Disney Has the Best Chicken Nuggets Ever! - Update Dump - Finally Completed!

[docsoliday1]

Just wait until you are taking the grandkids......sorry, had to go there.

Can't wait for the TR where @pkondz rides 10 times in a row because of grandkids.

I heard the thud from @pkondz fainting all the way in CA. I'm not a fan at all. I was so excited to try them on our first trip and was really let down and have not tried them again. I don't really recall - perhaps they have a coffee flavor that I didn't care for.

I can't stand coffee, but I liked the zebra domes. I don't think it's coffee flavor. The filling was my least favorite...I'm not big on truffles and it had that same texture and has some type of a liqueur in it (would have to look it up). I love white chocolate (more than regular chocolate), so that was enough to put them into the yum column for me.

Edit: Well, I stand corrected. It has Kahlua and expresso in it. I didn't taste the coffee...surprising, because that would have put it instantly into the hate it column. Ironically, DW, DS and DDIL who all like coffeee, didn't like zebra domes.

I think it really stinks that there is any distortion - especially for over 2/3 of the theater. I prefer the Soarin' over CA version. On our last ride before the switch - a guy handed my husband a golf ball right after that scene as my hubby reached for the ball each time. It was cute.

agreed. I preferred the first movie also and didn't notice as much distortion with that. I realize why they re-did it (to make it more world oriented), but sometimes if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Just gave me a flashback to my childhood. Everytime we went to Disneyland (or any theme park for that matter) we had a packed lunch and ate at the picnic tables. Ugh. Yes, we were locals/day trippers to many parks, however, we never once ate at the park. (yes, I realize I sound like a spoiled brat ) This is back in the day when the food was really bad....but for a kid, I just wanted to eat in the park - felt like I was missing out. I'm not bitter or anything. I vowed that I would NEVER do that or force my kids to do that. Now many many years later, I still don't pack anything for a day trip, however, I can totally see bringing in a few snacks to have on hand for hubs and I if on vacation - can only eat so much park food (don't have to worry about the kid aspect).

We've done both. I remember a time where we really couldn't afford Disney food prices, so pack lunches it was. I still dislike the exorbitant prices, but at least for TS meals, the prices are more in line with sit down meals outside of the world...the CS meals are still way more than the quality would support, but then again you're kinda stuck unless you pack meals. I usually bring my camel back and have snacks (protein bars, crackers, fruit snacks) in there for all of us. As kids are leaving the nest, all of us is less than it once was, so getting better with regard to carrying less snacks and being able to afford meals inside the parks also.

 

[docsoliday1]

Man, your little boy is beyond cute! He makes that cat look not as cute.

I think the one with him and granpa is still the best. The look on his face is priceless.

Wait! What!?! They took Spaceship Earth out of it?!!? Oh no! That was my DD's favorite part! And I remember hearing that the filming over Disney was the most $$$ part?!?!

No, they took out the golf ball swing and ball coming right at you.

I agree! World Showcase is really the worst at this. My girls are ok eaters... But having just one generic kid option would be good!!!!

I get they're trying to make it foods unique to that country, but absolutely need something for the little ones.

 

[pkondz]

Can't wait for the TR where @pkondz rides 10 times in a row because of grandkids.

Dude! Don't say that!!!!

Ironically, DW, DS and DDIL who all like coffeee, didn't like zebra domes.

Huh! I don't care for coffee (oddly enough, I love the smell of coffee beans... but don't drink it.) but love ZDs.
And... I was going to tell you, but see you already figured out the ingredients.

 

[docsoliday1]

Dude! Don't say that!!!!

Come on, we all know in secret you're trying to build your own copy so you can ride it all the time.

Huh! I don't care for coffee (oddly enough, I love the smell of coffee beans... but don't drink it.) but love ZDs.
And... I was going to tell you, but see you already figured out the ingredients.

I thought when I'd looked it up before it said it was some type of liqueur from Africa and not Kalhua (and definitely not expresso), but yeah, I looked it up and saw and edited my post. I don't care for coffee at all (smell or taste), so I'm surprised I did like them, but again, I think it was the white chocolate shell that more than compensated for coffee - eww! The thing is, I liked them, but I don't know that I like them well enough to go out of my way for them. The same person that told me about ZDs also told me about Tim Tams from Australia. Now those things are amazing!!!

 

[jedijill]

Zebra Domes are made with Amarula liqueur. I hate coffe and LOVE zebra domes!

Jill in CO

 

[pkondz]

Come on, we all know in secret you're trying to build your own copy so you can ride it all the time.

Well sure. But only so I can charge people to fund my Disney trips.

