. The food was good as always. Nothing spectacular of note, but my burger was great and the fixin’s bar only makes it better.

Agreed. As QS goes, it’s consistent so we hit it fairly regular.
The fixin’s are the standout feature there.

We finished our meal and made our way through Adventureland. Jack Sparrow was out on the stage and MiL couldn’t believe how much he looked like the movies. She was blown away by it. As FIL said, if you use that much make up, you can make anyone look like him.

No fool he
Rum helps a bit with the illusion as well but it always seems to be gone for some reason.

We got on Jungle Cruise… no wait, sorry, Jingle Cruise.

Because bad jokes and atrocious puns rule.

We exited the park and hopped on a monorail back to the TTC.

Well at least the newbies got to ride it.
Too bad that morning plan didn’t work.

You have so few really good ideas ya’ know

We drove back to AoA and by the time we returned it was nearly 1 pm. There wouldn’t be time to nap, because we’d only have about an hour before we’d have to turn around and leave.

Hummmm… you know how cranky you get without your nap.
We’ll see if that turns out to be a bad thing soon enough.


Andy Smash!!!!

We had an ADR at 3pm.

I’m guessing… Via Napoli.

 

[afwdwfan]

You guys needed it...especially you.

Of course not...this is becoming more of the norm.

I know... I love riding the monorail, but that aspect of it is becoming extremely frustrating. I've been on the ferry more on these last 2 trips than I have my whole life.

At least you could hear it.

Yeah, we at least got to take in some of the show. I would have liked to have been through security and standing in front of the train station, but what are you gonna do?

I have to agree with you; the new FP+ has really grown on me.

I want to hate it. And there are certain aspects of it that I still dislike. But it does have its redeeming qualities.

Awww...priceless.

She's having a good time.

She absolutely loved the Tea Cups. Anytime she saw them, she asked to ride them. So unfortunately, this wouldn't be the last time...

Boys will be boys. And now you know why we NEVER ate in the castle...the boys did NOT like Princesses back when they were little.

Look, I get it. I've been there... I just thought at 4 years old he'd still not be aware enough to think it wasn't cool. I was clearly mistaken.

But DD sure is loving it.

She definitely loves her princesses. She wanted her picture with all of them.

And that's what counts...the kids loved it.

That's why we do what we do.

It would have freaked me out as well.

It seemed like a crazy idea to set it up that way. I kind of wonder if we misunderstood what the CM was saying or did it wrong, because it just seems ridiculous that they would intentionally do that. I can understand having the kids sit in front at a show like Turtle Talk while we're halfway across the room. At least they aren't ushering the kids out before we can get to them.

Cutest Chip I ever saw.

I have to agree with you.

Poor DS...the torture.

It was just horrible...

No comment.

I may have to give it a try again...it's been seven years.

I always enjoy it. But I always enjoy a good burger and that's what I always get there.

FIL has a good point.

Might be one of the easiest face characters to cast. Well, at least from the appearance point of view. The mannerisms are a pretty important factor too.

We never got to do the "Jingle" Cruise.

I like it. It is really subtle... some Christmas gifts and decorations added to the different scenes, but other than that it is just some different/new jokes. It makes a nice change of pace from the normal cruise.

Hey, Magic Carpets are NOTHING like flying elephants.

Yeah, it has spitting camels...

Oooh...I wonder where you are going (yes, I read the PTR but don't remember).

I totally get it. I read other PTR's and by the time the TR comes around it is all a surprise again.

That picture of your daughter in the teacup is the best! Such a grin.

She really loved riding the Tea Cups.

It's always interesting what goes over with the kids from one trip to the next.

I know. I really didn't think he'd be in that phase yet... but I was clearly wrong.

It sounded like a good morning.

It really was. I was glad to get through most of Fantasyland on what was really just a few hours in the park.

What a lovely morning in the MK!

It was great! Exactly what we needed after our rough night at DHS.

I have to admit it takes me the longest to get ready. But I make up for it by getting up earlier than anyone else. We are usually left waiting for my daughters to finish getting ready. One is in her 20s and the other is 15. My poor DH has to have lots of patience.

I get frustrated with DW... and she knows it. I get ready the quickest and I'm always up first. Literally, in most cases I'm up and ready while she's still in bed. Drives me nuts!

I like how you think on the fly. Jumping on the Tea Cups was an excellent idea. I don't do round and round so that ride is for DH. Your daughter's smile is priceless. This is my youngest and DH's special ride. On the trips we've done without DH she won't ride.

I just hate wasting time during the first hour the park is open. To me, that is the prime time to get in and beat the crowds. Tea Cups just happened to be right there next to where we were and there was no line.

I'm sorry DS has outgrown the Princesses. They just grow up too fast. Hopefully he found some other characters he liked.

Oh, he did.

So scary loosing DD in Tales. We've only done this once and it was late at night and not crowded so I can't imagine the room completely full and not being able to see your child. I'm so glad it didn't faze her and she got to be Chip. My youngest got to be Chip the first time she saw the old show. One of my favorite memories. Your little Chip was too cute.

Thank you! It was very odd. I almost wonder if we misunderstood the CM or something... or maybe they meant older kids. I wouldn't really worry too much about DS walking into the next room ahead of us. He's in his second year of preschool, so he's used to following the other kids and listening to instructions they're given. But DD... yeah, clearly 2 years old is too young to be thrown into that situation.

Sounds like FIL is enjoying the parks more than he thought he would. I'm sorry your break won't be much but I'm looking forward to whatever is next.

Yeah, I think it grew on him quickly!

I'm all too familiar with those bathroom breaks

Wasting park time right after rope drop is like the ultimate Disney sin, IMO.

Dang, 4 years old and already had his mind made up.

Don't blink.

DS made the height too for Barnstormers!

Definitely a milestone moment.

The procedure for Enchanted Tales sounds awful. Maybe if they didn't try to cram so many people, i'd understand. But glad that DD got to play Chip and enjoyed it!

I keep thinking we might have misunderstood what the CM said. Or maybe they just meant older kids. I'd be fine with it with maybe DS's age or older. Because I know a CM is going ahead with them and he's old enough to follow instructions.

Got to try Pecos Bill this trip! Totally hit the spot.

Glad you enjoyed it! One of my favorites.

I feel like we did the exact same thing this trip. Jingle Cruise was a first for me. Actually, that was the first time ever riding the Jungle cruise ever.

WHAT????????

Had you ever ridden it at Disneyland?

You got a lot of rides done that morning and still made it back to the hotel before 1. Either you're a great tour guide, the park was empty or both!

