“You’re My Favorites: Now Go Away!” Feb/Mar 2019 First Family Trip (Complete 8/19)

Your Splash Mountain ride photo turned out great! I'm always impressed by folks that put the extra effort into the ride photo.

Thanks! It was really fun to do.

You were probably wise to skip the stretching room this time, but hopefully you can catch it on a future trip.

We're going to try it on our next trip. We figure, now that they know what the ride is, we can layer in the stretching room without flipping them out too much.

Why do people always have to ask about their dining credits at the worst possible time?! I get that it can be confusing to first-timers, but it may be best to ask guest services or your hotel concierge rather than waste park time (or at least ask at a less busy time!). I'm glad you were able to get your ice cream quickly!

Their timing was truly awful, and not just for me. I mean, I'm pretty sure they wanted to actually see HEA, not just hear it while they were learning about QS vs TS meals.

Wow, the girls were spent!

We completely wiped them out.

It seems like you did very well with the dining plan! I'm glad it worked so well for you!

It was definitely the right choice for us this trip. I'm not sure it'll ever make sense in the future, but it was perfect for the types of experiences we wanted to have.
 
Great 3rd MK day!

I have to say you have some really good planning skills! I feel like we don’t usually plan it out that much sometimes we hit a lot sometimes we don’t. But your detail is amazing!

I love the splash mountain picture!

I love your math on the DDP I’m pretty sure I have mentioned that before, but some seriously amazing work!

I'm sure other people would find my level of planning to induce stress rather than relieve it, but it works for me. At least having a plan, even when we completely veered off course, meant that I had a sense of what we wanted to accomplish and how we'd done so far. Without it, I'd be worried that we'd get all the way to the end of the trip and realize we missed something we really wanted to try.

The DDP math is something that I wanted to have for myself, mostly as a test. I had looked at menus, made my best guess that it would end up paying off big for us, but I wanted to see the actual results.

Great ride photo!!

Glad the girls did well on Haunted Mansion!

I'm sure it wasn't fun making so many food runs while waiting for HEA!

That's a cute selfie of you and DH! I'm sorry you didn't get your solo time but was nice of you to stick with DH!

Running around for food isn't my favorite thing, but I much prefer that to trying to convince kids to just freaking eat what they're served. Don't get me wrong, I do it all the time at home, but it's something I like to avoid on vacation.
 
Way to be flexible and follow the kids' lead! Sounds like they were having a blast at the pool!

They were really enjoying themselves. I don't think we'd ever be the family to take a daily afternoon break, but it was nice to do a couple of times.

Poor babies!! Mine were the same too at six. We each carried a sleeping twin and our poor little eight year old stumbled along between us. I don't think they had ever been so tired.

The night shows were the only reason we opted to go single/double with the strollers. I knew they could hack walking through the long days, but we generally operate with a firm, early bedtime. I was really glad to have room for everyone to rest in the evenings by this point in the trip.

I think DDP works super well with the under 10 set. Once you are paying for five Disney adults at $75/day each it is a different story. We saved $568 on our last family trip paying OOP and didn't stint on anything. Glad it worked out so well for you. :)

Yeah, that price point for a 10 year old (or really anyone not old enough to partake in the alcoholic beverage portion of the adult credit) would be a lot to swallow. It was great for this trip, though.
 
Finally all caught up- your third MK day was one of the times we were in the park at the same time, correct? I think this is when somewhere between your breakfast ADR and my lunch Crystal Palace got all out of wack and ended up being super behind. Your pictures are so cute- Winnie and friends are so cuddly and fun.

I love your Splash Mountain picture!! I can't even get myself to ride that thing, much less pose like that, props and all. So cute that the girls didn't seem to mind it other than not liking getting wet. They're much, much braver than I was at that age. Or this age ;)

Good call skipping the stretching room. There's always that one person who insists on screaming bloody murder when the lights go out. Not a great way to start out a first Haunted Mansion experience.

This day was March 3rd. I'm pretty sure that was your CP ADR, too, if I counted the days correctly on your TR :-).

I was really happy with how the Splash photo turned out. I'm not sure my girls appreciated their parents essentially ignoring them for the big drop, but I think it just adds to the final product.

Yeah, I think the lights going out and someone screaming would have put the girls into a totally different mood for HM.

Wooo! I finally caught up and am following along. I love all of the detail in your trip report!

