Why, My Little Guppy Has Groupies! - A Dec. 2013 TR *Completed

[DisneyKid4Life]

Well, Alex IS entertaining. But I have no doubt you are too.

Ahh yes, I remember when Frozen was all shiny and new back then. Ah well.

Ooh I hope you don't get row 3...

“I wasn’t aware I’d signed up for another Disney 5K.” See you're ALL entertaining.

Alicia, I just love reading your updates. They're always so entertaining (see I told ya!)

 

[amazingact21]

Well, I guess it's settled, then. If we ever happen to meet up in WDW, we'll have to share a Quattro Formaggi pizza while Landon plays with Mickey and Izzy with Minnie.

Sorry your wait for Soarin' was so long.

That time of night is really pretty.

That trek through World Showcase is pretty much what my afternoon at Epcot on this last trip felt like - a race to to get everywhere. Worth it, though.

I really want that pizza right now. It is so, so good. I'm with Alex on the dessert, though - not a coffee person here. I know, I'm crazy.

Sounds like a plan to me! We're on the same page, in terms of Epcot.

That pizza is ridiculously yummy. Nothing even compares it back home.

Okay I'm on my phone and can't figure out how to quote your question to me earlier, sorry! So yeah, I probably missed the boat on the May TR, but if I end up doing a Sept. one, I will include some highlights from May and June! Thanks for being interested!

Ugh, I hate the feeling of thinking you're going to be late! Anything and everything that can slow you down, WILL slow you down. Yikes. Glad y'all made it!

That food looks SO GOOOOOD. I have only been to Via ONCE, in 2010, so these pics make me want to go back! And what you got is the EXACT meal I'd want too. Yum!!!

The pictures of Landon looking at the ovens are too funny! 'No time for posing now, Mom, this is fascinating!'

You should write one for September! Who doesn't love reading about fall in the MK and MNSSHP? I know I love seeing all the decorations up in TRs.

Via Napoli is delicious. I try and go to Disney and NOT eat there, but it's impossible. I can't skip that pizza!

Well, Alex IS entertaining. But I have no doubt you are too.

Ahh yes, I remember when Frozen was all shiny and new back then. Ah well.

Ooh I hope you don't get row 3...

“I wasn’t aware I’d signed up for another Disney 5K.” See you're ALL entertaining.

Alicia, I just love reading your updates. They're always so entertaining (see I told ya!)

Thank you, Rob. I feel the same about your TRs. They make me laugh and get sentimental about Disney all at the same time.

 

[MEK]

Crap - missed an update. Bump so I can read tonight!!

 

[UGAFan0829]

I'm so glad the CM let your Mom thru for Character Spot. But I really hate that y'all had to spend precious time with a not-so-friendly CM to try and get your Mom's Soarin ride back all because Disney messed it up in the first place. Good for Alex for being persistent, and for y'all for bringing the magic back for your Mom.

I can't help but laugh about your visit to Via Napoli. As you may remember, we visited there last week and it was our first time. Of course I took a picture of that same chandelier! It is quite gorgeous. And Mike and I ordered the very same pizza that you and your Mom did...and yes, I wish I could have a slice right now. I have a funny before and after shot that Mike took that I'll share in my TR. But you are so right...that stuff is amazing!!!

 

[MEK]

That pizza looks so amazing! Yum! Via will always be one of my favorite places to eat!

Love those night shots. The sky and the lighting look so cool!

Clean up on aisle 3??? Really???? Can that really happen on Soarin?

I'm glad your impromptu 5K managed to put your little guy to sleep for awhile. He is just so darn cute! And, yes, those ovens ARE really cool!

 

[afwdwfan]

If they only knew that by now they’d probably be hearing the lines from the movie quoted EVERYWHERE and wish they could back to the pre-Frozen days.

Clean up on Row 3, please. Clean up on row 3.

You never want to have that kind of delay before getting on a ride...

Now, it was time to eat at my favorite Disney restaurant!

You have excellent taste.

“I wasn’t aware I’d signed up for another Disney 5K.”

Oh, you signed up for one a day the instant you bought that park ticket!

But for what it was worth, it put Landon to sleep almost immediately.

He was conked out in his stroller.

Then it was well worth stopping to feed him and then sprinting to the ADR!

My mom and I ordered the Quattro Formaggi

Sorry... give me a minute to clean the drool off my keyboard before I read any farther.

I just can’t go to Disney and not get this pizza.

I mean, I'm partial to the pepperoni, but I think this statement is true of any of their pizzas. I love all of them that I've tried.

Even now, looking at that picture, I’m like, man, I’d kill for a slice.


