Bibbidi-Bobbidi-DEUX our own kind of marathon ~ A Nov '14 TR ~ Updated 11/2 ~ THE END

I am SO excited about this trip report! I am doing a split stay in May- also 1 bedroom villas with rented points, and also at AKL followed by BLT! My kids are similar ages to yours too so I feel like this is a glimpse into my future!

And as everyone else said, the costumes are just precious!
 
YAY! An update!!!! :) As usual, awesome outfits on all the kids.



After the show we stopped for a quick bathroom break and change before it was time for our next FP+…. The Frozen Sing Along!

We were supposed to arrive between 12:10-12:25. We were cutting it close on time and when we got to the area of the show there was a rope up allowing a large group of people to cross the street (maybe the show before ours letting out?) but preventing us from getting to the FP+ line. By the time we got in line and up to the side doors of the theater, it was past our FP+ time and they were allowing people in the back entrance of the theater as well. We grabbed the best available row which was to the left and second row from the back. The whole theater quickly filled up and people were standing along the sides and back of the room. It was packed!



We had the same thing happen to us with the Frozen FP+ on our trip! In general, we found that to actually get FP seating, you had to arrive ten minutes BEFORE the start of your FP+ time for any show/parade experience. It was frustrating...

But not as frustrating as your TSM experience! Bummer!
 
Even my boys love Sofia! My 6 year old won't admit it but he secretly loves her too, can't wait to see her & see Disney Junior again.

We are a Frozen loving family too so I'm excited to see the sing along.

Your adult drink sounds wonderful, too bad I can't drink until July. :)

Good idea on the uncristables for the kids!
 
Joining in for the rest of the trip! Your kids (and their outfits) are so cute! (My personal favourite might be Jorie's Goofy outfit, it's adorable! But the Frozen outfits are amazing as well.)

Glad to hear Jorie and Donovan got the Jedi timeslots! That must've been stressful hearing all those times getting called one by one :scared1: And those cupcakes looked amazing, I've always intended to stop but we've never gotten around to it! I'll have to make it a priority in May.
 
Bummer about TSMM!

The girls look so cute decked out as Sophia!

I agree that the one-liners in the Frozen show are pretty funny- definitely keeps it fresh for the 'older' Frozen fans!

I didn't know Max met in DHS- what a good find!
 
The girls' Sofia dresses are just so cute! Not gonna lie, I adore Sofia. :goodvibes

Those cupcakes...YUM!! I have tried the Butterfinger, and it didn't disappoint. But I sill haven't tried the Red Velvet, and I absolutely MUST try it on our next trip. It looks so delicious! And with a big family, it's great that they are so huge so they are easy to share. :thumbsup2

The Frozen Sing-Along seems like a lot of fun. We aren't sick of Frozen yet either! I can't wait to take DS to meet Anna & Elsa next trip...hopefully we can get a FP+ because it just won't happen if the lines are still outrageous.
 
LOVED your last TR, and already loving this one!
The outfits that your children wear are adorable! Especially loved the Anna and Elsa dresses and character spot themed outfits! So cute!
Can't wait to read more :)
 
Looks like an awesome trip!! We'll be staying at AKV for the first time in September, also renting points - gotta love the savings!!

Your kids are adorable and I love all the outfits! I can't imagine the bags you must have to carry around with you in the parks :worship:
 
Wow, what a stinky situation at Toy Story :( they should have at least given you a FP to make up for it!

Great pics with Sofia! and great PP pics too!

The girls' Frozen dresses look gorgeous!
 
It sounds like your experience with crowd levels was about like ours- first trip 2's and 3's, this trip around 5's. It definitely felt a lot more crowded than I expected in November.
I LOVE their Sofia dresses. I love how they all have a Sofia dress and yet they are all a little different. Very unique!
Your photopass photos are all so cute!
 
Woo! I love those Sofia dresses and the Frozen dresses! Jorie's boots are so cute! I agree the one-liners in the Frozen Sing-along are laugh out loud funny, I definitely got a kick out of those! Can't wait to read more and see more outfits!
 