It wasn't empty... we had to search for a table at lunch, but it wasn't terribly crowded. It's just what you can do by getting there at RD and using FP+ for the less standby friendly attractions.

 

[afwdwfan]

We are currently holding for clearance from the station. Thank you for your patience.

Please stand clear of the doors...

Are you allowed to say that??

I've been one of the biggest skeptics of FP+. And while I still dislike many aspects of it, there are definitely some redeeming qualities.

I agree completely.

You ditched her there, right?

Well... of course!

I like the principle. Maybe not the ride choice, but...

Hey, it was right there and there was no line. I knew we could do it and be getting off the ride at about the same time everybody else was ready to go ride Pooh. It made sense at the time.

Although your daughter's grin makes the whole thing worth it.

Well...it was going to happen sometime. And if he'd rather spend the time on Thunder Mountain, well...he's not wrong.

That might be the best point I've seen made on this subject.

Keep doing it! Everybody else thinks it's cute!

It is. But you're a parent. You know how it works. It is cute. Then it is still cute, but maybe just a little less. There are certainly degrees of cuteness involved.

It's a trap!

The kids love it. If I expect them to let me ride Rock n' Rollercoaster I guess I've gotta suck it up and do the rides they like once in a while.

Hey, none of us goes to WDW to see the lines. Just sayin'.

Excellent point.

D'oh! Maybe we need to re-think this lineup.

It was pretty awkward. It would work fine with older kids, but I'm thinking maybe ours (specifically DD) were too young to be sent up with the herd of other kids.

Nice work!

She really had a good time there.

The proper response is: that's for making me go on the speedway.

It's a trap!

See the speedway response...

Burgers, you say? Sounds like a delicacy. I'll have to try it sometime.

Uh... yeah!!!

Uh...

Ok... I thought it was funny. And I know Barry would appreciate a crappy pun like that.

We are currently holding for clearance from the station. Thank you for your patience.

You know, for once it actually worked the way it is supposed to. Kind of creepy almost...

Totally agree about how FP+ makes the park entrance/Main Street experience so much more relaxed! No longer having to make a mad dash to ensure your favorite ride is quite nice.

It really gave me a nice perspective on the pros/cons of each system after doing it with FP+ and then going to DL and using Legacy FP. I'm still not 100% on the FP+ bandwagon for a few reasons, but I think it is a nice upgrade with plenty of redeeming qualities.

Aw, DD has such a big smile on the teacups…very cute!

She loved that ride!

Wow, 4 years old is the end of the magic?! That’s a great argument for taking them young! That and being free until they’re 3, of course.

Free until 3 is part of why we wanted to go when we did. At least DD got in free. I can't say the magic was gone for him. He still enjoyed plenty of it. But he didn't like princesses.

Spoiler alert: He liked Tink, but wasn't very happy when he got glitter on him after he hugged her.

So cool that DD got to ride her first coaster! I am looking forward to that with Izzy when we go in May. I hope she likes it as much as your daughter did!

I hope she does like it! It really is a good introductory roller coaster. Nice and smooth, just big enough that they get to feel like they're going really fast.

Wow, that’s super scary in ETWB – I didn’t realize they had the kids and parents apart. The only time I did it, Izzy was 14 months and I was just holding her the whole time. That would totally freak me out too! Nice that she got to be Chip, though!

I just kind of wonder if we didn't understand the CM's instructions right, because that just seems like a bad idea and a liability risk on Disney's part. It seems like it would be fine for the older kids that can follow the CM's instructions. But at 2, DD was just off in her own little world.

Yeah, that sounds like the way I do WDW – pushing the fun until the last minute and not leaving enough time for the next commitment. But you got a lot of stuff done!

I hate wasting park time!

Awe my son is 3 and I dread them growing up so fast!! Esp bc he is my tool for waiting to meet the princesses! Haha. Look like you packed in a ton in the morning and looking forward to the rest of the day

Well, you'd better get some princess visits in fast!!!

He did come around a little later and took a few decent pictures with them. But he made sure to let us know how he felt.

 

[afwdwfan]

This has happened to me more times that I care to count!

Kind of becoming the norm for us too...

I totally agree. It's great to no longer have the pressure. It's also nice to have FP's set up for late in the day instead morning. That's going to come in handy this summer. I prefer the pool in the morning and the park in the late afternoon until evening.

I do like that you can get them for later in the day and pick your times. That is a huge benefit.

That pic is so cute! Love it!

Thanks. I do too!

Doh Dad - everyone with boys KNOWS THAT!!!!! Where have you been?

I know, I know... I just thought we had one more trip before it started.

OMG! I would have panicked, too! Cute pictures from the show. That is one of those attractions I would love to do with grandkids. Not that I'm anxious for one or anything. Let's just be clear on that!

I'm glad you cleared that one up. It is a fun attraction though.

That first night...OUCH! DHS seems like it was the place not to be.

I don't know how the other parks were that evening, but they had to be a lot better than DHS. It was nuts!

Awww, that makes me kind of sad that DS was over the princesses! I hope we can get at least one more trip out of Paxton where he doesn't mind them.

Good luck! It sneaks up on you.

LOVE DD's reaction to the Barnstormer! I'm glad she enjoyed it so much.

She had a great time. She's a bit of a daredevil. She wanted to do anything and everything and wasn't too happy when she was told she wasn't tall enough.

So glad that your first full park day was MUCH better than the night before!

It was nice. And I was glad to see that our night at DHS might not necessarily be an indicator of the crowd levels we'd see all week.

Sounds like y'all got a good bit accomplished! And I understand the whole "princesses are for girls" thing. Reid has always been that way. The only girls he likes meeting are Minnie & Daisy because, according to him, "they're Original Disney friends" so they're ok for boys to meet. He's already complaining about having to meet Doc & Sophia @ H&V in April. Even though he watches their shows!

Ok, I've never heard it explained that way, but it makes sense. DS is fine with the other female characters. Just not princesses.

So glad you were able to find DD in ETWB. That's so scary!! Been there, done that with Reid @ Mickey's Backyard BBQ when he was 2. Longest 2 minutes of my life!!!

Can't wait to see where this 3 pm ADR takes y'all!

I'll try to get it up sometime in the next couple of days.

Other than the total panic of losing your child at Maurice's for a moment it sounds like a perfectly wonderful morning all around!

It certainly was.

DS cracks me up about the princesses though. Just wait, he may come around when you least expect it.

It did kind of fade in and out. We got some good pictures with princesses one day, but then he quickly reverted back to his grumpy self.

DD was adorable as Chip!

