First Trip With Kids - MNSSHP - F&W Festival - Sept 2017 TR

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

She looks so happy to see Aurora!

It was hard not to get chairs, food, etc. in the way in the pictures.

I feel like this is the problem with ALL of the character dinning.

They told us they would tell Ariel what had happened, and sure enough, when she came back out she stopped by our table first. It was worth the wait! My daughter was so happy. To be continued because I'm limited in the number of pictures I can post in each chapter!

I'm glad you waited! You paid alot, you deserve to see all of the princesses!

We did Cinderella's Royal Table a long time ago. And it was def worth it, but def not a meal we feel like we need to do again.

 

[jrmint427]

I feel like this is the problem with ALL of the character dinning.

It really is! It may have been where our table was, but I felt like it was worse than Tusker House and Garden Grill. Maybe they figure they don’t need as much space for face characters?

I'm glad you waited! You paid alot, you deserve to see all of the princesses!

We did Cinderella's Royal Table a long time ago. And it was def worth it, but def not a meal we feel like we need to do again.

I’m glad we waited too! That’s how I felt about it. If the toddler hadn’t cared we probably would have just left. I agree, it’s worth doing once. We may do it one more time when the girls are older and will remember eating in the castle, but we’re skipping it on our next trip.

 

[jrmint427]

Cinderella's Royal Table - Part 2

The toddler was so happy to have some special time with Ariel. She showed Ariel that her picture was on the mats they had given us.



There were lots of hugs, and Ariel did not rush with us at all.



You can tell how happy the toddler was from that smile!



Overall, I was slightly disappointed with this meal. The food was good, but I didn't feel like it was anything special. I know you're really paying for the experience at this restaurant, not the food, but for the price... I feel like the experience and food were both lacking for what we paid to be there. We had great princess interactions with other meet and greets around the park, so I'm not sure we would have really missed much by not eating here. It was also disappointing to have been skipped by Ariel in the first hour or so we were there - waiting an extra 20 minutes with a toddler and a baby was not easy. So it is what it is. We're not going on our next trip, but we will probably give it another try in the future, especially if my girls continue to love the princesses. Of course, there is something special about actually eating in Cinderella's castle, and I was really happy with the Ariel meet!

While at breakfast, I checked our dining plan to see what we had left. Oops! This was on our last day...



We had plans to use the 3 table service credits that evening. But we certainly were not going to use 11 quick service meals AND 13 snacks. Someone had given me a tip earlier in the week that we could convert the leftover quick service credits to 3 snack credits at our resort. But even so, that meant we would have 37 snack credits remaining! And this, my friends, is why we are not doing the dining plan on our next trip.

As a vegetarian, my meal was often cheaper than the meal options with meat. There were many times we might have chosen to share a dessert, or even a meal, but it came with our dining plan, so we each ordered our own and had way too much food. And then when it came to snack credits... there were times when we were just getting a beverage or a $1 pickle that it didn't feel worth it to use a snack credit, so we paid out of pocket instead. But then felt silly by the end of the trip because we might as well have used the snack credits for those items.

We did convert our extra quick service credits to snacks at our resort the next day and took home a TON of extra treats - Frozen rice krispies, gummy candy, trail mix... so it didn't go to waste, but we wouldn't have chosen to take so much food home if we hadn't had the dining plan. So I'm glad we gave it a try (and yes, it was very nice not to stress about what we wanted to order), but now we know it's not the best option for our family right now.

 

[jrmint427]

*Real Life Update*

We've just returned from a Thanksgiving trip to Disney! It was more stressful/crowded than our last trip, but we had a wonderful time and I'm going through Disney withdrawal. We had 7 park days and split our stay between offsite and the AKL. I am hoping to hurry up and finish last year's trip report (we're on the last day!) so I can get started on our most recent one Thanks for sticking this out with me!

 

[jrmint427]

After breakfast, the girls wanted to ride the carousel, so that's what we did. I had a plan for the day, but we followed it loosely so the girls could pick what they wanted to do too.





Up next was It's a Small World! I think we counted that the girls rode this at least 6 times on our trip. I think the baby loved the music and all the colors and things to look at here. She seemed to get more out of this trip than I would have expected for her age.



