Whew... That's a big 'Tato Head! 10 Amazing Days in May '14! **That's a wrap! 10-1**

[anniebabymu]

May 28th: Day 7, Part 2

After we met up, we knew that the next thing on the agenda was something the girls love… but we still had a bit of time before we had to be over to where we were headed since it was only 9:00! We knew that we all wanted to get a picture taken with our matching shirts and thought it might be best to do it BEFORE the girls destroyed theirs and we were all relatively “fresh” looking! So we decided to head over to the Hat to get our picture taken!



I snapped a pic because I didn’t take any time on the way in to do so! We then approached a less than enthusiastic Photo Pass Photograper… and you can tell. Our pictures were awful! She didn’t even try to get the girls to look at her. Oh well. We would attempt a little later in hopes of a better photographer!



After our picture we headed back over to the Animation Courtyard to get in line for one of the girls most favorite things at Hollywood Studios!



Disney Jr. Live on Stage! They loved it our first trip when it was the show before they added Doc and Sophia, then when those two girls were added they loved it even more our second trip! This was definitely one of Addie’s must do’s for Hollywood Studios! It was about 9:25 and we hopped in line for the 9:40 show. This was the earliest we’d ever arrived for a show… and we’ve been stuck in the back in one of the side sections, but we got to be in the middle section about 2/3’s of the way back this time! Great seats!

It’s so awesome seeing the girls have to much fun and times like this make all the money spent worth it! Pure joy and excitement!

Harper and I had to take some pre-show selfies while Addie was busy snuggling up with Grandma and Grandpa.







And then it was time for the show!















We loved being in the center section because we were in all the bubbles! Harper tried so hard to catch them!



And then we had to pull out our binoculars to help Jake look for the treasure!





And here are 2 videos!





Great time as always!!

After Disney Jr. Live on Stage it was time for our first FP+ of the day… another family favorite!

​

 

[anniebabymu]

May 28th: Day 7, Part 3

We didn’t have to travel far for our first FP+… a ride that Harper and I had already visited today! Toy Story Midway Mania! Our FP+ time was from 10:00-11:00 and we got over there around 10:15 and entered the FP+ queue. We had a longer wait in the FP+ line than I did when we got there at Rope Drop! We really only waited 10-15 minutes, so it wasn’t too bad.

This was the first time my MIL and FIL had been on this ride and they were pretty excited to ride!









We got to the ride and Addie wanted to ride with my MIL and Harper wanted to ride with my FIL so Derek and I got to square off against each other! So nice riding without having to hang onto a little one!





And I’m happy to report… I beat Derek! Ha ha! And I have the pic to prove it so he can’t deny it!



Everyone had a great time and my MIL thought the ride was pretty cute!

It was around 10:30 when we got off and decided to head over to where we’d be eating an early lunch, hitting up another attraction before we ate. We headed to another “first” for us… Muppet Vision 3D.



I think the wait was around 5-10 minutes and we were in the room before the show at 10:45. It was a cute show. Not my most favorite thing in the world… but it was nice to get into the AC for awhile! Ha ha!

We got out and since it was 11:10, we decided to head over to lunch. Ever since the girls found out there was a Pizza Planet at Hollywood Studios, they were obsessed with having to eat lunch there!



It was busier in there at 11:15 than I thought it would be! We ordered our food, got our food and luckily there was a table for 6 that was just opening up. So we stalked it for a minute while the CM’s were wiping it down and plopped down as soon as they left!

The girls and I both got Cheese Pizza and Derek and my in laws all got Pepperoni Pizza. Then for Dessert, my in laws both got Cappuccino Cupcake and Derek and I both got the Specialty Cupcake… a chocolate and peanut butter Darth cupcake! Oh my gosh… this cupcake was the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten. I can still taste it now! Soooooo yummy!!! And it was super cute too!



After our tummies were full we knew we had another FP+ coming up! We did have a bit of time to kill before our FP+ window so we decided to go on another new to us ride… hoping that when we got over there the wait time wouldn’t be too crazy. Luckily it wasn’t, so in line for The Great Movie Ride we went! And in line I took one of the cutest pics of my FIL and Harper!



And then of course, Addie couldn’t let her sister outshine her so she needed a pic just like it.



Before long we were up to the front and getting ready to board our boat! And little did I know… we were in for a treat! I had read many Trip Reports before going and EVERYONE had always gotten the Gangster scene, so I was prepared to have the most common Gangster scene as well. But we DIDN’T!!! We got the Cowboy scene! I loved it! But of course, I don’t have anything to compare it too since this was our first ride. The girls were scared in a couple scenes (she really didn’t like the explosion! I think she thought we were going to catch on fire and it really scared her) and I don’t think this ride tops Addie’s list, but I on the other hand loved it! Will most definitely go back on it in future trips!





After TGMR, we had to book it over to our next FP+ because it was a super short window! We were headed to the Voyage of the Little Mermaid with a window from 12:50-1:00. We just made it and were under the sea in no time. Derek actually got to watch the show with us… last trip Harper was exhausted and started a major meltdown, so he had to take her out while Addie and I watched the show. This time both girls loved the show!

After we were done, the girls just had to stop in the little dump shop right there in the Animation Courtyard. They had been in those stores a couple times earlier in the day and my MIL told Addie that her and grandpa were going to buy the girls one more thing, so they could pick something but it had to be something they really wanted. Of course, this process took forever! Harper finally picked a little Cinderella set with those tiny figurines and they wear “rubber” clothes… I’m sure you know what I’m talking about and Addie picked her very first pin trading set!

