That's Olaf... Not ET! Jan '17 Mom/Dtr TR COMPLETED 2/1/17

Day 3 Part 1: Epcot

We didn't have much time to rest up from our busy at DHS as our alarms were set for 6:45am the next day.. because we were rope dropping for the first time in forever! To be honest, Mom was up before the alarm even went off. I managed to sleep until the alarm sounded and made my way into the shower for a quick wake up.

By 7:20 we were on our way to the Pepper Market for some breakfast where we enjoyed Mickey Waffles with a half of orange and coffee, of course! Chef Willie came out to let us know what Mom could/couldn't have due to her allergies and it was great to know that Mickey waffles are always dairy free.

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YUM!

After breakfast we headed back to our room to drop off our refillable mugs and then made our way to the bus stop nearest our room, Bus Stop 2. Since we weren't able to get a FP+ for Frozen, we decided that we were going to make a mad dash to this ride via the International Gateway... as I was hoping it wouldn't be as crowded as the main entrance. So we walked from DHS to IG and then I noticed it was 9:07 and Epcot opened at 9am. I was convinced we were doomed.

THEN everyone was directed to go through the metal detectors and to take everything out of their pockets and put their items (including bags) into the bins they provided. I went through no problem. Well... Mom thought they said to open every zipper of your bag (and hers has abut 12...) so she was holding up the line and then she got all flustered. FINALLY we got through security and we had to put all the things back into her bag. Whew. By 9:17 we were officially IN the park and ready to make our way to Norway.

We got to Frozen Ever After around 9:23 and the posted wait time was 35 min and we hurried right into line! I really enjoyed the queue and Mom did too. There a place near the end of the queue that has a little cottage you walk through. Well the family in front of us were taking photos in their so mom and I gave them their space- we weren't going anywhere anyway!
Meanwhile, the family behind us had two little girls who kept climbing on top of the barrels in the queue and a cast member had to keep coming over he loudspeaker to remind everyone NOT to climb on the props, etc. WELL... apparently they were not happy that Mom and I gave the family in front us of us some space to take a photo together as the Dad literally barged by us and said, 'can we PLEASE get in here for the CHILDREN?!". I guess maybe thought we were too old to be there? lol. SO... Mom and I didn't get to take any pics in the cottage because the their kids were climbing on things and photo bombing our pics. Oh well we didnt let it ruin our time!


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After our trip to Arendelle it was time to use our Soarin' FP+. We were SO SO excited for this attraction as it was one of our favorite rides before the refurbishment and we were excited to see the new version. Well.. it did not disappoint! I read about getting a 'middle' seat to avoid any possible distortions of the screen and we were lucky enough to get a middle seat! Mom was nervous as she does not like heights but she still LOVES the show.

Once we got off our Soarin' we were starting to get hungry but we had a 12 noon ADR so we vowed to plow through and build up our appetites. There was a 10 min posted wait time for The Land so hopped on this ride next. After this we went over to The Seas with Nemo & Friends as we had an 11:20am-12:20pm FP+. The FP+ really helped us here because it seemed like the stand by line wait was VERY long, although I don't remember the posted wait time. Once we disembarked from our clam mobile we watched the manatees for a bit and then wandered around watching the other fish and were able to see two dolphins sort of playing together for a while.

By 11:35 we were STARVING and decided to make our way to the World Showcase for our 12pm ADR at... San Angel Inn! I'm obsessed with the atmosphere here and enjoy authentic Mexican food. We checked into the podium at 11:45am and were told to stay nearby and they would call our name when our table was ready. I asked if we could get a table near the water, but was told they have one 'near' the water just not right next to it, which was fine for us. Less than 3 min later we were called to our table.


I forget what our server's name was but it was something very 'American'... like Trevor or something. I couldn't see his name tag to see where he was from, which is always one of my favorite things to do when in Epcot. He was a nice kid but he seemed to be kind of overwhelmed and busy with a lot of tables. It was started to sprinkle when we made our way into the Mexican temple so we didn't get the longer lunch. We were brought some chips and salsa to enjoy and each ordered an iced tea. Then when our server came to take our order I asked if we could substitute a dessert for an appetizer and he said we could, but we could only order the flour chips with guac for an appetizer. I said yes, let's do it! These were SO SO yummy... light and fluffy, kind of like pork rinds, but not so... processed


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(not the best photo quality, but you get the point)

For our main meals we both ordered Puntas Motulenas -
beef strips, poblano pepper and onions over a bed of homemade tortilla, cheese, refried black beans, roasted serrano peppers, and roasted tomato salsa, topped with plantains and peas". I really like my meal but I think Mom wishes she ordered something different. We both agreed that next time we would each order something different so we could try each others.


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(ok.. really bad photo. SORRY!)

For dessert our server told us that the churros were the only dairy free option for mom- which actually sounded really yummy so we split these:


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With our bellies full it was time to explore the rest of World showcase and experience the International Festival of the Arts... coming up in next post!
 
