"Let's See What We Can See!"- Surviving WDW With Three Under 3! Updated 1/12!

[cindianne320]

Beach Club is my absolute favorite resort. I've only stayed there twice, but love to visit!

We have been disappointed in Sci Fi lately as well. But my kids love it!

Oh, Ollie- that is too funny!

 

[ikeandmike23]

Just discovered your TR: I feel this is going to be a fun ride! I also have boy/girl twins, and my daughter is also one minute older than her brother. Your twins are 2 whereas mine are 22 now. lol...but they will always be my babies.

 

[CariadMartin]

The shorts! Bless him, I don't know why they make girls shorts so short it's weird!

That's sad to hear about Sci Fi diner, but I've heard others say the same. That was one of my Dad's favourites when he was still with us, and the atmosphere is just so unique it's a shame the food doesn't live up to that! You pay a lot, you need it to be at least edible.

 

[Woth2982]

This was fine, but needed some malt powder. I much prefer malts to milkshakes, and I’m always so surprised that an “old-timey” place like this doesn’t have malt powder!

So I had to look up the difference between a malt and a milkshake lol. I don't think malts are super popular here. In MA a "milkshake" is actually a frappe, and a milkshake is essentially chocolate, strawberry, coffee milk. I used to work at an ice cream stand and had to explain this frequently. Milkshake no ice cream - frappe ice cream. People would still insist they wanted the milk shake, then would be like this isn't what I ordered. Ummm yes it is. I literally just gave you a lesson on the difference

Made me realize early on I am not cut out for the service industry lol.

The vanilla cream was good, but the cookie was pretty hard and DEFINITELY not an oatmeal cookie. It tasted stale and didn’t have much flavor at all

This is always such a bummer when this happens. I almost never order sweets at disney because they always seem to be a let down. I stick to ice cream for this reason.

I hate to say it, but this will be my last time at Sci-Fi Dine In Theatre for a while.

I am not impressed by many Disney sit downs post Covid. They really took advantage of the shut down to cut corners and still charge more.

“Uhhh, is Ollie wearing girl’s shorts??”

Jackson has for sure rocked a few pairs of Savannah's shorts lol. I try and now buy "gender neutral" shorts so I can get some extended use out of them lol.

 

[ambula603]

What a bummer about your food! And the rain! But mostly the food! I can't remember if I have ever gotten a Wookie cookie. I know I tried once, but it was sold out. (I may have cried, sounds like me!) but I do know we love the Jack Jack's Num Num cookie. We got it as a replacement that same day with no regrets!

We did Sci Fi on Thanksgiving day a few trips back and the girls LOVED it. We haven't been back because it is hard to get the reservation and I didn't LOVE the food (I do burgers and fries as quick service so I like my sit-down meals to be something different) but now I am definitely hesitating on booking it in the future. At least the atmosphere was good!

I am rolling over the Daisy Dukes. Get it, mister! I have a feeling I would do that often if I had twins!

 

[Mollydolly334]

I feel the same way! The food is nothing special but the atmosphere puts me at peace and I love it! Remember our Epic trip and we had a reservation here and didn’t Leslie even take a little nap in here,
Ollie and the shorts love it!

Hahaha- OMG that's right I totally forgot about Lesley falling asleep!! Such funny memories

Seriously laughing at the short shorts

I couldn't un-see it all day long!!! Priceless!!

Beach Club is my absolute favorite resort. I've only stayed there twice, but love to visit!

We have been disappointed in Sci Fi lately as well. But my kids love it!

Oh, Ollie- that is too funny!

I just can't choose between BC and YC!! Love the vibe of those resorts so much and it feels like you're smack in the middle of all the action! I find there's often great people-watching in that area too!

Just discovered your TR: I feel this is going to be a fun ride! I also have boy/girl twins, and my daughter is also one minute older than her brother. Your twins are 2 whereas mine are 22 now. lol...but they will always be my babies.

Yay!! Thanks for reading along Awww, love that you have boy-girl twins too! Ugh- Evie and Ollie are 3.5 now and I can't even IMAGINE them being 22!!! Days are long but the years are short for sure

The shorts! Bless him, I don't know why they make girls shorts so short it's weird!

That's sad to hear about Sci Fi diner, but I've heard others say the same. That was one of my Dad's favourites when he was still with us, and the atmosphere is just so unique it's a shame the food doesn't live up to that! You pay a lot, you need it to be at least edible.

Hahahah I know right?? Evie is more of a leggings or dresses girl herself

My Dad loved Sci Fi too I've been sad to see the slow decline on food quality. I'm not too picky about food, so its not a deal-breaker for me! But we go here SO much that it's getting repetitive and we want to check out other places too.

So I had to look up the difference between a malt and a milkshake lol. I don't think malts are super popular here. In MA a "milkshake" is actually a frappe, and a milkshake is essentially chocolate, strawberry, coffee milk. I used to work at an ice cream stand and had to explain this frequently. Milkshake no ice cream - frappe ice cream. People would still insist they wanted the milk shake, then would be like this isn't what I ordered. Ummm yes it is. I literally just gave you a lesson on the difference

Made me realize early on I am not cut out for the service industry lol.

This is always such a bummer when this happens. I almost never order sweets at disney because they always seem to be a let down. I stick to ice cream for this reason.

I am not impressed by many Disney sit downs post Covid. They really took advantage of the shut down to cut corners and still charge more.

Jackson has for sure rocked a few pairs of Savannah's shorts lol. I try and now buy "gender neutral" shorts so I can get some extended use out of them lol.

Ugh you Easterners are SO confusing with your desserts!!! Why do you call it a frappe?? To me, frappe means "frappuccino"- like the ones at Starbucks with coffee win them!! IMO- malt powder really upgrades a milkshake. It makes it so much richer and more flavorful!

