"You're not making good choices, Phoebe!" A July 2015 Trip Report *completed 1/2/16*

I love the name of your TR because my oldest daughter's name is Phoebe and we say that to her quite often:teeth:
 
Hi!:wave: I am really enjoying your TR so far! We went to Disney in July 2 years ago and had an amazing trip, but the one annoying part of the trip were the tour groups :sad2: I was wondering where you got your lanyard for your pins? It's very cute and looks comfortable. Can't wait to read more!
 
What a GREAT morning!!!

Gosh, those crowds were out of control ;)
 
Happy Sunday everyone!

Are you ready for more?

Welcome to...

Chapter Three Part Two

When I left you yesterday evening, we had just checked in for our breakfast at Be Our Guest. I was excited and anxious to try this - we'd be completing the BOG meal trifecta!

I was happy that you choose your own seat here for breakfast, and was hoping that it wouldn't be too crowded and I could FINALLY sit in the ballroom next to the windows. At first it looked like we were out of luck, but just as I was moving toward the West Wing (where we had dined twice before on the last trip), X noticed a CM had just finished cleaning a table right by the windows in the ballroom. Other people were coming into the room so this was me:


(
RUN!)

We made it.


(I did not have my phone camera on the right settings for low light since we'd just come in from outside, so I have no decent pictures of the snow :sad: )

As I mentioned previously, we had ordered online. Since a couple of us (me and X) are not huge breakfast eaters, I only ordered two entrees for us all to share, the open face bacon and egg sandwich and the croissant donut. Both come with fruit, drinks, and the table receives a platter of pastries.

We took our seats, and DH went to get drinks, water for all of us I think, and coffee for me. Sort of negates the "drink included" part of the price, but eh. July means water. The intent was to give the kids the drinks that came with our meals, and get water for ourselves, but I feel like water went all around. L maybe got juice??

It took a bit for us to get our food, and I'm not sure why. It certainly wasn't the norm, because I saw others come in after us and get theirs. Maybe it was because when the guy came over to check our receipt the first time, I didn't have it at the table and had to go track down DH at the drink station to get it, and then it was a while before anyone came over to get it again.

Eventually the food did arrive, and it all looked great!

First up, the bacon and egg sandwich:



If the fruit bowl looks a little skimpy, it's because the kids were already into it before I snapped the picture. Same story for the fruit bowl with the croissant donut you'll see in a second.

This sandwich is one of our new favorite breakfast items on property, and we will come back just to have it. And we will order our own. Yes, it is really that good. The cheese and the soft-on-the-inside-crunchy-on-the-outside baguette send it over the top from normal breakfast sandwich to something special.

Next, the croissant donut:



This was good, but I only got a couple bites of it. L sort of claimed this as his own. I think I prefer the cronut in Epcot at the Refreshment Port just before entering the World Showcase in Canada, but how would I know since my kid commandeered this one??
The bananas foster sauce is good, but not as good as on the 'Ohana bread pudding or the banana bread french toast from Whispering Canyon (which I would discover and fall in love with on our departure day).

Finally, the pastry plate:



From the top: cinnamon roll (it's under the raspberry cheese danish), raspberry danish, banana muffin(left), blueberry muffin(right), chocolate croissant-type-thing, plain croissant.

X snatched up the croissant immediately and devoured it, so I only have his word on it, which was that it was the best croissant ever. Since he isn't a huge fan of breads, this is high praise. I had some of the chocolate one, and it was very good and very rich. I also had part of the raspberry danish, and the cream cheese tasted VERY fresh, not like grocery store cheese danish, and the raspberry sauce tasted fresh too (and not like processed jam). Someone else at the table finished it off, but I can't remember who. All I know is, I went for another bite of it and it was gone. I don't think we ate the muffins or cinnamon roll.

Maybe we got lucky with our pastry plate, but we liked what we tried. I'd say, in all fairness, they're a solid step above grocery store bakery pastries.

I know the price for this meal is a contentious point on these boards, but in my opinion, it's not that bad. Sure, the adult meals are $20, BUT they are a good portion size, the drinks are included, AND you get the pastry plate. BOG may be considered a quick service for breakfast, but you are getting a different experience than other QS meals. You are eating in one of the best themed eateries in the parks, and you get to use real silverware and real dishes (aside from drink cups). The food items are presented like they would be at a TS meal. Using Kona breakfast as an example for comparison, our entrees there ranged from $13 - $17, but drinks were separate, and L got Lilikoi juice, which is almost $5 on its own AND there are no refills on it.
That being said, I'm basing my opinion on the adult menu offerings alone. The kids menu options aren't that exciting for me, and I would roll over and die before paying $13 for a miniature prepackaged bowl of Frosted Flakes that I can get at the grocery store for $2.