I had never talked to Addie about pin trading because I thought she’d be too shy to approach any CM’s about trading pins. When we first arrived on our trip, she saw lots of pins and asked what they were all about. I told her about it and she instantly knew she wanted to do that. I still wasn’t exactly sure she’d do it, so never bought her any pins. Well, grandma and grandpa bought her the starter set with the pink lanyard and it had two pins with it that were the same. She didn’t understand this, so I told her that since it was the same pin she could trade it with someone! Then they also bought her 2 more princess pins to go on it. She LOVED it… still does! Guess I’ll be paying eBay a visit before our next trip!

After they made their purchases, it was time to head out for some naps. When we got on the bus there wasn’t that many people on it. There was a gentleman with his teenage boy on the bus and they saw Addie so excited about her new pin trading stuff. Well, he had been carrying around this pin in his pocket that was left in his hotel room and approached Addie asking if she wanted it! She was over the moon and we thanked him so much. It was so nice of him and it was a perfect one that she could trade later! All we needed to do was buy a back for the pin. Sooooo nice of him!

When we got back to Pop, Derek decided to take Harper back to the room and I took Addie to the gift shop to find a back for her new pin. While there we decided to look at some of the other pins and knowing Addie still had $10 left of her own money to spend, I told her I would buy her backs so she could get the 2 pack of mystery pins that she wanted. She was more than happy with her purchase! Then while we were checking out, the CM that checked us out asked Addie if she wanted to look at her pins to see if there was anything she liked. Addie did and found one, so she traded her duplicate pin for a Duffy pin. Best. Day. Ever.



Modeling her new lanyard!

So we headed back to the room, where Addie convinced Derek to take her swimming. They headed to the pool and Harper and I laid down at 2:30 for a nap! We were sleeping when at some point Derek and Addie came back a bit early since they closed the pool due to a pop-up thunderstorm. It was about time for everyone to wake up anyways and get ready to go back to the buses! We had a FP+ to get back to!
​

 

[Jackiemarie21]

I love Hollywood Studios! I can only imagine how much Harper loved TSM! Then the Woody and Buzz meet, I'll bet she was out of her mind excited!

We missed staring rolls this time too! Someday I will make it!


I love the family shirts! The pic is cute, even if the girls are not looking! Sometimes, I wonder what"qualifies" someone to be a PP photographer!

We still have to do the Disney Jr show looks like fun!

 

[anniebabymu]

May 28th: Day 7, Part 4

We met up to be back at the bus at 4:20 and didn’t have to wait long for a bus. This was a common theme this trip… loved it! While in line the sky look sketchy and you could tell it poured while we were napping! Hopefully it would be done raining, but even if it wasn’t we were armed with ponchos and ready to get back. We had a FP+ to get to!













On the bus ride over, the little girl who “wasn’t tired” enough to nap and insisted on swimming instead fell asleep on the bus. Crazy kid!



We were back at Hollywood Studios by 4:30. Just in time for our next FP+ window… yet ANOTHER new to us ride! Our 4:30-5:30 FP+ for Tower of Terror!





I had made this FP+ not knowing if we’d be keeping it or not. I was waiting for Addie to want to back out. Well, she never did! And I told her I’d ride it with her even though I was scared out of my mind to do so! The closer we got to that Tower, the more butterflies in my tummy!



My MIL decided that she’d sit out with Harper… she has a pretty big fear of elevators and I knew she’d never go on one again after this ride if she went on it! Ha ha! But we took Harper up to the entrance to grab a Rider Swap first so Addie could go on again if she wanted when we were done.

My MIL and Harper sat down and I hopped in the FP+ line with Derek, Addie and my FIL… silently freaking out the whole time! Didn’t want to scare Addie, so I was playing it cool. We got right in and were loaded in our elevator. No backing out now!

I sat in between Derek and my FIL and was gripping onto Derek’s shorts the entire time! We had an INTENSE ride! I didn’t know if this was normal or this was an exceptionally good ride. Did this roller coaster hating girl love it or hate it? You Facebook Friends of mine know already… but I… LOVED IT! I was not expecting to love it so much! I thought for sure Derek and my FIL would have to go back on with Addie, but I actually wanted to ride again! The whole up/down of it was much easier to handle than the side to side on the roller coasters. So glad I loved it!



Derek was complaining of a headache before we got on it (I think he needed to drink more water), so he decided to sit out on the Rider Swap ride. So Addie, myself and my FIL hopped right back on! We had quite the tame ride compared to our first ride. It was fun!



We hoped to catch the Beauty and the Beast show after our ToT rides, but by the time we were done the final show was in progress. Looks like we’d have to miss out on it this trip. There’s always next time! Instead we headed over to the other side of the park because I was hoping to catch Characterpalooza!

I had never head of Characterpalooza before a few weeks before our trip and I knew it was something that I wanted to do with Harper! My in-laws, Derek and Addie decided to stop at Star Tours and I headed to the Streets of America with Harper to see who we could find!

Harper and I found a lot of friends!

We saw Stitch, but since we had just seen him a few days before we didn’t stop to take a pic with him.



We also saw the Penguins from Mary Poppins and Mary Poppins herself!



Mary’s line was super long, so we didn’t hop in it.

Then we saw Gepetto! I knew we’d never be able to find him elsewhere, so Harper hopped in his line and got an autograph!





Then last, but not least… the green Army men! Harper loved him!









I’m so glad I had heard about Characterpalooza and actually found where it was!

After we met those characters, we wandered over to Star Tours to meet the rest of our gang! We only waited a few minutes and they were out! They raved about their ride and Derek was like, “It was totally different than our first ride! They have a bunch of different scenes!” Ooops… I knew that. I guess I forgot to tell him it would be different! Ha ha!