Thanks! I thought so too...

It's nice when you can count on a place and it delivers exactly what you expect, like Pecos Bills.

It is. There's nothing spectacular about it, but it never disappoints. A trip to MK isn't complete without stopping there. We just always have ever since I was little.

I am a bit concerned though that this lack of nap thing is going to come into play later....

Well, if I'm 100% honest, our kids don't always nap at home. But they're not going as hard as they do in the parks and being overstimulated so much. The fact that they don't normally nap makes it really hard to get them to sleep when we do have time for it though. They really handled things fairly well given the circumstances.

Joining in

Welcome!

 

[afwdwfan]

Just finding your thread and subbing in. Can't get over the crowds at MGM and the stroller battering rams, glad you made it out alive ; ). I can't believe your good forfend with the room upgrade. Fingers crossed there is more pixie dust like this coming your way.

Welcome! That evening in the Studios was about the most ridiculous thing I've ever experienced in a Disney park. Thankfully, it was a low point of the trip.

Hi Andy!!

Hi!

Wow - the DHS crowds sound insane! :scared1 I’m so glad you were able to get in to see the sing-along.

It was packed... I was really stressing on making the Sing-along. It wasn't so much that we'd not have a chance to see it again later, but what would we do to kill time until the lights if we missed it.

OMG Stroller Lady and Pushy Pete sound HORRIBLE! What is wrong with people? And then for DD to get hurt in the crowds as well. How awful! I don’t think I could have stood to be in the park another second. I do not blame you a bit for leaving as soon as you were done with dinner - it just sounds horrid in there.

It really was. The attractions we went to the park to experience lived up to their expectations, but the crowds just really took a lot away from it all.

Awwww - I can’t believe your DS already gave up on the princesses. But it sounds like your MK morning was off to a great start. Well, other than losing DD, of course…. ETwB seems like a really fun experience - we should finally get to do it this summer!

Oh, I'm sure Willow will absolutely love it!

I don't think I've ever taken the monorail to MK ... the only time I ever had a car, we took the bus. I'm sure it would have been a nice first approach to MK for the in-laws, but oh well.

That is how we always went in when I was little. Riding the monorail through the Contemporary has always been one of those things that just tells me we've made it!

The welcome show is pretty cute, but even though you missed it, at least you got to see and hear some of it, which is better than nothing.

I totally understand the bathroom break shortly after getting into the park ... I'm like that too. It's the small bladder thing. At least you and the kids took advantage of the time.

We usually don't stop right away. At least not until we ride a couple of rides.

I will be the first to admit that I'm not a kid person, but I love seeing that look on a kid's face at the park. That's what Disney is all about - bringing out that smile!

It really is. Those moments are why you deal with the potential meltdowns and other difficulties of brining the kids to the parks.

Wow, they grow out of princesses early these days! Although, really, he could have smiled so that his sister could get a good picture.

That would be asking way too much.

Kids ... they do something once, it's cute. When they don't stop, it gets really annoying and you wonder why you thought it was cute in the first place. I'm glad she enjoyed Barnstormer, though - I think that's a great first roller coaster for kids.

She did love Barnstormer. But yeah, she is like a broken record sometimes.

Agreed. I'm in the same situation for my next trip - I want to see the queue, but I don't want to wait in that line, so I've got a FP+. Interactive lines are nice, but shorter lines are better.

Absolutely.

I understand why they separate the kids in ETWB, and it's great that they get a better view with no adults blocking them, but ... I'm not wild about the idea of separating kids from their parents. Sometimes the parents can't see their kid or the kid can't see their parents, and there's panic. Add to that the language barriers that come with international guests ... there's a lot of potential for scary moments. I'm glad you found DD okay and the scare didn't last too long. But I definitely don't blame you for not wanting to leave them in the future. And DD made an adorable chip!

It seems like a potential liability issue, and Disney usually avoids liability. It just doesn't make much sense from that standpoint. But yeah, I think if I had known exactly how the whole thing was going to play out, we'd have either kept DD with us or we wouldn't have moved all the way to the right like they asked.

Aladdin carpets is totally different than Dumbo ... the carpets tilt! Doesn't that make it totally different? (We do all of the Dumbo-esque rides, but I can see why you wouldn't want to spend time on it).

Oh yeah... my bad.

Looking forward to reading about the rest of the trip!

Thanks!

That alone might help the situation today.

That’s actually a great idea. And to think… it was you that thought of it.

I have all kinds of great ideas, thank you very much.

It's just the execution...

Now that’s just not right!

You might have walked over to the Polly and hoped on the loop rail, but then again
that goes in the wrong direction and still wouldn’t have gotten you there on time.

Monorail outages seem to be arising more often.
Is that my imagination or does anyone have a notion as to what’s up with that?

I'd considered the loop monorail, but the station at the TTC had ropes up blocking both the express and the resort loop queues. And there was a monorail sitting on the resort loop track in the station. I think it was pretty safe to say that no monorails were going anywhere that morning.

They definitely do seem to be having more problems and down time lately. It's really a disappointment.

That is nice when you can do it. I’ve had my visits where we were off to the races and
the times when we knew there was no sense in it. The latter situation is far more relaxing.
We’ve yet to hit the park while FP+ has been in effect so that will be new when we get around to it.

I do like taking my time and soaking it in. But I also always feel the pull to do all I can during those first couple of hours before it gets crowded. Always a conflict to balance it.

FP+ certainly takes some getting used to. It definitely has its pros and cons but I think it is probably an overall upgrade.

a well-chosen word will paint the perfect picture every time.
Make sure you write all those words, phrases and pronunciations down before the kids
grow completely out of them or you forget them. Those are priceless bits of their childhood
(and potentially useful bits of black-mail farther down the road).

And captured for perpetuity in this TR...

Tell them you’ll meet up with ‘em latter on.


Never mind…
You got it covered.

Great picture by the way.
That’s what it’s all about. End of story.

Yes it is. That's why we do what we do.

Knockin’ ‘em out of the park this morning.
So much better then yesterday evening.

It felt great to see that the night before wasn't entirely an indication of the crowds we'd experience all week.

Oh no… the magic is gone
You knew that would be happening but one is never quite certain at what faithful point
the realization will actually strike. Our first trip to WDW with my son wasn’t until he was
already 5. He was immediately adamant that characters - and especially princesses - would
be met with only over his dead body. Needless to say, multiple appearances at The World
have produced very few character pictures containing members of my family
(and more with mom and dad in them then the boy).

We're still good with the characters. Just not princesses.