And I just had it less than a month ago.

I get it. We even considered making 2 ADRs there for our upcoming trip.

The pepperoni was delicious, but it didn’t have nearly enough cheese on the pizza. He was highly disappointed with that, because he said if there was more, he’d probably have loved his dish a lot more.

“It’s like they ran out of cheese and just went, ‘Meh, here’s a handful, he’ll be good.’”

Yeah, I can see that. It tastes great to me, but I certainly wouldn't mind if they put some more cheese on them.

If there’s one thing better than the pizza at Via Napoli it’s the dessert.

I've never tried dessert there. I always stuff myself with the pizza until I feel sick.

And then I eat some more.

Those ovens are too flipping cool.

The cooks preparing the pizzas were having a field day watching him watch the fire. They were keeping him entertained, smiling and waving to him.

Those ovens are really cool. I'm glad that Landon woke up in a good mood and easily entertained.

 

[amazingact21]

I'm so glad the CM let your Mom thru for Character Spot. But I really hate that y'all had to spend precious time with a not-so-friendly CM to try and get your Mom's Soarin ride back all because Disney messed it up in the first place. Good for Alex for being persistent, and for y'all for bringing the magic back for your Mom.

I can't help but laugh about your visit to Via Napoli. As you may remember, we visited there last week and it was our first time. Of course I took a picture of that same chandelier! It is quite gorgeous. And Mike and I ordered the very same pizza that you and your Mom did...and yes, I wish I could have a slice right now. I have a funny before and after shot that Mike took that I'll share in my TR. But you are so right...that stuff is amazing!!!

Yay! I'm so glad you tried Via Napoli and ordered that pizza. There has to be something special mixed into the sauce that makes it super addictive, because I geniunely crave it back at home.

Now I'm looking forward to those pics!

That pizza looks so amazing! Yum! Via will always be one of my favorite places to eat!

Love those night shots. The sky and the lighting look so cool!

Clean up on aisle 3??? Really???? Can that really happen on Soarin?

I'm glad your impromptu 5K managed to put your little guy to sleep for awhile. He is just so darn cute! And, yes, those ovens ARE really cool!

I haven't met many people who had a bad experience at Via Napoli. I know there's a few, but it seemed to be more Cast Member service that didn't go well rather than the food. Because that food....oh, it's just yummy.

Apparently, it can.
I will admit, there was one occassion where I might or might not have ridden Soarin' after consuming some adult beverages. That was a trippy experience. But still nothing that would've made me sick. Perhaps the person riding it did not have as strong a stomach as me.

You never want to have that kind of delay before getting on a ride...

I can say even when I rode Soarin' with some World Showcase concotions in me I didn't even feel sick, so I don't know how that incident happened in the first place. Ick.

You have excellent taste.

You'll be hard pressed to get me to love another pizza as much as I love Via Napoli's. (Although there's a local place that comes close.)

I get it. We even considered making 2 ADRs there for our upcoming trip.

I would do that if I had a long trip.
The kids get a free entree and drink if they are under 3 plus there's an AP discount during lunchtime on weekdays, so yeah. No hesitations here.

Yeah, I can see that. It tastes great to me, but I certainly wouldn't mind if they put some more cheese on them.

Be careful. Extra cheese costs 3.50.
No joke.

I've never tried dessert there. I always stuff myself with the pizza until I feel sick.

And then I eat some more.

Alex has a belief that you have two stomachs at Disney.
There's your normal stomach.

Then there's your dessert stomach.

The latter of which always finds room when Disney sweets are on the line.

 

[amazingact21]

Only a few updates left, and I’ll be finished with this Trip Report! Back before Alex left, I anticipated getting all 3 of these reports up and completed by the time he came back home. In reality, Landon is busier than ever and having sole parental duty has kept me on my toes. Sorry!

If I haven’t commented on your trip reports in awhile, I might have read your updates, just didn’t have time to reply. And if I did reply, I apologize if they are short. I’m still reading and enjoying hearing about everyone’s Disney experience; I just only get a minute or two here and there to sneak my IPAD out before Landon sniffs it out. (That kid can hear the case opening from a mile away. A bloodhound, he is!)

All right, I’m looking forward to posting this update, because it FINALLY explains the meaning behind the second half of my trip title! (Don’t all DISers love getting to that point in their updates? No? Just me? Okay then…)



Saturday, December 7th, 2013:


Our delicious dinner at Via Napoli had made me quite lethargic. The idea of walking all the way back around to Future World was too much for me at the time. I was in a pizza coma and didn’t want to do anything but relax the rest of the night.

