Adventures at 40"! May 2014 TR *COMPLETE* 9/10 **NEW** Italy ABD TR link posted 9/29

[dtr_angel]

Did I already comment on the first half of our meet? If I did just ignore me haha. So excited we were able to meet up and watch the parade together. We had not planned on being in the park for it so it was a nice surprise that it all worked out. Your DH’s pictures are amazing! That is so crazy the dragon got stuck! What a mess that must have been getting out of the park. I’m glad Paxton’s nap worked out and that you were able to stick it out late at the MK.

 

[marDgreen88]

Aghhhh, Festival of Fantasy is my newest Disney obsession! Between my May and June trips, I've seen it 5 times!

I totally know what you meant about the Tangled float being so exciting when you see it come down the street. I was watching from Frontierland that day and I was just amazed by that, I think more than anything! (Okay, probably tied with Maleficent.)

The pictures are all amazing! Ahhh that parade. So fun that you got to watch with Melissa and family, too!

Dang, Paxton is already figuring out how to spin faster?! Oh boy. I think you're in for it! Hahah yikes.

Y'all got such a great spot for the shows!

 

[Dugette]

Great updates!

We also re-arranged our schedule to see the new parade - totally worthwhile! I was just blown away by it (and I'm not a parade person). So impressive!!

Sounds like a good time in the MK that night. As usual, great pics. The Wishes pics are absolutely magical!

 

[Imagineer5]

WOW finally all caught up!! That's what I get for spending 10 days in FLorida! I can't believe your Italy trip is so close - and SO excited for you for the Disneyland trip!!

I have been talking with my friend Lynda about a potential 2015 WDW trip and we are thinking early May - a little disheartened to see the crowds on this MK day though! ugh! I agree, the FoF parade is amazing. Sorry Paxton wasn't into BTMRR but it'll come - awesome that he took his first ride on Splash!

Have a lot more to say but it's fading away in my head, but from now on promise I'll be on more!

 

[missangelalexis]

AMAZING pictures! All the floats are so beautiful, I can't wait to see this in person!

Cute pics of you and DS on the boat!

DH really does a great job of photographing the 3D shows.

Wishes <3 Wow, great pics as usual!!

 

[amazingact21]

Festival of Fantasy AND Wishes in one update? Loved it. Two of the best shows at Magic Kingdom, in my opinion.


Those shots of the parade were fantastic. Really showcases the bright colors and grandeur of the floats. Made me want to go listen to the soundtrack!



Sounds like that 4th Fastpass really worked for you guys. I have never tried it, so I was curious to see if it'd be worth the trouble of going to kiosk to obtain one.


Paxton on the teacups was too adorable. He looked like was having a blast!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Loved your updates! Especially the ones on Festival of Fantasy which we'll be seeing for the first time in October! I was able snag FP+ for it so hoping that the Hub viewing location it worth it. Can't wait to feast my eyes on all of intricate details of the floats and the costumes.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

It's not normal for me to be excited to see a parade, but I genuinely am excited to see FoF for the first time. So much in fact that, even though I managed to get a Mine Train FP, I kept checking for a new time JUST to make sure it didn't conflict with the parade. Incidentally, I succeeded.

Wow, looking at these photos, I'm thinking I may just as well leave my camera home, lol.

Good Lord!!! Now I feel that even more after seeing the Philharmagic photos. Unreal!!!

Haha, I love that CM's under the breath remark. Apart from probably Guest Relations, crowd control has to be the toughest gig.

OK screw it, I'm giving up photography.

 

[AprilRenee]

Tomorrowland speedway!! How did I forget about that?!? My car obsessed son will LOVE that ride!! I'm really glad I found your report, we've never ridden the speedway and it wasn't even on my radar. Also I was planning to skip lights motors action at HS cause I thought he'd be bored but with McQueen in it I think it might be worth trying. Also your son seemed to really enjoy that one too.