Congrats on the May trip pixiedust:What stinks though is we're missing each other by 3 days :(

OMG on the Olaf/ E.T. thing, that's hilarious! Plus I think your mom is probably one of like, 100 people in the country who haven't seen Frozen lol.
About the girl in the BaTB show: I would've asked her mom to have her sit, because I'm a mean person! I also wouldn't have let my kids stand up if there were people behind them when they were small but of course not everyone is like that.
 
I wasn't a fan of the old version but I LOVE new Soarin! I think it's so beautiful, I think I said "wow" about 9x the first time we saw it.
Glad you enjoyed San Angel. DH and I ate there for the first time last Aug. we enjoyed it, not the best Mexican we've had except for my Avocado Margarita lol!
 


Day 3 Part 2: International Festival of the Arts & The Rest of World Showcase. And some Spaceship Earth.

After our scrumptious meal at San Angel Inn we boarded a boat for the "Gran Fiesta Tour" and literally walked right on! After this we made our way back outside and it seemed as though it rained quite a bit while we were inside but it had since stopped. I packed ponchos in my suitcase for us but for some reason I didn't put them in my park bag. It was already kind of chilly and with the rain it felt even more so.

Next up Mom and I shopped our way through China and the African Outpost (I think thats what its called...) before making a stop in Germany. We LOVE eating at Biergarten, but Mom wanted a change this trip so (spoiler) we didn't eat here. Definitely next time though! I bought a pickle Christmas tree ornament as I recently broke the one we had from our honeymoon when I was putting away our Christmas decorations this past year. Mom was looking for some popcorn to bring back home but didn't find anything she really wanted. I also made a mental note to come back here and try out different wines and snacks during my upcoming May trip.

Now that we had a pickle (lol) we moved on to our next stop... ITALY! I glanced at the show times brochure and I thought that it said that Sergio the Mime was coming out in about ten minutes so we grabbed a seat and waited... then I realized that I read the wrong date on the brochure.. haha! We gawked around the shops and fountains in Italy and it was still kind of dreary.

We sort of hit a 'block' next. The next American Adventure was over an hour away and the rain was starting to pick up again so we decided to head over to France. I've heard such good things about Boulangerie Patissrie les Halles so we decided to make our way into there and see if they had any dairy free options for Mom. I don't get as hungry as she does so we try really hard to stay on the same "eating schedule" (lol) to avoid one of us being starved and the other not being able to button her pants (first world problems...). Unfortunately the only option for Mom was a baguette... so we decided to leave empty handed. Sad face.

Fortunately Impressions de France (one of our top 10 must dos!) was going to began in six minutes so we plopped down on a bench inside the entrance and waited to be allowed into the theatre. This show is fabulous - plus we have a lot of French heritage so I always try to compare the people in the film and see if I look like them :goodvibes

After we emerged from our trip to France the rain let up and it was somewhat sunny. By now it was about 3:15 so we backtracked to the American pavilion where we took this fun photo on snapchat:

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Isn't she just the cutest?!

The Voices of Liberty were getting ready to perform so we headed inside and shared a bench with an older couple- they were so sweet! And
Holy goodness- those performers are AMAZING! I think Mom teared up at the end of their performance.

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Soon after we were whisked away to the theatre and grabbed a seat to watch "The American Adventure". I always feel like this is building so classic "old America"... if that makes any sense. It kind of reminds me of the Mount Washington Hotel in New Hampshire. The show was wonderfull as always but someone had very. bad. gas. Like disgusting gas. At one point I had to put my shirt over my nose and Mom was laughing at me... but c'mon people! :furious:

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We made our way to Canada next and I really wanted to try some sort of spiked hot coffee drink they had at their art festival booth- Mom wasn't ready to get anything to eat/drink yet and I knew this would fill me up for awhile so I decided to just keep going. Since Mom lives about an hour from the Canadian border she always makes comments about how she feels at home here! Their gift shop is so cozy and I always want one of everything-plus, I totally like to think I could rock lumber chic :cool2:

I found this cute little stuffie that looks my fur baby so I took an obligatory selfie and sent it to DH

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I also found this hat that I REALLY want to get... but Mom asked if me I would really wear it... so I opted to take another selfie and leave it behind :smokin:

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At this point we weren't sure if we were ready to head back to Future World or if we missed anything we wanted to do in the World Showcase. We were planning on staying for the first concert of the International Art Festival so we wanted to 'kill' some time. After checking MDE the wait time to meet Ana & Elsa was only 10 minutes! We scurried over there and got to meet the two princesses, they were so cute and fun! I look like an exhausted rat... so ignore that. lol.
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By now it was about 5pm and we were getting EXHAUSTED. And still kind of chilly because it was cloudy and still raining on/off. We decided to head back to The Land as Mom finally wanted a snack, and by the time we got there she was ready to order a QS from Sunshine Seasons! She got the Vegan Flatbread Sandwich which looked like this:
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It didn't look like anything I'D want to eat, but Mom consumed it all and said it was really good ;)

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I got my go to Turkey, Monterrey Jack and Chipotle Mayonnaise on Ciabatta

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While we finished up dinner, we noticed that Soarin stand by had a posted wait time of 25 min! This is nearly unheard of! After scarfing the last of our food down we headed over to ride Soarin for the second time for the day!

