**Rockin the expandable tutu!! -- F&W in 1.5 hours & a DISmeet! [updated 9.29.14]

[emmebear]

updated 5/26/14


before i left for this disney trip, i was beginning my dining report from march.

but since i'm still on a disney high from this past weekend (it was so perfect!), i thought i would start my reviews now. i didn't take too many food photos this trip, so these reviews will be fast & furious!

the disney blues has not hit me yet and i'm still so excited from our trip this past weekend. this was our first star wars weekend & we were also able to attend "rock your disney side" as well.

also, my parents decided last minute that they wanted to join us as well. i was so happy to have them as my dad is battling cancer and recently just finished another round of brain radiation. he is still a bit weak & gets tired pretty easily but i was excited that they were coming along for the fun. this was his first time leaving jacksonville in almost a year & what better place than disney!

here are some of our food highlights from the trip:

what a glorious site after what seemed like forever to get to disney!


i had a 7:20 ADR for jedi mickey's star wars themed dinner @ hollywood & vine. we had to rush to get there as i was told the last seating was at 8:30pm. we got a late start to orlando & i was literally running & sweating trying to make it on time.

we were seated on the tram to begin our star wars weekend & was rewarded with a beautiful sunset.

this looked like a scene from a movie.


after sprinting to hollywood & vine, we checked in and waited to be called.

we then were escorted to meet the chip-ewoks for a picture. you are given a photopass card which contains your picture which you are able to download for free! i haven't had the time yet to look at the picture but here is a funny picture from my iphone.


side note: emme & i returned to DHS again with matching expandable tutus!

chip & dale were so fun! i think every chip & dale encounter we've had has always been nothing short of awesome...and this was no different. they had so much energy & got me so excited for dinner.

we were seated at a table & was greeted promptly by our server. he was fantastic & really super nice. after taking our drink orders, emme & i headed to the buffet. despite some negative comments about h&v, the buffet here is pretty good. there's nothing too exotic or fancy about the food offerings here but all in all, it's a good buffet.

for star wars, most of the food items were renamed star wars style:

the kids buffet got in on the star wars theming too!

...well, almost everything had a star wars re-naming.

nothing clever for the udon noodle salad (which is yummy!)



here are my plates of food:

the strip loin was cooked perfectly. my favorite item on the plate was the "C-3PO's Cream Corn Spoon Bread" which was delicious. the meat balls were tasty. the only disappointment was the lobster macaroni & cheese. i guess they must've have been low on lobster because now it is the lobster & shrimp macaroni & cheese. on my last visit to h&v, there were CHUNK of lobster int he mac & cheese. on this visit, there was no lobster but lots of shrimp. i was a sad panda.


plate #2:

i got another piece of the strip loin & the spoon bread. the udon salad is also really good.


emme was too excited to eat. she had her mace windu light saber and was ready to unleash her fury! and shortly thereafter, we had our first visitor:


STORMTROOPER DONALD!!

look how super cute donald is as a storm trooper! and he loved our hello kitty storm trooper shirts. our interaction was quite long with donald as he and emme were having an absolute blast together. donald #1!



by this point, dinner was the last thing on emme's mind. i think she may have eaten the insides of a roll and the capanelle alfredo pasta that was made for her at the pasta section.

our next visitor stopped by to say hello:


PRESENTING: DARTH GOOFY!!

emme & darth goofy (with his non-working light saber) had a pretend light saber fight. it was hilarious!



dinner was a lost cause for emme after darth goofy. all she wanted to see was princess leia minnie.

but first:


JEDI MICKEY!

i didn't see jedi mickey as he walked up as we were recovering from goofy's visit. i bumped into him and almost knocked him over. oops. he seemed pretty irritated with me at this point. it took him a minute to recover an then he pretty much ignored me & entertained emme instead. sorry mickey!

FINALLY, princess leia minnie made her appearance. emme was so excited as she loves princess leia and minnie looked so precious in her costume. she loved emme's hair & light saber. she also pointed to my tutu and did a "giggle".

i don't have much of a sweet tooth & i had no interest in dessert but i did taste a few & took some photographs:

there were non-star wars themed desserts as well. emme just wanted vanilla ice cream & they put some sprinkles on there for her.

here comes the not so fun part about the meal: the price. it cost me $55.99 and $32.99 for emme. Total of $95.00 without tip. i was in sticker shock as i could have had 2 ribeye's from YSH for that price. YIKES!