My mom, though, she was like, WE HAVE A SOARIN’ RIDER SWAP. WE ARE NOT WASTING THAT BAD BOY.


I admitted that I wasn’t up for another ride. It was getting close to 8 o’clock, and I had decided that I wanted to stay in the World Showcase and watch IllumiNations. My mom surprised me, then, by asking for the pass that I’d stored in my wallet.

She was going to the Land by herself.

It isn’t in my mom’s nature to skip a ride on Soarin’, no matter where she’s at in the world.

Go Mom.



Alex, Landon, and I stopped in Germany so Alex could change Landon.

He lost that coin toss.

Before he took him, though, my mom and I ran inside ourselves (my mom was still walking with us that point) and when we came out there was a group of 4 adults hanging out around Alex and the baby. They were calling him by name, laughing up a storm, and proclaimed to me that I had “the coolest kid EVER.”

They were a really sweet group of people. They were boisterous, but not obnoxiously so. They were having a good time in Epcot, but not in a “it’s a Saturday night during Food and Wine” way, if you know what I mean.

By the time I came upon the group, they were ready to head to their next destination, so it was then that we all split up. My mom leaving for Soarin’, Alex for a changing table, and I to watch the train sets for awhile.


I stood around and stood around. Eventually, I got sick of waiting for the boys to rejoin me so I wandered over to the railing, where I saw that there was nobody around waiting for the show. It was an unusual sight. All week the park had been swamped with people. At the Christmas party – a hard ticket event – we barely had room to breathe. But here, on our last Disney night, there was a huge expanse of open concrete 40 minutes before IllumiNations.

Disney was giving us a grand farewell, and who was I to turn away from that?


Alex found me camped out on the ground with the stroller after that, and his answer to where he’d been all that time was simply, “It was bad.”

The joys of traveling to Disney with a kid, ya’ll.




One of my favorite little Disney things is walking around the World Showcase at night with the old pre-IllumiNations music playing. I always find it extremely relaxing and very vacation-like. I really feel like I’m away from home and enjoying my time off, not running myself thin or chasing the next Fastpass or dining reservation.

Sitting around with my husband and my son was every bit as fun as strolling around, if not more so because I got to take in Landon’s fascination with everything around him. He watched the lights around him, danced to the music, and had a ball holding on to the railings, holding himself up.



Fire!

It was a big draw for the kid.




If I had to choose a Disney spot to be in right this second, that’s the view I’d wish to see.





Our view behind us.




I’m telling you, the fire was a BIG hit with Landon.



My mom found us with minutes to spare. Her ride on Soarin’ went a lot quicker than our earlier one did, and no sooner had she sat down next to us then the lights dimmed and the IllumiNations soundtrack started.


Showtime!



Our view of the globe was pretty good, all the things considered.











There’s something extra special about IllumiNations during the holidays. The tag at the end is spectacular, but I think it’s the tree in front of Spaceship Earth and festive colors on the buildings that give it that extra touch.

Nothing can beat seeing fireworks, Christmas trees, and the Epcot globe all in one sight line.


Near the end, I took a step back from the rails. I wanted to hit the pause button on the clock and freeze that moment forever.



Landon and Alex, watching IllumiNations together. Dad pointing out the different colors and the moving globe, looking down to watch Landon focus on the lasers in the sky.

My mom, happy but tired, feeling proud at getting so many Disney favorites accomplished, yet knowing her time in the world was done and ready to wrap the party up.


If there’s one thing Alex loves more than anything in the world, it’s being a dad. And as I stood back and watched them, I knew he was having a special Disney moment with Landon that he’d remember forever. IllumiNations is his favorite nighttime show, Epcot’s his favorite park, and Epcot at night is his favorite time to be in the parks, and I knew he was thrilled to be sharing that passion with Landon. Even if he was just 8 months old and had no concept of what was really going on, he could look up at his dad, see his happiness and knew that whatever was going on was exciting and wonderful.



Everybody, every family, has that thing that’s special to them in Disney. It might not make sense to anyone else, but it fills your heart with a simple kind of joy, and mine is watching my loved ones sharing a memorable moment together.

I got exactly that with IllumiNations. It was the absolutely best way we could have ended our last night of vacation.


My mom, Alex, and I walked over to Future World with the rest of the post-show masses. We went over the Pin Station to look at trading with Cast Members when, from across the way, we heard:

“HEYYYY!!! THERE’S LANDON!!!!”

It sounded like a parade announcement. It was loud and caught us off guard and made EVERYONE around us turn around to stare.

Talk about being in the spotlight.

Turns out, the group from the Germany bathrooms had spotted us all the way over by the Starbucks and were so excited to see us they had to say hello again.