And your report is the first one to make me excited to see festival of fantasy. I've even watched it on YouTube and it just looked dull and brown. But your DH's pics make it look awesome so maybe we'll really enjoy it in person.

How much of a pain was it to drag the fancy camera around? I keep going back and forth on taking ours. Mine is a professional one and has a steel body so it's heavy. I also don't have a real "auto" setting so I have to always be thinking about my settings. But I love how your DH has such great clear photos and I want some like that from our trip. So I'm just kinda torn.
Do you know what lens he had on his camera? Or did he switch lenses thru the day?

 

[afwdwfan]

I’m going to apologize in advance for the completely obnoxious number of photos, but it was pretty hard to whittle down to even just these. Not only are the floats amazing, and the colors vibrant, but every single performer in this parade is so amazing that we got tons of great facial expressions and poses that made it hard to edit some out! The costumes of the dancers are absolutely out of this world, which makes for beautiful photos as well.

Don't apologize! I still haven't seen much of this parade, so I was excited to see them all! I can't wait to check it out in person. It looks like quite a nice upgrade over the old daytime parade.

I found out later on Instagram that the dragon got stuck and couldn’t make the turn! It had to do a lot of reversing and adjusting to finally make it.

There was a Magic Kingdom bus waiting, so we hopped right on…and found DH! Lol Turns out he hadn’t gotten ahead of us at all

Sounds like he should have chosen the boat!

Having had good luck with his photos at Muppets 3-D, DH was eager to photograph this show. I would say it’s probably his favorite because he is a big fan of Donald Duck!

I think it is my favorite just because it is the music from the movies I grew up with.

DS said he wanted to ride with DH, so I got in the car ahead of them to take their picture.

I think you lucked out there. You can barely see him over the steering wheel so I can only imagine how many times that car slammed into the rail.

There was no one at the FP+ kiosk outside of JC, so DH got us another set for Haunted Mansion for later.

Ok, I'm not sure I like the idea that it has to be done by going to kiosks, but you're making me feel a whole lot better about the FP+ system, seeing how many you were able to get in the evening after using your first 3.

There was a CM working hard on crowd control who had kept telling the same group of people they couldn’t stop where they were because they were leaving a path open, and they obviously weren’t listening so she said under her breath, “Or just ignore me.” I couldn’t help but laugh when she said that, and she immediately apologized, but I told her it was okay, and I couldn’t imagine what she had to deal with every night around this time when the street is so packed!

There is no way I could do their job and still be employed at Disney World after one night. I don't have the patience.


Great castle projection/Wishes pictures!!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

What a fun afternoon/evening - you got so much done!

We were in the same boat with regards to FoF parade and the 3pm time as it is right when we wanted the kids to nap and also during the hottest part of the day. We decided to push through on our last/travel day to see the parade ... and of course the rain resulted it in being canceled Oh well, something for next trip - it really does look amazing!

I was going to say that I loved your sons face on the tea cups ... and then I saw his face on the cars! He just looks so happy!

I think being able to book the additional FP+ has made all the difference to the effectiveness of the new system and fully expect in the future to be able to make those directly on the app

Your last Wishes photo is amazing!

 

[hokieinpa]

I LOVE the parade pictures! My 4-year old requests to watch that parade video on YouTube at least once a week. It's totally not convenient for nap time but we're going to make it work one day just because we HAVE to see it in person!

I love the pics of DS! The one of you two on the boat is just perfect!

How did sharing 1 room work out this time? I'm a little worried about the boys having trouble falling asleep or waking them up early when I'm getting ready in the morning.

 

[saintstickets]

Great update and stunning pictures...as usual! DW and I have been to WDW twice since the launch of the "new" afternoon parade and have yet to see it. Maybe in October.....

 

[khertz]

Wowser! Awesome pictures of Wishes! As usual you guys got some great shots! And don't feel bad about too many shots of the parade. I find the more photos in a TR that better.

