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

Hi there :wave2: Hope you're enjoying the long weekend! We're back from our Universal trip :goodvibes We had a good time, older DS13 LOVED all the roller coasters in both parks and commented that he wished Disney had a few more thrill rides ( I admit that would be nice). Rip Tide Rocket was completely awesome as was Gringotts, and luckily it was dead all 3 days we were there so even without EP we waited on no lines with 2 exceptions: one 20 minute line for Gringotts (rode 3 other times with no wait) and a 40 minute wait for Dr. Doom's Fearfall b/c Hulk was down :sad2: THAT was a huge letdown! Up once super fast, then halfway down slow - and that's it :confused3 Anyway overall the HP theming is incredible and some other parts are great theme-wise, too. On the other hand, I feel many areas are lacking theming and while I tried not to compare it to Disney (yeah sure.....) I couldn't help but do so and I realized just how much I love all the storylines/backstories of the rides at MK, HS, etc. almost more than the rides in some cases. That's what I missed greatly at US/IOA. And as I think you said earlier in this TR (or at least you said something like this)as fun as those parks are it's just not Disney. And since it's not Disney, even though everyone enjoyed Universal, as we ate dinner at Raglan Rd. our 2nd night down there both DS's and DH suggested going to MK for the day :worship: So Friday we spent 12.5 glorious hours there with very VERY low crowds, and I finally felt like I was "home" :cloud9: So while I would certainly take the boys back to Uni if they ask, my heart is and will always be with Disney and it made my night when my men suggested going there with no prodding from me lol!!
OK I'm done hijacking your TR and I apologize for doing so! Have a nice Labor Day - looking forward to your next update :)

I'm so glad you came over to tell me how it went!! I was thinking about you guys while you were gone, hoping you had easy crowds and a good time. I'm glad it worked out that way. I have a lot of pull with the universe, I guess, LOL!!

I AM SO EXCITED YOU GOT AN MK DAYYYY!!! Even better that they suggested it without your prompting. That's true Disney family love.
You did not hijack the thread at all, I was looking forward to hearing about your trip :):)
I had planned to update over the long weekend, but clearly I did not...hopefully later tonight or tomorrow!

I'm finally all caught up and loving it! :) I started reading and I said "I know that airport!" I'm in Rogers, Hello fellow Disney neighbor :wave:

HIIIII!! I'm glad you're here! How fun to have a hometown (well, adopted hometown...we moved here 3 years ago) person on board!

Read your TR all the way through and loved it! Can't to hear more!

Thanks for reading!! I'm excited to have another friend along for the ride. I'll have more up soon :):)
 
Sorry for the delay, folks. I had good intentions about doing an update this weekend. Well...it's the thought that counts, right??




Ok, I think when I left off, we had finished a great night at Epcot and celebrated DH's birthday, right??

Chapter Nine...in which you finally find out who the heck Phoebe is!!

The kids were pretty worn down at this point in the trip. On our way back to the resort from Epcot, they asked how early I was making them get up in the morning. Well, it was our last park day. It was a Magic Kingdom day. I'd planned on getting them up and making rope drop. I'd planned for us to start in Frontierland and move around the park "backwards". I say backwards in quotation marks, because we typically start in Tomorrowland.

But I looked at their tired little faces, and I came up with a compromise. We would not have to get up early for rope drop, we just had to be there early enough to make our lunch ADR. BUT...if we did that, they'd have to stick it out until after our dinner ADR. There'd be no swim breaks.

They were ok with that.

So, my carefully planned day needed a few tweaks! We got back to the resort and I redid our Fast Passes. We changed Buzz Lightyear and Space Mountain to Jungle Cruise and Big Thunder, and kept our Seven Dwarfs Mine Train FP the same. I was nervous, but it was easy, and I still got the times we needed.

Our new plan was much more laid back.

