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

[tbholc81]

Day 5: Two days at HS?
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We let the kids sleep in, which was a win they didn't wake up until 8:30. We weren't in a rush this morning, we had a long day ahead of us with a late night. Our plan is to start out at HS then go to MK for the evening.

FastPasses:
12:55; Disney Junior Dance Party
1:15-2:15; Slinky Dog Dash

ADR:
Cinderella's Royal Table 7:15

Fireworks:
Happily Ever After

The reason for the second day at HS (which is rare for us, usually we spend 1/2 a day there) was for Slinky Dog. This was the earliest in the trip we could make a FP, and we wanted to avoid the craziness that is Rope Drop for it. We also would do more Star Wars stuff and see the McQueen show.

We stopped for breakfast, we all split 2 orders of Mickey Waffles, some sort of other danish and a cinnamon roll (see a pattern here). Then off to HS. We waited almost 25 min for a bus, and didn't get there till about 10:45. Oh well, we were not in a hurry.

By the way it's ANOTHER beautiful day, and the Skyliner was being tested as we walked underneath.

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Once we got in it was time for another March of the First Order. We stood in the exact same place as last time. Then a photopass photographer came over and said he would take our picture while the troopers came over. He was true to his word...

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He took almost 50 pictures, which was crazy, most are pretty much like these two. Pretty cool to have those memories. From there we went over to Launch Bay to meet some characters. On the way in Deb got pulled out to be part of the Storm Trooper demonstration.

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She did as she was told and made it out ok! Then we went inside to the Visa Card greet with Kylo Ren. I love his meet, but we never join the Dark Side he did thank M for her support.

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Then it was over to BB8, he was not impressed with M's outfit and was (according to the CM) a little nervous. Also confused because even though you can't tell in the picture M has her hair like Rey's. D loves BB8 by the way!

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After that meet M decided she wanted to put the rest of her Rey costume on. Just in time to as the stage show was wrapping up and we knew if M put her costume on Rey would say hello.

They all walked by...

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And Rey stopped for a hug!

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Success! Our day continues when we come back!

 

[tbholc81]

Once we watched them go by, Deb took D for a walk to nap (by this point it was a little after noonish). M said she wanted to look around for more Star Wars stuff so we went in to watch the Star Wars movie. It's ok, not that great but it was nice and cool in there. We walked around Launch Bay and saw that there was no line for Chewy. We got in the que with 2 families in front of us.

Chewy was excited to see M in her Rey outfit, they let her "activate" her lightsaber for the pictures.

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After the M decided she wanted to face Kylo Ren with the lightsaber. Back over to the the Visa meet we went, and right back in to see him again.

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He was not happy to see a resistance fighter in his presence and attempted to get M to switch to the dark side. Again, she was allowed to "activate" her lightsaber. It wasn't the epic duel M was hoping for but still a fun moment.

We finished up and went out to meet Deb and D. At this point we didn't use our Disney Jr. FP. We found a spot in the shade for a minute, D never really napped. He woke up and it was time for the next "Star Wars: A Galaxy Far Far Away" stage show. Another thing D has watched on Youtube and was excited to see live.

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We got a nice front row seat with the stroller. M stayed in back to give Rey another hug on the way off stage. D liked the show well enough and now it was time for a little snack. We stopped by the Joffery's outside TSL and got a "smoothie"for the kids. We also ate some granola bars etc... that we packed for the day.

Then it was just about time for out Slinky Dog FP! Into TSL we went.

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As you can see it was pretty crowded. All we wanted to do was Slinky Dog, and we just got right over to the FP kiosk and scanned in.

This dude was excited.

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We moved right through the line up to get on board, the theming on this ride is terrific.

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We were pretty far back in the dog, which made it a little faster of a ride. Deb rode with D and I rode with M. This was her first time on this as well. And we were off!

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M said that she really didn't like the ride and it made her feel funny. I think it was just because she didn't know what to expect. D loved it!

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I guess M changed back into her dress by now. Fun ride and finally a good picture of us on a ride. From there we had one thing left to do at HS. More about it in the next post!