It startled us a bit, hearing our kid’s name shouted across all of Future World, but then it became hilariously cool. These strangers got all kinds of happy when they saw us. They rushed over to say hello and began to play peek a boo with Landon.

One of them, the ringleader of the group, had one of those voices that bellows and carries even when they’re using an inside voice. One of those that people in a 100 feet circle notice and turn to listen to.

He turned to us and laughed, “Hey! Your kid’s got groupies!”

And just like that the name of this trip report was complete.

Because as soon as the man said it, Alex and I looked at each other and realized that yeah, this trip elicited a lot of Landon fans. Normally a shy person, I had to come out of my shell while there, because every other person wanted to talk to my child or ask about his glasses. He turned a lot of attention on us, to the point that people were shouting his name in Epcot.

Landon began a lot of conversations, but these people hanging out with us at the pin store were the coolest, by far. They were just so full of life and laughter, and to them, making an 8 month old giggle was exactly what they wanted to do that Saturday night.

Alex did get into a semi-serious conversation with one of the guys about pins, and before we knew it 15 minutes had passed. As much as we enjoyed talking to them, we had to get going. My mom was looking like she was going to fall asleep standing up.

But of course, Alex is very SQUIRELL-like in his travels, and when we passed by the camera shop next to Spaceship Earth, he insisted we stop inside and check out our Photopass pictures. On one hand, I wish we hadn’t, because we discovered an issue. On the other, it was good we did because we brought it to their attention.


For some weird reason, our Toy Story and Up meet and greet photos were missing from our files, and when the Cast Member went to retrieve them they weren’t anywhere to be found. The guy was fantastic, though. A true Cast Member through and through. He searched high and low for the photos, pulling up the memory cards from the photopass photographers and searching through every single photo they took during the time frame we were there.

He managed to find the Toy Story ones, but the Up shots were M.I.A.

The Cast Member flagged down a manager after ten minutes or so and asked what could be the issue, and she told us that there was a massive computer glitch right at the time of our meet and greet. So everything reset and a lot of the pictures went missing in computer space.

She told us they would probably pop back up after a few days and to call the PP number to check.

While not the greatest answer in the world, there really wasn’t anything else that could be done. We saw for ourselves that the Photopass photographer’s card had the guests in front of us and then the guests behind us in line, but not ours.

Talk about strange.

The Cast Member that helped us was so attentive and patient, that when we left the store we told my mom to go on ahead and catch a bus; we wanted to leave a positive comment card in Guest Services for that gentleman.

It’s one of the things Alex and I try really hard to do at least once every trip.

And okay, okay…

We didn’t want to leave Epcot.

We were stalling.

Whatever.


Although, that almost bit us in the butt. By the time we walked out of the parks and got to the bus stop, there was NOBODY around.

It was like we had the place to ourselves.

Even the security guards were getting ready to wind down and leave.

We got in line for the Pop bus, but when one for Art of Animation arrived, we decided to hop on that instead. I’m sure the guards were very confused, because we’d asked them for Pop’s stop number, and then they were standing right next to us when we got on Art’s.

They had to have been like, “Wait! Wrong bus, people! Jeeez, tourists.”



The bus was pretty much empty, and when we got to Art, my little family of three had a lovely walk back to our resort.

We didn’t rush, (why bother, Landon was just going to keep us awake in our rooms, anyway) I got to see the gift shop and the Finding Nemo courtyard area.

Then, we made our way across the bridge and back to a silent Pop Century.

That late, there wasn’t anybody around.

Which was good, because I didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing me walking hand in hand with Alex, looking like I was about to burst with equal parts happiness and sadness.

There’s lot of ways to spend a last night in Disney, and on that night, I felt like we’d just done it perfectly.




Up Next…We Don’t Have to Leave Yet!

 

[Dugette]

Ha ha, we are running on the same speed...I just got to the other part of my December TR title the other day too!

Great update, as usual. So glad that you had that wonderful Illuminations experience. Great view of the show and great moment for the family.

How cool that Landon had his groupies! I know how you feel, to some extent - I'm not a terribly outgoing person, but going to WDW with a baby/toddler pulls people out of the woodwork that want to talk to you. They are little people-magnets.

Nice that you got that AoA walk - I did that in August. Easy walk, but nice change of scenery.

 

[blabbermouth]

Cute Illuminations photos

One of my faves too, I think it's because we always seem to find a somewhat quiet place to watch it, and we can drink a grey goose slush while we do

Good for your Mom for going back for her Soarin' ride!

 

[CaptainCook]

Well that answers that… I often wonder how people come up with names for their trip reports and now that question has been answered here!!