I think we ended up getting to the Magic Kingdom around 9:30-ish? We went to the train station and the boys started their game.



they quickly defeated the first villain, and we made our way into the park. The weather was GLORIOUS. Pluto and Minnie were meeting in the square (Pluto was posing with people around the Roy and Minnie statue - so cute!), but their lines were very long. We made our way to the Fire Department to pick up new cards, and I snapped a picture of City Hall



After finishing up there, and made our way down Main Street. We got lucky and were able to watch a little Summer Trolley



We walked across the street to watch the show




It was too hot standing there in the blazing sun, so we moved along...until I got distracted by some statues.



Two of the most dynamic duos :love::love:

Aren't those scrim trees SOOOOO pretty????


No.


No, they are not.


I can't wait to go back when the turrets are complete and the tree scrims are down!

I forced L to show his #DisneySide



and stopped along the bridge for some photopass pictures.



I contemplated visiting Merida, but the line was pretty long, so we kept moving (Regret! Regret!)

The boys and I stopped at the restroom, and while DH was waiting for us, he spied a couple of friends walking by...



We came back out and were sad to hear we'd missed them...BUT, we were headed to ride the teacups and got to see them signing autographs for other guests while we waited in line.

The wait wasn't bad, less than 10 minutes, and we were once again chosen to carry the red time card.



DH rode with L, and I tortured...er, um, I mean...RODE with X.



His face kinda actually DOES look like I was torturing him, doesn't it??

I might have spun the cup...a
little bit.



The beautiful weather from an hour ago had given way to Death Valley temps, with dark clouds looming in the distance (clouds are no good if they're not blocking that blaring sun!) and we were closing in on our ADR time, too. We left the spinny spinny teacups and headed back toward the Hub. We rounded the corner and
BAM!!




Yep. Dream Along with Mickey. Again.

Remember how I told you I was so determined to see it this year? Yeah, I think we were on time 59984752764 of being in the area while it was going on. And it wouldn't be the last time.

I took about a million pictures of my best gal Snow and her Prince, thinking they looked soooo good on my phone. Well, they might have looked soooo good on my phone, but on the computer screen they were super blurry...they kind of looked like people on crime shows who blur out their faces so no one will recognize them.

We stopped in the Tomorrowland side Wishes FP garden for more photopass pics

and then headed HERE...



to wait in the shade for 10 minutes before eating lunch. Our ADR was for 11:00, and we were a little early.


Next time...The Plaza lunch review and FINALLY, Phoebe.
 
Sounds like a nice morning, and you didn't get to MK too late considering you slept in!

Ugh the scrims really do ruin the ambiance!

Love the photopass shots of you all!
 


Oh my goodness!! It's been so long since I've updated. Let's see if I can knock out an update or two today!


Chapter Nine Part Two

When I left you, we were playing the waiting game before our 11:00am lunch reservation at The Plaza.

We checked in as soon as someone came out to the podium, and then sat in the shade. While waiting, the Move it, Shake it, Dance & Play it dance party started moving toward the Hub.

Our name was called, and we went inside for lunch. We were the first group seated for the day. Our view was nice!



We were all alone in our little room, but it wouldn't stay that way for long.



The parade had finally arrived at the castle, and we were able to watch it through the windows.



The boys were really hungry, so thankfully, our waitress came around really quickly after we were seated to hand off menus and take our drink order.



They look so tired in this picture, lol!!

Our server was nice, and perfectly good at her job, but it annoyed me that she used the exact same word for word greeting to all of her tables. When I was a Disney Store CM, I always made an attempt to switch up my spiel from guest to guest, so that the ones leaving did not hear me say the same thing to the people behind them. Yes, I'm being nitpicky. It didn't put a damper on our experience, it's just a personal pet peeve, I guess!

When we placed our order, the room was almost full. As our waitress walked away, in came a couple with their young daughter...The infamous Phoebe. They didn't stop talking during the entire meal, and would provide our lunchtime entertainment (and we still quote them, and this report title, at least once a week.)

"Oh, Phoebe. Aren't you so excited to be having lunch here? You are such a lucky girl, Phoebe."

L ordered a cheeseburger (with pickles only) and fries, and ate every single bite. We thought he wouldn't be able to finish it, but he proved us wrong.