On the up side, not all your young’ens are guys…
You’ll still be spendin’ plenty-o time in princess lines over the next decade or better.

Thanks... that makes it all better.

Very funny sir.
But just wait.. that roller-coaster has only just left the station.

Oh I know.

Priceless!


The price of “priceless”

Tell me about it. If it is funny once, it is apparently funnier the 10,000th time in her little head.

Because one can never spend too much time acquiring whiplash from being tossed like
rag dolls back-n-fourth off the rails and plowing into the back of the car in front of you
from time to time.

The brain damage suffered from past rides is the only reason I'm stupid enough to come back for more.

Yep, that’s about all you can say about it. Small kids do love that one, but I wouldn’t be
broken hearted if they made a better use of that particularly large parcel of park residing
smack in-between Futureworld and Fantasyland. Seems like s few gifted Imagineers could
dream up a better transition show piece for that spot.

I'm not gifted, nor am I an Imagineer, but I could probably come up with some better ideas.

Ummmm… That don’t sound like a good idea

Yah… they need to rethink that one a might.
I’d have been like you and gone to hunt down my young’en regardless of the admonishments.
Losing sight of your kids in such a crowded environment is not acceptable.

Yeah, it really seems like it wasn't well thought out. And if I had known exactly how the whole process worked, I definitely wouldn't have moved clear to the right hand side as they asked. I'd have definitely let other kids get front and center as they came in after us, but I would have stayed much closer to our kids.

Awwwww!

Almost makes up for that moment of terror.
Almost.

::yes:

Unless I end up acquiring granddaughters in the future…
There is likely no way I’ll ever see the inside of that “cootie factory”

Ok... I'm just going to say there's nothing wrong with a couple of adults going in to see the show. You don't need to audition for any parts or be part of the show, but there is some impressive theming and effects in there that you should really check out. I don't think it is something that you'd want to do every trip as an adult, but it is definitely something everyone should check out at least once.

It’s a trap!!!!

Seems like I've heard that before...

Told ya’…
That song is an ear-worm of apocalyptic proportion.

You've got that right.

Agreed. As QS goes, it’s consistent so we hit it fairly regular.
The fixin’s are the standout feature there.

I always love going to Pecos Bills. One of my favorites.

No fool he
Rum helps a bit with the illusion as well but it always seems to be gone for some reason.

And if you want it in the MK, you have to bring your own.

Because bad jokes and atrocious puns rule.

Well at least the newbies got to ride it.
Too bad that morning plan didn’t work.

You have so few really good ideas ya’ know

I needed that monorail ride as much as they did.

And I've got plenty of good ideas. Like... Um...


I'll get back to you.

Hummmm… you know how cranky you get without your nap.
We’ll see if that turns out to be a bad thing soon enough.


Andy Smash!!!!

I'm in Disney World. I can sleep later!

I’m guessing… Via Napoli.

Close... but no cigar.

 

[pkondz]

We woke up on Sunday morning feeling refreshed after a good night of sleep.

Nothing like Disney sleep.

If they could find a way to market that (and I'm sure they're looking into it) it'd solve insomnia, world-wide.

we waited for DW to finish getting ready.

I'm starting to see a trend here...

I kind of wanted to give them that extra experience of approaching the MK via monorail.

But of course! It's a must for veterans and first-timers alike!

We drove to the TTC and naturally, when we arrived we found that the monorail wasn’t open yet.

Shame that Disney doesn't agree, though.

This is where I finally realized one of the nice things about FP+. I was taking my time walking down Main Street.

That's my plan. Just take it easy.

And I already know I'm going to be rushing off to get in some rides before my 9:05 FP+ time!

We were headed for Fantasyland so we decided to walk through the castle, which DD absolutely loved. She said it was “boofyful.”

Awwww....

You'll be surprised to see how quickly it changes from "boofyful" to an exasperated "Daaaaad!!!!".

We headed to Pooh for our first ride and parked the stroller. I was ready to hit the ground running, but DW said we needed a restroom break.

WHAT??? We’ve been in the park for 5 minutes!! You know how this works!!!

Okay, if it was one of the kids, I could buy it.
But your DW?

I bet you looked like a dog straining at the leash to get to the mailman.

Cute pic! Your DD looks like she's having a great time!

After the kids and I regained our balance it was off to the Hundred Acre Woods with everyone’s favorite bear.

Yogi?

Smokey?

When we finished there, we headed around the bend to take a flight with Dumbo and we were quickly on an elephant with no wait.

Wow. Things sure have changed. I remember having to make sure we rode it first thing with DDs otherwise you'd have hour long waits.
Two Dumbo rides plus 7DMT has made a difference.

The next stop was going to be Barnstormer to use our FP+, but it was closed.

I thought if a FP+ ride was closed, you'd get to pick another attraction or FP+ for the same one for later.
No?

We were soon visiting with Ariel and we found out things had changed since our last trip.

No kidding! What's with the flesh coloured top!?!?
I protest!!!

Last time we were here, DS enjoyed meeting and talking to princesses.

This time, it looked more like this:

See? Even he knows he got ripped off!

He informed us as we were leaving that “princesses are for girls” and made it clear he wanted nothing to do with them.

Uh, huh. That'll change.

Yup.

Well, so much for him still being too young to think he’s too cool to see them. Yes, he’s 4 folks. Pre-schoolers are growing up fast these days. They already think they’re like 3rd graders or something.

DD barely met the height requirement, but she was just tall enough to get to ride her first rollercoaster. She rode with me and we got front row. She absolutely had a blast!

Great! Soon she'll be on BTMRR, EE, etc. with you.

The whole time on the ride she kept yelling “Yahooooey” the way Goofy yells. It was cute then, but now she does it all. the. time.

Oh.

Well, I suppose there are worse words that she could be yelling out.

The Speedway was… well, it was the speedway. I don’t even know what else I can say about it. We drove slow and slammed into rails, but the kids loved it.

Yep. That's about all you can say about it.
The first time I rode it, I was about 18.
It looked soooo cool.
I mean, look at the size of that track!
It's gotta be amazing right?

Right?


Right?

By the time we took the checkered flag,

two hours later...

it was time to go ride Peter Pan. With our FP+, we were quickly in a pirate ship and headed to Neverland. I don’t remember what the posted wait was, but it definitely paid to have an FP+.

I was just reading a thread about how the wait time was (at the time) 120 minutes.
Longer than 7DMT!

I love that ride, but... no.

I walked into the wardrobe room and found DS standing front and center with the other kids… but DD was nowhere to be seen.


Panic set in.

I've had that feeling.

