Winging it with No Dinning Plan! A Feb. Trip Report

Day Four: Riding around Boston

We headed towards RnR after our ride. As we passed the main stage they were doing that Star Wars Stage show. Morgan and Andy wanted to watch. So, we found a spot along the walk way in front of the Brown Derby. We could see just fine from there.


Ray... One of the girls favorite. (really they like ANY girl character that is in Star Wars)


You can see that we didn't have the best view but really the stage show is NOT worth waiting in the sun for a prime spot... It is fun to see all the characters but there is no story line or anything....

It was perfect to see since we just happened to time it just right. We were really checking off all of our boxes today pretty well!

We moved on and continued over to Rock'n Rollercoaster. I was sooooooo nervous that Gwen wasn't going to be tall enough! She wasn't in September, so she had SOME time to grow but not that much! I mean how much does a kid grown in 4 months?



Andy was convinced she would be ok because she was tall enough for Primevil Whirl, but how accurate are those things? What if one is 1/2 inch taller than another one...


The moment of truth!!! She passed with room to spare!!


In we went! Gwen was on cloud nine! (And so was Morgan) They were just so happy that Gwen made it! There was a bit of a line in the fastness line again. NOT nearly as bad as the stand by line. I think I pulled out a snack for the girls while we were in line, as it was almost noon now and we were getting hungry for some real food.


I loved the Guitar details. We kept moving fairly well, so I wasn't able to really get a good look at most things.


Before long we made it into this room! We were all so excitied. This was going to be a first for all of us. Andy and I never bothered to to rider swap or anything. And it is always fun to have a new ride!

At this point we started chatting with a local who was riding single rider. She asked if the girls had ridden this before, we said no. She asked if they had ever gone upside down before. We said no AND they don't know that it goes upside down. I am pretty sure Morgan would NOT ride it if she knew that.

The lady gave us and the girls a few tips:
Keep your head back
Look forward the whole time


We made it to the point where you see the launch. I was really wondering if they were going to chicken out.

We got to the front of the line, they measured Gwen again. I HATE that they do this! I know they have to be safe but I always think about that poor kid who waited all that time and made it all the way to the front just to get told they were too short! Thankfully that was not the case for us!

We loaded into our limo, and we were off!!! Would they like it?


I think our ride photo says it all!

They loved it!!! They were soooo surprised that it went upside down. I asked Morgan if she would have gone on if she knew it went upside down. And she said no but she still liked it.

The single rider lady waited for us and asked if the girls liked it. They said "It was AWSOME!"


Morgan took our picture outside of the ride. She did a pretty good job. She did NOT want to be in the picture. She was done with pictures.


We have still yet to ride Tower of Terror! Next time...

It was about 12:15 by now and we were all hungry! Lunch up next!
 
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Hooray for TSMM being up and running and getting to ride it! Isn't it great when you beat your spouse's score? I know it's a very rare occurrence for me. :rotfl2:

Gwen was tall enough to ride RNRC! That's awesome!!:thumbsup2 Always great when your kiddo passes a height requirement. The ride photo was great; the girls' faces are priceless! I'm glad they both liked it, and it was probably smart to not let them know ahead of time that it went upside down. (The first time I rode it my family denied that it went upside down, so I was in the dark, too.:laughing:)
 


I loved the Guitar details. We kept moving fairly well, so I wasn't able to really get a good look at most things.
I've never noticed this!
I think our ride photo says it all!
:rotfl: I love Gwen's face!
Morgan took our picture outside of the ride. She did a pretty good job. She did NOT want to be in the picture. She was done with pictures.
Ha! But that is a great picture! I thought it was photopass.
 
Loved all the updates! We got that carrot cake cookie for the first time our Feb trip too. It was so good. But funny thing is I saved some in the resort fridge. On check out day I stuffed it in my laptap bag that I was bringing on the plane. Totally got it passed security and proceeded to forget about it until about a month later!!!!!! Boy was that a nasty find - LOL
 
Looks like I got pretty far behind!

Bummer that TSMM went down so early in the morning!

I love the Star Wars shirts! And cute pics with BB8!

Glad Gwen was tall enough for RnRC! The ride photo is priceless!
 


