11 yEARS later, here we are again...UPDATED 2/23! The Last Day!

Those food pictures look yummy!

They were. We plan our trips around food, not rides :)


I need to stop reading this trip report because thanks to you I'm sitting here trying to figure out how to fit HDDR and Homecomin into my next trip :teeth: forget the rides and shows, mama needs some fried chicken

You won't be sorry! Just come HUNGRY for both, like a light lunch day.:thumbsup2


Alas, we decided against the reservation (even though there were plenty of times to be had). Short stay before our cruise, and our days are packed full. Ah well, an excuse to go back! :rolleyes1

As for the tickets, yeah, we decided to buy now (rather than wait a bit as planned). Mainly because I've been stalking the thread about the new ticketing system, and I very much doubt prices will go DOWN. The change happens on 10/16, I guess time will tell.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/new-ticket-system-coming-to-wdw-begins-october-16th.3708051/



LOL - see my post above - SAME! :D

Well you'll just have to go back and plan around Homecomin' :rotfl2:

Enjoying your report!

Thanks!!!:goodvibes
 
Fun report!

My first report was "11 Years and 3 kids later" because it had been 11 years since we visited Disney since our Honeymoon :p
 


Happy Friday everyone! Hope everyone had a nice week and now you can enjoy the weekend reading trip reports while trying to plan your next Disney trip. A Pretzel costs HOW much now??

8/17 - Day 7(Day 6 of Disney!)

Today was Friday and this was a MK day followed by 1900 Park Fare for dinner. Our Fast Passes were 7DMT, Jungle Cruise and Enchanted Tales with Belle.
So DD was REAL excited to ride Space Mountain so we promised we'd get to the park at opening to make a run for SM. We got up early, got everyone ready and hit the monorail and got to MK right before opening. After the struggle of choosing the line you "think" is faster (it's band, then finger people!), we were in. Extra Magic Hours are the best, Jerry! The best! The nice thing about having the stroller when you're trying to get somewhere in a hurry is just sit the kids down and move quick. Of course I leave DW behind :rotfl:

We follow the crowd, which wasn't much to be honest, and hit Tomorrowland. Park the SUV and DD and I head towards SM while DW and DS make their way onto Buzz. It was only 15 minutes for SM! Took us longer to walk through the queue then to make it on the ride.
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She's not blue, she's happy! And already removing her ears in preparation!
She was SO excited to ride this and had no idea what to expect having never seen any videos. She just knew it was a roller coaster and is getting to an age where all she wants to do is ride coasters:eek:
As for me, I haven't ridden this since 2016 when DW and I went for our anniversary sans kids. We were excited to ride it again, I had the front car and halfway through the ride I wasn't feeling well and wanted it to end. I turned to DW and she said the same thing. OH no we're getting old! However I was going to suck it up and ride it for DD's sake so I wasn't nervous for myself, just wanted her to enjoy it.
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Awkward selfie!
We had the back car which I explained to DD that its much faster to be there than in the front and she was on board.
Now here's where my self-inflicted drama comes in to play. You know where the CM walks by and says make sure you remove your hat? REMOVE YOUR HAT. I looked at her and said of course I will. I did not. This is the LAST picture of my hat :mad:
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I had decided to record the event in DD's honor. I'm holding my phone tightly hence the weird hand position. As you can see DD is having a blast(off!) already!
Halfway through the ride my hat flew right off. Such a powerless feeling but I couldn't do anything about it. And this wasn't the first time I lost something on SM either. A pair on sunglasses YEARS ago that DW made fun of me for. I should have taken them off! Oh well.
I DID have fun on the ride, didn't get sick like last time. Must have been the back car that helped. As for the video, I uploaded it. However because of the language I didn't post it. It's definitely NSFD. If you would like to see let me know. It's 2 minutes of darkness with "narration.":rotfl2:

Anyway, DD LOVED it. She had such a good time. I was a little worried since she couldn't see but she was perfectly fine. Outside of losing my hat, it was fun. We're now going to have to add it to the rotation of FP's.
As for DW and DS, they also had a blast on Buzz, as evidence below clearly shows.
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So intense!
Of course, DW laughed at me for my hat. :rotfl:

It's only 8:40am by this point and the Speedway is practically empty so we make our way over there. I had DD while DW had DS. I let DD drive while I did the pedals and as you can see in the picture, DW let DS drive and you can't see him :rotfl:
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Look Ma, no hat!
I think that was rougher than SM honestly. She's NOT ready to drive anytime soon that's for sure.
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My new hat! It looks like my old one, however the "new" ones has that worn look which the old one didn't have. Either way I was out $24. Funny thing too is that I had just bought a hat at the Character Warehouse for $3. But I didn't want to go the whole day in the sun without a hat. Is this day just about my hat? Why do I keep talking about it? :hyper:

Now that Hat Debacle 2018 was over, it was time for Pooh. Winnie, the Pooh!
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It's fun to try to explain the Heffalumps and Woozles scene. Why isn't that movie on DVD? I would watch it daily as a kid.
Since we were already in Fantasyland, we hit the carousel before our FP's for Enchanted Tales with Belle. If you haven't checked this out, make sure you do. It's not just for girls, they have cool stuff for the boys too.
After being led in all the kids stand up front in Maurice's shop and watch the magic door open! Kudos to Disney for the imagineering on that one.
The kids were fortunate enough to be picked for the show!
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DS was Chip!
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DS was Philippe!
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I love this picture for everyone's different expressions. What's happening here?
The only thing I don't like about this is how low Belle's voice is. She's not mic'd but every time I've seen the show her voice is really hard to hear. They gave us the PhotoPass bookmark at the end but we couldn't find it so this is the best I could do:blush:
By this time it's only 9:30 and we haven't eaten yet! We gallop over to Gaston's for a cinnamon roll and a LeFou's brew!
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Look at that, a STRAW!:rotfl2:
If I could perfect this, I would dip the bottom in the glaze also so it's not just the top. Still, delicious. Oh and I ran down to the cart across from LM for a GIANT Mickey Pretzel which the kids devoured.
Time for Jungle Cruise!
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They're just monkeying around. Hey finally got the jump to turn over!
Our skipper was AWESOME. I think her name was Brittany. She had that perfect sarcasm and wit. Immediately called out people for being on their phones, so good. :rotfl:
Next up was Pirates, which is a classic that we all love. EXCEPT for the new red head scene. I'm a fan of the classics and am sad to see it go. I wish they could have done more with the scene but to me it felt rushed so that's what the end result was. Just my opinion:thanks:

We've gotten to ride so much already and it was only after 10am! DW realized that because it was a Halloween Party night, the crowds were considerably lower. Everything was pretty much a walk on, I think the longest we waited for 30 minutes for a ride. Well, except 7DMT which we already had a FP for.

I check the wait times for BTM and DD and I make our way over there while DS and DW ride the flying carpets. The line wasn't terribly long but it did move slower than expected. That is probably my favorite ride in all of Disney so I was happy to wait. DD loves it too, she's become quite the fan of them! No Splash yet, as it was dead of summer and the lines were REALLY long for that one.
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We meet up with DW and DS and DD wants to ride the carpets so grab a quick one and then make our way over to 7DMT. This was DS's first "real" roller coaster since he was tall enough to ride. DD and I get the second row while DW and DS get the third row, however the people in row one backed out so they moved DW and DS up front! DD was upset about this but DW reminded her that it was his first time so it would be special.
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Look at that smile! He loved it. Of course we all do. I hate that the picture is so dark. I guess I could have tried to lighten it up but you get the gist.
We picked up lunch at Cosmic Rays yet again, burgers and fries and all that jazz. We weren't really all that hungry but figured the kids should at least eat.
Next up on our ride extravaganza, Dumbo!
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After Dumbo we wanted to meet the characters in Pete's Silly Sideshow.
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Showing off their muscles like Maui!
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Goofy channeling his inner Jane Fonda
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Donald!
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Daisy! Oh Goody-Goody!
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Air Four!
Good interactions all around, everyone got autographs and hugs. Can't ask for much more. If you've never done this before, keep in mind that there are TWO separate lines so you'll have to exit and come back in. It dumps you into the Big Top Souvenirs, which has tasty treats and our favorite slushies!
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I'm Liv Morgan!
After a little bit of cool down, it was time to head back to the hotel for a little R&R before dinner at 1900 Park Fare.
Walk through the shops on the way out and DS fell asleep which was nice. Make our way up the monorail ramp and one had just ran through so we had an empty spot. Next one shows up a few minutes later and we get an empty car! And then the doors never closed. Apparently monorail Orange broke down, AGAIN. That had been a theme during the week. Needless to say during that time our empty started to get full. Since we couldn't fold up the stroller due to DS asleep, it takes up a lot of room and I do my best to get it out of the way of people. Here's where the rudeness comes in.
One woman gets in, rudely asks to move the stroller in a tone of "umm, move your stroller?" and then proceeds to sit in the MIDDLE of the bench. I knew immediately she wasn't moving for ANYONE. Sure enough, more people come running and instead of waiting, one family of about 10 AND their double stroller pile into our car. Why couldn't they wait for the next one? So now they jammed their stroller behind sleeping DS, which is now out of our sight and rude woman DID NOT MOVE from her spot. Finally the door closes and while we're moving the children in the other stroller start to take our drinks from ours! The parents didn't notice and we said something to them and we got the "OH we thought they were ours haha" No haha. Watch your children. I'm normally very accommodating, folding the stroller when I can, standing so others can sit. But you can't control other people and it was sad and it definitely put a damper on my day. Outside of losing my hat. :thumbsup2