"Uh, oh. You shouldn't throw things. That wasn't a good choice Phoebe."

X ordered the philly cheese steak with grapes as his side. He really liked it. I stole a bite or two to taste it, and it was good!



"Oooh, good girl Phoebe! What a good choice!"

DH and I both had the beef brisket onion burger, and it was one of our trip favorites. We liked it enough that we talk about it sometimes, and wish we had something like it nearby.



"Phoebe! What are you doing? You're not making good choices, Phoebe!!"

While we ate our lunch, we were trying to map out our plan for the rest of the day, but we kept dissolving into fits of giggles over our good pal Phoebe and her parents.

"
Phoebe, that's much better. What a good choice, Phoebe!"

We all wanted ice cream, but we were so stuffed full that we couldn't handle it at the moment. We also couldn't handle much more of our dining companions.

"
Phoebe! No! No! You are NOT making good choices Phoebe!!"


Poor Phoebe.

You know what was funny? Phoebe never made a peep the whole time. She just sat there doing her thing while her parents prattled on and on at her during the meal. But the dad's voice and tone and inflections just made the whole situation hysterical. Especially since Phoebe seemed completely unconcerned about the whole thing. She just carried on living her life, and kept on making bad choices.

You just keep doing you, Phoebe. Good luck in life, kid.

Overall, we really enjoyed our lunch at The Plaza. It was such a pleasant surprise. If you're looking for an easy table service lunch with decent prices, I'd recommend it.

When we left, we still had time to kill before our first Fast Pass of the day (SDMT, 12:35 - 1:35pm), so we headed toward Tomorrowland so the boys could have their first ever Alien Encounter...or rather, to witness Stitch making a great escape.

The wait wasn't terrible, maybe 15 minutes, and soon we were joining the Federation



I was unreasonably annoyed that they told us we could not take pictures. I made good choices and listened to the rules, unlike several other people. Ahem.

We were the last people in the group to go into the seating area, and couldn't find seats together. Luckily, we had a very proactive CM in there who was VERY vocal about making people MOVE ALL THE WAY DOWN TO THE END OF THE ROW.

Because of her, the top row moved, and there were a whole bunch of available seats up there. Thank you, proactive CM! Way to take charge!!

There was a tour group in there with us. *sigh*

They kept fake screaming SO LOUDLY the whole time. We couldn't hear anything that was going on because they were being so obnoxious.

The boys liked it because it featured Stitch, but they were so annoyed that the other people were being so loud.

Afterward, we stopped in the dump shop and picked up some pins and some of the mini figure mystery packs before saying goodbye to our sneaky blue pal.



Next, we were off to Fantasyland!




Coming up soon...Fantasyland snack disappointment and an Adventureland surprise
 
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Sounds like a nice morning, and you didn't get to MK too late considering you slept in!

Ugh the scrims really do ruin the ambiance!

Love the photopass shots of you all!

I know! I was pretty proud of us for making it at a decent time!
I'm so anxious to see a scrim-free Hub and castle area!!
 
LOL!!! I absolutely love the story behind your TR title. Sounds like Phoebe's parents are the ones not making good choices! You certainly got food and entertainment at the Plaza! All kidding aside, I'm glad the food was really good!
 


Those fries looks delicious. In fact, I am so firmly Team Phoebe that I would like to meet her there to have fries and watch that kid give not one damn about anything!
 
Please tell me Phoebe wasn't, like, fifteen...

I don't think I've commented yet but I've been following along and love your TR! You have a lovely family, and a wonderful writing style.
 
I love The Plaza. You can get a burger for a couple dollars more than the quick service places and relax in air conditioning. That castle view was pretty awesome, too!

Funny story about Phoebe. I think I've taught a few "Phoebes" over the years, complete with their helicopter parents.
 
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oh man that's funny! poor phoebe! sounds like she's a pro at tuning it out, haha. these are the things that families bond over, the funny unexpected little things that make us laugh. really enjoying your report! thank you for sharing!
 
LOL!!! I absolutely love the story behind your TR title. Sounds like Phoebe's parents are the ones not making good choices! You certainly got food and entertainment at the Plaza! All kidding aside, I'm glad the food was really good!