I could tell by my tummy that is was time for dinner! I was really excited for tonight’s dinner because I had heard wonderful things about it… and to go along with the theme of firsts for the day, it was the first time we had eaten at this particular place! Where were we headed?!?​

 

[anniebabymu]

I love Hollywood Studios! I can only imagine how much Harper loved TSM! Then the Woody and Buzz meet, I'll bet she was out of her mind excited!

She did love it! She was in awe of everything!

We missed staring rolls this time too! Someday I will make it!

I want to go there so bad! We won't in November because we're only planning on going to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot for the Food and Wine Festival since we only have 2 park days. Who knows when I'll get there!


I love the family shirts! The pic is cute, even if the girls are not looking! Sometimes, I wonder what"qualifies" someone to be a PP photographer!

Thanks! I thought they all turned out pretty cute! I completely agree with what qualifications they have to have to be a PP Photographer. Some of them I think they've only held a digital camera in their life...

We still have to do the Disney Jr show looks like fun!

You definitely have to go! Charlotte would LOVE it!

 

[anniebabymu]

May 28th: Day 7, Part 5

So where was tonight’s dinner?



50’s Prime Time!

My FIL is a big lover of the 50’s, so I knew that we needed to try out this restaurant this trip. And let’s be honest… the menu looked awesome! So awesome that I didn’t know what I was going to get!

We got over there a little before our 6:30 ADR and was given a pager. We headed over to the “living room” and just took it all in. What a fun restaurant! Before we knew it, our pager was going off and it was time to sit down. We were taken, what felt like the long way around, to our table and it was most definitely a maze! I didn’t think we would ever find our way out of there! We were around the back of the restaurant in a cozy little kitchen. It was awesome.

Our cousin came over to our table and off the bat I knew he was going to be a fun one! He asked us if it was our first time dining there and we told him that it was. He then said, “Oh I knew it was… because you brought Mr. Elbows over there.” Ha ha! He was talking about Derek, who had his elbows on the table. Our whole dinner he referred to Derek as “Mr. Elbows”. Our cousin really took a liking to my FIL. It was absolutely hilarious! He had a very dry sense of humor and wasn’t super over the top… like the cousin waiting on the tables next to us!

The table next to us had asked for more water and the waiter brought over two pitchers for the boy who asked for water. Then after those people had left, he had a new family the table next to the newly empty one. He made the little girl in that family come over and clean the table. He told her that he was just helping her out because if she kept it up she’d be living in a castle in no time. Then he made her set the table. It was so funny!! We were dying!

He took our drink orders and my MIL and FIL decided to get milkshakes as their drink. One got chocolate and one got vanilla, but I can’t remember who got what! After he came back with our drinks, we ordered our dinners! Derek got the Veggie lasagna, which totally surprised me! My FIL got the Fried Chicken and then my MIL and myself both got the Sampling of Mom’s Favorite Recipes (fried chicken, pot roast and meat loaf). We just couldn’t decide what we wanted! And then I think Addie got the chicken nuggets and Harper shared mine and Addie’s meal.

Oh my gosh… my food was absolutely delicious! I don’t think I could pick a favorite thing! And I cleaned my plate except for my greens, but my cousin let me slide. My FIL on the other hand was so funny. He’s gobbling up his chicken and then he starts to eat his greens and was like, “I don’t think this spinach tastes right!” Ha ha! He must have not looked at the menu because he thought it was spinach. He ended up putting his chicken bones over his greens. When our cousin came by he picked up my FIL’s fork and plate and moved the chicken bones to the side and then asked everyone in our kitchen, “Do you all see this?! Do you see that he’s trying to hide his greens under his chicken bones?” Soooooo funny!

After we finished dinner, our cousin came back with a special little “hat” for my FIL.



It says “I’m a Brat” on it. We were dying! Addie thought it was so funny and had to have a turn wearing it!



Our cousin decided we all ate our dinners well enough to get dessert and let us order. Derek ordered the PB&J milkshake, my FIL ordered the cheesecake, I think my MIL ordered Dad’s Sundae, Addie got the kids ice cream sundae and I ordered the ‘Smores! I’d been eyeing those ‘Smores on the menu and knew I HAD to get them! Derek let me try a little of his milkshake and it was to die for! EVERYBODY enjoyed our desserts!









My MIL was all the way at the end of the table, so I couldn’t get a pic of her dessert! How delicious do my ‘Smores look!?!? Making my mouth water again! And even better… we found this little gem on my plate!



A hidden Mickey!!

We were all MORE than satisfied with our meal… and it was a complete 180 from our dinner the night before. Way to redeem yourself Disney World! The atmosphere was fabulous, our cousin was hilarious and made the experience 10 times better and then the food, both dinner and dessert, was more than wonderful! I would most definitely eat here again!



Little girls with happy bellies!

We were done with dinner around 7:45 and we had a decision to make. Hang out for a bit and head to Fantasmic or just take our time and stroll through Hollywood Studios and take in the sights? Our first trip we did Fantasmic with my in-laws and it scared Addie a bit. So we decided just to wander around and see what we could find instead of trying to get over there, waiting in line and then waiting for the show to start. This ended up being a wonderful decision. It was so nice to not feel rushed to get anywhere!

We wandered over to the Streets of America to look around.







And then look what we found!







Then Addie needed another turn… she just couldn’t get enough of the umbrella!





After walking around for a bit we checked the wait times for RnRc and ToT and they were both pretty long, so we just decided that we had a wonderful day and maybe we would head back to Pop a little early tonight. Once again, a great decision!

On our way out I had seen that the girl I went to high school with (remember her from arrival day?!) had been in Hollywood Studios today also and got an Olaf Magic Shot at the entrance, so we decided to see if we could get one. Nobody was set up to do them anymore, so we just decided to get another family picture. Even though it was the end of the day and everyone was beat it turned out pretty good!







