A Grand Family Vacation to see the Fountains; an April 2019 Trip Report Completed 3/1!!

[amberdc1987]

Love your report! Your family is precious. The music for Illuminations is so amazing! I cannot listen to it without crying. I hate they are getting rid of it, but I am open to what they will do next.

 

[tbholc81]

Love your report! Your family is precious. The music for Illuminations is so amazing! I cannot listen to it without crying. I hate they are getting rid of it, but I am open to what they will do next.

Thank you!

We are a little excited to see what replaces Illuminations, but will miss it.

 

[tbholc81]

I Blew it at HS
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After a long day at EPCOT the kids slept in an woke up around 8. It was nice to get some more much needed rest. Yesterday was the first time we had done a full day in the park with the kids, and M without a stroller.

The plan for today was HS for the bulk of the day and then DS for dinner. No ADR though we have a two credit dinner later in the week so today we searched for a some good value with QS credits and decided on the Polite Pig. After dinner our plans were a little up in the air for evening entertainment, we were hoping to do the Star Wars Fireworks.

FastPasses:
9:55-10:55; Toy Story Mania
11:05-12:05; Star Tours
12:10-1:10; Tower of Terror

We wandered down to get breakfast at Gasparilla Grill. We ended up with Mickey Waffles, an egg and cheese Sandwich and a danish. We must have been hungry, that's a lot of food for breakfast for us. Once again we only used 2 of our QS credits figuring we'd use 2 later (or another day). I actually remembered to take some pictures of breakfast. The egg and cheese sandwich wasn't good, oh well.

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The cinnamon roll is always good though. Once we were done eating we made our way towards the bus. Then we had one of those "You know you are at the Grand Floridian when...." moments as we were walking.

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That really was somebody's car and CM had to ask people to leave it alone, and we saw people drive it away at some point. It was there for most of the week.

The bus stop was pretty crowded and the first bus for HS filled up quickly, we didn't make it on. No worries though another bus came 1 minute later and we boarded about 9:15.

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M decided to wear her Darth Vader dress today, I can't tell you how many times CMs called her Ella...... for Ella Vader hahah. But seriously we were told that joke about 10 times during the day. The new bus stop was finished and came out really nice we thought.

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We made our way towards the gate, it didn't look too crowded yet, but we guessed the crowds hadn't made their way over yet.

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It was another awesome day, not a cloud in the sky and no rain in the forecast.

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We scanned in and it was almost 10 o'clock, M saw a CM and did a quick trade. I can't remember what she traded for. As we made our way down the street the March of the First Order started. Since D insists on watching this on Youtube all the time he was pumped to hear the music. Plus we knew exactly where to stand so Captain Phasma stopped right in front of us.

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As we were waiting a CM (more important one he was wearing nice clothes and had an IPad) started talking to Deb. We knew to be super polite to see what happens. As the Storm Troopers stopped Deb said to make sure we didn't move because the CM typed "family of four" into his IPad and said he would be right back. The storm Troopers search all of us.

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So here's where I messed up. After the Storm Troopers started marching again, the kids were so excited we followed them to the stage..... and I left our spot, even though I was told not to. I totally forgot and that CM came back and asked Deb where we went. Then he found another family and took them with him. Ooops!

Kids loved it anyway, and said goodbye to them.

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When we come back it's off to Toy Story Land!

 

[tbholc81]

It was now in our window for TSM one of my favorite rides in all of the parks! This was the first time the kids would get to see Toy Story Land, but I don't think they understood how new it was. Either way we got over there and right in the FP line.

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Stand by was a fairly short wait at 45 minutes, so the FP line was really quick. The kids got their glasses and were ready to hit some targets. We were off the ride at 10:40.

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I think the theming in here is fantastic, I ended up riding with D and Deb rode with M.

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I didn't do too badly, I've been better though. Deb (as usual) beat us all. D was ok with his 8,800 points. He said he had fun which is all the matters.

