The Dark Side, DVC Stay, Hoop Dee Doo & More-APRIL 2015 Trip Report***Completed 8/23***

[lffam]

Oh and I was really bummed when I read that Art of Animation has closed. We love that. We normally try and do it a number of times. We will make sure we do it in DLR, so we get our fix

 

[buzzrelly]

oh ok, didn't know such a place existed. We are not DVC members, just renting points. We experienced the start of Christmas in WDW in 2013, but this time will be in full swing, and we will be experiencing, DLR, WDW & a Disney Cruise , all in december, so it sure is a Disney December for us!!

I loved your tip about the late lunch at Tony's for the parade viewing. I am re-jigging some of our days so I can book a late lunch there. Is there a timeslot where you can do something similar for the evening parade?

OMG! That's awesome! I cannot imagine being able to get that much time off from work!!

I don't know about an evening time slot. I think if there was, it would be too late for us to eat. We tend to eat dinner around 5:30-6pm, typically. I see some people book ADRs for 9pm or later and I can not imagine us doing that!

Oh and I was really bummed when I read that Art of Animation has closed. We love that. We normally try and do it a number of times. We will make sure we do it in DLR, so we get our fix

I'm still holding out hope that they will reopen somewhere…someday. Sigh

 

[lffam]

OMG! That's awesome! I cannot imagine being able to get that much time off from work!!

I don't know about an evening time slot. I think if there was, it would be too late for us to eat. We tend to eat dinner around 5:30-6pm, typically. I see some people book ADRs for 9pm or later and I can not imagine us doing that!


I'm still holding out hope that they will reopen somewhere…someday. Sigh

It's the first time i have taken so much time off work. We figured flying over (from Australia) at that time of year we would make the most of it - we have DC & New York after our Disney - so it's a packed trip!

Agree we couldn't eat too late. I can't remember the parade times, I still have to check all that out again.

I forgot to mention, I loved the Universal part of your report also. We are so looking forward to Diagon Alley & Gringotts . The photo of you on the Forbidden Adventure ride is great!

 

[DisneyGuy758]

Day 9-April 17, 2015
Part 2



Overall, BOG is just an okay dinner for us. I'm sure we will go back because there are not a lot of TS choices in the MK and we spend a lot of time there, plus, DD LOVES it there. I think next time we go, we will ask to sit in here…
View attachment 111585
I don't even know what this area is called, but I didn't even know about it. It's like Belle's room and it's very pretty…and well-lit! We were in a hurry to get to our Space Mountain FP, but we had to meet this guy before we left…

That's the Music Box room. We sat there in 2013. DW loves it. Everyone wants to sit in the west wing or the grand ballroom...so it's less crowded. I'm going to ask for it in October when we go back.

 

[ariane37]

I also love the music from the MSEP Not sure exactly what it is but I stop and catch whatever part of the parade I can just to hear the music, even if we've already seen it a couple times on a trip. Usually after the first few times it's only me standing there lol, the rest of the family leaves me and I find them later. Fine with me though I could close my eyes and listen to the music for hours.

I forget which TR's I write this in so forgive me if I've already said this, but we LOVE BOG dinner! We've eaten there 5x for dinner (once for lunch-it was ok) and we're eating there again in Nov. and DH and I are eating there in Jan. We've never had a bad meal or bad service. We've sat in all 3 rooms and the West Wing is our favorite, even though it's dark so I get why some may not be fans. The room with the music box is so pretty though! That's my 2nd favorite room. While I feel the ballroom certainly has charm and the snow falling is neat, it reminds me too much of a cafeteria and I think it's a bit too noisy in there. just my opinion And like you said, TS is limited in MK so whether you love BOG or just like it, not much else to choose from!

I have my fingers crossed with you about Animation Academy opening again in the near future

 

[buzzrelly]

It's the first time i have taken so much time off work. We figured flying over (from Australia) at that time of year we would make the most of it - we have DC & New York after our Disney - so it's a packed trip!

Agree we couldn't eat too late. I can't remember the parade times, I still have to check all that out again.

I forgot to mention, I loved the Universal part of your report also. We are so looking forward to Diagon Alley & Gringotts . The photo of you on the Forbidden Adventure ride is great!

