Wait, do we have a Fast Pass for that? Final Update, Final Thoughts and Favs 1/26

[PrncessA]

I had really been looking forward to trying the lobster and shrip mac & cheese, but I was very disappointed with it. I ask if they could do it without the shrimp and they said no. To be honest, I really didn’t like it at all. The noodles were overdone, and it had a weird taste that I didn't care for. I should had changed my order when they told me the shrimp had to stay in.



Lorelai had the kid’s mac & cheese and broccoli, and the mac & cheese was delish! I ate some of hers instead. Her broccoli was HUGE and undercooked. In my opinion you can have raw broccoli and it is yummy or well cooked broccoli and it is yummy, undercooked broccoli, YUCK! One of her pieces was so big it was like a miniature tree!





Ethan had the kid’s roasted pork tenderloin and to use his words “It was the best thing I have ever eaten! Ever!” He picked at the rice, which was okay, but his broccoli was under cooked as well. I don’t seem to have a picture of his pork, so he must have devoured it!

I am not sure what Erik ordered (and I don’t have the receipt in front of me), but I know it wasn’t fish, or at least I don’t think it was. Whatever it was, I do remember that he did like it. Edited to add that I found our receipt and it turns out that Erik ordered the roasted pork as well, which explains why he liked it so much. It doesn't seem to be on the menu either... curious that they both loved the pork at a seafood restaurant. Also our servers name was AJ.



Finally it was time for dessert. The kids got cupcakes, which they did not like at all, and Erik and I both ordered the Chocolate Wave, which was yummy and not a speck of it was left on either of our plates!!







We received our “bill” which Erik was shocked at, and paid our tip, which was significant. Erik had not been involved in any of our budgets for the trip, so he was glad when I told him that I had budgeted for the tips on the trip, since our food was already covered. It really is a big expense, especially on the DxDDP, where your bill can be outrageous!! Overall it was a good meal, minus a few components, and we would probably eat here again, but only if on the dining plan, it is way to expensive for the food you get in my opinion.

After leaving the Coral Reef we headed out and around to The Seas With Nemo and Friends, which Lorelai loved.









So simple but entertaining, and who doesn’t love Marlin and Dory? We headed straight over to Turtle Talk and laughed along with Crush, who encouraged the kids to use the word “Dude” as many times as possible for the rest of the day, that their parents would love it… so that is what our kids did. LOL







We stopped to get eaten by Bruce,





before we headed to the International Gateway to head back to the Yacht Club.



We stopped in Canada for a moment:



and found an obvious hidden Mickey:



We had just made it to the boat dock when it started raining again, at least we were undercover! Our boat came pretty quickly and we loaded on. We pulled into the Boardwalk first, and were told that due to the lightning in the area that they had to dock the boat and it could be anywhere from 30minutes or longer before they could run again, we could walk or wait for a bus, that might come, they weren’t sure. Great!





We decided to try and wait it out, or at least wait until the rain slowed down. We did wait about 20-30 minutes, everyone else but one woman had decided to brave the buses or walk. Finally the rain slowed down and we decided to make the walk from the Boardwalk to the Yacht Club. Not the way we wanted to see the Boardwalk…

We finally made it back to the YC, wet but happy! Ready for a glass of wine though, that was for sure!!

Next up: ‘Ohana and 3AM EMH at Magic Kingdom!!!

 

[PrncessA]

Yay for the family being reunited. Although, eek. That tuition. I'm so glad that in Quebec even if I want to go to a top class school, tuition is only 5K a year. Much more reasonable.

Tuition here is crazy! Wheaton College is at the top of the private Christian Colleges in the country, which people will pay a crazy amount to attend. NUTS!!

Great midterm grade too! Way to go.

Thanks!

Oh my goodness that upgrade! How amazing. That is so awesome.

It was crazy!! Disney surprises are the best!!!

At least they let you have your kids back Even without the slip. Although one would think that at that age your kids would be able to say, yes, that's my mom and it'd be okay.

I was surprised at how easy it was to get the kids without the pink slip after all the fuss they gave us about not loosing it!!