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On the way out we stopped for a couple quick photos,

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Behold, some rare shade in Toy Story Land. Today was definitely feeling hotter than the past couple days. We debated hitting up the Alien Saucers or SDD but the waits are both long. SDD was 95 minutes, and we had a FP for it in a few days. We decided that we wanted to make our way over to our FP for Star Tours. On the way out of TSL we went over to see some of the Incredibles. This was a cute little area, they had the dance party going on, and there was no wait to meet Edna Mode. In we went.....

She danced with M a little,

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Gave some hugs and did our family photo.

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D was not in a good mood which was a theme for about the next couple hours or so. We stopped on the way back through the courtyard at another photopass opportunity.

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Notice it was just the three of us. D refused to get out of his stoller. These were pretty fun photos, I have a few more, but there were the best ones.

Out of room here!

 

[tbholc81]

The photopass photographer thought it was funny that D refused to get up, so he snapped this for us.

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Oh well, we made our way down towards Star Tours and spotted Chip and Dale. There was almost no wait, time for some pictures and autographs. D decided he was happier now, for the time being.

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They were a fun meet, then off to Star Tours. We checked in with our FP and got our glasses.

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I didn't write down what scenario we got ( I usually do), I think it was a prequel one with the Wookie planet and an encounter with the Trade Federation. I like that ride and the kids do as well. Deb could take it or leave it. Sometimes she doesn't even go on it with us.

When we got through the store Goofy was outside and the kids insisted we meet him. It was fine he was in the shade.

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D thinks he is hilarious and loves squeezing his nose.

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Now we had some time to kill and we decided to wait in the line for Mike and Sully. We went over to One Man's Dream where they meet and got in line. After about 10 minutes we noticed the line was NOT moving, like not a foot. We asked a CM who was putting people in line which was now almost the whole length of One Man's Dream. Turns out there was a Star Wars tour going through so they were keeping the space in front of those displays open. This frustrated a lot of people who got out of line. Once the tour went through we walked straight through to the door. The wait was still an hour.

Now D brought his Sully costume all the way from home to wear for this meet. It was AC in here so we put it on him. This was a really tedious line, where it always felt like we were getting close but moving super slow, and was just a hallway.

Outside the room they had a scream can which was an awesome optical illusion, it was really just half a can with a mirror. I thought it was neat so I took a couple pictures of it.

This one looks like the full cannister.....

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Here you can see M's hand reflected in it.

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After being pretty whiney in line D was finally cheering up and we thought ready to meet Mike
and Sully.

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Or so we thought.......

 

[tbholc81]

The people in front of us took FOREVER with Mike and Sully, it was a little frustrating and the kids were super antsy and D pretty winey.

We finally get in and guess who wants nothing to do with Mike or Sully..... D, too much excitement for him I guess. M got her monster hugs....

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We got our family picture, they loved that D was dressed like Sully.

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We really pushed D's nap too late, he was not having it. One more try to high five Sully,

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Kinda did it. Now it was nap time and Deb and M had to make their way to TOT. I'm a wimp so it's not for me. They take off and I walk up and down in front of ABC Commissary until D falls asleep. Oh yea, he also didn't want to take off his Sully outfit now even though it was like 90. At this point the park was remarkably crowded, which was a little bit of a bummer, but we weren't planning on staying much longer anyway.

After D fell asleep I went to the best place in the park, the Baseline Tap House. They don't take DDP here but I'm wasn't worried about that. Got a beer and a pretzel!

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It was so good, by far best pretzel in the parks! D is passed out, and sweating.

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Deb and M got on TOT.

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You can't tell from the photo, but in the video they give you, you can see that M did not like the ride. Deb said she kept trying to slide down into her seat, at least she tried it though. One last photo before finding me.

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We got another pretzel and then decided it was time to make our way back to the hotel for some pool time. Wait times were long and the only thing we wanted to do was the McQueen show. But we were coming back in a couple days and thought we'd do it then.

Once we got back the bus D woke up and we were able to talk him into taking Sully off. We waited about 20 minutes for the bus, which I have written down went the wrong way on the way back. I think he turned into WL at the light instead of going towards the Poly and GF. We were back at the hotel about 3:10 and to the pool at 3:30.

Next post pool and Dinner at DS.