That sounds like the trip of a lifetime! NYC is so beautiful in December. I hope you're getting there after the tree is lit because it's such a beautiful sight. They usually light it in early December, the first week or so. I made the mistake of going too early one year and I missed the tree. There was a bunch of scaffolding up, which doesn't make for great Christmas Card pics! I just checked, it's being lit Wednesday, December 2nd. I'm guessing you'll be good

My other favorite thing to do in NYC is to see the Radio City Music Hall Christmas show. It's a "must-do!" LOL!

And I must've missed it, but you're also going to Universal? You all are going to be exhausted, but what a fun trip!!

 

[lffam]

That sounds like the trip of a lifetime! NYC is so beautiful in December. I hope you're getting there after the tree is lit because it's such a beautiful sight. They usually light it in early December, the first week or so. I made the mistake of going too early one year and I missed the tree. There was a bunch of scaffolding up, which doesn't make for great Christmas Card pics! I just checked, it's being lit Wednesday, December 2nd. I'm guessing you'll be good

My other favorite thing to do in NYC is to see the Radio City Music Hall Christmas show. It's a "must-do!" LOL!

And I must've missed it, but you're also going to Universal? You all are going to be exhausted, but what a fun trip!!

Yes, certainly is a trip of a lifetime, till next trip anyway!! LOL.

Yes we are doing Universal also. We stayed at RPR last time, this time Hard Rock Hotel. I booked out Radio City Christmas Spectacular tickets just the other week! We are gettign to NYC on 29th Dec, after two nights in DC, so wi will be there for New Years. This is my Pre Trip Report, so as not to take your thread off topic any more !!

 

[laura428]

So I just totally binge-read your entire trip report. Well done! I even learned a few new Disney tips, after many trips of my own. What parade had that super cool dragon in it?? My kids would LOVE that!

Im really sad to hear about the Animation Academy. I've always wanted to do that, but we've just never made the time. Really hoping they bring it back.

So question: I know you had a longer trip, but if you had 7, maybe 8 days, how many would be enough to really get your fun out of Universal without taking too much away from WDW? The kids are big Harry Potter fans, love the Simpsons, and would want to check other stuff out as well. But I'm the Disney geek (and DD is as well), so I want to be sure we get our Disney fill, too.

 

[buzzrelly]

So I just totally binge-read your entire trip report. Well done! I even learned a few new Disney tips, after many trips of my own. What parade had that super cool dragon in it?? My kids would LOVE that!

Im really sad to hear about the Animation Academy. I've always wanted to do that, but we've just never made the time. Really hoping they bring it back.

So question: I know you had a longer trip, but if you had 7, maybe 8 days, how many would be enough to really get your fun out of Universal without taking too much away from WDW? The kids are big Harry Potter fans, love the Simpsons, and would want to check other stuff out as well. But I'm the Disney geek (and DD is as well), so I want to be sure we get our Disney fill, too.

Thanks!

The parade was the Festival of Fantasy 3 o'clock parade in the MK. I think it's just a couple years old, and that dragon is really cool!

I'm no Universal expert, but a lot of people in the Universal forums will recommend that you stay on site for a minimum of one night. That still gets you 2 days of Express Passes (if you stay at Royal Pacific, Hard Rock, or Portofino Bay). The Express Passes are really nice, especially since April tends to be a busy time to go. We stayed for 3 nights and that gave us a lot of time to relax and enjoy the hotel and Citywalk too. Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

[buzzrelly]

Day 10-April 18, 2015
Part 2
Time to Invest in a Water Camera

We avoided the water parks for our first few trips. The kids were little and I really didn't have much interest in going anyway. But now, going to the water parks is like a requirement for us, we love it so much! Especially Typhoon Lagoon. We all just find it so relaxing!





But I'm thinking that maybe because we love it so much, I really need to invest in a waterproof camera! Here we are floating in the lazy river, and I took pics with my iPhone inside of a plastic bag…my cheapskate water camera! HaHa! Oh well, I am seriously considering getting a go-pro for next April…we shall see. In the meantime, I apologize for the blurry images!