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Because we decided to ride Soarin again (so. much. fun.) we missed the concert but we were ok with this! Ultimately we decided we were just too tired and were ready to head back to the resort... but of course we had to ride this classic before we called it a night...


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I purposely made a funny face for the photo in this attraction and Mom didn't notice at first so at the end of the ride she was so tired she was deliriously laughing...



Unfortunately we JUST missed a bus from our resort (I noted the time was 7:20 because I wanted to know about how long we'd wait)... and then we waited. And waited. And waited. We saw 3 Saratoga Springs busses, 4 POR busses and 2 POFQ busses until FINALLY at 8:16 a CSR bus showed up! Luckily this was the only time we had issues with Disney transportation so it wasn't all bad!

Up next... Magic Kingdom! Including our first PPO, BOG x 2 and a walk on on one of the most popular rides !






 
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Congrats on the May trip pixiedust:What stinks though is we're missing each other by 3 days :(

OMG on the Olaf/ E.T. thing, that's hilarious! Plus I think your mom is probably one of like, 100 people in the country who haven't seen Frozen lol.
About the girl in the BaTB show: I would've asked her mom to have her sit, because I'm a mean person! I also wouldn't have let my kids stand up if there were people behind them when they were small but of course not everyone is like that.

BOO for missing each other in May! Do you have a PTR started yet?! I haven't been reading too many PTRs/TRs lately as all my time is spent on this little baby :love:

The Olaf/ET thing was just too much for me... I've been telling everyone about it! hah! I watched Frozen with my FIL and DH one Saturday night! haha!! In Mom's defense her only grand kids (my nephews) are 15 and 13 and they are WAY too to be caught watching Princesses (lol) so she gets a pass... for now!

I REALLY wanted to say something about the standing kid... and if it happened again I think I will! I agree I wouldn't let my kid do that, and also if I was being obnoxiously absent and my kid was doing that I'd apologize to anyone that had to ask me to have my kid sit... but I feel like you never know with people!
 


Day 4 Part 1: Magic Kingdom PPO

Hi trusty readers! I can't believe its ALREADY time to start writing about our last day :guilty: Mom and I experienced MANY firsts on this day.

Less than 12 hours after turning in for the night we were ready to start our day at Magic Kingdom. Now normally I like to START my vacation at MK for the nostalgia... I'm sure many of you can relate, yes? BUT the only BOG ADR we could get was for this day so we made it work (first world problems...)

MK was opening at 9am this day (January 14th) but we had our first ever PPO ADR... and at BOG none the less! Neither of us had eaten here before.

We set our alarms for 6:30am, which is much earlier than I like to wake up on vacation (or any other day, really)... but we had so much to get done! I'm pretty sure Mom was up awake around 5:30am without her alarm even going off.. where DOES she get this energy?! I KNEW I needed lots o' coffee so once I had showered and got dressed we walked to El Centro and filled up our mugs with COFFEE at the Pepper Market and then hopped on a bus to Magic Kingdom from Bus Stop 1. I think we had to wait ... 3 minutes... at the MOST for the bus to appear. Have I mentioned how much I like these new screens that tell you when the next bus is set to arrive?!

The bus to MK had maybe four other parties on it so definitely not crowded. There was an older couple sitting a few seats next to us and the husband asked if Mom and I had any... wait for it...

HAND LOTION

he could use?! :earseek:

IDK if it was the lack of sleep or food, but I thought this was really strange. I could see asking for a tissue... or the time... but hand lotion?! lol. Unfortunately neither of us could help him with his dry skin. I can only imagine what his wife said to him after they got off the bus! haha! I know if DH ever asked for anything from someone without consulting me I'd never let it go haha!

Before we knew it we arrived at MK, followed the signs to 'Breakfast Check In' and successfully made our way into the park.

Mom and I were still carrying our refillable mugs and Mom was getting annoyed with hers and seems to be overwhelmed with the idea of trying to take empty park photos and juggling the mug. I think she was a little hangry. She even got annoyed that someone else was getting a photo with a photo pass photographer even though there were two more that were not helping anyone... well at one point I finally took her mug from her! lol! I told her she seemed to be getting frustrated and I'm not dealing with bad attitudes lol :cool2:

At one
point I suggested that she try to get a good photo of Cinderella's castle since no one was around... and she told me 'I just want a picture of MY daughter'. Um... ok, Mom. (NOTE: Don't let her go so long without feeding her new time).

Lucky for me I don't have a daughter (lol) so I was able to get some good pics....

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I even let Mom take this picture of me... which is LESS than flattering

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As you can tell, it was quite foggy but it cleared up later on in the day and turned out to be best day of the trip weather-wise.