I've honestly been super disappointed in Disney sweets the past couple months. We had some good ones at DLR, but a lot were just flavorless and pure SUGAR. I think my tastes are changing too and I'm just not as much into the sweets overload as I used to be!

What a bummer about your food! And the rain! But mostly the food! I can't remember if I have ever gotten a Wookie cookie. I know I tried once, but it was sold out. (I may have cried, sounds like me!) but I do know we love the Jack Jack's Num Num cookie. We got it as a replacement that same day with no regrets!

We did Sci Fi on Thanksgiving day a few trips back and the girls LOVED it. We haven't been back because it is hard to get the reservation and I didn't LOVE the food (I do burgers and fries as quick service so I like my sit-down meals to be something different) but now I am definitely hesitating on booking it in the future. At least the atmosphere was good!

I am rolling over the Daisy Dukes. Get it, mister! I have a feeling I would do that often if I had twins!

Ooooo we had a Jack-Jack cookie at DLR and IMO, it's better there!!!! Soooooo gooey and chocolatey

Hmmm, Sci Fi would be a fun change of pace on Thanksgiving!!! If I had to have a Thanksgiving dinner anywhere at WDW, I'd probably choose Liberty Tree Tavern or Ohana!

 

[Mollydolly334]

Our California Adventure- Part 4!

Day 4:

Hello, friends! To my American peeps- hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving and cherish this time with family and loved ones.



Let’s get back to Day 4 of our California trip! This day was Tuesday, 10/29/24.

Jake and I were awake by 8:00 AM this morning. Poor Jake had a rough night of sleep due to the too-fluffy pillows at DLH, but we were both raring to go for our first full Disney day!

We packed up all of our stuff, and decided to take a quick Uber over to GCH to drop our bags off at bell services over there. We didn’t want to be at the mercy of Disney’s luggage transportation, since we had to change into our Oogie Boogie Bash costumes before 3:00.

This was super efficient and we walked back to DLH in no time! We were glad that we had quick access to our bags in case our room at GCH wasn’t ready in time for OBB.

I desperately needed coffee, so I grabbed an Iced Chai Ginger Latte over at the Coffee House at DLH!



This was DELISH and very sweet; it reminded me of that breakfast cereal Honey Smacks! We spent some more time just walking the resort and checking out all the nooks and crannies.



We never made it into the new Sleeping Beauty-themed Broken Spell Lounge, but it looked super fancy!



I loved the teacup chairs in the lobby!

Our Goofy’s Kitchen ADR was for 10:25, and we were READY for some good old fashioned buffet breakfast! We had to wait about 10 minutes, and we passed on pictures with Goofy at the front.

Now, Jake and I are the strange type of Disney guests that really don’t want anything to do with characters. I LOVE watching character interactions from afar and get so much joy out of seeing the characters interact with others, especially children. But, if I get approached, I immediately clam up and get awkward, not knowing what to say!! It’s hard to explain, because I can be pretty extroverted when I want to be! But, I feel like things are just so artificial with character interactions, and I feel like I have to play a “part” or follow a script. Does that make sense??

The last time Jake and I were here, we loved the food, but had a rough time with the characters. Usually, if you are a good character performer, you can read the guests and kind of assume whether or not they want to engage heavily or take pictures. We are perfectly fine with waving hi, blowing kisses, or a big hug! It’s conversation that’s tricky for us, particularly with the fur characters.

But, last year, characters spent an EXTENDED amount of time with us at Goofy’s Kitchen and wouldn’t leave us alone, particularly Chip and Dale. So, Jake is kinda scared of those two silly chipmunks. But, we love the food here, so we sacrificed the potential awkwardness so we could eat here again.

Luckily, I’m so happy to report that we had no issues during either of our character meals this trip! I felt like the characters did great at “reading the room” and interacted the perfect amount with Jake and I, leaving most of their attention with the kids (as it should be ).

To drink, I ordered a Pumpkin Mule, which was a seasonal Moscow Mule with pumpkin puree. I got it because it sounded fun and festive, but I immediately remembered that I DO NOT like mules at Disney (remember my nasty one at POFQ?) I also made the exact same mistake at the AKL pool bar back in September- ugh, I never learn! Luckily, Jake was a great husband and switched his orange juice with my drink. Ahhhh, much better!

We said some quick hi’s to Minnie and the chipmunks, then headed over to the buffet!



I grabbed a Mickey waffle and some french toast sticks with maple syrup, bacon, sausage, a chicken tender, breakfast pizza, a slice of iced lemon bread, a brownie, and a chocolate beignet. Then, on the side, I had some strawberry yogurt with cereal and granola!

Standouts for me were the bacon (I LOOOOVE Disney bacon, it has the perfect chewiness), french toast sticks, the breakfast pizza, and the chocolate beignet. Disney breakfast pizza is always a 10/10, I’ve loved it at every single buffet I’ve tried! Jake was bummed that they didn’t have the carrot cake for dessert anymore; he was obsessed with this last time and it was part of the reason why he wanted to go back to Goofy’s Kitchen in the first place!

I also had some “breakfast dessert” (a pattern for this trip ), which was some vanilla soft serve with salted caramel sauce, hot fudge, M&Ms, and Reese’s Pieces! It was the perfect end to a great meal!



It was funny; on our way out, we heard a little girl say to her mom, “My tummy hurts.” The mom responded, “Well, yeah, you just had like 10 Mickey waffles.” Same girl, same.

Sufficiently full, we bid goodbye to the Disneyland Hotel and took the walking path over to the Grand Californian! We couldn’t scan into the gate, since we didn’t have our room key yet, but the CM at the front told us to check at the front desk, saying that they had plenty of rooms ready!