Lunch at Hurricane Hannas. It was good, but (of course) I didn't get great pics. I think mom and I split a wrap, and both kids got pizza.




It's cute to sit there and eat lunch and see all the little birdies sit there and watch you. They are no fools, and definitely wait for their opportunity to pounce on every crumb that gets dropped!

The kids and I did the shark reef. I wish DM had taken some pics but she couldn't see great and has a hard time figuring out the camera anyway. It was fun, but I was sooooo nervous that I was just trying to get across as fast as I could. I wasn't afraid of the sharks, I was afraid of snorkeling and had a really hard time trying to trick my brain into breathing underwater!!

Here's another Before and After…

April 2013...


April 2015...



Good-bye 'til next time, Typhoon Lagoon!


Up next-Dinner at Beaches & Cream…YUM!!

 

[ariane37]

We have yet to try one of the waterparks-I hate waterparks We have a fairly big one by us that thankfully older DS can go to with friends alone, but I do occasionally go w/ younger DS. Even when I was younger I just never liked them. So anyway, I've never suggested we go when in Disney lol! They did ask if we can go this Nov. and I promised we'll go the next time we're there during a warm month. Maybe I'll have DH take them and actually get some vacation "me" time Which one do you prefer?

 

[buzzrelly]

We have yet to try one of the waterparks-I hate waterparks We have a fairly big one by us that thankfully older DS can go to with friends alone, but I do occasionally go w/ younger DS. Even when I was younger I just never liked them. So anyway, I've never suggested we go when in Disney lol! They did ask if we can go this Nov. and I promised we'll go the next time we're there during a warm month. Maybe I'll have DH take them and actually get some vacation "me" time Which one do you prefer?

We prefer the tropical feel of Typhoon Lagoon, and my kids like the wave pool here better also (which has CRAZY big waves!). My mom and I aren't water slide people and we both love it. Just floating along the lazy river is so relaxing . Or just finding a sand chair and sitting in the shade listening to the fun music that play is pretty nice, as well. Disney's water parks aren't your typical Six Flags water parks…you should try going once and see for yourself

 

[buzzrelly]

Day 10-April 18, 2015
Part 3
Beaches & Cream-I Finally Remembered to Take Food Pics!

We took the bus over to The Beach Club from Typhoon Lagoon. We purposely got there a little early because I wanted to show the kids the resort before dinner. I stayed here once and loved it and I wanted to get a feel if the kids would like to stay here on a future trip. They thought the pool was pretty awesome but DD's dream stay is at The Poly, so that's what I am going to try for next trip. DS doesn't really care where we stay…he's so easy going in some ways .

Maybe we will try to stay here after they refurbish The Villas. I love it here and I especially LOVE the smell in the lobby!


We headed over to Beaches & Cream. Really relaxed atmosphere and we certainly weren't dressed for anything fancier. This was perfect though.


I had never eaten here before. It's so cute inside. It kind of reminded me of one of our other favorite places, The Plaza.


I got a (really big!) salad…

It was good, but I left a lot on my plate. I had to save room for dessert!

DS and DM both got burgers. They both said they were yummy. I snitched a few fries from everyone because they gave plenty!


And DD got a hotdog . I'm not crazy about hotdogs but she likes them on occasion.


We all enjoyed our dinners, but we all agreed that this was the BEST part…




We opted to get the Mini Kitchen Sink…the regular sized one was ENORMOUS! Even this one was huge, not that we had a problem finishing it!


It was really yummy and such a treat! We all agreed that we will definitely add Beaches & Cream into our favorites. It's not too expensive and the food was really good


None of us wanted to go back to DHS or even EPCOT, so we took the bus from the monorail back to the MK and walked home to BLT.

Up next, our last full day Breakfast at Chef Mickey's and dinner at Hoop Dee Doo...