Now that we were off the monorail from Hades, got to the room and cooled off, literally and figuratively. Dinner wasn't for a few hours so we took naps, showers and then off to the Grand Floridian! Looking at a map, we probably could have walked there but we had the car so we rode over and got directed to self parking which turned out to be closer to our hotel than anything.:) Here's a map to put it in perspective.
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Ridiculous right? Oh well. The parking was free.
Time for dinner!
We LOVE this dinner, the food by far is probably the best buffet on property. Just the assortment of different offerings is great. I WISH I had take pictures of my plate but sadly I didn't, take my word for it. This is a multiple plater so come hungry! I did take pictures of the characters! Oh I failed to mention this dining experience has Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia and Drisella.
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It's Prince Zac Efron!
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DS: "You pulled me away from my food for ANOTHER picture?"
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This is where the character interaction is good. While Charming and Cindy say hello and are very proper, the Stepmother and sisters are hilarious! The improv is too good.
At one point a song came on for the happy couple to dance and they got accosted by the stepsisters! :rotfl2:
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She may look happy, but that's because she made DD hide her Cinderella doll and use her hands to cover her up on her dress:rotfl:She even yelled to Lady Tremaine across the room about it.
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Good ol Drisella. As you can see she was also not a fan of DD's dress and used her dress to cover it up!
Overall it's really good. DW and I talked about coming back here again but only if the characters didn't come up so we can just enjoy the food:goodvibes
It was a little late and we didn't want to hit the Springs, opting instead to just take our time and walk around GF.
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Guaranteed this makes the Christmas card.
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Just part of the resort.

Walked through some shops on the way out and took the LONG drive back to the hotel. The store was still open and I saw a shirt I REALLY wanted!
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Cool right? Unfortunately they only had Medium and Smalls, neither of which I am. I asked the CM's and she told me that they are discontinuing that shirt and that's all the stock they have left. Man what a shame, such a nice shirt. I was convinced there were more so I told DW to keep an eye out. I took a picture so I could go online back in the room and see what it was going for, which people wanted A LOT. So I passed and just hoped for the best.:thumbsup2
All in all, a good day. Outside of course for the hat. :laughing:

Next up, breakfast at 1900 Park Fare (I KNOW!), getting passport stickers in the World Showcase and dinner at Beaches and Cream!
 
Hello? Is it me you're looking for? No? FINE. :laughing:
So I just noticed that Photobucket must have changed the way they do things as all my pictures now have ugly watermarks on them. I changed photo providers so let me know if they show up at all.

Aug 18 - Day 8 (Day 7 of Disney!)

Today's agenda starts with breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, followed by our second (and last) Epcot day ending with dinner at Beaches and Cream!

Breakfast was EARLY, I think our reservation was for 8:15am so we had to make sure we got up early to make it over. Instead of driving or walking we just monorailed over one stop, which was empty and didn't take very long since we were early enough. Checked in at the front and it was deja vu all over again! We were literally just there:lmao:

Waited only a few minutes and our name was called and they let us with a few other families. Now you know that organ/band thing they have at the top? It works! It was playing music to start the breakfast off. I was surprised, wasn't expecting that to happen but glad to know that it works.

Our table was in the middle right under the organ. Now for those not familiar with this breakfast, it involves Alice, Mad Hatter, Mary Poppins, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger.
First up, Mary Poppins!
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She actually came off a little mean, proper if you will.:rotfl:
Alice in breakfastland!
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Mad Hatter making an entrance
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The character interaction is so good. They will be at someone's table and if they find something interesting on the table or that someone says they will yell to the other and laugh. Same with the dinner. Outside of that the breakfast was just ok, nothing out of the ordinary of any other on property. You're basically paying for character interaction. I don't have any pictures of Pooh, sadly. (he he, pictures of Pooh. I'm six!)
Poor Tigger has to stand outside for photopass opportunity. I remember when DW and I went there on our honeymoon, it was Tigger AND Fairy Godmother.
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We were finished shortly before 9 so made our way to the monorail to stop at the TTC and transfer to the Epcot one.
Made it around 9:30 and immediately jumped on Spaceship Earth!
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Good lighting! I thank the Phoenicians.
Was bummed that the pictures didn't work so by the time the end rolled around it was the generic people. Oh well. I'm looking forward to seeing the rumored changes in the next few years.
Next up was The Seas with Nemo. The kids wanted to ride Nemo again and do Turtle Talk. While in line DW wanted me to stand next to "Steve Fish"
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Check out those cargo shorts!
For those who remember Finding Nemo, Gurgle from the fish tank, was afraid of germs. I'm a bit of a germaphobe so DW thinks it's funny. Hence Steve fish. :laughing:
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Mr Ray!
A quick tip, there's no benefit to using FastPass for Turtle Talk. Just walk in if the wait time is low.
The kids sat upfront again and DW took seats all the way to the left. When it was time for the kids to ask questions, DD got picked. He asked her name and told him Sydney, to which he replied "I've been there." :rotfl:
She asked what do turtles do when they get scared, and he said hide and then hid. DD was really excited she got picked so that pretty much made her day. It's also surprisingly sweet to see the kids hold hands on the way out after the show is over.
Next up the Land, DS really enjoyed Living with the Land last time so we were going to take him on. When we got in, the line for Soarin' was only 20 minutes and DD wanted to ride, so DW took her and I took DS on LWTL. He loved it, especially early when you get to see the animals.
DD LOVED Soarin'. It's cool that she's getting old enough to start riding some of those big rides. That's going to be a bad thing when she starts wanting to ride RnR and ToT:laughing:
Now it was time for a stroll around the countries so the kids could get their passport stamps.
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So Pretty.
They really wanted to get their faces painted. It's amazing what they'll sit still for.
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I was taking a video of DS roaring like a tiger when a girl commented how scary he was and she then opened her packback and handed him a Lion King pin and said she "worked for the mouse":earboy2:
We thought that was really sweet of her. Fortunately DD wasn't around to see that happen. She later saw the pin and we just told her DS found it on the ground so she wouldn't feel left out.