What amazing pixie dust at cl - congratulations! Intrigued by the photos of a USA camp thanks for sharing

Thanks for joining!!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Wow! Mega update! Speaking of WOW, what a fantastic upgrade! The room looks beautiful as do the resort grounds. I can see why you were so excited.

Oh man, I hate that Test Track shut down just as you were about to get on. That's a total bummer! I hope that you get on it later in the day or trip at least.

It has become a tradition to eat dinner at Coral Reef but the quality of the food has gone down a little since our first dinner there. That's not to say that we won't eat there again though. You can't beat the view.

 

[petals]

great update on the room.
Boo to all the rain and rides and everything shutting down because of it.

 

[mickeymouse108]

yay!! cant wait to read all about your trip.

 

[PrncessA]

Wow! Mega update! Speaking of WOW, what a fantastic upgrade! The room looks beautiful as do the resort grounds. I can see why you were so excited.

Oh man, I hate that Test Track shut down just as you were about to get on. That's a total bummer! I hope that you get on it later in the day or trip at least.

It has become a tradition to eat dinner at Coral Reef but the quality of the food has gone down a little since our first dinner there. That's not to say that we won't eat there again though. You can't beat the view.

I was on a roll!!

That was the end of our Epcot time for a few days, Ethan mentioned Test Track once an hour it seemed until we made it back and rode it!

Apparently if Coral Reef just focused on the pork they would get a ton of business. The only seafood entree we got (my mac&cheese) was gross. But you are right, you can't beat the atmosphere!

great update on the room.
Boo to all the rain and rides and everything shutting down because of it.

I just felt horrible for Ethan. I know as an adult I still get upset if something falls through that I was looking forward too, but I am able to keep the emotion on the inside. Ethan is a "heart on your sleeve" kid and it just broke my heart that he was so upset! I really couldn't blame him!

yay!! cant wait to read all about your trip.

Thanks!!!

 

[KatMark]

It looks like your DS had a good time at camp.

$50,000 to go to school!!! UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm still paying off school loans for my two boys. It's gotten near impossible for people to afford a college education without going into total debt.

WOW! What a spectacular upgrade! I am so happy that you got this

The kids recovered quickly from not wanting to do the pirates and then doing it. Love their faces...you can see how much fun they had.

Too bad about Test Track not being able to run because of the rain. I'm sure DS was upset (we personally don't care for it and won't waste a FP on it since the refurb).

I'm sorry that your meal wasn't better at Coral Reef. We had a great meal there later in the week (although Mary and I were boring and ordered adult portions of the kids' fried shrimp). I LOVE that Chocolate Wave...best dessert at Disney in my opinion.

 

[PrncessA]

It had been a long day by the time we made it back to the Yacht Club! I don’t remember the time exactly but I am guessing it was around 5:00-5:30. We surprised the kids with the upgrade; Ethan was all about scanning his MB to make the elevator go to our floor. Plus it was really nice having a room so close to the elevator and the lounge!

After getting back to the room we all freshened up and got ready for the evening festivities. At some point we headed over to the lounge as well to check out the evening’s offerings. I am not sure what was being offered that night for adults, I am thinking there were homemade chips and dip. The kids fell in love with the apple slices and caramel. Surprisingly Lorelai liked the PB&J shooters, sans any bread, yuck! I am sure Erik had a beer and I had a glass of wine. It was a wonderful way to relax and unwind before our big night!

At about 6:40 we headed down to the bus stop. Our ADR at ‘Ohana wasn’t until 8:00, but since we were using the MK as a hub, I wanted to make sure we had over an hour to get there. I had no idea that the bus service to MK was so poor at YC, or I would have planned for much more than an hour and 15 minutes. While we waited for a MK bus not one, not two, but three AK buses arrived and basically no one got off or on. Then a bus that had OKW on the destination board arrived, no idea why, again, no one got on or off.
The kids were in great spirits and kept us (and other people at the bus stop) entertained with their posing for the camera.



























Finally after at least a 30 minute wait a bus for the MK pulled up. Geeze! Even if we had just missed a bus you would think another one would have come before 30 minutes! We loaded on and headed to the BC to pick up more passengers… now we were packed in like sardines. The kids were super excited about heading to the Magic Kingdom, even though we really only were walking past it to get to the monorail. It took quite a while to get to the MK on the bus; I think there was traffic that slowed us down. But finally we were pulling up to the MK and were hiking as fast as we could toward the resort monorail, which we watched pull away as we were coming up the ramp!



