Our Off Site, On Site, Out of Sight Vacation 03/24 - 04/03 2017

[DISNEY1975]

Day 6 - Blizzard Beach and MK

Ring ring....."Hi, Its your pal Mickey Mouse...time to wake up" (something similar). 6am, just as requested, I got my wake up call. I HAVE to get up and get myself ready before anyone else wakes up. Dont know why. I just like the peace and quiet. Nothing like being in the shower and hearing "Mom, where are my shoes?" "Mmmooomm, I cant find my sweatshirt" "J....., did you see my keys?" Nope. I avoid all that and get up an hour earlier than anyone else!

I got myself together and woke up everyone else. We had a breakfast reservation at Captains Grill for 8:15am. We had never been here for breakfast though did have a dinner here many years ago.

I had looked at the menu before making the ADR and the chocolate waffles had been on my mind for 6 months! I was very excited about this breakfast. DH and DD opted for the buffet.

I tasted a bit of the expresso- mascarpone cream on top of the waffles. DELICIOUS! Then I tried the actual waffle. NOT DELICIOUS. Wasnt bad, but honestly I like Mickey Waffles much better. There was no chocolate taste to these waffles and they were a little dry and hard. Not a fan. Live and learn.

After breakfast, we headed off to Blizzard Beach. My DD likes the water parks probably more than she likes the theme parks. We arrived at opening, 10am and easily found a lounger. Again, very low crowds. Hmmm....they must all be at other parks!

I noticed a plane drawing in the sky !! This just about summed up my day!

As with any good waterpark, there were plenty of slides and rides! This park is themed after a ski resort as its melting in the spring/summer! Very cool! They have a great lazy river too. Be warned, the water is not heated and literally feels like you are in snow that has just melted! You adapt quickly though! There are snack stands, full bar, shops and a quick service restaurant in the park. They have towels for use. If you are a resort guest, be sure to mention it to avoid the $2 rental fee per towel.

We left the park around 3:30 so we would have time to shower and change for our 5:45pm dinner reservation at the California Grille. We arrived at the Contemporary around 5:35. Check in for the restaurant is on the 2nd floor, though you are escorted in the elevator to the 15th floor where the restaurant is located. I honestly do not see the need for the escort, but, Im glad someone has a job

We were seated in a small room away from what seemed to be the main dining area. I was thankful for that. Only 4 or so tables were in our room and they only sat 2 - 4 people each. Our view of Bay Lake was amazing

Our dinner was even more amazing. I got the filet of beef, my DH, a seafood dish and my daughter chose salmon. We had apps and dessert as well.

Everything was top notch. Delicious, relaxing and service was fabulous. Bravo California Grill!

After dinner, we went out to their "Catwalk" to see the view...

We then hustled back to the Yacht Club, changed our clothes and boogied over to the MK hoping to watch Wishes. It was an EMH night and the MK was open until 1am.

We arrived at the MK parking lot around 8:30, ran to the monorail and guess what.... Not working! OK...run to the ferry. Its not there. Wait for the ferry. Here it comes 8:45 now. We board the ferry and wait, wait and wait. Umm...why arent we moving ??? I was then told we needed to wait for the Electrical Light Parade to pass in the lagoon before we could go. Needless to say, we watched Wishes from the ferry, on the other side of the lagoon.

We arrived at MK around 9:15ish. It was so nice to be moving in the opposite direction from the crowds! We had a few fast passes for the evening. Our first was the Jungle Cruise. It was our first time going on this ride in the dark. Kind of cool! Second was Big Thunder Mt. Since we were at the tail end of our time slot for JC, BTM was right after. We went over there, finished the ride then saw Splash Mountain only had a 20 minute wait. We went! Then over to Fantasy Land for our last fastpass on Peter Pans Flight.

At this point, it was around 11 and it felt like we were the only ones left in the park. We went on the speedway, dumbo and, oh my goodness, I cant believe Im about to put this in a "ride" category, but Ill just say it..... The Barnstormer. In the past, on the Disney app, I have seen wait times up to 50 minutes for this ride. I will tell you now and if you only ever take one piece of advice from me, please take this one.....NEVER EVER wait more than 30 seconds to go on this ride. If you do, you will have waited more than double the length time of this "ride", Possibly even triple. We got on, then we got off. Did we move??? What just happened? Is that it???? No...cant be. No way. What? It is ????? Do you know what is more exciting than this ride? Just hop twice. It takes about the same amount of time and is definitely more exciting. DD asked if we could go again. Sure, why not? I have 5 seconds. Wow.......The Barnstormer. Hahahaha! I will never forget it, thats for sure!

We also went on a bunch more rides and closed down the park at 1am!

Back to YC around 1:30am, set wakeup call for 6am! Goodnight!

Next Up - Day 7, Animal Kingdom

 

[DISNEY1975]

Day 7 - Animal Kingdom

Yikes, maybe we should not have shut down the MK the night before! 6am comes quickly! But, if I want peace while Im getting ready, I cant ignore Mickey's call.