After our photo/mug situation we continued on towards BOG. And Mom continued to ask to take my pic... I obliged one more time and then I told her that was enough for a while- haha!

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We reached the BOG entrance right around 8:10. We were allowed to enter and wait in line inside the Beast's castle. We were 'stuck' near the kiosks for a good 20 min, although we didn't mind too much as the castle is so pretty and we were taking in all the details.

Mom had pre ordered her breakfast that morning while I was in the shower and forgot to ask me what I wanted so there was some confusion as to why we had two different 'orders' but were together- finally we got that settled and were seated in the main ballroom.

If you're like me, you've read 694583948 reviews of BOG, but I can honestly say it just isn't the same until you actually get there. The hostess informed us that our food would be out soon and that we were welcome to get our silverware and something to drink while we waited.

I ordered the scrambled egg whites and apple chicken sausage (DELICIOUS!!)

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And Mom got the Feast a la Gaston, which she also loved: IMG_0325.JPG



I may have also had a bite of every pastry brought to the table...

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Both of us were feeling MUCH better after breakfast and ready to ride something! It was 8:50am when we excited the castle, so we missed the new welcoming show. Theres always next time, right?!

We had a 9:20pm-10:20pm FP+ for 7DMT BUT I thought we should try to get in line now and Mom agreed. Neither of us had ridden this before or done much research about it- but we both LOVE BTMRR so what the heck!

We noticed that there was literally no line. At all. Then I noticed we were in the FP line so we started to go back and get in the stand by (non existent) line but a CM told us that right now everyone was

getting in through the FP line!

We literally WALKED ON to 7DMT! WINNING!

Both of us liked this coaster a lot... although I'm a bit of a scaredy cat so I was nervous but now that I've been on it I can't wait to go back on. We actually contemplated going BACK for a second walk on but thought we should get to other attractions while we could.

Fortunately this worked really well for us and we again WALKED ON to Peter Pan's Flight and IASM. BAM! The sun was shining, we had a great breakfast and hit three GREAT attractions before it was even 9:15.

Up next... Magic Kingdom, continued. Will our luck continue with wait lines? Will we EVER try a Dole Whip for the first time in forever? And what about that pesky rain?!

 
I thought that it said that Sergio the Mime was coming out in about ten minutes so we grabbed a seat and waited... then I realized that I read the wrong date on the brochure..
I've done that before and it doesn't make me happy lol! Definitely try to catch him in May because he's great :thumbsup2

Fortunately Impressions de France (one of our top 10 must dos!) was going to began in six minutes so we plopped down on a bench inside the entrance and waited to be allowed into the theatre. This show is fabulous - p
I don't know if I've ever watched it-if I did it was years ago. I think I'll do this with DH in March or May, I'm always looking to add things to our time in WS!

The Voices of Liberty were getting ready to perform so we headed inside and shared a bench with an older couple- they were so sweet! And
Holy goodness- those performers are AMAZING!
I cannot believe it took me until 2016 to see VoL because as you say, they are AMAZING! Even my boys enjoy listening to them and at 11 and 14 that's saying a lot.

The show was wonderfull as always but someone had very. bad. gas. Like disgusting gas. At one point I had to put my shirt over my nose and Mom was laughing at me... but c'mon people! :furious:
:rotfl2: :rotfl: :snooty::snooty:

I got my go to Turkey, Monterrey Jack and Chipotle Mayonnaise on Ciabatta
Eating lunch/dinner at Sunshine Seasons is something else I've never done, just breakfast, but your sandwich sounds like something I'd enjoy.

FINALLY at 8:16 a CSR bus showed up! Luckily this was the only time we had issues with Disney transportation so it wasn't all bad!
Good to hear! When we stayed at CSR in 2014 our bus service was great with one exception, trying to get to MK for MNSSHP and even that wasn't horrible. So hoping for good bus service when we stay in March!

BOO for missing each other in May! Do you have a PTR started yet?! I haven't been reading too many PTRs/TRs lately as all my time is spent on this little baby :love:
As excited as I am for my trips I'm totally bummed I'm missing so many people :sad1: I don't have a PTR going and I don't think I'll do a separate one; I'm having enough trouble keeping up with my current TR and dining report lol. I think I'll just periodically do small PTR's in the middle of the TR :) But I'll definitely do some type of after-trip reporting, possibly combining our March/May trips with my Universal training :thumbsup2

Now normally I like to START my vacation at MK for the nostalgia... I'm sure many of you can relate, yes? BUT the only BOG ADR we could get was for this day so we made it work (first world problems...)
I know so many people that like to start at MK and I get it! I on the other hand am not a stickler for starting there. If we go with the kids they do prefer to start there or HS but with just Steve and I it varies. However I pretty much always end trips there. The one time I didn't I was quite sad, and I was surprised at how sad I was.

the husband asked if Mom and I had any... wait for it...