Impressed you got FIVE FP+. I wonder how many you CAN get. I don't dare book FP+ in the morning, but my intention next month (YAY!) we should have all our FP+ used by 3, with the hopes of getting f fourth for around 7 PM. With the park open until 10 PM, might just be able to get in 5.

I would love at some point in the future to see if it would be possible to get it up to 6-7, like in the 'old' days.

I seriously can't believe how many pictures we took in just 2 park days, with one of those almost entirely rained out. It was crazy! I find lots of photos make TRs more enjoyable too.

I think we ended up getting a total of 6 that day, which impressed me considering the crowd levels. We had our three original ones scheduled for late morning/early afternoon (Peter Pan, Big Thunder, and Pirates), then we got one for HM that we changed to the Speedway, Jungle Cruise, and HM again. I think with better crowds than what we experienced, you should be just fine, especially if you're in MK since there are so many FP attractions there.

Did I already comment on the first half of our meet? If I did just ignore me haha. So excited we were able to meet up and watch the parade together. We had not planned on being in the park for it so it was a nice surprise that it all worked out. Your DH’s pictures are amazing! That is so crazy the dragon got stuck! What a mess that must have been getting out of the park. I’m glad Paxton’s nap worked out and that you were able to stick it out late at the MK.

I don't know either, but it's fine!! It was so great getting to spend some time with your lovely family! Just wish we wouldn't have been so restricted by space so the boys could have gotten to know each other a little better.

It was a total mess trying to get up Main Street to the exit, but after that it was all good. I think we had been following the parade out down the street, but eventually we realized it just wasn't moving and we had to find another way.

Aghhhh, Festival of Fantasy is my newest Disney obsession! Between my May and June trips, I've seen it 5 times!

I totally know what you meant about the Tangled float being so exciting when you see it come down the street. I was watching from Frontierland that day and I was just amazed by that, I think more than anything! (Okay, probably tied with Maleficent.)

The pictures are all amazing! Ahhh that parade. So fun that you got to watch with Melissa and family, too!

Dang, Paxton is already figuring out how to spin faster?! Oh boy. I think you're in for it! Hahah yikes.

Y'all got such a great spot for the shows!

5 times!! I'm jealous! I can't wait to see it again, it was the most amazing parade I have ever seen in Disney! The Tangled float & Maleficent are definitely the two show runners.

Between driving the cars at the speedway and spinning the tea cups, I'm DEFINITELY in for it!!!

Great updates!

We also re-arranged our schedule to see the new parade - totally worthwhile! I was just blown away by it (and I'm not a parade person). So impressive!!

Sounds like a good time in the MK that night. As usual, great pics. The Wishes pics are absolutely magical!

Thanks!! That parade is definitely worth a mixed up schedule and a late nap. It's so beautiful!

It was the most perfect MK night, probably just because it was such a last minute decision and we weren't even supposed to step foot in WDW this year, so that made it all the more magical.

WOW finally all caught up!! That's what I get for spending 10 days in FLorida! I can't believe your Italy trip is so close - and SO excited for you for the Disneyland trip!!

I have been talking with my friend Lynda about a potential 2015 WDW trip and we are thinking early May - a little disheartened to see the crowds on this MK day though! ugh! I agree, the FoF parade is amazing. Sorry Paxton wasn't into BTMRR but it'll come - awesome that he took his first ride on Splash!

Have a lot more to say but it's fading away in my head, but from now on promise I'll be on more!

I can't believe how close it is either...I'm about to get SO far behind myself!! Hopefully we can get some wifi on the plane ride home so I can get in some DIS time.

I think our day was a fluke, because my aunt and uncle said the rest of the week was SO much better! It was a combination of it being a Sunday and the weather being so crappy in the days leading up to then. It should still be good for you if you decide to go!

AMAZING pictures! All the floats are so beautiful, I can't wait to see this in person!