We left Hollywood Studios at 8:15 and headed over towards the buses. Well, a bus for Pop had just left… but a bus for Art of Animation was just pulling up! So we decided to hop on AoA’s bus and just walk back to Pop across the bridge. The sun was just starting to set, so the walk to Pop was gorgeous! It was fun seeing our resort from the other side!

Once we got past the Hippy Dippy pool my in laws asked Addie if she wanted to go to the arcade to use up the credits we got with our Magic Your Way package. Of course she wanted to, so Derek and I took Harper back to the room and he grabbed our voucher so she could have double the credits and I threw Harper in the tub.

Her and I were in bed before Derek and Addie got back! Harper was out in no time and I was busy playing with MDE. The next day was supposed to by my in-laws scheduled “date” day without my family of 4 and they planned to head to Epcot after using the FP+ with us at the *spoiler alert* Magic Kingdom in the morning. Well, because my MIL was so sick and didn’t get to go to Animal Kingdom with us, they decided to go to Animal Kingdom in the morning before Epcot instead. So I got on and was able to change their FP+ from Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom with zero problems! I was able to get them FP+ for Expedition Everest, Dinosaur and the Safari all within the first 3 ½ hours of park opening! So they would be able to be in Epcot by lunch. I was more than pleased with MDE at this moment!

I text my MIL their new FP+ schedule and was about to shut my eyes when Derek and Addie walked in the door. She had so much fun at the arcade and she still had credits to use!

This day totally blew any expectations I had for it out of the water. It was another flawless day in Disney!​

 

[STLMickeyMom]

I ADORE HS! i'm so glad you all loved it and had such a great day!

I love all the pictures! the girls look like they are having a blast and you all look so cute in your family shirts. your family pics at the end of the day turned out great!

it's so funny that harper loved the army man. Madison was freaked out by them!

addie's got the perfect singin' in the rain pose with the umbrella! I want to find that when we go. there was a group there last time so we passed by.

how fun that you had such a great experience at 50's! we LOVE it there and can't wait to go back on our next trip. love the hat and mr. elbows! hilarious!!!

 

[AprilRenee]

What a great day! You guys have gotten a lot done PLUS a nap!
Good to know that pop is so close. I had forgotten that. So I'll definitely plan on HS day being a nap at the hotel day since it's a quick ride back and forth.
Andrew and I LOVE HS. I'm thinking Caden will too. There's so much to do there!

 

[plumsiren]

So much fun!!

 

[wdwpirates]

I died at Mr. Elbows!!! So funny!! We always have a great time at 50s. How cool that Addie had double credits at the arcade. Yea for that!!! Harper's pics with all the characters were super cute, especially the one with Penguin.

 

[anniebabymu]

May 29th: Day 8, Part 1

We were on our own today! Initially we planned on spending the morning with my in-laws before they went their own way for the afternoon/early evening and then meeting up again for dinner. Since my MIL wasn’t feeling so hot on our Animal Kingdom day, they decided to head over there in the morning and use Fast Passes that I was able to switch for them!

Before I hop into our day, I’ll give you a quick (yeah right… I’m a talker!) synopsis of what went down in their day! They got over to Animal Kingdom early and used up their Fast Passes… Expedition Everest, the Safari and then I can’t remember if they used their Dinosaur one or if they skipped it. After spending some time in Animal Kingdom, they hopped on a bus and headed over to Epcot.

When in Epcot they went to do something that you can’t enjoy as much with children that you can when you’re not with small children… the World Showcase! They ate lunch in France at the Boulangerie Patisserie and thought that their lunch was wonderful. They then spent the rest of the afternoon touring the World, watching shows and enjoying an adult beverage! My MIL loved her Sultan’s Colada in Morocco! After their fun afternoon, they came back to Pop to rest up a bit before dinner! That’s when we met them.

Now… onto OUR day of fun!

We woke up early to head to the buses to enjoy an Extra Magic Hour morning at the park that we were all missing… the Magic Kingdom! Little Miss Addie was in her own world this morning and moving sooooo slow! I guess it was Day 8 after all, so she’s entitled to move a little slow! Ha ha!





We got to the buses at 7:00 for EMH starting at 8:00. We pulled into the Magic Kingdom in no time… and it was a madhouse! Many people were enjoying EMH this morning! It was crazy while we were waiting for the gates to open… but not crazy enough to stop Derek from taking a classic selfie! And he’s gonna kill me for posting this pic! Ha ha!



Then the Mayor welcomed us all to the Magic Kingdom and our day of fun began! We made our way in… with a bunch of our closet new friends.



We had a better “Look there’s the Castle” moment out of Harper this morning than on our first morning! I think the girls were all a little sleepy thanks to the early morning wake-up call our first day at the Magic Kingdom and the 24 hour party.





When we made it to the Hub, Derek and Addie and Harper and I went our separate ways. Derek and Addie headed over to Tomorrowland to one of Addie new favorite rides, Space Mountain! The two of them walked right on their first ride and of course Addie loved it!



She let daddy “drive” the first ride and upon hopping off immediately exclaimed that she wanted to ride again! I think there was a 10 minute stand-by wait, so they got back in line to ride again. The second time Addie wanted to “drive”.



After their ride they decided to wander over to Fantasyland to meet up with Harper and I. And along the way they stopped for some Photopass pics. So cute!



So while Derek and Addie were enjoying their time in Tomorrowland, Harper and I walked by Merida’s meet and greet area and headed back into Fantasyland.



And where was our first stop? Our daily stop at Sir Mickey’s of course! If you don’t remember from our other Magic Kingdom days, we were on the look-out for an Anna and Elsa flip doll or Anna’s Coronation dress. Were we successful today?