Sure enough, we checked at the desk, and our room was ready (at 11:45 AM!) How that CM knew this, I didn’t know, but I didn’t care because we were PUMPED to have a room! This way, we could rest and get ready in the comfort of our hotel room before OBB later. We requested our bags from bell services, and headed straight upstairs.

We were placed in Room #3407 on the 3rd Floor!











Had to take this picture for my mom; she looooooves Josh D’Amaro and thinks he’s a major hunk!



We loved our room at the GCH last year, and loved it again this year! The shower was super nice, and the beds/pillows were very comfortable. We booked a standard view room, but we were right under the monorail track, so it was cool to see that passing through!



It felt sooooo good to have a room; we did the math and realized that we were staying in 5 DIFFERENT HOTELS the first 5 nights of our trip (Sheraton Suites O’hare, 1Hotel West Hollywood, Hotel Atwater, Disneyland Hotel, and the Grand Californian). So, we were SUPER happy that we were finally able to stay put for the last 5 nights!

Once we were all settled with our luggage, Jake realized how tired he was after his rough night of sleep and the big breakfast. He wanted to be 100% for the party tonight, so he decided to take a snooze. I wasn’t tired, and it was a beautiful day outside, so I decided to spend some solo time by the pool!



I spent a couple hours down by the pool. It was pretty warm outside with no wind, so I was able to wade in the pool as well as relax in the hot tub! I enjoyed people-watching and lounged in a chair to read my latest book, which was The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah!



Spoiler alert- I enjoyed this book, but it was a bit of a “slow burn” and not my favorite. Definitely still a good read though- I would recommend it!

Around 2:00 PM, I headed back up to the room so that I could get ready! Jake and I got ready super quick, and lined up at the DCA entrance around 2:40. It is SO convenient having the park entrance literally be inside your hotel! To our delight, they let us in early (the official entry time for OBB is 3:00), and we were inside the park by 2:45!


​

 

[Mollydolly334]

Our California Adventure- Part 4 (Continued)!

We were SO ready to be back in the parks and headed straight for Radiator Springs!



So, I didn’t take a lot of notes for our park time over the next 5 days. Sometimes, I find TR writing about the parks a bit redundant, since I feel like I’m mostly writing “We rode this ride, then we rode this ride, then we rode this ride…” you get the point. Rest assured, we got TONS of ride time in, and we rode all rides multiple times over. So, when I’m recapping park time, I’m mostly just going to be sharing pictures and reviewing food!

Ken and Barbie were READY for OBB!!!





As soon as we entered the park, we immediately started receiving SO many compliments on our costumes. Multiple times throughout the evening, Jake and I joked and were like “Is this what celebrities feel like?” I got so many “Hi Barbie!”s, and in general, you could just tell that people were looking at us as we were walking past. We literally felt like superstars, haha! The best part is, these costumes were SO easy and literally everything was from Amazon for super cheap!!

We wanted to ride Toy Story Midway Mania when we were in our Toy Story Costumes! Jake isn’t a huge fan of this ride and usually protests it, but the line was short. And, to his delight, he beat me.



I wanted to be wide awake for the party tonight, so I got a Peanut Butter Cold Brew from Cappuccino Cart right as we entered the park! This was really yummy and the peanut butter cold foam was DELISH! I thought it had more PB flavor than the same drink at Gideon’s in WDW!



Pixar Pier had ALL the vibes tonight!






At around 6:00, I was starting to get pretty hungry, since I hadn’t eaten since Goofy’s Kitchen. I grabbed the Orange Chicken Tenders with French Fries from Flo’s V8 Cafe! This was an OBB-exclusive meal. I took the chicken and Jake took the fries; it was a perfect little snack!





Then, I got some Ube Soft Serve from Cozy Cone for dessert!





The first bite surprised me; it didn’t taste like the ube soft serve I’m used to in Hawaii! It had more of a toasted coconut flavor. But, the more I ate it, the more it grew on me. I ended up getting this again later in the trip!



When the sun came down, it got COLD! I was trying to fight it (um, HELLO! It would ruin my outfit! ) , but we ended up having to quickly run back to GCH to get some jackets. This is the beauty of staying at the GC! The whole affair took less than 15 minutes.

We got a couple rides in on Mission:Breakout. During the Halloween season, a new version called “Monsters After Dark” runs after 3:00 PM (and it’s all day long on Halloween day!). Jake LOVED this version; it has an original song with a punk-screamo vibe and he said he definitely preferred it to the version with the 80’s songs. I loved both versions. This is both of our favorite ride at DLR, hands down! It’s so much more intense than ToT at WDW.



We also got a couple rides in on Incredicoaster!



It was nearing around 9:00, and we had done most of the rides, so we decided to get some trick-or-treating done before the parade. We bought the larger reusable bags for like $1 instead of using the tiny party bags; we figured that we could re-use these once we were back home.

We saw tons of characters on the treat trails, including Sid, Hades, Madame Mim, Bruno, and Mickey/Donald in their Kingdom Hearts costumes! I really liked this form of character interacting where you could watch them do their thing from afar.

Around 9:00 PM, Jake grabbed a beer, and I was in the mood for another savory snack. I got a hot link corn dog from Corn Dog Castle! I liked this much better than the classic corn dog I got last year, it had a nice spice to offset all of the breading.



It was sooooooo funny; I had my mouth wide open and was rounding up for my first big bite, and a guy shouted to Jake, “Wow, Ken’s a lucky guy!”

OMG it was so funny- all 3 of us burst into laughter! OBB had a way more adult-centered vibe than MNSSHP and we felt like we saw way more couples vs. families with children.

We wanted to watch the 10:00 Mickey’s Frightfully Fun Parade, so we headed over to the Hollywood Land area of the park to scope out a spot at about 9:15. It wasn’t too crowded, so we got a spot right in front on the curb! This parade (and party in general) was much less crowded and chaotic than MNSSHP.