I'm enjoying your report so far! The Frozen Sing Along looks great! I know my daughter would love that.

You are killing me with the outfits! :love: So stinking cute! Even the adults coordinate. I like your dress and shoes with the Frozen set! I'm currently packing for our trip (we leave Friday night :banana:)....wishing I had the time to put together outfits like that for my family. Although I'm not sure I could get the boys to cooperate.
 
My husband and I are taking a child-less trip for the EEC too! Love the outfits, you've inspired me to start coordinating things for our family November trip!
 
Sorry to hear what happened on the Toy Story ride. But I am more surprised at the CM's attitude than the ride's trouble itself!

Love seeing your little girls as Sofia meeting Sofia...that photo is so precious!
 
I love your TR and your family is precious!

The same thing happened to me on TSM! Not for the entire ride (I would've been just as disappointed!) but towards the end. Such a bummer!

I have a Joe of my own and I caught him laughing during the Frozen show too:goodvibes!

Can't wait to read more :)!
 
Wow! You packed a LOT into that first day! I can't believe you were all still standing by the time you got back to Kidani, lol. Your kids are adorable, and I love the outfits! Looking forward to the rest of your report.:)

I know!! I was really surprised that we accomplished so much that first day after waking up SO early. I think we were all so excited to be in Disney that we didn't want to stop. Would the exhaustion hit us later? :scared:... follow along to see

I wish I had someone taking my photo when I scrolled down and saw that DELIGHTFUL mac and cheese cone. I might have said a bad word and drilled all over my shirt. Im sooooo sad FOR you that you couldn't get it!

Your daughters Sofia dresses were amazing! Do you make them all yourself? I really think that if you make them yourself you should totally start a business!

I would have been so bummed out too about TSMM, you handled it way cooler than I think most people would have. There is no way I would have not wanted to ride again so kudos to you for being the better person! :cheer2:

Ah that Mac & Cheese cone, I still dream about trying it. lol It looked SO DARN GOOD!

I can sew but not very well. Oh how I wish I had the talent to make my daughters' dresses. I buy or borrow them.

Looking back, I definitely should have said something about riding TSMM again! But I didn't want to cause a fuss.... and I knew we had another FP+ for it the very next day.

You better believe I did!!!!! It was my first encounter with Chik-fil-A and I was NOT missing out. :thumbsup2

********

Despite it all, that's still a pretty nice view there Rachel.

Hahaha, I love the fact that you didn't wait when you got inside MGM. And clearly it worked out since you arrived at the same time. Incidentally, I wonder what we'll do now that we won't be able to say "I made my way up to the hat"? :scratchin

Oh I don't like that you didn't get to ride again with a working gun. I've heard of them doing that before.

My goodness, the characters must absolutely love when you all show up with the kids dressed up like them.

Red Velvet Cupcake. That will be breakfast in the near future.

I'm still a Frozen guy too and enjoyed this show as well. I wish more people sang, but the one liners were pretty darn entertaining.

No more hat means I'm really going to get lost in HS! :confused3 I have absolutely no sense of direction and the hat was my only saving grace.

I am SO excited about this trip report! I am doing a split stay in May- also 1 bedroom villas with rented points, and also at AKL followed by BLT! My kids are similar ages to yours too so I feel like this is a glimpse into my future!

And as everyone else said, the costumes are just precious!

Oh wow, what a coincidence!! Well I can just tell you that you're going to love it! :lovestruc Both 1 bedroom villas were AMAZING!! We did our HS & AK days while we stayed at AKV and our MK and second Epcot days while we stayed at BLT and that really seemed to cut down on our travel time. I feel like we didn't get enough resort time to really check out Kidani.... sadly we didn't even get a glimpse of the pool :sad2: But we would definitely stay at either resorts again (BLT is def my fav though!) and Joe & I are actually staying at AKV for two nights when we go back in May. Hopefully we'll get to check out the pool this time.

YAY! An update!!!! :) As usual, awesome outfits on all the kids.