We had a breakfast reservation at Boma for 8:20am. I had avoided Boma for years thinking it was similar to Tusker House. Im not a fan of Tusker House for breakfast, but it had always been the most convenient TS on our Animal Kingdom days and we love the Photo Ops of the characters in their Safari gear, so we always went. I just stuck to the basics, bagels, juice, fruit. Their eggs and meats have spices that I am not a fan of. Everything is a little sweet tasting to me.

In 2015, after reading rave reviews of Boma and needing one more breakfast ressie, we tried it on our last day. WOW....not what I expected. Everything was delicious and so many options! It made the list for 2017. So, we get to our breakfast, everything looks great and then we go up to the buffet line. Uh-oh. Things are looking very similar to the Tusker House items and the options seemed quite reduced from what I remember. They still have Simba waffles, but the bread pudding now has bananas in it, the hash has cornmeal and spices Im not a fan of, the eggs have peppers and spices in them..but fortunately there was an omelet station and made to order eggs. I got an omelet Overall, Boma was good, not amazing as before. It wont be top on my list in the future, but I will go back. The theme is nice and the staff/service is great.

We left shortly after 9 to go to Animal Kingdom. Our first FP was for The K. River Rapids. Being the planner I am, I was sure to bring ponchos! Im not walking around soaked ever again!

We put on our ponchos, Im all tucked in under me, over me, beside me.... One thing to note, there is no longer a storage bin to put a pocketbook/bag in the center of the raft. I kept mine under my poncho. We take off and miraculously I survive with only a few drops of water on my face. Yahoooo! We get off and see the line is only 10 minutes, so my daughter asks if we can go again. Hmmmm....where is everyone? They must all be at the other parks

As we're in line for our second ride, I say to my daughter "I dont have a good feeling about this. I feel I was super lucky not getting wet and now Im just pressing my luck" She reminds me I have a poncho and we'll be all set.

I get into the raft and as Im tucking the poncho under me, some of the snaps open on the side. OK, snap back up, but now my pocketbook is in a strange position that I cant get my seatbelt on. The attendant is telling me to hurry, I grab the pocketbook from under the poncho "Mame, you need to buckle your seat belt". I KNOW!! STOP THE RIDE !! But of course I dont say that, I buckle up leaving no time for tucking and adjusting and off we go and Im sure you know what comes next..... Water everywhere, my shorts are SOAKED. I knew it. Knew it, knew it, knew it. Why me ???

I didnt bother to look at the wait time after we got off. There was no getting me back on that ride. Luckily, it was very sunny out, around 90 degrees and it only took about an hour to feel at least semi -comfortable in my now just very damp shorts.

We went on some more rides. In Dino-Land played some games, walked by Expedition Everest and laughed! (Ill never go on that again!!) and at 1pm we were at the Lion King show. I LOVE this show. The music, the acrobats, the dancing, singing. GREAT show. After the show, we did a little shopping, then went to Tusker House for lunch. I did not want this lunch ressie, but it was the only way I could get the River of Lights viewing, so I grabbed it. As usual, the food is not to my liking. The did have dinner rolls and deli meats in a different section, si I made myself some ham sliders! Their green beans were delicious also...has a little snap to them, the way I like. Also had salad. Even at buffets I dont particularly like, I always manage to find something and never walk away hungry!

My daughter drew some Disney characters on the pages of her autograph book. The characters always noticed and gave her a hug or thumbs up for them!

The characters were Goofy, Donald, Daisy and Mickey.


After lunch, we went back to the YC. Our River of Light time was 8:45 and we had a FP for the Safari from 8:30 - 9:30. I figured the show was 15 minutes and we could make it to the safari by 9:15. We went for a quick swim, then showered and changed and back to AK by 7:30pm.

The show was amazing! I loved every second of it. I took a video, so not many pictures, but did get some pictures while we were waiting for the show to start and one during.

Im sure if you google River of Lights Animal Kingdom, there are many videos you can watch to get an idea of what it is like. Just incredible!

We made it to the Safari, no problems. The Lions were wide awake! As were the giraffes. Thats about it. We saw a few more animals, but daytime is when all but the lions are more active.

We left the park around 10pm and got back to the YC around 10:30. Since we hadnt eaten since lunch, we tried to see if we could score a table at Beaches & Cream. We waited about 20 minutes, but did get in

I attempted the No Way Jose again. Nope....not even 1/2 !

We left around 11:30 and back to the room. Asked Mickey to wake me up at 6am and lights out!

Next Up - Typhoon Lagoon & Epcot take 2 !!

 

[wdwnut61]

BB is a lot of fun and that beautiful blue sky. Love the happy face
Your dinner at CG looks so good especially your filet.
We love to ride at night the view of the castle from Splash right before the drop is so pretty.

 

[wdwnut61]

Ok I have to ask why never again with EE?
I am always the one that gets soaked on Kali and you're right it's not fun walking around with soaked bottoms.
I agree FOTLK is wonderful we also really like Finding Nemo musical.
Your pictures of ROL are beautiful. Glad you made it back to Beaches and Creame.
Your DD's drawing is very good.

