UP, UP, and Away A September 2018, 10th Anniversary TR Completed 7/22

ashw100 · Apr 22, 2019

missangelalexis said:
Sounds like a good time in TSL, cute PP pics!

Ah, I'm sorry N decided he no longer likes Star Tours!

It's just a reminder that you never can predict how your kids will react one trip or even one day to the next :confused3

afwdwfan said:
I'm so glad to see you're writing this TR! I think I can glean a lot from it to help us out... I mean N and our little guy seem to be cut from the same cloth in a sense. And we're making our first stay at Caribbean Beach. I'm a little concerned by your first night experience there, but at the same time I realize that things were different then and there's been a lot if work completed since so hopefully miusekeeping is more consistent now.

And I can relate to Joe. Not that I cam fall asleep just anywhere, but some of my best naps have been those times when I've run myself ragged at Disney and finally get a chance to sit down for 20 minutes or so at a show and get comfortable.

I hope my TR can help you with your little one. N has been causing us strife on Disney trips since his first one at 10 months old. I love him, but it's true. I think it has to do with being the baby, maybe same with yours? Anyway, we've learned to roll with the punches, the best advice I can give is divide and conquer when necessary. It may mean one parent is stuck with the problem, but it allows the other kids to not be affected.

As far as CBR, this is my third stay here. I really like it. We just missed out on the new Centertowne area, but it looks amazing. We absolutely love the pool there, it's great for kids. Our room did feel a little rundown, but the experience we had with maintenance was good. He addressed our concerns and took care of it immediately. Our room was freshly pest controlled and cleaned by the time we got back that evening. We had no further mousekeeping or pest problems the rest of the trip. I hope you'll have a good experience there.

ashw100 · Apr 22, 2019

Our ADR this evening was at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater.

We had eaten here in 2015, for the Star Wars breakfast. I wanted the authentic Sci-Fi dining experience though. I requested a car and the hostess said it would be awhile. No biggie, I wanted the car. DH and J just hung out by the DVC desk.

I took N and C around for a walk. We ended up in the Grand Avenue area and N freaked out when he saw the Muppet fountain. N at the time was obsessed with Muppet Babies.

Not even ten minutes after we checked in and I was getting a text about being ready for us. We were led to our car and the boys loved it. C and J took the front row, N and I in the middle, and DH all alone in the back.

Our server was amazing, he told lots of jokes and played everything up with the boys. He even gave them driver’s licenses, which they loved.

The food was okay, I got the black and bleu burger, nothing out of this world, but I did enjoy it. I got the candy bar for dessert and it was too rich for me, so I would suggest splitting it.

I got a magical star cocktail for my drink, I love that alcohol is included in the DDP now.

Towards the end J got scared by one of the clips and he decided he didn’t like Sci-Fi, but overall it was a successful dining experience.

I don’t know that I would rush back for the food, but the atmosphere would bring me back. We finished up right before the park was closing, but we hightailed it over to Muppet Vision, and we got in for the last show.

The boys loved it, especially N, he couldn’t stop laughing. Now that the park had closed and we had once again not seen Fantastmic (this is a whole thing with my family, they’ve never seen the DHS version), we decided we had made it that far, we might as well watch the Movie Magic and Star Wars spectacular. This was my first time watching Movie Magic all the way and everyone else’s first time period and we all enjoyed it.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to see it, but it’s a nice way to pass the time while waiting for Star Wars. I just enjoyed the Star Wars show, only one picture.

I did snap this one of N though.

He was enthralled with the show, and seeing his face light up watching it, made up for all the crap earlier in the day. I was genuinely worried, he was going to hate everything, but it turned out all right in the end. It was a mess trying to get out of there at the end of the night. Hopefully all this mess will be figured out by our next trip, because it was brutal. We were exhausted and went straight to bed. It was not the homerun first day, I had hoped but it definitely had some great moments. I learned my lesson though, flying in late Friday was not for us. We couldn’t really recover from our lack of sleep and it effected our whole day.

On a side note, Mousekeeping did come and clean our room a little better. We never asked for this, but the maintenance person we spoke with earlier must have asked them to do it after he noticed the state of the room. They also sprayed and the centipede issue was resolved moving forward.

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missangelalexis · Apr 23, 2019

Glad you enjoyed Sci Fi! I feel the same, the food is just ok but I loved the atmosphere!

