jrmint427
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2013
Way too many
. We probably had 2 most days, the good news is we are set for our next trip!
It's a Small but Magical World - a Thanksgiving 2018 Trip Report
- Thread starter jrmint427
- Start date
Way too many
. We probably had 2 most days, the good news is we are set for our next trip!
Cloe Colton
Registered
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2018
I always struggle with videoing/taking pictures versus enjoying the moment! Thankfully because my sister did cheer for a lot of her life and always wanted her routines recorded so I got really good at recording but not actually watching the screen! Because you definitely feel a bit frustrated like you almost weren't even there if you are just looking at a screen the whole time! I feel like if you can manage to just hold the camera and enjoy the moment, that is the best of both worlds!
Lesley Wake
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2017
Maybe next trip you can bring a plastic one or a posterboard printout and he can sign it?My daughters were thrilled to meet him, and that’s all that mattered. DD4 had insisted that we needed to bring him an egg. He eats 5 dozen a day so it would have been a nice gift. I just never figured out how to get a real egg for her to take.
jrmint427
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2013
So true! I did this more and more on this trip, where I tried recording without watching through the camera. We love having the video but I don't want to miss out on the magical moments in real life either!
That's a good idea!!
jrmint427
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2013
Chilly Evening
It was getting pretty cold by the time we walked to our 4:20pm FP for 7DMT. I had shown DD4 video of this ride and she wanted to go on it until she saw the witch at the very end. I told her I would write to the witch and ask her to leave so DD4 could ride it. This worked for her, so she happily got in line with Pat and me! We could have done rider swap, but my MIL didn’t want to ride, so she took DD2 to the Winnie the Pooh gift shop across the way.
I know this is a terribly dark and blurry picture, but you can see the look of wonder on DD4’s face, so I’m sharing it.
DD4 loved this ride! I managed to get a selfie with all 3 of us.
And of course, the official ride picture.
When we got to the very end of the ride, DD4 couldn’t believe I had actually gotten rid of the witch! As we got off, she told Pat that Mommy did magic and made the witch disappear! And she asked to ride it again.
You might be asking yourself, how did I make that witch disappear?? The power of distraction
When we got off the ride, we found DD2 looking happy! Grandma had bought her Eeyore socks and a stuffed Winnie the Pooh. Lucky girl! She got the same set for DD4. These socks were so cute! And practical. DD2’s accident earlier in the day had used up the last of the leggings I had for her, so these socks were great to keep her warm as the temperature was dropping.
We had just one more ride on our must-do list for Magic Kingdom – we needed to go Under the Sea once more!
I love this ride! Thankfully, DD4 didn’t seem scared of Ursula.
We had to get a picture with Ariel’s dad afterwards, especially since that’s who Pat had picked for his shirt.
DD4 fell asleep shortly after this, but I couldn’t leave the park without a picture of the Partners.
It was after 5:00pm, we were freezing cold at this point, and the Christmas party crowd was taking over Main Street.
We were supposed to have dinner at The Plaza at 6:15pm. I suggested we walk the shops for a bit in an effort to stay warm until dinner. This sounded like a good idea, but the shops were so crowded we could barely walk, nevermind navigate the crowds with the double stroller. By 5:30pm, we were ready to leave the park. We decided to see if they would let us check in for dinner super early.
I approached the host’s table at The Plaza and asked if we could 1) check in very early and 2) bring the double stroller inside with us, since DD4 was sleeping. They said they would see what they could do, but it would probably be at least a 30 minute wait, and the stroller would just depend on where they would be able to seat us. And we were going to have to wait outside with the stroller. We were freezing and tired, so I asked if we could possibly cancel our reservation. They said that would be no problem, that we wouldn’t be charged since we had shown up for our reservation. After a quick huddle with the other adults, we decided to cancel and find food outside of the park.
I was sad to miss dinner here, but it really was the best decision for us. It was going to stay really cold through at least the next day, so we stopped by an outlet mall to find hats and gloves for the girls. DD4 was still sleeping in the car, so my MIL and I ran in while Pat drove around with the girls. We also checked out the Character Warehouse while we were there. I didn’t buy too much, just an extra autograph book and 2 coffee mugs. We picked up Flipper’s pizza on our way home and ate in the hotel room. We needed to rest up for another busy day!
Steps: 19,371
Miles: 7.95
It was getting pretty cold by the time we walked to our 4:20pm FP for 7DMT. I had shown DD4 video of this ride and she wanted to go on it until she saw the witch at the very end. I told her I would write to the witch and ask her to leave so DD4 could ride it. This worked for her, so she happily got in line with Pat and me! We could have done rider swap, but my MIL didn’t want to ride, so she took DD2 to the Winnie the Pooh gift shop across the way.
I know this is a terribly dark and blurry picture, but you can see the look of wonder on DD4’s face, so I’m sharing it.
DD4 loved this ride! I managed to get a selfie with all 3 of us.
And of course, the official ride picture.
When we got to the very end of the ride, DD4 couldn’t believe I had actually gotten rid of the witch! As we got off, she told Pat that Mommy did magic and made the witch disappear! And she asked to ride it again.