 

[Chief Powhatan]

I have enjoyed all of your trip reports. My wife is also a TA, so we do the dining plan so we have the knowledge to sale to others. We usually break-even, but it is nice having your meals paid for before you even arrive.

 

[TNGirlwCamera]

I am really enjoying your trip report. You have some great photos! The kids are adorable!

My husband is from Vermont! We visit every other year. It's gotten so hard and expensive to get there easily. I think we have tried every airport at this point and last year we drove! (I'm just south of Nashville)

That was funny about the kids magic bands and not getting the hint about the trip.

GF is on my bucket list so I love trip reports that show the hotel. That's cool you got to meet Mickey and Minnie in their Easter dress.

I love the pics of M with Chewie. Looks like you had some great Star Wars experiences even after you moved when you were not supposed to. LOL

I like how D always naps with his legs crossed.

I look forward to the rest of your report. Looks like the weather is awesome and you have a great combination of parks and pool time.

 

[jwoodbury]

Joining in!

 

[jwoodbury]

All caught up! Enjoying your trip report and heading over to look at your past reports. We were just in Vermont (my Dad lives in Jeffersonville, near Stowe) a few weeks ago and we got lucky with gorgeous weather!

 

[tbholc81]

I have enjoyed all of your trip reports. My wife is also a TA, so we do the dining plan so we have the knowledge to sale to others. We usually break-even, but it is nice having your meals paid for before you even arrive.

Thanks, I liked having everything paid for and getting the drinks which we would otherwise not have gotten. Deb feels like we would have never eaten like this UNLESS we had the DDP.

I am really enjoying your trip report. You have some great photos! The kids are adorable!

I like how D always naps with his legs crossed.

Thanks! I never noticed that!

All caught up! Enjoying your trip report and heading over to look at your past reports. We were just in Vermont (my Dad lives in Jeffersonville, near Stowe) a few weeks ago and we got lucky with gorgeous weather!

We are pretty close to Jeffersonville! Weather has been decent here lately, but we had a nawful spring. cold and rain everyday!

 

[tbholc81]

Welcome back!

After Slinky Dog we only had one more thing that we wanted to do at HS, which was to go see the new Lightning McQueen show. D loves Cars so this was more for him, and I wasn't holding high hopes that this was going to be an awesome show.

The courtyard was nice, not very crowded and almost no shade.

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Cruz was out so the kids grabbed a picture with her.

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We waited a few minutes for the doors to open for the show. We waited in the back in some shade so we were all the way in the last row during the show. This worked out well though, D could stand on the bench and see.

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The screen wraps around which is neat and McQueen was right in the center, he faced the audience and the screen. If you've seen Cars 3 he was using the training simulator, so that was kind of neat. You can see D standing here.

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It was a decent show, nothing I'd run to again, but there was AC in there! After that we went back to the buses and back to the GF (we left around 2). Got a quick photo on the way out with M.

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Kids of course were wanting to use the pool. So we changed quick,

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and then went to the pool. We made sure to have them out of the pool and changed before 5. Dinner wasn't until 7:30 so we grabbed a snack. Got some hummus and vegetables with ranch.

Once we quickly at we grabbed the monorail to the MK. As soon as we walked in this guy was out milling around.

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When Deb and I were down for Wine and Dine we tried to meet him a couple times, but the line was always like 2 hours long. This was a fun meet for the kids, no photopass or anything but still a treat.

Next post our evening and some of dinner!

 

[tbholc81]

I'm back after a few days break! I don't think I am going to meet my goal of finishing this before the cruise. Oh well let's see how far I can get in the next couple days!

After we met Remy we stopped for a quick picture with Walt and Mickey.

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From there we had a Haunted Mansion FP to use. I think somewhere along the way in the morning we must have made a throw away FP at HS to get a third. That way we were able to make FP for the evening. Our first one was at HM. In line an older couple saw that M had pins and they gave her 2. They said that they like to just hand out pins to kids who they see have lanyards on. It was really nice of them.

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Those were the 2 that M picked, they weren't "authentic" Disney pins but M didn't care. Plus she ended up trading them later.


Deb reminded us of the new photo op on HM after our short wait.