Cute pics of you and DS on the boat!

DH really does a great job of photographing the 3D shows.

Wishes <3 Wow, great pics as usual!!

Alexis, you are going to LOVE the parade! Disney knocked it out of the park with that one.

Thanks, I liked how the pictures of us on the boat came out too. It was DH's first time trying to photograph the 3D shows and we were both impressed by how well they came out!

Festival of Fantasy AND Wishes in one update? Loved it. Two of the best shows at Magic Kingdom, in my opinion.


Those shots of the parade were fantastic. Really showcases the bright colors and grandeur of the floats. Made me want to go listen to the soundtrack!



Sounds like that 4th Fastpass really worked for you guys. I have never tried it, so I was curious to see if it'd be worth the trouble of going to kiosk to obtain one.


Paxton on the teacups was too adorable. He looked like was having a blast!

MK is the Disney entertainment mecca, that's for sure. So many great shows!

After I posted all of those updates, I had to go pull the parade up on youtube to watch it and hear the music all over again. So awesome!

If you can get to a kiosk without a long line, it's really easy to book additional FPs. I think we probably could have scored a couple more, but the park was a little less busy towards the end of the night when I'm sure a lot of the locals were heading home.

 

[khertz]

Loved your updates! Especially the ones on Festival of Fantasy which we'll be seeing for the first time in October! I was able snag FP+ for it so hoping that the Hub viewing location it worth it. Can't wait to feast my eyes on all of intricate details of the floats and the costumes.

Dave, y'all are just going to love the parade! Your kids will go nuts, and you will be in photographer's heaven. Hopefully the FP viewing location is a good one. We didn't pay attention to where it was, and getting a FP for the parade is low on the priorities list when you only have one day in MK!

It's not normal for me to be excited to see a parade, but I genuinely am excited to see FoF for the first time. So much in fact that, even though I managed to get a Mine Train FP, I kept checking for a new time JUST to make sure it didn't conflict with the parade. Incidentally, I succeeded.

Wow, looking at these photos, I'm thinking I may just as well leave my camera home, lol.

Good Lord!!! Now I feel that even more after seeing the Philharmagic photos. Unreal!!!

Haha, I love that CM's under the breath remark. Apart from probably Guest Relations, crowd control has to be the toughest gig.

OK screw it, I'm giving up photography.

That's great that your FP times worked out for FoF & Mine Train! I have never been big on the afternoon parades, but this parade just blows the others away. I don't think you'll regret making some time to see it!

Bring the camera, your TR will be boring without them! Okay, it probably won't because you have some of the BEST commentary on a TR I have ever read...but still, pics are good!

I can't even IMAGINE working crowd control on Main Street during Wishes. That sounds like lowest of the low when it comes to working at Disney. On par with cleaning toilets.

Tomorrowland speedway!! How did I forget about that?!? My car obsessed son will LOVE that ride!! I'm really glad I found your report, we've never ridden the speedway and it wasn't even on my radar. Also I was planning to skip lights motors action at HS cause I thought he'd be bored but with McQueen in it I think it might be worth trying. Also your son seemed to really enjoy that one too.

And your report is the first one to make me excited to see festival of fantasy. I've even watched it on YouTube and it just looked dull and brown. But your DH's pics make it look awesome so maybe we'll really enjoy it in person.

How much of a pain was it to drag the fancy camera around? I keep going back and forth on taking ours. Mine is a professional one and has a steel body so it's heavy. I also don't have a real "auto" setting so I have to always be thinking about my settings. But I love how your DH has such great clear photos and I want some like that from our trip. So I'm just kinda torn.
Do you know what lens he had on his camera? Or did he switch lenses thru the day?

Oh yeah, for a cars loving boy, you can't skip the Speedway or LMA, no matter how much you may want to. My cars loving boy definitely loves them both!