It is not a good feeling.

But let me tell you, that experience kind of freaked us out.

And trust me on this... you won't soon forget it, either.
We had a similar thing happen when DD was about 4.
We still talk about it and she's almost 18!

Next time we go in there and they ask the kids to walk up front and the adults to go to the right, they’re going to have to move me by force. Ain’t happening. I’ll be standing right behind my kids.

Good for you.
I wonder if anyone's complained about it?

DD was doing anything the CM asked them to do throughout the auditions. She ended up getting to be Chip!

Cutest Chip ever!

It really is a lot more interesting than the typical character meet and greet.

Good to know. It's on my radar.

DS, on the other hand, was just glad to be leaving that Princess powered cootie breeding factory.

We decided we’d go ride It’s a Small World and then get some lunch,

Oh, no!
First you lose your DD... and now this!!!!

The kids enjoyed IASW as always.

<shudder>

I think MiL and FiL were also kind of excited to have finally seen the Disney classic. But FiL did comment several times later in the day that he just couldn’t get the song out of his head. We’d be walking along and I’d hear him start humming it.

Oh, man. The dreaded (and occasionally fatal!) IASW ear worm!!!!

Pecos Bills is kind of our first day tradition...
Nothing spectacular of note, but my burger was great and the fixin’s bar only makes it better.

I totally forgot about the fixin's bar.
Just put it on my "Disney to do" list as a reminder.

Jack Sparrow was out on the stage and MiL couldn’t believe how much he looked like the movies. She was blown away by it.

Is "blown away by it" a euphemism for "swooned"??

As FIL said, if you use that much make up, you can make anyone look like him.

Nope. Ain't no amount of makeup gonna make me look like him.
I might be able to nail Keith Richards, though.

it just gave the skippers an opportunity to try some new material by modifying their typical jokes and trying some new puns. I mean who doesn’t like Trader Sam-ta?

I like it!

We were ready to leave the park, but the kids wanted to ride Aladdin’s Carpets while we were there. The wait was only 5 minutes so we went ahead and did it despite my efforts to convince them that we’d already done Dumbo and Dumbo is better.

I feel your pain.

Seven. Times. In. A. Row.


Seven.

There wouldn’t be time to nap, because we’d only have about an hour before we’d have to turn around and leave.

We had an ADR at 3pm.

Hopefully that doesn't result in cranky kids... or worse! Cranky in laws!!!

Thanks for the update!

 

[crepemyrtle]

I got choked up just reading about your upgrade to a Cars suite, so I'm in too.

 

[afwdwfan]

Nothing like Disney sleep.

If they could find a way to market that (and I'm sure they're looking into it) it'd solve insomnia, world-wide.

Disney will market anything...

I'm starting to see a trend here...

Welcome to my everyday life.

But of course! It's a must for veterans and first-timers alike!

Shame that Disney doesn't agree, though.

I always love riding the monorail. But they just seem to have a lot of issues with it anymore.

That's my plan. Just take it easy.

And I already know I'm going to be rushing off to get in some rides before my 9:05 FP+ time!

We really must be wired the same way.

Awwww....

You'll be surprised to see how quickly it changes from "boofyful" to an exasperated "Daaaaad!!!!".

Well, if DS any indication, I might still have a week or 2.

Okay, if it was one of the kids, I could buy it.
But your DW?

I bet you looked like a dog straining at the leash to get to the mailman.

I think it was more of a blank stare with a "you've got to be @(#&$%( kidding me" look.

Cute pic! Your DD looks like she's having a great time!

Yes, she loved that ride. Every. Single. Time.

Yogi?

Smokey?

Don't forget the Coca Cola Polar bears. Off the scale cuteness.

Wow. Things sure have changed. I remember having to make sure we rode it first thing with DDs otherwise you'd have hour long waits.
Two Dumbo rides plus 7DMT has made a difference.

It sure has. The second Dumbo might be one of the smartest things they've ever done.

I thought if a FP+ ride was closed, you'd get to pick another attraction or FP+ for the same one for later.
No?

I don't know. They never explained, although I never asked. I knew we had plenty of time and opportunities, but maybe I should have pursued it.

No kidding! What's with the flesh coloured top!?!?
I protest!!!

See? Even he knows he got ripped off!

So that's what it was...

Uh, huh. That'll change.

Yup.

Great! Soon she'll be on BTMRR, EE, etc. with you.

Oh.

Well, I suppose there are worse words that she could be yelling out.

I've heard some of those words on roller coasters before.

But never that particular roller coaster.

Yep. That's about all you can say about it.
The first time I rode it, I was about 18.
It looked soooo cool.
I mean, look at the size of that track!
It's gotta be amazing right?

Right?


Right?

Wait a minute... you thought that looked cool when you were 18????

two hours later...

How'd you get it to go that fast?

I was just reading a thread about how the wait time was (at the time) 120 minutes.
Longer than 7DMT!

I love that ride, but... no.

Uh... yeah. It is a must do, but no way I'm dedicating that much time to it. FP or RD only.

I've had that feeling.

It is not a good feeling.

It definitely isn't. And I knew she couldn't have gone far, but not seeing her in the room anywhere was a horrible feeling.

And trust me on this... you won't soon forget it, either.
We had a similar thing happen when DD was about 4.
We still talk about it and she's almost 18!

Oh, I can only imagine.

Good for you.
I wonder if anyone's complained about it?

I don't know. Maybe I should have. I really didn't think about it at the time, but complaining wasn't exactly the top of my priority list.

Cutest Chip ever!

I'd tend to agree with that.

Good to know. It's on my radar.

Good! Well worth checking it out.

Oh, no!
First you lose your DD... and now this!!!!




<shudder>

I figured my sanity was already shot at that point anyway.

Oh, man. The dreaded (and occasionally fatal!) IASW ear worm!!!!

It's a small world after all...

You're welcome.

I totally forgot about the fixin's bar.
Just put it on my "Disney to do" list as a reminder.

I love piling as many toppings onto my own burger as I want.

Is "blown away by it" a euphemism for "swooned"??

Well... maybe.

Nope. Ain't no amount of makeup gonna make me look like him.
I might be able to nail Keith Richards, though.

I like it!

I did too. Just a little curve ball

I feel your pain.

Seven. Times. In. A. Row.


Seven.

Hopefully that doesn't result in cranky kids... or worse! Cranky in laws!!!

As long as I'm not cranky, I don't care.

I got choked up just reading about your upgrade to a Cars suite, so I'm in too.

Welcome! Thanks for joining. It really was an extra special moment when she hooked us up with the room we wanted all along. It just doesn't get much better than that!