Sounds like a good end to the day!

afwdwfan · Apr 24, 2019

ashw100 said:
I got a magical star cocktail for my drink, I love that alcohol is included in the DDP now.

I do look forward to that... I'm sure I'll enjoy a few. Not sure alcohol is the best in the July heat, but caffeine isn't either and I can always get a water with it!

I'm glad N enjoyed the Muppets. I've kind of wondered about that with LG since he is very much obsessed with the Muppet Babies

jwoodbury · Apr 24, 2019

Following along!

ashw100 · Apr 29, 2019

missangelalexis said:
Glad you enjoyed Sci Fi! I feel the same, the food is just ok but I loved the atmosphere!

Sounds like a good end to the day!

I wish they would make the food more interesting, so I am more inclined to go back, but I am glad I did it once.

afwdwfan said:
I do look forward to that... I'm sure I'll enjoy a few. Not sure alcohol is the best in the July heat, but caffeine isn't either and I can always get a water with it!

Lots of water to go with it, September was brutally hot, but I still needed those adult drinks too.

afwdwfan said:
I'm glad N enjoyed the Muppets. I've kind of wondered about that with LG since he is very much obsessed with the Muppet Babies

I think he'll enjoy it. N didn't care that it was slightly different than Muppet Babies, he just thinks the characters are hilarious.

jwoodbury said:
Following along!

ashw100 · May 2, 2019

It was an early morning for us this day and we were finally going to the park we should have begun with, Magic Kingdom. We skipped breakfast at the resort and figured we would get something there. We parked at the TTC and went through the bag check. I have to say I prefer this way of doing things so much more than the old way. The ferry was down because of fog, so we took the monorail over to MK.

This would be DH'sfirst time seeing the fall decorations, he was very excited. he insisted on stopping to take pictures of all the pumpkins.

My reason for getting there was super early was for some empty Main Street pictures. First I wanted to get a Mickey ear hat with N’s name. He actually has two hats, neither has his name on it though, C and J each have theirs from their first trip. DH took the boys for some pictures with Roy.

Unfortunately the hat shop was not doing embroidery until the park opened, so that picture idea was out the window. I wanted pictures of them walking down Main street hand in hand.

Not quite guys, I need to see all of you.

This one is pretty cute, but I wish they all looked back

I don’t think I am going to get what I want, so I have them turn around and try it walking towards me.

Stupid fog. Now N was losing his patience with me. Okay, so PP time.

That is not a happy boy.

At least this one, his pouting worked to our advantage.

I asked the boys only two things on this trip, no fighting and to take the pictures nicely when asked. C and J really did a good job doing what I asked…N, not so much. Not ready to forgo my need to have family pictures we stopped for more.

Half pout/half smile?? I’ll take it. Now ones with just the boys.

After our semi-successful photoshoot, Joe went to Starbucks to get some breakfast for us, and I thought lets try and get more pictures. I don't know what I was thinking

Okay, I’m failing, let’s stop. Then the Main Street performers came out, and I don’t know if there is a better start to the day.

N was pretty pouty at this point, not even the Main Street performers could cheer him up and they tried. I was beyond frustrated. We met back up with Joe and grabbed a table with a view.

N didn’t join our breakfast, but everyone enjoyed themselves. I was contemplating going back to the room. The last thing I want to do is drag a grumpy kid around the parks, at least this way DH and the older two boys could enjoy themselves. We decided to play it by ear. We got in the group of people waiting to enter Adventureland and the boys started playing a game with each other and N perked up.

As soon as the rope dropped we headed to Jungle Cruise and we got on the second boat of the day. I actually sat on the left side of the boat for once and was able to get some new pictures.

We had a great skipper who was really into it, which is always appreciated. Next for us was Pirates of the Caribbean. After having ridden this is Disneyland, this just wasn’t the same. Of course that is literally true because now there is the new redhead scene.

I always forget there's a camera there

Our plan was to go to Hall of Presidents next, we have never seen this show, and I was excited to try something new. On the way a DVC CM stopped us and I was too polite to not engage. We ended up talking for a while. Some characters from Splash Mountain were out, so the boys were hanging with them. We walked away from the interaction with an appointment to speak to a DVC person on Tuesday. Now it was time for Hall of Presidents, of course we just missed the show, so we had to wait awhile. Luckily there are many things to look at.