I love the Ewok Village. The Ewoks were my favorite as a kid. I hope they have Ewoks in some capacity in the new land. But some reason I think that is wish fulfillment thinking.
I know - I'd love something like an Ewok playground or something. They did have a character meet at the Star Wars night at Disneyland, but I think that was a very special occurrence.

Gwen made me take a picture of the Porg Rice Krispees. She said that Porgs were not for eating! And we weren't allowed to buy them.
Haha - didn't she want a Porg birthday cake? Or was that someone else?

Again, see Gwen's face... She is selling the whole I have the Force thing...
Oooh, she is so channeling the Dark Side!

ME!!! Andy was schooling me for about half of it and I must have hit a high score one and pulled ahead and kept my lead! Woo Hoo!
Yay! I'm definitely better at this one than I am at Buzz.

Before long we made it into this room! We were all so excitied. This was going to be a first for all of us. Andy and I never bothered to to rider swap or anything. And it is always fun to have a new ride!
Oooh, that is always very cool!

We loaded into our limo, and we were off!!! Would they like it?

Rockin Rollercoaster
I think our ride photo says it all!

They loved it!!! They were soooo surprised that it went upside down. I asked Morgan if she would have gone on if she knew it went upside down. And she said no but she still liked it.
OMG, your faces! Just perfect!
 
Wow! 22 pages later I am caught up. I’m having so much fun “with” you all on vacation! Your girls are so brave. Morgan reminds me a lot of myself at that age. Good thing you tricked her into riding RNR - my cousins tricked me into my first “upside down” ride at our local six flags and I never looked back! Love love love your trip so far!
 
Gwen made me take a picture of the Porg Rice Krispees. She said that Porgs were not for eating! And we weren't allowed to buy them.

Haha I think Chewie would beg to differ. :)

We basically stumbled upon what will the entrance to Star Wars Land. So, we grabbed ANOTHER picture in front of that.


Again, see Gwen's face... She is selling the whole I have the Force thing...


These are great pictures!! Gwen's face is cracking me up! What a little actress you've got there!

I thought i did an ok job but she wasn't happy with it. Today in general, you could really see the tiredness hitting both of them.

I get that. Sometimes I even let my tiredness out at Disney. Park touring is exhausting!!

We got to the front of the line, they measured Gwen again. I HATE that they do this! I know they have to be safe but I always think about that poor kid who waited all that time and made it all the way to the front just to get told they were too short! Thankfully that was not the case for us!

I always think of this, too. How frustrating and disappointing that would be!

They loved it!!! They were soooo surprised that it went upside down. I asked Morgan if she would have gone on if she knew it went upside down. And she said no but she still liked it.

That's so awesome! Glad Gwen was tall enough and that they did so well on it! Going upside down really doesn't feel like you'd think it does, so I'm not surprised they didn't realize it. That's so great!
 
The girls checked out some small light saber keychains that they wanted. But I said that would be there one thing for the day. So, they decided to wait. There was a CM with pins on a Yoda backpack, so the girls decided to trade pins instead. I didn't take a picture of what they got this time around. That store is always so crowded!
Did Gwen like doing the pins? I'm on the fence on if we get Casey started on it on our next trip or wait a bit longer.

The Force
Again, see Gwen's face... She is selling the whole I have the Force thing...
I think she and Casey need to open their very own posing studio :-)

Gwen's revised Hair Do
I thought i did an ok job but she wasn't happy with it. Today in general, you could really see the tiredness hitting both of them. But we really only had a few more things we wanted to hit here and then we were def going back to the resort!
Don't know if its the same in your house but Casey and I argue over her hair more than anything else. She insists on it being "perfect" and in 95% humidity in Florida that is just about impossible.

Left: Ariella's Score Right: Andy's Score
ME!!! Andy was schooling me for about half of it and I must have hit a high score one and pulled ahead and kept my lead! Woo Hoo!
Go you!


Tall Enough
The moment of truth!!! She passed with room to spare!!
Woohoo!!!! Casey was tall enough on our last trip but not brave enough to try it :P

he asked if they had ever gone upside down before. We said no AND they don't know that it goes upside down. I am pretty sure Morgan would NOT ride it if she knew that.
Oh my, you hadn't told them it went upside down! Man are they in for a surprise.