 

[pkondz]

I think it was more of a blank stare with a "you've got to be @(#&$%( kidding me" look.

"@(#&$%("... how do you pronounce that?

Don't forget the Coca Cola Polar bears. Off the scale cuteness.

Oh, sure. Until you live with them.
Not cute.


Scary.

Trust me.

Wait a minute... you thought that looked cool when you were 18????

I couldn't see just how.

slow.


they.




were.
When I first saw them.

I quickly found out.

It's a small world after all...

You're welcome.

I hate you.

MAKE IT STOP!!!!!



Crap.

 

[amazingact21]

Sounds like a really productive MK morning! Your family got to ride a lot of rides, all things considered.
How great that your DD was just talk enough to ride Barnstormer! Her first coaster. And yeah, Goofy's shout is great...in moderation.


I can't believe 4 years old is too old for princesses. Guess I need to get my son to the parks before too long. Maybe he just didn't want his little sister to think he enjoyed the same stuff as her. That's just against sibling rules. Haha.

Oh wow, that setup for Belle doesn't sound well thought out. Like, who figured it would be a good idea to separate young children from their parents in a major theme park. Sort of goes against everything you tell your kids not to do.

 

[afwdwfan]

Sounds like a really productive MK morning! Your family got to ride a lot of rides, all things considered.
How great that your DD was just talk enough to ride Barnstormer! Her first coaster. And yeah, Goofy's shout is great...in moderation.

We really did a good job of getting around to the FL rides that morning. I was hoping to wipe most of it out, but realistically, I didn't expect to do as much as we did.

I can't believe 4 years old is too old for princesses. Guess I need to get my son to the parks before too long. Maybe he just didn't want his little sister to think he enjoyed the same stuff as her. That's just against sibling rules. Haha.

I don't know. He doesn't have a problem playing with her and her princesses at home.

Oh wow, that setup for Belle doesn't sound well thought out. Like, who figured it would be a good idea to separate young children from their parents in a major theme park. Sort of goes against everything you tell your kids not to do.

I don't know. I knew that they had the kids come forward, but I didn't exactly know how the whole process worked, start to finish. Had I known how they open the workshop to let everyone through, I'd have positioned us better and closer to the kids, but it just doesn't seem like they really took everything into account when they did it like that.

 

[afwdwfan]

We Didn’t Pack Enough Fruit Snacks!

We spent about an hour back at AoA. Mostly just getting some time off our feet while we watched Stacey and I think just about everyone except for me put on some warmer clothes. We were heading to EPCOT for the evening. I think by now, everyone has bought into the logic that AK is the hottest park at Disney World. I would like to counter, that in the evenings, EPCOT is the coldest. At least in the winter months. It just seems that if you plan to spend an evening around the WS or get a front row spot for Illuminations, you get chilled by the air coming off the lake.

We left AoA at around 2 to drive over to EPCOT. Thankfully, unlike the previous afternoon, we were able to get in and park with ease. In the short time that we were driving from AoA to EPCOT, DD finally decided she was tired and fell asleep. Of course. Couldn’t have been the drive on the way to the hotel for our break. We can usually transfer her without waking so we put her in the stroller and just kind of assumed that she might sleep through our dinner ADR.

We headed into the park and had plenty of time to get to our ADR. I decided to make a quick stop at the FP+ kiosk at Innonventions to see what was available to us after we ate. There was FP+ available for Living With the Land, so I got them locked in since we were going to be in the building anyway.

Our ADR was for the Candlelight Processional Package at the Garden Grill. We had never been there before and were really looking forward to trying it. Both for the food and the characters. I parked the stroller and DD was still asleep. I picked her up and carried her towards the Land pavilion, but by the time we got there, she was awake… but not grumpy.

We can work with this…

It was still a little bit before 3 so we had to wait about 15 minutes, but promptly at 3pm, the servers were coming out and seating everyone.

On a side note, I did notice that several people came up and were told that the restaurant couldn’t take any walk ups that evening… and this was before they even opened.

We sat down and I was glad to see that the restaurant was rotating since I’d heard some stories that it hadn’t been working all the time. The server took our drink orders and brought our salad. She encouraged us to have the kids sit on the end of the seats near the aisle, but DD was having none of it. She wanted to be with mommy.

It wasn’t long before our first character arrived. DD noticed him from a few tables away, but when he came to our table, she had no interest at all in getting out of her seat to take a picture. So I guess DS won’t do Princesses and DD won’t do anything but Princesses. Well, this will be an interesting trip.

​

We cycled through all the characters and DS enjoyed getting to see them all. DD liked them until they came to our table. By the end she would at least high five them, but she absolutely refused to get close to any of them.

Enough about the characters. The food, by the way, was excellent. I’m usually more partial to the beef, but I really liked the turkey. It was really moist and delicious. I think as much as the turkey itself, I liked the cranberry sauce that they spread on top of it. The mashed potatoes were really good too. Honestly, my biggest disappointment was that our ADR was at 3. I wish it would have been a little bit later so I’d have had more time to work up and appetite after lunch! We really didn’t need any more food, but FiL and I asked them to bring us some more of the turkey and mashed potatoes. We couldn't finish the entire extra platter of turkey and potatoes, but we pretty well cleared the first plate of the beef and vegetables. We didn't eat all the dressing, but nobody in our family is a big dressing fan. I ate some and it was good, but I'd rather dedicate stomach space to more important foods.

We were stuffed, and the kids hardly wanted to eat anything. For the kids, they had mac & cheese and chicken drumsticks. DD loves mac & cheese, but wouldn’t touch it. She kept asking for Goldfish. She wanted nothing to do with the food that was on the table in front of her. I kind of get it though, we’d just had lunch about 3 ½ hours ago.

DS managed to get a few bites in between characters, but he didn’t have too much of an appetite either.

Our server brought our dessert and then our bills and the CP passes. Dessert was ok, but I think by the time it arrived, we were all too stuffed to do more than just kind of pick at the cobbler and ice cream.

We headed down the escalator after we finished and with our FP+, we boarded a boat for the greenhouses with little to no wait. I think it was maybe a 15 minute standby wait when we headed in.

We enjoyed the ride as always. I’ve said in the past that if I were ever to be a CM, I’d want to be here. I’ve grown up on a farm, I still farm myself, and my “other’ full time job is working in agriculture as a grain buyer. I’ve always enjoyed growing things, and I’m definitely fascinated by some of the technologies and methods that they use to grow plants. It’s just one of those places that I really nerd out about.