P.S. My husband and I were readers of XKCD as well! :)

Cool beans! I'm glad someone appreciates the detail. I have to assume most people are just skimming to be polite at this point :-)
 


I think the photo is even better with the girls! Especially A!

Agreed. Her bracing for dear life really makes the shot.

Now at least they will know it's not too scary. And next time you can give the stretching room a try since they know what to expect!

That's the goal. We'll see how it goes.

Ugh I hate that! And it feels whenever I ask if someone is in line and they are, they start to give me attitude! Dude - just checking so I don't get stuck waiting longer than I need to!

Normally, I'd ask. I was just so caught up in trying to pick up late FPs.
 
This is hilarious. The faces on all of the girls makes it priceless!

I think this is a framer.

Seriously, I don't know why they don't have better signage, it's basically backstage

I was honestly surprised that they let us back there unsupervised without signage. It felt like we were doing something wrong.

That is impressive!

I honestly don't think we've ever gotten the kids dressed that fast.

We almost always try and wait out some of the crowds and try to enjoy something in the park. It is just not worth the frustration.

OuaT was a great way to wait out the crowds.

Disney will def do that to you! And good thing you went with DH!

The Disney exhaustion is real!
 
I am still seriously in awe at your ability to navigate QS meals with so many kids!! I struggled when my two were little! You got a lot done in a day!!

My girls have very similar tastes, which helps. We really did jam a lot into this trip. It's fun to look back and see just how much we accomplished.

The Sisters are a hoot. Your review of CP has me excited for our first visit there. We also have a late breakfast, I think 10:40.

Perfect ADR timing. Make sure to try the hashbrown casserole!

Your Splash pic is epic! So cool.

Thanks! I'm pretty proud of that one.

Just finished reading through and I love your report! It is so fun to read about a first trip and it sure sounds like you planned a great one for your girls.

All of your character interactions have been wonderful. I really enjoyed the stepsisters and how they marked up the book. The girls having to verify that the princesses would in fact visit their table was also hilarious.

I agree with you about Under the Sea. I prefer it to the other Fantasyland dark rides and not sure why Peter Pan gets so much more attention. I grew up with The Little Mermaid though so maybe my sentiment is influencing me?

Looking forward to reading more!

This ended up being a nearly perfect first trip. I'm really glad I did my research, even if it means I've turned into a bit of a Disney nut.

All of the characters were really fun this trip because the girls are so into them. I'm really glad we managed to meet so many.
 


That would definitely make Disney trips easier!

If only!

I agree. Little Mermaid has been my favorite since I was 2 and I don't have a strong emotional attachment to Peter Pan so maybe that's why but I don't get it either!

I feel similarly about both movies. Maybe that's my disconnect.

Poor B! But breakfast sausage and ice cream doesn't sound like a good combo at all!

Honestly, she was loving it right up until she started coughing. I really hope they grow out of the cough-vomit thing.

I explained the DDP to a family at the QS at Wilderness Lodge last October who were totally stunned to learn they could've been having alcohol with all of their meals. It was their second-to-last day and they knew nothing about snack credits and had 50 something!! I mean, Disney and the dining plan aren't cheap. I know not everyone are crazy planners like us, but wouldn't you at least know what you paid for!

Wow, that's a whole lot of missed opportunity. I also cannot fathom paying that much for something without understanding what I'm getting.
 
Park Day Seven: Epcot (TP Crowd Level Predicted and Actual 7)

Even with the late night, the girls were up and moving ahead of their normal 7am wake up. I may not have been able to get them to sleep in, but Dis Jr put them into a similarly inert state. I headed down for coffee refills and then Hubby and I discussed our plans for the day. Astute readers will have noticed that we didn’t have any rest days built into our trip. Our girls are very active and, while they would have enjoyed a day at the pool, I felt the late winter weather was too unreliable to plan one. If we had a day off and it ended up being a cool or rainy day, I did not want to spend the whole day explaining to the girls why we were at Disney but not going to a park that day. Instead, I tried to make sure that the later days in the trip left room for burnout.