Thank you!! I'm hoping that the dad doesn't act like all the time...it was pretty obnoxious.

Those fries looks delicious. In fact, I am so firmly Team Phoebe that I would like to meet her there to have fries and watch that kid give not one damn about anything!

The fries were SO GOOD. They were crispy on the outside and soft in the center. Yum!

I am also Team Phoebe...I wish her well #IStandWithPhoebe

Please tell me Phoebe wasn't, like, fifteen...

I don't think I've commented yet but I've been following along and love your TR! You have a lovely family, and a wonderful writing style.

Haha, she was probably somewhere between a tall age 2 or a smallish age 4.
I'm glad you're here and following along, and that you're enjoying our adventures!! Thank you :-):-)

I love The Plaza. You can get a burger for a couple dollars more than the quick service places and relax in air conditioning. That castle view was pretty awesome, too!

Funny story about Phoebe. I think I've taught a few "Phoebes" over the years, complete with their helicopter parents.

I agree! The location, food, and prices are a great combination!

Lol, I'm sure you've got some fun stories of your own!! I know our school is full of parents just like Phoebe's!!

oh man that's funny! poor phoebe! sounds like she's a pro at tuning it out, haha. these are the things that families bond over, the funny unexpected little things that make us laugh. really enjoying your report! thank you for sharing!

I'm so glad you're enjoying my report!!

Phoebe was a TOTAL pro at tuning out her dad...she just sat there all la-ti-dah about the whole thing while he kept going on and on...It was hilarious.

It's definitely something that will stick with us...in fact, my oldest forgot his violin this morning, and I got to tell him, "You're not making good choices Phoebe!!"
 
this may be my new weird phrase I don't explain to my students that I'm going to start using lol! I already quote enough movies and video games that make their poor 7th grade heads spin that this one they'd just take in stride!

Those fries though....I was so tempted to get a side of them with my salad when I went to the Plaza last time and I'm really kind of sad I didn't because they look fabulous.
 
I am really enjoying reading your TR! What a lovely, fun family you are!

I was waiting for the explanation of the title and I was not disappointed! One of my pet HATES is an over zealous parent who thinks that everyone in the immediate vicinity is dying to hear their conversations with their precious children! I don't think there is any hope for poor Phoebe...

Can't wait to read more!
 
this may be my new weird phrase I don't explain to my students that I'm going to start using lol! I already quote enough movies and video games that make their poor 7th grade heads spin that this one they'd just take in stride!

Those fries though....I was so tempted to get a side of them with my salad when I went to the Plaza last time and I'm really kind of sad I didn't because they look fabulous.

LOL!!!!! People have looked at us weird in public when I've said it to the kids. I can imagine your students like, "HUH???"

I'm a movie/tv quoter too. Most people have zero idea what I'm talking about, so I relate! My husband especially...he is NOT pop culturally savvy AT ALL.

The fries were good...next time. Next time.


I am really enjoying reading your TR! What a lovely, fun family you are!

I was waiting for the explanation of the title and I was not disappointed! One of my pet HATES is an over zealous parent who thinks that everyone in the immediate vicinity is dying to hear their conversations with their precious children! I don't think there is any hope for poor Phoebe...

Can't wait to read more!

Haha, I'm glad it was worth the wait!!

I totally agree with you. Some parents feel this weird need to talk really loud so that alllllll the people around can hear how engaged and invested they are in their kids. Listen folks, I don't care what kind of psychological flavor-of-the-week parenting method you're using, just teach your kid to be a decent human being. That's what will impress me. Don't be obnoxious and pompous. It's gross.

I'll hopefully have more up this weekend :):) Thanks for reading along!!
 
Hahhhhhh. Poor Phoebe. I mean, if she wasn't screaming and writhing on the floor, how bad could her choices have been???
 
Great trip report btw.

I am glad your title was not a 'Friends' reference. Last year we sat in the same section of the Plaza restaurant. Something about being in that area puts you way too close to the diners at the other table. Thanks for sharing your trip report.
 