We had the same thing happen to us with the Frozen FP+ on our trip! In general, we found that to actually get FP seating, you had to arrive ten minutes BEFORE the start of your FP+ time for any show/parade experience. It was frustrating...

But not as frustrating as your TSM experience! Bummer!

Good to know! We arrived a few minutes early for a FP parade seating later in the trip to find that they were already allowing people into the FP area and the front row was already full. SO frustrating! :furious:

Even my boys love Sofia! My 6 year old won't admit it but he secretly loves her too, can't wait to see her & see Disney Junior again.

We are a Frozen loving family too so I'm excited to see the sing along.

Your adult drink sounds wonderful, too bad I can't drink until July. :)

Good idea on the uncristables for the kids!

I sometimes catch Donovan watching Sofia when the girls put it on.

You're going to love the Frozen sing-a-long. Just arrive early if you have a FP for it.

July babies rock! :dance3: It's the best month to have a birthday! ;)

Joining in for the rest of the trip! Your kids (and their outfits) are so cute! (My personal favourite might be Jorie's Goofy outfit, it's adorable! But the Frozen outfits are amazing as well.)

Glad to hear Jorie and Donovan got the Jedi timeslots! That must've been stressful hearing all those times getting called one by one :scared1: And those cupcakes looked amazing, I've always intended to stop but we've never gotten around to it! I'll have to make it a priority in May.

:welcome: and thank you for such kind words!

Eeeek! I know, we were getting really close to our dinner ADR time! I'm not sure what we would have done if we didn't get into the 4:10 show. Thankfully we did and we didn't have to choose between the two.

So many people rave about the Butterfinger cupcake that I had to try it for myself and I have to say they are definitely worth stopping in for!

Bummer about TSMM!

The girls look so cute decked out as Sophia!

I agree that the one-liners in the Frozen show are pretty funny- definitely keeps it fresh for the 'older' Frozen fans!

I didn't know Max met in DHS- what a good find!

We were excited to find Max! - he was right by the hat..... oh so sad that we're not going to be able to say that anymore :sad2: I'm going to miss the hat!

The girls' Sofia dresses are just so cute! Not gonna lie, I adore Sofia. :goodvibes

Those cupcakes...YUM!! I have tried the Butterfinger, and it didn't disappoint. But I sill haven't tried the Red Velvet, and I absolutely MUST try it on our next trip. It looks so delicious! And with a big family, it's great that they are so huge so they are easy to share. :thumbsup2

The Frozen Sing-Along seems like a lot of fun. We aren't sick of Frozen yet either! I can't wait to take DS to meet Anna & Elsa next trip...hopefully we can get a FP+ because it just won't happen if the lines are still outrageous.

Yes you need to try the Red Velvet! (shhh, I may have liked it better than the Butterfinger :ssst:)

We LOVE anything and everything Frozen! The Sing-a-long was SO much fun and later in the trip when we meet Anna & Elsa, the girls were speechless! Oh I hope you get a FP for A&E!!!
 
LOVED your last TR, and already loving this one!
The outfits that your children wear are adorable! Especially loved the Anna and Elsa dresses and character spot themed outfits! So cute!
Can't wait to read more :)

:welcome: So happy to have you back and following this TR as well!

Looks like an awesome trip!! We'll be staying at AKV for the first time in September, also renting points - gotta love the savings!!

Your kids are adorable and I love all the outfits! I can't imagine the bags you must have to carry around with you in the parks :worship:

Yay for AKV!!! I hope you love it!!::yes::

The bags really weren't too bad in the parks. We had a giant tote bag that we kept in the locker and a smaller one to carry with us to keep the "next" set of outfits in. For the most part it worked well, as long as I didn't forget something in the locker which happened a couple times, whoops. Getting to and from the parks I'm sure we were a sight though... 4 kids, 2 strollers and our bags!!! hahahaha :rotfl2:

Wow, what a stinky situation at Toy Story :( they should have at least given you a FP to make up for it!

Great pics with Sofia! and great PP pics too!

The girls' Frozen dresses look gorgeous!

I know, that's what I thought too! :worried: I knew we had another FP for the next day, otherwise I probably would have said something about it.