 

[oceanmarina]

Just binge read your trip report. What a great trip report so far, great pictures & your daughter is adorable.

I saw that Orca show at Sea World in 2007 - I have some pictures from the show and after seeing Blackfish it looks like Dawn Branchaeu was one of the trainers in the show. It was an amazing show.

The Lion King show sounds great - i'll put it on my bucket list for this summer.

Looking forward to your next update.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Ok I have to ask why never again with EE?

Your DD's drawing is very good.

Ha! I went on EE for the first, and last, time in 2015. Wait times had always been 2+ hours previously, but in 2015 we had fast passes. Surely my mistake, but it was our first FP after breakfast. I dont mind rollercoasters, my daughter is if-y with them and my husband doesnt like them at all, but forces himself on it for the kids. I have a one or 2 loop limit. I wont go on one that it spiraling out of control! But, if I know what Im getting into, I can prepare mentally and I know its over in a few minutes and millions and millions have done it and survived, so why not!
This ride, you cant really see from the ground. I couldnt prepare mentally! I sat with my daughter, my husband behind us. All strapped in and we are on our way. The first 1/2, not so bad. Then the ride stops. A slight pause and you are facing the sky leaning fully backwards. My daughter starts screaming, I cant see anything and have no idea when its going to end..seemed like an hour later! And you keep going backwards and backwards and backwards and see no light at the end of the tunnel! I think not seeing where you are going or when it might be ending was a little scary for me. It was finally over.....holy crackers! One and done! The next day we had a FP for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. My daughter was hesitant to go on, but I convinced her it would not be like EE. My husband wouldnt get on at all, and has not gone on any rollercoaster since EE! Not even this 2017 entire trip. He waited on the ground while we rode Splash, Big Thunder and Space Mts !!!

My daughter is the artist in the family. My boys and I cant even draw a stick figure. My husband is a tad better. He can draw an animal, but you need about 3 - 5 guesses before figuring out which animal it is!!! My daughter is amazing. Dont know where she gets it from. I thought she was tracing the characters, but watched her do one. She was just looking at a picture on her phone!

The Lion King show sounds great - i'll put it on my bucket list for this summer.

Definitely do!! Show times are basically every hour on the hour. The show is about 30-35 minutes. They let you in the doors 10 minutes prior. People start lining up around 20 - 30 minutes prior to each show.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Day 8 - Typhoon Lagoon and Epcot

Our 8th day morning started at Chef Mickeys at the Contemporary Resort. I havent been to this restaurant since 2008 when we stayed at the CR. Ive read reviews through the years that it had gone downhill. We had been going to 1900 PF for years, so decided to skip that this time and try Chef Mickeys again. Its just a meal, and there is always another meal around the corner if we dont like it!

Just before we got there, it had started sprinkling outside. By the time we were inside, it was raining pretty steadily. We were seated by the window. Our waitress came over and took our drink order, then we headed for the buffet. It was pretty crowded (8:30am). This was the first time we stood in a buffet line all week. Im sure, in part, this was due to kids being indecisive and parents letting them scoop their own food. Took a while...but they were so cute and happy to be serving themselves! No omelette station here. Some good options of eggs, meats, mickey waffles! Typical breakfast foods.

The characters came over quite quickly. I think we were seated at the right table at the right time!

Characters were Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald and Goofy. 5 of them

I would say breakfast was decent for a buffet. Not the horror stories I had been reading about.

We kept looking out the window hoping the rain would stop, as we had planned to go to Typhoon Lagoon for the day. Seemed like it was letting up a bit, but still raining. We left CM around 9:15 and went to the resort gift shops. We purchased some items and by the time we got back to our car, around 10, it was a beautiful, sunny day again!

We headed over to Typhoon Lagoon, arriving at 10:15-ish. Wow....where is everyone ???? Practically empty. I think the morning rain changes a lot of peoples plans that day.

This is my daughters favorite park. It had been Blizzard Beach, but since she aged (grew) out of the kids obstacle course there, she now likes Typhoon Lagoon better.


At BB - she played on this (below) ALL day. Its for kids around 6 - 12, though my daughter is very tall for her age. In 2015, she was 11 and about 5'4". Her head was sticking up into the ropes. She was really too big for it. Now, she just turned 13, she is 5'8". There is no doubt she is not a kid anymore!

So her new favorite thing is the wave pool at Typhoon Lagoon. She can spend ALL day in it!

Empty !!!!

And she practically did!

We tried out the new "Miss Adventure Falls" family ride. Its a large innertube that can hold a family of about 4 - 6 depending on size/age. You are in about 3 feet of water when you get into the "raft". If you try, just get in. Do not try to figure out a graceful way of getting in it. It doesnt exist! Basically you turn your back towards the raft, sit on the side and fall backwards. Then you remove the arms and legs of your family members off of you and try to get into a comfortable position. Hold on to the straps in the sides of the raft and off you go up a large conveyor belt! Up, up, up and you know what comes next....... DOWN!!!