You might be asking yourself, how did I make that witch disappear?? The power of distraction
When we got off the ride, we found DD2 looking happy! Grandma had bought her Eeyore socks and a stuffed Winnie the Pooh. Lucky girl! She got the same set for DD4. These socks were so cute! And practical. DD2’s accident earlier in the day had used up the last of the leggings I had for her, so these socks were great to keep her warm as the temperature was dropping.
We had just one more ride on our must-do list for Magic Kingdom – we needed to go Under the Sea once more!
I love this ride! Thankfully, DD4 didn’t seem scared of Ursula.
We had to get a picture with Ariel’s dad afterwards, especially since that’s who Pat had picked for his shirt.
DD4 fell asleep shortly after this, but I couldn’t leave the park without a picture of the Partners.
It was after 5:00pm, we were freezing cold at this point, and the Christmas party crowd was taking over Main Street.
We were supposed to have dinner at The Plaza at 6:15pm. I suggested we walk the shops for a bit in an effort to stay warm until dinner. This sounded like a good idea, but the shops were so crowded we could barely walk, nevermind navigate the crowds with the double stroller. By 5:30pm, we were ready to leave the park. We decided to see if they would let us check in for dinner super early.
I approached the host’s table at The Plaza and asked if we could 1) check in very early and 2) bring the double stroller inside with us, since DD4 was sleeping. They said they would see what they could do, but it would probably be at least a 30 minute wait, and the stroller would just depend on where they would be able to seat us. And we were going to have to wait outside with the stroller. We were freezing and tired, so I asked if we could possibly cancel our reservation. They said that would be no problem, that we wouldn’t be charged since we had shown up for our reservation. After a quick huddle with the other adults, we decided to cancel and find food outside of the park.
I was sad to miss dinner here, but it really was the best decision for us. It was going to stay really cold through at least the next day, so we stopped by an outlet mall to find hats and gloves for the girls. DD4 was still sleeping in the car, so my MIL and I ran in while Pat drove around with the girls. We also checked out the Character Warehouse while we were there. I didn’t buy too much, just an extra autograph book and 2 coffee mugs. We picked up Flipper’s pizza on our way home and ate in the hotel room. We needed to rest up for another busy day!
Steps: 19,371
Miles: 7.95
Lesley Wake
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2017
I have those socks too! But they look much cuter on your girls!
jrmint427
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2013
Hollywood Studios – November 28, 2018
We woke up, checked the weather, and saw it was going to be COLD. My husband and I are from the Midwest originally but we’ve been in Texas for almost a decade and we’ve adjusted. This day had a high of 57 and low of 39. This was going to be the coldest day of our trip, so we knew we needed to layer up to keep warm. I had 3 outfit changes planned for this day and decided to nix them. We would have needed to carry my MIL’s backpack to make those work and 2 were outfits for the girls that were meant for summer weather – no way were they going to wear summer dresses today.
I got up early. I wanted to get a good breakfast in us (and coffee), so I went down to The Mara to pick up food for my family while they finished getting ready. My husband usually likes iced lattes, so on auto-pilot, that’s what I ordered for him. You should have seen his face when I handed it to him – it’s nearly freezing out and I ordered an iced latte?!
We must have been in a rush because I didn’t take any pictures of our food. My MIL just wanted a banana, I got an egg sandwich for Pat, and Mickey waffles and eggs for the girls and me. Now I had 3 plates of food, bananas, and 3 drinks. I had mentioned the food was to-go, but it was still handed to me on plates. I was struggling with trying to carry everything when a CM came over and told me they DID have boxes for to-go food. He helped me transfer the food and load it up in a bag to take back to the room. The food was fine but it was a little cold by the time I got back to the room.
We decided we would drive again this day – no waiting at a chilly bus stop for us! We were parked at HS by 8:38am and in the park right at 9:00 when it opened. The place was packed already! We followed the massive crowds to Toy Story Land. We had a FP for SDD later in the day and had decided we were okay if we missed Aliens (don’t they realize people use acronyms for everything at Disney?! Someone was having fun with that one). So our strategy was to try to get in line for TMM first, before the line got too long.
We were excited to see the new Toy Story Land for the first time!
Once again, I had shown DD4 video of SDD so she could decide if she wanted to ride it. She had surprised me by enthusiastically insisting that she would ride it! I was convinced that once she saw it in person she would change her mind. I was even more sure as I saw how tall it was and the way that it curved so sharply. As we watched a coaster fly by, DD4 jumped up and down and asked if we could ride it first! I told her we’d ride it later, but was glad she was still excited.
We got to the TMM line by 9:09am. The sign said 20 minutes as we were walking up, and by the time we reached the front of the queue, it jumped up to 55 minutes. I did not have an hour planned for us to wait! And I knew that would be way too long for the girls to be patient this early in the morning. Disappointed, we had a quick chat and decided we would find something else to do. Thankfully, a CM overheard us! He simply said, “It’s a lie.” He was right – we only waited 11 minutes.
I tried to take in the new queue but we were moving through it too quickly!
I really liked the Guess the Phrase game! I *almost* wished we could have hung out here a little longer to enjoy the entertainment.
Mr. Potato Head was a riot! I was really impressed with the queue.
We all grabbed 3D glasses and just before we got to the front of the line, I realized DD4 wasn’t holding hers. Where did they go? She had put them back right after I handed them to her. A CM told me they had extras at the front of the line. Phew!