The videos of FoF are good, but absolutely NOTHING compared to seeing it in person! It's hard to see in video the scale and scope of those floats, and the bright colors of the floats and costumes.

DH reads, but I'll have to remind him to chime in with his thoughts about carrying the camera around. And I couldn't tell you the first thing about which lenses he takes!

Don't apologize! I still haven't seen much of this parade, so I was excited to see them all! I can't wait to check it out in person. It looks like quite a nice upgrade over the old daytime parade.

I enjoyed the old daytime parade, but this one is a million times better! Y'all are going to love it!




Sounds like he should have chosen the boat!

I guess that could be considered bad bus karma for him, but great for DS & I! The boat might have been faster in that instance.

I think it is my favorite just because it is the music from the movies I grew up with.

That's a HUGE part of it for me! All the movies I grew up watching and singing along to endlessly...Plus Donald Duck as the star. What could be better?

I think you lucked out there. You can barely see him over the steering wheel so I can only imagine how many times that car slammed into the rail.

Who knew Tomorrowland Speedway was a thrill ride!?!

Ok, I'm not sure I like the idea that it has to be done by going to kiosks, but you're making me feel a whole lot better about the FP+ system, seeing how many you were able to get in the evening after using your first 3.

I was very skeptical, but it seemed to work out okay for us, despite the high crowds that day. I think we did well by planning our first three in advance in the mid-morning to early afternoon range. While we were still using up our 3, that's when the kiosk lines seemed to be longest because so many people had used theirs up first thing in the morning or had to book theirs same-day for whatever reason. You just have to be on the lookout for short lines at the kiosks.


There is no way I could do their job and still be employed at Disney World after one night. I don't have the patience.

I completely agree!!!


Great castle projection/Wishes pictures!!!

Thanks!

What a fun afternoon/evening - you got so much done!

We were in the same boat with regards to FoF parade and the 3pm time as it is right when we wanted the kids to nap and also during the hottest part of the day. We decided to push through on our last/travel day to see the parade ... and of course the rain resulted it in being canceled Oh well, something for next trip - it really does look amazing!

I was going to say that I loved your sons face on the tea cups ... and then I saw his face on the cars! He just looks so happy!

I think being able to book the additional FP+ has made all the difference to the effectiveness of the new system and fully expect in the future to be able to make those directly on the app

Your last Wishes photo is amazing!

We were definitely making the most of our time! You don't have much other choice when you only have 2 park days.

Oh, what a bummer!!! 3 pm is kind of the worst time to have the afternoon parade, because it seems like that's the time when kids have just hit their walls and are desperate for a nap. That stinks y'all didn't get to see it this time, but definitely something to look forward to on your next trip.

He is so expressive, and he was definitely having an awesome time! I love watching him enjoy those same rides time after time, because it's always just a little different. Like this time figuring out how to spin the teacup and getting to drive the car for the first time.

I was so relieved they had rolled out that part of MM+ (being able to book additional FP+ in the park) before our trip because I was just dreading only having 3 for the entire day. It did exceed my expectations in that respect, but having the functionality from the app would definitely improve it even more in my opinion.

Thanks! DH was so proud of that pic, he put it as his laptop background!

I LOVE the parade pictures! My 4-year old requests to watch that parade video on YouTube at least once a week. It's totally not convenient for nap time but we're going to make it work one day just because we HAVE to see it in person!

I love the pics of DS! The one of you two on the boat is just perfect!

How did sharing 1 room work out this time? I'm a little worried about the boys having trouble falling asleep or waking them up early when I'm getting ready in the morning.

It is SO worth shifting around a nap time to see...It's incredible! Great on video, but even more exciting in person!

Not gonna lie, sharing a room was TOUGH for us. I don't know if it's more so because we are used to having separate rooms when we travel and use Wyndham or what. Bedtime wasn't really tough because he was usually so tired he crashed, but naptime was a bear both days, despite how tired he SHOULD have been. And as long as moved pretty quietly in the morning, he'd usually sleep a little while longer. So while I wouldn't say I would never do it again, it wouldn't be my first choice, if that makes sense.