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China all the time.
DD really wanted to meet Mulan so after getting our stamp we found her off the side.
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Next stop was Germany, where it turns out I know a little German!
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:lmao:
"Hey kids, stand still so we can take your picture!"
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They did their best:yay:
It was a little past 1 and we were getting hungry and happen to be right by America and picked up some lunch.
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The mac and cheese footlong! DW and I split this monster and the kids got their kid food. It was good, enjoyable for sure. Definitely big enough for two people.
By the time we hit Japan, DS had had enough.
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DD was obsessed with France so she wanted her picture in front of the tower and fountain. Don't worry, she asked the CM for a sticker for her brother that was sleeping.:)
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Oh Canada!:rotfl2:
After the UK, it was time to head back to the room for a little RnR(NOT Rockin Rollercoaster :hyper:)
Monorail back was uneventful and being at the Poly is nice since we could just walk off and head straight to our resort.
A few hours of rest and getting cleaned up, we hopped in the car and drove over to the Beach Club. I parked off to the side and when we were walking I decided to take the path around the buildings since the front path seemed so far off. While I was dead wrong. The path went around the back of the resort towards Epcot Resorts Blvd which was scary since the path was so close to the road. Well that took longer than expected but we finally made it to the lobby, and at the point I had a headache and DW was also frustrated so needless to say we needed a breather. Good thing too since we were a little early.
7pm rolls around and it's time! Honestly, I didn't really care about eating dinner. I was here for one thing and one thing only. The No Way Jose!
The kids got the classic cheeseburger, nuggets and fries while DW and I both got grilled cheeses. They were good, nothing to exceptional but wanted to eat "light." Several tables got the kitchen sink, which was fun to watch everyone's face when the lights go on.
And now the moment I, and you, have been waiting for, THE No Way Jose!
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Isn't it beautiful?:love: For those who've never had it, It's Chocolate and Vanilla Ice cream topped with fudge and peanut butter sauce with chocolate and peanut butter chips, whipped cream with a cherry on top! I asked the waitress to put as much PB in there as possible and she did!:worship:
Goes without saying, this was amazing. And yes, I did share it with DW:love2:
The kids got a scoop of chocolate ice cream, but cutely themed.
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There's a mouse on the table!
Oh I should note the waitress we had was exceptional. I wish I could remember her name. She had brown hair:confused3:thumbsup2
The table next to us had a decent sized group and a girl knocked over her ice cream and was in tears, felt so bad for her. Fortunately the waiter immediately brought out another one. The DIS is just so cool.
After dinner we just wanted to walk around the boardwalk at night since it's relaxing and just pretty to look at.
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Gorgeous!
The kids did the photobooth
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We stuck around and watched some of the shows, the performers were really funny and entertaining. It looked like the moved around and did shows everyone 15 minutes or so so we got to see both. One had a bed of needles and the other guy had some buzz thing in his mouth while he did his ball tossing thing. Both were good, the kids enjoyed them.
After the shows, we milled around the general store just to see if they had anything good or we hadn't seen before. I'd like to tell you we left without buying anything, but that's false advertising :goodvibes
Put the kids in the stroller and made our way out, the RIGHT way this time:rotfl:

The nice thing about staying 10 days is when Saturday arrives, it's not the last night! We still had 3 more park days left and those would be used wisely! For Sunday, we decided on Disney Springs in the morning, T-Rex for lunch and cap the evening off with Slinky Dog Dash at DHS! We were excited for that and also sleeping in some.

My goal is to try and finish this report by the end of next week, before we go on our Disney Cruise! I probably won't write a report for that one if I'm still writing this one:rotfl2:

Hope everyone had a good week!
 
Yes, your previous photos now have the ugly watermarks on them. The photos starting with Mary Poppins do not.

Love the face painting photos of your kids. No Way Jose, YUM!
 


(he he, pictures of Pooh. I'm six!)

:rolleyes1 I may or may not have laughed out loud at "pictures of Pooh".... BEFORE I read your little disclaimer here.

My goal is to try and finish this report by the end of next week, before we go on our Disney Cruise!

Disney cruise!!! Just came back from our appt to submit passport applications. First time for passports, first time for DCL, first time cruising at all.... February can't come soon enough!