I rode with DD4 and the other three rode together. I was pretty into the game, so this was the best picture I got.
I was impressed with how well she did! She told me she had scored 0 on Buzz’s ride, so she was proud that she scored on this one. And my accuracy wasn't much better than hers!
I forget Pat’s score, but I think he had doubled mine. I love this game! I wish we could have ridden it more than once, but we never made it back. It was time to keep things moving!
DD4 needed to go to the bathroom after this ride. It’s only when you’re walking with a 4-year-old who urgently needs a bathroom that you realize just how long you have to walk to get out of the ride! I kept thinking the exit must be soon…
I didn’t take a picture but I’m sure you’ve seen one by now – the restrooms in TSL are nicely themed! Up next, we had a run in with the green army “men”.
We woke up, checked the weather, and saw it was going to be COLD. My husband and I are from the Midwest originally but we’ve been in Texas for almost a decade and we’ve adjusted. This day had a high of 57 and low of 39. This was going to be the coldest day of our trip, so we knew we needed to layer up to keep warm. I had 3 outfit changes planned for this day and decided to nix them. We would have needed to carry my MIL’s backpack to make those work and 2 were outfits for the girls that were meant for summer weather – no way were they going to wear summer dresses today.
I got up early. I wanted to get a good breakfast in us (and coffee), so I went down to The Mara to pick up food for my family while they finished getting ready. My husband usually likes iced lattes, so on auto-pilot, that’s what I ordered for him. You should have seen his face when I handed it to him – it’s nearly freezing out and I ordered an iced latte?!
We must have been in a rush because I didn’t take any pictures of our food. My MIL just wanted a banana, I got an egg sandwich for Pat, and Mickey waffles and eggs for the girls and me. Now I had 3 plates of food, bananas, and 3 drinks. I had mentioned the food was to-go, but it was still handed to me on plates. I was struggling with trying to carry everything when a CM came over and told me they DID have boxes for to-go food. He helped me transfer the food and load it up in a bag to take back to the room. The food was fine but it was a little cold by the time I got back to the room.
We decided we would drive again this day – no waiting at a chilly bus stop for us! We were parked at HS by 8:38am and in the park right at 9:00 when it opened. The place was packed already! We followed the massive crowds to Toy Story Land. We had a FP for SDD later in the day and had decided we were okay if we missed Aliens (don’t they realize people use acronyms for everything at Disney?! Someone was having fun with that one). So our strategy was to try to get in line for TMM first, before the line got too long.
We were excited to see the new Toy Story Land for the first time!
Once again, I had shown DD4 video of SDD so she could decide if she wanted to ride it. She had surprised me by enthusiastically insisting that she would ride it! I was convinced that once she saw it in person she would change her mind. I was even more sure as I saw how tall it was and the way that it curved so sharply. As we watched a coaster fly by, DD4 jumped up and down and asked if we could ride it first! I told her we’d ride it later, but was glad she was still excited.
We got to the TMM line by 9:09am. The sign said 20 minutes as we were walking up, and by the time we reached the front of the queue, it jumped up to 55 minutes. I did not have an hour planned for us to wait! And I knew that would be way too long for the girls to be patient this early in the morning. Disappointed, we had a quick chat and decided we would find something else to do. Thankfully, a CM overheard us! He simply said, “It’s a lie.” He was right – we only waited 11 minutes.
I tried to take in the new queue but we were moving through it too quickly!
I really liked the Guess the Phrase game! I *almost* wished we could have hung out here a little longer to enjoy the entertainment.
Mr. Potato Head was a riot! I was really impressed with the queue.
We all grabbed 3D glasses and just before we got to the front of the line, I realized DD4 wasn’t holding hers. Where did they go? She had put them back right after I handed them to her. A CM told me they had extras at the front of the line. Phew!
I rode with DD4 and the other three rode together. I was pretty into the game, so this was the best picture I got.
I was impressed with how well she did! She told me she had scored 0 on Buzz’s ride, so she was proud that she scored on this one. And my accuracy wasn't much better than hers!
I forget Pat’s score, but I think he had doubled mine. I love this game! I wish we could have ridden it more than once, but we never made it back. It was time to keep things moving!
DD4 needed to go to the bathroom after this ride. It’s only when you’re walking with a 4-year-old who urgently needs a bathroom that you realize just how long you have to walk to get out of the ride! I kept thinking the exit must be soon…
I didn’t take a picture but I’m sure you’ve seen one by now – the restrooms in TSL are nicely themed! Up next, we had a run in with the green army “men”.
Lesley Wake
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2017
Probably because it was so brightly colored and looked like a toy set! And that she could really see the whole thing - no hidden areas like 7DMT or the others! I hope she liked it!
I did get thrown off by the cold forecast for this day because I finished my packing when at home. So I made sure to pack warm clothes. Of course, it went up to 90 a few days later! I literally had to cut the sleeves off my shirts so I didn't overheat! Crazy Orlando weather!
jrmint427
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2013
I didn't think about it, but the bright colors probably did help! She loved it
We had no idea it would get so cold when we were packing! It caught us off guard, but it was a good thing we were able to at least buy hats and gloves the night before. I had packed jackets just in case, but didn't expect it to get as cold as it did!
jrmint427
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2013
Toy Story Land Continued
We were going to head to Aliens next. I think the wait time said 30-35 minutes. I knew we wanted to jump in line soon, but we got distracted when the green army “men” came out. I was pleasantly surprised to see they included a green army woman!
