UPDATED 7/14/19: The Slowpokes' Guide to WDW aka the kids 1st trip! - A Sept 2018 report

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Ugh, stinks that the heat was wearing on you guys. Good thing you had FPs for relaxing, sure conditioned activities.

I didn't particularly notice Philharmagic being especially grainy, but I was aware that it was film and not digital.

I hope you guys found a shady spot for the parade!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

ly seek out. I was actually quite surprised how poor the quality of film was, I mean I know it’s probably >15 years old but the film reel was incredibly out of focus. YES, I was wearing the 3D glasses but it just seemed so grainy still. At first I thought it was just my eyes as I’ve started to need glasses again for distance vision, but DH confirmed it was blurry for him as well. Is it always like that or did we have an off-encounter? Kids loved it regardless, and DS was almost asleep by the end of the movie.

I think they announced that they were upgrading the show. Which is does badly need. And I was glad to hear, cause I love the show.

Look at her face and body language. I love it.

 

[dbb727]

I hope you guys found a shady spot for the parade!

We found a little bit of shade, partially under an umbrella....my husband seemed to take up most of it though!

 

[dbb727]

Day 4, Part 3
Wrapping up Magic Kingdom​

We had finished our morning FPs and met every princess/character that we wanted (except Moana who really deserves a permanent M&G). There was just one last item on my wishlist….

It was about 1:30, and FOF parade was showing at 2pm this week due to Halloween party season. I didn’t know if the whole family would last for the parade but I really really wanted to experience it in person, and DH knew this so he suggested we try to find a shady spot and stick around. Wahoo! So we headed out of FL towards the parade route.



Backstory: I didn’t do too much prepping with the kids, no watching ride videos or anything like that; BUT the one thing I did with DD to increase her interest of WDW was watching a FOF parade video on youtube for several weeks before the trip, to the point where we know all the choreography and musical cues. She actually got attached to that specific video and would notice if I put on a different one, from a different angle and won’t accept it until we found the “real” video. So to be able to experience it IRL with her was a special moment I had been looking forward to.


While walking towards the parade route, DS fell asleep in the stroller and slept for the next hour or two. I was thrilled about achieving the elusive stroller nap since he really needed it with the amount of activity and early mornings we had. #parentinggoals


We found a semi-shaded spot directly across from Sleepy Hollow (DH managed to get most of the shade from a random umbrella/decorated post) and sweated out the next 20minutes until the parade started.




Festival of Fantasy was as magical as I could have hoped! Of course, the Maleficent dragon wasn’t there, which we knew in advance, due to the fire months earlier. They actually they cut the entire Sleeping Beauty scene, no fairies, no prince, no stilt walkers. Honestly I didn’t even realize it until later that day when I was looking back through my pictures. I know at some point they had put Aurora and Prince Philip on a gazebo float together as a substitute, but maybe that wasn’t working and they just scrapped the whole scene? Obviously, there was plenty of other floats and magic so we didn’t even miss it that day.




I'll have to try and link the video later but there was the cutest interaction with Anna as she points to DS sleeping in the stroller, and wonders how he could possible sleep since the “sun’s awake.” I just love that the characters are that engaged and interactive with the crowd and not just waving/following a script.


After the parade, it was definitely time for a break. I wanted to shop for a Xmas ornament and we were right by the Christmas Store but it got PACKED 2 seconds after the parade ended. So we headed towards to the Emporium instead. As I mentioned before, DH was more interested in shopping than I was on this trip, and he had yet to find the perfect mug. This was also going to be our last time in the parks so we looked for any special mementos that we might need. DH found a Mad Hatter Mug and I bought a Cinderella frame for DD’s room. (I ended up finding the ornament and another frame on Disney’s website later, which worked out well so it could be safely mailed).

DS slept through all of these and DD was on her way towards a nap too. I savored our last moments on Main St and then headed to the monorail. This was another time I was incredibly grateful for the ease of staying on the monorail loop so both kids could stay napping in the stroller while we rode back to the hotel. Thankfully, no delays this time!

I’ve mentioned before that I was undecided with where to spend our final evening, whether to park hop or enjoy a meal outside the parks. Well, with the snail’s pace we were moving, I realized early in the week that it was not in the cards for us to be park-hopping. This was sort of a relief to decide so then I could obtain an ADR for a restaurant I was sure the whole family would enjoy…..can you guess where?

Next up: Our final night! Which ADR will we choose……

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Glad to hear the parade lived up to your expectations... I love that parade! The floats are amazing!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

I'm glad you got to enjoy the parade! And, yay for kids actually napping when they're tired instead of just being whiney grumps