I think it was the white chocolate shell that more than compensated for coffee

I don't know that I like them well enough to go out of my way for them. The same person that told me about ZDs also told me about Tim Tams from Australia. Now those things are amazing!!!

Never heard of em.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Hey, I'm finally back to read!

So here’s a baby with a kitten.

Awwwww....

I even took a selfie to taunt some dads in our closed FB group, so I know it actually happened!

Punk.

As for the zebra domes… they were alright. I didn’t hate them, but there are just other things I’d rather get as snacks.

True confessions: I wasn't a huge fan, either.

Security turned out to be a nightmare. All the bag check stations were backed up. It was crowded and really slow.

I noticed this past summer that the security line was abominable if you arrived by bus or monorail, but much shorter if you drove yourself to the park.

I asked if TT was closed and they answered that it was.

Son of a...

As for the rest of our group, DS had ridden it before. He loved the original version, and especially loved the golf ball scene and as we were headed toward Soarin’ he was telling everybody about that part. I tried to tell him that I didn’t think we’d see the golf ball this time, but he was sure I was wrong. He was really bummed that it was gone. I mean to the point that when he got off, he didn’t want to ride again with the rider swap.

Yeah, my kids loved the golf ball, too. Haven't seen the new version yet, so my expectations are appropriately lowered.

I changed this FP to one about 45 minutes later for Imagination.

Good call. The line for that one is always a killer.

Turtle Talk was closed that morning so we didn’t get to see it.

Good grief!

After some time with our friend Figment in some shell of what could be a good ride

We got outside and fought a 5 year old tantrum for a few minutes until we could get her into the stroller and calmed down enough to tell us what she wanted for lunch. She was mad, but at the same time we were trying to find some common ground. She wasn’t going to get to do what she wanted, but I was willing to let her determine what we’d get for lunch.

Nothing better than unreasonable tantrums! My favorite.

She chose...

Wait for it…

Chicken nuggets and fries.

I see the Imagination pavilion inspired her to get creative.

As we were eating, a family came and sat at 2 tables next to us. It was a mom and a dad and 4 kids. I know everybody has their reasons for doing what they do to save money and make a trip happen. But they unloaded soft sided cooler out of a backpack full of Capri suns, sandwiches, carrot sticks and some grapes. They were well prepared, but it had to have been a lot of work get all of that ready before heading to the parks and then someone had to carry it around all day… DW just looked at me and said Disney food may be expensive, but it’s good and we’re never going to pack food into Disney World like that.

Have a couple more kids and see if you feel the same way!

 

[Steppesister]

Our plan was to be at EPCOT for rope drop. We had arranged our FP so that we would do TT at rope drop, hit Spaceship Earth with FP as we cross the park, then do Living with the Land, Seas with FP,Turtle Talk and finally Imagination. We were going to crush everything we wanted to do in Future World, aside from Soarin, then take a break and come back later in the afternoon for Frozen and dinner at Via Napoli.

Sounds like a solid plan.... but


I have a bad feeling about this!

Security turned out to be a nightmare.

When is it ever not?

This might actually work out!

Time will tell!

I got some blank looks but kept walking. It was one of those moments where I just hoped they’d realize I know what I’m doing and don’t have time to explain.

Yes, most definitely a perfect time for "Someone needs to be in charge and make executive decisions" for the group. Otherwise, you end up with yet another Cluster.

Where’s mom?

And where’s DS?

I hope they’re together.

We scanned the area for a little bit.

We sent someone in to the restroom to see if they were in there.

OF course this is happening! 3 cheers for small touring groups!

Couldn’t find them. She wasn’t answering her phone.

Maybe she'd dropped it on a ride? You know.... I mean... who does that?!

If we were going to ride, we needed to get in line because the crowd was really streaming in at this point!

This is about when I'd start panicking.

As for the ride, well, Soarin has never been my favorite. It’s something I ride every trip, sure. But I don’t think I’d ever be devastated if I missed it. Probably not the popular opinion, but I’ve always just felt kind of “meh” about it. To me, the disjointed video of jumping from one scene to another kind of ruined the illusion of flying more than any feet dangling over me ever did. I was hoping that the new video might make those transitions feel a little more fluid, but it didn’t. Also, we were on the end of the section just left of the middle seat, yet still as close to the middle as we could be in that section. I was hoping that it would be close enough to not notice the bending effects.

It wasn’t.

I knew to expect some distortion and frankly it was even more pronounced than I expected.

It used to be so good. 45 minutes good? no. But certainly better than it is now. They really messed it up.

But it’s just not a ride I’d stand in a 45 minute line for

Nope. Probably not even half an hour for.