Yes we were!! I bought two right away because I knew I couldn’t buy Harper one and not buy Addie one. That would be a fight for sure! Harper love, love, loved her doll and had to take her everywhere with us!



First up was… surprise, surprise… the Carrousel!



Elsa was buckled up nice and tight and ready for her ride.





After our spin on the Carrousel, Harper wanted to ride Peter Pan’s Flight. The wait was 15 minutes so we hopped in line. Harper loved the ride once again! I think this might have been her favorite ride of the trip!

When we got off I noticed I had a text from Derek. He and Addie were on their way to Fantasyland to meet us. Once they met up with us, Derek went back in Sir Mickey’s and bought two more dolls for a girl I work with and someone that he worked with. While he was there I took the girls over to Friar’s Nook and got some sliced apples and some OJ with snack credits. While there we took some pics of the Anna/Elsa dolls to send to our friends to show them. Or course they loved them!





After our quick refreshment we headed off to our next adventure!



There was no wait and we hopped right on our boats. Derek had pretty much forgotten about this ride and the little drop in it took him by surprise. The girls loved it!

After our ride we were trying to figure out what to do next. We contemplated going on the Jungle Cruise, but then the girls wanted to go on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin instead. Turned out to be an AWESOME decision! We boarded our Magic Carpets and guess who decided to take the first trip on the carpets… (you’ll have to excuse Derek’s fingers!)



Aladdin and Jasmine!! Wait… what?!?! How awesome is that!



We could not believe that Aladdin and Jasmine were on our flight to Agrabah. I tell ya… the Pixie Dust just kept coming on this trip! Oh and for time check reference, we were in the air on the ride at 9:37am. We had accomplished a lot in that hour and a half!​

 

[anniebabymu]

May 29th: Day 8, Part 2

After our ride on the Magic Carpets the next logical thing to do was meet Aladdin and Jasmine! We had met Jasmine before at Cinderella’s Royal Table our first trip, but we had yet to meet Aladdin! Every time we’d try to meet the two of them together, the line was huge so we always made the decision to skip out on it.

We got over to the line and even though the first session had just started, they stopped the line. Instead of finding something else to do, we decided that we would just wait it out and stay by the rope to be the first family of their second set. That was the beauty of our 10 day trip! By Day 8 we really felt like we could just do whatever we wanted and weren’t rushed to try to cram things in! It was awesome.

While we were waiting Derek decided that, after seeing one, he wanted a float. So he hopped out of line real quick to grab a Citrus Swirl (orange slush and soft-serve ice cream). He wanted a Root Beer Float, but knew the girls wouldn’t like it, so he played the awesome daddy card and got the Citrus Swirl instead. The girls LOVED it!



About when they got done with their treat the CM opened up the rope so we could all get in the “real” line for Aladdin and Jasmine. We were thankful to be at the front of the line because we were also out of the sun! As we were in line waiting, Addie noticed that the CM was wearing a lanyard with pins on it! She asked me if she could ask him for a trade. She knew that she had enough pins to make one trade a day for the remainder of our days, so she chose to make the trade with him. I can’t remember what pin she traded for, but I think it was another princess one. She loved it!

Before we knew it, it was 10:20 and we were about to meet them!



Addie was so excited and the night before she had decided that she was going to draw pictures on the pages for them to sign. Pictures that correlated to the characters that we were meeting. Right before Aladdin and Jasmine came out Addie showed me the picture she drew and told me she drew a magic carpet. Yeah… didn’t exactly look like a Magic Carpet to me, but I wasn’t going to burst her bubble and thought to myself, “Surely they’ll just look at it and smile.” And this was the beginning of the most hilarious/worried about my daughter’s feelings meet and greets we’ve ever had.

I say hilarious because really… it was pretty funny and I knew exactly what Jasmine was thinking. But I say worried about Addie because I was. I was just waiting for the tears to flow and her to be really embarrassed. Luckily neither of those things happened because Jasmine covered herself up pretty quickly and Aladdin helped by making jokes. So what happened??

Addie marched right up to Jasmine giving her the autograph book and what does Jasmine say? “Oh look! Doggie bones!” Oh no. Yes, Addie’s “magic carpets” looked EXACTLY like doggie bones. I immediately thought “Oh no… Addie has to be devastated.” but at the same time, I couldn’t help but hold back giggles. When Jasmine said that Addie just smiled and didn’t say anything… then after she said something about doggie bones again Addie says, “Those aren’t doggie bones! They’re magic carpets!”.



You could see Jasmine start to blush and then she just started giggling. I mean, uncontrollable giggling. Then at that point I couldn’t hold back my laughs anymore! I started laughing too, then *thankfully* Addie did too. She thought Jasmine was pretty silly. You could just tell that Jasmine, the person, was having a really hard time keeping it together and staying in character! I’ve never seen such a thing!



So while Jasmine was trying to get herself together, Aladdin was trying to crack jokes. He told Addie that Abu loves to snack on doggie bones. So funny!



Jasmine was STILL laughing and at this point Aladdin was starting to lose it too. So funny.



Then Jasmine got herself together enough to say, “I’m sorry… I must still have my sleepy eyes on! It was a long flight from Agrabah!”









This meet and greet took forever, compared to other ones! We were there for at least 5 minutes. Overall, it was a really good meet and greet! Now, if Addie would have been crushed I would have probably felt otherwise. After we left them I asked Addie if she was doing okay and she said she was. She said at first she was kind of sad, but then she thought it was funny. Whew. So glad!