Aww, thank you :lovestruc

It sounds like your experience with crowd levels was about like ours- first trip 2's and 3's, this trip around 5's. It definitely felt a lot more crowded than I expected in November.
I LOVE their Sofia dresses. I love how they all have a Sofia dress and yet they are all a little different. Very unique!
Your photopass photos are all so cute!

I kept thinking "Wow if these crowds are 5s, then I really wouldn't want to be here during 9 & 10 crowd levels" Can you imagine?! No thank you!

Thank you, thank you :goodvibes

Woo! I love those Sofia dresses and the Frozen dresses! Jorie's boots are so cute! I agree the one-liners in the Frozen Sing-along are laugh out loud funny, I definitely got a kick out of those! Can't wait to read more and see more outfits!

Thank you! princess: ... oh and there will be lots more outfits to see...;)

I'm enjoying your report so far! The Frozen Sing Along looks great! I know my daughter would love that.

You are killing me with the outfits! :love: So stinking cute! Even the adults coordinate. I like your dress and shoes with the Frozen set! I'm currently packing for our trip (we leave Friday night :banana:)....wishing I had the time to put together outfits like that for my family. Although I'm not sure I could get the boys to cooperate.

The Frozen sing-a-long was definitely a highlight of the trip for the girls - they LOVED it! And of course we all enjoyed singing along and for the rest of the day haha.

Thank you!! I enjoyed painting my Buzz & Woody Toms so much from last trip that I decided to try a Frozen-inspired pair this time. I think they turned out really cute and I got a bunch a compliments on them, so I would say they were a success.

Yay for a Disney trip! Whoo hoo!!!! :yay: I hope you have a magical time!!

My husband and I are taking a child-less trip for the EEC too! Love the outfits, you've inspired me to start coordinating things for our family November trip!

That's awesome!! If you "run" into us you'll have to say HI!!

Sorry to hear what happened on the Toy Story ride. But I am more surprised at the CM's attitude than the ride's trouble itself!

Love seeing your little girls as Sofia meeting Sofia...that photo is so precious!

I was surprised at the CM's attitude too! That was really the first time I had encountered a CM who really just didn't seem to care!

It was fun seeing Sofia's reactions to the girls and their dresses. princess:

I love your TR and your family is precious!

The same thing happened to me on TSM! Not for the entire ride (I would've been just as disappointed!) but towards the end. Such a bummer!

I have a Joe of my own and I caught him laughing during the Frozen show too:goodvibes!

Can't wait to read more :)!

It IS a bummer! I tried to be a good sport and cheer Donovan on while he played but it's definitely not the same when you can't play and everyone else around you is having a great time racking up their points. :(

Aww, I think "Joe"s are the best kind of guy to have :thumbsup2
 
continuing with Day 2...

What do you call two suns fighting each other?

Star Wars!


After a morning full of princesses, it was time to do something that would really spark Donovan's interest. Now besides knowing what Star Wars attractions are in HS, I am pretty clueless when it comes to anything else. But Donovan is a big fan so I thought it would be fun if we all dressed the part.

First thing that morning we had signed Donovan & Jorie up for Jedi training. They were given the 4:10 show and we were told to arrive early (maybe 3:40 if I remember right) We then realized that would overlap with our Star Tours FP+ time which was for 3:25-4:25 and I had quickly checked MDE to see if I could switch our FP to an earlier time. There were plenty of open time slots to pick from, I should have just changed it right then and there but we were rushing to make it to our TSM FP+. So I logged back onto MDE and there were no earlier times available. We headed over to see what the stand-by wait time was and it was listed as 50 minutes. Looked like we wouldn't be riding Star Tours if we wanted to make it to Jedi training on time. Bummer!

So instead, we headed into Tatooine Traders so that Donovan could check out all of the Star Wars stuff. When he spotted the Droid Factory, he knew that was what he wanted to spend his $25 Disney gift card on. (Each of the kids were given one at the beginning of the trip.) So we hopped in line, and waited and waited and waited. The family in front of us was taking forever making their choices. I was actually getting nervous that Donovan wouldn't have time to make one before we needed to head back for Jedi training.