Rockin Rollercoaster
I think our ride photo says it all!

They loved it!!! They were soooo surprised that it went upside down. I asked Morgan if she would have gone on if she knew it went upside down. And she said no but she still liked it.
I wasn't sure if those were loving faces or not. But good on the girls for conquering it and liking it. Think we finally have Case ready to tackle it next month.
Tower of Terror
We have still yet to ride Tower of Terror! Next time...
We haven't either!
 
ou had me worried there for a minute!
I can't tell you how much I was sweating it! I knew if she was turned down again, she would have been soooo disappointed!

The ride photo was great; the girls' faces are priceless! I'm glad they both liked it, and it was probably smart to not let them know ahead of time that it went upside down. (The first time I rode it my family denied that it went upside down, so I was in the dark, too.:laughing:)
I really didn't know HOW intense it was going to be since we hadn't ridden it yet ourselves. So, I just figured it was better to just go with it. Seems like a lot of people leave out that piece of info!

Great report!! Looking forward to the rest!
:welcome: Thanks for following along! And thanks!

We got that carrot cake cookie for the first time our Feb trip too.
I haven't seen anyone yet who has had the new version... Wondering if it is still tasty.

Haha - didn't she want a Porg birthday cake? Or was that someone else?
Ummmm @Lesley Wake - YES!!!! And I will need to point this out to her!!!! I have to make that in 2 weeks... Oye!

OMG, your faces! Just perfect!
I don't think any of us knew what to expect!

Wow! 22 pages later I am caught up. I’m having so much fun “with” you all on vacation!
YEAH! Glad you made it over!

Morgan reminds me a lot of myself at that age. Good thing you tricked her into riding RNR - my cousins tricked me into my first “upside down” ride at our local six flags and I never looked back! Love love love your trip so far!
I might need to ask you advice! She is becoming a tween! And it is new territory!

I get that. Sometimes I even let my tiredness out at Disney. Park touring is exhausting!!
I was expecting it too. It always happens. And them walking the whole time now, really adds to there tiredness as well.

Did Gwen like doing the pins? I'm on the fence on if we get Casey started on it on our next trip or wait a bit longer.
So, if you want to get her into it. I would suggest, going on amazon and buying a lot of 30 pins from there. Those become the tradable pins. Then let her pick out a lanyard and maybe one real pin in Disney to get started. The problem I found was we would buy a pin and the girls didn't want to actually trade because why would you buy a pin you didn't want.... We separate the pins into tradable and not tradable pins. I also don't let them wear all of the pins on there sash, we have lost a few while in the parks.

Morgan and Gwen do like doing it but for them it, they trade a pin once a day maybe and then they are kind of over it. They are more focused on rides and stuff. But they do like doing it. We also only trade with CM.

I think she and Casey need to open their very own posing studio :-)
We need to get them in the park together some time! They would have some awsome photos!

Don't know if its the same in your house but Casey and I argue over her hair more than anything else. She insists on it being "perfect" and in 95% humidity in Florida that is just about impossible.
I argue with Gwen more about her foot attire! She would wear high heels to school everyday!

I wasn't sure if those were loving faces or not. But good on the girls for conquering it and liking it. Think we finally have Case ready to tackle it next month.
Go Casey! She can do it! Fingers Crossed that she does it. We haven't been big on doing the rider swap, it's kind of a pain. Which is why we hadn't ridden it yet. But our next trip, we might need to split up, I want to try Tower of Terror next time!
 
We separate the pins into tradable and not tradable pins. I also don't let them wear all of the pins on there sash, we have lost a few while in the parks.
Do your girls have bulletin boards at home? That's how I store my "keepers" (the ones I don't want to trade). I was doing the same method you were except I got my pins to trade from eBay - occasionally I make a big purchase on eBay and will use my eBay "bucks" to buy another lot of pins. I soon wound up with way more pins I wanted to keep than lanyard space! It might be a fun tinkerbell or Christmas gift for your girls to have a disney bulletin (cork) board to keep the special pins in.