To conclude the dining review portion of this update, out of 4 meals we have eaten at Be Our Guest (one breakfast, one lunch, and 2 dinners), breakfast is the meal we are most likely to repeat on our next trip.

After we finished our breakfast, we said TTFN to the ballroom...



...and walked back out into the bright light of morning.



Gahh!! So pretty.

I wanted to check the wait time for Peter Pan's Flight, but it was at around 50 minutes if I recall. That'll be a no, thanks.
So where'd we go??



It's a Small World!!

IASW is one of my very favorite rides. DH and the kids tolerate it (i think the kids were scarred by the scene that takes place there in the first Kingdom Keepers book, honestly).
But the message here...please don't take it for granted.

It's a world of laughter, a world of tears
It's a world of hopes and a world of fears
There's so much that we share that it's time we're aware
It's a small world after all
No matter where people are from in this world, every day they are experiencing the same joys and the same tragedies that we are. There are births and deaths, successes and disappointments, trials, tribulations, and astounding acts of love. Everywhere. Such a simple message, but so much power behind it, if we choose to listen and understand.

Ok, Ok. PSA over.

For an attraction with such a wonderful sentiment, the animals there are pretty shady.

I mean, we have the wicked side-eye from this hippo:



and these smug giraffes are clearly judging all of our life choices:



Glass houses, animals. Glass houses.



It's so sparkly!!!

soon it was time to say



to my little dolly friends, and move on to the next attraction.

A family favorite for sure, there, looming above us...



The Haunted Mansion.

X found a long lost family member in the graveyard



It was a quick trip through the line, basically a walk on, and before we knew it, we were here



We survived the stretch, but got stuck at the point where you board the doombuggies.



Unbelievable. After my complaints to housekeeping about the state of Tower of Terror, I now have to see THIS?
Up your standards, Disney!

We finally climbed into our buggies, and after a couple more quick pauses within the mansion, we eventually survived our trip. We listened to the tiny bride and really did "Hurry baa--aackk", because immediately upon exiting the line, we used our FP and made a second pass through Gracey Manor.

At the end, we found a PP photographer:



Why am I the only one committing to the role here?? I'm taking applications for new family members.

The photographer offered up some pixie dust to the boys. He had found a trading pin on the ground and gave it to them. They were excited to have a pin for trading, rather than for hoarding!

Alright, that's it for now. I have at least two more parts to this MK chapter coming up soon.

Au Revoir, Auf Wiedersen, Vaarwel, etc, etc...

In other words,
See Ya Real Soon!









 


I love the name of your TR because my oldest daughter's name is Phoebe and we say that to her quite often:teeth:

Um...if you had been at the MK on 7/20, having lunch at the Plaza, and your daughter was about 3...I'd be nervous that you were the title inspiration, LOL!!

Hi!:wave: I am really enjoying your TR so far! We went to Disney in July 2 years ago and had an amazing trip, but the one annoying part of the trip were the tour groups :sad2: I was wondering where you got your lanyard for your pins? It's very cute and looks comfortable. Can't wait to read more!

I'm so glad you're enjoying our adventures!! The worst thing about the Tour Groups is that they just take up so much SPACE. We joked that Disney should create a new ride called Neon Backpack Mountain, because they'd put their bags in piles on the sidewalks when they were filling the streets to take group photos.
I got that lanyard last year at the Trading Post in Frontierland, but you can find it other places too. I know I saw it in Momento Mori with all of the other Haunted Mansion stuff. It's not that comfortable, however, just to warn you. I love it for displaying my pins because it has a lot of space, but for wearing, I'd rather have the narrow lanyards.

What a GREAT morning!!!

Gosh, those crowds were out of control ;)

It was unbearable, really. LOL!!
 
Wonderful BOG review. Were you able to refill your coffee? Was it in a "to go" cup? (Someone may be a coffee junkie...)
 
Wonderful BOG review. Were you able to refill your coffee? Was it in a "to go" cup? (Someone may be a coffee junkie...)

Yes! You could get as many refills as you like. You have open access to the soda fountain/coffee and tea makers/etc... like at a normal QS. There is a station in every room of the castle. The coffee does come in a to-go cup with a sipper lid. My only complaint about that was I didn't find any of those little cardboard coffee cup cozy things, and the cup got VERY HOT.

I understand the coffee junkie mentality, I'm right there with you!!
 


Joining in and enjoying your trip report!

So sorry about your Fantasmic experience. I can't tell you how many times things like that happen to me. You decide to leave and it starts right up again.

Were you on the dining plan? After reading your review, a breakfast adr is a great deal on the dining plan considering is only goes as a quick service credit. Will definitely have to try that!