 

[jhoannam]

This was a cute little area, they had the dance party going on, and there was no wait to meet Edna Mode. In we went.....

She danced with M a little,

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Gave some hugs and did our family photo.

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Wow I can't believe Edna didn't have a wait, so cool. And cute family picture.

When we got through the store Goofy was outside and the kids insisted we meet him. It was fine he was in the shade.

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Another great family picture

The wait was still an hour.

that's a long wait! At least it was in the AC?

It was so good, by far best pretzel in the parks! D is passed out, and sweating.

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what a sweet picture, I can't believe she slept in his costume!

What a fun day of character meets. I'll need to remember to add Edna to our touring plans .

 

[tbholc81]

that's a long wait! At least it was in the AC?

What a fun day of character meets. I'll need to remember to add Edna to our touring plans .

Yea we figured it would be long, if it was outside I doubt we would have waited.

 

[tbholc81]

On the way into the lobby seemed like a good time to get a few quick picture of the fancy things at the GF. These were out front most of the week, I'm not sure if they use them for anything, weddings maybe?

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The Lamborghini was still there. They still had the Easter Eggs out in the lobby and for once it wasn't that crowded so we browsed for a quick minute.

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The detail in these was amazing they are worth checking out if you are there around the holiday.

It looks like we stopped to grab a snack on the way back to the room as well. We probably did this while we were refilling water bottles.

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The cupcakes was ok, nothing special but the kids loved it. After a quick change we were in the pool at 3:30. By we I meant the kids, they elected to just use the Splash Pad today which was fine!

We got a nice shady lounge bed type thing and some pineapple drinks. Almost like a Dole Whip with Rum (by the by NOT part of the Dining Plan).

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We relaxed here for the next 90 minutes or so. The kids loved this Splash Pad, perfect for them to run around in and cool off.

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Everytime the bell rang D would come running over to watch the bucket pour out, even though he was soaked already anyway.

It got much more crowded as the afternoon went on and harder for the kids to navigate with other kids running around and not being supervised. At 5 we were finished and starting to get hungry. We went up to our room changed and went back to catch a bus to DS for dinner. We got to the bus stop around 5:30 and got a bus about 5:55

Our plan is to eat at DS and then make our way back to HS for the Star Wars Fireworks (he watches them on youtube ALL THE TIME). D really wanted to see them and we didn't have any other free evenings.

Next post dinner and Fireworks!

 

[tbholc81]

We got to DS at 6:10 and by this time we were all pretty hungry (we only really had the pretzels for lunch). No time for shopping we went right over to the Polite Pig.

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In looking at all of our options this menu looked great and the reviews were really good as well. Plus it is an excellent use of the Dining Plan. It took a few minutes to decide what we wanted, you get to choose a main course and side. There were so many choices, and we got drinks (included of course)! We picked a seat outside, near the sidewalk. It wasn't super hot anymore and we were in the shade anyway. The way it works here is you order food at the counter and then it's brought out to you.

Deb got the salmon with brussel sprouts and a drink (it was a vodka lemonade I think).

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I got the brisket (I always get brisket at BBQs!), fries and a beer.

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M got the Mac and Cheese.

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and D got the chicken fingers (always his go to).

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The food was amazing, we loved it. After we were fully satisfied with eating we went to look at the new World of Disney store. We were quick, just wanted to see what it was like. We really like how it's much more open and feels less crowded. We couldn't hang out for long though because we wanted to get to HS for the fireworks.

Since there are no buses directly to parks from DS we had to figure out a plan of attack. We decided it was best to take a bus to POFQ then a bus to HS. We waited a short time for the buses and then were on our way.

The kids were excited to see the fireworks.

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We are in place in HS in front of the Chinese Theater at 8:05. The kids ask for some popcorn which is a great idea. I wait until closer to showtime then head over to the closest stand to grab some. there was a little bit of a line but no big deal. I get up there and order a popcorn and then they hand it to me and for some reason they tell me it was free. This threw me for a loop, "No, no I'll pay," I insisted. The CM tells me not to worry about it. In my head I'm thinking, but I have a snack credit for it. I HAVE TO USE MY SNACK CREDITS.