 

[buzzrelly]

Day 11--April 19, 2015
Part 1
Chef Mickey's & MK


Chef Mickey's breakfast is one of our traditions as we have been on every trip. However, I think we might skip it on future trips. I think the kids just felt old next to the characters, even though they were good sports about it. It says something that DS felt he needed to crouch down next to everyone except Goofy and Pluto! Plus, I made this ADR for 7:30 am so we could eat and then head over to the MK after. None of us were very hungry though and for the amount we paid for this breakfast, it just wasn't worth it. It's funny how you learn what to do or not do on each trip. And it's partly why I love WDW so much…each tip has been so unique. Anyway, I digress. Here are some (kind of awkward) pics at CM's…








Of course, I had to get a pic with my girl, Minnie…





Here are a few MK pics. I'm not really sure which rides or FP we did this day, since the days all jumbled together by now! That's what I get for spending so many days a the MK and not taking any notes! Live and learn! I also learned from reading someone else's trip report that I should take screen shots of the day's fast-passes and save them as wallpaper so I won't have to keep opening the app MDE app to see our times. Isn't that brilliant?! Plus, I would have the pictures to help me to remember what FP times we had. That's for next time though!






This, I do remember! We took DM on the People Mover for the first time and she LOVED it!! It's now one of her favorite rides! LOL! I admit, I kind of liked it too. I remember going on years ago and not being too impressed, but I am old now and can appreciate taking little breaks on relaxing rides (Spaceship Earth is my all-time favorite nap ride )! We went on a couple times in a row…







Getting up so early made us all a little tired so we headed back to relax some before our big night at Hoop Dee Doo.


To be continued...

 

[ariane37]

Ah, so that's why I like the PeopleMover now- I'm old lol I guess I shouldn't be up this late on a Friday night then! Just kidding, although unfortunately not about the age thing
We tried Beaches and Cream for the first time last Aug. I thought their tomato soup & grilled cheese sandwich were the best I've ever had! The ice cream wasn't bad, either . I too loved the decor and atmosphere, very laid back and old-timely feeling. We had a pretty cool view of people swimming in SAB while we ate.

 

[buzzrelly]

[QUOTE="ariane37, post: 54287534, member: 445750"]Ah, so that's why I like the PeopleMover now- I'm old lol I guess I shouldn't be up this late on a Friday night then! Just kidding, although unfortunately not about the age thing
We tried Beaches and Cream for the first time last Aug. I thought their tomato soup & grilled cheese sandwich were the best I've ever had! The ice cream wasn't bad, either . I too loved the decor and atmosphere, very laid back and old-timely feeling. We had a pretty cool view of people swimming in SAB while we ate.[/QUOTE]

I think that's what I am getting next time, I've heard lots of good reviews about it!

 

[PRomano]

I am back from my trip! We went Weds 8/12 and came home Thurs the 20th. We spent the first 2 nights at Royal Pacific and then the rest at Caribbean beach. IT was a great trip. Thanks for all the help with Universal. I did get the photo thing, we didn't get many pictures, but enough to get my money worth. It was just me and 2 of my 3 sons so it was good to be in pictures. It was very hot and rained a lot. When it rained there was a lot of it! I have been in August before and was expecting the afternoon showers, but not the deluge! We only got soaked one day, the others we were fine. Our flight home was delayed due to the lightning, but we made it safely a few hours late. It wasn't great getting home at 3:30am but we managed.
We did go to beaches and cream, my youngest wanted the kitchen sink, BUT once he saw one, he realize it was too big for us. If we were getting that we weren't getting lunch. I might be wrong, but the restaurant seems a lot smaller than when I went years ago. We enjoyed meals at 1900 Park Fare, Be Our Guest and the Crystal Palace.

 

[buzzrelly]

Day 11--April 19, 2015
Part 2
Hoop Dee Doo!!


Well, as stated in the title, this was going to be our First time going to Hoop Dee Doo. From reading these boards, I had planned on just taking the boat over to Fort Wilderness, and thanks to the failed fishing outing with DS a couple days ago, I knew exactly where to go. Well, not so fast…We had gone back to BLT to relax and as it was getting time to leave, this was what we saw from our balcony…