This was our second Epcot day and it was going to be all about the World Showcase. We’d go in late, start with breakfast at Les Halles, and work our way around the lagoon. My touring plan was a collection of snack notes and showtimes for the various acts in each country. Our final TS meal of the trip was scheduled to be an early dinner at Akershus, but we were having second thoughts. I had kept up our TP reservation alert for Artist Point for the next evening and, over the course of the week, had managed to snag a 4:10pm reservation. Our next day at HS was only booked as a half day, so we would have plenty of time to get over to Wilderness Lodge if we wanted to. One of the reasons we didn’t have Artist Point in the plan to begin with was that the girls didn’t want to meet any “bad guys”. However, after how much fun the stepsisters were, we thought meeting Dopey, Grumpy, and the Evil Queen sounded like more fun than the repeat princesses at Akershus. The only problem was Belle: while we had met her at Enchanted Tales, we didn’t have her autograph. Her first set was scheduled to start right when WS opened at 11am, and we were already planning in being in France at that time, so we opted to meet her there and nix the Akershus dinner. Even better, while the girls were watching TV and Hubby and I were rolling up dirty clothes, I got another TP alert for a 5:20pm ADR which was perfect for us.

After lazing around for a while, we got it together and headed into the park just after 10am. After getting through the tapstiles, we realized that sunscreen would be needed, so we pulled over to apply. The IG bridge sometimes has character training around that time, but we didn’t see anyone out, so we headed into France. We all shared a vacation breakfast of champions.

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Surprisingly, the girls weren’t all that into it. Hubby and I were in our glory, but they seemed to find everything to be too rich. No matter: that’s just more for the adults! Breakfast consumed, we joined the small line that formed for Belle. Unfortunately, we were all lined up in the wrong place (future note: Belle meets by the bridge, Aurora meets in the gazebo) but the families there quickly resituated ourselves in the right spot.

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We were done meeting Belle at 11:07am and headed back into the main part of the pavilion to complete our tasks for the country. At each pavillion, the girls were going to press a penny, take a picture, and visit the kidcot stations.

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We were moving on to Morroco at 11:35…

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… and heading out just a few minutes later. Our visit with Belle had added a bit to our morning and we had plans for our first show at 11:45am.

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It was a trio of ladies for our performance, which I thought was very cool. After a couple minutes, the girls saw other kids coming buy with treats and asked for one, too. I hopped right around the corner and grabbed them this delight.

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They shared while the watched the rest of the show and then I did my best to get the sticky puddle and kids wiped up. I’m not sure at what age I’ll stop carrying wipes for the girls, but I don’t think it’s going to be any time soon! After the performance, we had another stop in the Japan pavilion.

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We got there just after noon to find the counter without a wait. One person was picking their pearl when we got there so the girls had a chance to check it out. By the time I paid, she was done and it was our turn. The whole experience was really cute. The CMs had the girls count to three in Japanese and made a big deal over each pearl. A small crowd formed as we went which might have been uncomfortable for a shy kid but mine were eating up all of the attention. B went first and she ended up getting smaller twin silver pearls. C got a bigger pearl with a pinkish hue. Then, A got a bigger very white pearl. Everyone was thrilled with what she got and we all had a blast. Considering typical Disney prices, this was an incredible value and nets a unique souvenir. After our pearls, we pressed pennies, got our passports signed and headed onward to the America pavilion.

It was 12:30 and the kids started complaining they were hungry when they saw the Joffrey kiosk full of treats. They wanted to go straight to the giant doughnut, but mean mom insisted that they have a little real food first. I agreed to let them share a passionfruit and strawberry smoothie with their cheeseburger, and Hubby enjoyed the frozen coke and bourbon as the included drink with the QS credit. As I was putting in our mobile order, the sky got ominous. We quickly covered the strollers and headed into restaurant. We had our food at 12:40 and had to rush the girls to finish up because we had plans at 1pm.

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I’m a sucker for a good acapella show and this one did not disappoint! The girls got a little squirmy during some of the slower songs they didn’t recognize, but, for the most part, they were really into it, too. The acoustics in that space, coupled with the caliber of performers, makes for an impressive concert. After Voices of Liberty, we made a quick bathroom run before heading right back in for the 1:30 American Adventure showing. While the seats were comfortable and the animatronics were well done, I can see why this show is skippable for many people. After so many back to back park days, our plan for the day was to relax and enjoy what World Showcase had to offer. However, for anyone who isn’t spending quite so much time in Epcot, I think there are other experiences that are going to be more rewarding for that kind of time commitment.