When we arrived, the posted wait was only 5 min so we entered the standby queue. I changed this FP to one about 45 minutes later for Imagination.

That's how it's done!!

He had just really started moving around and crawling a lot. So he wanted to get down and explore. Obviously, we didn’t want him crawling around on the floors or on the ground in middle of Disney World. He also was unwilling to wear shoes so getting down and walking while someone held his hand was even out of the question. This frustration of his that he couldn’t get down and have much freedom outside of our hotel room ended up being kind of an ongoing challenge for us over the course of the week.

Yeah, I can see that being a major source of frustration! Yuck and a sore back!

we really did great that morning.

An excellent representation of Expert Planning in Action!

We got outside and fought a 5 year old tantrum for a few minutes until we could get her into the stroller and calmed down enough to tell us what she wanted for lunch. She was mad, but at the same time we were trying to find some common ground. She wasn’t going to get to do what she wanted, but I was willing to let her determine what we’d get for lunch.

Good parenting.

I got the usual nachos at La Cantina and they were delicious as always.

So... the adult version of nuggets and fries?

As we were eating, a family came and sat at 2 tables next to us. It was a mom and a dad and 4 kids. I know everybody has their reasons for doing what they do to save money and make a trip happen. But they unloaded soft sided cooler out of a backpack full of Capri suns, sandwiches, carrot sticks and some grapes. They were well prepared, but it had to have been a lot of work get all of that ready before heading to the parks and then someone had to carry it around all day… DW just looked at me and said Disney food may be expensive, but it’s good and we’re never going to pack food into Disney World like that.

Just no. I mean if that's the ONLY way you can do Disney, but why not wait an extra month or two and save up the cash to just eat there.

 

[Elizabeth Smith]

Um…

Where’s mom?

LOL. This again?

It seems like you are very good at directing your crew, in spite of your ninja-like mother. You have been able to make the best of your botched morning plans each time. Very impressive.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

No, they took out the golf ball swing and ball coming right at you.

Aaahhhh. We sadly never saw the original one. I have heard the stories about the gold ball...

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Mickey bars were good as always, but they must not keep them cold enough in the freezer there. I opened the wrapper and I when I tried to remove it, the stick came right out of the ice cream. DW’s did the same. They still tasted good, but the ice cream was very soft and it was a challenge to eat them.

That happens sometimes unfortunately. Several years ago it happened to my oldest DD. We got her a Mickey bar from a cart. As soon as she took the first bite the entire thing slid off the stick and went splat on the ground. We did go back to the cart to explain what happened, and they gave us another for free.

As for the rest of our group, DS had ridden it before. He loved the original version, and especially loved the golf ball scene and as we were headed toward Soarin’ he was telling everybody about that part. I tried to tell him that I didn’t think we’d see the golf ball this time, but he was sure I was wrong. He was really bummed that it was gone. I mean to the point that when he got off, he didn’t want to ride again with the rider swap.

Too bad he didn't enjoy it. I'm worried if my DD will enjoy it. She loved the old Soarin and pointed out the hidden Mickey golf ball too.

 

[vamassey1]

Huh! I don't care for coffee (oddly enough, I love the smell of coffee beans... but don't drink it.) but love ZDs.

I don't like coffee either. I love the smell of coffee and just about all things that are coffee flavored. I will give the domes another try in February. We have a dinner at Boma scheduled.

 

[pkondz]

I don't like coffee either. I love the smell of coffee and just about all things that are coffee flavored. I will give the domes another try in February. We have a dinner at Boma scheduled.

I don't know if I'll get over there next month... but it's tempting!

 

[vamassey1]

I don't know if I'll get over there next month... but it's tempting!

If you're a true lover of Zebra Domes you'll make it happen. My favorite snack is the carrot cake cookie at DHS. I have to get it every trip.

 

[pkondz]

If you're a true lover of Zebra Domes you'll make it happen.

I have in the past!

My favorite snack is the carrot cake cookie at DHS. I have to get it every trip.

I have purchased one for myself....
But I've never had one.

 

[afwdwfan]

Ah. I won't FP Frozen again. Well... maybe years from now if it's still insane and I think "Gee. Haven't seen that in ages."

It's a good dark ride. Certainly not worth an hour + wait. I'd probably still lean towards grabbing a FP for it, but the Tier system doesn't do us any favors in EPCOT. When Guardians opens, I'm sure there will be as many Tier 1 attractions as there are others.

True. World is getting scarier by the minute.

Must install foot switch. Can't honk horn while eating corn on the cob.

That's what elbows are for.

Awww, so cute!

I had to include something!