Its fun, lasts a good 3 + minutes. You do get sprayed with water and go under a freezing cold waterfall. Then the real fun begins. You think getting in it was hard...now try getting yourself out! I went first, which seems to have an advantage. I think I held on to my daughter leg and my husbands face and pulled myself out. My husband (Im laughing just thinking about it) was last out and had nothing to grab onto. He managed to pull himself 1/2 way out, then kept falling backwards back into the raft, which is somewhat like a trampoline, so he did a little bounce! So funny! This happened about 3 times until a staff member reached out his hand to pull him out.

I went again, there was no wait, and my husband and DD went on it about 4 more times. The second time I went, my DH smartened up and hopped out before I got a chance, leaving me last! I didnt even try to get out until he reached his hands over to help me! Word to the wise....get out first!!!










DD and DH went on a couple more slides, I went back to the lounger to put on some more sunscreen. A woman sitting next to us commented on my sunscreen, stating she had the same and loves it (Australian Gold), and for the next 2 hours we chatted away about Disney, kids, the UK (where she was from), the US (where I am from) etc.... Her husband joined in the conversations for a bit too. A really really nice couple. It was nice being able to talk to someone other than my DH and DD after 8 days!!

My husband came back to the chairs with a turkey leg. He didnt care for it...must be really bad. He eats anything and never complains. We all went in the wave pool one last time and headed out around 3pm. The park closed at 5.

Back to YC and a quick shower/change. We headed to Epcot around 5 and had a dinner reservation at 7:30pm.

Meanwhile.....my sister had arrived to WDW with her family the night before. I texted her earlier in the day to tell her my plans for the day. She couldnt make any reservations or plans ahead of time because she was on the dance schedule with her girls, but apparently, they were given a schedule once they got to WDW and realized they had a break from rehearsals that night, so she made a reservation for herself and my BIL at Monsiuer Paul for 7:45. I told her I would be in Mexico at 7:30, but to text me after dinner and maybe we could meet up.

When we got to Epcot, we hunted for eggs (and my sister! Thought maybe they arrived early and we would spot them), walked around taking pictures of all the beautiful flowers, plants and bushes... and did a little shopping for souvenirs. My daughter got some new charms for herself and I got................ Tah dah.......

I love it so much! Its my 4th Disney D&B. Probably my last. I have one for every season now!

We went over to Mexico around 7:15 for our 7:30 reservation.

We took our infamous sombrero photo (taken every time we go to Disney. Here is the first of my daughter, and our most recent....

As we were hanging up the somberos, my husband spots my sister and BOL getting off the river ride in Mexico! WOW!!! They kind of planned it hoping they would catch us going into dinner! We could only chat for 5 minutes since they had to be at their reservation across the park 15 minutes later.

So we check in for dinner. The wait was about 15 minutes. I asked DD and DH to take a picture. My DD looked less than thrilled (she does not like Mexican, but its my favorite so I told her this is the ONE place I wanted to go and we'd find something for her to eat after) so I asked her to strike a pose. She put her arm on DHs head and thought it was funny!

DDwas satisfied with her chicken finger s and chorros. No need to stop anywhere for her after dinner.

After dinner, we had a FP for Soarin'! I LOVED it! The new movie is great and they pump in smells! Ex: if youre flying over a flower garden, you can smell flowers! The worst was flying over the elephants in Africa. Its smelled like dirt! But sooo fun!

We got out of Soarin while Illuminations was going on. We booked it to the back of the park in hopes to get on the ferry before the mad rush. We made it

Back to YC around 9:15 and off to bed!

Next Up: Hollywood Studios and the reason for our trip...Performance Night for my nieces!!

 

[wdwnut61]

Ha! I went on EE for the first, and last, time in 2015. Wait times had always been 2+ hours previously, but in 2015 we had fast passes. Surely my mistake, but it was our first FP after breakfast. I dont mind rollercoasters, my daughter is if-y with them and my husband doesnt like them at all, but forces himself on it for the kids. I have a one or 2 loop limit. I wont go on one that it spiraling out of control! But, if I know what Im getting into, I can prepare mentally and I know its over in a few minutes and millions and millions have done it and survived, so why not!
This ride, you cant really see from the ground. I couldnt prepare mentally! I sat with my daughter, my husband behind us. All strapped in and we are on our way. The first 1/2, not so bad. Then the ride stops. A slight pause and you are facing the sky leaning fully backwards. My daughter starts screaming, I cant see anything and have no idea when its going to end..seemed like an hour later! And you keep going backwards and backwards and backwards and see no light at the end of the tunnel! I think not seeing where you are going or when it might be ending was a little scary for me. It was finally over.....holy crackers! One and done! The next day we had a FP for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. My daughter was hesitant to go on, but I convinced her it would not be like EE. My husband wouldnt get on at all, and has not gone on any rollercoaster since EE! Not even this 2017 entire trip. He waited on the ground while we rode Splash, Big Thunder and Space Mts !!!

My daughter is the artist in the family. My boys and I cant even draw a stick figure. My husband is a tad better. He can draw an animal, but you need about 3 - 5 guesses before figuring out which animal it is!!! My daughter is amazing. Dont know where she gets it from. I thought she was tracing the characters, but watched her do one. She was just looking at a picture on her phone!