I knew just the thing to make sure Addie was put into a good mood! It was time for our first FP+! We had a FP+ for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad from 10:00-11:00. We did our usual thing and went up to the front and grabbed a Rider Swap, then Derek and Addie hopped on. While they were on there, Harper and I took shelter from the sun over by the old FP machines. The machines that are now all covered up. Bummer. While over there waiting I occupied Harper by giving her my phone and letting her snap as many selfies as she wanted!



After a little while, simply selfies weren’t cutting it anymore… so I switched it to video. I got some hilarious videos!! She couldn’t stop singing, “I l-l-l-l-love milk shakes!” from an episode of Sheriff Callie’s Wild West. I couldn’t not post one of them… so for your viewing pleasure, I present to you one of Harper’s classic videos! Ha ha!



Man, I love that girl!

Derek and Addie got off of their ride and instead of using the rider swap right now, Addie wanted a cool snack. So that’s exactly what we did!



Mickey Bars and popsicles for all! I had seen the tip about getting fountain soda lids and putting them on upside down under popsicles to prevent the drip. I would give this trick a grade of B-. It didn’t keep all the drips off of them because the ice cream/popsicle dripped down the hole where the straw/stick goes through. And it started to overflow over the edges too. Oh well! I’m sure it kept a lot off of their shirts than it would have without one!

While the girls were eating their treats, Derek went over to grab some Mickey pretzels for us. He came back over and we found some seats in the shade and we all sat down and ate them. The girls were done with their treats by this time, so they helped themselves to some pretzels too.

After our snacks, we were in the time frame for our next FP+! We had a FP+ for Splash Mountain from 11:10-12:10. We saw that Woody and Jessie were out meeting, so after Derek and I grabbed a Rider Swap, he and Harper got in line to meet them while Addie and I used our FP+. We were on the ride around 11:25.



We had another wonderful ride and got SOAKED! I swear that the water level in the ride was WAY higher than it had ever been on any of our other trips. Derek thought the same thing! And I think this made for a much wetter ride. We were drenched every ride! Unfortunately, the ride camera had quit working on these two rides of ours… so no ride pic there. Dang! ​

 

[anniebabymu]

May 29th: Day 8, Part 3

Addie and I got off of our ride on Splash Mountain and I looked around for Derek and Harper. Turns out that they were like the next family to meet with Woody and Jessie! How’s that for timing!? We had a lot of great timing this trip. When Harper was going up to Jessie, Addie hopped in and joined her.











The girls loved this meet and greet! And then mommy and daddy had to hop in for a pic!



So cute… another potential Christmas Card pic! Ha ha!

After the meet and greet was over, I took Harper in the shade under the railroad and Derek took Addie back on Splash Mountain with the Rider Swap. They were off the ride in no time and there was a problem in paradise. Addie was in MAJOR meltdown mode. Why? Because Derek wouldn’t buy her something in the dump shop. Seriously? I had more than had it with her ungrateful attitude and I was just ready to leave the Magic Kingdom and put that girl in bed. Not my shining moment of the trip. Yes, get out your Bingo daubers for WDW Bingo… because I was that parent yelling at their child. It was not pretty.

Problem with leaving the Magic Kingdom now was we had a fun FP+ awaiting us and we didn’t want to miss out on it. Ughhh! Why do I have to love Disney more than the kids!?!?

We made Addie hop in the stroller with her sister and she promptly passed out. I knew the kid was tired. And I was just hoping that this 15 minutes power nap would be enough to change her attitude. So Derek and I made the decision to head over to our FP+, do it and then leave the Magic Kingdom after that. Since we had the later snack, we decided to eat lunch back at Pop since we knew all the places at the Magic Kingdom would be crazy.

We got back into Fantasyland for our next FP+ time slot of 12:30-1:30. We parked the stroller and hopped in the FP+ line for Rapunzel and Cinderella! This was our first experience with Princess Fairytale Hall and I thought it was so cute. It was nice that they have their own hall back in Fantasyland… very fitting!

If you’ve never met Rapunzel, let me just tell you… she has NEVER disappointed! This particular Rapunzel was awesome. She was super bubbly and it impossible to be in a bad mood around her!

The girls were wearing their Rapunzel shirts today… coincidence? I think not! Ha ha! So when they got up to her, Rapunzel looked at Addie and asked her if she painted the picture on her shirt. Addie laughed and said no.



They then were talking about painting when Rapunzel stopped her and asked, “Hey… did you girls do your morning stretches today?!” Addie told her they didn’t. Then she says, “Neither did I!!! Let’s all do our stretches together!





Then they had to do some twirls!





So fun!



And then the girls had to give her a huge hug before they left.



When they were done, Cinderella was waiting for them. This meet was just kind of “blah”.







Addie sure loves her some Cinderella!

After our meets, we knew it was time to head out because it was 12:45 and we still hadn’t eaten any lunch. We got out of the park, to the buses and there was one waiting for us! Like I said, wonderful timing this trip! We got back to Pop and went straight in to grab some food. It was at this moment I realized that there is no difference between a kids quick serve credit and an adult quick serve credit! So of course I got Addie an adult meal so she could share it easily with Harper. We got the girls the Chicken Cavatappi again, Derek got the Meatball sub and I got the Build Your Own Burrito. Girls liked theirs again, Derek said his was good and mine was just okay. Definitely no Qdoba or Chipotle!

After lunch it was most definitely time for naps! The beasts were getting angry… and so was mommy! We got back to the room and the girls were passed out at 2:15 and we weren’t far behind!​

 

[anniebabymu]

May 29th: Day 8, Part 4

We woke up from our wonderful nap much happier people! We planned to leave Pop at 5:45 for dinner, but we were all up at 4:15. So we had some time to play around in the room a bit. While we were playing in the room, we realized that my MIL and FIL were in their room! They had gotten back to Pop some time while we were napping. I thought they may just head to dinner from Epcot, but they decided to come back and rest up a bit.