Don't mind N, he's just hanging out

He then wanted a picture with him, which kind of became a theme with him

There was not a lot of people in there and the boys took the chance to horse around and burn off some energy.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with the show. I felt like with it featuring current presidents, it could be political and I really don’t want to think about that on a Disney vacation, however I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was not political at all and taught me a lot. I enjoyed this much more than American Adventure for sure and would definitely make time to do it again.

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Once the show was over, our FP was about to expire, thankfully it wasn’t a far walk.

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ashw100 · May 2, 2019

Time for Haunted Mansion

I was excited to be able to see all of the portrait transformation, which pretty much never happens.

It sets up the whole ride and it bugs me that they just push people through this part without letting them enjoy the full experience. HM was great as ever, the boys are always apprehensive for this one, but once we get through the stretching room they’re fine. We had to stop in Momento Mori after the ride. C saw these ears he liked, he wasn’t ready to make a purchase but he had me take a picture for future reference.

I however found some HM ears I loved and I did buy them (pictured later). DH also got a tie that had the HM wallpaper on it. Only hardcore Disney fans would spot it, and we love incorporating subtle Disney in our life. While we were checking out, we had another amazing CM interaction. Glenn took a liking to our boys and asked them if they liked stickers. He gave them each a couple of hitchhiking ghosts stickers. Then he made up a box for each of them (kind of like a cupcake box) and he explained that every store carries their own stickers and they could collect them from each merchandise location. He then gave them each a couple of Woody, Olaf, and Mickey stickers. He spent five minutes with us and the boys loved it. Make sure you say hi if you spot Glenn in Momento Mori, we saw him do this later in the week, so it seems it’s his thing.

After dropping some cash on HM items, we had another FP to use. Our FP was for BTMRR and no one but DH and I were excited. We asked C and J to go on everything at least once with the exception of the truly intense ones like ToT, RnR, and EE. And while they agreed to do it, they weren’t happy about it.

In Disneyland N loved this ride and giggled the entire time, while J screamed bloody murder the whole time. Funnily enough, this time was the exact opposite, J loved it. We had to appease N with his stickers after the ride. C, like I said doesn’t love thrill rides, but he does tolerate some of them, so that something I guess. Before we headed over to our lunch location I tried to get on the app and do a pre-order. The app has never been great, I think that is something all Disney fans can agree on, but this trip is was truly horrendous. I could never get anything to load and it was incredibly frustrating when I would do mobile order and then the app wouldn’t work when I got to the restaurant. After several minutes of trying we gave up and just started to walk over to Pecos Bill and while I walked I was finally able to place our order. We got a couple of orders of nachos and fajitas for DH along with some slushees. PB doesn’t get a lot of love, but we love Tex-mex and yes we live in Texas and get it all the time, but we really enjoy it here. I said goodbye to DH, C, and J and N and I headed out to Splash Mountain.

You see even after all the trouble he gave us on Star Tours and BTMRR, he insisted on Splash Mountain. I even showed his the big drop at the end, but he said he wanted to do it. I had a FP I had made for us, so off we went.

The verdict??? He hated it, it was too scary I mean I did try to warn him. We met back up, the boys had ridden Aladdin twice. We were almost ready to head out for the day, but we had one more thing on the brain…Dole Whips. We did the mobile order and our order was ready quickly. While we were getting our order a lady came up and was very upset with the CM, that she had mobile ordered and not gotten her dole whips. She gave us a dirty look like we had stolen hers or something. We scarfed them down, partly because it’s a delicious Dole Whips, but mostly because it was crazy hot and melting fast. We stopped in the Emporium to look around and I spotted these amazing Wilderness Explorer ear hats, and I had to buy one for each of the boys.

Satisfied with our day at Magic Kingdom, we were ready to head out for an afternoon break.

We swam for awhile. The boys loved going down the big slides. N was happy to play the pool games with the other kids. DH and I just enjoyed the cool pool, did mention how hot it was and that was coming from people who survived the Texas summer. There is something about Florida’s humidity, that is just oppressive.

After our relaxing break, we were ready to head back out for the evening. Our park for the evening was Epcot. We needed more PP pictures, which were slightly better than the ones this morning.