Great update and stunning pictures...as usual! DW and I have been to WDW twice since the launch of the "new" afternoon parade and have yet to see it. Maybe in October.....

Thanks, Bill! You should think about making time for the parade. It really is Disney magic at it's best!

 

[khertz]

Day 4 Continued: Sunday May 4th

(In case you missed it, there was a big 5 post update just a few days ago starting with Festival of Fantasy on page 15. Didn't want anyone to miss it since I don't usually update this close together!)

Once the fireworks were over, we were ready to head further down Main Street to grab a spot on the curb for the second parade. After turning the stroller around, I started following the crowds that were heading out of the park, and as I tried to go around a pair of ladies just standing in the middle of the street talking, I accidentally clipped one of the ladies on her heel. Now, I try VERY hard to be careful and cognizant of people around me when I'm pushing the stroller, but sometimes accidents happen, especially when it's a mad rush in one direction. I immediately apologized, but this lady was having none of it. She snapped at me, "I'm trying to stand here!" So I'll admit, I wasn't the nicest when I snapped back, "Well, that's the problem, you're just standing in the middle of the street while people are trying to move!" I just kept going without looking back and she yelled behind me to watch where I'm going. I thought she was a bit over the top, considering I had apologized and not just hit & run, but whatever. I didn't let it bother me, and we found a spot on the curb quickly.

DS was ready to get out of the stroller, so he was sitting beside me on the street as we watched people leave the park in droves.

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We people-watched until the next show, and a man next to us even laid down on the street in front of us and used his backpack as a pillow to take a nap! I guess I don't know what he was waiting around for because as soon as Celebrate the Magic started, he got up and left. DS wanted to see the show again, so he went up on DH's shoulders to watch.

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I took him on a quick bathroom run before the parade, using the ones over by Crystal Palace. I only mention this because as we came out, he said, "Hey, mom, take my picture by this fountain!"

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We got back to DH, and soon enough, it was parade time!

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DS getting a pat on the head from the White Rabbit!


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Anastasia was having a lot of fun with Prince Charming! Am I making things up, or did he used to ride in the pumpkin coach with Cinderella? Maybe I'm thinking of the old afternoon parade instead?

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Continued in next post...

 

[khertz]

Day 4 Continued: Sunday May 4th

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After enjoying the parade, we asked DS what he wanted to do, and he said he wanted to ride the Magic Carpets, so we went back over to Adventureland and walked right on. I was able to get a quick selfie before he started crying and saying he wanted to ride Dumbo instead. Sorry, buddy, too late to change your mind!

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Once we got off, I asked if he still wanted to ride Dumbo, but he said he was ready to go back to the resort. I had been texting with Marissa (marDgreen88) all evening and we were hoping to meet up soon near Jungle Cruise, where she had a FP+ for that night. I was just about to text her that we were going back to the room when I spotted someone looking around like they were looking for someone. I couldn't see her face, but I took a chance and yelled her name, and it was her! We got to hug, and say hi and take a quick pic before we had to part ways so I could get my boy to bed.

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After that, DH and I split up again. It was about midnight but with EMH, the park was open until I think 2 am. DH wanted to take some night photos while DS and I went back to WL. On the way out, I was SO tempted to stop when I saw Mickey's meet & greet at Town Square only had a 5 minute wait, but I asked DS if he wanted to stop to see Mickey and he said no. So we headed out to the bus stop and apparently had just missed a bus because we were the only ones waiting for several minutes. Eventually another group or two joined us, and we got on the bus back to WL. We showered quickly, and I put him in bed with Jake & the Neverland Pirates on the Disney Jr. channel while I dried my hair, thinking he'd fall asleep. But he was still wide awake and it was nearly 1 am! Around 12:45, we were done and settled in bed, and within minutes DS was snoring. I was SO impressed with how wonderfully he had done with the late night! Not a single tear or meltdown, which I had been a little worried about. And he was enjoying everything, not passed out in the stroller.