I just shelled out a ridiculous amount of money for Disney After Hours at MK for one of the nights we're there before the cruise. It's pretty amazing how I just keep throwing money at the mouse.
 
Yes, your previous photos now have the ugly watermarks on them. The photos starting with Mary Poppins do not.

Love the face painting photos of your kids. No Way Jose, YUM!

Sorry for the ridiculous size of them. That does not show up when I wrote it initially so again sorry about that! I'll try and resize the next batch.

Thanks! They'd get their faces painted everyday if they could:)

:rolleyes1 I may or may not have laughed out loud at "pictures of Pooh".... BEFORE I read your little disclaimer here.

:rotfl2: I laughed when I wrote it. And for a more minutes after.


Disney cruise!!! Just came back from our appt to submit passport applications. First time for passports, first time for DCL, first time cruising at all.... February can't come soon enough!

I just shelled out a ridiculous amount of money for Disney After Hours at MK for one of the nights we're there before the cruise. It's pretty amazing how I just keep throwing money at the mouse.

Agreed. The mouse OWNS us :earboy2: Which boat are you taking?
 
Happy Holidays Disboards! Christmas Time is here! So yeah, been a while since the last update. Just a lot going on with the holidays, shopping and our Merrytime Cruise over Thanksgiving. The cruise was awesome, I highly recommend going on one if you haven't. Yes, they are expensive but it's definitely worth it. Here is just a small sample of all the pictures we took.
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Look at the woman behind DW, in some sort of clear shock:rotfl:

Anywho, cruise was awesome Not sure if I'll do a report on that but I can tell you we had a blast.
Now back to August, which was only 4 months ago but seems like forever. That being said..

8/19 - Day 8 of Disney!

Ahh Sunday, the tail end of our trip. Fortunately we still had three FULL days of Disney left! And we were going to make them last. Today was going to be a little low key as we had planned Disney Springs in the morning, followed by lunch at T-Rex and then a little R&R before Slinky Dog Dash in the evening!
We "slept in" and then got ready and drove down to the Springs and hit up some stores towards the west end. DW wanted to check a store called Ever After which carried the new Dooney and Bourke magic band.
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I thought these were interesting, hadn't seen these around anywhere.
I wound up buying the magicband for her :thumbsup2
After this store it was already bird exploding hot, so we turned towards the covered A/C area and grabbed some drinks and checked out Disney Style.
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They had fun in the faux tea cup. We didn't buy anything but it was nice to just cool off. They had some interesting merch but not enough to buy.
Slowly made our way back towards T-Rex, taking in a little A/C when people opened the doors.
Now if you've never been to T-Rex, it's a glorified Rainforest Cafe, only I think they food is better.
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This place is a MADHOUSE. Especially at dinner time, the line is out the door. You check in at one spot, then when your name is called you stand in ANOTHER line waiting for your name to be called again. There are several areas, which makes this restaurant unique. The water area has a big fish tank, the Ice Age actually feels a little bit cooler than the rest of the place. There's the regular area which is where we sat, and what looked like a volcano area.
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As you can see with the flash, this place is kind of dark. I don't mind it but others might. It should be known that every 20 minutes the restaurant has a "show" where it feels like the asteroids are coming and the dinosaurs lose their mind. And let me tell you that it gets LOUD when it happens, the wait staff does their best to make sure time it so you don't have to yell when giving your order.
The food was actually really good. We started with an appetizer of the Dual Dip which you get one half of queso and the other spinach with these yummy triangle chips. Oh, and of course I have no pictures of said food so use you're imagination. Or google them. Whichever. :goodvibes
For the entrees, DD got Jurassic Chicken nuggets with fries, and DS got a cheeseburger with fries. I got the Island Chicken and Shrimp pasta, better than I thought and DW got the Bronto Burger which she thought was tasty.
Once lunch was over we walked over the store that's inside and since DS is big into dino's, we let him pick out a few items.
It was a little before 2 and we weren't finished shopping yet so we cruised through the Lego store first.
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Hulk smash!
It cracks me up to see the chaos that ensues in the Lego store. We have 3 in our area so it's nothing we haven't seen before.
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Yeah, we wound up buying the kids something anyway. Just something small ok? :cool2:
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And I'll form the head!
Since we're back towards World of Disney, we stopped in to look around again. Keep in mind at this time only half of the store is open but there was still plenty of stuff to grab. This store wasn't as crazy during this time which was nice so we had a little more elbow room.
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Holy Macaroni!
I might have mentioned this before, but I wasn't a fan of the "new" store. I think part of the charm disappeared when most of the decor went away. It definitely is easier to move around now.
Once we made a few more purchases, it was time for a little treat! Ghiradelli's it is!
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I got the strawberry shake, which was yummy. I am still mad at them though for removing Peanut Butter. We're not on good terms. I drank the shake in protest :rotfl:
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DD got a chocolate shake which she loved.
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DW got a Sea Salt caramel sundae with chocolate ice cream.
We were VERY fortunate to grab a table inside and didn't have to fold the stroller since DS fell asleep. I got him a small chocolate ice cream just in case he woke up.
DW was also starting to feel under the weather, so the cool ice cream was helping.
On the way out, we passed by the photopass area so DW and DD stood in the line to get some pictures taken. At this point, DS was still sleeping so I found a bench to sit on and follow football scores.
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Walking like an Egyptian in front of the castle