Morgan and Gwen do like doing it but for them it, they trade a pin once a day maybe and then they are kind of over it. They are more focused on rides and stuff. But they do like doing it. We also only trade with CM.
:rotfl: This is me and I'm not even a little girl! I do always keep a plastic bag full of my extra trading pins in my bag for when I meet a child that wants to trade (and sometimes I've been known to ask a parent if I can just give a child a pin if they're really interested in mine). It's some of the best interactions with other guests I've ever had! It seems like my only trades with other guests (kids, 99.99999% of the time) have been on the bus. It's just conducive when they're sitting across from you sizing up your loot :laughing:
 
Oh and I was also told by a cm at animal kingdom that all of the ice cream carts there have a pin board you can trade from. I won't ask for it if they're busy but if the cm is just standing around bored it's fun to talk with them and ask to see the pins. Just a tip! @kastoney
 
Hello Everyone!

Summer is kicking my butt!!! Seriously, I feel like it has been forever since school ended but really they have only been out of school 3 weeks! We have a lot of summer to go! The girls start there "regular" camp this week and the first week is Disney Week! They are hiding hidden mickeys all over camp for ht kids to find. And Gwen is SUPER excitied about this!

Swim Team is almost over and I think we turned the corner on it. And they are finally getting into the spirit of the whole thing. We have one last meet on Wednesday and then they are done for the summer. Thank goodness! I feel like I have fallen off the wagon of updates and keeping up with everyone else TR. Hopefully after this week I will be able to catch up on everyones! But on with the update.


Day Four: Stunts & Lunch

I left off with finishing our ride on Rock'n Rollercoaster. And we were all hungry for some real food. So, we decided to just eat in that food court-y area on Sunset Boulevard. And it actually worked out well, as we could all kind of choose what we wanted.

Morgan said she really wanted a soft Pretzel. I wanted to try the fried green tomotae sandwich from Rosie's but Andy wasn't feeling it. So we decided to split the Empandas from Fairfax Fare. And then Gwen didn't know what she wanted because she had gone over the deep end to Hangry land!

So, we split up, I mobile ordered our Empanadas and then took Morgan over to Anaheim Produce to get a soft pretzel (with cheese) of course! And I saw that they had the semi-famous Grapefruit Schöfferhoffer Beer! I texted Andy to see if he wanted one. But there really wasn't a line so I ordered just one. Should have just gone for 2 but it was too late. Morgan and I went to find a table to sit at.


Andy went and took Gwen over to Rosie's All Star Cafe, and got her some good old Chicken Nuggets, fries and chocolate milk.

Pretty sure he ended up with an adult size. But it was fine we all kind of picked at it andI am pretty sure Morgan ate a nugget or two as well.

Andy also ordered a Sierra Nevada beer at Rosie's, since I had only ordered on Schofferhoffer. Oops...

We found a table and waited for the mobile ordering to pop up. it took a little while, but not too bad.


The Empanadas were just ok. They weren't bad but nothing that I have been dreaming about going back for. We had dinner reservations tonight that Andy and I wanted to make sure we were hungry for, so sharing food made sense today.

The area as a whole was pretty busy, and we kind of had to troll for a table. There was also a few tables were families just left there trash! So, gross and so rude. I ended up having to throw someones trash away to get a table!

Sitting and eating food helped everyones mood for the most part. We all picked at everything and kind of shared. But we took a little bit of the food to go, because we had fast passes for Indiana Jones Stunt Show to get to!

We headed over that way around 12:50, and arrived a few minutes later!

The fast pass line was a little silly I have to say! It was so long, and they were letting stand by people walk straight in. But I really didn't care where we sat. We ended up on the left side but only a few rows back. So, it wasn't too bad.

This was our first time seeing this show and again, really didn't know what to expect. They girls have seen the 1st movie so they were completely lost on the whole show.


As we were waiting, Gwen wasn't so sure about the whole thing. She was afraid it was going to be too scary. But I reassumed her that it couldn't be that scary...


Gwen did NOT like the opening scene! The whole thing was a little to intense for her, but luckily once they got past that first scene, they both really enjoyed the whole thing.