That's kind of how I feel about them. I wouldn't go out of my way to get them, but if someone put them in front of me I might eat one or two.

Of course not.

That would be too easy!

his is not making me feel good about our upcoming trip....

I'll be honest... this was our worst morning security line. The other parks weren't terribly bad, although we did run into a very, very thorough security CM at AK one morning that took foreverrrrrrrrrrrr.

You should have just titled the trip "Where's Mom?"

Interesting how that works with the three different theaters.

Yeah, it really seemed to help move people through. First time I've been since it has had 3.

That's what you mean when you were talking about the transitions annoying you.

I never liked the scene changes from like golf course to over the ocean. I guess I had a hard time suspending disbelief and it just kind of ruined the illusion of flying for me.

I always rode in the middle so I had to "try" and get a seat on the edge to understand what people were talking about. Now even when I'm in the top middle I still see some amount of distortion.

I knew to expect it and it was even more pronounced than I expected. I'm surprised and disappointed that they deemed that as being adequate.

Exactly. It's not even on my "ride often list" anymore. Now I just do it when people are in town. Then again with Guardians, that's usually my top ride.

Yeah, I know if I came to Disneyland again, GoTG, Cars and Matterhorn are the top of my list!

I can't imagine what would happen if someone actually needed to get off the ride!

I guess you wait until it is over!

That's pretty severely bummed!

I can understand that.

It made for an interesting ride.

That's a bummer, the kids were definitely the right age for that show. I'm sure they would have enjoyed it.

Yeah, we've seen it before, but I felt like this time DD and DS were old enough that they might speak up and ask a question or something.

I don't think I've ever seen a line for that one! But then again we only travel at non-peak times.

I've seen other TRs where this has happened. It seems that FP+ has this kind of impact on this ride from time to time now.

I bet that was fun. Not.

Fun... that's far from the f word I might have been muttering under my breath.

What service! They get to eat and roll all at the same time.

Living the life. I want that kind of service.

I can understand why they don't want to serve nuggets and fries everywhere, but then again, they should have a core "kid's menu" that is available at all QS places and add a few extras which are geared to the regional menus. That way almost everyone could be happy.

True. And they do have "kids" menus. Our kids were just being super picky and only wanted one of a few things. Basically nuggets and fries or mac & cheese.

You never know why people do that, they could have had special dietary needs (Kosher, gluten free, picky kids). For me, most of the fun is eating at Disney restaurants, sometimes more that than the rides! Like just the other day, we drove out there and just got a bread bowl full of soup, a couple margaritas, some ice cream desserts and turned around and came back home.

True. Not judging them for doing it. We just made the point that there's no way we're going to go 900 mi from home and prepare meals and take them to the parks. Honestly, if food cost was make or break on whether we could afford a trip, I'd lean towards waiting. There really are so many places/things I enjoy eating at Disney.

Of course TT was closed on your Epcot morning. Sorry you had to change your plans on the fly, but at least you were wise enough to change course and still make it on a headliner before the crowds arrived. But my goodness, you weren't kidding about losing your mom! I would have been so stressed not knowing where some of my party members were.

It made things interesting. Its a big part of why this trip felt a little less magical to me though. It felt like I always had to try to keep track of everybody and keep us on task.

I'll let the zebra dome opinion slide... Maybe you got a bad batch. (That's happened to me before.)

I don't know if it was good or bad. I liked them, I just didn't love them. If I'm at Boma and see them on the dessert bar, I'd grab a few. Otherwise... probably not.

I think the original version of Soarin' was much more toddler-friendly. For some reason, I think the new scenes frighten kids of a certain age.

I agree. I think they realized the golf ball in the original was a fun scene so they tried to make too many instances in this one where there are "close calls" and some of them can be a little bit intimidating for the younger kids. The golf ball gave you that flinch moment, but it was also funny and memorable.

Okay, so I just had to say, before I moved to Europe I would have totally had this same thought process. And don't get me wrong, when I'm in Disney I am all about eating at the restaurants. There's no packing a lunch for me.
But, I can totally see where this family is coming from. Pretty much whenever we go anywhere, we pack a lunch now. It's basic fare, sandwiches, fruit, carrots, crackers, and waters but we do it so much it's become habit. It's kind of the unwritten rule of thumb over here. You go to a park or a festival or anything, you pack a lunch especially for the kids. And in Disneyland Paris, you'd be amazed at how common this trend is. The majority of people we encountered during lunchtime were sitting on the ground with lunchboxes.
I invested in a good backpack about a year ago, and I really don't notice the water bottles or the food I'm lugging around. So maybe these people were just in the same habit I'm used to? I don't know, just playing devil's advocate.