We snacked on some of our treats while we waited. Peanut Butter M&Ms are my favorite, so I was super excited to have an abundance of those! Jake loved that this party gave out Rice Krispie Treats.



Pretty soon, the Headless Horseman arrived! We noticed that this parade was paced kind of awkwardly; there was about a 20 minute wait between the Headless Horseman and the start of the parade.



I was super impressed with the dancing in this parade, the choreography was top-notch and all of the performers were so in-character!



When the parade ended, we only had about 30 minutes of party time left. So, we decided to do one last treat trail and meet the main man himself!



After getting our last handfuls of candy, we realized that Radiator Springs Racers was showing as a 25 minute wait. This was the one ride that we had not been able to get on today, and since it was the end of the night anyway, we figured that it would be the perfect time to get a ride in!



This ride is super cute; I love the theming, but prefer the speed and intensity of Test Track. It’s not something that we would ever wait long for, but it’s fun when we’re able to get on this!

Overall, after experiencing the Halloween parties at both DLR and WDW, Jake and I both came to the conclusion that we preferred MNSSHP at Magic Kingdom. The parties had very different vibes; OBB was more character-focused and seemed more adult/”scary”, whereas MNSHHP was more whimsical and kid-focused. We much preferred the music, decorations, parade, and entertainment at MNSSHP! However, that’s not to say that we didn’t have a GREAT night and really enjoyed ourselves at OBB!

Since it was after 11:00, DCA was funneling out. We were literally the only ones that were headed to the Grand Californian, so we had a great time being silly and dancing through an empty Grizzly Peak. We were on a sugar high for sure!

However, that sugar high crashed as soon as we got back to the room. We showered up and watched an episode of Friends before crashing at 12:30 PM. Would we be able to make rope-drop at Disneyland tomorrow??


​

 

[ambula603]

But, last year, characters spent an EXTENDED amount of time with us at Goofy’s Kitchen and wouldn’t leave us alone, particularly Chip and Dale. So, Jake is kinda scared of those two silly chipmunks.

This made me giggle! We have shied away from character meals/buffets for this reason - we love to watch the characters but now we just like to EAT. But we may have to add a morning at Goofy's this summer, it sounds pretty dang good! I love breakfast dessert!

she looooooves Josh D’Amaro and thinks he’s a major hunk!

Um, SAME! I actually have to watch what I say around Jason because he is my dream man with the Disney job and all. Can you even imagine!?

we did the math and realized that we were staying in 5 DIFFERENT HOTELS the first 5 nights of our trip (Sheraton Suites O’hare, 1Hotel West Hollywood, Hotel Atwater, Disneyland Hotel, and the Grand Californian). So, we were SUPER happy that we were finally able to stay put for the last 5 nights!

This is how we travel sometimes and it is exhausting, especially the in-between waiting on rooms from check out to check-in. So you were so lucky to have your room ready at 11:45! That happened to us going to the Poly (due to the hurricane, I assume) but it was glorious!

We literally felt like superstars, haha!

Yall looked absolutely adorable, I am glad people stopped you!

It’s so much more intense than ToT at WDW.

I have always wondered this, is it confirmed? Because it felt longer or more intense to me, as well. I giggled so much each time, it was pure joy.

“Wow, Ken’s a lucky guy!”

This made me spit out my drink. I do love a corndog.

This parade (and party in general) was much less crowded and chaotic than MNSSHP.

We much preferred the music, decorations, parade, and entertainment at MNSSHP! However, that’s not to say that we didn’t have a GREAT night and really enjoyed ourselves at OBB!

I did not see that coming as your final decision! I am glad to see the differences, though. Sounds like there is room for BOTH parties every year, since they are pretty different in vibes!

 

[missjackiemcg]

Mom and I checked out Pop when we stayed at AoA in September, it was SO cute! I stayed there for a night back in 2020 but it was basically just to sleep; I need to do a longer stay there! We LOVED AoA with the kids the past two trips and I think that resort will bring back special memories for a long time

My Mom and I are staying at AoA for two nights in May before our cruise on the Wish! I am SO excited! I've been wanting to stay there since it opened. We've been staying at Pop since they started the construction on the Golden years area, then paused construction after 9/11 and pretty much abandoned it, then started up again and opened as Art of Animation. This has been a long time coming LOL!

The sweetness!!!!!!

I cannot stop giggling!!! Poor Ollie. This picture is going to resurface and haunt him again later in life, I'm sure!

 

[sirpengy]

Jake and I were awake by 8:00 AM this morning. Poor Jake had a rough night of sleep due to the too-fluffy pillows at DLH, but we were both raring to go for our first full Disney day!

Fellow big pillow hater here. I like mine fairly flat. Here's the trick I use. Take the pillow case off the big pillow and insert folded bath towel(s). You can adjust the height to your liking with the number of towels/folds.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Loving the updates on both your trips! Just a tip (that you're likely well aware of but thought I'd share) is that if the line is long for Radiator Spring Racers, the single rider line is normally super short! The first time we rode we waited 90 mins and they popped a single rider in with us. We chatted with her and her wait had been only 10 mins! Sure enough, we hit the single rider line next and the wait was minimal. We did that a few different times during our DL trip, always with quick ride times!

 

[cindianne320]

Your outfits for the OBB were amazing! I've never been to DL. Someday!

 

[Mollydolly334]

This made me giggle! We have shied away from character meals/buffets for this reason - we love to watch the characters but now we just like to EAT. But we may have to add a morning at Goofy's this summer, it sounds pretty dang good! I love breakfast dessert!


Um, SAME! I actually have to watch what I say around Jason because he is my dream man with the Disney job and all. Can you even imagine!?