HOWEVER, it was such a fantastic experience and it would save me a lot of time the next day since we already got to meet the characters. i don't regret having dinner but man, that really hurt my wallet.

the characters were super fun, the excitement was palpable & our tummies (well mine more than emme's) was pretty full & happy. everyone was in the star wars spirit at hollywood & vine. it was a great experience and i would probably do it again next year (unless the price increases dramatically).

afterwards, we explored DHS more and partook in the star wars festivities. i will add some pictures of our night next!

i definitely recommend this if you are a star wars fan...meeting the characters costs a premium price but meeting them in airconditioning is priceless. it was ridiculously hot for the remainder of the weekend.

happy eating everyone!!

 

[mousegear]

My DS and I enjoyed your review of H&V which we've never been to. We loved looking at the pictures of Emme and different Star Wars themed characters. Emme seemed to have so much fun meeting the characters and it shows. I love your outfits!!! They are too cute!

I love that your parents enjoyed some of Disney magic with you guys. Hopefully, your dad's radiation treatments go well and I'll pray for his fast recovery.

We've never been to Disney during spring (even with AP's) since it's really busy with DS's school wrapping up with standardized tests and concerts. Also, I don't want DS to miss too many school days. My big bucket list is to go to Disney during spring to see Flower and Garden and Star Wars. I am definitely living through your trip reports.

 

[leshunlenese]

I really enjoyed your instagram photos! I really hope they keep the jedi dinner next year because I want to go with my DS, even though it does cost so much. I am curious as to what time did you guys go to MK for the 24 hour event! My child as been known to stay up late depending on when he sleeps. I really want to go next year but I would feel bad leaving him behind!

 

[princess aleya]

Emme looked so cute in her ballet outfit. We have never been to HV, the food looks good, maybe will check it out on our next trip. Thanks for sharing.

 

[skylizard]

Love the SWW pics! I can't believe how big Emme is getting. Such a cutie!

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Patty,

Love the review of H&V Star Wars dinner. Emme looks so cute with the characters. We are trying the breakfast at Sci-Fi in a few weeks, and with the price its probably going to be a one time thing for us. But can't wait and your review has made me extra excited.

 

[emmebear]

Thanks everyone for the super nice comments!

The meal was expensive but it was such a fantastic experience. Emme had a total blast and I also got giddy seeing the characters.

I took some pics of symphony of the stars with my dslr that I wi post later but also took some with my iphone that I will post tonight. We were right in the front and got really great pictures.

We also went to rock your Disney side as well. What a fantastic time.

I recommend Star Wars weekend for everyone...even if you aren't a fan. It's an amazing experience...everyone is so happy and excited despite the ridiculous heatz

 

[emmebear]

here is a quick summary of the rest of our trip. this post doesn't contain many food photos but the next update will. just wanted to include some moments from star wars weekend & rock your disney side!

after our jedi mickey meal, we parked the stroller and found front row "seats" for the symphony of the stars show & fireworks. there was a dj playing star wars music & then james arnold taylor (voice of obi won kenobi in the clone wars) comes out & introduces a whole bunch of star wars characters. it was basically a star wars cat walk which included darth mauuuuuul. i got an awesome video of him.


here are some iphone pictures. i took some pictures with my dslr that i will be updating here!

ahsoka tano!

R2D2 & 3CPO!

the entire gang


sitting in the front for the show had it's disadvantages in viewing the fireworks. we moved to the left of the stage and got a side view. the fireworks were synced with music from star wars. pretty amazing if you ask me.


afterwards, we made our way to ride star tours.

i was actually chosen as the "rebel spy" on this tour. how cool! emme was so excited for the entire ride.

emme got a new friend: a stuffed chewbacca toy! so cute!


DHS was in EMH at this point and the park was empty. we were walking around a deserted DHS and it was kind of creepy. it was nice to see all the photo ops without the lines of people and oppressive heat.

one of my favorites:

we then made our way to:

this place is the ultimate fantasy for a star wars fan. it was GINORMOUS and there was star wars merchandise filled to the brim. even better was that there were a ton of places to check out.

also, while in darth's mall, feel free to grab a snack here:

since we weren't staying on site, we weren't allowed to partake in any more of the rides so i decided it was time to head to magic kingdom for the "rock your disney side" party.

but not before having a nice, cold beer to help with the absolute suffocating humidity of the night.