Uh, oh! Those clouds were pretty ominous! Sure enough, as we were walking over to the bus stop at the CR, the skies opened up and it started pouring! But not only did it start pouring rain, it was thundering and lightening too…Eek!! I ran into the lobby at the CR and asked someone behind the counter what we should do because the boats don't run in thunderstorms and she told us to wait at the bus stop and there would be a bus coming soon. So we went back out, under the canopy at the bus stop and waited and waited and waited. And we were getting totally soaked because the rain was so hard and coming in sideways,but we kept waiting. Finally, at about 5:40, I went back in and asked about the bus again. I told them I was worried that we weren't going to get to FW in time for the 6:15 show that we had paid for already, blah, blah, blah. Well, the very nice cast member called a cab for us and gave me a voucher to give as payment to the cab driver. The cab only took about 5 minutes to get there and we were on our way by about 5:50…phew! In hindsight, I should have just called the cab to start with when I learned that the boats wouldn't be running. It wouldn't have cost too much, but I honestly never even thought of it. I've only ever taken the busses, monorail and boats to get around WDW…duh!

Anyway, we got there in plenty of time, and wouldn't you know, by the time we got there, the sun was already back out and shining!

Crazy Florida weather

We got our tickets and lined up to get in and the line went quickly since the tables are pre-assigned. We paid for the Tier 1 spot on the floor and had great seats. We weren't right against the stage, we were maybe three tables back and slightly off—center. But it didn't matter, the seats were great and the Players came out to the audience frequently anyway.







DM and I got some wine in these cute glasses...


The show started…



They brought out our buckets of grub...





DD didn't like ANY of the food they brought…she's such a fuss…but she wasn't complaining. She was just sitting there not eating. Our waiter came over and noticed and he started asking her what she wanted and kept listing all kinds of food he could bring her. This is what she finally said yes to...


He was so nice and really sweet about it and DD was very appreciative. Personally, that food isn't really my thing either, but I liked the potatoes and beans and corn. I'm not a fan of ribs or fried chicken but I knew that going in. The corn bread was really yummy and with all that, I definitely didn't leave there hungry, especially not after this came out…

This was our favorite part of the meal…strawberry shortcake. Super yummy!

The show itself was awesome and hilarious and just as much fun as everyone said it would be! The performers are amazingly talented and were so good at getting the audience to participate in the fun! I am so glad we finally did this. I don't know if it will be an annual thing for us since it is kind of pricey and the food wasn't our favorite, but it's definitely something everyone must-do at least once!


To be continued...

 

[PRomano]

We went to Trail's End too, our next trip I hope to get back to Hoop de doo! I was trying not to spend too much this trip! We did do the Behind the Seeds tour at EPCOT, it was very informative.

 

[buzzrelly]

I am back from my trip! We went Weds 8/12 and came home Thurs the 20th. We spent the first 2 nights at Royal Pacific and then the rest at Caribbean beach. IT was a great trip. Thanks for all the help with Universal. I did get the photo thing, we didn't get many pictures, but enough to get my money worth. It was just me and 2 of my 3 sons so it was good to be in pictures. It was very hot and rained a lot. When it rained there was a lot of it! I have been in August before and was expecting the afternoon showers, but not the deluge! We only got soaked one day, the others we were fine. Our flight home was delayed due to the lightning, but we made it safely a few hours late. It wasn't great getting home at 3:30am but we managed.
We did go to beaches and cream, my youngest wanted the kitchen sink, BUT once he saw one, he realize it was too big for us. If we were getting that we weren't getting lunch. I might be wrong, but the restaurant seems a lot smaller than when I went years ago. We enjoyed meals at 1900 Park Fare, Be Our Guest and the Crystal Palace.

Awesome! I'm glad you loved it! If their picture package cost as much as the MM did, I definitely wouldn't recommend it. thank goodness it is significantly less money. I went to WDW in August once so I know what you mean about the rain. I kept thinking, "well, at least the rain will cool things off." Wrong! HaHa! And my camera lens kept fogging up because of the humidity!

Ya, I think you need at least 4 ice-cream lovers for even the Mini kitchen sink that we got. I cannot imagine how many people you'd need for the regular sized one! We loved B & C though!

We went to Trail's End too, our next trip I hope to get back to Hoop de doo! I was trying not to spend too much this trip! We did do the Behind the Seeds tour at EPCOT, it was very informative.

I've never been to Trail's End…maybe next trip!! If I do a tour, it will be the Keys to the Kingdom! I've been waiting years to do that! I want the kids to come though and they have to be 16, so we still have a few more years.