We then decided to go meet the talking Mickey. We wanted to meet him earlier in the week and had planned to see him at park opening one morning to avoid the lines. Because of the bus issues, we got to the park an hour after opening, and the line was already over an hour long. Our resort made up for the bus issue by giving us a Fast Pass to see Mickey at any time on my daughter's birthday. I was very thankful for that! On our way in, we realized we were out of space in the girls' autograph book. We bought a new one in the gift shop. I was shocked because they were selling the same autograph books I had bought on Amazon but for LESS. I think I paid $20 on Amazon and $12 at the park. Who would have guessed? It was our last day so we felt silly buying a new book, but we still had a few more characters to meet.

I'm so glad we got to see Mickey while he was still talking. It was a little awkward but the Cast Member told him it was both girls' birthdays, and he said, "It's your birthday, too?" and then sang to them. How many people get to have Mickey Mouse sing "Happy Birthday" to them on their birthday?! My daughters still make me play that video for them often.
I think I look happier to see mickey than the girls!





Next up, we headed to Dumbo. The baby was sleeping when we rode it earlier in the trip, so this was her first ride on the classic Dumbo! I couldn't get her to look at the camera, but she was very serious the whole time. The toddler was a pro at this point!





It looks like we completely threw our touring plans out the window at this point. I had Merida on the list and considered getting in line for her wait. But as we passed by, it looked like the line was fairly long, we were run down, and decided we would skip her. Now she's on our must-do list for our next trip!

My dad loves trains, so we decided to go for a ride. I think we got in line at the Fantasyland stop.



Our party had to sit separately, so my dad and I sat a few rows behind the rest of the group. It was a peaceful ride, I think we rode for two stops. I had Cosmic Ray's on our plan for lunch this day, but since I had missed my chance for Columbia Harbour House earlier in the week, we opted for that instead. I was missing that vegetarian chili!

I have no pictures from 1pm - 2pm so I'm not sure what we did during that time, but we got to the restaurant around 2pm. I remember at least one of the girls was sleeping, and the place was still packed despite it being 2pm. My mom found us a table while we placed our order.

I finally got my chili! So I don't know if they have changed the recipe since 2013... but it was not what I remembered. It was good, just not as amazing as what I had remembered, and a little spicier too. I still enjoyed it!



I don't remember what else we ate... I don't have a lot of pictures lol. The girls woke up at some point and we enjoyed the air conditioning for awhile. I think the heat and the exhaustion from the week were catching up with us.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

There were lots of hugs, and Ariel did not rush with us at all.

We met this Ariel once... Glad that she took time with the girls after waiting so long.

We had plans to use the 3 table service credits that evening. But we certainly were not going to use 11 quick service meals AND 13 snacks. Someone had given me a tip earlier in the week that we could convert the leftover quick service credits to 3 snack credits at our resort. But even so, that meant we would have 37 snack credits remaining! And this, my friends, is why we are not doing the dining plan on our next trip.

I kind of secretly love having all the extra credit to bring home snacks. But I totally know what you are talking about.

park days and split our stay between offsite and the AKL. I am hoping to hurry up and finish last year's trip report (we're on the last day!) so I can get started on our most recent one Thanks for sticking this out with me!

YEAH!!!! I can't wait to hear all about it! And see how big the girls have gotten.

How many people get to have Mickey Mouse sing "Happy Birthday" to them on their birthday?! My daughters still make me play that video for them often.

Amazing!

 

[jrmint427]

We met this Ariel once

Too funny! I love looking at other people's pictures to see if we met the same characters

I kind of secretly love having all the extra credit to bring home snacks.

It was kind of fun to have a few left over last time! But definitely could have done with a few less credits. We were flying home so we were limited in how much we could carry with us!

YEAH!!!! I can't wait to hear all about it! And see how big the girls have gotten.

They were SO much bigger this trip! My 4 year old even went on several roller coasters... I'm eager to get this one done and start on the next!