DH learned to tickle N to get him to smile. This evening is very light on pictures and my memory is kind of fuzzy, but I’ll try to piece together what I can. The boys were quite hungry, so our first stop was Electric Umbrella. We’ve never been here, but the boys liked it well enough. DH and I opted to save ourselves for some F&W yummies. Our next stop was Club Cool. This is one of our favorite spots and of course he had to trick the boys with Beverly. C remembers, but he plays along just the same, which I appreciate. Filled up with sugary beverages, we went in search of some F&W snacks. The first booth we went to was the cheese booth, and we got the cheese trio and blueberry sparkling wine. The cheese trio was an interesting mix of cheese and fruit spreads. You got the nice sweet and savory combo from this. The wine was light and refreshing. Next we went to Coastal Eats, and DH wanted to try the scallops. We are not seafood eaters at all, but we wanted to be adventurous. They were pretty flavourless and the succotash didn’t really do anything to enhance the flavors. It was just meh. We went to the land to ride LwtL, but we saw Soarin only had a 30 minute wait so we got in line.

So far we have never waited more than 20 minutes for any ride, and it’s an accomplishment I am quite proud of, but I was okay with 30 minutes. J really fell in love with ride in DL and we got to ride it 4 or five times in a weekend, and while I couldn’t make that happen at WDW sadly, I thought 30 minutes was worth it. We tried to play the game on the park play app but it wasn’t working. It was fine, we passed the time chatting and lucked out that the wait was only 20 minutes. I still got it .

We then had to ride LwtL, which was a walk on. I had to say, I was loving these September crowds so far.

We then walked over to the Seas and of course needed more PP pictures.

Now make a fish face

Nemo was another walk on, but really is it ever not?

We had plans to talk to a turtle, but just missed the show. We passed the time playing the games in the waiting area.

Right before the show was to start N tells me he has to go to the bathroom. And by the smells he was giving off, it could not wait. DH took the other two and they had a great show. C got picked to ask a question. He is really lucky at getting picked, right now he is 4 for 4. He ask Crush what his favorite food is. Crush told him sea grass and that is why he is green. Crush asked C his favorite food, which is replied spaghetti and Crush asked if he was spaghetti colored. Meanwhile, N and I played in the shark area. As many times as we’ve been to the Seas, we’ve never looked around so it was fun to explore.

I took N up to the aquarium too, but the show was getting out so we moved on.

DH and I were starving at this point. The two split plates were not doing anything for us anymore, so we headed out in search of some more food.

We got more cheese at the Wine and Dine Studio. I wanted wine to go with it, but their wine was not working. The cheese was very good, but only if you like strong cheeses,.

Our next booth was Australia where we got the lamb chop. It was covered with potato chips and mint and it was very good. I did not think the I would like the combo of mint and lamb, but they work well together and the chips added a nice crunch. Next was the Almond Orchard with the spinach dip and banana almond soft-serve. The dip was very bland. The sundae was very good, it was light and refreshing.

We started making our way into the world showcase and DH stopped at the refreshment port for beef brisket poutine. While he got that I went into the shop there and picked up some maple cookies. I wanted to pick up packaged food from as many countries as I could, so when we got home we could do a little eating around the world to beat the post Disney blues. We met back up and ate the poutine, The brisket dry and tough and the dish was too salty. DH did enjoy it though.

We were less than an hour away from Illuminations, but we had a few more stops to make. We hustled back to France and into Artesian De Glace. The boys got plain ice cream, but Joe and I went with the croque glace. I was not a fan, something about bread and ice cream just didn’t go together for me. DH however, loved it. It is now his go to dessert. While we were heading back through WS on our way to our final stop for the night, we stopped at the Ireland booth and picked up a warm chocolate pudding. This was so good, not too rich, which is perfect. The cake was moist and oh so scrumptious. Finally we’d had our fill and it was time to get our spot for Illuminations. Earlier in the day I had grabbed a FP for it, since nothing else good was available. I tried to switch it all day with no luck. I do enjoy this view though, and it’s easy access to the exit. The boys munched on goldfish I had brought from home and played with their glow sticks while we waited. Less than two minutes to show time and the skies opened up. We donned our ponchos, I had picked up the day before and made a plan of action.