It's pushing 4 so we head back to the room for some rest. Our Slinky Fast Pass wasn't until 7 so we had some time to just reset and cool down before the night. A big storm was approaching but we thought we could be it out before it came. Sadly while on the way to HS, it started to pour. And continue to pour. By the time we parked our fast pass was cancelled and both kids were asleep. So now we sit in the parking lot of HS trying to decide what to do. We looked through the dining and couldn't decide on a place to so we drove back to the Poly and I dropped off the family at the door and I ran back inside and stopped at Captain Cooks for dinner. I got curried seafood stew and DS got the Pulled Pork Nachos. Both were really good. I could do without the pineapples in the nachos but I just ate around them.
Since we were in for the night, I decided to run to the Contemporary (via monorail) to get a peanut butter pie for us. I think it was 30 minutes round trip so not that terrible. I was fortunate to get on the monorail as the fireworks were going off so I missed the mad dash.
I picked up the pie along with a cupcake which I can't remember but DW liked it. She was feeling really sick at this point but said that since our night was cut short and we missed Slinky, we would get up super early and tackle Toy Story Land with the EMH. I was all in for sure. You got to push through even when you're sick in Disney!:dancer:

Next up, Toy Story Land, the Poly pool and Monday Night Football
(again, sorry for the GIANT pictures. I have no idea how to scale them down.)
 
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Happy New Year! You know what's funny, when I started writing this report DW said to me "You better keep up with it" and I'm like of course I will, I'll finish it by the end of the year.............

So how was everyone's holidays? :earboy2:

Ours were good and busy. And as I write this our tree is still up, albeit undecorated, but still up. Everything else is down and put away just haven't taken that down yet. Maybe it's the abundance of toys in it's path. Santa was VERY good to DD and DS, even though I called him a few times.

Where was I? Oh right, trip report.

8/20 - Day 9 of Disney!

Now I'm sure you've all seen Toy Story Land and even experienced it by now. But you haven't seen MY pictures of it all :thumbsup2
DW got up SUPER early to made sure we made EMH. She was NOT feeling good at all, worn down with a sore throat but knew the task at hand. We popped up, got ready and at the gates to HS by 7:30. There was already a line waiting to get in but fortunately staying at a Disney Resort has it's perks.
We immediately followed the crowd and went straight for TSL and Slinky Dog Dash! The kids were really excited to ride this one.
The wait said 50 minutes by the time we got there but we knew what we were in for so jumped right in to the zig zagging fun of early morning heat!
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Alien Swirling Saucers and Star Wars Land
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Fun Easter egg here. Also, that guy looks thrilled:rotfl:
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Yes I took a lot of pictures of the queue. Its long and extensive and ripe with detail. The only detail missing? Air Conditioning!
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The detail really was great. Looks to look at while you wait. And trust me, you WAIT. However since we got in early it only took 40 minutes so that wasn't terrible. Off we go!
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I look terrible in this picture but whatever. As you can see by the tail we were in the back! DW and DS were in front of us.
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It's a faster ride than I expected and the drops are steeper than I thought. But I loved it and so did everyone else. There were 4 trains running at the time so the line did move at a good pace, but I can't see waiting more than 50-60 minutes for this ride let alone any ride. Obviously a must do!
Next up was Swirling Saucers. Which, they probably should have rethought the name for abbreviation purposes. You guys can figure out my immaturity. I'm 6!:rotfl2:
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We waited for this one too, this time it was only 30 minutes which wasn't bad. Queue is fun but again, covering. I realize it's cheaper to put fans everywhere but it just doesn't help. WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
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We decided to grab some breakfast at Woody's Lunch Box before our FP at TSM. DW got the S'More French Toast Sandwich and I got the Turkey sandwich. I also got DW the Mystic Portal Punch, which was surprisingly good. You'd think since it was green it was going to taste like lemon-lime but definitely tasted like fruit punch. She especially enjoyed it for her throat, made her feel a little better.
The sandwiches were just ok, the turkey was the best one. The S'More one just wasn't good at all so I gave DW the rest of mine. Now off to TSM!
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I don't know why I took a picture of an empty walkway, but here's part of the fast pass line that's outside! Amazing!
Actually this is probably one ride I'd probably wait over an hour to get on since it's mostly indoors and air conditioned.
DD wanted to ride with me while DS rode with DW. That meant I had to scale back my shooting so DD could win. She's a little competitive so I didn't want a breakdown of any kind.
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It doesn't bother me, she loves it and that's all that matters. It's fun though to try and improve my accuracy!