At least the monorails are a bit more scheduled than the buses! Another monorail came in no time and we loaded on to the first car… and waited… and waited… then they made a delay announcement. We were cracking up at this point! It was almost as if we were not meant to make it to ‘Ohana that night! I was glad that the delay didn't get us down, the kids were all smiles! It was now 8:00 and we could only hope that they would accept us a bit late!





The delay wasn’t that bad and before long we were stopping at the Contemporary Resort, and then the TTC, and finally at the Poly! We rushed off and into the beautiful lobby… or what use to be a beautiful lobby, but is now another one of Disney’s displays of construction walls! We followed the wall around to the ‘Ohana check in and were told we had “just made the cut off”. We were given a buzzer and we had a seat in the lobby area to wait. I couldn't believe that it had taken us an hour and a half to get from the YC to the Poly!





I knew that the wait at ‘Ohana was one of the longest on property and we were not disappointed. We didn’t wait excessively long but we did wait a good 20-30 minutes for a table, which was strange because when we got into the restaurant there were empty tables all around.

Now I was super excited about ‘Ohana after reading all of the good reviews on the Dis, so my expectations were high. When we were seated (on the far side of the restaurant away from the entertainment) we could hear that there was excitement going on, on the other side, but nothing near us. I had a bad feeling. We waited a long while before our “cousin” came to help us and he didn’t seem too friendly. I will update his name when I get home tonight.

I will breeze through our dinner since there wasn’t much special about it. We ask for nuggets and fries for Lorelai, since I knew that she wouldn’t eat any of the normal ‘Ohana food, but they brought Ethan nuggets and fries as well. The food was okay. The only thing that really stuck out for me was the pot stickers, they were to die for! I really only ate them and the noodles, I am not a fan of a lot of meat. Erik enjoyed the meat, but much rather go to our local Texas de Brazil. I am sensitive to coconut so the bread pudding was out for me. I did have a bit of the ice cream, but we really just wanted our check and it was taking forever! In fact everything took forever during that meal and refills were almost non-existent. I really think that we would have had a better experience if we had a better “cousin”.





The “entertainment” made their way to us once and only for a few minutes, before it was once again boring on our side. No broom races either… glad I didn’t tell the kids about them before. So unfortunately ‘Ohana was a bust for our family… given how expensive it is we would never pay out of pocket for it, and next time we will definitely trade it for a different restaurant. Different strokes for different folks, I guess!



After we paid our tip we were all ready to get to the MK! We made some bio breaks and headed to the monorail. As we were on the monorail we could see Wishes at the MK. I was so excited about this since that meant that the MK would be clearing out as we were arriving, I was not excited about fighting the crowd, but about the empty park after the crowd!

We were the first people off of the monorail and down the ramp when, BOOM, it started raining again. Ethan was so upset! I mean instant tears! We backed up the monorail ramp onto the platform with most of the crowd and I dug out the ponchos and all was saved! Ethan truly thought that ponchos were the best thing ever invented. Erik decided to brave the water, it wasn’t raining that hard, and we set out for our first night at the MK!

Next up: Would we make it to 3AM? Would the rain slow us down or stop?

 

[KatMark]

I finally responded to your previous update and you go and sneak another one in on me.

That is one of the huge problems of staying at one of the Epcot Resorts...getting anywhere! We stayed at the Beach Club last summer and in addition to some issues at the resort itself, the worse bus service we have ever had. We won't be back to the Beach Club. We are staying at the Boardwalk in September but only because we rented a car for the entire trip.

I'm glad the kids were able to entertain you and keep the smiles.

You should have asked ME about Ohana. Now you can join Mark and I as being one of the few who did not care for it. We were near the entertainment (not necessary without kids), we had a "terrible" cousin who spilled a whole tray right near us and I got spritzed with some kind of liquid. And like you the only thing I really cared for was the Potstickers (and I did enjoy the shrimp as well). Mark wasn't impressed with much either--Potstickers and dessert. We will definitely not be going back.