The girls seemed interested, so we stopped. A green army woman asked DD4 if she wanted to be a recruit. At first DD4 was shy and said no. I was so glad the woman came by to try again – this time DD4 said yes, but she wanted me to come with her. The Army Patrol joked that DD4 had an Assistant.
They put us through a series of challenges. When we ran through the hoola hoops they had placed on the ground, they commented that the Assistant (me) needed some work. DD4 also got to throw a ball in a bucket and I was proud that she landed all 3!
I eventually snuck offstage, and DD4 was not happy with me. She glared at me and motioned for me to come back, but she didn’t leave the stage herself. It was funny though, because she kept refusing to do what the Army Patrol asked of her. One of the army men kept asking her something again and again, but she was just shaking her head “no”.
By this time the line for Aliens said 45 minutes. After watching it from a distance, we decided to give it a try and hoped that like TMM, the sign was wrong. The line didn’t look that long to us. Well it turned out that one side of the ride was down. And when that side went back up, the other side was down for a short time. The wait only ended up being 30 minutes though, so we couldn’t complain.
There were parts of the queue that looked like they should have been interactive, but weren’t. I feel like they could have put a little more effort into the queue here.
We were all wearing Toy Story themed clothing, but it was hidden by our layers!
When we got closer to the front of the line, a CM asked to measure DD2. You have to be 32 inches to ride this, and I knew she would be fine, but the CM was very thorough in measuring
I noticed that the ride was playing Christmas music about every 3rd ride. I liked the Christmas music better than the standard music! I hope we would get the Christmas track on our turn, and I think we did!
DD4 was not amused with our selfie taking.
I ended up liking this ride a lot more than I thought I would! I was expecting it to be a little tamer, but it was fun to be flung from side to side as we went around the track. I would ride this again but probably wouldn’t wait more than 30 minutes for it.
After the ride, we went to find a snack. We had more to do in TSL but needed some fuel!
We were going to head to Aliens next. I think the wait time said 30-35 minutes. I knew we wanted to jump in line soon, but we got distracted when the green army “men” came out. I was pleasantly surprised to see they included a green army woman!
The girls seemed interested, so we stopped. A green army woman asked DD4 if she wanted to be a recruit. At first DD4 was shy and said no. I was so glad the woman came by to try again – this time DD4 said yes, but she wanted me to come with her. The Army Patrol joked that DD4 had an Assistant.
They put us through a series of challenges. When we ran through the hoola hoops they had placed on the ground, they commented that the Assistant (me) needed some work. DD4 also got to throw a ball in a bucket and I was proud that she landed all 3!
I eventually snuck offstage, and DD4 was not happy with me. She glared at me and motioned for me to come back, but she didn’t leave the stage herself. It was funny though, because she kept refusing to do what the Army Patrol asked of her. One of the army men kept asking her something again and again, but she was just shaking her head “no”.
By this time the line for Aliens said 45 minutes. After watching it from a distance, we decided to give it a try and hoped that like TMM, the sign was wrong. The line didn’t look that long to us. Well it turned out that one side of the ride was down. And when that side went back up, the other side was down for a short time. The wait only ended up being 30 minutes though, so we couldn’t complain.
There were parts of the queue that looked like they should have been interactive, but weren’t. I feel like they could have put a little more effort into the queue here.
We were all wearing Toy Story themed clothing, but it was hidden by our layers!
When we got closer to the front of the line, a CM asked to measure DD2. You have to be 32 inches to ride this, and I knew she would be fine, but the CM was very thorough in measuring
I noticed that the ride was playing Christmas music about every 3rd ride. I liked the Christmas music better than the standard music! I hope we would get the Christmas track on our turn, and I think we did!
DD4 was not amused with our selfie taking.
I ended up liking this ride a lot more than I thought I would! I was expecting it to be a little tamer, but it was fun to be flung from side to side as we went around the track. I would ride this again but probably wouldn’t wait more than 30 minutes for it.
After the ride, we went to find a snack. We had more to do in TSL but needed some fuel!
Cloe Colton
Registered
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2018
Whatever works! haha
These are too cute!
That seems like it was probably a good call!
I get why they do this because if it said 15 minutes everyone would jump in line making it a 55 minute wait but its so hard to know when its true vs false! I usually just take a gander through the line since I can usually tell how long the line is once in the queue! This happened to us once for SDMT, the wait time was posted either at 90 or 120 minutes and I could see the standby wasn't nearly as full as it would need to be for that wait time so I made us go on and it was a walk on!!
DH and I completely missed the glasses pick up the first time we rode after TSL opened
StarWarsMomofGirls!
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2015
I love it!
We had the same thing happen to us. We got in line right at park opening on an EMH morning and they just changed it to 55 I think automatically.