It's pushing 10am and DD and I have a Star Tours FP while DS and DW had a FP for the Disney Junior show. That would be the last time they saw it in it's current configuration before they shut it down and made it a dance party.
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3-PO!
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R2!
Why can't we meet these two anywhere? Wouldn't you like to put your arms around R2? No instead we have to stand still while Kylo Ren first orders us around.
I don't remember the planet we were on, I think it was the one from the Last Jedi with all the salt. And yes, we built a droid afterwards:banana:
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We meandered in some shops for a little bit and caught Phasma's march. DS loves it and the character so we tried to get a good spot right at the front. Got there a little late so didn't get any character interaction but that was ok since we had a good one our last visit.
Once they moved up the street we made our way over to the Frozen Sing Along, which I personally love. It's now become a thing where someone yells 'Puddle' during Olaf's song and the CM's on stage make a big deal about it. So funny.
Immediately after we headed over to Backlot Express for an early lunch. As usual I order while the trio finds a table. Fortunately the Star Wars tour had JUST ended so they were able to get a table quick.
I picked up the usual cheeseburgers, fries and chicken tenders. And of course, if you remember earlier in the trip, the BB-9E cupcake.
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This little beauty is amazing. I hope it's still there if you go in the future. I know that it was NOT there over Thanksgiving so that was sad for all.
While eating lunch, DW and DD both had the sniffles and I didn't want them to fly home with colds so they canceled their flight and were going to ride home with me. I wouldn't make her drive but she and the rest could sleep in peace and not worry about pressure on their already hurting ears.
Spoiler alert, they turned that credit into a birthday trip for yours truly this March :cheer2:
After lunch we walked through some stores on the way out and said bye to HS for the trip. I know a lot is closed and under construction but we still love it.

We all needed naps, DW and DD for sure. When DW woke up, she still wasn't feeling well so I decided to take the kids to the pool while she slept. The Poly has a GREAT pool and it was nice to just relax and enjoy the water and watch the kids play.
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I didn't mean to look this crazy, but I guess I'm just crazy for the pool! How about that view right? Not me, the pool with the castle way in the background.
We moved over to the kid splash area which they all took turns sliding down the slides and splashing around.
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I called DW at this point and she came down to the pool and just watched the kids with me for a bit. Captain Cooks was right inside so we dried off and ordered some dinner.
DD got chicken noodle soup while DS got a cheeseburger with fries. DW got pork fried rice and I ordered the seafood stew, but they ran out of scallops and offered to add extra shrimp to the order so I said sure. She offered me a free cupcake too since I was inconvenienced, which I didn't care but was still nice.
When I opened up my dinner, it wasn't the stew at all. It was the Pan Asian Noodles, with chicken. Funny enough, I had ordered that for DW and I to split just to have. I didn't take it back, I was hungry and just ate mine. Still good!
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I did NOT enjoy this cupcake. I honestly don't recall what was in it but I remember not liking it. It was 5 months ago!:teeth:
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How cute are they? The kids too I guess:laughing: They were full, all bathed up and ready for our last day.
We had a full day at MK planned, followed by dinner at O'hana and one last evening at the Springs. Bittersweet night, the night before your last day. You kind of half pack and start to clean up your room and its all just sad. But one more day and we were going to enjoy it!

Maybe I can finish this out before my March trip:rotfl:
 
Hello all you faithful followers! Probably wondering "why hasn't he posted the LAST day of the trip?!?! I mean its literally the last day!"
I have no excuse. But I'm here to make it up to you with my FINAL post in this long running trip report.
That being said, welcome to.....

8/21 - Day 10 and the LAST day (so sad :guilty:)

We always like to end our vacations with the Magic Kingdom, however tonight was a Halloween party night - in mid August - so our plan was to do as much as we could until everyone got tired. We had an early dinner reservation at 'Ohana and then spend one last evening in the Springs.
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DD loved Space Mountain and wanted to ride it one more time before we left. We didn't have a FP so that was one of the first things we raced to. Fortunately the line said only 20 minutes so we pretty much walked all the way through to the loading area. There was this group behind me of about 6 and the one guy was talking about how loud he was going to be on the ride and kept going WOOOO! like Ric Flair. I started to get nervous as we got closer so I asked the nice girls in front of me if they minded if I said we were all together since I was afraid I'd get stuck with the WOO guy and they laughed and said sure. We hit a point in the line where you break off into sections and I kind of waited behind the longer line in hopes they would move on and they did! WOO! (see what I did there?)
This time I took my hat off and enjoyed the ride. Sadly, we hit a turn and without warning, I got a big WOOO! in my face as the other train rode by. >:(:P
Funny nonetheless. DD loved it and that's all that really mattered.
While that was going on, DW and DS rode Buzz and had a...............blast. I'll show myself out. DD was a little jealous that they got to ride it, so we all hopped in line since, again, it was short.
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Pew pew! I like the ride, feel like they should update it a bit. Mainly because I can't figure out where to shoot.