Glad you enjoyed your nachos while the kids got their nuggets and fries.

That makes sense. I don't mean to sound judgmental of them for doing it. I'm sure they have their reasons. We just mean that we don't have any desire to travel 900 mi from home then have to shop for food and prepare meals every day. Honestly, packing food around wouldn't be horrible with the stroller. We always packed plenty of drinks and snacks and left them in the stroller.

I've been subscribed forever, but finally got a chance to catch up today! Sorry for being a sucky DIS follower. lol

Glad you're here! I'm not too worried about it, I get behind plenty, myself.

The Chef Mickey's meal would have pissed me off, honestly. It's not that hard to get good service at a buffet. I mean, I'm already serving myself the food, how difficult is it to keep the drinks refilled and clear the plates when that's all you have to do?! And it's a lot of money to spend for the character interaction only to have Pluto ditch y'all and not come back, despite telling the handlers several times that you haven't seen him. Especially after a long travel day! Man I'm getting upset just replying to this and it wasn't even my meal!!!

I'd have been more upset under any other circumstances. The fact that we had no plans afterward helped and the fact that I knew I was tired and I'd have a short fuse if I said anything so I was at least smart enough to keep my cool about it instead of becoming "that guest."

The security issue is a problem too. I'm glad they didn't give you a hard time about doing it a different way, considering how it went down the first time. The Magic band situation sounds exactly like something that would happen between DH and DS. It's hard to not get really frustrated and expect our DS to "know better" and I sometimes have to remind myself he's just a kid still! Things like that happen, but I'm glad it didn't damper your day and that a Star Wars MB made up for it.

It was a rough start to the morning, but I think we recovered nicely.

It seems really logistically-nightmarish to keep track of such a large group in the parks! I can see how that could present a lot of challenges. When we went on our big group trip last year for Mardi Gras, I remember thinking how disappointed I was that we didn't spend more time all together as a group, but it was probably better that we didn't because I'm too Type A at WDW. lol

I can certainly relate to the Type A comment. I made the comment a few times that we didn't all have to go everywhere together if some wanted to do something else. But for most of the trip everyone just decided we wanted to stick together. It was fine, it isn't like we didn't want to spend time with them. Otherwise we'd have never planned the trip, right? But it did make some logistical nightmares, especially as the person watching the clock and trying to keep us moving to the next item on the list.

 

[pkondz]

It's a good dark ride. Certainly not worth an hour + wait. I'd probably still lean towards grabbing a FP for it, but the Tier system doesn't do us any favors in EPCOT. When Guardians opens, I'm sure there will be as many Tier 1 attractions as there are others.

I just finished commenting on another TR that I despise Epcot's tier system.

That's what elbows are for.

Good point!

 

[afwdwfan]

Just wait until you are taking the grandkids......sorry, had to go there.

Cheap shot... I like it!!!

I heard the thud from @pkondz fainting all the way in CA. I'm not a fan at all. I was so excited to try them on our first trip and was really let down and have not tried them again. I don't really recall - perhaps they have a coffee flavor that I didn't care for.

Coffee would do it for me. I didn't really detect a strong coffee flavor, but I've tried a lot of things that I've thrown away because of a coffee taste.

Ha! When does that actually happen?

I know... I should know better.

I think it really stinks that there is any distortion - especially for over 2/3 of the theater. I prefer the Soarin' over CA version. On our last ride before the switch - a guy handed my husband a golf ball right after that scene as my hubby reached for the ball each time. It was cute.

That is awesome!

Sorry you had to deal with this.

The life of a parent...

Just gave me a flashback to my childhood. Everytime we went to Disneyland (or any theme park for that matter) we had a packed lunch and ate at the picnic tables. Ugh. Yes, we were locals/day trippers to many parks, however, we never once ate at the park. (yes, I realize I sound like a spoiled brat ) This is back in the day when the food was really bad....but for a kid, I just wanted to eat in the park - felt like I was missing out. I'm not bitter or anything. I vowed that I would NEVER do that or force my kids to do that. Now many many years later, I still don't pack anything for a day trip, however, I can totally see bringing in a few snacks to have on hand for hubs and I if on vacation - can only eat so much park food (don't have to worry about the kid aspect).

I have a similar history. Growing up, we always took a cooler. We'd usually leave the park and go back out to the car and eat in the parking lot though. It was the rare treat when we'd get to eat at the parks. Our trip back in 1998 we actually stayed on-site in a room at the Villas at Disney Institute so we had a kitchen and would go back to the room to eat meals. It was fine, and I've got a lot of good memories from those trips. But we've kind of decided we don't want to do that. And my parents, obviously, were on this trip and have moved on past the days of packing food to the parks. I don't mean to judge, you've got to do what you've got to do. Everybody's situation is different. I appreciate everything I've been given and have, but DW and I are looking at it like if a few hundred dollars worth of food is the difference between whether or not we can take the trip, maybe we should just step back and evaluate whether we should go or not. We want to be able to enjoy our vacation too and not be having to assemble meals for the next day when we get back to the room.