We were at the buses at 5:45 and took the bus to Epcot. We hopped off, got on the Monorail and took it to… the Polynesian!

I had been looking forward to this dinner all week! We were eating at ‘Ohana tonight! We had never eaten here and after drooling over food pics for months, I was sooooooo excited! And I wasn’t only excited about the food. I was dying for a…



Lapu Lapu!

Oh my gosh… delicious and potent! It was not lacking for alcohol. That’s for sure! I wasn’t the only one that enjoyed an adult beverage tonight… gotta love that nobody had to do the driving! Derek got a beer (not sure which one) and then my MIL and FIL both got Pina Colavas.







Mmmmmm… delicious!!!

With all of us and our fancy drinks, I told Derek that he should go buy Addie a Shirley Temple. She loved it!





Addie and Harper were in a great mood while we were waiting… and actually acting like they like each other!







And if you need more proof… yes, I loved my drink. Ha ha!



So we were called back to be seated and were met with the most delicious Welcome Bread! And this was just the start of all the deliciousness to come! We were quickly met by our server and he got our drinks. He brought our drinks out and along with it, he brought out the salad and lettuce wraps. Salad was delicious. Lettuce Wraps were good, but probably my least favorite part of the meal.

Then after that food just kept coming out! I never really felt rushed, but as soon as we were done with one part of the meal the next course was out! Non-stop food. Non-stop delicious food.

After the salad and Lettuce Wraps they brought out the Chicken Wings, Potstickers, Noodles and Veggies. Oh my gosh. I could have eaten a whole meal of those Potstickers and Noodles! I was in heaven… and we weren’t even to the meat and bread pudding! But those were soon to come! Before we knew it they were bringing out skewers and skewers of delicious meat! I’m not a shrimp/sea food eater, but I sure did enjoy that steak and pork!! I was about to pop. I think everyone was about to pop.

Oh but wait… we’re not done! The bread pudding. Or should I say, heaven. We didn’t think we had any more room in our stomachs, but we found some!



Such a shame that we had to leave this much behind! But we couldn’t move, let alone shove more food in our mouths! This dinner was better than I imagined! I’m sooooooo glad we got an ADR here! I had posted a pic of the Lapu Lapu on Facebook that night and my SIL replied, “We are going to get one of those when we’re there for our half, right?!” Uh… duh! Yes!! I had made us an ADR for ‘Ohana for our November trip and now I’m REALLY excited! We’ll be eating here before the Christmas Party. I hope we can make it there and aren’t in a food coma! Ha ha!

After we finished up with dinner, we headed to the bathrooms and set off to explore the beach! Sun was almost finished setting, so it was beautiful out there. I love seeing the Grand Floridian and everything all lit up. Beautiful!

When we got down to the beach, we took the girls shoes off and let them run. I also realized that I think this was the first time Harper has been on a beach! We took a trip to Destin when she was 4 months old, but she was too little and since we live in Missouri, we're a little land locked. She loves her sandbox and this was one gigantic sandbox to her!











And off in the distance you can see the Castle! Too bad I didn’t have my nice camera with me.



Our plan was to take the boat over to the Magic Kingdom and spend a bit of time. It was about 8:45 and the Magic Kingdom was open until midnight, so we had plenty of time on our hands to play since we weren’t planning on watching Wishes or MSEP. We got to the boat and what do you know… Harper and her convenient poop timing. Ughhh!! So instead of catching the bus, we had to head back to the bathrooms.

And I don’t know what it was, but once we were in the bathrooms my tummy started feeling not so good. I blame the ton of food we had just eaten and the alcohol! I fought it off and we decided just to head to the Monorail because I was feeling a bit better. Oh no. I thought I was feeling better. I told Derek I had to head back inside, so my lovely family waited for me. I was feeling better when I headed back up to the Monorail and hopped on. While on it I came to the realization that I needed to head back to Pop while everyone else enjoyed the Magic Kingdom. I was not happy about this decision, but it ended up being the right one. My tummy felt awful for the rest of the night and I was just praying that I felt better in the morning!

While I went back to Pop, the rest of my family got to the Magic Kingdom and had so much fun! They got there at 9:40 managed to fight the MSEP/Wishes crowd and got into Adventureland. Once there, they rode the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion and then they used the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad RS from earlier in the day. Addie rode it with Grandma and Grandpa with the RS. They left the Magic Kingdom at 11:00. I thought they accomplished a lot in that hour of being there… because you know it took them forever to get through the crowd! They really had a great time and I was sad I had to miss out on it!

Not sure what time they got back to Pop because I was already asleep. Derek just threw the girls in bed without baths because they were exhausted, planning to wash them up in the morning. I’m sure that was a great idea!

Once again… another WONDERFUL day at Disney! We had a crabbier Addie on our hands, but the everything else good definitely outweighed the bad!​

 

[STLMickeyMom]

Great updates! I just love reading your TR!

I love the picture of Addie and Derek at the castle. And how cute are harpers selfies?!? Oh, and Derek's Minnie ears--the things daddy's of daughters do, right?

I always feel bad for whoever meets after rapunzel. She's always so fun and it doesn't matter what the next princess does, she can never compare to rapunzel!

Ohana sounds so awesome! And the time on the beach looks awesome! A great break during a busy Disney day!

 

[AprilRenee]

Wow! You just have had day after day of perfect days! LOL

The jasmine story had me laughing, enough that caden started fake laughing to copy me.

I can't WAIT for our 'Ohana meal now. It looks so yummy!!
And I love the idea of exploring the beach afterward. We may need to add that to our plan!