Anyway, DW had told FiL and MiL about the ride and the main thing she kept talking about was the 9 pound lemons. They apparently moved them or something, because they weren’t where we thought they’d be and we never saw them, so that was a bit of a disappointment, but otherwise, I think everyone liked it.

We left the Land and headed around the corner to see Figment. DW made sure that she and I got the back seat in our vehicle with DD while MiL and FiL and DS were in front. I guess she wanted to make sure they got an unobstructed view or something…

I always have to stop and see Figment. As much for nostalgia as anything. I loved that ride when I was little. My mom has a picture of me with Dreamfinder and Figment from our first ever trip to Disney World. DS still drinks from a Figment cup when he’s at my parents’ house that I used to have when I was little. Imagination, and Figment, is just one of those things that take me back to some fond memories and good feelings.


But I’ll be the first to admit… the ride really sucks now. Bring back Dreamfinder!


We survived being sprayed by a skunk and headed out to the after show area. The kids conducted some music and ran around on the carpet tiles that make music. Again, we totally failed at the picture thing here. Sorry. We spent quite a bit of time in there, and then we headed outside to the jumping water fountains. DS was running around racing the water as it jumped from pad to pad. Not exactly one of my highlights of the trip, but he was certainly having a blast.

After a little while of doing that, we move on towards the World Showcase. We still had plenty of time to kill before CP and I wanted to make it a point to try to catch some of the shows in WS so we stopped in Canada for the movie. It was really a good one, and I’m glad I took the time to see it. Not crazy about the fact that you have to stand to see the movie, but it is good none the less.

We walked on towards the UK and stopped for a restroom break. I mentioned to DW that we should check and see if the Pooh meet and greet was open. It was and there was one other family in line. The Christmas storyteller was on the stage in the UK pavilion, so FiL and MiL sat down to watch that while we took the kids to see some characters.

DD warmed up a little bit, but she still had no interest in going up to a character by herself.

We said goodbye and went back out to find FiL and MiL. The storyteller had finished and they told us a little bit about it. I think they really enjoyed it. It was about time to get in line for CP, but we slowly took our time getting there, just trying to wander through the pavilions and take in the sights as we went. We got into line, put our CP stickers for the 6:45 show on our shirts as directed and it wasn’t long before the line started moving and we could go find a seat. We got in probably close to 20 minutes before showtime. We found a seat on the left hand side of the theater, just across the aisle from the center with a little bit of extra space in front of our seats due to a row of trees. We made sure to find seats that wouldn’t be obstructed views from trees, but figured this would be a good place to give us and the kids a little room to move around before the show started.

We waited for the show to start and the kids actually did pretty well. I’m glad that we opted for a little more room in front of us, because they could easily move from one lap to the next as their attentions shifted.

The show started and we were all very impressed by the magnitude and the production of it. We all enjoyed it… well the adults anyway. No pictures at all were taken, sadly. We had our hands full keeping the kids entertained and quiet during the show. But I think the Candlelight Processional was exactly the thing we needed to do right then and there. I knew DW and I both had wanted to see it and had only been able to catch bits and pieces of it in passing years prior. MiL and FiL both had great things to say about it. FiL said he loves the classic Christmas songs and he really enjoyed hearing them along with the narration of the Christmas Story.

By the way, our Narrator was Joe Morton. Not gonna lie, I had to do a Google search, but he certainly did a fine job narrating the show.

The kids kind of got a little bit antsy about halfway through the show. MiL was trying to keep them quiet with Goldfish and I had some fruit snacks that I was handing to them. Snacks were working well, but that show is just a little longer than I thought. We had just handed the last package of fruit snacks to DS, but DD wanted some. She wanted fruit snacks and she wanted them now. We were out of snacks at this point. For a little bit there, I thought I was going to have to get up and take her out of the theater to keep her from becoming a distraction. Thankfully she calmed down, but we were close to having a meltdown.

After the show ended, I grabbed the stroller and we continued our way around WS. We stopped at Germany to visit the restrooms and watch the trains. The kids loved the trains. We spent probably a half hour there while DW and MiL headed to Karamell-Kuche to get some caramel popcorn. I really think that is her favorite snack in all of Disney World. I asked her to bring me something too. She got me some kind of caramel covered brownie I think. It was fine, but nothing memorable.

We took our time exploring a bit as we walked. When we got to China, we went inside to see the terracotta warrior display. The movie was getting ready to start and we considered seeing it, but we knew there was no way the kids would go for it at that point. I offered to take the kids if everyone else wanted to see it, but there were no takers.

We walked through Norway and pointed out where Maelstrom used to be. A shame we couldn’t ride it one last time, but I’ve got to admit, I’m kind of looking forward to seeing what they end up doing with it. I definitely enjoyed Maelstrom, but bringing a ride based on a Disney story or character to the parks is something that has never bothered me at all. Those characters are really what the company and the parks are all about.


But don’t get me started on Avatar.


Naturally, the next stop for us was the beautiful Mexico pavillion to set sail with the Three Caballeros on It’s a Small Mexico. Our kids absolutely love this ride. And I don’t mind it at all. I really love the evening setting of the pavilion as you walk in. The ride is relaxing and a nice break to get off your feet for a while with some catchy, festive music. We all enjoyed the ride, I think, and took some time to walk around and take in the pavilion. It was about 45 minutes until Illuminations so we decided to find a place for the show.

We ended up finding a front row spot on the bridge just past the Cantina towards Future World. We parked the stroller right along the rail, and I headed back to the Cantina to grab an order of Nachos and a drink. It had been almost 6 hours since our “dinner” ADR, so I was ready for a snack with some substance to it. DW and I stood with the stroller and ate the nachos, while MiL and FiL found a spot to go sit down for a while until showtime. The kids were in the stroller watching a movie on DW’s phone, but it wasn’t long before they were both asleep.

We watched the show and it was great as always. I think Illuminations might be about my least favorite of the night time shows at Disney World, but even at that, it is still a darn good show and we always make an effort to see it. They really need to upgrade the globe part though…

What I really like about Illuminations in December though is the holiday tag they add at the end along with the extra 50 tons of explosives that they blow up simultaneously. It seriously shankes you to your core. I still can’t figure out how our kids can sleep through that.


But why in the heck did they replace Walter Cronkite??????


This year it was basically a non descript female voice reading the holiday tag. It was fine. But it wasn’t Walter. Maybe there was a good reason they replaced him, but I don’t know what it is. I was slightly disappointed by it.

We headed out of the park with the rest of the masses. We made our way to the parking lot and back to AoA. The kids slept through all the transfers and we laid them in bed, both still sound asleep.