Meanwhile, DH was still wandering around the park taking some nighttime photography with the tripod he had been lugging around all afternoon. First up, my girl's tower!

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Then, he used the HM FP+ that he had gotten earlier because it's one of his favorite rides and he hates to miss it. Plus, it always make a challenge for him when it comes to taking ride photos.

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After Haunted Mansion, he went to what I have to guess is one of his favorite spots to photograph in Fantasyland.

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Continued in Next Post...

 

[khertz]

Day 4 Continued: Sunday May 4th

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I don't even remember what time of night DH finally came back, but I think it was around 1:30 am or so. I think he had really wanted to stay until the end of EMH (which had been extended right before our trip) but with the long drive home looming ahead, he didn't. Needless to say, it was a long day & a late night for all of us!

Continued in next post...

 

[khertz]

Day 5: Monday May 5th

Despite the late night, we were still up early. DH's phone rang at 7 am because the guy to pick up the tripod rental was downstairs in the lobby. DH went down to meet him, and checked the gift shop for me to see if the t-shirt I wanted had come in their shipment, but it hadn't. So he went by Roaring Fork and picked up some breakfast platters for us to share in the room. We shared pancakes, eggs, bacon, biscuits, sausage and hash browns.

I had been up getting our stuff packed up and getting myself and DS dressed. It was a little before 9 am when we were ready to go down and check out. DH took a few last minute WL photos before we had to leave.

05-001 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


05-002 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


05-003 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


05-004 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


05-005 by disneymom1024, on Flickr


05-006 by disneymom1024, on Flickr
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Finally, it couldn't be postponed any longer and we had to start the long drive home. One last picture before we were out of the Disney bubble for good!

05-008 by disneymom1024, on Flickr
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Despite the fact that we were leaving Disney World, it was a great drive home! We stopped for lunch around 11:30, and when we got back on the road after that, DS took a nice long nap. He was an angel the whole 12 hour drive! Occasionally he would say he wanted to go home or that he was tired, but he played quietly on his iPad and with his toys, and was very pleasant. We made it home by 8 pm local time, and since we hardly had any stuff (and most of it was dirty laundry) we even unpacked that night before heading off to bed!

Final Thoughts in next post...

 

[khertz]

Sorry to have blown through the end of our trip so quickly, but the time just got away from me and I wanted to have this TR all done and wrapped up before we leave for Italy...which is coming up on Sunday! I can't believe a trip that was so short took me so long to post about, but the number of pictures DH took on Sunday along was astonishing and took him awhile to edit.

But anyway, here's the trip wrap up with my final thoughts...

1. CROWDS Crowds were great on Saturday, I'm sure because of the rain. Walked right on to most things and used FP for the rest. Sunday was insane! Long waits everywhere all day even starting at rope drop. Not unexpected after 2 days of bad weather and evening EMH but it still made it difficult for things we didn't have FP for, especially earlier in the day.

2. WEATHER Saturday was horrible of course but worse in the morning. Then it just got cold at night and I hadn't thought we would need jackets in May so I didn't pack them but definitely could have used them this evening. Sunday was beautiful but did get pretty hot in the hours right after lunch. Not humid though which was nice and it cooled off in the evening.