This is how we travel sometimes and it is exhausting, especially the in-between waiting on rooms from check out to check-in. So you were so lucky to have your room ready at 11:45! That happened to us going to the Poly (due to the hurricane, I assume) but it was glorious!


Yall looked absolutely adorable, I am glad people stopped you!


I have always wondered this, is it confirmed? Because it felt longer or more intense to me, as well. I giggled so much each time, it was pure joy.


This made me spit out my drink. I do love a corndog.





I did not see that coming as your final decision! I am glad to see the differences, though. Sounds like there is room for BOTH parties every year, since they are pretty different in vibes!

I'm not sure if it's confirmed, but feel like it has to be more intense!!! I felt way more "air time" with my butt out of my seat on Mission:Breakout!! Plus the ride feels longer at DLR!!!

Yes!!! We were surprised too honestly; MNSSHP was great, but kinda chaotic with the kids, so we were looking forward to a more adult-centric and chiller party with OBB. But, I just felt like MNSSHP was more "magical" and had more extra special things to do than OBB?? I feel like I need to go to MNSSHP once just Jake and I without the kids to 100% confirm our preference. I love those kiddos but they can be pretty distracting

My Mom and I are staying at AoA for two nights in May before our cruise on the Wish! I am SO excited! I've been wanting to stay there since it opened. We've been staying at Pop since they started the construction on the Golden years area, then paused construction after 9/11 and pretty much abandoned it, then started up again and opened as Art of Animation. This has been a long time coming LOL!


The sweetness!!!!!!


I cannot stop giggling!!! Poor Ollie. This picture is going to resurface and haunt him again later in life, I'm sure!

Ahhhh I'm so excited for you to stay at AoA!! I love the food court and gift shops there, and honestly it's just so much fun to walk around and look at all the decor!!

OH, we're showing that picture of Oliver at his wedding FOR SURE

Fellow big pillow hater here. I like mine fairly flat. Here's the trick I use. Take the pillow case off the big pillow and insert folded bath towel(s). You can adjust the height to your liking with the number of towels/folds.

Ok that is actually an amazing idea!! Can you believe that we've never thought of this??? Thank you so much for sharing!!

Loving the updates on both your trips! Just a tip (that you're likely well aware of but thought I'd share) is that if the line is long for Radiator Spring Racers, the single rider line is normally super short! The first time we rode we waited 90 mins and they popped a single rider in with us. We chatted with her and her wait had been only 10 mins! Sure enough, we hit the single rider line next and the wait was minimal. We did that a few different times during our DL trip, always with quick ride times!

Yes!! We always try to utilize the single-rider line when we can (it's especially so helpful on RNRC and Everest)! Last trip to WDW, I felt SO bad... we were in standby at RNRC and not moving fast, so we hopped the rope to the single-rider line instead. But, we took the wrong line and ended up in the LL line instead!!! So we got a free LL out of it and accidentally skipped the whole line Definitely felt some guilt there!!

Your outfits for the OBB were amazing! I've never been to DL. Someday!

Thank you so much!! YES definitely head on over to DLR! It's a must for any Disney fan!!

 

[Mollydolly334]

Day 9 (The One Where Molly Swells Up Like a Balloon, Ollie Wears Daisy Dukes, and There’s Drama at the Rodeo!)- Part 2


After cracking up for a good 10 minutes at Ollie’s fashion statement, we figured that we should move on into Toy Story Land. The queue for Alien Swirling Saucers looked pretty short, so we hopped in line. We waited about 30 minutes for this!





Team Auntie! Just missing Mel!



There she is!

I hadn't ridden this one in a while, and it’s such a cute ride. Perfect for the kids! I love the music they play in the background and hearing all of the Alien “oooo’s!” I want to get Ollie over to Disneyland soon- I know that he would absolutely adore the Mater version of this ride over at California Adventure!

It was about 1:30 PM at this point, so we headed on over to Toy Story Mania to use our Genie +!



Ollie loved being carried while in line, and Nana was always happy to do so.

Nana and I rode together on this one. We always get super competitive on these types of rides; my mom is the queen at Buzz Lightyear over at MK, but I always seem to edge her out on this one!! My arm definitely pays for it though.



Haley and the kids matched perfectly with Toy Story Land today, so we had to get lots of pics over here!





We stood for a bit to watch the Green Army Men walk through, and it was HOT!



The twins were starting to get sleepy, so they decided to take a little cat nap in the stroller. They passed out almost immediately!



Everyone took this as kind of their cue to split up!! Mom and I decided to stay with the twins and maybe do some shopping while pushing them along in the stroller. Haley and Cici decided to take Ethan to the Baby Care Center for some shade. Ryan and Chief decided to head over to Galaxy’s Edge to check things out; Ryan, Kahla, Thomas, Mel, and Chief had a 3:30 PM reservation over at Oga’s Cantina! And Kahla, Thomas, and Mel decided to wait in line at Tower of Terror before heading back to Batuu.



Looks like they had a great ride!

I made a Genie + reservation for ToT for Mom, Ryan, Haley, Cici, and I at 5:45 PM. I wasn’t super confident that all of us would be able to make it on the ride, but I at least wanted some back-up! ToT is one of Haley’s favorites, and I wanted to try everything in my power to make it happen for her today!

Mom and I decided that we needed a little pick-me-up, so we headed over to Joffrey’s for some libations. Mom got an iced tea, and I got an iced Round ‘Em Up Latte!



This latte is only available at this Joffrey’s location (right at the entrance to Toy Story Land). It’s described as a “playfully delicious latte with cookie butter and dulce de leche, topped with whipped cream, sprinkles, and animal crackers." I got mine without the toppings, though!