 

[jrmint427]

Meeting Belle & Gaston

After our late lunch, we went to Enchanted Tales with Belle. The magic door gets me every time! The toddler played a salt or pepper shaker. It was fun that the girls got to meet Belle after the show, and they let our whole family jump in the picture. My daughter showed Belle that she was wearing shorts under her dress and Belle said something along the lines of, "That's very practical!"





Next we went to Gaston's Tavern for a snack. I ordered the macarons and LeFou's Brew. The brew was refreshing and I liked it, but it's not something I'll have to have on every trip.





It was finally time for us to meet Gaston! He was worth the wait. He asked my husband at what age he knew he wanted to grow up to be like Gaston. He told me he saw I was stating a brood of my own and said he planned to have 5 or 6 strapping young boys... I told him good luck with that! He said he didn't need any luck. My daughter told him it was her 3rd birthday. We had a great interaction with him. He had us laughing the whole time.







We were starting to walk away when he called my mom back and put her up against the wall. It was hilarious!



We were walking away when my toddler reminded us that Gaston didn't sign her book. Of course we needed a signature and we were so caught up in the interaction that we all forgot! I ran back to the photographer and asked the handler if he could sign our book after the next guest. She said yes and when I handed him the book he said, "That's okay, women are often distracted by my good looks." This guy was great!

 

[jrmint427]

Dinner at Be Our Guest

We went to watch the Country Bears show. It's one that I could skip but was glad we did because the girls loved it. It's amazing to me that this show is still here.



Then it was time for a birthday dinner at Be Our Guest! It was my toddler's 3rd birthday but we were celebrating both girls since the baby would be turning 1 just three days later. It was a beautiful place for a birthday meal!

When they first went to seat us, I forgot to say anything about a room preference. That was totally my fault. From what I had read in advance, I knew the rose room would probably be scary to my toddler. They walked us through the ballroom... and into the rose room. My 3 year old started crying at the pretend storm as soon as we walked in and I immediately asked the guy seating us if we could be moved. He hesitated and I told him it was her birthday and I really didn't want to see her scared at her birthday dinner. He said he would see what they could do and walked us back to the front of the restaurant. We had to wait maybe 5 minutes or so, and then they found us a seat in the main ballroom. I was very appreciative!

I loved the place setting with the rose napkin. The Beast walked by every now and then and my kids got nervous every time he went by us.



I don't think there was much of an option for me as a vegetarian, so I ordered a pasta dish. It was okay, but nothing special. I hope they've improved their vegetarian options for the new dinner menu!



My husband ordered some kind of steak. I asked my husband just now if he remembers this steak. He says he remembers it was good but nothing remarkable.



We ordered grilled cheese for the girls. The real stars of the meal were the desserts! We ordered a few different kinds so we could share. I knew I wanted to try the grey stuff in at least one. I was a bit underwhelmed with the grey stuff and liked the chocolate desserts better.









After we ate I walked the girls around the other rooms to explore them. The toddler did go back in the rose room briefly but was not happy about it. I loved the room with the paintings and the tapestries. This was one of my favorites below. But I did feel a little awkward looking around at the art because I felt like I was invading other tables' space a bit. I probably wouldn't want to sit in that room just because I saw other people doing the same thing I was doing, admiring the art above their heads.



We got in line to meet the Beast after dinner. I should have known it wasn't a good idea, but he was friendly... the toddler was sobbing in most of our pictures. We didn't make her get close to him, just took a few pictures, and moved on. When we went back for our trip this year, she told me to write the Beast and tell him not to be in his castle when we went there. She wanted to eat in the ballroom again but did NOT want to see the Beast. So I "wrote" him and we went for lunch instead, which solved that issue



After dinner we had just enough time for one more ride before the fireworks. Both girls' favorite ride was It's a Small World, so that's where we headed. I was a little stressed because I really wanted to see the fireworks and knew we would be cutting it close. As the ride was ending, we could hear the fireworks starting. We rushed off and went to watch them in Fantasy Land. I had never seen them from this angle. It was still an enjoyable show, but I prefer the view from the front of the castle.

It was starting to rain. Not so much that the fireworks stopped, but we started heading for the exit as soon as the show was over. We ducked into a gift shop or two on our way out, trying to keep from getting soaked. We were all tired at this point, after a very long trip, but I think the toddler had a great birthday celebration!