Bud Light
yes, it's a bud light but a bud light is better than no beer!


we had such a fantastic time at DHS. in the 3.5 hours that we were there, i felt like we did so much! it was a super fun time together & emme said that she wanted to head to magic kingdom despite taking a little nap along the way.

i was texting rachel that we were heading to magic kingdom for the "rock your disney side" event. it was close to midnight when we arrived. rachel told me where the webcam was set up & she spotted us! so neat!

people were lining up for the villains parade. i found a prime spot and the parade began. this was not as fun as the villains dance party during MNSSHP in front of the castle but there were so many villains present...i loved it.

i had a rare sighting...i've never seen these two at disney...ever.

megara & a very creepy hades

i was pretty excited to see these two and i loved their float!!

some more float action:

her float was amaaaaaaazing!!


the villains parade was pretty short but it was super fun. the villains were shaking their money makers and got the crowd pumped up! i definitely got my second wind and emme was wide awake for some more disney fun!

they were also passing out some pretty cool FREE souveneir as well.

i got two of these.


we made our way down to main street usa and i had the bright idea of stopping at msb to grab a nice cool caffeinated drink. unfortunately, everyone else in the park had the same idea.

this was MSB at 1am. both sides were jam packed with people waiting for caffeine.

i deleted the image from my phone by accident and all i had was a screen shot from my instagram page.


my caffeine drink of choice:

Green tea frappucino

for nurses appreciation at work (i'm a school nurse), i received some starbucks gift cards from parents which i used happily at disney...yay gift cards!


i then made my way to a kiosk to get some more fast passes. technically, it was the next day but it was still saying "additional fast passes"...it was my first time trying out using fast passes in the same day at multiple parks.

we then made our way to new fantasyland to ride emme's favorite ride:

in our clam shell at 2:30am.


after leaving fantasyland, i really wanted to meet malificent, but the line was nuts for her & anna and elsa (i was surprised they were still in princess fairytale hall at 3am).

i was able to get a few more photo ops before heading home:

i am a hot sweaty mess & emme is officially passed out.

speaking of hot sweaty messes...i know lady tremaine & lotso were dying in their costumes.

there was also a dance party in front of cinderella's castle with a dj. i swear he was amped up on lots of redbull...his energy level was through the roof.

i finally threw in the towel and began the sad ride back to the hotel. i had a really super fantastic time but it was indeed a long day. if i stayed up 2 more hours, i would have been up a full 24 hours. working a full shift & the drive to orlando took a lot out of me.

i think we used our time well in disney and i felt really happy...happy but tired.

up next, dinner @ cape may & a surprise at be our guest!

 

[emmebear]

Well that makes me super glad i didn't say anything then! Lol

it would've been neat if it were me!

My DS and I enjoyed your review of H&V which we've never been to. We loved looking at the pictures of Emme and different Star Wars themed characters. Emme seemed to have so much fun meeting the characters and it shows. I love your outfits!!! They are too cute!

I love that your parents enjoyed some of Disney magic with you guys. Hopefully, your dad's radiation treatments go well and I'll pray for his fast recovery.

We've never been to Disney during spring (even with AP's) since it's really busy with DS's school wrapping up with standardized tests and concerts. Also, I don't want DS to miss too many school days. My big bucket list is to go to Disney during spring to see Flower and Garden and Star Wars. I am definitely living through your trip reports.

thank you for the nice comments & the well wishes for my dad. as my friend sophie says (she makes emme's dresses & our tutus)..."you are never too old to wear a tutu!"

flower & garden fest is awesome and star wars was a total blast. it was our first star wars and won't be the last. i will be updating on flower and garden soon! once i finish up this weekend trip...i will resume back to march. i hope you make it down soon!

Love this!

she just needed a power nap for our rock your disney side adventures!

the last time i took a picture without her (as she was sleeping)...she got pretty upset so as ridiculous as i look dragging my sleeping child in a picture...at least she knows she was there.