I was super excited for this latte; I LOVE Biscoff cookie butter and will regularly demolish a whole jar with just a spoon (Similar to frosting, peanut butter, Nutella… seriously, just give me all the spreads, LOL)! Sadly, I took about 3 sips of this before promptly throwing it away. It was just WAYYYY too sweet. I didn’t taste cookie butter at all; usually, it has a really nice cinnamon/gingerbread quality to it. But, this just tasted like straight up caramel/dulce de leche, and it was way too heavy for this hot afternoon. Booooo!



The adorable street art made up for it!

We did a slow walk towards Hollywood Boulevard to do some shopping!! Since it was nearing the end of the trip, I was finally ready to buy some souvenirs after spending the whole week browsing!



First, we stopped in Mickey’s of Hollywood. My mom had broken a pair of sunglasses at the pool the day before, so she grabbed a new pair for herself. I decided on this light blue Mickey sweatshirt! I wear crew necks all the time at home, so I knew that this would be a good investment.



Ahhhh, I look SOOOO exhausted in this picture! You can really see the trip catching up to me. Today was definitely my least photogenic day of the vacation.

We also peeked around in Legends of Hollywood and Mouse About Town. I love these gift shops so much; they are some of my favorite on property and I feel like they have the cutest clothing and girly merch!

However, when we reached these stores, we could hear the kids start to wake up in their stroller. And… neither of them were happy. They had only slept for about 45 minutes, so both of them were crying and asking for Mama. We decided to head on over to the Baby Care Center to meet Haley and Cici and get the twins some shade.



DHS’s Baby Care Center is located right by the park entrance, behind Guest Services. It was TINY! Like, all of us could barely fit in it! I did enjoy the vending machine of baby supplies though.

Ethan was mean-mugging in his Grogu onesie for the camera…





Much better!

Meanwhile, the other half of the crew was having a blast enjoying Galaxy’s Edge and Oga’s Cantina!











The rest of us (Myself, Nana, Cici, Haley, and the kids) decided to do a bit more shopping, then catch the 4:00 PM showing of Beauty and the Beast- Live on Stage! Both twins absolutely love the princess movies, and Disney on Ice was a huge hit with them, so we were pumped to check out some of the live shows today.



While we were waiting, I decided to check out Haley’s “Tush Baby” contraption with Ethan! It’s basically like a giant fanny pack with a “ledge” that kids can sit on, and it takes a lot of strain off of your back! This was really nice and evened out the weight a lot- I would definitely recommend this for moms in the park; especially if your kid always wants to be carried (like someone else I know.. *cough cough* Oliver).

We got into the show right on time and sat down at 4:00. We were all the way over on the right side but still had a great view of the action!



This little girl was just soaking it all in.



Everytime I see this show, I’m always reminded of the one time I saw this with my friend Morgan back in 2019. There must have been a deaf individual in the audience, because they had sign language interpreters during the show. And, let me tell you, these interpreters were FANTASTIC. They were so animated (you could tell that they had acting experience as well) and acted out the show flawlessly as well as simultaneously switched characters while keeping up with their ASL. They were so amazing that I actually watched them most of the time instead of the actual show. I look out for them every time, but I haven’t seen ASL interpreters since that one show 5 years ago. I should have given them a cast compliment!



The kids loved it, and it was a great way to get out of the sun and rest our feet! As we were leaving the auditorium, they played the Celine Dion/Peabo Bryson version of “Beauty and the Beast,” and for some reason, it hit me in the feels. Now, I listen to that song whenever I want a taste of WDW.

Now that Evie got her princess quota in (for now), we decided that Ollie needed his Cars quota filled! We headed off to Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy!



Rock n Roller Coaster was still closed and was down during our whole trip. I missed this ride a lot; it’s one of my favorites!

This was one of the most highly-anticipated moments of the entire trip. I’ve talked about it ad nauseum, but Ollie is probably the #1 fan of the Cars franchise. Back on my WDW bachelorette in July 2023, we had a wash-out storm while at DHS. Most of the group headed back to BCV, but Haley and Mom decided to watch this show and “test it out” to see if Ollie would like it. Of course, they knew that this would be a hit, so we had talked about this show all year long!





“YAY, racecars!”

I’m really glad that they have this option for Cars lovers over at DHS. DLR is definitely the superior park in regards to these movies; the Radiator Springs area over at DCA is amazing!



Sitting on the edge of his seat…



Once again, Ollie’s poker face game was strong during this show. He was very focused and watching every second, but SO serious!! We could tell that he enjoyed it, but I think selfishly, we were all looking for a bigger reaction from him.

This is a really cute show, but not something that I’d ever see if I didn’t have kids with me. But, we're so happy that we got to see it one last time in September before it closed for good!



​

 

[missjackiemcg]

I LOVE Biscoff cookie butter and will regularly demolish a whole jar with just a spoon (Similar to frosting, peanut butter, Nutella… seriously, just give me all the spreads, LOL)!

Yesterday, I saw an idea that instead of a charcuterie board, you can make a buttercream board!! And just have things to dip in it, cookies, pretzels, nilla wafers, etc. Sounds like you might enjoy!

Jimmy loved the Lightning McQueen show on our last trip, despite being such a big kid! Cars came out on my wedding day, so it holds a special place in our hearts, too!

 

[Mollydolly334]

Yesterday, I saw an idea that instead of a charcuterie board, you can make a buttercream board!! And just have things to dip in it, cookies, pretzels, nilla wafers, etc. Sounds like you might enjoy!

Jimmy loved the Lightning McQueen show on our last trip, despite being such a big kid! Cars came out on my wedding day, so it holds a special place in our hearts, too!

Ummmmmm- clearly you know me very well because that buttercream board sounds AMAZING and right up my alley. Me and my co-workers like to have a "board party" around the holidays where we all bring our own themed charcuturie board, and that is DEFINITELY what I'm bringing next time!!!!