 

[MEK]

What a lovely ending to your last night. I'm so glad the stars aligned and you watch Illuminations, even though you didn't think it was in the cards.

Your pictures turned out great and those father / son pictures are wonderful. What great memories.

Did you ever get your FP pics back? You probably already showed them, but you know I can't remember. That CM really went above and beyond.

 

[Marsheliz]

Love the photos of Alex and Landon! I swear, you say it so great... Simple joy in your heart that may not make sense to anyone else..... YESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!

No wonder Landon has groupies.... He's too cute not to! We are raising our "Landy's" just right Loving Disney and all... We were on the way home from the family reunion last night and all Landen can say is " I want go see Awiel"... LOL.. I go see the mermaid. Like over and over. 5 more months little buddy!

 

[UGAFan0829]

What an absolutely AMAZING update! WOW!

Yay for your Mom heading to Soarin' alone! I can totally understand why she loves it so much!

I think you had the absolute perfect ending to the day...from the way you described it, I don't think it could have gotten any better! The picture of Landon and Alex showing their silhouettes with the fireworks is simply amazing. I hope you frame that one...that one picture says so much...what an amazing moment that you were able to capture!

I love that Landon had so many fans. I mean, I've never met him myself, but I think he's a pretty awesome kid!

Did your other PhotoPass pics ever show up?

 

[Mommy Poppins]

Great update! Love how we can feel the emotion in your writing! Can't wait to read more. (And, of course see more pictures of Landon!)

 

[afwdwfan]

Totally perfect evening. And you did an excellent job writing about it. You conveyed the emotions of the night perfectly!

I completely understand your mom's willingness to grab that pass and go ride Soarin' one more time. I may not necessarily feel such a need for that ride after I've already gone once, but if I'm in that same scenario with a chance to ride Rock 'n Rollercoaster again, there's no way I won't go. So yeah, I get it.

I'm not a huge Illuminations fan... I mean I love it, but it isn't really the top of the list for night time activities for us. But since we'll be going when there's a Christmas tree... I think we might want to try watching from a different spot. We always, ALWAYS, watch Illuminations from the FW end of the lagoon. I think we've been as far as Canada on one side and Norway on the other, but we're always watching Illuminations with the WS pavilions in the background. Which I love. But you're kind of making me want to see it from that other perspective now...

I'm glad that you had such a wonderful evening. And got to linger in EPCOT. Especially with Landon's groupies. I know that had to be a little bit disturbing at first to have complete strangers who had been enjoying some WS refreshments acting that way around your kid, but I'm glad that you guys were able to chat with them and have a good time with it.

 

[amazingact21]

Ha ha, we are running on the same speed...I just got to the other part of my December TR title the other day too!

Great update, as usual. So glad that you had that wonderful Illuminations experience. Great view of the show and great moment for the family.

How cool that Landon had his groupies! I know how you feel, to some extent - I'm not a terribly outgoing person, but going to WDW with a baby/toddler pulls people out of the woodwork that want to talk to you. They are little people-magnets.

Nice that you got that AoA walk - I did that in August. Easy walk, but nice change of scenery.

It's amazing how many people want to talk to a baby. I remember that back before I had kids, I used to always be that person smiling and waving to babies. I never really thought about what it'd be like to be on the receiving end.

Cute Illuminations photos

One of my faves too, I think it's because we always seem to find a somewhat quiet place to watch it, and we can drink a grey goose slush while we do

Good for your Mom for going back for her Soarin' ride!

Grey Goose Slushies do make the waiting more pleasant.
I agree, though, with the quiet place to watch. I think one of the reasons I'm drawn to IllumiNations is that you don't have to fight massive crowds to get a semi-decent view. Typically, if you're in the WS around 9pm, you'll get to see the show. Stress free!

Well that answers that… I often wonder how people come up with names for their trip reports and now that question has been answered here!!

Haha, yep! Alex and I usually overhear another guest saying something really odd or we have somebody say something crazy/fitting to us. The titles just kind of fall into our laps.
I'm really looking forward to making our May Trip Report. The statement we heard was too priceless NOT to use as the title.

 

[amazingact21]

What a lovely ending to your last night. I'm so glad the stars aligned and you watch Illuminations, even though you didn't think it was in the cards.

Your pictures turned out great and those father / son pictures are wonderful. What great memories.

Did you ever get your FP pics back? You probably already showed them, but you know I can't remember. That CM really went above and beyond.

Thank you. I was very excited when I plugged my card into my computer and saw that I managed to get a couple good shots of Alex and Landon. (Of course, there were about 10 awful ones.)