We love Toy Story Land, too! So fun!
jrmint427
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2013
It sounds like this is something they do frequently! I get it but since we didn't know any better, we seriously would have missed TSM if it weren't for the kind CM letting us in on the secret. We will know for next time though! And yes, Toy Story land was a blast! They did an amazing job with all the theming.
jrmint427
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2013
More Toy Story Land
We were planning to eat at Woody’s Lunch Box for lunch. But the girls were hungry before lunch time, so we stopped for a snack. I think it was right around 10:30am and they were in the process of switching from the breakfast menu to the lunch menu. I ordered some Babybel cheese for the girls and coffees for Pat and his mom.
We wanted to meet Jessie and Woody, but when we went to get in line, the CM said it was a 1.5 hour wait. There was no way we were hanging out for that! So I suggested we try Buzz instead. His wait was 30-40 minutes so I jumped in line while Pat and his mom took one of the girls to the bathroom. I was prepared for this wait and brought out coloring books for the girls. It was a good distraction!
DD4 alternated between telling me she wanted to meet Buzz and that she didn’t want to meet him because he was scary. I think we’re still not quite ready for most characters that don’t have faces. The meet was fine but the girls were pretty nervous about Buzz, so we took a quick picture and moved on.
We finished with Buzz around 11:20am and even though we were running behind schedule (we had a FP for 12:00-12:15pm for the Frozen Sing-Along), we decided to stick around and eat lunch at Woody’s Lunch Box before moving on to the rest of the park. I got lucky and was able to switch our FP to the 2:30pm Frozen show.
I had planned to do mobile ordering, but I didn’t see an option to order the vegetarian totchos on the app, and I knew that was what I wanted. So I got in line and it took about 20 minutes to get our food. The vegetarian totchos weren’t on the menu, but the cashier confirmed I could order them anyway. It was a huge portion! I definitely could have shared this with someone else as a meal.
They were a little spicy but I really liked the vegetarian protein they included. I also really wanted to try the grilled cheese and tomato soup, so I ordered that for the girls and planned to taste theirs. The grilled cheese was very good, but I would probably order the totchos again next time. I liked the soup, but I like my tomato soup extra creamy and this one wasn’t quite as thick as it looks.
DD2 loved the soup and finished most of it herself! The girls split the grilled cheese, that’s just half the portion shown above. The portions here were really big.
Pat and his mom both ordered turkey sandwiches. We weren’t sure if she’d want the tater tots or soup for her side, so we ordered one of each and Pat said he would take whatever she didn’t want (she was sitting with the girls while we were in line for the food). I think we all ended up splitting a bit of everything.
I also ordered a cinnamon cran-apple pop-tart for us all to share. I wasn’t expecting much from it based on reviews, but they looked cute and I thought the girls would like one. We split it 5 ways and it was better than I expected (see what happens when you set expectations low).
I really liked Toy Story Land, but it was completely packed the whole time we were there. So packed that it was difficult to walk around with the double stroller. We had considered doing the Early Morning Magic hours here, but I didn’t think it would be worth it because I wasn’t even sure if DD4 would ride SDD and didn’t think we needed to ride Aliens on repeat. This turned about to be a good decision because apparently SDD was down for most of the morning hours! I think I read that people got 2 any time Fast Passes for later in the day, but I would have been upset if I had paid for that access and not gotten to ride SDD on repeat in the morning.
We were done eating a little after noon and didn’t have our next FP until 1:00pm. We saw that Voyage of the Little Mermaid was going to be starting in just a few minutes when we walked by, so we decided to stop for that show.
It’s not a bad show but it is SO dated. It’s not on my must-do list but I never regret seeing it either. The girls liked it, except for the scary parts with Ursula. She really is huge on stage! We purposely sat further away this time.
Even outside TSL, the park felt pretty crowded this day. Not based on wait times, but just in the difficulty walking around. I feel like it wouldn’t be so bad without the double stroller, but navigating that thing and trying to not hit people can be a challenge. We enjoyed the Christmas decorations on our way to our first FP.
Any guesses where we were headed? I’ll give you a hint…
.
.
.
We were planning to eat at Woody’s Lunch Box for lunch. But the girls were hungry before lunch time, so we stopped for a snack. I think it was right around 10:30am and they were in the process of switching from the breakfast menu to the lunch menu. I ordered some Babybel cheese for the girls and coffees for Pat and his mom.
We wanted to meet Jessie and Woody, but when we went to get in line, the CM said it was a 1.5 hour wait. There was no way we were hanging out for that! So I suggested we try Buzz instead. His wait was 30-40 minutes so I jumped in line while Pat and his mom took one of the girls to the bathroom. I was prepared for this wait and brought out coloring books for the girls. It was a good distraction!
DD4 alternated between telling me she wanted to meet Buzz and that she didn’t want to meet him because he was scary. I think we’re still not quite ready for most characters that don’t have faces. The meet was fine but the girls were pretty nervous about Buzz, so we took a quick picture and moved on.
We finished with Buzz around 11:20am and even though we were running behind schedule (we had a FP for 12:00-12:15pm for the Frozen Sing-Along), we decided to stick around and eat lunch at Woody’s Lunch Box before moving on to the rest of the park. I got lucky and was able to switch our FP to the 2:30pm Frozen show.
I had planned to do mobile ordering, but I didn’t see an option to order the vegetarian totchos on the app, and I knew that was what I wanted. So I got in line and it took about 20 minutes to get our food. The vegetarian totchos weren’t on the menu, but the cashier confirmed I could order them anyway. It was a huge portion! I definitely could have shared this with someone else as a meal.