I can't get over how uncrowded it was there! The last time we were there in the summer, there were record capacity crowds and it was before the fastpass days. Two hour waits for rides meant we took a Disney hiatus for a few years.
 
Yay for BOG Breakfast!!! Looks like a good time!!!

I totally get your sentiments on IASW. So powerful.

The SHADE and PETTY from that hippo's side-eye!!!

Fun times at the HM!!!
 
IASW! It is not a trip to Disney until we ride that at least once. (And those really are the judgiest giraffes in the world.)
 
Great updates! I am (happily!) surprised at how low the crowd levels were for your morning at MK; hoping we will catch the same next month!
 
Um...if you had been at the MK on 7/20, having lunch at the Plaza, and your daughter was about 3...I'd be nervous that you were the title inspiration, LOL!!



I'm so glad you're enjoying our adventures!! The worst thing about the Tour Groups is that they just take up so much SPACE. We joked that Disney should create a new ride called Neon Backpack Mountain, because they'd put their bags in piles on the sidewalks when they were filling the streets to take group photos.
I got that lanyard last year at the Trading Post in Frontierland, but you can find it other places too. I know I saw it in Momento Mori with all of the other Haunted Mansion stuff. It's not that comfortable, however, just to warn you. I love it for displaying my pins because it has a lot of space, but for wearing, I'd rather have the narrow lanyards.

Good to know! My kids have a lanyard and I was thinking about getting one this trip.

It was unbearable, really. LOL!!
 
Wow! You really got a lot done first thing in the morning! So glad you were able to sit in the ballroom. It looks magical.
 
What a fun and productive morning at MK! Breakfast sounds nice, I'm glad you were able to sit in the ballroom!
 
Joining in and enjoying your trip report!

So sorry about your Fantasmic experience. I can't tell you how many times things like that happen to me. You decide to leave and it starts right up again.

Were you on the dining plan? After reading your review, a breakfast adr is a great deal on the dining plan considering is only goes as a quick service credit. Will definitely have to try that!

I can't get over how uncrowded it was there! The last time we were there in the summer, there were record capacity crowds and it was before the fastpass days. Two hour waits for rides meant we took a Disney hiatus for a few years.

We were not on the dining plan. I'd say we save about $300 on average by paying out of pocket. We like the freedom of not having to worry about credits, etc...
That being said, BOG breakfast is probably one of the absolute best deals on the dining plan as far as QS breakfast goes, or even just QS in general.

Yay for BOG Breakfast!!! Looks like a good time!!!

I totally get your sentiments on IASW. So powerful.

The SHADE and PETTY from that hippo's side-eye!!!

Fun times at the HM!!!

the hippos really need to just get over it, because honestly, what exactly are they doing with THEIR lives, hmm???

IASW! It is not a trip to Disney until we ride that at least once. (And those really are the judgiest giraffes in the world.)

Right?!? The animals are all just a bunch of Mean Girls.

Great updates! I am (happily!) surprised at how low the crowd levels were for your morning at MK; hoping we will catch the same next month!

I hope you get lucky with crowds! Regardless of crowd level, we are always successful at rope drop :) We also got really lucky with weather. It was hotter and more humid at home last week (and continues to be this week...ugh!).

Wow! You really got a lot done first thing in the morning! So glad you were able to sit in the ballroom. It looks magical.

We did get a lot done! I love rope drop at the MK. I'm more of a gogogo person at the parks, but I have learned to slow down for my family. Luckily, with low rope drop crowds, I get to feel like a commando while moving at a relaxed pace :)
The ballroom was so pretty! The snow is extra special!

What a fun and productive morning at MK! Breakfast sounds nice, I'm glad you were able to sit in the ballroom!

I loooove productive mornings! The only negative was, because of the early opening time, we missed out on a lot of meet and greets because they didn't start until we were out of the area already.

The ballroom is gorgeous, and I was so happy to finally get my window seat there, but the downside to the beauty is the noise. Breakfast wasn't so bad, but we ended up having our dinner in there as well, and I'll write about it later, but it was kind of loud.
 
Joining in...great report so far. We were there 7/9 -7/20 at CBR, but I do love the Wilderness Lodge.
 
Anybody got a case of the Mondays??

Updating this right now is probably not the best use of my time (I have PTA work to do and my house is crying from all of the dust that needs removing), but I'm doing it anyway!

Chapter Three Part Three

After the Haunted Mansion, we had a lot of time before our next FP window. The kids really wanted to play more Sorcerers of the MK this year, and since we were already in Liberty Square, the plan was to get the cards from the place there. But...I heard some music.

Music in the Magic Kingdom means something is happening.

Something that would be going away for awhile.

Dream Along With Mickey!