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But we forgot to pose anyway, oops. From there we shopped in Memento Mori's for a few minutes. Then we went over to Philarmagic, there was no line as expected. We walked right in and surprisingly the theater did fill up. We love that show, we do it at least once per trip. Kids always get a kick out of Donald at the end.

After that we had a little bit of time to kill before checking in with dinner, but not enough time to get on a ride or anything. We shopped for a couple minutes and the kids ended up getting some pixie dust.

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She even put it in the hat.... Great, we'll be dealing with getting that out of everybody's hair for the next month. At this point we thought it would be close enough to our 7:30 ADR to check in but when we got to the desk, they told us we were early and to come back at 7:30. So we just sat around the back of the castle and waited till 7:30, and you guessed it D found a fountain.

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Close to or at 7:30 we checked in again. Deb asked the CM there if we would be done before HEA and she told us it wouldn't be a problem. We were soon taken into the waiting room for......

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This was an exciting meal for us, especially the kids. We didn't tell them that we were eating in the castle, and they got excited when we walked in there. We waited downstairs till they called out royal name with the chimes. Kids got their picture with Cinderella.

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We were escorted up the fancy staircase and right to our table.

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Kids were loving feeling like royalty.

 

[tbholc81]

We sat down and our server was right over to meet us, we order drinks and started going over the menu. I will say that this meal seemed to be pretty speedy, which works for our kids. The drinks came out fast and we ordered our main entrees.

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Deb got something fancy and I got a red wine the server recommended. We got salads for our first course. The menu description has changed since we went.

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These were excellent, so good I wish I could figure out how to turn in the right way.... . Seriously though the parmesan cheese on top was crispy and perfect. In the meantime the princesses began meeting, Aerial (with legs) was first.

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Then Aurora.

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She decided to give D a nice kiss on the cheek.

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Soon after our main entrees came out. Deb, D, and myself got the Steak and Shrimp. The menu looks different now, so I don't have the full description. D's came without the shrimp...

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It was also fantastic, steak was perfectly done, shrimp was great as were the sides. M got Macaroni and Cheese, with corn and rice.

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She liked it well enough, I think we shared some of our steak with her as well. D ate his steak so fast that our server noticed and asked if he wanted another one. He said he did and with in minutes another Filet Mignon appeared on our table.

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He was pumped, and the server bent down and cut it up for him, a nice special moment with some pixie dust!

Next post DESSERT!

 

[tbholc81]

The dinner was moving along pretty quickly and Snow White came out, the last princess..

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They also handed out wands and swords to all the kids then had them wave them around and make wishes.

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M was wishing hard for something!

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Eventually we ordered our desserts. No surprises both kids got the: Build-Your-Own-Cupcake-
Vanilla Cupcake with Cinderella’s Blue Icing and decorations to garnish your Royal Dessert.

It was definitely enjoyed by M!

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She apparently put a shirt on at some point along the way here, I'm thinking some of these pictures are out of order a little. Anyway, for dessert I had: Jaq & Gus- Whipped Cheesecake with Seasonal Flavors and Garnishes

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Deb got: The Clock Strikes Twelves- Dark Chocolate Mousse with a Dark Chocolate Ganache served with a Raspberry Coulis

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The desserts were excellent! We checked our watches and we had plenty of time to get our for HEA. I noticed on our bill (which isn't really a bill bc this meal was paid for when we booked it) that it said "fireworks" on it. Could be a reason our food and service was quick, either way we grabbed a quick picture with the armor suit on the way out.

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When we come back HEA!

 

[jhoannam]

What a great meal, from my understanding most people aren't impressed with the meal or service at CRT. I'm glad that you guys weren't disappointed.

 

[tbholc81]

What a great meal, from my understanding most people aren't impressed with the meal or service at CRT. I'm glad that you guys weren't disappointed.

It was a little quick, which we found surprising, but it worked for us with the age of the kids. But we thought the food was very good. I've also read a lot here about people's disappointment with several places. We have found that the only way to rally know is to try those places ourselves. For example, lot of people on these boards don't like O'Hana, we love it and usually make sure we go. Or San Angel has a bad wrap here, but we tried it in August and loved our food and the atmosphere.