I really enjoyed your instagram photos! I really hope they keep the jedi dinner next year because I want to go with my DS, even though it does cost so much. I am curious as to what time did you guys go to MK for the 24 hour event! My child as been known to stay up late depending on when he sleeps. I really want to go next year but I would feel bad leaving him behind!

we got there a little after midnight. she slept on our drive to MK from DHS. it was enough of a nap for her to power thru a few extra hours. she did officially zonk out about 3:30 am and i left the park about 4am.

however, there were so many kids running around at 4am...i couldn't believe their stamina & laughed at the impending doom of a sugar crash.

thanks for following me on instagram! i go disney nuts on there.

the jedi dinner was pretty expensive...i'm still in sticker shock over it...but all in all, it was so worth it as my next day at DHS was so relaxed as we had seen the disney characters dressed up. no pressure to meet them all...instead they came to our table....IN AIR CONDITIONING!

Emme looked so cute in her ballet outfit. We have never been to HV, the food looks good, maybe will check it out on our next trip. Thanks for sharing.

thank you!!!

H&V for lunch has jake, handy manny, sofia the first and doc mcstuffins. i think the buffet is pretty good but really miss the lobster mac & cheese. so much lobster in it!

Love the SWW pics! I can't believe how big Emme is getting. Such a cutie!

thank you! i can't believe how big she is either. she's an actual person now.

Patty,

Love the review of H&V Star Wars dinner. Emme looks so cute with the characters. We are trying the breakfast at Sci-Fi in a few weeks, and with the price its probably going to be a one time thing for us. But can't wait and your review has made me extra excited.

thank you!

let me know about the sci fi breakfast. we had it planned on monday (or departing day) but i had to cancel it as my parents were with me and it was close to check out time. they didn't have park tickets & i didn't want to leave them stranded at the hotel. :rolleyes

the price of that breakfast is high. they don't accept TIW discount either. just mentally prepare yourself for the tab & remember you are there for the experience! it is awesome that you don't have to wait in the oppressive heat to meet those characters...darth vader had a huuuuuuuge line!

 

[jerseytinkerbell]

Your Jedi Mickey meal looks like so much fun! I really wanted to do the special Star Wars breakfast at Sc-Fi, but I just couldn't get past the price. It's sick how much they were charging for those two dining events. However, if they had the characters from the Hollywood & Vine one at the Sci-Fi location I think I would have done it.

That's awesome that you made it as long as you did for the 24 hour event! We initially tried to make our trip for that week, but ended up there the week before. It looks like a lot of fun! Were the rides still really long waits later into the night?

 

[emmebear]

Your Jedi Mickey meal looks like so much fun! I really wanted to do the special Star Wars breakfast at Sc-Fi, but I just couldn't get past the price. It's sick how much they were charging for those two dining events. However, if they had the characters from the Hollywood & Vine one at the Sci-Fi location I think I would have done it.

That's awesome that you made it as long as you did for the 24 hour event! We initially tried to make our trip for that week, but ended up there the week before. It looks like a lot of fun! Were the rides still really long waits later into the night?

YES! it was super fun but so pricey! on the plus, it was a buffet and the food is actually pretty good (for a buffet). another plus, you meet the characters in airconditioning & they come to your table as you are stuffing your face. it was brutally hot that weekend. one additional plus, you get your photo on a photopass card to download. i added a ton of borders in every size and downloaded 36 copies of the pictures.

the negative is that it is super pricey. they should include one free alcoholic beverage for the parent attending when the check is delivered to ease the sticker shock that happens after opening the check.

i've read that the breakfast at sci fi is an "all you care to eat" although i don't think it's advertised that way. people have been ordering numerous entrees at their breakfast and seemed to do so with no issues. i know CRT stopped doing that (which they shouldn't because the steak & egg dish is downright awful).

the wait times for the most part were pretty short in fantasyland (that's where we spend most of our time). anna & elsa still had a 210 minute wait time and peter pan had a wait time of 20 minutes (pretty short considering it's always long). we walked on most of our rides & emme was in a half zombie-like state during this time.


here are the pictures that were included in the photopass card from the jedi mickey dinner:

so cute!

chip-ewok!

i added this border.


the photopass photographer took 2 shots of emme & 2 shots of emme & i which i got to download all the images. i thought that was fantastic!

i loved all the fun borders!


overall: we really enjoyed the experience. if it's offered next year & the price hasn't exceed $60.00 for an adult, we will probably go again. even though i paid $32.99 for emme to have 3 bites of her pasta, a roll & a half eaten vanilla ice cream.

it really saved me time the next day as i wasn't on a character hunt & the dinner really got us into the star wars spirit.

i will be posting pictures from symphony of the stars soon! got some fun ones with my DSLR.

 

[tdashgirl]

As always, I enjoy your balanced reviews! It's hard when people ask "Is it worth it?" because the worth of Disney experiences varies so much from person to person.