Definitely do!! Show times are basically every hour on the hour. The show is about 30-35 minutes. They let you in the doors 10 minutes prior. People start lining up around 20 - 30 minutes prior to each show.

I'm glad your DD decided to go on 7DMT so much tamer than EE. What a talent she has for drawing

 

[wdwnut61]

We love CM for sentimental reasons my girls loved the characters and it was our families way to start the vacation. I love the pictures of your DD in her sombrero I would take pictures from behind of my girls walking up Main Street towards the castle every trip. I love looking back and seeing how they've grown. Your DD reminds me of my oldest DD she was 5'9" at age 12 head and shoulders above her friends. My youngest is barely 5"1" her sister calls her mini me.
Love the new Dooney
Your dinner in Mexico looks yummy. I agree the new Soarin is amazing.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Your DD reminds me of my oldest DD she was 5'9" at age 12 head and shoulders above her friends.

I know all about that!

 

[wdwnut61]

Happy Easter ​

 

[DISNEY1975]

Day 9 -

Up again at 6am for our 8:20 breakfast at Garden Grill. This was another new one for us, as we had always gone to Akershus on they days we spent a full day in Epcot.

I loved getting a Pre park opening breakfast while staying at the Yacht Club. I got lovely pictures coming from the International Gateway, rather than the front of the park like I always had.

We went to the front desk and were told the ferry would not start until 8am, though we had an option of walking. Keep in mind, this is day 9 of our vacation. My feet were a little puffy at this point and the thought of walking didnt thrill me. I asked the CM to give me an honest answer of how long it would take. He said about 7 minutes. Hmmmm....right.....Ive seen the distance, it looks more like 20 minutes! So, we debated taking the car, but I really wanted photos from the back of the park, so we decided to walk it. I timed it. It was 4 minutes! I felt like we hadnt even left the Yacht Club area and we were already there! Not a bad walk at all and I promise I would complain about it if it was. It wasnt!

My DD brought her finished Easter Egg map so she could trade it in for a prize. Wonder what it is ??? !!!

I got my photos.....

We arrive at Garden Grill a couple of minutes before our reservation and were seated within 5 minutes. For those unfamiliar with this restaurant, it is inside "The Land" and is a character breakfast with food served family style at the table. There are 2 levels of seating. All tables are booths. The top level has a big wall on the left side of the booths. I assume so guests dont fall onto the lower level guests below This is going to be hard to explain.... The lower level has the booths on the outer rim of a circle. The floor rotates ever so slowly so while you are eating you are passing different scenes of "The Land" ride below. After seeing both levels, I would be hugely disappointed if I were in the upper level. Well, maybe not disappointed, but definitely super jealous of the people who scored the lower level..which was me !! I didnt know anything about this, but was so glad I was on the bottom after I saw it!

Characters were Chip, Dale, Mickey and Pluto. I like the juice in the mason jars! Foor was waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit and a sticky cinnamon bun (monkey bread). It was good! Characters came by quickly and we were super lucky to be finished by 8:55. You know what that means!!!!! Practically first in line for Soarin', which is located on the level below the restaurant in the same building. I hadnt planned that, never even though about it until we were leaving. We were on the ride flying around within 10 minutes without a fastpass !! Lucky us!!

After Soarin', my daughter traded in her map. the prize was an Easter Egg. She could pick one of 6. She chose Minnie

We didnt really have huge plans for this day, only to be at Hollywood Studios by 2:30 as we had fast passes for a couple of rides, a dinner planned and HAD to be at Beauty and the Beast stage by 6:30pm for my nieces performance. We poked around a bit in some shops looking for souvenirs for my DDs friends, then took the ferry back.

The ferry always stops at The Boardwalk before going to YC and BC, so we decided to get off at the Boardwalk and have a look around. Well...we didnt get too far before my DD noticed the Surrey Bikes and asked if we could ride one. It was $25 for 30 minutes (I dont think anyone was counting!).

We got a 2 seated bike for the 3 of us. I tried to get away from pedaling by sitting in the middle of the back seat, but once we came to our first hill, it was clear, I was going to have to move over and help out! At our first hill, over a bridge from the boardwalk to Epcot, my DH tried it alone. Some pedestrians came to his rescue and pushed us up the hill! I was laughing very hard, but mortified! After that, I moved over behind my daughter and used the pedals in the back. We rode around the boardwalk, over by Epcot, around to the BC/YC area, then by the Swan and Dolphin, then back to the boardwalk. It was fun!

After our ride, we walked around the Boardwalk a bit. I went into the Boardwalk Bakery expecting a hige store with cases and displays all over of pasteries, cupcakes and cakes. Boy, ws I wrong. There were 2 displays and nothing looked super delicious. They had some cupcakes, but nothing like at the Main St Bakery at the MK. What did catch my eye was a sign that they had meatball subs Unfortunately, I was not hungry at the time and we never made it back there. Its on my list for a future trip. I LOVE meatballs!