I told them we had to go watch because it was going into refurb soon, so we took a detour toward the castle.



Look at those super cool trees they planted! Oh...wait...

I got a little closer



and closer still



I looked back at my family and they weren't too excited to be standing on the concrete with fake scrim trees providing zero shade, so I gave up and moved on, a little sad to not finish the show.

Little did I know, that for the duration of the trip, we would be near the castle for what felt like every showing of DAWM ever, to the point where the title of this report could have been, "Is it Dream Along time AGAIN???"

Even still, Minnie has always been a princess to me, too. That part never gets old!!

My kids were just thrilled to finally get their new cards. DH and I threw our hats into the ring so they got 4 new packs. We let them open them up to see what was new




They didn't bring their key from last year, so they had to start all over again, and would need to go to Main Street. I told them they'd have to wait until we were leaving for our break, or until we came back that evening, since we were not headed toward Main Street right now. We had another destination in mind:



We were slowly making our way toward our next FP, but we had time to kill.


I said hello to Orange Bird (I love him so much!!),



but passed him up for these:



DOLE WHIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pineapple all around!
(please don't make me talk about the lack of the swirl.)

We love us a Dole Whip. Last fall, we found out they have it at the St. Louis Zoo, but we haven't gone up there yet to see. We didn't notice it on our last visit there, and apparently it's by the river otters. Anyone been there and had it??

We still had some time, so I decided to treat my family to another first for them, an old favorite of mine



(my photography skills...hard to beat, lol! actually, when i took this picture, I said to DH, "this is just so I remember what we did next.")

Yes, the Tiki tiki tiki tiki tiki room.



I think it's pretty!



And there's birds!

My family's reactions:

DH - "It was air conditioned."

X - "It was weird."

L - "I liked it, Mom!" - solidarity. I appreciate that.


Our FP window was open now, so we left Adventureland.

Where were we going??



To visit our long eared friend Brer Rabbit!

We passed Chick-a-pin hill



and took this warning to heart



but jumped on in that log anyhow.
Pre-soaked selfie attempt:





Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh.....!!!!!.....



Just kidding.



We still had quite the journey ahead of us before



this would happen.

We got wet, but not totally drenched. X and I got it the worst because we were in front. That's ok! It was time to dry out



on the Wildest Ride in the Wilderness!!!

Up, up...



and away!



After surviving the runaway train unscathed, we started working our way out of Frontierland, and I got one of my favorite photos of the trip:



We did have to make one more stop at the Trading Post to look at pins and try on hats



Maleficent. You look...different.

Breakfast had worn off by now, and Dole Whips, while delicious, are not filling. It was lunch time, so we continued down the road and back to Liberty Square for our fave quick serve spot, Columbia Harbour House.

DH and I had the lobster roll



DH had his with the chips, but I ordered no sides. They were consistently good, as usual, but my bread fell all to pieces, which was annoying. The chips were particularly good, and I snatched a few from DH.

X had his typical choice, the vegetarian chili



and L had the fish with broccoli


(wow, it's a sad day when the food is barely in the food pic.)

Oh, and they both got Mickey straws. I had ordered them with breakfast, on the online preorder, but they didn't arrive with our meal. I didn't even think about it until we got to CHH and they asked if they could have Mickey straws. A lightbulb went off, and I told them yes, because they were supposed to have had them with breakfast. Disney World owes me 59 cents times two plus tax!!

It rained while we were eating, and we were glad to miss out on that!

Everyone was ready for a break and a swim, so after lunch we explored the Hub and Main Street.

Hello, Gorgeous



We made some friends in the Tomorrowland side Wishes FP garden



Smiled for the camera





And the boys prepared for their future Disney careers



Confidence.

Then it was time to board the resort ferry and enjoy the scenery on the way back to the Wilderness Lodge





I think it was around 2:00, maybe 2:30 at this point. We spent the afternoon swimming and lounging and headed back later for a Very Special Event.

I'll tell you all about that next time!!

Ta Ta For Now...



 
This TR is great so far. It looks like you are having a blast.

Thank you!! We were having an awesome time!!

Joining in...great report so far. We were there 7/9 -7/20 at CBR, but I do love the Wilderness Lodge.

thanks for joining! I hope you had a great trip! We thought the weather and crowds were outstanding. I've never been to CBR, but it looks pretty in the pictures I've seen. We just can't tear ourselves away from the Lodge! We're planning to try somewhere new next time while it's undergoing the DVC construction, but that's where our hearts live :)
 
Oh, I wanted to mention about "One Man's dream", my youngest niece, now 8.5 years old, really liked the movie. She said it was great to see what inspired Walt to build Disneyland and more. I don't think she even realized she was learning things on vacation, but it made all of us smile.
 

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