 

[wdwpirates]

Can't believe you were able to snag 4 of those Anna/Elsa dolls!!! Way to go!!! Sounds like you had an awesome day. Glad you liked 'Ohana! It's one of our "must dos"!

 

[anniebabymu]

I ADORE HS! i'm so glad you all loved it and had such a great day!

We really did have a fantastic time! Derek thought it was awesome because he didn't realize all that he was missing out on before this trip. He had no idea there were so many "adult" things to do!

I love all the pictures! the girls look like they are having a blast and you all look so cute in your family shirts. your family pics at the end of the day turned out great!

It's funny how the girls were more into the pictures at the end of an exhausting day than they were when they were fresh in the morning!

it's so funny that harper loved the army man. Madison was freaked out by them!

I can totally see how she was freaked out by them!

addie's got the perfect singin' in the rain pose with the umbrella! I want to find that when we go. there was a group there last time so we passed by.

She was really cute with it! I totally forgot about it when we stumbled upon it. I was so happy we ran into it!

how fun that you had such a great experience at 50's! we LOVE it there and can't wait to go back on our next trip. love the hat and mr. elbows! hilarious!!!

It was so much fun! We had a fantastic time! Addie even says that 50's Prime Time was her favorite sit down meal. She got a kick out of our server, that's for sure!

What a great day! You guys have gotten a lot done PLUS a nap!
Good to know that pop is so close. I had forgotten that. So I'll definitely plan on HS day being a nap at the hotel day since it's a quick ride back and forth.
Andrew and I LOVE HS. I'm thinking Caden will too. There's so much to do there!

I had no idea it was that close! Definitely pencil in a nap for your Hollywood Studios day! It was like we hopped on a bus and got right back off!

So much fun!!

It was!

I died at Mr. Elbows!!! So funny!! We always have a great time at 50s. How cool that Addie had double credits at the arcade. Yea for that!!! Harper's pics with all the characters were super cute, especially the one with Penguin.

It was hilarious! What was even funnier is that I knew he was going to get called out of it, but didn't say anything to him because I wanted to watch it unfold. I'm horrible, I know! Ha ha! My in-laws and I had two separate reservations, so that meant two separate booklets with the coupons in it! Of course they weren't going to use their credits... Addie loved it!

Great updates! I just love reading your TR!

Thanks! I'm loving writing it... I can't believe we've only got a couple of days left!

I love the picture of Addie and Derek at the castle. And how cute are harpers selfies?!? Oh, and Derek's Minnie ears--the things daddy's of daughters do, right?

Me too! And it was a total surprise! I was looking at the Photopass pics and stumbled upon it. I loved that he thought to get a picture with just the two of them! The Minnie ears pic is also a pic that I stumbled upon... and I died laughing! And I crack up every time I watch those videos of Harper. That girl is something else!

I always feel bad for whoever meets after rapunzel. She's always so fun and it doesn't matter what the next princess does, she can never compare to rapunzel!

Isn't that the truth!? I thought the same thing about Aurora meeting after Elsa and Anna! That poor girl... because let's be honest. I'm sure nobody was waiting 300 minutes to see Aurora!

Ohana sounds so awesome! And the time on the beach looks awesome! A great break during a busy Disney day!

It was MORE than awesome! So completely delicious and I can't wait to go back in November! Walking down to the beach really had my MIL wanting to stay at the Poly! So much that I was crunching numbers that night to see how much it would be to stay there. But I think we all agreed that we won't be staying there until all the construction is done!

Wow! You just have had day after day of perfect days! LOL

Oh my gosh... we really did! Overall, everything really was perfect! Gonna be hard to top!

The jasmine story had me laughing, enough that caden started fake laughing to copy me.

I'm just so glad Addie wasn't heartbroken because it really was so funny!

I can't WAIT for our 'Ohana meal now. It looks so yummy!!
And I love the idea of exploring the beach afterward. We may need to add that to our plan!

Have you not eaten there before?! If not, you are going to LOVE IT!! We had such a fantastic meal! And you should definitely explore the beach afterwards! Also gives you an excuse to walk off the food you just ate... ha ha!

Can't believe you were able to snag 4 of those Anna/Elsa dolls!!! Way to go!!! Sounds like you had an awesome day. Glad you liked 'Ohana! It's one of our "must dos"!

I couldn't believe it either! We had been waiting and waiting for more of those dolls to be put out and I didn't think it was going to happen! I was sooooo happy to see them there... and you should have seen the line of moms buying all those dolls! We did have an awesome day. Not that I didn't love having my in-laws with us, it was nice just getting to hang out with just my little family! And I'm sure they enjoyed their day without my crazy kiddos too! I have heard nothing but fantastic things about 'Ohana and couldn't wait to try it... and I'm soooooooo happy we were able to fit it in this trip! I'm thinking it's going to be a must do every trip now too!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Fun updates! I love the selfies and video from Harper! Charlotte has recently discovered the fun of selfies, I find so many strange pics of her. I love the idea of a nice long trip so you can really relax and slow down your time there. It stinks when you are always rushing around everywhere.

I was totally cracking up when you talked about loving Disney more than your kids. People always tell me the same thing, I love it more than Charlotte!

The Elsa/Anna doll score was awesome! Those are so cute. I love the Rapunzel meet and great, so fun! Actually, all your meet and greats looked like tons of fun that day.

Your 'Ohana dinner looks amazing. I am hungry just reading about it. Bob had to pinch hit for me and finish my Lapu Lapu for me. That sucker is big and strong! Too bad you were not feeling well that night, I hope a good nights sleep made the next day great!

 

[scholastica]

I just caught up! It was a very good read. Your trip sounds awesome, and your girls are so cute!