They were a little spicy but I really liked the vegetarian protein they included. I also really wanted to try the grilled cheese and tomato soup, so I ordered that for the girls and planned to taste theirs. The grilled cheese was very good, but I would probably order the totchos again next time. I liked the soup, but I like my tomato soup extra creamy and this one wasn’t quite as thick as it looks.
DD2 loved the soup and finished most of it herself! The girls split the grilled cheese, that’s just half the portion shown above. The portions here were really big.
Pat and his mom both ordered turkey sandwiches. We weren’t sure if she’d want the tater tots or soup for her side, so we ordered one of each and Pat said he would take whatever she didn’t want (she was sitting with the girls while we were in line for the food). I think we all ended up splitting a bit of everything.
I also ordered a cinnamon cran-apple pop-tart for us all to share. I wasn’t expecting much from it based on reviews, but they looked cute and I thought the girls would like one. We split it 5 ways and it was better than I expected (see what happens when you set expectations low).
I really liked Toy Story Land, but it was completely packed the whole time we were there. So packed that it was difficult to walk around with the double stroller. We had considered doing the Early Morning Magic hours here, but I didn’t think it would be worth it because I wasn’t even sure if DD4 would ride SDD and didn’t think we needed to ride Aliens on repeat. This turned about to be a good decision because apparently SDD was down for most of the morning hours! I think I read that people got 2 any time Fast Passes for later in the day, but I would have been upset if I had paid for that access and not gotten to ride SDD on repeat in the morning.
We were done eating a little after noon and didn’t have our next FP until 1:00pm. We saw that Voyage of the Little Mermaid was going to be starting in just a few minutes when we walked by, so we decided to stop for that show.
It’s not a bad show but it is SO dated. It’s not on my must-do list but I never regret seeing it either. The girls liked it, except for the scary parts with Ursula. She really is huge on stage! We purposely sat further away this time.
Even outside TSL, the park felt pretty crowded this day. Not based on wait times, but just in the difficulty walking around. I feel like it wouldn’t be so bad without the double stroller, but navigating that thing and trying to not hit people can be a challenge. We enjoyed the Christmas decorations on our way to our first FP.
Any guesses where we were headed? I’ll give you a hint…
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Cloe Colton
Registered
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2018
I agree, it is annoying! I've heard the Touring Plans line app is supposed to be more accurate but I'm not sure how true that is either!
That's surprising, seems like a misstep on Disney's part!
Looks cute too!
Agreed. This show is in need of an update!
jrmint427
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2013
I've heard Touring Plans is good too! I'll try relying on their app more next time. I didn't even think to compare!
I agree! It's awesome that they have such wonderful vegetarian and vegan options, I was surprised that I couldn't order them through the app here. I hope they fix that this year!
jrmint427
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2013
Tower of Terror
I have a lot of favorite rides, but Tower of Terror is in my top 3. It’s definitely my favorite at HS! With rider swap, one of us got to ride each thrill ride twice. I offered to let Pat ride FOP twice (his favorite) if he would let me ride TOT twice. So his mom and I rode first, and then I rode again with Pat.
The ride picture from when I rode with my MIL is hilarious. I’m the only one with my hands way up (oops, didn’t mean to block the people behind me), and the girl next to me was completely flipping out! Right after this picture was taken, she reached up and grabbed onto my arm. I think she was so scared she didn’t even realize she had done that!
My picture with Pat was terrible. I had taken off a layer so I was wearing my silly Mickey sweatshirt, and Pat was being goofy. You’ll notice he is wearing 2 magic bands… earlier in the trip, DD4’s magic band fell into the toilet while she was wiping. I was so grossed out but reached in quickly before that thing got flushed down. After a good washing, Pat started wearing it instead of her. Anyway, I just noticed that the same parents and little girl were on both elevators with me!
After the ride, it was time for our FP for Frozen. Our window was for 2:00-2:15 for the 2:30 show. I absolutely love this show! The humor is great, and how much fun is it to sing along to our favorite Frozen songs with a whole crowd of people? Not to mention the snow at the end… so magical. We got decent seats, kind of far back, but in the center. It felt like we had to wait awhile for the show to begin.
I thought the female historian might have been the same one we saw on our trip last year, but we weren’t close enough to tell for sure.
I don’t remember Olaf being in the show last year? But he must have been?
They added a couple of holiday songs to the show and I liked the additions! It was fun to see something new.
Does it get any cuter than cats in Christmas sweaters?
And of course, we loved the snow at the end. DD4 said the snow was her favorite part of the day!
At some point in the show, Anna calls Elsa a stinker. DD4 repeated that line over and over all day long! She kept saying, “Remember when Anna called Elsa a stinker? Hahaha!”
After the show it was time to head back to TSL for our 3:00pm FP to Slinky Dog Dash!
I have a lot of favorite rides, but Tower of Terror is in my top 3. It’s definitely my favorite at HS! With rider swap, one of us got to ride each thrill ride twice. I offered to let Pat ride FOP twice (his favorite) if he would let me ride TOT twice. So his mom and I rode first, and then I rode again with Pat.