HAND LOTION

he could use?! :earseek:
:scared1: Um... weird, hysterical, and disturbing in more than one way???!!!! OMG if Steve asked someone this I would look at him like *** :faint:?????? If I were drinking something and heard that I would have spit it out :rotfl2:

'I just want a picture of MY daughter'. Um... ok, Mom. (NOTE: Don't let her go so long without feeding her new time).

And Mom continued to ask to take my pic... I obliged one more time and then I told her that was enough for a while- haha!
As a mom, you just let YOUR mom take as many pictures of you as she wants whenever she wants ::yes::

We literally WALKED ON to 7DMT! WINNING!
:cool1: Same thing worked for us when we did a PPO BOG, we got on it twice before the RD crowd hit!
 
Hopping aboard. First of all, congratulations for nearly finishing graduate school! Good luck with becoming a NP. I work at a family practice with amazing nurse practitioners who are just as talented as our physicians, and I admire you all!

Enjoying your trip report!
 
Hopping aboard. First of all, congratulations for nearly finishing graduate school! Good luck with becoming a NP. I work at a family practice with amazing nurse practitioners who are just as talented as our physicians, and I admire you all!

Enjoying your trip report!

Hi and welcome! So nice to have you!! Fortunately im beginning to "see the light" at the end of the grad school tunnel! Once we get back from our May trip, I'll need to get down to business to study for the state boards and, of course, find a job!
 

Day 4, Part 2: Magic Kingdon, cont.


Magic Kingdom was quickly turning into quite the magical day! The clouds cleared and it was actually sunny - which was very much welcomed as our previous day in Epcot was dreary and rainy.

We decided to continue on our journey towards the Haunted Mansion- Mom's favorite ride! We had a FP+ for 4:20-5:20pm that evening but the stand by wait time was posted as only 10 min so we decided to go for it! We didn't even see anyone else in line and decided to take advantage and of this. We spent about 10 minutes just the interactive queue. Once we were ready to actually wait in line, the room had just opened and the CM told us the room was full and to wait outside - and then he changed his mind and said "never mind- you mortals, get in here!" So funny!!

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The interactive ghost was also a cute addition and said he was hitch hiking to New Hampshire! Oh- I forgot to mention that we also enjoyed the personalization piece in 'It's A Small World' as well, I was taken completely by surprise! Mental note: Take obligatory photo of this for May trip.

Clearly the next appropriate thing to do was to shop! Memento Mori Relics from Regions Beyond is such a cute store, Mom loves everything in here! I got so many ideas for her birthday which is in June. I think I'll pick up some things for her when DH and I are there in May.

We walked by LTT next, which is DH's absolute favorite TS ever. He likes it better than Cali Grille. (Weirdo). So I sent him a selfie of me with the signage and told him, "130 days til we are here together", which he seemed to enjoy:

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From there we found ourselves trekking up one of the best tree houses ever... the Swiss family tree house! We wanted to hop on the Jungle cruise before the 10am "Mickey's Friendship Faire", but the wait time was something like 60+ minutes. So.. NOPE. We were done with the tree house by 9:45am and we walked over to get a spot for the Friendship Faire show. We were able to sit/stand right where the rope was... yay for no one blocking our view! This was the first time either of us had seen this show and it was so cute, I definitely would see it again! I would recommend going to the first show in the morning before it gets too hot (at least in the really hot months), and I know I keep saying it, but it WAS nice to be COMFORTABLE in a t shirt and shorts vs almost dying from heat stroke. Even though I did complain a lot about no pool time AND possibly coming back more pasty pale than I normally am in January :hyper:

Side not: why didn't I think to put any make up on the entire trip? I don't normally look this...um.. TIRED. Seriously, I didn't even blow dry my hair the entire time I was there.... I guess THATS the true definitely of 'letting it all go'.

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Oh look ET... er, Olaf :wave:

The next logical thing to do was head to back to Adventureland and experience a Tiki Room! I hadn't seen this show in a LONG LONG LONG time but it was really cute and the wait time was like... idk... 3 minutes.

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Then it was time to see our favorite country bears at 11am

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I just love this show. It's so corny and cringe worthy... right up my alley! And I feel as if the bear hat I was eyeing the day before would have been the IDEAL outfit accessory for this show. NEXT TIME (or not...).

Our next stop was right up the street in Liberty Square for "The Muppets Present Great Moment in America History" for their 11:45am show. We weren't exactly sure where this show was going to be so we asked a nice CM named Hallee who told... RIGHT HERE! Yep, right where we were standing. Derr. She was such a nice CM, even commented on the princess sticker we had on our shirts. The show we saw was about Paul Revere and we both agreed it was really cute! Mom especially loves history.

Ye Old Christmas Shoppe was next on our 'to do' list. I love love love Christmas, but for some reason I wasn't really into it that much this time. Maybe its because Christmas was less than a month ago? Or that fact that both of our families drove us nuts around the holidays and at one point I told DH to 'throw out the tree and burn the stockings, I'm DONE!'. Hey... I'm under a lot of stress. No judging. popcorn::




Up Next... POTC, Dole Whips, rain showers and a parade!