We took the ferry back to YC. My DD swam, but we would not have had time for all of us to shower and change, so DH and I just got a drink at Hurricane Hannahs and sat by the pool.

At 2:15, we headed off to Hollywood Studios via ferry. We had a fastpass for the Muppet 3D show and Toy Story Mania. We walked around a bit, but did not go on any other rides. Im not even sure there were any more to go on! Lots of construction for the new Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land.

At 4:45, we headed over to Hollywood and Vine for our dinner reservation (w/ Fantasmic tickets) at 5:00pm. It was a themed character dinner, Minnies Springtime Dine. We were greated by Daisy...

The buffet was good. I especially loved the carved turkey. I got one slice, but went back for seconds! Lots of delicious cooked veggies too!

Characters were Minnie, Mickey, Daisy, Donald and Goofy. Since it was April 1st, my DD played a little joke on Goofy. When he arrived at our table, she yelled out "Pluto !!!!" Goofy lifted his arms like he was saying "What the heck??" Then she said "April Fools" He got a kick out of that. Im glad I had the video camera on. It was super funny and totally surprising. She is normally shy, even with characters! She claims she was joking, but I think it was just a great coverup to a big mistake !!

After ice cream , we headed off to the B&B stage. I saw my sister and BIL immediately and waited with them for an hour before getting it. We got great seats.

My 2 nieces on the left.....

They were WONDERFUL !!!!

After the show, we headed over to Fantasmic. It was my first time seeing it. I always thought it was a spin off of Fantasia, which I am not a fan of. I was wrong. The show was GREAT! Great fireworks, music, effects etc... I dreaded the exit with everyone headed to the exit/ferry, I knew it was going to be a while before we got back to the resort, but to my surprise, the Star Wars show/firework were after Fantasmic, so most people headed over there. Considering I am not a fan of Star Wars..AT ALL... we went to the ferry and got the first boat back!

And guess where we headed !! Yuppp...Beaches and Cream. This time we opted for take out ice cream cones. We ate and browsed in the Marketplace for souvenirs, then headed back to the room. We were in bed by 10:30pm.

Next Up: Magic Kingdom and the 3pm Parade

 

[wdwnut61]

I love reading your report I'm getting so many good ideas for our November trip. We have yet to make a PPO breakfast at MK because of traveling during peak times. I completely forgot about Epcot we love GG for dinner but have never tried the breakfast.
Your pictures are gorgeous of the WS and the walk through the IG. Ok note to self next month when I can make my ADR's book GG for PPO. Then not only will I get some great photos but also get to ride Soarin
I can't believe I missed the egg hunt the prizes are really cute. Looking forward to doing that next March hopefully they will have it again.
Your nieces are beautiful how great you got to see them at Disney.

 

[dznyacct]

Can you please tell me how much your Dooney was? I have my eye on that one for my trip next month. Thanks!

 

[DISNEY1975]

Can you please tell me how much your Dooney was? I have my eye on that one for my trip next month. Thanks!

It was $268. If you have a Disney Visa Card or are a DVC member or AP holder you can get 10% off.

 

[dznyacct]

It was $268. If you have a Disney Visa Card or are a DVC member or AP holder you can get 10% off.

Thank you ! I'm DVC, an AP and have a Disney VISA so I'm all set!

 

[DISNEY1975]

Thank you ! I'm DVC, an AP and have a Disney VISA so I'm all set!

Ha! Maybe you can triple dip Though I doubt it

I only have the Visa. All the CMs in the stores were great about reminding me to use it for the discount. I wasnt even thinking about it, then they would say "Do you have a visa, AP or are you a DVC member?"

At Blizzard Beach we went to get towels. The CM asked if we were resort guests. I said yes and she handed me the towels. At Typhoon Lagoon, I went into the shop and asked if I could get towels. The CM asked how many I wanted. I stated 3. She said it would be $6 each. I said "Really? Did that just change?" She said no, its always been that way. I told her I was not charged at BB. THEN she asked if I was a resort guest and I said yes, so she gave them to me and stated "We dont know unless people tell us".

I kind of understand, but she could have asked or maybe noticed the bright colored magic bands on our arms and thought maybe they are?? Nope...just wanted to charge without asking questions. I wonder how many people pay it without questioning??? Maybe I was just used to people reminding me or telling me about discounts/freebies I just expected it. Live and learn. Note to self: Ask questions before purchasing! (Though I joked with the woman who offered me the VISA discount for the pocketbook if I could also use AAA for another discount. She said NO )

 

[DISNEY1975]

Day 10 - Magic Kingdom

Another 6 am wake up call from Mickey It was then it dawned on me that only Mickey had been waking me up. When I stayed at the Poly, I think it was a combo of Mickey and Stitch, though maybe it was only Stitch and the wake up characters could be resort specific ?? Not sure.

We got ourselves ready and out the door by 7:30am. We had a Pre Park Opening breakfast at Crystal Palace at 8:30. I wanted to be there by 8:10 the latest to make sure I got great PPO photos! After our last monorail/ferry fiasco, I gave ourselves plenty of time. We arrived at the TTC parking lot and got the express monorail to the MK, no problems. If I had 1/2 a brain at this point, I would have noticed the monorail was unusually crowded for that early in the morning, but I didnt put 2 and 2 together until just now!