The ride picture from when I rode with my MIL is hilarious. I’m the only one with my hands way up (oops, didn’t mean to block the people behind me), and the girl next to me was completely flipping out! Right after this picture was taken, she reached up and grabbed onto my arm. I think she was so scared she didn’t even realize she had done that!
My picture with Pat was terrible. I had taken off a layer so I was wearing my silly Mickey sweatshirt, and Pat was being goofy. You’ll notice he is wearing 2 magic bands… earlier in the trip, DD4’s magic band fell into the toilet while she was wiping. I was so grossed out but reached in quickly before that thing got flushed down. After a good washing, Pat started wearing it instead of her. Anyway, I just noticed that the same parents and little girl were on both elevators with me!
After the ride, it was time for our FP for Frozen. Our window was for 2:00-2:15 for the 2:30 show. I absolutely love this show! The humor is great, and how much fun is it to sing along to our favorite Frozen songs with a whole crowd of people? Not to mention the snow at the end… so magical. We got decent seats, kind of far back, but in the center. It felt like we had to wait awhile for the show to begin.
I thought the female historian might have been the same one we saw on our trip last year, but we weren’t close enough to tell for sure.
I don’t remember Olaf being in the show last year? But he must have been?
They added a couple of holiday songs to the show and I liked the additions! It was fun to see something new.
Does it get any cuter than cats in Christmas sweaters?
And of course, we loved the snow at the end. DD4 said the snow was her favorite part of the day!
At some point in the show, Anna calls Elsa a stinker. DD4 repeated that line over and over all day long! She kept saying, “Remember when Anna called Elsa a stinker? Hahaha!”
After the show it was time to head back to TSL for our 3:00pm FP to Slinky Dog Dash!
jrmint427
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2013
Slinky Dog Dash
I need to get through this report, so you get two posts today! It's almost time to book ADRs for our next trip :-D
I was still convinced that DD4 was going to change her mind about riding SDD, but she was so excited. We got our rider swap passes. Neither my MIL or Pat wanted to ride it twice, so I agreed to take one for the team (ha!). I knew I needed to ride with DD4 the first time – she insisted on riding with me on all of the roller coasters. Looks like the standby line was 70 minutes.
We went with Pat the first time.
I was really excited to be riding for the first time too!
Unfortunately, we never got our ride photos to show up, but DD4 LOVED this ride! I had watched the ride enough times to know what side to put her on – I wanted to be on the inner part of most of the turns so she would be lying into me on them, if that makes sense. When we got off she jumped up and down and announced she wanted to ride again! Lucky for her, she has a younger sister and we had rider swap, so she got to do just that.
Pat had been chatting with the lady next to him. He said he held her oxygen tank on the ride. We went back to find my MIL and jumped in line again. This time we rode in the very front row. I actually didn’t like it as much because Slinky Dog’s head blocks your view.
Once again, DD4 announced she loved this ride!
TSL felt a little less crowded at this point (almost 4:00pm), but we were ready to go explore more of HS.
We had originally planned to spend the afternoon meeting characters, but we weren’t on schedule anymore, and I had given up on the outfit changes. We were going to meet Daisy Duck anyway (so much for that cute Daisy romper and dress with white feathers I had packed), but according to my notes she was only meeting until 3:15 and it was already after 4:00.
I also had the most adorable dress with a band-aid on it that we had left behind at the hotel. But DD4 loves Doc McStuffins, so we decided to go search for her next.
I need to get through this report, so you get two posts today! It's almost time to book ADRs for our next trip :-D
I was still convinced that DD4 was going to change her mind about riding SDD, but she was so excited. We got our rider swap passes. Neither my MIL or Pat wanted to ride it twice, so I agreed to take one for the team (ha!). I knew I needed to ride with DD4 the first time – she insisted on riding with me on all of the roller coasters. Looks like the standby line was 70 minutes.
We went with Pat the first time.
I was really excited to be riding for the first time too!
Unfortunately, we never got our ride photos to show up, but DD4 LOVED this ride! I had watched the ride enough times to know what side to put her on – I wanted to be on the inner part of most of the turns so she would be lying into me on them, if that makes sense. When we got off she jumped up and down and announced she wanted to ride again! Lucky for her, she has a younger sister and we had rider swap, so she got to do just that.
Pat had been chatting with the lady next to him. He said he held her oxygen tank on the ride. We went back to find my MIL and jumped in line again. This time we rode in the very front row. I actually didn’t like it as much because Slinky Dog’s head blocks your view.
Once again, DD4 announced she loved this ride!
TSL felt a little less crowded at this point (almost 4:00pm), but we were ready to go explore more of HS.
We had originally planned to spend the afternoon meeting characters, but we weren’t on schedule anymore, and I had given up on the outfit changes. We were going to meet Daisy Duck anyway (so much for that cute Daisy romper and dress with white feathers I had packed), but according to my notes she was only meeting until 3:15 and it was already after 4:00.
I also had the most adorable dress with a band-aid on it that we had left behind at the hotel. But DD4 loves Doc McStuffins, so we decided to go search for her next.
jrmint427
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2013
Doc McStuffins
We met Doc at AK last year, but I had read she wasn’t meeting there anymore. I knew we would find her in the Disney Junior courtyard, and we eventually found her tucked in the back corner. The line wasn’t too long, just a few families ahead of us. DD4 asked me, “Mommy, why did Doc’s house move?” The set looked exactly the same, which made me wonder if she actually remembered that we had met Doc at a different location last year. She claims to remember that!