 

[tbholc81]

Welcome back after an extended break and exciting cruise for us. One trip report at a time though, the cruise one will have to wait till I finish here.

We left CRT and the CM told us to grab our stroller which had been moved to the walkway through the castle. Awesome, we grabbed it and asked if we could walk out of the front to watch HEA. They told us we could and we walked down the pathway and a CM lifted the rope and for some miraculous reason there was an empty spot right at the rope that we slid into. No one questioned us or batted an eye so we stood right there, first row for HEA. Deb had never been so happy....

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The amount of people behind us was substantial.

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Nobody else came down from dinner which I couldn't believe, like we couldn't be the only ones that have tried this. But the show started and their we were.

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The projections are amazing up this close, but we did miss out on a lot of the fireworks.

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M was loving it, nobody in her way for once....

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It was an awesome show and definitely a great memory for all of us. We sat around for a few minutes at the end of the show and waited for the crowds to clear out. There was no leaving the hub for a few minutes, we took some pictures.

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There were EMH hours and we were planning on utilizing them. The key was how late the kids could make it. Once we got moving we decided to start in Tomorrowland. M still with plenty of energy decided that she would push the stroller.

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[tbholc81]

Moving right along we were hoping to get a bunch of rides in while the kids could make it. We started over at Buzz Lightyear where we were able to grab a FP.

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Of course the ride got stuck while we were on it but the guns still worked so Deb, with her quick trigger finger and whatever high point thing she was shooting at ended up hitting the limit.

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She was very proud of herself even though I told her that she technically cheated. She wasn't buying it,

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She then insisted that she was a real Galactic Hero....

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After all the bragging we jumped on the People Mover for our token ride through Tomorrowland. The wait was only 5 minutes.

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From there we decided to get over to Adventureland, but on the way we saw the Main Street vehicles out and the kids and Deb jumped on (I had to take the stroller to meet them at the end).

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From there we went over to Pirate of the Caribbean,

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No line so M and I jumped on. We remembered the photo this time.

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We almost had our own boat, at this point D had fallen asleep in the stoller, it was 11:15. M was still ready to go and so was Deb. Rather than push the stroller around and switching going on rides and waiting I took D back to the GF to go to sleep. We made it back without him waking up and I changed him and got him in bed without an eye even opening.

Next the rest of Deb and M's evening.

 

[tbholc81]

After I left with D Deb got herself the Hei-Hei ice cream cone thing.

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Then it was over to the Tangled Bathrooms for M and Deb's favorite photo-op

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They went on Haunted Mansion...... again, and maybe hit up another couple rides.

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At 12:15 they were on their way out of the park and heading back to the GF.

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M to this day tells us that she DID NOT fall asleep on the monorail on the way back despite the evidence that shows otherwise.

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They got back about 12:45 or so and into bed tomorrow would be a sleep in day for sure.

Dining Plan recap. (I'm rounding here)
- Gasparilla Grill breakfast (including 2 snack credits): $48.00
- Cinderella's Royal Table: $280.00
- Joffery's (Snack Credits): $8.00
- Days total $336.00

Initial cost $1,449
Used- $1,172.25
Left to break even- $276.75

Back with Thursday Next!

 

[carejo]

Just read your whole report! Loved it . Your kids are adorable and it shows your planning paid off. Now I have to stay at the grand Floridian!! Stayed their once with my oldest when she was 4 . Now she’s 30; time to revisit

 

[tbholc81]

Just read your whole report! Loved it . Your kids are adorable and it shows your planning paid off. Now I have to stay at the grand Floridian!! Stayed their once with my oldest when she was 4 . Now she’s 30; time to revisit

Thanks! It was a fantastic place to stay! We weren't sure we'd like it but it proved to be great.

Thanks for following along!

 

[tbholc81]

Day 6: Finally Trying BOG
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Welcome back! To say it's been a while would be an understatement, but I am determined to finish this report. Things got quite busy at the end of the summer but hopefully I'll have some time for some major updates this weekend!

We left off with two days left and still lots to do. Thursday would be a day to sleep in! Our plan was MK in the morning and another special ADR for the evening. With late night Wednesday we were planning for an early bedtime.