We arrived at the security checkpoint around 7:50am. Once I FINALLY got through security (there were a lot of people with HUGE hiking backpacks that needed to be unpacked, checked, then repacked. Every line seems to have the same amount of people with the same equipment. Not sure what the need is for so many things in the MK. I never noticed this at the other parks.) I went directly to the left where I normally go for a PPO reservation. The CM there told me to go through the regular line. Huh?? I said "Is the park open already?" He said no, but all guests can enter up to a certain point. Anyone with a dining reservation will be escorted to the restaurant, just look for a CM with a sign." So strange.

So we enter with a couple thousand other people who are there to shop or go to the bakery on Main St. The entrance to Town Square and Main street are open to all guests until the official park opening, which was 9am that day. Im not sure what time they started letting people in, but it was prior to 8:00am.

Normally, I get a few pictures like this.....

But this time I didnt even bother to take a photo. Main St will filled with people.

I quickly found the CM holding the Dining Reservation sign and she opened the rope to let us through to Crystal Palace. Since we didnt stop to take photos, we arrived a bit early for our reservation and waited about 20 minutes.

I love Crystal Palace, we go every trip. Characters are Winnie the Pooh and Friends, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet. The buffet has a lot of options and an omelet station. There is also a kids station with foods they would enjoy, waffles, pancakes, tater tots and more.

I guess I did manage to get one good one after we entered behind the rope...... But, as you can see, guests were let in all the way to the castle.

I suppose if you really want photos of an empty park, you would have to book a PPO at Be Our Guest. Since all visitors can only go to the castle and BOG is behind the castle, you would have empty park pictures there.


Puffed French Toast!!!

After breakfast, around 9:30am, we had fast passes for Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean (though the wait was only 10 minutes. Where was everyone?? Must be at the other parks!!!) and the Buzz Lightyear Spin ride. We also saw the Tiki Bird show. ZZzzzzzz ZZZZzzzzz. I nearly fell asleep. In past years, they had changed the birds to well known birds from Disney movies. They were comical and the music was updated and known. Not sure what happened, but they went back to the original birds and music from like 40 years ago. I did not like it and I swear they pumped some kind of sleeping gas into the room. I really had a hard time keeping my eyes opened. Or, possibly it was from about 11 nights of getting very little sleep

We finished our rides around 1:15 and headed back to Town Square for our 1:30pm lunch reservation. I did not want this ressie, but just like at AK, I needed to get it for special show viewing. This was the most important show of the century My nieces were going to be in the WDW Magic Kingdom 3:00pm parade . As a Disney fan, you can imagine my excitement that my nieces were in the parade at my most favorite place in the world!

Once I entered Tony's, which was the only restaurant to offer the parade package, I gave the hostess my name and asked where the viewing spot was. I had seen previously it was at the "flagpole" in town square. But I didnt see a flag pole ?? So, I was told that the night prior, they had moved the flagpole to do some filming and the viewing spot would now be in front of the castle. I was a little nervous about the 1:30 lunch and trying to make my way through the parade crowd to the castle by 2:30 (my nieces were the front line of the parade) to get a good spot so I asked if I could get the parade tickets, then come back at 3:05 for the lunch. they said "Sure" !! Sooo nice of them!!

We went to the viewing spot. It was smack in front of the castle. It was an area about 50 feet by 50 feet. And do you know who we saw there, in the area?? Nobody! Thats right. Not one single person! We had the entire spot to ourselves.

Here is one side of the area....



And here is the other



And in between my DD and DH....nobody!!!




Granted it was early, but nobody showed up for an hour and a half. It was about 95 degrees out and we were in the direct sun. A show came on the castle stage around 2, so that was some entertainment! My daughter was melting. There was a trash can/bucket in the area that projected a 2x2 spot of shade, so she sat leaning against the trash! Then, the moment I had waited 6 months and 2 weeks for! I hear the music, I see a glimpse of their costumes, then.....

ARE YOU SERIOUS???????

Yes, that was me and this time I did say it out loud, and NOT in a good way.

After waiting in the blazing sun for 90 minutes, JUST as my nieces were rounding the corner, some woman and what looked like her quadruple stroller and her DH with his enormous hiklng backpack not only come into the area, but stand right next to me, then she proceeds to try to push her kids into the 3 inches of space between me and the rope. HELLO! There is a 50' x 50' area you can stand in. Some personal space please.

SO I say nicely, but rushed.... "Excuse me, Ive been waiting here a very long time to see my nieces in this parade. Im trying to film it and they are coming right now. Would you mind moving over a little to I can get the video? They are only in the first line and it will only take a minute." So she says to me "Well, we are here to see the parade too"

OK, I lost my cool! "You can see the parade...just move down 5 feet! There is nobody else here! I only want to video tooooo HEY J.....(nieces name) L......(nieces name)!!!!!" I tried to get as much as I could and this woman was saved from a punch in the face because now my focus was on running to another spot in hopes to get better video, which I never did. Basically got them from behind the whole time. Luckily while I was contemplating a fist fight, my husband ignored the whole thing and got some good pictures!