Hahhhhhh. Poor Phoebe. I mean, if she wasn't screaming and writhing on the floor, how bad could her choices have been???

Right?? I couldn't tell that she was making any kind of terrible choice. I mean, other than her parents, but she didn't get to choose them, LOL!!

Great trip report btw.

I am glad your title was not a 'Friends' reference. Last year we sat in the same section of the Plaza restaurant. Something about being in that area puts you way too close to the diners at the other table. Thanks for sharing your trip report.

Nope, not a Friends reference. Although, that show was a big part of my middle and high school years...I even have a Central Perk coffee mug.
That is a pretty close area of the restaurant! We knew everything about everyone around us during that meal.
 
Guys. Oh my gosh. I am so far behind!! Let's see what I can do this morning before I have to get ready to leave the house!
Yesterday we got our "Important Dates" packet for our December 2016 trip. Our ADR day is the day we're coming home from California, which should be interesting. Maybe we'll adjust our summer vacation dates...nothing is booked yet for summer.

Chapter Nine Part Three

After we dealt with the screaming masses inside Stitch's Great Escape and spending money in the shop, it was time for our SDMT FastPass. Apparently we stopped off in Hundred Acre Goods for some reason??



and L decided to try on a Tigger tail.

DH opted to sit out on Mine Train. He went to Gaston's Tavern to wait for us.

We had a fun ride through the mine! The boys sat together, and I ended up in the same car as a dad from a family that was wearing all matching shirts. The pictures were kind of hilarious, and One of These Things Was Not Like the Other.

The boys had a great time:







Before meeting up with DH, we stopped off for some magic shots with a photopass photographer.





I was excited to finally get the Lumiere shot! My goal for our next visit is Sebastian.

We got to Gaston's tavern, and we wanted to get LeFou's Brew, but DH had bad news for us...the machine was broken. No frosty apple concoctions for us. Sad. L decided to cheer himself up by sitting in Gaston's chair.



Our next FPs were for the other side of the park, and they wanted to play the Adventureland part of Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom, AND we were still craving a frosty treat...

So off to the jungle we went!

But not before stopping to say hi to Rapunzel along the way



First stop was a SotMK portal to do battle



They defeated their foe!! Hooray!!

Even better...their next portal was inside the queue area for Aloha Isle. I mean, we should just take that as a sign right??



I *guess* Dole Whip is an ok substitute for LeFou's Brew. (of course it is! Dole Whip is the BEST!!) We did floats today, since we just did the soft serve earlier in the trip.

While we were sitting there eating our delicious, delicious Dole Whip, we watched Aladdin and Jasmine out meeting and greeting with...
THE GENIE!!

The line was full, and by the time we were ready to get into it, they went on break. I was very disappointed to miss out on meeting this trio again (if you recall, on our DHS night, they were meeting to the side in the entry area, to the far right of the Anna and Elsa topiaries, off in a corner. ), but their handler was awesome, and had them pose for all of us poor saps who missed the M&G opportunity.



Our FP window was open, so we headed off to travel the rivers of the world on the Jungle Cruise.



The standby wait was around 30 minutes, but we got through the FP line in about 5. When we decided to make a later start to this day, I changed all of our FPs the night before...this was L's number one choice! (our original plan had us starting the day in Adventureland/Frontierland, so no need for FPs for that side of the park first thing in the morning...our old FPs were for Space Mtn, Buzz, and 7D - the 7D one we kept)

Had to snap this iconic photo of the guy getting the point...in the end



We finished up Adventureland with two more Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom portals, one in Tortuga Tavern



and one outside of Pirates of the Carribbean



For the latter, DH and I sat on a stone wall in the shade and watched the boys from there. We could see Jack Sparrow across the way swaying and flailing his way through the pirate tutorial. It was sad to sit there outside of PotC and not be able to ride. The poor CMs who were so lucky to stand out front and tell everyone it was closed...bless their hearts. Not awesome to be recruited to be a fun sucker.

Next up...Frontierland and rain, rain, rain.



 

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