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DH wanted to leave. I wanted to stay. At the time, was heavily rumored to be going away, and this could be our last chance to see it. Dh reluctantly acquiesced to my request and we stuck it out. It only rained for five minutes or less and then the show as on. The area had cleared out and the boys had room to dance around to the music. It was one of my favorite memories from the trip. We were cold, wet, and tired, but we were in our happy place enjoying our time together. It was perfect. Also as it turns our, literally the next morning it was announced that it was getting replaced. I was glad we stuck it out. We drove back to CBR and crashed for the night.

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missangelalexis · May 3, 2019

Love the matching shirts! I'm sorry N was being difficult in the beginning but sounds like he got better! Looks like a fun time in MK. Loved hearing about the cute interaction with the CM at Memento Mori!

Cute pics at Epcot! Sounds like a fun night!! Glad you stuck it out for Illuminations.

afwdwfan · May 3, 2019

Awesome way to end the day... the rain can be a pain, but sometimes it does make things work better! Sorry it didn't start off on a better foot though. Kids... what can you do?

I'm with you in the Peco's Bill camp. I always liked it before. Even though it was just the basic burger place, it was kind of a staple for our family and it seemed like we always ate lunch there our first day in the park. I was kind of disappointed when they changed the menu (even though I do like that kind of food). It's still a favorite though. Not only for the nostalgia, but because it is just some good and filling food!

I might need to check out these HM ties. I've got a Mickey tie that has small Mickey heads on it so it can be subtly worn. I'd like to add another!

ashw100 · May 6, 2019

missangelalexis said:
Love the matching shirts!

Thanks

missangelalexis said:
Cute pics at Epcot! Sounds like a fun night!! Glad you stuck it out for Illuminations.

Me too, at that time I didn't think we would be back to see it again, plus it was just so fun with the boys dancing around in the rain enjoying it.

afwdwfan said:
Awesome way to end the day... the rain can be a pain, but sometimes it does make things work better! Sorry it didn't start off on a better foot though. Kids... what can you do?

I was thinking that when I was reading your TR too. Rain can actually be a blessing in disguising clearing out the crowds.

afwdwfan said:
I'm with you in the Peco's Bill camp. I always liked it before. Even though it was just the basic burger place, it was kind of a staple for our family and it seemed like we always ate lunch there our first day in the park. I was kind of disappointed when they changed the menu (even though I do like that kind of food). It's still a favorite though. Not only for the nostalgia, but because it is just some good and filling food!

Plus side, it is a little less crowded then the other spots.

afwdwfan said:
I might need to check out these HM ties. I've got a Mickey tie that has small Mickey heads on it so it can be subtly worn. I'd like to add another!

Definitely, I think it is the perfect way to incorporate Disney into every day life.

ashw100 · May 6, 2019

It was another super early morning for us. We were up and out of the room by 6:45. We refilled our mugs before heading out. Nicholas was ready for his Star Wars day.

We got to DHS right after 7 and it was way more crowded then I expected. We quickly learned that this was the first morning for Early Morning Magic. We asked the CM where we should go since everyone there was there for EMM and the CMs literally acted like this was unheard of. We were there 45 minutes before our reservation and they didn’t know what to do with us. It was very bizarre to be honest. This is not the first time I have arrived this early and it has never been an issue before. Finally after asking about five people we were told that we could line up in the two most left tapstiles to wait.

Not even five minutes later there was another family asking. We told them they could get behind us, but I guess we weren’t believable enough. A CM told them to get behind us.

They waited a little while and more ADR people show up, but I think they got annoyed by seeing streams of people entering DHS for EMM, so they basically demand to be let in with everyone else and the CM lets them? It was a very strange morning to be sure, I think the CMs were really off their game with this being the first morning for EMM. We passed the time playing games.

Shortly before 8 we were let in for the day. We hoofed it straight over to the Jedi Training Academy sign up. This would be N’s first time and we were all excited. When asked his age N proceed to tell them 6, which is favorite age to say. We kept trying to get him to say four, without telling him four. He did eventually get there, but I think the CM thought we were lying. Once signed up, we walked back to Hollywood and Vine for our breakfast reservation. We were the first ones checked and were excited to eat some food. The second family to check in got called back right away, and they got a special private meet and greet with all the characters. It was a little frustrating to miss out on this, since we were there first. We were called back next and sat near the windows. We filled up our plates and waited for the characters. First we had Sophia.