They didn't let me pay for it, it was exciting I guess, but I am hoarding snack credits like crazy.

I get back and the crowd moves forward but we stayed right where we were so no one was directly in front of us.

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The kids love this show....... love it!

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We had a lot of fun watching. We all really like the show, but wish there were more high flying fireworks. We grabbed a bus when they were over and were back at the hotel at about 10:15. It was a quick change into pjs and right into bed. Kids were out quick and I think I was too. Tomorrow is our first MK, 3 days into our vacation!


Dining Plan recap. (I'm rounding here)
- Gasparilla Grill breakfast (which includes a snack credit for the danish): $29.00
- The Polite Pig: $79.00
- Popcorn: Free
- Minnie Cupcake: $5.50
- Days total $113.50

Initial cost $1,449
Used- $593.75
Left to break even- $855.25

Steps:

Tim- 14,029
M-18,117

 

[tbholc81]

Day 4- MK Finally​

It was finally our MK day. The longest we've waited to go to MK on WDW vacation. We wanted to wait for the Easter crowds to clear before we went there which is why it was scheduled for day 4. We were up early today (7:00) to make it for rope drop and we were out the door at 7:30. We were adamant about getting to rope drop today to get as much as we could in before our lunch.

FastPasses:
9:45-10:45; Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
10:45-11:45; Peter Pan's Flight
11:45-12:45; Space Mountain

ADR:
Skipper Canteen; 1:00

We got to the monorail platform at 7:40 and right onto a monorail.

Today was Magic Kingdom Shirt Day,

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Rope Drop time was 8:00am so we gave ourselves plenty of time. We also skipped breakfast thus far to get there on time. I think we all had some quick snacks that we brought from home to hold us over for a couple hours.

Of course on our way down Main Street D spotted a fountain, so time for some pictures.

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Ok kid move it along we got things to do. Since most of the crowd runs to Fantasyland and SDMT our plan was to start in Adventureland and work our way around towards Tomorrowland until the crowds start to build. We didn't watch the stage show but we could hear it from where we waited to get into Adventureland.

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Right at 8:00 they let us in and we started with POTC. Of course it was walk right in and on.

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For some reason we forgot about this picture, oh well. Once we got off we walked to the Wild Wild West and onto BTMRR, I took this on the way over. M also stopped and traded some pins, she got a Tinkerbell one here. I took a picture later in the day with all the trades on them so I'll post it later.

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Nice and empty, for now. We rode BTMRR and then kept working our way around.

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The Haunted Mansion was down so we kept going. We got on It's a Small World at 8:41, still walk on. We got off and decided it was a good time to meet a couple princesses and M wanted to meet Rapunzel and Tiana. We got in line at 9:02.

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One with the whole family, I think this was D's favorite princess. he loves the movie.

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Then over to Tiana for more pictures and autographs!

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We were done by 9:15 and then decided to explore a little more of Fantasyland before grabbing a snack.

Comeback to see what we get!

 

[Ecomommy09]

I'm reading along and this has been a lot of fun! Your kids are so cute. So much fun!

 

[dvc at last !]

I am enjoying you TR, pics and reviews.
Beautiful family .

 

[tbholc81]

I'm reading along and this has been a lot of fun! Your kids are so cute. So much fun!

Thank you! we had a ton of fun on this trip and love sharing it with people!

I am enjoying you TR, pics and reviews.
Beautiful family .

Thanks for reading along!

 

[tbholc81]

After the princesses are finished we decided to head to the Little Mermaid Ride. The crowds were starting to pick up now.

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We go to the ride at about 9:15, it was still walk on which was nice. Of course there's a "fountain" on the way in.....

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Fun ride for the kids, M really loves the Little Mermaid. We are off at 9:24 and then we decided that we were pretty hungry. We were close to Gaston's Tavern because we had read good things about the cinnamon rolls so we thought we'd give it a try.

Oh yea there's a fountain out front....

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We got 1 gigantic cinnamon roll and a Lefrew's Brew. The cinnamon roll was pretty good, a great snack for us all to split. We didn't want to fill up on it too much with a big lunch on the way.