They were dancing/marching to a song from the Jungle Book. I was amazing!

We did a mad dash over to Caseys Corner where my sister and the rest of the dance moms were standing. It took about a minute for the dancers to reach that area, but because we just got there, we were about 4 deep in the crowd. We said Goodbye to my sister and BIL. They were headed back to the airport shortly after the parade. Then, we went to Tony's for our lunch. It actually worked out better having the later lunch because we were nowhere near hungry at 1:30 after our big breakfast just 4 hours prior.

We were seated indoors at Tony's, but had a small glimpse of the parade as it went by. They do offer patio seating, but we really wanted to be out of the sun!

I ordered a rigatoni dish, my DH got chicken parm and DD some pasta something. It was everything the reviews of this restaurant promised. GROSS. It was seriously like a box of ?? brand pasta with a can of hunts or rago on top. Im no chef, but can make better pasta in my sleep, using ketchup as a base for the sauce. It was barely edible. Actually that was exactly what it was. Edible. You can eat it and not die, so I guess there was a good part. We survived.

What they completely lacked in the entree department, they made up for in desserts! I got the raspberry sorbet. Mmmmmmmm. Easpecially Mmmmmmm on that hot day after that gross pasta!

It was sooooo good! DD got, what we thought was a cannolli, but there were 2! And DH got chocolate gelato!

Now the dilemma....we had an 8pm dinner reservation at Yachtsman Steakhouse and it was now about 4pm! I went on the Disney app and saw they had a 9:15 available. I swapped it and thought we would decided later if we would even keep it.

We did some last shopping at the MK. At all the Disney parks and resort shops they offered a Mickey backpack for $20 if you spent $40. We had been collecting these backpacks every time we spent more than $40. They were great souvenirs for my DDs friends.

And also MK Castle blanket/throws for $10

I got some accessories for my car and a couple of other things, then we went back to the YC and shopped at Fittings and Fairings. That shop downsized since its under renovations. They had little in terms of souvenirs, though we cashed out most of our snack credits since we were leaving the next day We got many rice crispy treats, Mickey pretzels and Minnies bake shop cookies. My daughter also got a cute sweatshirt she had been eyeballing. It was $55, but on that last day we went back, it was marked down to $40. I was told April 1st most sweatshirts go on sale as they are not so popular in the spring - summer! I understand that when you are in FL, but you have many tourists from the north who wear them at night all summer. Shhhh..maybe I should keep that to myself. I MEAN YES, WHO NEEDS A SWEATSHIRT IN THE SPRING? Not me.. Its so hot here in Massachusetts. <pant, pant>. Mark them down, nobody will buy them if you dont

We went back to the room, showered and changed. DH and DD watched some TV while I packed up most of our things. We decided to keep the dinner reservation since we were already going to leave behind dining credits. Even if we only had a few bites, it would be worth it.

At 9:15pm we arrived at Yachtsman Steakhouse. You see the meats as soon as you walk in!

Our waiter was from Boston! We chatted about home for a bit then ordered. I got the filet mignon as usual! My husband a steak and DD a pasta dish.

We all got a salad for our app. and skipped desserts. Im sure because we werent really hungry and only got salads and no desserts my thoughts of YS would not be fair. But with all the aforementioned in consideration, YS paled in comparison to California Grill and even Artist Point where we had gone in 2015. I really didnt think anything was outstanding, but probably could have been if I was hungry and ordered something different. My filet didnt have any flavor. DH and DD liked their meals, and so did I, but did not love.

We left around 10:20 and off to bed....

Next up: Departure Day

 

[wdwnut61]

That's crazy about the PPO breakfasts with the new opening sounds like chaos. Your pictures from before of an empty Main Street are really nice. We love CP but usually go for lunch. We got FP's last March for the 3:00 parade when it was at the Flag Pole. Same thing standing in the broiling sun while other's that didn't have the reserved spot were in shade further up on the sides of Main Street. I can not believe the rudeness of that family especially when you explained about filming your nieces. Your DH got great pictures how wonderful to see them dancing down Main Street
We've never tried Tony's and from your review I'm sure we won't. I have heard good reviews of Yachtsman we're thinking of having Thanksgiving dinner there since we'll be at the BC. Just don't want to travel too far on the holiday.

 

[DISNEY1975]

We've never tried Tony's and from your review I'm sure we won't. I have heard good reviews of Yachtsman we're thinking of having Thanksgiving dinner there since we'll be at the BC. Just don't want to travel too far on the holiday.

Yes, skip Tony's! Yachtsman does get fantastic reviews and the buzz around the resort was also really positive. I overheard a woman saying she stays off site but makes the trip over to YS every year because its so fabulous! Im sure my feelings of it not being outstanding are because we were tired and not hungry. The service was fabulous and the atmosphere and view were fantastic. Im super jealous you are going again in November!