They did manage to show up again. Not sure how, but when we got back home and pulled the website up, they were there.

Love the photos of Alex and Landon! I swear, you say it so great... Simple joy in your heart that may not make sense to anyone else..... YESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!

No wonder Landon has groupies.... He's too cute not to! We are raising our "Landy's" just right Loving Disney and all... We were on the way home from the family reunion last night and all Landen can say is " I want go see Awiel"... LOL.. I go see the mermaid. Like over and over. 5 more months little buddy!

Aww, that is too sweet! How can you say no to that?? I'm glad he's going to get to see his girl again soon. I'm sure you'll be riding Under the Sea multiple times, Marcie.

What an absolutely AMAZING update! WOW!

Yay for your Mom heading to Soarin' alone! I can totally understand why she loves it so much!

I think you had the absolute perfect ending to the day...from the way you described it, I don't think it could have gotten any better! The picture of Landon and Alex showing their silhouettes with the fireworks is simply amazing. I hope you frame that one...that one picture says so much...what an amazing moment that you were able to capture!

I love that Landon had so many fans. I mean, I've never met him myself, but I think he's a pretty awesome kid!

Did your other PhotoPass pics ever show up?

Aw, thank you, Missy. You are too sweet. I'm loving your Trip Report, so far, by the way. It is sounding like such a perfect anniversary trip. It's making me want to plan one for Alex and I.


We did get our Photopass pictures! They actually popped up the next time we went to look at all of them. (When we were back home.) I'm glad we didn't have to call anybody to get it sorted out. Saved us some hassle.

 

[amazingact21]

Great update! Love how we can feel the emotion in your writing! Can't wait to read more. (And, of course see more pictures of Landon!)

Thank you!
I've still got a couple more pictures of Landon left on the trip. It's hard not to have the camera out and NOT take pictures of him. 99% of the photos on my phone are of him.

I may not necessarily feel such a need for that ride after I've already gone once, but if I'm in that same scenario with a chance to ride Rock 'n Rollercoaster again, there's no way I won't go. So yeah, I get it.

Oh, if it were Rock N Roller Coaster there'd have been no doubt, I would've used that baby. That's too good of a ride to pass up.

We always, ALWAYS, watch Illuminations from the FW end of the lagoon. I think we've been as far as Canada on one side and Norway on the other, but we're always watching Illuminations with the WS pavilions in the background.

Or is it because you want a head start on the post-show rush out of the park?

 

[amazingact21]

Even though it's only the end of September, it's a cold day here in Florida. It's been gray and overcast, and the temperature has been around 66 degrees. I wish I were kidding when I say I went out and bought Landon and myself some jeans and thermals. Floridians are a spoiled bunch. We don't know how to handle this cool weather!

And because of that I figured today was the perfect day to stay indoors and write an update.

Not to mention, I have been ridiculously jealous of all of you lucky ducks that have been in Disney this past week! Seeing my facebook inundated with DISmeets and castle photographs have made me wish I had a trip coming up! Color me green, but I needed to go back to my happy place for a bit, even if it's via a trip report.




Sunday, December 8th, 2013:

Well, folks, this was it.

Departure day.

That dreaded morning where we had to pack up all our Disney shirts and put these bad boys back in their bags:



After midnight tonight, our refillable mugs would become nothing more than a souvenir cup and our room at Pop would pass on to another lucky family. Our MagicBands would leave our wrists and our tennis shoes would go back to their respective places in the closet. (Aside from working out, we rarely wear actual shoes back home. Another Floridian quirk.)


This had been my family's longest trip to Walt Disney World, and the biggest thing we learned by going for so long was that it makes leaving the world even more difficult. We'd become so comfortable in our room at the resort, having found a place for everything we needed and mastering the quickest routes to and from various places. It seemed like a tremendous task to gather everything back up and try and shove it all into our vehicle once more.


Unfortunately, we had to hustle with that task. My mom woke up bright and early and had her two bags packed in less than half an hour.

The disparity between her room and ours was absolutely hilarious. She had one or two things sitting on her bed, ready to be put away in her trunk, while our room had open suitcases all over, boxes of diapers and baby food spread everywhere, toys scattered to all four corners of the room. Typically, I'm a super organized and clean person. But when you shove two adults and a baby into a Value-sized room for over a week...well, there was only so much I could do.


My mother is the type of person who, when traveling, wants to get on the road and get going as soon as possible so that she can get to her destination and be done. No dawdling for her.

Alex and I, however, weren't planning on following that route. But we did need to get all our things packed up, because we were using my mom's trunk for most of our extra items like the Pack & Play and walker and leftover diapers.