 

[jrmint427]

Wrapping It Up

Thanks for sticking with me as it took over a year after our trip for me to finish this one up! Work and handling two toddlers can leave me exhausted but it's a nice escape to come write about our trip (and read about everyone else's). I'm going to do my best to finish my next one more quickly!

We left on October 1st to go home. Our flight wasn't until around 3pm, so we left our resort around noon. I have no pictures that morning, so I'm fairly certain we just slept in, grabbed some quick service breakfast, and packed up to go. We did have a ton of snack credits left over, so we cashed in at the quick service location at Port Orleans Riverside. I got lots of sour candy, rice krispie treats and trail mix packs. To be completely honest - it was so much that I am still finding some of the snacks in our pantry these days, over a year after our trip!

All in all, we had a fantastic trip. It was really special to be able to share these memories with my girls' grandparents. And going to Disney with a ratio of 5 adults to 2 children made for a much more relaxing trip for my husband and I than it would have been if we had been on our own. We agreed we would not go back without grandparents until the children are a bit older. We also found that what works for our family is to have a fairly detailed plan, but to be prepared to depart from that plan as needed.

Almost as soon as we were home, I started plotting when we could go back "home". I thought it would be at least 2 years, but my husband surprised me by showing interest in going back sooner We initially talked about going back about 6 months later in April 2018. He was interested in seeing the Flower & Garden Festival! But the dates just weren't going to work for us, so we started talking about a Thanksgiving trip, and that's what we landed on. My MIL couldn't believe we were going back so soon, but happily agreed to go with us! We ended up going the day before Thanksgiving and staying through November 30th. We had 7 park days and one rest day.

Stay tuned for my next trip report! I need to pull my pictures together and get organized but I will start soon

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

She said yes and when I handed him the book he said, "That's okay, women are often distracted by my good looks." This guy was great!

Ha! My girls refuse to meet him. But I always hear how great he is.

It's one that I could skip but was glad we did because the girls loved it. It's amazing to me that this show is still here.

Right?!? I can only imagine because it isn't a very big space.

Then it was time for a birthday dinner at Be Our Guest! It was my toddler's 3rd birthday but we were celebrating both girls since the baby would be turning 1 just three days later. It was a beautiful place for a birthday meal!

When you were pregnant, were you hoping they would have the same birthday?

When we went back for our trip this year, she told me to write the Beast and tell him not to be in his castle when we went there. She wanted to eat in the ballroom again but did NOT want to see the Beast. So I "wrote" him and we went for lunch instead, which solved that issue

Ha! I love this! My youngest cried when we met the beast, she was not 3 yet, and she had on a belle dress, so he tried to dance with her. He was just too big. We haven't been back since, just cause it is so hard to get a reservation and the food was just ok for us.


Can't wait to hear about the new trip!

 

[jrmint427]

Ha! My girls refuse to meet him. But I always hear how great he is.

I think he could be intimidating if you’re not prepared for it! But the one we met this year was almost too nice

I can only imagine because it isn't a very big space.

I didn’t think about that but that makes a lot of sense! They could probably put in a different show but there wouldn’t be as much seating or room for the queue there. I feel like the bears at least need new songs

When you were pregnant, were you hoping they would have the same birthday?

I was actually hoping they would have different birthday weeks for their sake! Their due dates were only one day apart but my first daughter was 2 weeks early. I was scheduled for a c-section with baby #2 exactly one week apart but she decided to come early too! It does work out nicely for them to share a birthday party but I can imagine at some point they might want their own special days.

My youngest cried when we met the beast, she was not 3 yet, and she had on a belle dress, so he tried to dance with her. He was just too big. We haven't been back since, just cause it is so hard to get a reservation and the food was just ok for us.

That would be scary! He is very big and we know he’s gentle but he does lose his temper a bit in the movie and if your girls are like mine, they remember things like that. I agree, the food is just OK. I love the ambience but I’m on the fence whether to try to eat there again next year.

Thanks for sticking with me through the whole report

 

[jrmint427]

I've started my next trip report from our Thanksgiving 2018 trip! You can find it at this link