Then Roadster Goofy

Doc

And Jake

This used to be such a fun meal with dancing and singing, but it’s pretty boring now. I think the characters are outdated, and the food is just okay. We had a good server this time, but usually it’s bad here. The only reason I booked this was to get in to sign up the boys for JTA, but with how things are going to be at DHS moving forward, I think getting this won’t be as hard. People will be rushing off to the Galaxy’s Edge, or TSL, or Mickey Runaway Railway. So I don’t think we’ll be eating here again for this breakfast.

We were done right around 9, and the throngs of people had already been let in. When we got back to TSL, the wait for Slinky Dog was 45 minutes. Remember I said we had never waited more than 20 minutes for anything? That was about to change today. N was really excited to go on this ride, and I wasn’t able to get a FP for it, so stand-by it is.

We waited every minute of that 45 minutes posted wait, but it really didn’t feel bad at all. We passed the time with the Play app and that really kept everyone happy. DH and I were not looking forward to this as it looked pretty tame. However, everyone (except N), loved this ride. I think it really is a great coaster for kids just getting their feel for coasters. I was so happy we waited and thought it was totally worth it.

N was pretty mad for making us go on this.

He was pretty cranky but we had a FP to use at Alien Swirling Saucers.

N was happy now

Ready to swirl

This ride is just meh. I didn’t really care for the Mater version in DCA, and I liked this one even less. I don’t think we’ll go on this again unless it’s a walk on.

Our next FP was for Star Tours, N was nervous to go but didn’t freak out this time. J got to see his name come up in the queue which was fun.

Ready for takeoff

It was time to drop the kids off for JTA.

Joe and I sat off to the side that I think might be an overflow exit for Indy. We were chatting and hear, “where are Nicholas S’s parents?”

The CM said that N seemed upset. I asked If anything happened and he said his brudder rotfl2 was annoying him. N does not get along with his brothers that well, so something J said upset him. I asked if he wanted to be a Jedi and he said yes. I asked that he be seated away from his bothers and he was fine from there on out. Shortly, DH left to find us a spot by the stage and I lined up with N.

J and C were somewhere in the line behind us. Also, I was worried about C, since he is older, would get moved to the lower stage and DH and I would have to split up to see everyone. I asked the CM and she said they always try to keep siblings together, so that was a relief.

Since you have to walk all the way from the Indiana Jones Store, to ST, they make you get in two lines and then the CM yells “Here come the Jedi!” and the kids yell “Here we come!” It is so cute, but also slightly uncomfortable if you don’t like hundreds of people staring at you.

All the kids were on the upper stage (they typically fight Vader).

N was so excited

We were very worried about N’s ability to follow instructions. Thankfully he was right up front, and the Jedi trainers were good about helping him. Sadly J was in a position were I couldn’t really see him.

After they practice their moves, the bad guys arrive.

I don’t understand how they justify having DV and Kylo on stage together. I hadn’t seen Kylo before, it used to be the 7th sister. Which canon wise make sense since they were in Rebels together, I guess too many complained about having to battle her? But I digress. The boys fought Vader.

J

C

N

Very hot and sweaty from the show, we got the boys some ice cream for an outstanding job in the Jedi training. We had one more stop before heading out for the day. As you know I love my pictures, and I really wanted to recreate a fun photo from out last trip.

2017

We dragged five Star Wars ear hats all the way from Texas and N refused to cooperate. He didn’t want to wear his hat.

It’s something I guess.

We went back to the room and relaxed for awhile.

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ashw100 · May 6, 2019

We didn’t take too long of a break because we had an ADR to get to.

This was our first time at Fort Wilderness , I was pretty excited. N fell asleep on the drive over, but I was hoping he would get up. We took an internal bus over to Pioneer Hall.

N was still asleep but we got a picture anyway.

We were there pretty early, so we just found a bench and waited. I thought of getting a beer, but decided against it, since we could get a beer during dinner.

Finally it was time to be let in

Still Sleeping

We had a very grouchy waitress. She seemed annoyed that I asked for the Buzz Lightyear glow cups. We asked for beer, and were never offered refills. I had heard you could get kids stuff from the restaurant attached (I think Trails End), but she was so unpleasant I didn’t want to ask. Finally when N woke up, she did bring us some mac and cheese, which was helpful, but it was way after the rest of dinner was served. Overall. The food and service should have put a bad taste in my mouth, but the show more than made up for it.