I won't bore you with the details, but we did get the intended stuff sent with my mom then bid her goodbye. We were going to stop at her house on the way to pick up our dog, who was being babysat by my father, so the parting wasn't anything long or serious.


However, I did witness my mom getting a little teary-eyed as she closed the door to her room. Much as she might have struggled with being sick and having a lot of things not go her way, she was sad to have the vacation end and take that initial step back into reality.

Another hour or so went by. Alex made four or five trips to the car while I entertained the baby. Near the end, we were getting bored and restless, so I loaded Landon up and got ready to go.





The night before, Alex and I had conferred and told my mother that we were going to go into a park for a couple hours before getting on the road. The main reason was because, between the 3 of us, we still had 4 quick service credits left and 3 snack credits. It would have been downright wasteful to not use at least a few of them.
Plus, Alex and I had Annual Passes. Why not use them one more time?

It's about a 6 hour drive back to where we live, plus we gain an extra hour on the return trip, and Alex was smart enough to take the following day off from work, so there really was no rush.



So, with the car loaded and Landon in his carrier, Alex and I hopped aboard a bus to the one and only Magic Kingdom.

If you've only got a few hours to spare in Disney, you have to go here. It's a rule.

Well, a rule in our house, at least.



Our last walk under the tunnel.



My little family hadn't walked very far on Main Street before Alex spotted a certain gentleman with a pin lanyard reaching to the ground. He pointed him out to me and watched as I got really excited.

It was Scoop!

I'd finally found THE Scoop!

Anyone who's a pin trader knows who this man is. He's famous on Main Street as being the ultimate pin guy. He trades, teaches novices how it's done, and if you're nice, you might just get to see his special lanyard that holds limited edition and artist rendering pins.

Trading with him has always been on my Disney Bucket List, so I jumped in line and pulled out my one pin I'd thought to pocket before leaving. Poor Alex, I told him to grab just one pin and not worry about his lanyard, but he didn't like that idea and therefore did not have any pins to trade.

He was disappointed.

When it was my turn, I chatted with him for a bit; Alex took another photo of his amazing lanyards:



And I conducted my trade.

It was awesome.

I got a picture with him, but I look like a goof and Landon was squirming to get out of the carrier so I chose not to post it. But at least I have it for the sake of proof!


Alex, still bummed that he was missing such an opportunity, asked him if he'd be out later and secured a time he could come back if we were still in the park.

Leaving Scoop, we continued on down Main Street, getting a glimpse at some of the holiday-themed performances going on in the street.



I loved their costumes! Classic Christmas.



There was one ride we hadn't been able to go on the whole time we were there, and since it was Alex's favorite dark ride, I made sure it was our first Fastpass of the morning.

I was a little worried about how Landon would do in my favorite part of Haunted Mansion, the stretching room. Alex and I buried his head in our chest and covered his ears during the screaming part, and that seemed to have worked, because he didn't start crying.

I don't think he was too big a fan of the attraction, in general. Seemed to be uneasy at all the darkness. But once we got to the graveyard scene with the singing and ghosts dancing on the ceiling, he perked up.


That being said, we have since skipped Haunted Mansion, because I don't believe he'd care for it in his toddler years.






By that point, it was time for a diaper change and since we were so close to the new Tangled restrooms, we figured we'd go check them out for the first time.

They were amazing!

I guess I should say the theming was amazing. It's strange to be so in awe of a bathroom, but they really blew our minds with how fantastic Disney imagineers captured the Tangled film. I can't speak for the guys' room, but the girl's was supposed to resemble Rapunzel's tower, with paint brushes everywhere and books placed along the ceiling. Even the paintings of the sun on the walls had me smiling.

I loved it.

Alex had baby duty and showed me a picture he took on his phone of the changing station. The little baby sign had a helmet on like the castle guards in the film.

It was downright adorable.




Moving on, it was about 10:30 at that point, and Alex and I still needed to use up some of those quick service credits that we had leftover. There was a minute or two of debate on where to eat. Neither of us were feeling the normal restaurants, and we were in no hurry, so we agreed to wait with the masses for Be Our Guest.

This was the first time we'd had any type of meal at the restaurant, and we wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

There was a significant line already formed by the time we pulled the stroller up to the end, but the weather wasn't horribly hot and Alex and I were content to wait.

I mean, it's not like we had an awful view:

Unlike some of our other days, the two of us just wanted to take it easy and not worry about running from one land to the next. We had a full day of traveling ahead of us, and our goal was more to just get some quality Disney time together as a family of 3 before we headed out. Throughout the week, there weren't many times it was just Mom, Dad, and Baby in the parks, so it felt nice to be together with my small group of guys.