3. MYMAGIC+ We loved the Magic Bands for the most part. It was so nice not having to keep track of tickets and room keys, especially when just running out of the room for a second to go to the ice machine. They always scanned fine and we never had any trouble getting into parks, paying, using FP+, or getting into room. But it did get sweaty when the day got hot which was uncomfortable and will only be worse for those going in the summer months. FP+ was great if you had one but it made the standby lines at rides like Haunted Mansion and PoTC insane when they don't need to be. That was frustrating. The app always worked great for me but never worked for DH. I liked being able to switch FPs on the fly when needed and I could usually find a time very close out from when I was looking. It really worked well when DS saw something he wanted to ride but it had a long wait. I found it really annoying that additional FPs after the original 3 had to be booked at a kiosk and couldn't be done on the app. That functionality would make the process better but hopefully that is coming. We got lucky that we never waited long at a kiosk when we were ready to book additional FP+, but we did see lots of long lines happening throughout the day. I also didn't like that to change a FP+ you couldn't change both experience and time simultaneously. I had to change one first then go through all the steps again to change the other. Very annoying. We didn't really use PhotoPass+ but it was also nice that those could be loaded on the band instead of having to keep track of cards.

4. WILDERNESS LODGE So amazing!! We would absolutely love to stay there again. The lobby was always bustling so we were glad to be in the first room off of the main hallway over the lobby so we didn't hear people and restaurant noise. As I said, we didn't have the greatest view with the service lot right below us and the delivery trucks in the middle of the night was kind of absurd. I found the size was adequate though DH said the beds were too small. I didn't think so. I liked having the fridge and for a short trip we had plenty of drawer space although for a longer trip it may not be enough. The lighting was good in the room as well. Roaring fork was okay but very small so it could get packed quickly during popular meal times and didn't have much selection. DS loves pizza, but that kid's pizza we got on the first night was disgusting. Breakfast was good. It was tough having the two ordering stations because it made it hard when DH went by himself. He really could only get food from one counter so he wouldn't have to stand in line for food twice. By far, the best part of staying at the WL was being inside the Magic Kingdom gates which made for very short bus rides!

5. TRANSPORTATION Bus service was okay but we always seemed to have just missed one and had to wait 15 minutes for the next one. But it was not terrible and they were never busy enough that we had to stand. The boat was great for leaving in the middle of the day but it has a very small capacity so I can see this being less of a benefit early in the morning or at park closing time. However it was very nice to have available even though DS was always excited about the bus and wanted to ride that instead! We had no problems driving to DHS in our own vehicle, but it was still good to take the bus to MK though to get dropped off right at the gates.

6. ADVENTURES AT 40" Loved DS being 40" and getting to take him on Star Tours and Splash Mountain! Even though he didn't love them, it didn't seem to traumatize him too much. Also finally taking him to see the Little Mermaid show in DHS was nice because he really enjoyed that. I wish we could have added 7 Dwarfs Mine Train to the list of new things! Even after seeing video of Festival of Fantasy it was still SO incredible to see it in person! So vibrant and fun and energetic. The music is great as are the incredible and intricate floats. We all really enjoyed watching it!!

7. DIS MEETS It was so fun having so many DIS meets this trip! It was so wonderful that our short trip overlapped with so many people. It was nice chatting with Brenda and her husband and great that we got to spend a little time with Melissa and Daniel and watch the parade together. I just wish we could have spent more time with Marissa but I was just happy we were able to meet up before we left for the night. It was also fun that I ran into an old friend and some family even though we didn't get to spend as much time together as we would have liked.

Overall May was nice but we definitely are spoiled to the crowds and weather in October! I would go again in May though, as it wasn't unbearably hot and humid and the crazy crowds on Sunday were probably a freak occurrence because of the bad weather Friday and Saturday. After thinking it would be an incredibly long time before we were back in Disney World, I'm so thankful that so many factors worked out just right for us to be able to take this short trip and get a taste of the magic to hold us all over.

Thanks again to everyone who followed along on this short Disney World adventure with us! It's always so nice to share it with people who just get it. I am definitely planning to do a TR for our ABD Viva Italia/Disneyland Paris trip over on the ABD boards, so I don't know if the link will end up posted here or not. But comment or PM me if you are interested in reading that whenever I start and I will be sure to send you the link. It will be nice to have some familiar "faces" over there since I don't frequent those boards nearly as much!