The famous Giant Rolling Ball!


Spoiler Alert.... How they make the ball roll and not kill anyone...


Morgan was def enjoying the show!


the girls really liked the fight scene.


I do find it amazing that they do this multiple times a day!


When they set everything on fire, it got hot! I can only imagine how hot it is for the CM on the stage!

All in all we really enjoyed the show. I don't think it will be a MUST do for us but we enjoyed it. I also wouldn't be terribly sad if it went away eventually either. It def is an example of what the park used to be, for sure!

While we were waiting for the show to start, we talked about what we wanted to do. This was really the last thing on our list that we wanted to do. So, we decided to leave after the show. So we headed for the buses!
 
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Day Four: Swimming in the Rain

We headed to the bus stop. As we were walking over we saw a bus pull out of the FQ bus stop. We didn't feel like running so, we just walked over and sat down preparing for a little bit of a wait. A Riverside Bus pulled in not to shortly after that. I said that we could take that bus if we wanted and walk over to FQ. But I wasn't sure how long of a walk it would be. Andy said he was fine to just wait. So we stayed put on the ground waiting.

The Riverside bus started loading an EVC on the bus, and what pulls up but ANOHTER FQ bus! We got on the FQ bus, thinking it would probably sit there awhile for more folks... But it didn't!!!! We ended up leaving BEFORE the Riverside bus!


We basically had a private bus back to FQ!




Morgan lounging and apparently STILL working on that apple!


And Gwen really taking advantage of the empty bus! Also, spoiler alert, that lollipop never got smaller than that!

We got back to French Quarter and it had started to drizzle a bit. The girls wanted to swim. So, I looked at the weather report and it looked like it was only going to get worse. So, I told the girls I would take them down to the pool. Andy didn't want to go down, so he relaxed in the room.


It was raining by now, so we tried to walk along the covered area of the buildings.


There was only one other family down at the pool. But the lifeguards were still doing there walking around. So I imagine they were glad to at least have a real purpose for being out in the rain.

I found a chair under an umbrella and sat down. Then, decided to grab a drink at the bar!


I got one of the

Frosé
featuring Meiomi Rosé and Tito's Handmade Vodka

It was ok... I wouldn't get it again.


My other attempt at a Instagram worthy photo...

They had some fun in the pool and I relaxed on a chair with my drink. While sitting there my time hop showed a picture from our trip when we met Darth Vedar, so i made a then and now post.. Note Gwen hiding behind Gwen. I am a terrible mom, it's still one of my favorite Disney photos!


But soon enough we had to head back to the room to shower and get ready for dinner!


On the way back to the room, the girls wanted to check out the fountain. And Morgan wanted to get IN the fountain.... Oye! No!

We got back to the room and relaxed a bit, showered and got dressed. Everyone was ready to settle in for the night but we had a dinner reservation that I was NOT missing.

Up next dinner in Disney Springs!
 
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And then Gwen didn't know what she wanted because she had gone over the deep end to Hangry land!

Oh Gwen is sooo my spirit animal. Hangry land...I know it well.

All in all we really enjoyed the show. I don't think it will be a MUST do for us but we enjoyed it. I also wouldn't be terribly sad if it went away eventually either. It def is an example of what the park used to be, for sure!

I agree about this show. It's kind of neat, and I like that it represents part of what the park used to be like. But I wouldn't be upset if I missed it on a trip. I hadn't really thought about how scary that first scene could be for kids though!

40557742052_49978a7eb6_z.jpg

Pool and a drink! Sounds nice! I think the slide at this pool is so cool :)

On the way back to the room, the girls wanted to check out the fountain. And Morgan wanted to get IN the fountain.... Oye! No!

:rotfl: Morgan cracks me up!
 
Gotta love traveling with kids and everyone wanting snacks from different locations. Sounds like you had to do quite a bit of shuffling to get the empanadas, pretzel, and nuggets but so long as everyone was full and relaxed that's all that matters.

I think your description of Indiana representing the original DHS is spot on.

Glad the rain remained light and the girls were able to swim.

That meet and greet photo of Darth Vader is hilarious. Poor Gwen!! Priceless...
 

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