After a quick shower, I was soon asleep too.

 

[vamassey1]

A perfect Epcot evening.

We took my youngest to DW for the first time when she was 3. She did not like the characters. It wasn't until Chip and Dale took some extra time with her that she warmed up. Luckily this was at Chef Mickey's for breakfast before we hit Epcot. I find Epcot has the most characters through out the day. Hopefully DD warmed up more to them as the trip went on.

DS looks like he really enjoyed the characters at diner. No princesses to worry about. 3 is really too early to eat. We had diner her in 2007 and enjoyed it too. We found the food to be very fresh.

I love having fruit snacks at Disney. It just seems to be the perfect snack while waiting in line. Don't blame your DD for being disappointed. I hope you restocked before your next park. Someday I want to see CP.

Illuminations is the perfect ending. I'm amazed your kids slept through it. You wore them out really good.

 

[KatMark]

Nice job on securing a FP+ for The Land.

Cute pictures of DS with the characters. I'm about the kids...no princesses for DS and nothing but princesses for DD. I'm wondering how much you had to split up to go see the appropriate characters for the appropriate child.

Yet another restaurant we disagree on. Perhaps we just had an off night (I know the reason Mark got sick is he ate the kids chicken and chicken hasn't agreed with him since before his gallbladder removal and after). Maybe we will give it another try some time.

I wonder what happened to the lemons?

Figment...you and I share a love of our purple dragon. At least this version is better than the middle version.

I'm glad you saw the Canada film. It is probably my favorite although I like them all. You have to stand in China too, but the one in France you can sit (and nap).

The pictures with Pooh and Tigger are priceless. You can see DD wants to like them in her high five with Tigger (she is too cute for words by the way).

I'm glad you enjoyed the Candlelight Processional (yes, I had to google Joe Morton as well). Since it was cooler, did you have any issues with those on stage having to leave for heat exhaustion?

A Slow Boat to Mexico is better than A Slow Boat to China.

We didn't stay for the holiday Illuminations but watched it from the Boardwalk. The fireworks were spectacular.

I'm still angry and upset that they took Walter Cronkite out as the voice in Spaceship Earth.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

We can usually transfer her without waking so we put her in the stroller and just kind of assumed that she might sleep through our dinner ADR.

That's impressive. I can barely touch Drew without waking him up.

I picked her up and carried her towards the Land pavilion, but by the time we got there, she was awake… but not grumpy.

I can't seem to avoid the grumpy part, either.

It wasn’t long before our first character arrived. DD noticed him from a few tables away, but when he came to our table, she had no interest at all in getting out of her seat to take a picture. So I guess DS won’t do Princesses and DD won’t do anything but Princesses. Well, this will be an interesting trip.

At least they are equal-opportunity shunners.

We didn't eat all the dressing, but nobody in our family is a big dressing fan. I ate some and it was good, but I'd rather dedicate stomach space to more important foods.

Totally agree!

Dessert was ok, but I think by the time it arrived, we were all too stuffed to do more than just kind of pick at the cobbler and ice cream.

This just makes me sad.

We enjoyed the ride as always. I’ve said in the past that if I were ever to be a CM, I’d want to be here. I’ve grown up on a farm, I still farm myself, and my “other’ full time job is working in agriculture as a grain buyer. I’ve always enjoyed growing things, and I’m definitely fascinated by some of the technologies and methods that they use to grow plants. It’s just one of those places that I really nerd out about.

And nobody stands there looking over your shoulder telling you how to farm the crops better.

We left the Land and headed around the corner to see Figment.

Why?

I always have to stop and see Figment. As much for nostalgia as anything.

Ok, but you're starting to lose me here...

I loved that ride when I was little. My mom has a picture of me with Dreamfinder and Figment from our first ever trip to Disney World. DS still drinks from a Figment cup when he’s at my parents’ house that I used to have when I was little. Imagination, and Figment, is just one of those things that take me back to some fond memories and good feelings.

Well, uh, you know, whatever floats your boat...

But I’ll be the first to admit… the ride really sucks now.

Whew! I feel better now. Thanks for restoring my faith in you, Andy!

DS was running around racing the water as it jumped from pad to pad. Not exactly one of my highlights of the trip, but he was certainly having a blast.

I think that's the highlight of Epcot for a lot of small kids!

We waited for the show to start and the kids actually did pretty well. I’m glad that we opted for a little more room in front of us, because they could easily move from one lap to the next as their attentions shifted.

Professional parenting there.

FiL said he loves the classic Christmas songs and he really enjoyed hearing them along with the narration of the Christmas Story.

Glad you enjoyed the show! I've always been curious about that one.

By the way, our Narrator was Joe Morton. Not gonna lie, I had to do a Google search, but he certainly did a fine job narrating the show.

Terminator 2. No googling, I promise!

But yeah, a little light on the star power.

We walked through Norway and pointed out where Maelstrom used to be. A shame we couldn’t ride it one last time, but I’ve got to admit, I’m kind of looking forward to seeing what they end up doing with it. I definitely enjoyed Maelstrom, but bringing a ride based on a Disney story or character to the parks is something that has never bothered me at all. Those characters are really what the company and the parks are all about.

Plus, maybe the ride will make sense now!

But don’t get me started on Avatar.

Just make the rides fun, at least.

They really need to upgrade the globe part though…

I do have to agree with that.

What I really like about Illuminations in December though is the holiday tag they add at the end along with the extra 50 tons of explosives that they blow up simultaneously. It seriously shankes you to your core. I still can’t figure out how our kids can sleep through that.

Must. See. This.

But why in the heck did they replace Walter Cronkite??????

This year it was basically a non descript female voice reading the holiday tag. It was fine. But it wasn’t Walter. Maybe there was a good reason they replaced him, but I don’t know what it is. I was slightly disappointed by it.

Aw, c'mon. That's not cool. Maybe it was Elsa's voice.

 

[glennbo123]

Glad to hear that you enjoyed the food at Garden Grill. I've never eaten there, but maybe I'll have to give it a try sometime.

Sounded like a nice evening. I'm still waiting to read about someone peeing in a cup though!

 

[franandaj]

I tried to reply to your previous chapter, but the DIS ate my post and I never got back over here to comment after that.

Too bad your DS was too cool to meet a Princess. Nice that you got to do Enchanted Tales with Belle without too long of a wait. It's cool to see once, but unless you have kids who interact with Belle, that's all you need to see it.

We're eating at Garden Grill next trip, so I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it.

Sounds like a long day, but a lot of fun!