I can't wait to hear about your EMH's at the park. I'm surprised Cayley and I did not run into you.

Have a great 4th of July weekend.

 

[PrncessA]

You snuck in on me!!

It looks like your DS had a good time at camp.

He had a blast! He was completely wore out.

$50,000 to go to school!!! UGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm still paying off school loans for my two boys. It's gotten near impossible for people to afford a college education without going into total debt.

Since we live in the area, it might be a little cheaper since we won't have to pay for room and board, but it is still expensive!! I hear ya!

WOW! What a spectacular upgrade! I am so happy that you got this

I am still in shock about it a little!

The kids recovered quickly from not wanting to do the pirates and then doing it. Love their faces...you can see how much fun they had.

The pirate cruise is a wonderful value!! I hope the kids get to try all of them at one point!


Too bad about Test Track not being able to run because of the rain. I'm sure DS was upset (we personally don't care for it and won't waste a FP on it since the refurb).

This would have been our first time on it ever.

I'm sorry that your meal wasn't better at Coral Reef. We had a great meal there later in the week (although Mary and I were boring and ordered adult portions of the kids' fried shrimp). I LOVE that Chocolate Wave...best dessert at Disney in my opinion.

I am glad your meal went better than ours!! Yumm chocolate wave!!!

I finally responded to your previous update and you go and sneak another one in on me.

That is one of the huge problems of staying at one of the Epcot Resorts...getting anywhere! We stayed at the Beach Club last summer and in addition to some issues at the resort itself, the worse bus service we have ever had. We won't be back to the Beach Club. We are staying at the Boardwalk in September but only because we rented a car for the entire trip.

We were better prepared for it the rest of the trip, but it never got better.

I'm glad the kids were able to entertain you and keep the smiles.

They are a hoot!

You should have asked ME about Ohana. Now you can join Mark and I as being one of the few who did not care for it. We were near the entertainment (not necessary without kids), we had a "terrible" cousin who spilled a whole tray right near us and I got spritzed with some kind of liquid. And like you the only thing I really cared for was the Potstickers (and I did enjoy the shrimp as well). Mark wasn't impressed with much either--Potstickers and dessert. We will definitely not be going back.

Yikes! We were somewhere on the trip where this happened... and I got soaked with something as well. I don't remember where though. I think they serve the same potstickers at Kona, which we actually enjoyed. We will not be going back to 'Ohana either!!

I can't wait to hear about your EMH's at the park. I'm surprised Cayley and I did not run into you.

Me too, but you guys had quite the adventure on Pirates and that coincidentally was one of the only rides we did not ride the entire night!

Have a great 4th of July weekend.

You too! It should be a nice weekend, not to hot and no rain I believe!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I hate to hear that your Ohana experience wasn't that great. From the looks of your pictures and the way you are describing it, you were seated in the same location as we were. I agree that it's not the best of locations because you aren't in on the entertainment. I could be wrong, but I'm thinking that they are doing something to the other side of the restaurant because a lot of it looked blocked off when we were there. Maybe it has something to do with the Poly refurb?

Oh and I almost forgot to comment on the kids' poses at the bus stop. Too funny! They would have definitely kept the guests entertained while waiting a half hour for a bus ride that would take forever too.

 

[amberg93]

Aww poor Ethan with the Test Track situation. It sucks that it doesn't run in the rain but it makes sense too. At least you did get fast passes out of it.

I have yet to eat at Coral Reef, but I mostly hear mixed reviews about it? I'm not into seafood though so that probably helps. And yeah, those tips really add up.

The bus situation doesn't sound fun. Sometimes though that's how it is.

Aww sorry Ohana wasn't great for you Looks like overall it just wasn't the best food day.

 

[JPFamilyMom]

WOW!!! Lots of updates and lots of fun....

So cool your kids did the pirate cruise, I have wanted my boys to do one but have been so nervous about it. It's so great the CM's were equipped to handle E's ADHD. My boys special needs is what has held me back from trying. I showed them the pictures and they thought it looked cool.... maybe we'll give it a try one day.

on your upgrade, that is awesome. And prime location so close to the elevator too.

for the rain and TT, hope E got his ride on TT

sorry about your Ohana experience, we have not tried dinner there because of food selections, I didn't know I could just order nuggets and fries for my kids. We did try the breakfast and had a great experience, but it's not a must do for us.