 

[Mollydolly334]

Day 9 (The One Where Molly Swells Up Like a Balloon, Ollie Wears Daisy Dukes, and There’s Drama at the Rodeo!)- Part 3


After the Lightning McQueen show, we took the kids for a bathroom break and decided to grab some shade on Sunset Boulevard over by the picnic tables. Cici grabbed some breadsticks and marinara for a little snack, and we got the kids some clementines and a churro from Anaheim Produce to munch on. The kids hadn’t had barely any fruits/veggies this trip, so it felt good to get some vitamins in them.

It was super humid out, so I treated myself to a Frozen Coke!



Since we were in the area, I also decided that I might as well cross another snack off my list! I grabbed a Toffee and Coconut Blondie from Catalina Eddie’s.



However, this proved to be a not-so-good decision. I wasn’t even really hungry for this; it was more the mentality of “well, it’s here, so I might as well get it.” I took a bite and although it was yummy, it was VERY sweet and honestly made me feel like garbage.

I had really overdone it with sugar this trip. You can see it in some pictures later on… I had so much bloating in my body and face and looked like a completely different person! I learned a really good lesson though- just because something might taste good does not mean that you need to eat it!

Luckily, the twins were drawn to my blondie like moths to a flame. I shared a lot of this with them so it didn’t go to waste!



As we were enjoying our treats, Haley quickly fed Ethan. Evie LOVED this Mama Duck and her ducklings!





Not sure what these stink faces are about… they love their Nana!!



Ryan and Chief stopped over from Galaxy’s Edge around 5:45 (Kahla, Mel, and Thomas had continued on throughout the park) and decided to take the twins to see Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy one more time!



While they were in the show, Cici, Haley, Ethan, Nana, and I just chilled for a bit more and walked around a couple shops. Once their show was over, we made a game plan. The Genie + for Tower of Terror was valid, so Haley, Ryan, and Cici decided to ride while Mom, Chief, and I took the twins to see the 6:30 show of the Frozen Sing-Along!

It was just nearing 6:15, so we speed-walked over to the show! I was holding Ethan, while Mom and Chief were close behind with the twins. As we were walking in, the CM said to me “Wow, Mama! Looks like you have your hands full!” I was SO tickled that she thought I was their Mom. I’ve gotten this a few times while out in public with the kids, and I NEVER correct them. Even though Jake and I are still undecided when it comes to having children, it’s fun to try on that “hat” every once in a while.

We were seated in the nick of time, and immediately, I was SO happy that we had decided to do this. The kids are huge fans of Frozen, and loved every second of this show!



It was soooooo funny; they were singing “Love Is An Open Door,” and Anna got to the part where she sings, “Can I say something even crazier?” In the show, they had a slight pause after this moment, and in the silence, Oliver screamed, “YES!!!!” OMG it was hilarious and such a core memory. The entire audience just started cracking up- I really wish Haley had been there to see it!

Mom and I saw this show a couple years ago, just us two, and I remember thinking this show was really cheesy and a one-and-done. Well, I retract that statement- it was DEFINITELY worth seeing with the kids! Seeing the magic through their eyes was so sweet!



The snow was a huge hit!!





We got out of the show just after 7:00, and figured that we should be heading over to Toy Story Land, since we had an ADR for Roundup Rodeo BBQ at 7:25 PM. However, 45 minutes later, Haley, Cici, and Ryan were STILL in the Genie + line for ToT!! We tried to convince them to just leave the line, but they were DETERMINED to get on this ride tonight.

Once again, I knew that we were not going to make it to our ADR on time. But, it had worked out for us earlier in the week, so I figured that we would be ok. Chief left to go find Thomas, Mel, and Kahla, while Nana and I just chilled with the 3 kids around Animation Courtyard. The area was completely empty, so the twins got to run and blow off some steam, and we also watched some “Super Simple Songs” on my phone to pass the time.

FINALLY, at 7:45 PM, Cici, Haley, and Ryan made it off of ToT. 90 MINUTES IN THE GENIE + LINE. Insanity. We later found out that they were down an elevator that night. Personally, I would have ditched… I can’t believe they stuck it out that long. Methinks that Haley and Ryan just wanted a break from the kids, and they didn’t care how they spent it.



Looks like they had a fun ride though!

We headed over to Toy Story Land, and met up with Thomas, Mel, and Kahla, who were excitedly recapping their day at the park!



I hurried over to Roundup Rodeo BBQ; we were only like 20 minutes late, so I figured that we would be ok. However, they gave us a REALLY hard time about it. 99% of the time, I am extremely patient and understanding when it comes to Disney CMs. But, I don’t appreciate being lectured on vacation about “being punctual to my reservation.” I already know that I’m late and I feel terrible about it! And, um, hello, I can’t control the actions of the 11 other people in my party! The CM at the door shook his head (and nearly shook his finger at me), saying “you’ll probably lose your reservation” and “we don’t think we can seat you tonight.”

I was shocked (and frankly, PO'ed). It left a horrible taste in my mouth. I understand that this is a new restaurant, but things happen, and I don’t think being 15-20 minutes late warrants losing your reservation.

We put our names in just in case, and kind of meandered about the land and tried to think of a Plan B on where to eat dinner.



Mom and I decided to get some pictures with Ethan during our wait! We joked that he was “the best behaved member on the trip”- including the adults. Except it wasn’t a joke at all and it was 100% true. Ethan wins the award for easiest baby out of my 3 nieces and nephews- no contest. He’s keeping up with that reputation and continues to be the happiest, sweetest, mellowest baby.







Day 1 vs Day 9. Check out that fluid retention!! Talk about chipmunk cheeks. I could not take one good picture today. Tired and bloated is not a good combo!