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The Lefrew's Brew was ok; very, very, very sweet.

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D liked it, but honestly he likes everything, except apparently corn on the cob.... (which I found out today ). We had some other "healthier" snacks too that we packed. Then we tried to use our SDMT FP. When we got over there guess what, it was down. It turned into an anytime FP so off we went to find something else to do. The kids and Deb went on the Tea Cups, I don't remember why I didn't go on.

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Then the kids wanted to go on Dumbo, not for the ride though, they really wanted to use the play area. Ok fine, we went over there and at this point they were both getting a little winey. The long days and late nights were starting to catch up with us. Once they played and we went on the ride all was good though. It was about a 40 minute wait.

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That guy loved it. Then it was time for our PP FP, and this one worked! Both kids love PP it's their favorite movie to watch together. When we have a movie night they ALWAYS ask for it. On the way off PP and back through Fantasyland who did we bump into.....

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Just got a quick hug and a high five as he kept moving. That's all the kids needed thought. It was 11:30 at this point and D is tired, we really wanted him to get his nap in before lunch. Also Deb and I HAD NOT had coffee yet, which could have been disastrous. No worries though we picked a quiet spot on the Tomorrowland Terrace. Deb got coffees, a lemon loaf, and a pumpkin bread. We only used the snack credits for Deb's drink and the two breads. The regular coffee I had was not a good use of credit so we paid OOP. We quickly ate them then decided to split up. Deb and M went to use our SM FP, while I took D on a walk to nap.

He promptly passed out and we picked a spot in the court yard where Mary Poppins meets.

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Come on back for Lunch!

 

[tbholc81]

Another day another few updates I hope.

As D napped, Deb and M went on Space Mountain. I didn't care to miss it, I've been on so many times. This was M's first time on it in WDW. She has been on Space Mountain in Disneyland, which is way smoother and you sit next to the person you are with, not in front.

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M said she didn't really like it, she didn't like sitting by herself. They made their way over to meet us just as Mary Poppins came out.

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No wait for her, I don't think a lot of people realize that she is actually back there. It's a nice little quiet part of the park. D woke up a few minutes later and then it was off to check in for our lunch.

We get there a couple minutes early and asked for a table in the Butterfly room. They told us it was a half hour wait for that but they could sit us in the Jungle Room immediately. So we sat in there, it was awesome. For some reason we didn't take any pictures of the room. D decided to do some hibachi for us while we waited.

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It was his new thing I guess. For lunch I got; Dr. Falls Signature Grilled Steak- Adobo-seasoned New York Strip, Vegetable and Chorizo Farofa, Caramelized Onion Purée, and Red Wine Reduction.

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Someone threw a rogue fry in there it wasn't served that way. I also had a beer with this, it was really good. Steak cooked perfectly and the sides were well done.

Deb got; Sankuru Sadie's Seafood Stew- Shrimp, Sustainable Fish, Mussels, Bay Scallops, and Octopus simmered in a fragrant Coconut Sauce and served with Jasmine Rice. She ordered it with just shrimp.

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She also got a cocktail with hers, can't remember what though. She loved this as well, it was really well prepared.

M got chicken fingers off menu, you can see where the fry on my plate came from.

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D got; Sizzling Savanna Grilled Seasoned Steak

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It came with some sides, he gobbled up the whole thing. I think I had a small taste, it was also really good. Then it was time for dessert.

I got; Coconut Bar with Pineapple-Basil Compote and Vanilla Cream- Vanilla Chiffon Cake with Coconut and Lime-White Chocolate Ganache

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It was ok, not the best thing I've had, not the worst.

D and M got volcanoes

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Deb got; Kungaloosh!- An African-inspired Chocolate Cake with Caramelized Bananas served with Cashew-Caramel Ice Cream topped with Coffee Dust

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This was the real winner for dessert, I should have gotten it. Oh well, with very, very full bellies we were off for the afternoon to see if SDMT was open.

 

[tbholc81]

We made our way over to SDMT and it was ready to go, I took a couple quick pictures of the crowds on the way over. They had really picked up in the early afternoon, no surprise though.