Man, your little boy is beyond cute! He makes that cat look not as cute.

He has that effect.

I have to agree, we have had Zebra Domes at Boma and I find them just ok.

Yeah... not bad, but nothing I'd go out of my way for.

The bending is VERY unfortunate. It really takes you out of the all inclusive feeling. We never saw the original version but still love it.

Yeah, I find it hard to believe that they seem to ignore this fact and green lit this version as is.

Wait! What!?! They took Spaceship Earth out of it?!!? Oh no! That was my DD's favorite part! And I remember hearing that the filming over Disney was the most $$$ part?!?!

Nope, not spaceship Earth. There was a close call with a golf ball in the first version of Soarin. You were flying down the middle of a fairway just as a golfer was teeing off. The golf ball, complete with a Mickey head on it, flew right at you.

I was afraid this was going to be my oldest's issue. But she seems to like it. Some of these rides are hard to gauge how the kids will do.

So true.

I have done this many times! Def the best part of MDE.

I knew we wouldn't have our 4th FP until much later in the day, so it made sense to try to keep FP available as long as we could walk into short standby lines.

I agree! World Showcase is really the worst at this. My girls are ok eaters... But having just one generic kid option would be good!!!!

I know... and a lot of them do have a generic kid option, but when your kids are picky and that generic option doesn't cut it...

This is exactly my thinking! I am on vacation too! But it is nice that Disney allows you to. I think it is one of those things that I think REALLY makes them stand out. Most don't want to bother but if you want to or HAVE to, you have the option.

Very true! There is something to be said for the fact that they give you that flexibility, unlike most other similar places.

Yes. There's a coffee flavour to it.

And I don't like coffee... at all.
so... go figure.

I usually hate anything that has coffee flavor to it. I didn't hate these.

Hope you don't mind me jumping right on in here...

It wouldn't be any fun without you! I'll see you again in what? 5 months?

Oh, thank you!

Gotta suck up to my readers.

Okay, so I started on the very last update, but then realized how out of the loop I was with the abbreviations sad2 and went back to the update before.

Oh sorry. Yeah, I got a little creative.

Good grief. LG! Oh my word, he is beyond gorgeous.

Most of the time. 3:30 am when he is screaming is a different story though...

Me too kid, me too.

Our next WDW trip is coming up in January and we'll have 3 more people than usual. I'm positive this is what will be happening with me.

But you're going in January. Not July. Lower crowds and more reasonable temperatures. You'll be fine.


Good luck.

DD is so brave, good for her! Calvin needs to take some tips from her please.

I'm sure he'll grow into it. She used to be afraid of everything and finally just kind of decided she wasn't.

Done.

eriously, what's up with these good lookin' kids of yours?! They definitely got your DW's looks

We do have some good looking kids. I might be a little bit biased though.

Oh the cheese is strong with this one!

Yuck, and in the middle of Summer? That's the worst.

It was. We had a rough spring/summer this year. Seemed like every time we'd all get healthy someone would get sick again and we'd repeat the process.

WHAT?! Dude. Such a daredevil!

Or she just didn't know what she was getting into.

And now I know what HEA is.

Aw man. I streamed the first showing and LOVED IT. I was never 'connected' to Wishes, if that makes sense. I had seen it once, maybe twice with Dan B.C., and then I think once with Cal? For me, I'm beyond excited to experience HEA (<---look at me, using it for the first time! ) because the boys have been watching it at home a lot lately. And I personally love that they used Hunchback (such a cool/dark movie!) along with Baymax and Wreck it Ralph, and the "You'll be in my Heart" scene? and Dan is a major fan of Aladdin so seeing those projections in real time, will be fantastic! I know people were super upset with the change and I could totally understand why. Wishes has been around for what, 15 years? A lot of emotional connections to that. Basically, for me, I'm excited that i'll be able to have that connection with HEA that I didn't have with Wishes since I was so late to the game.

I can see this. I mean it is a good show. I love the projections and the fireworks and how it all ties together with the music. But it just didn't wow me in a way that it needed to. I've got that connection to Wishes and it just didn't appeal in that same way.

Totally agree with you. Once and done treat.

I'm glad that I'm at least not the only one.

Haha of course.

EPCOT never goes according to plan. I'm beginning to resent that park...