​

 

[Mollydolly334]

Day 9 (The One Where Molly Swells Up Like a Balloon, Ollie Wears Daisy Dukes, and There’s Drama at the Rodeo!)- Part 3 (Continued)


At 8:15 PM (30 minutes after attempting to check in), surprise surprise, I got a text from Roundup Rodeo BBQ stating that we were all ready to be seated. All that chastising for nothing?? I was a little salty, but mostly happy that we were able to eat here and experience this restaurant after all!! I was so pumped to try this place; I love trying new restaurants at WDW and I was really excited to check this one off my list! Plus, I knew the kids (and adults) would all love it.



We got shown to our table, and they offered up some horses for us to ride!! Evie (and Uncle Thomas) gladly took them up on their offer!



Immediately, everyone was impressed by the interior. The vibe was just super fun in there, with the bright colors and music.

Every so often, they would play some dialogue from the movies and you’d hear some chatter from the characters over the loudspeakers. I do think that this is a missed opportunity for a character meal; I know that the kids would have LOVED to meet the Toy Story characters!



We were split up between tables again, with Thomas, Mel, Kahla, Cici, and Chief at one table, and me, Nana, Haley, Ryan, and the 3 kids at the other table.



I really wanted to order “Molly’s Frozen Iced Tea’ , but this was an “alcoholic beverage” kind of night again. I decided on the Rattler Rum Punch! The CM also took our individual dessert orders right away, since the rest of the meal was family-style.



This was fruity and refreshing, and the Tajin on the rim was a nice touch!! I had to wrestle this away from Nana; she ordered the Snake Eye Margarita, and was CONVINCED that this was her drink because of the salted rim. I had to show her the ingredients on the menu, and I don’t think she believed me until she actually took a sip of her own drink.

Although it had been hot and sticky all day, it was CHILLY in the air-conditioned restaurant (similar to Sci-Fi this morning)! I decided to try out my new crew neck that I had gotten earlier that day!



Pretty soon, the food started coming out! We got some cheddar biscuits with sweet pepper jelly, as well as two salads (a tomato-cucumber salad and cubed watermelon with fresh mint).





I had a few bites of watermelon (the tomato salad had red onion), but I had TWO full biscuits during this dinner! They were the perfect texture, really soft and crumbly, with a great cheesy flavor. The pepper jelly went perfectly with the biscuits, but butter or a cream cheese-based spread would have also tasted great with these! The biscuits were my favorite part of the meal!

Then, we got our meats and sides! We were all excited for something different than we had been eating previously during the trip- some good old fashioned BBQ!



Baked Beans, Ribs, Brisket, Pork Sausage, BBQ Chicken



Mac and Cheese, Tator Tots, Coleslaw



The amazing Cheddar Biscuits, Street Corn

This was a great spread! Nana especially was impressed; she proclaimed this to be her favorite meal of the trip! Personally, this ranked somewhere in the middle for me. I do think that today just wasn’t a “hungry” day for me, so that affected things. It had been a long trip so far with tons of delicious food, and I think that if this was one of our first meals, I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

Here was my plate!



The food was all tasty, though! The standouts for me were the biscuits, pork sausage, and brisket. I don’t recall any of the sides being particularly delicious; the mac and cheese looks kind of sad (and I had a ton of mac and cheese this trip) . And, believe it or not, I actually preferred the ribs at Cape May Cafe the night before over the ribs at Roundup Rodeo BBQ!

I think they may have brought out some chicken tenders or something for the kids, but the kids loved everything and just ate off of our plates! Throughout the meal, we all had a great time taking in our surroundings and listening to the music, dialogue being played.

At one point, we heard someone shout, “ANDY’S COMING!!” Everyone, including the CMs, froze for a good 30 seconds. I wish we would have gotten some pictures or video, it was so fun and such a unique thing for this restaurant! It was also just fun to see the Disney magic; everyone in the restaurant participated 100% and really embraced it!

At 9:10 PM, we got our desserts! This was a nicely paced meal; we didn’t feel too rushed, and everything was spaced out well.

Haley and I decided on Billy’s Chocolate Silk Pie!



Nana and Ryan got Bo’s Lemon and Blueberry Cheesecake!



And the twins got the Cupcake A La Forky



I really enjoyed my dessert; it was cool that all the desserts here came in Mason Jars! Nana is a sucker for cheesecake and also loved her’s. I think she liked that everything here was a little “different” and not your standard theme park fare.

Overall, I’m so glad that we were able to eat here after all! Nana claimed that she wanted to add this to our regular rotation for DHS dining, since Sci-Fi was so lackluster. I definitely agree, but I also really want to re-try The Hollywood Brown Derby (I haven’t eaten here since I was 15, and I had a drastically different taste palate back then) as well as 50’s Prime Time Cafe (I had the toughest pork chop in my life here back in 2020, but I want to give it another chance)!



We made it out of the restaurant by 9:30, and decided to head out of the park. I LOVE Toy Story Land at night!!



DHS at night in general is just so magical. It’s my favorite park around Christmastime with all of the vintage decorations!







We took the Skyliner and were back at our resort by 10:00 sharp! Although I have my qualms with CBR, I do really appreciate the great proximity to Epcot and DHS. We decided to get off at the CBR stop and do a leisurely walk to Aruba.





We got back to the room, and Mom stopped over at Haley and Ryan’s room to help them bathe the twins. I noticed that there was a flyer for pizza delivery that was slid under the door, and for some reason, felt the need to take a picture of it.



Mom came back to the room soon enough, and we watched some TV to end the night! Probably a Lifetime movie or some other TLC trash.

Overall, this was an awesome park day. Despite being exhausted and retaining fluid , today really filled my “Disney cup” and I loved watching all of the fun shows and experiences with the kids.

Mom and I fell asleep around 11:30 PM. It was our last full park day tomorrow , and we were headed back to Magic Kingdom!



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[Paulaparm]

I’m glad to hear you liked Roundup Rodeo. We have an ADR there for our Jan/Feb trip!