After the show, we were a little tight on time. The plan had been to do out photo-penny-kidcot circuit before Voices of Liberty, but that’s when the girls had gotten hungry. We didn’t want to be late to our next stop, so we opted to go ahead for now with the expectation that we’d be doubling back soon to finish up in America.

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Despite nearly two hours having passed, the girls had not forgotten about the giant doughnut they were promised. So, after getting them situated in Italy, I doubled back for a cold brew for myself and a treat for the kids.

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Having consumed a doughnut approximately the size of their heads, the girls stopped at kidcot, pressed a penny, and grabbed a picture.

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From there, we doubled back to America for another round of pennies, passports, and pictures.

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They can’t all be winners, right? The girls wanted a video of them singing Grand Ole’ Flag too, which they performed complete with the hand motions they learned at preschool. To their delight, they got a smattering of applause at the end, primarily from two young ladies who had been minding their own business trying to rest at the fountain before the girls’ impromptu performance. Tasks complete, we forged ahead to our next performance of the day.
 
I’m a sucker for a good acapella show and this one did not disappoint!

Love Voices of Liberty. They always put on a good performance.

n for the 1:30 American Adventure showing. While the seats were comfortable and the animatronics were well done, I can see why this show is skippable for many people.

I have only done this once but I see it is a great option to take a comfortable sit-down a/c break in the middle of a hot EPCOT afternoon.
 
Gorgeous picture in the WS! Sounds like a fun day of touring. Picking a pearl is a great souvenir and the CMs get really into it.

Voices of liberty is something i always want to catch!
 
So many adorable pics of the girls around WS- especially that one of them eating the giant donut!

Pick a Pearl is such a fun experience, I'm glad the girls enjoyed it!
 
OMG! That Splash picture is HYSTERICAL!

Would you mind sharing where you got the girls dresses from? I have friends taking their daughter soon, and those look great for being a princess without the overwhelming heat and poofiness that comes with costumes.

Thanks for sharing!

Lynn
 
Aw, I always love hearing what people get at pick a pearl. My daughter and I did it in 2008 and I still have her pearl. She is getting married November 1st and I had always planned to get a cage and make it into a necklace for her weeding day but with her dress a bracelet would work better so that's what I am planning to do instead. The pearl will represent her "something old" on her wedding day.
 
Astute readers will have noticed that we didn’t have any rest days built into our trip. Our girls are very active and, while they would have enjoyed a day at the pool, I felt the late winter weather was too unreliable to plan one. If we had a day off and it ended up being a cool or rainy day, I did not want to spend the whole day explaining to the girls why we were at Disney but not going to a park that day. Instead, I tried to make sure that the later days in the trip left room for burnout.
That seems like a smart thing to do! I'm always worried if I put in a break day and that day ends up being gorgeous while the actual park days are horrible weather, I'll regret it!
I just love that photo of them together. All of the photos are wonderful. I'm sure they probably bicker, but you can tell they also are best friends!
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They can’t all be winners, right? The girls wanted a video of them singing Grand Ole’ Flag too, which they performed complete with the hand motions they learned at preschool. To their delight, they got a smattering of applause at the end, primarily from two young ladies who had been minding their own business trying to rest at the fountain before the girls’ impromptu performance. Tasks complete, we forged ahead to our next performance of the day.
That's so cute! I would totally have clapped for them too!
 
I think you had the right idea with no scheduled "down" days, but flexibility to take it easy if people were burnt out. It would be a shame to want to visit a park and not having the option! (Although, at least it's relatively easy to add an extra day if you really wanted one.)

What a delicious looking breakfast! I'm sure it was rich, but you're not in Disney every day, right?

I've never done Pick-a-Pearl, but it seems to be really well-liked by many people. I'm glad your girls enjoyed it!

I really enjoy both Voices of Liberty and The American Adventure. I try to see both each trip!
 
I think this is a framer.
Or Christmas Card worthy! ;)

We all shared a vacation breakfast of champions.

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I love that raspberry macaroon! I want this for our breakfast one day when we are staying at the yacht club in August.

hopped right around the corner and grabbed them this delight.

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They shared while the watched the rest of the show and then I did my best to get the sticky puddle and kids wiped up.
Perfect for 3 gals to share.

I’m not sure at what age I’ll stop carrying wipes for the girls, but I don’t think it’s going to be any time soon
Only in Disney but I STILL carry wipes with me in Disney. Not sure when I stopped at home. They do come in handy!