Yes! When we took Calvin right when he turned 1, he was crawling (didn't start walking until 17 months!) but it was tough cause he wanted to move around and we wanted him to be able to stretch but couldn't until we were back in our room.

Exactly! It was definitely a challenge on this trip. By the end of the week, LG was beginning to get very cranky and wanted nothing to do with the stroller. Can't say that I blamed him either.

YES! A lot of work for sure. They probably do save a lot though. But heck, i'm on vacation too! I'll cook breakfast (not doing that this trip though, yay me!) but that's as far as i'll go.

I know... I'm not judging, if that's your choice, fine. But it feels like we're busy enough just getting the kids bathed and in bed at night, re-packing the park bag with diapers, etc, getting everybody up and ready... I just don't want to add more work to the equation.

I feel the same, don't get the hype. Love that you had to brag to your Facebook group

That's what Disdads are for. Making fun of each other and completely rubbing it in when they're stuck at work and your'e not.

Great job diverting and having a plan right away. Quite impressed you got everyone to just go with the flow too, that's hard in such a large group.

They followed me toward TT so all they had to do was keep following. And if they didn't, I wasn't stopping anyway.

Oh no, I hope they're together too.

I feel like the distortion is so much worse on this version, it's terrible. It's a nice ride, but not deserving of the crazy hype it gets.

It is definitely a lot worse now. I never noticed it in the original, but you can't miss it now! I agree, I enjoy the ride, but it just isn't my favorite ride in Disney World or anything. It's not even my favorite ride in EPCOT.

Oh I so understand your frustration. Youngest DS was like that for our trip in 2015 and it made it incredibly frustrating.

This is the first time we've taken one at that stage. They've either been walking or too little to crawl. I still say the easiest trip we've ever had with a child is when DD was 7 months.

Literally been in your shoes in that same spot. While I appreciate the after ride activities, it always ends up in a tantrum here and at SE.

Usually it is the musical floor tiles, but this year it was the create a Figment.

Yes, it would kill them, because that costs money and still revenue from abysmal places like Electric Umbrella

Good point!

While, I get what you're saying, but since becoming a TA, I quickly have realized how much little things like food can make or break an ability to take the trip. It makes me feel bad that it's take a trip and skimp on things like food and souvenirs or no trip at all. My mentality has always been I would rather do it right or not at all, but not everyone feels that way. Also, some people are just super cheap. My brother and sister in law could have afforded the food, yet stayed off site and brought all their own food, to each his own I guess

You're right. And I know there are a lot of reasons why you might take food. I just think from our perspective, we'd rather enjoy eating the food we like at the parks and spend a little more. If it came down to food being make or break for a trip... well, you're talking a few hundred dollars in a trip that is going to cost a few thousand. I think we'd lean towards putting the trip off until we can budget doing it the way we want to. And it isn't like that's a right or wrong answer, it's just how we would choose to do it.

Wow, your mom really just kept disappearing. Is there going to be a "where's mom?" story from every day of the trip?

Um... maybe?

Seriously, how hard is it to pick a FP and stick to it? What is that, four changes in one update? Five? I think I lost count at some point. I know that I like lots and lots of FP ... but that's multiple FP, not just changing 1 or 2 constantly.

Well, we had our third FP tied up at Frozen until like 4 or 5 pm. So we weren't going to have a 4th to use. It just made sense to roll that other FP back when we walked up to a walk on standby line. Otherwise, it was a waste of the FP.

I kinda get why the restaurants in World Showcase don't have chicken nuggets ... they're not really native food of certain countries. I think it would be great if they had a food court type place somewhere in Epcot which had the regular staples and a few sample dishes from each country. That way you could get the chicken nuggets and the nachos without having to go to multiple locations. But I know that ain't happening.
(Also ... we bring our own lunch and snacks to the park. No soft-sided cooler, but we usually have sandwiches and a bunch of snacks, usually in a backpack (occasionally we just stuff it in our purses). And we take turns carrying the backpack. Plus, there are only two of us, so it's probably easier. Security usually looks at us like we're nuts, though.)

Yeah... and I know you have dietary requirements for which it probably makes more sense to bring a lot of your own food. Just not something we want to do.

It isn't just EPCOT with the food like that... one of my favorite restaurants in Disney World is Flame Tree. We didn't eat there this trip based on the kids being stubborn. The line was too long to justify waiting to order food for adults and then going somewhere else to order food for kids. Makes it kind of frustrating, but at least I could get free refills of powerade at Restaurantosaurus.

 

[afwdwfan]

Can't wait for the TR where @pkondz rides 10 times in a row because of grandkids.