DD2 was sleeping, but DD4 is the one who really loves Doc. As soon as it was her turn to meet Doc, she started rolling her pant leg up. At first I was confused, but then I remembered she had scraped her knee – she was showing Doc her boo-boo!
Doc signed her book and took care of her knee. DD4 was just now looking over my shoulder at the pictures of their meet and said, “I showed Doc my knee because she’s a doctor and doctors fix things.”
Then DD4 went in for a big hug.
DD4 held on for a long time and Doc didn’t let go. It was the sweetest thing!
This meet made me so happy. As we were leaving, DD4 announced that she wants a Doc McStuffins birthday party next year and she wants Doc to come to her house. I was really glad we made the time to meet Doc!
We were all ready for a snack at this point. DD4 had been begging for popcorn and I had been craving hot chocolate since Epcot two days before. I spotted a popcorn cart as we were leaving the courtyard and saw they had hot chocolate too – perfect! There was a long line for popcorn, but I got in it. I was debating the regular popcorn or the refillable bucket and the lady behind me convinced me the bucket would be worth it. I so wish I had known about it earlier in the trip, but once you buy the bucket for $10, you can get refills for $2. I decided it would be worth it even if we only got one refill, as it looked a lot bigger than the $5 bag. I also finally got my hot chocolate! I was going to also order the holiday popcorn, but they had sold out.
We were heading toward the 5:00pm Beauty and the Beast show when we caught the Star Wars show just starting. Confession: I’m completely lost when it comes to Star Wars. I’ve only seen the original three movies (a long time ago). Maybe I would like the newer ones if I ever sat down to watch them, but I just haven’t seen them yet. Pat has gone with friends and my family to see the latest, and he’s really into them.
Anyway, Pat was excited to see the characters on stage and I had no idea who they were, but figured we should stop to watch because he tends to do whatever I want to do on our Disney trips. We watched for a few minutes, but the fireworks and characters were scaring DD4, so I suggested I’d walk down Sunset Blvd a bit while Pat and his mom stayed to watch, and then they met us afterwards. He said the show was really cool!
We saw a Photo Pass photographer who had no line, so we stopped and asked for some pictures in front of the TOT.
She was really friendly and told us about meeting Santa. We chatted for a bit and then went to catch Beauty and the Beast.
We met Doc at AK last year, but I had read she wasn’t meeting there anymore. I knew we would find her in the Disney Junior courtyard, and we eventually found her tucked in the back corner. The line wasn’t too long, just a few families ahead of us. DD4 asked me, “Mommy, why did Doc’s house move?” The set looked exactly the same, which made me wonder if she actually remembered that we had met Doc at a different location last year. She claims to remember that!
DD2 was sleeping, but DD4 is the one who really loves Doc. As soon as it was her turn to meet Doc, she started rolling her pant leg up. At first I was confused, but then I remembered she had scraped her knee – she was showing Doc her boo-boo!
Doc signed her book and took care of her knee. DD4 was just now looking over my shoulder at the pictures of their meet and said, “I showed Doc my knee because she’s a doctor and doctors fix things.”
Then DD4 went in for a big hug.
DD4 held on for a long time and Doc didn’t let go. It was the sweetest thing!
This meet made me so happy. As we were leaving, DD4 announced that she wants a Doc McStuffins birthday party next year and she wants Doc to come to her house. I was really glad we made the time to meet Doc!
We were all ready for a snack at this point. DD4 had been begging for popcorn and I had been craving hot chocolate since Epcot two days before. I spotted a popcorn cart as we were leaving the courtyard and saw they had hot chocolate too – perfect! There was a long line for popcorn, but I got in it. I was debating the regular popcorn or the refillable bucket and the lady behind me convinced me the bucket would be worth it. I so wish I had known about it earlier in the trip, but once you buy the bucket for $10, you can get refills for $2. I decided it would be worth it even if we only got one refill, as it looked a lot bigger than the $5 bag. I also finally got my hot chocolate! I was going to also order the holiday popcorn, but they had sold out.
We were heading toward the 5:00pm Beauty and the Beast show when we caught the Star Wars show just starting. Confession: I’m completely lost when it comes to Star Wars. I’ve only seen the original three movies (a long time ago). Maybe I would like the newer ones if I ever sat down to watch them, but I just haven’t seen them yet. Pat has gone with friends and my family to see the latest, and he’s really into them.
Anyway, Pat was excited to see the characters on stage and I had no idea who they were, but figured we should stop to watch because he tends to do whatever I want to do on our Disney trips. We watched for a few minutes, but the fireworks and characters were scaring DD4, so I suggested I’d walk down Sunset Blvd a bit while Pat and his mom stayed to watch, and then they met us afterwards. He said the show was really cool!
We saw a Photo Pass photographer who had no line, so we stopped and asked for some pictures in front of the TOT.
She was really friendly and told us about meeting Santa. We chatted for a bit and then went to catch Beauty and the Beast.
Lizzie the Banker
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Feb 20, 2017
I’m loving this trip report. I am a vegetarian from the Houston area and also going the week of thanksgiving so I’ve read lots of helpful things so far.
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