 
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Day 4 Part 3: Magic Kingdom, cont.

Just as I was starting to enjoy the sunny weather .... it started to rain. We were on our way to BTMRR around 12:30pm to use our FP+ (I forget the exact time...). My weather app didn't even tell me it was going to rain so I didn't bring the ponchos... see a trend here? We waited about 15 min to ride BTMRR and the rain was making it quite chilly. BUT we warmed up quikcly on the ride - not sure if it was because we put our sweatshirts on OR because we were on the wildest ride in the west :squirrel:

Ok that was a little cheesy... I'm on my 6th cup of coffee so far today, so this is what you get!!


I must have kept my phone in my backpack for a while to avoid getting it wet because I don't have too many pictures of our afternoon adventures. By 1pm we were getting a little hungry but didn't want to have a big lunch because we had MAJOR dinner plans... so we decided to enjoy our first Dole Whips ever! Well, technically Dole Whip Floats.


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It was pretty much pouring at this point and NO WHERE to sit to enjoy our Dole Whip Floats. We had a FP+ for 1:25-2:25pm at POTC so it was too early to use this, so we decided to stand in the stand by line... which had a posted wait time of 40 min. This worked out pretty well for us as we were bale to be under cover AND had plenty of time to enjoy our new treats.

Impression of Dole Whip Float: It was good, and definitely something I would make at home on a hot a day. I wouldn't necessarily order this again if i I was cold/it was raining but I had to seize the opportunity.

Once 1:25pm hit and we were STILL in line, I was kicking myself for not being able to use our FP that had for POTC. Oh well. This is another 'must do' and sometimes ride this 2-3 times a trip. Captain Jack Sparrow did NOT disappoint! And it had stopped raining by the time we were done.

We had pretty much completed what we wanted to in Frontierland, Liberty Square and Adventureland so we crossed over to Tomorrowland. You might be thinking... but Ashlee, you didn't ride Splash Mountain!


Was it too cold? No
Was the line too long? Also no


I'M A SCAREDY CAT! The first time I worked up the courage to take this plunge (see what I did there?) I was 12 years old. Mom wasn't too excited but wasn't going to let me ride on my own so we got in line. And a girl about my age and her little brother (9 ish) were ahead of us- and the girl was hysterically crying. She told us she had already ridden Splash Mountain earlier in the week and hated it, but her Dad was 'forcing' her to ride again with her brother while he waited at the bottom. So... yeah, I was totally freaking out and didn't enjoy myself at all because I was 100% convinced I would fall out of the log and either die or be brutally injured. (Spoiler- neither happened, lol!). So... no Splash Mountain for me. Ever.

TOMORROWLAND


With the sun still shining we made our way into Tomorrowland for the Carousel of Progress. LOVE LOVE LOVE this attraction. But it DEF needs to be updated- I mean, the last 'scene' is almost vintage and not futuristic. The theatre was PACKED, and it was cute to hear everyone singing 'there's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow..."

Only our tomorrow would be on a flight back to Boston... but I digress :rolleyes1

It was now time to grab a seat for the 3pm Festival of Fantasy Parade ... but first Mom wanted to stop in the Confectionery. She ended up getting some popcorn to bring home and I was kind of ready for another snack but I didn't see anything I HAD to have. We found a nice spot right on the edge of the sidewalk outside the Confectionery at about 2:50! SCORE! Plus, no one would be able to sit in front of us.. double score. I was sitting to the left of a garbage can and could use this lean next to... (no judging, right?). Well, the grandpa that was standing on the other side of the trash with his 3yo grand daughter decided to sit on the curb too. The CM kept telling them that the little girl had to be ON the sidewalk not in street and the grandpa got sassy and told the CM, 'Why are all those kids up there allowed to then?!". The CM informed him that she can only talk to one person at a time and would be making her way up there. BAM! Altho I'm not sure the CMs response is 'Disney Approved' I loved her response! But then Grandpa decided to start also start leaning on the other side of the trash can I was and since he was at least twice my size the can kept moving towards me and squishing me. Teach me to lean on the trash! lol.


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Because if you didn't post a picture - did it even happen?

High on parade fumes, we were ready to finish up Tomorrowland after a quick bathroom break. But first...snack time. We attempted to grab a snack at Main Street Bakery but the line was SUPPPERR long so we proceeded to "Cool Ship Cooling Station" and each enjoyed a Mickey Pretzel... YUM!!


Apparently eating sancks was something we did more than once that day because once we got our pretzels we headed over to Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor to use our FP+ around 4:20pm that I was able to add on since we used our previously selected passes. We enjoyed our pretzels and then waited about 10 more more minutes before we got to our seats and the show started. Mom even become famous for a few minutes as her fac
e was up on the screen with the phrase 'Has no idea where she is'- I don't think she appreciated this! haha!

Then it was time for our NEXT FP that I was able to add, which was

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Swoon. This is my all time favorite show! I could watch this over and over and over again.