I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but we all loved it. The boys loved the slapstick humor. The music was good and the performers super entertaining. Claire Delune even took a liking to N. It was a really great time, I can’t wait to do this one again.

After dinner, we drove back to CBR and went for a dip in the Jamaica quiet pool. I brought some laundry to do and DH and I sat in the chairs an enjoyed a beer.

It was really quiet, juts one other family there.

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We stayed for about two hours, but it started to get really busy around 8, so we decided to leave. The plan was to watch Illuminations from CBR, but I think we were all pretty tired so we called it a night and went to bed early.

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missangelalexis · May 6, 2019

Glad you enjoyed SDD and it was worth the wait!

I love your outfit for HDDR! I'm sorry the service was so crappy but glad the show was good!

Sounds like a nice night at the pool!

SimplyGoofy · May 7, 2019

I'm joining in!

I don't think there's an ideal time to fly with kids (or even, with just adults!) that doesn't impact the remaining vacation plans. Early in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening all have their pros and cons. I'm glad you figured out something that doesn't work for you so the next trip will be better!

You've had great success in your first few days! I'm thrilled that you enjoyed HDDR, although it's too bad that you had a sub-par waitress. I'm also glad your older kids enjoyed the World Showcase more than in past trips and your boys enjoyed their time at Jedi Training. I look forward to hearing more!

ashw100 · May 9, 2019

missangelalexis said:
Glad you enjoyed SDD and it was worth the wait!

Definitely surprised by this one, which is always a good thing.

missangelalexis said:
I love your outfit for HDDR! I'm sorry the service was so crappy but glad the show was good!

Thank you! This show actually turned out to be one of my favorite things at Disney, thankfully food and service is not the main draw.

missangelalexis said:
Sounds like a nice night at the pool!

Always good to just relax one night

SimplyGoofy said:
I'm joining in!

SimplyGoofy said:
I don't think there's an ideal time to fly with kids (or even, with just adults!) that doesn't impact the remaining vacation plans. Early in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening all have their pros and cons. I'm glad you figured out something that doesn't work for you so the next trip will be better!

That is so true, good point. Now we know for next time, morning flights from now on.

SimplyGoofy said:
You've had great success in your first few days! I'm thrilled that you enjoyed HDDR, although it's too bad that you had a sub-par waitress. I'm also glad your older kids enjoyed the World Showcase more than in past trips and your boys enjoyed their time at Jedi Training. I look forward to hearing more!

I was so happy the boys loved the world showcase, not something I expected, but was a very happy surprise indeed. Thanks for following along.

afwdwfan · May 9, 2019

I'm glad to see that the strategy of going to check in for JTA before breakfast still works. That will be our gameplan! I take it from your review of the Alien Swirling Saucers that you'd suggest TSM first at RD (with a Slinky Dog FP in hand).

I'm glad that everything worked out for JTA and N was only a little upset with his brother.

Sorry for the poor service at dinner, but it looks like you all really had a great time despite that issue.

ashw100 · May 11, 2019

afwdwfan said:
I'm glad to see that the strategy of going to check in for JTA before breakfast still works. That will be our gameplan! I take it from your review of the Alien Swirling Saucers that you'd suggest TSM first at RD (with a Slinky Dog FP in hand).

I would definitely suggest that. I am not one to get down on Disney about their carnival rides, I enjoy Dumbo and silly things like Primeval Whirl, but this one was just so lame to me. I don't foresee doing it again unless there is little to no wait, but that's just me.

afwdwfan said:
I'm glad that everything worked out for JTA and N was only a little upset with his brother.

Considering some of their fights, I'd say this little one was a blessing

afwdwfan said:
Sorry for the poor service at dinner, but it looks like you all really had a great time despite that issue.

We did, thankfully the show distracts from the negative.

ashw100 · May 11, 2019

This morning we actually had an opportunity to sleep in and of course, I didn’t take it. I had actually signed up for the Passholder Play Time over at TSL. There were two times to sign up and I had picked the 8:00 one.

It was very quiet, with the tapstile area empty. I walked down Hollywood Boulevard and I was literally the only guest there, with all the CMs just standing there greeting me. It was so surreal, almost like I had the park all to myself. I made it all the way to One Man’s Dream without seeing anyone other than CMs.

I took this opportunity to get some pictures of TSL practically empty.