Bronwyn found something to keep herself entertained.





Finally it was our turn and Donovan had a blast picking out and putting together his Droid.





Then it was time for Jedi Training. The Padawans were given brown Jedi robes and shown how to use their lightsabers.



After pledging the Jedi Oath, we were all led to the stage next to the Star Tours ride.









Someone was taking this training very seriously.







I turned to Joe and whispered "Stormtroopers are bad?" (haha, told you I was clueless) They are so cute, I thought that they were good guys. LOL :darth:








NEXT
 
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Time to battle the Dark Side!







The Jedi instructor cracked a joke about Donovan's "comfortable footwear"













"Hold on, I must find out where you shop."









"That's it, show him the cuteness"







They had the time of their lives! They could not stop talking about battling Darth Vader! It was definitely an experience they will never forget!

Now it was time to head out of the park for our 5:00 dinner ADR and of course we stopped for some PP pics along the way.





Stitch again?!






NEXT
 
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We noticed a Friendship boat just pulling away (a recurring theme with us), so we decided to walk the path to the boardwalk area.

I actually enjoy the walk and surprisingly we were good on time so we didn't have to rush.

Soon we were arriving at the Beach Club Resort!



And we checked in for our reservation at Cape May Café.




We were seated almost immediately in a smaller dining room off to the side of the main dining area. I instantly fell in love with the beach theme throughout the restaurant.



We filled our plates with crab, shrimp, mussels & clams. SO good! A seafood-lovers paradise, but there was plenty of "regular" food too if you're not a fan.

Only a couple food pics, sorry! Guess I was too busy chowing down!



I had read a rumor that Cape May was getting rid of their crab legs. Well they definitely had them while we were there and they were delish!

Plenty of fun little dessert options too:



I probably could have sat there all night enjoying the seafood (which is my fav!) but the kids on the other hand could not. They had their fill, so it was time to go.

Once again, just missing a Friendship boat we decided to walk the path back to Hollywood Studios. I really wish that I would have worn a pedometer on the trip- I would love to know how much we walked each day. The good thing is that it helps to balance out how much food we eat while we're there! :thumbsup2





So pretty!





By now it was about 7pm and we were all feeling a bit tired. There was one more thing on the agenda before we'd head back to our resort and it was something we HAD to see. Tonight was the first night of The Osborne Lights!

So we all changed into something a little more festive!







Once again, Bronwyn did not want to cooperate for the photos. Thankfully it was her LAST day of the terrible twos, I could only hope that three-years-old was going to be MUCH better, right?! Please tell me I'm right, haha.







WOW! The lights, the sounds.... words cannot describe how amazing the experience is and pictures definitely don't do it justice. SO awesome! It's something you NEED to see in person!



Then we spotted Santa Goofy and decided that would be our last stop of the night. The 20 minutes or so that we waited was definitely worth it. Santa Goofy was SO much fun!













The rest of the night was pretty uneventful. We made our way out of the park, took a bus back to the resort- which I sure all of the kids fell asleep on, and put the kids to bed. I did some ironing. Last trip I discovered Space Bags and absolutely LOVED them. I couldn't believe how much stuff I could fit into our suitcases. Well, when we packed for this trip I maaaaaaaay have overstuffed our Space Bags by oh.... A TON! I found this out as I was unpacking and all of our clothes were a wrinkled mess! Whoops! Lesson learned, follow the suggestions on the bag and do not, I repeat, do not overstuff your space bags unless you want to be ironing each night of your vacation like I was. Grrrrr!!!! No fun and btw those irons in the villas are terrible. Okay, rant over. So I ironed what we needed for the next day and soaked my tired feet in the tub. I love me some Johnson's foot soap! It was around midnight when I was finally climbing into bed. I'm sure I fell asleep within seconds.



Day 2 was packed FULL of fun and definitely did not disappoint!

Coming up next time..... We celebrate Bronwyn turning 3!!!

NEXT

 
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