Can't wait to see how your MK EMH night goes

 

[alan_renfroe]

Wow, you are an updating machine! I'm behind several posts but I'll catch up. Looks like the kids had a blast with the pirate cruise!

Oh my gosh what a GREAT upgrade at YC! That room and the view look fantastic! Congrats on the pixie dust for sure!

We had originally made reservations for Coral Reef for lunch on our Epcot day, but switched it to Via Napoli and then later switched it to Tutto Italia, which was very very good...so no regrets!

 

[petals]

Sorry to hear O'Hana wasn't good. We've only ever had breakfast there and loved it mostly because of Stitch

Poor Ethan really doesn't seem to be having a good day.

 

[ZehnJahren]

I'm joining in. I'm in the Chicagoland area myself! So far your trip looks really great - Midway instead of O'Hare, a nice relaxing pool, DTD, and biking day, and then the parks. But I'm sorry to hear that you couldn't ride TT right away! I may not be a kid anymore but I definitely relate to REALLY wanting to ride something, and waiting so long for it, and then you just simply CAN'T. Hope you eventually got to ride!

Anyway, I will be along for the ride. Looks like it's shaping up to be a great trip for your family!

 

[PrncessA]

I hate to hear that your Ohana experience wasn't that great. From the looks of your pictures and the way you are describing it, you were seated in the same location as we were. I agree that it's not the best of locations because you aren't in on the entertainment. I could be wrong, but I'm thinking that they are doing something to the other side of the restaurant because a lot of it looked blocked off when we were there. Maybe it has something to do with the Poly refurb?

I honestly could not believe how much refurb was being done at WDW!! We were hit over the head with it in DTD, MK, Epcot, Poly and Wilderness Lodge. Somewhere in my imagination I believe that Disney should be able to magically make all the work overnight with no inconvenience to the people paying almost $200 for a meal... just sayin'! I mean if they can now get Mickey Mouse to talk, they can figure out how to make the construction walls invisible!

Oh and I almost forgot to comment on the kids' poses at the bus stop. Too funny! They would have definitely kept the guests entertained while waiting a half hour for a bus ride that would take forever too.

They were cracking everyone up! Ethan made sure I got a bottom shot, I actually had to retake the photo twice, he wanted it just right.

Aww poor Ethan with the Test Track situation. It sucks that it doesn't run in the rain but it makes sense too. At least you did get fast passes out of it.

Loved the fast passes! They were a life saver.

I have yet to eat at Coral Reef, but I mostly hear mixed reviews about it? I'm not into seafood though so that probably helps. And yeah, those tips really add up.

I would probably try another Epcot restaurant instead. The atmosphere is great, but the food is not worth it.

The bus situation doesn't sound fun. Sometimes though that's how it is.

Erik and I were talking today about where we would like to stay (hopefully) if we go in February and without a doubt the YC is a favorite for us, even though the MK transportation was poor. POR is a very very close second. YC is so conveniently placed with Epcot and DHS, and the buses for AK were plentiful!

Aww sorry Ohana wasn't great for you Looks like overall it just wasn't the best food day.

We make up for it during the trip though!!

WOW!!! Lots of updates and lots of fun....

So cool your kids did the pirate cruise, I have wanted my boys to do one but have been so nervous about it. It's so great the CM's were equipped to handle E's ADHD. My boys special needs is what has held me back from trying. I showed them the pictures and they thought it looked cool.... maybe we'll give it a try one day.

The CM's were all very well trained and they had a separate captain who drove the boat in addition to all the "pirates" who were handling the kids. It was a very well run operation. We let Ethan go alone at 4, and we were NERVOUS, but I highly recommend them!!

on your upgrade, that is awesome. And prime location so close to the elevator too.

Disney really made our trip extra special!!

for the rain and TT, hope E got his ride on TT

We do get our ride on TT on our next Epcot day, but believe me it was not without A LOT of drama, of a whole different sort!!

sorry about your Ohana experience, we have not tried dinner there because of food selections, I didn't know I could just order nuggets and fries for my kids. We did try the breakfast and had a great experience, but it's not a must do for us.