Apparently I'm not the only person that feels this way because the theater was PACKED. Such a change of crowd levels from the morning.

"Under The Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid" was calling our name and lucky for us we walked on. The first time we rode this was right when it opened (2012? I don't remember..) and we kept getting 'stuck'. This was we rode without an issue and really enjoyed the attraction - I wish it was longer though, something about a clam mobile is just so comforting to me.

We decided to check out "Big Top Souvenirs" as it wasn't quite time for our 6:20pm ADR... it was really busy in here and kind of overwhelming and neither of us found anything we wanted to buy so we high tailed it our of there. Just as we were leaving, Dad called so we found a bench to perch on. Dad wanted to confirm our plans for tomorrow since he was going to the neighbors to watch a football game and he'd likely miss our call once we got back to the resort.

I found a FP for the tea cups so we snagged that and heading over there next....

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Love her!

We even saw a service dog (Some sort of Golden doodle, but white?) riding the tea cups and I was OBSESSED. I LOVE DOGS. I decided not to be a complete creep and I didn't say hi to the dog- but let me tell you, it was so difficult!!

After the tea cups, we headed over to our final destination....


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Up next... BOG DINNER!



 
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Day 4 Part 4: BOG Dinner

After some serious spins on the tea cups it was finally time to head to the Beast's castle for dinner at BOG! This was our second time in one day but first time eating dinner here... does that make sense?

Our reservation was for 6:20pm but we arrived at 6:10 to check in and were told they were running about 25 min behind but that they were trying to catch up. The CM that checked us in asked my a cell phone number and we were told they would text us when our table was ready and that we were free to roam the park in the meantime. We still had 10 (yes, 10!) snack credits left so I wanted to head over to Gaston's Tavern and inquire about taking one of those yummy cinnamon rolls 'to go'.

Somehow ended up in a dead end stroller parking lot? I have no idea how... I'll blame it on exhaustion and hunger. Even tho I wasn't terribly hungry. And literally two minutes after checking in at the BOG podium, I got a text saying our table was ready! Yee Haw! So we abandoned our quest for Gaston's Tavern and headed back to BOG.

We waited outside for about 10 minutes until our name was called and we were escorted to the ballroom, right where we ate breakfast! According to my pics, we took this selfie while waiting


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Hm... we'll need to work on our technique.


Our server was GREAT. He named was... Curt, I believe. So nice. Except when I ordered a glass of wine he asked for my ID and then when he saw by date of birth he said...

'Oh wow. Huh. I would have never guessed THAT'. Thanks buddy- keep the wine coming!


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I ordered the reisling and Mom got a pinot grigio- so good!

For dinner Mom and I both ordered the Grilled Strip Steak. They just made hers without butter.


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Those fries? AHH MAZING.

Then it was time for the dessert cart... which I was eying the entire meal
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Yep, I got the infamous 'grey stuff'. It was really good!! Even if I was STUFFED from my meal. Next time: take 'to go' and eat when I am actually hungry.

Mom was happy with the rice dream dairy free ice cream she got


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Apparently she also took a pic of me looking over the menu?

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And one last photo op before we headed out...

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(I'm 95% sure this pic was taken after our breakfast at BOG based on the sunlight coming in... but you get the point).

At the beginning of our meal we had good intentions of meeting the Beast- by the end of our meal we were full, chilly and tired. So we decided to skip waiting in line for him, but we did enjoy watching him walk through the dining room a few times.

Overall we really liked BOG and would return here again, but I don't think its something DH and I will in May, as I felt like the tables were close together and it was very busy in there, not exactly 'romantic'.

After our meal we were exhausted and made our away to the park exit. It was right around 7pm and the 'Once Upon A Time' castle show was going on and it was BUSY trying to navigate through the crowds. That is when we remembered why we don't usually stay for Wishes ( I know, I know....) because I HATE the mad dash out afterwards!

By 7:30 we were on a bus back to CSR. I took a nice hot shower and (literally) shoved my stuff into my suitcase, set my alarm for 3am and was asleep by 9:30!

Mom showered after I did and nicely put all of her clothes back into her bag... she fell asleep sometime after me.

Up next... our department from Orlando and Final Thoughts
 
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Departure/Final Thoughts

Departure

One thing I left out from the previous post that was once we arrived at CSR from MK the previous night we actually stopped into the Gift Shop to use up over left over snack credits... all 8 of them! I'm not sure HOW this happened because I can definitely think of snacks I wanted to try but didn't.... sigh. Anyway, I got some candy to bring home (jaw breaker, licorice, Mike & Ike's and some jelly bellies) and Mom got some other items but I honestly don't remember what she got to bring home. Ok now that we addressed that...