We're talking grandkids though. If he did 7 times for his own kid, he'd do waaaaay more than that for grandkids.

agreed. I preferred the first movie also and didn't notice as much distortion with that. I realize why they re-did it (to make it more world oriented), but sometimes if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Well, I think it did need a new movie. Or at least a cleaner version of the old one. I've made this point a few times, but I really wish they would have made it so that the transitions from scene to scene didn't ruin the illusion of flying. That has been the biggest knock I've always had against the ride.

We've done both. I remember a time where we really couldn't afford Disney food prices, so pack lunches it was. I still dislike the exorbitant prices, but at least for TS meals, the prices are more in line with sit down meals outside of the world...the CS meals are still way more than the quality would support, but then again you're kinda stuck unless you pack meals. I usually bring my camel back and have snacks (protein bars, crackers, fruit snacks) in there for all of us. As kids are leaving the nest, all of us is less than it once was, so getting better with regard to carrying less snacks and being able to afford meals inside the parks also.

It certainly is expensive, but I'd argue that the quality is above par and the quantity certainly is as well. It is overpriced, but I enjoy the ease and convenience of it too.

I think the one with him and granpa is still the best. The look on his face is priceless.

No, they took out the golf ball swing and ball coming right at you.

I get they're trying to make it foods unique to that country, but absolutely need something for the little ones.

They are good about having food for the kids. The problem is, our kids are just too dang picky and don't even want what is available.

Dude! Don't say that!!!!

I thought when I'd looked it up before it said it was some type of liqueur from Africa and not Kalhua (and definitely not expresso), but yeah, I looked it up and saw and edited my post. I don't care for coffee at all (smell or taste), so I'm surprised I did like them, but again, I think it was the white chocolate shell that more than compensated for coffee - eww! The thing is, I liked them, but I don't know that I like them well enough to go out of my way for them. The same person that told me about ZDs also told me about Tim Tams from Australia. Now those things are amazing!!!

Zebra Domes are made with Amarula liqueur. I hate coffe and LOVE zebra domes!

See, I hate coffee too. I don't hate Zebra Domes, just don't love them. I really didn't notice a coffee taste when I ate them. I've thrown desserts away in the past because I tasted a coffee flavor. I dislike it that much.

Well sure. But only so I can charge people to fund my Disney trips.

I like the entrepreneurial spirit!

Hey, I'm finally back to read!

So does this mean orange barrel season is almost over?

Awwwww....

Working the cuteness angle here...

Punk.

And this is why I did it!

True confessions: I wasn't a huge fan, either.

I'm glad I'm not the only one.

I noticed this past summer that the security line was abominable if you arrived by bus or monorail, but much shorter if you drove yourself to the park.

So were you able to go to the secondary security line over to the left when facing the front of the park from the parking lot? We drove another day and had to go to the same line the bus people went through.

Son of a...

mother

Yeah, my kids loved the golf ball, too. Haven't seen the new version yet, so my expectations are appropriately lowered.

Yeah... I wasn't blown away by it. I've never been as big a fan of Soarin as most though so take that with a grain of salt.

Good call. The line for that one is always a killer.

If there is a line, it is a killer.

Good grief!

This has really been our experience on our past couple of trips at EPCOT. Things just randomly being closed.

Nothing better than unreasonable tantrums! My favorite.

Aren't they the best!?

I see the Imagination pavilion inspired her to get creative.

Well, yeah! I was shocked when she didn't say mac & cheese!

Have a couple more kids and see if you feel the same way!

See, that would be 2 more people to carry food for! It's my vacation too!

 

[franandaj]

I'll be honest... this was our worst morning security line. The other parks weren't terribly bad, although we did run into a very, very thorough security CM at AK one morning that took foreverrrrrrrrrrrr.

This just worries me as most of our days are going to be in Epcot because of F&W.

True. And they do have "kids" menus. Our kids were just being super picky and only wanted one of a few things. Basically nuggets and fries or mac & cheese.

That's what I was meaning about a core menu. The things I hear most is that kids only eat Mac n cheese, chicken nuggets or maybe hot dogs. If every QS place served those three plus a couple extras, parental dilemma solved!

True. Not judging them for doing it. We just made the point that there's no way we're going to go 900 mi from home and prepare meals and take them to the parks. Honestly, if food cost was make or break on whether we could afford a trip, I'd lean towards waiting. There really are so many places/things I enjoy eating at Disney.

I was surprised to read how many folks grew up brown bagging it at the park, but then again, food was not as high quality back on the say as it is now. You don't have to tell me about food in Disney parks, heck my trip is planned around where I want to eat! Not necessarily rides or shows!