I think next time we will try a breakfast just to see Lilo and Stitch. The kids are not big Stitch fans but on our last day we ran into Stitch at the MK and it ended up being E's favorite character interaction the entire trip!

Can't wait to see how your MK EMH night goes

Hopefully coming up soon, we are doing so housecleaning tomorrow....

Wow, you are an updating machine! I'm behind several posts but I'll catch up. Looks like the kids had a blast with the pirate cruise!

I was on an update roll!! I will be sad when they are too old to do the pirate cruise any longer!

Oh my gosh what a GREAT upgrade at YC! That room and the view look fantastic! Congrats on the pixie dust for sure!

It was a blessing for sure!

We had originally made reservations for Coral Reef for lunch on our Epcot day, but switched it to Via Napoli and then later switched it to Tutto Italia, which was very very good...so no regrets!

I wouldn't have any regrets either! We ate at Via Napoli, and it was very good. I think we will try Tutto Italia next time. I have read so many good reviews, including yours!

Sorry to hear O'Hana wasn't good. We've only ever had breakfast there and loved it mostly because of Stitch

Poor Ethan really doesn't seem to be having a good day.

The 3AM EMH really redeemed the day for us and him!!

I'm joining in. I'm in the Chicagoland area myself! So far your trip looks really great - Midway instead of O'Hare, a nice relaxing pool, DTD, and biking day, and then the parks. But I'm sorry to hear that you couldn't ride TT right away! I may not be a kid anymore but I definitely relate to REALLY wanting to ride something, and waiting so long for it, and then you just simply CAN'T. Hope you eventually got to ride!

Anyway, I will be along for the ride. Looks like it's shaping up to be a great trip for your family!

Yay another Chicagolandian... that is the word I am going with. Our trip was packed to the gills with activity and drama let me tell you! To be honest the kid in me was upset as well, it was my first time on TT and I missed out too.

 

[PrncessA]

Happy 4th of July to everyone!! I hope all of my US friends had a wonderful and safe holiday!!

We are home early from our festivities, and are forgoing fireworks tonight in favor of TV and ice cream. Because, lets face it, if it isn't over a castle or a fake fire breathing dragon, it just isn't worth it! We actually went to our annual fireworks last night and don't feel like fighting the crowds to see tonight's.

We spent the morning at the parade, where it turns out I really picked the wrong place to set up our chairs last night. I am as red as a beet right now with sunburn. I stayed in the shade as much as possible at our picnic, but yikes I look like a lobster!

I am hoping to get a update out tonight, because between the disaster that is my house and church on Sunday, I am going to be busy this weekend!! I still have several Ikea storage units that need to be put together as well, and who doesn't love Ikea's confusing picture only instructions. Ethan's bunk bed is Ikea, but I bought it off of craigslist, and it was partially assembled with no instructions, and it was discontinued through Ikea, that was a fun job to put together, let me tell you. Ethan slept on the couch that night.

 

[FancyNancy]

I am all caught up with your TR and am subbing in!

 

[PrncessA]

I actually started writing this on Friday night, but between the dog staying under my feet the entire night, due to being afraid of the fireworks outside, and a spider dropping on my head from the ceiling while I was putting Lorelai to bed, it was like Survivor around there! I have an extreme fear of spiders, as does Lorelai, so you can imagine the scene in her room. Erik said it easily could have won America’s Funniest Home Videos. Lorelai finally agreed to stay in her bed, which believe me took a lot of time, and a sly killing of the offending spider that I slung off of my head during my spider dance, while it climbed up the wall behind Lorelai, without her knowing. If she had seen it, there would have been no getting her to sleep in her own bed! Ethan slept through the entire thing amazingly!!

So let’s get to it! I didn’t take an obscene amount photos this night because, 1. I was too busy having so much fun!, 2. it was dark and I the pictures weren’t turning out well, 3. we took advantage of Memory Maker as much as possible!!

When last we left off we were heading into MK right after Wishes. Seeing as our ADR had been for 8:00pm, I had hoped that we would make it to the MK before the mass exodus after Wishes, but after running late for our ADR, having a pretty long wait to eat, then a long meal, it was enviable that we would be fighting the crowds.