January 15th was our departure day. So sad. The trip went by SO fast. But we did so much both Mom and I agreed that this one of our most productive trips ever
:lovestruc
Mom woke up around 2:30am and I got up around 3:15am as our driver was picking us up at 4am to head to the airport. Mom won't ever entertain the idea of taking Magical Express, so on our trips together we take use a car company to bring us to/from MCO. After showering I threw the rest of my stuff into my luggage and filled up my refillable mug with three cups of coffee and we made our way to El Centro. We decided we didn't need bell services to help us with our bags, our room was about a 5 minute walk from El Centro and we each just had a carry on and a rolling suitcase. Our driver was already waiting for us and we got right into the car just before 4am.

Our ride was uneventful and once we got to the airport I still had some coffee last in my mug and I made a last minute decision to throw the entire thing in a trash can so I didn't have to deal with chugging coffee before security. Plus we have like... 53049239281 refillable Disney mugs at home. Maybe its time I donate the old ones and make room for new ones?

We checked our bags and made our way to the security line which was somewhat long but not awful. It was about 4:40am at this point. I started feeling panic-y while we were in line, as in cold sweats, tunnel vision, and nauseous. I thought for sure I was going to have a panic attack. Honestly my panic disorder is really well controlled otherwise, but when I'm on vacation I usually have at least one attack. Its awful for many reasons, but its not like I was anxious about anything. I don't get nervous flying and I love traveling.


Once we were deep into the security line (as in... there is no way to leave the line other than to wait to go through the metal detectors) I decided to take an anti anxiety pill (hello Ativan! - I go through about 10 of these pills a year... see what I mean by well controlled?) And then the nausea got A LOT worse :scared:. I saw a trash can on the other side of the security rope and I tried to get the attention of the TSA worker to bring the trash can over to me... but he did not hear me. And all of a sudden... I leaned over the security rope and was sick. On the floor. It was the most embarrassing thing to happen to me in a long time! It was all over my hands, on my purse and on my sweater. Mom was shocked because I didn't let her know how I was feeling. She rubbed my back while this was happening and told the people behind us, to just go around me. She's so sweet <3 Then a young TSA worker came over and asked me if I needed medical attention... um, no, I just need a trash can or some paper towels, please?
The TSA worker got me a roll of paper towels and told me I could take them with me... so thoughtful!


I felt much better afterwards and made it through security without anymore issues... thankfully. My plan was to buy a new sweatshirt because the sweater I was wearing got dirty.... well, no airport shops are open this early this morning. Luckily my sweater was OK so I rinses part of it off in the bathroom. We had about 30 min before we boarded our plane and we both needed some food. We waited in line at a Starbucks for a while. I attempted to order a plain bagel, and the worker told me that they 'don't have bagels'. At this point, my morning couldn't get any worse- I said fine, I'll get a granola bar. Mom tried to argue with the worker about this because she saw bagels in the display case but I told her to let it go so she did. I'm pretty sure Mom got oatmeal and a coffee.


Our flight was mostly uneventful... until about an hour before we landed. The woman sitting directly across from me was wearing her little baby and was attempting to get the attention of her husband, Alfredo, who was apparently sitting in the row in front of me in the window seat. I was peacefully napping when I was woke up to this woman, and her baby, STANDING in my row (and ya know how small the leg room is in these seat... so she was basically almost sitting in my lap) and her baby was IN my face. She was hollering for 'Alfredo! Alfredo! Alfredo!'. Well folk, Alfredo had headphones in and CLEARLY couldn't hear her! I woke up to these shenanigans and asked her, 'what do you want?!' at that point she realized how ridiculous she was being and sat back down... ***?! The rest of our flight was uneventful and I wasn't feeling sick at all! DH was running late so we had to sit in the airport for about 15 min before he arrived. After we dropped him off at my house, I drove another 2 hours north to meet Dad to drop Mom off in New Hampshire. I was EXHAUSTED by the time I got back to my house in Massachusetts, which was around 1pm, so I plopped down on the couch napped for a few hours. Vaca was officially over. So sad.

Final Thoughts
  • This was our first time visiting in January, and it's a perfect time to visit for low crowds and because of the mild weather, but I think May is my favorite time as I like to lay by the pool and soak up some rays!
  • BOG was really good although I didn't feel as if it was 'romantic' as much as I thought it would be. It was really busy and crowded so maybe that's why it didn't feel like as intimate as I thought it would?
Sanaa was delicious, I wanted to return for the bread service ASAP and I would probably skip dinner, just cocktails and bread sounds good to me!


*If you enjoyed this TR, feel free to follow me to my May 2017 PTR below

"Love is Putting Someone Else’s Needs Before Yours" a May 2017 PTR
 
Just got to reading this now, but it sounds like you had an awesome girls trip! My mom and I did this just the two of us a couple of times when I was in University and those trips were amazing! I'm hoping we'll get back again together at some point soon. I've loved my last couple of trips with DF, and we're psyched for our wedding trip, but there's something special about mother-daughter trips!

I totally felt your post about the server who ID'd you and was surprised at your age! I'm 23, and I've been out of University for 1.5 years, and yet I still get asked all the time what grade I'm in, especially when I'm not wearing makeup. People say I'll love it when I'm older. We'll see...
 

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