Standing in the Be Our Guest line was perfectly fine with me so long as I was with those two.


Overall, our wait wasn't bad at all. About twenty, maybe twenty five minutes from getting in line to being sent inside. The line looked daunting, but it was almost always moving and because that was our first time over in that area, we had plenty to look at to keep us occupied.

We had our MagicBands on, so we didn't get a nifty rose to carry with us, but we got to see one in another guests' hands. They looked neat.


After ordering, my group walked into the ballroom and saw that it was completely packed. No empty tables available.

I'm sure if we'd stuck around for a few minutes one would have become empty, but I wasn't in the mood to deal with that chaos, so I found us one of the few empty seats open in the library section.

I know that's most people's least favorite room, but it was just as bustling as the ballroom, and I didn't want to waste any more time wandering around. Free space was limited, and getting Landon seated and situated was more important than a room to me.







Alex and I both ordered the turkey sandwiches and fries:




And the creme puff and chocolate cupcake for dessert. Alex said the crème puff was okay, but not something he'd get again. And while my dessert was extremely tasty, there was no way to get the wrapper at the bottom off.

The cake was literally in a cup...

So I kind of had to eat around the wrapping and dig from the bottom. It was too much work for a treat.

I think I eventually just gave up and only ate the top half.


Aside from the strange dessert presentation, though, Be Our Guest was absolutely delicious. Hands down, my new favorite quick service restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. The ease of ordering your food and having it brought directly to your table, the beauty of the place, the friendly Cast Members I seemed to have encountered, and the food itself was top notch. I really didn't feel like I was eating at a Quick Service location.
Comparing to sandwich I ate to the taco salad I got from Pecos Bills the day before, they were like night and day. Not even in the same ball park. I can't recommend the lunch at BoG enough.

Without a doubt, the best part about our last day in Disney.


Alex and I weren't sure how long lunch was going to take, so we misjudged our following Fastpass reservation by about ten minutes.

I really didn't want to miss using the passes, because they were for one of my favorites. Peter Pan's Flight, but Landon needed to eat and the clock was ticking down.

Thankfully, I'm married to an awesome guy, who told me to park the stroller and take care of Landon while he went and talked to the Cast Member at the FP Entrance line.

I guess Alex explained the situation and asked that since we couldn't predict Landon's schedule and that it was sort of out of our hands, if we could still use our passes if they were a few minutes late. The Cast Member told Alex it wouldn't be a problem at all, and if we got there in the next 30 minutes he'd be on duty to let us through.

Score!

It was a perfect sprinkling of pixie dust immediately following a delicious lunch. A truly perfect Disney experience.


And even better- Landon was actually awake for our final Disney ride:




But unfortunately, with Peter Pan's Flight completed, it was really time we started thinking about heading towards the exit.

Scoop had told Alex he'd be out around 12:30pm, and it was only 12:15 by the time we got to Main Street. Alex said he'd be fine missing the trade, but I could tell it wasn't what he wanted to do. So I suggested we use one of our final snack credits and get some ice cream at the Ice Cream Parlor.

Yes, we had just ate at Be Our Guest.

Don't judge. There's always room in my stomach for ice cream.


The Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It parade was happening as we exited with our sweets. I love this little parade, and I'll be sad to see the new version the next time I go.


While eating our ice cream I took the last photo of the trip.



How fitting that it was of Landon.

He'd actually just gotten a bite of ice cream for the very first time in his life. He'd ate a small nibble of my ice cream bar a few nights ago, but this was his first legitimate spoonful of chocolate ice cream.

I figured if there was ever a time to let him have a taste of dessert, Disney would be it.



Snacks consumed, Alex went and found Scoop, waited FOREVER to do his trade, then we had to do the unfortunate goodbye to the Magic Kingdom and Cinderella's Castle.


A twenty minute wait and bus ride to Pop, a swift run into the gift shop to buy a slice of Tie Dye Cheesecake for home (we had snack credits left and a cooler to transport it) and just like that, it was time to go.


Our Walt Disney World vacation was officially over.

8 days, 7 nights, concluded.



I'll come back with one last wrap up post to kind of summarize this entire trip, but I'll just say that I had the hardest time I've ever had leaving Disney that afternoon. On one hand, I felt like I had just seen and experienced so many new and wonderful things. On the other, I felt like we'd just arrived.

Disney trips pass in the blink of an eye, and it was with an already sad heart that we drove away from those big purple signs and off property into reality.

See Ya Real Soon!



Up Next: Final Thoughts