FastPasses:
11:10-12:10; Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
12:10-1:10; Haunted Mansion
1:20-2:20; Splash Mountain

ADRs:
Be Our Guest; 10:00am
Artist Point; 6:05

Sleeping in was a must and we actually didn't all get out of bed until about 9. That gave us plenty of time to get to MK for our ADR. We had never been at all interested in eating at BOG given the reviews and the price, but with the Dining Plan the breakfast was an excellent use of a QS credit. With no issues (or pictures apparently) we made our way to the back of MK and checked in for our ADR. We also used the mobile ordering in advance which was a HUGE advantage. We were buzzed in pretty quickly and passed all the people in line to place their order on the way in.

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We found a table in the West Wing, which we thought was pretty cool. The theming was excellent for sure.

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Our food came out pretty quickly, and as my notes are seemingly getting lazier I'm going to guess on what we ordered.

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I got the: Open-Faced Bacon and Egg Sandwich: Poached Eggs, Applewood-smoked Bacon, and Brie on a Toasted Croissant served with Fresh Fruit.

It was quite good, well prepared and tasty. I was a little worried about the poached egg but I thought it went perfectly with the dish.

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Well there's a terrible picture. Deb got: Vegetable Quiche-Mushroom, Zucchini, Bell Pepper, Onion, Goat Cheese, and Chive Quiche served with Fresh Fruit and a selection of pastries

She said it was not very good, it wasn't much to look at either.

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M had Fifi's French Toast- Brioche Bread served with Fresh Fruit and a selection of pastries

She loved it, but she is a fan of any French Toast she can get her hands on. I tried some it was basic but good. One thing WDW needs is real maple syrup.....

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D had Crepes de Cogsworth- Chocolate Hazelnut Ganache Crêpes with Berry Compote and Whipped Cream served with a selection of pastries.

He didn't really like it I guess. I thought it was only ok, I think Deb ate most of it.

The meal also came with a plate of pastries.

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My picture taking skills were lacking during this meal apparently, guess we were still tired both Deb and I had Mimosas (I think). After we finished eating we wandered around for a few minutes and took some pictures.

Here are some from the library.

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and one on the way out.

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When we come back the rest of our day at MK!

 

[tbholc81]

Well it's been a while (like over three months), but I am pretty determined to finish this report despite my absence. So on a rainy a cold Sunday, WELCOME BACK. With less than 2 days left to get to the end of our vacation let's keep going.

After our breakfast of mixed reviews at BOG we were off to spend the day at MK. We were happy we tried BOG but not something for us to do again, especially without the dining plan. The dining plan makes the cost of the breakfast worth while, otherwise..... no way is it worth what they charged.

With some time to kill before our first FP we went over to Winnie the Pooh, it was 10:40 and the wait was posted at 35 minutes. It was fairly accurate and we were done in plenty of time for our FP at Seven Dwarves. We headed over there, scanned in and me and D got the first car. Pretty neat view, but for sure makes the ride slower.

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Our next FP was at HM and we had time to jump on the carousel on our way over to Liberty Square.

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Always a favorite with the kids. While that was occurring Deb decided that to get some Starbucks, I got an unexciting coffee and she got her caramel latte double foamed something or whatever. Plus we love the lemon loaf from there so we always get one...... or two.

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After eating we headed over to HM and used our FP. Always a fun ride and then we decided to shop for a few minutes in Memento Mori. M traded a some pins and played a game which she got sticker for. From there we headed over towards Splash Mountain for our last FP of the day. The crowds were super manageable, and as we had hoped were getting better everyday.

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I do not like Splash so I sat that one out and Deb got to ride with both kids!

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They loved it! The day was wearing on so we got a picture with some bears and decided that we were hungry.

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M also got to trade for another pin, and she picked the Mad Hatter. The pin trading is for sure something that she really got into and had a lot of fun with.

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Those see to be some of the villains she picked in a set, and decided she would trade them all except for the Captain Hook one.

We decided to top for a snack at the Out Post, nothing huge because we knew that we had a big dinner that evening. I think we got fried cauliflower and fries or something (I neglected to write this down).

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When we were done we went back to the hotel for..... you guessed it swimming!

More to follow!