C got a bigger pearl with a pinkish hue. Then, A got a bigger very white pearl. Everyone was thrilled with what she got and we all had a blast. Considering typical Disney prices, this was an incredible value and nets a unique souvenir.
I think part of the resonable cost is because, the store is indepentant of Disney. And how amazing would it be if one of them got a triple one! It is a great experence for sure!

While the seats were comfortable and the animatronics were well done, I can see why this show is skippable for many people. After so many back to back park days, our plan for the day was to relax and enjoy what World Showcase had to offer. However, for anyone who isn’t spending quite so much time in Epcot, I think there are other experiences that are going to be more rewarding for that kind of time commitment.
it's kind of long too, isn't it?

Despite nearly two hours having passed, the girls had not forgotten about the giant doughnut they were promised. So, after getting them situated in Italy, I doubled back for a cold brew for myself and a treat for the kids.

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I love this pic! Again perfect size for 3 gals.

Cute!
 
Love Voices of Liberty. They always put on a good performance.

It was a great show for sure.

I have only done this once but I see it is a great option to take a comfortable sit-down a/c break in the middle of a hot EPCOT afternoon.

It is a good break option for sure.

Gorgeous picture in the WS! Sounds like a fun day of touring. Picking a pearl is a great souvenir and the CMs get really into it.

Voices of liberty is something i always want to catch!

The CMs were really into the whole pick a pearl experience, which made it that much more fun for the girls. It's a great keepsake.

So many adorable pics of the girls around WS- especially that one of them eating the giant donut!

Pick a Pearl is such a fun experience, I'm glad the girls enjoyed it!

They still talk about that donut, too! It's funny the things that stick with them.
 
OMG! That Splash picture is HYSTERICAL!

Would you mind sharing where you got the girls dresses from? I have friends taking their daughter soon, and those look great for being a princess without the overwhelming heat and poofiness that comes with costumes.

Thanks for sharing!

Lynn

I got the cotton character dresses from this seller on Ali Express: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/1770445?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000002.2.44ea3ff0eJFJ3E. They have several designs available for both adult and children sizes and then a much wider selection that's child-only. They are machine washable, lightweight, comfortable, and cheap. I'm a big fan.

If she's looking for the character prints, Kohl's does a whole Disney Jumping Beans line that's super cute and reasonably priced as well.

Aw, I always love hearing what people get at pick a pearl. My daughter and I did it in 2008 and I still have her pearl. She is getting married November 1st and I had always planned to get a cage and make it into a necklace for her weeding day but with her dress a bracelet would work better so that's what I am planning to do instead. The pearl will represent her "something old" on her wedding day.

That's such a great idea! I'll have to store that in the back of my head for a much later date.
 
That seems like a smart thing to do! I'm always worried if I put in a break day and that day ends up being gorgeous while the actual park days are horrible weather, I'll regret it!

Not taking the break ended up working out really well for us, but we were also going in Feb/March. I think if we were going to battle the summer heat in Florida, we'd have done it differently.

I just love that photo of them together. All of the photos are wonderful. I'm sure they probably bicker, but you can tell they also are best friends!

Awe, thanks. They are definitely best friends, although they know just how to press each others' buttons, too.

That's so cute! I would totally have clapped for them too!

They were so happy to have an audience. It was really sweet of those ladies.

I think you had the right idea with no scheduled "down" days, but flexibility to take it easy if people were burnt out. It would be a shame to want to visit a park and not having the option! (Although, at least it's relatively easy to add an extra day if you really wanted one.)

What a delicious looking breakfast! I'm sure it was rich, but you're not in Disney every day, right?

I've never done Pick-a-Pearl, but it seems to be really well-liked by many people. I'm glad your girls enjoyed it!

I really enjoy both Voices of Liberty and The American Adventure. I try to see both each trip!

We had talked about building in the down day and then adding a park day later if we changed our minds, but then we got worried about FPs. We decided better to be able to prebook at 60 days and, if it only ends up being a half day in the park, at least it was a productive half day.

Breakfast was incredibly rich and tasty. Absolutely not an everyday meal, though.

We all loved Voices of Liberty and would put that pretty close to a must-do at Epcot. American Adventure was fun, but also quite a time commitment. I can see that hitting the chopping block on a shorter trip.
 

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