 

[emmebear]

As always, I enjoy your balanced reviews! It's hard when people ask "Is it worth it?" because the worth of Disney experiences varies so much from person to person.

Thanks!

It is hard to gauge especially when it comes to kids cause Emme is a picky eater. She never eats her money's worth unless it is a kids meal from a qs. But the experience was worthwhile.

Im planning our trip for 4th of July and I'm leaning towards all qs places as we have had some pretty awful food & service. Nothing sucks more than paying for bad food & service.

I can't wait to go back...I want to live there. I'm
Considering moving to orlando once I finish school.

 

[LouDisney]

I have enjoyed reading your reports/reviews

 

[tdashgirl]

I can't wait to go back...I want to live there. I'm
Considering moving to orlando once I finish school.

I am tempted to move down to S. California for the same reason!

 

[emmebear]

I have enjoyed reading your reports/reviews

Thank you!

I'm totally slacking as life keeps getting in my way!

 

[emmebear]

updated 6/7/14


SYMPHONY OF THE STARS!!


here are some pictures from the symphony of the stars show that happens at DHS during star wars weekend. i took these with my dslr. emme decided she wanted me to hold her during the show so these were taken with a 45 pound 4 year old in my left arm/hip & my right arm was free to shoot photos with my heavy dslr.

emme and i scored a front row seat. i felt bad for the people who booked the "feel the force" package as their premium seating were tables behind me.

the view was fantastic for the show but for the fireworks, it was pretty awful. during the fireworks, we moved to the left of the stage. i wish there was a way that i could have teleported to the main walk way so that i could have seen the fireworks behind the sorcerers hat. but alas, you win some and then you lose some.

JJ Abrams on the new set of episode VII. how neat!!

fantastic view!!!

James Arnold Taylor (voice of obi won kenobi in star wars: clone wars)


up first on the star wars cat walk:

aurra sing was gettin it. totally into character.

and our favorite character:

ashoka tano! emme is dressing up as her next year.


and the perennial bad a$$:

DARTH MAAAAAAALL!!


and here comes the:

up first on the star wars cat walk:

leia & luke skywalker.

they were working the cat walk!


and everyone's favorite:

ewoks!

don't you want to put them in your pocket?! i do!!


i felt the most bad for our next guest as it was so humid this night:

chewbacca!! i love him so much.

and the star wars version of thelma & louise:

r2d2 & 3cpo!!


don't forget to:

we then moved onto new characters from star wars episode VII:

new stream lined droid.

sabine! (i wanted to name emme sabine while i was pregnant but i digress)



here comes the empire!

the original gangster wanted his turn down the star wars cat walk:

emme prefers him as anakin

the grand finale:

during the fireworks, it was all star wars music. how awesome is that! they were no where near as grand as wishes but it was so nice to see fireworks at DHS! i'm looking forward to the 4th of july fireworks there.

overall, this was a fantastic start to the weekend. emme was loving every minute of it. this is a total geekfest for any star wars fan. so many people were giddy and over joyed. it was awesome to see!

 

[Jennabell]

Love your reviews! Emme is SO cute! I just moved to Orlando, so I can't wait to try some of the foods you've reviewed!

 

[basketlacey]

Great review of your trips! You and Emme are precious - thank you for sharing with us! I sent you an instragram request as well.

I sooo want to do SWW. It just hasn't ever worked out to be down at that time. Someday....

 

[emmebear]

To those who may be aware, my dad has been valiantly fighting both lung (non smoking cancer) as well as brain cancer. He defied the odds and has lived 6 months past his diagnosis and fights every day.

On Tuesday, after his latest MRI, we received an end stage diagnosis. My father has a very rare brain disease that only 5% of cancer patients can contract.

The disease is terminal and we are currently exploring treatments to prolong his life but also allowing him to have a high quality of life.

My parents are renewing their vows on Sunday as the disease is progressing and want to make each moment count.

My sister has started aGO FUND ME account to send my parents on a honeymoon they never had. There is no pressure to donate but I wanted to share a link. There is also a link to the local news covering our story.


LEARN MORE ABOUT MY DAD'S STORY HERE!


Thank you for all the prayers and well wishes over this past year. My dad was with us at Disney during our May trip and I'm so blessed to have shared that with him. Hug your loved ones! You never know what tomorrow will bring.