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It could have been much worse though. We used our FP and got in line. This was D's first time on a "real roller coaster" so he ( and Deb) were excited.

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He loved it, a perfect first coaster for him.

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After we finished we hit up the Laugh Floor, it's one of my favorite little shows. Always funny, kids got a kick out of it. By the time we finished it was 3:45, and the kids started asking for the pool. It was ok by us, lines were getting long and after two long days we thought we would try and get everybody to bed early(ish) tonight.

On the way out we stopped at the Emporium for some shopping. M got a charm and some pins to trade. She decided to get one with all the villains.

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She said that she would trade all of them except for Captain Hook, who is not in this picture. I think Hades was not part of the set I can't keep track anymore. I think she eventually did trade most of them. D got a training lightsaber, it doesn't light up but does expand. Our deal for souvenirs is that we buy the kids 2 things during the trip, which had to be worth buying to us. They had their own money to spend on themselves. Especially M, her birthday was a few weeks prior to this trip and she got a lot of gift cards.

We took the monorail back and if I haven't mentioned it yet, it was another awesome day. The weather was unreal so far.

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We got back to the GF and then went to refill our water bottles. In there an awesome guy who was leaving and had a lot of extra snack credits insisted on getting D and M Ice Creams. So they each picked one, and were very excited about dessert #2 of the day.

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I also gabbed a picture of the Tinkerbell pin M traded for earlier this morning. The Peter Pan one she also traded for at some point. She really is in to finding all the Peter Pan pins she can get her hands on.

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We finished up changed and were off to the pool. We went to the main pool but as soon as the kids put their feet in it closed. Then we went to the other pool which actually worked out better.

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Water was awesome, and we found some shaded chairs to relax in and watch the kids.

A couple more pictures of the pool and evening in the next post!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Joining in (a little late). I can't wait to see what comes next!!!

 

[tbholc81]

Joining in (a little late). I can't wait to see what comes next!!!

Thanks for reading along!

 

[tbholc81]

We stayed at the pool till about 6:20, and then everybody was pretty hungry. We debated here for a minute or two about what to do with the rest of the evening. We landed on just getting dinner at Gasparilla Grill and then watching the jazz band in the lobby for a little bit. That way the kids could get to bed at a reasonable time and we would be all set for a long day with HEA on Wednesday.

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We hadn't used any quick service meals today, just snack credits and TS credits. We were starting to really enjoy the food at Gasparilla Grill, which was a little of a nice surprise.

I got a pepperoni pizza;

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It was pretty good for QS pizza, Deb got a make your own salad.

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It was huge! She liked well enough, I don't think she could finish it all.

M got a burger, and D a turkey Sandwich.

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Since D's meal was technically a adult meal it came with a drink, so we walked away with two beers and a cider to enjoy later while the kids slept. Everybody ate up their food and he headed to the lobby for the jazz band. We wanted to make sure we enjoyed everything the GF had to offer and this was a nice highlight for us.

I got a bourbon to enjoy sipping on, the most expensive bourbon ever by the way.

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It was a decent pour though, the kids started dancing,

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It was pretty hilarious, they provided much entertainment for a few onlookers. Then they made Deb join in.

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Others kids were dancing too! We stayed till about 8:15 then decided it was time for everybody to go to bed. When we got back to the room the Electric Water pageant was going by so we watched that. We got the kis changed and went out on the balcony to enjoy the beers and cider we got with dinner. When HEA started Deb decided she wanted to go watch it from the patio, so off she went. Good news is that she returned with Mickey Bars. We ate those and then turned in for the evening. Kids were out hard.

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Dining Plan recap. (I'm rounding here)
- Gastons: $12.00 (Two Snack Credits)
- The Skipper Canteen: $135.00
- Gasparilla Grill Dinner: $72.00
- Starbucks: $12.00 (Three Snack Credits)
- 2 Mickey Bars: $11.50
- Days total $242.50

Initial cost $1,449
Used- $836.25
Left to break even- $612.75

Steps:

Tim- 15,366
M-15,767