Next up a quick ride on the carousel and sure enough the step-sisters were in line too!
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Smiling more than usual
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After the horses in circles, another favorite Small World!
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Ha! Take that ladies! Actually they were on the other side of the boat and I couldn't snap the picture fast enough.:blush: Believe me when I tell you, it was a small world. After all.
Hey time for a FP! 7DMT!
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We're back there, you have to look :rotfl:
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He looks terrified, but when you zoom in he's having a great time. He loves the ride.
Also, I feel like the camera needs to be cleaned BAD. Look at the streaks on that thing.
We realized it was almost 11 and hadn't eating anything, so make our way over to Gaston's and got a giant cinnamon roll, a La Fou's brew and I got the kids popcorn and a pretzel. I'm such a good dad.:laughing:
DW still was under the weather but a little better than the day before so she was powering through quite well. I was like we are getting so much done and she points out it's because it's a party night. Ah right, the crowd level is much lower. Works for me!
Since we were in the area we walked down to Philharmagic. Simba gets me to jump everytime! And I know it's coming too!
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At this point I check the app and BTMR is only 30 minutes so I take DD over while DW takes DS over to the Flying Carpets.
Hopefully they'll add a ride camera to BTMR during a refurb. This is my favorite ride in all the land. Or world. The line wasn't too bad, probably closer to 40 minutes. I texted DW and DS had fallen asleep so she was walking around some stores when we met back up.
He woke up just in time for some Dumbo!
Sorry no pictures. But it goes up and around, you might have seen it:rotfl:We do take this opportunity to grab some snacks at the Big Top and just let the kids play while we relax in the AC and eat cookies and drink slushies.
Time for lunch, and DD's favorite is Cosmic Rays so why not end the trip with one last trip to see Sonny. The girls are invisible.
Cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets later, we make our way back toward Tomorrowland for one last round on the People Mover.
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He looks thrilled.
As I go through this last day, I realize that I'm just giving you play by play of what we did instead of actual stories. Truth be told I'm having a hard time remembering.:rotfl2: But I do remember we had fun, and isn't that all that really matters? :cheer2:
How about some princesses! DS and I skipped this one. But how often do you get to meet all 4 in under 20 minutes?

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Long hair don't care
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Elena of Avalor!
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Cinderelli!
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Tiana!
Next up was the slow walk down main street. One to say goodbye and two to shop. Always bittersweet walking out for the last time. You know you're coming back, but don't know when. We spent more on some souvenirs slowly made our way toward the exit. I didn't a good main street castle shot, so here's the train station and some pumpkins.
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Pumpkins in August! Who knew!
Dinner was around 6 so we had about an hour to rest up. Fortunately it's in our hotel so just a quick walk out and boom, back at 'Ohana. And I was ready.
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My Poly shirt!
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I have heard rumors that the noodles were replaced by rice, so thankfully that has passed and I can look forward to these beauties again.
Like the last time, I only took this picture before diving into some shrimp. Diving? Shrimp? Who comes up with these?:boat:
You hate me, don't you? I'm almost finished!
The waiter was amazing this time around. Can't remember his name but he was really attentive and super friendly. I love this place and can't wait to get back. After dinner, we got a family picture.
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I don't know how I missed this gem on the floor.
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Love it.
Now onto some Disney Springs for some last minute shopping and enjoy our evening. It's so nice to have the car and come and go and buy whatever and not worry about getting a seat on the bus and just throwing the bags in the trunk. Hit up the pin store, Christmas store and World of Disney. We can't wait to get back to see it fully opened since only half was open. Picked up some rice krispy treats and some pins and said goodbye. So sad.
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Beautiful.
I'm envious of people that live here. They get to walk around and hear Disney music and see all the new merch when it comes out. As we've gotten older this has become probably one of our favorite places in Disney. Great food, shopping and the ambiance.
Slowly walked back to the car and back to the room to pack and cry. Mostly cry. Because everyone cancelled their flights we were all driving back so had a little more time to prepare. I still wanted to be out and on the road by 9 so we did what we could until we were tired.
The next morning I finally took some shots from the room!
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Pretty. We had this for 10 days!
I called bell services and they put all of our stuff on a cart and I got the car and played Tetris with our luggage.
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We only had suitcases and one bag on the way down.:rotfl: Again, the luxury of having the car. We packed a lot of empty bags just so we could fill them up!
I made the whole drive back and we got in around midnight. You think packing is bad, unpacking at midnight with two kids asleep is rough. I foolishly agreed to work the next day so needless to say I was pretty useless :thumbsup2

Now it's time to say goodbye. It was fun to write another trip report after all these years. I probably won't write another one for a while so I really hope you enjoyed my nonsense and pictures.
Two weeks from tonight we will be back for my 40th birthday trip! You can follow along through my Instagram, @scunningham12 . Feel free to follow and say hi!
I post Disney and more nonsense. :cool1:

Thanks again, this was fun.
Steve
 
I just read your whole report.
What a dream to stay that long at The Poly!
I really loved Homecomin in November, and we have reservations for that and Ohana in May.
Thanks for sharing.
 
I tried to quote the last comment and screwed it up and cant figure out how to delete. So sorry for the random post! Happy Wednesday! :thumbsup2:banana::cheer2:
 

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