Anyone who has ever fought the crowds leaving the MK will be able to put together our journey from the monorail platform to this point at 10:25PM (BTW I am loving the fact that Photopass time dates your photos!!):



I wouldn’t normally post this photo, because yikes look at my hair and my eyes are closed, but it was our first photo inside the MK this trip!!

After a quick stop in front of the castle and a glance at the TouringPlans app it was decided that since Splash Mountain had a short wait (I think about 20 minutes) we would head that way. But who wants to walk toward Frontier Land and not ride a few rides on the way?

My memory is a bit foggy but I am pretty sure that we rode the Jungle Cruise first, where we were the first people on and right next to the captain, who by the way was HILARIOUS. It could have been watching Ethan trying to figure out if the captain was being serious or sarcastic, but it was a fun ride. We have never rode the JC in daylight before… that should be on our list of things to do next time!

After the JC we walked by Aladdin’s Magic Carpets with no wait, so we jumped on. Lorelai thought my interpretation of the no dancing was funny, so she acted it out as well!





I checked TP and the wait for Splash Mountain was 15 minutes, so we headed over, this would Erik and Lorelai’s first time on Splash and they were excited! We were behind a British woman and her son who had gotten stuck on Splash the night before, right at the waterfall area after the drop, and she had gotten soaked! She urged me to put on my poncho… so I did, to a lot of ribbing from her son and mine! LOL

The wait was much less than 15 minutes, more like 5 and we were on our way to our happy place! Our time stamp says 11:35pm, so we were making good time! We did actually have a few delays on the ride though, so it took a while to get off the ride after the drop.



After finding our happy place, we headed over to the “wildest ride in the west”, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This was the first time for all of us on this ride! The kids loved it! I on the other hand was afraid that Ethan was going to fly out the side!

After riding BTMR headed toward Liberty Square where we decided to visit some happy haunts, with no wait! Ethan was not thrilled about this and rode with me, gripping my hand the entire time. After the first ride though, he was fine and wanted to ride again, but we were having such a good time without lines, we decided to keep going.



Erik wanted to know what was in Rapunzel’s tower and he was very confused when I said they were just themed bathrooms.



The empty park:


We had made it back to New Fantasyland now and it was time for an old favorite!





The doors literally opened the moment I took this photo, so it was straight into the show we went!! I just love this show! Donald Duck and all my favorite 90’s Disney movies in one place, how can you go wrong. Lorelai was reaching for the pictures, which is the same thing she did when she was 2!
After we laughed at Donald’s butt, we headed back out. There was basically no wait for Rapunzel, so that is where we were headed, but first we needed to do a quick change. We didn’t want to waste time looking for a restroom, so the boys crowded around her and she changed her shirt into a dress. It was basically an empty park anyway.

After a quick wait, less than 5 minutes we were here, our timestamp says is was 12:58am.










Rapunzel was a lot of fun and very engaging, and so pretty! We spent a lot of time with her, before we headed over to a lackluster Cinderella… We probably ended up with 20 photos of Rapunzel and 3 of Cinderella. Oh well, we would see her again in a few days. If I only knew...





We were on a roll and we weren’t ready to stop!

After visiting with the princesses we headed over to tea cups, where the kids and I rode with no wait and Erik voted to take a photo of us riding, he doesn’t do well with spinning rides.



The kids wanted to ride again, and I think we did, but I can’t remember now, but before long we were off to soar with Dumbo. We had the ride completely to ourselves!!







After a ride on Dumbo, we headed over to the kid’s favorite ride from 5 years ago, Goofy’s Barnstormer! After walking through the 1 mile queue there was no wait and we were on and off as quickly as you can say boo! We walked down the 1 mile exit and back up the queue and rode again, this time with the kids sitting together and Erik and I alone. When the ride came to a stop, there was no one in line, so we ask to go again. I think total we rode 4 times in a row. The kids were in heaven! They would have rode the ride another dozen times if we let them, but we hadn’t made it to Tomorrowland yet, so we headed off with plans to defeat Zurg and a certain mountain.

Continued in next post!