Disney Trip Report (very long)

[dcrunnergirl52]

We got back from Disney today and thought I’d post a trip report. I was emailing my mom with details of our trip every night, so this is based on those messages, but as I got tired later in the week, the reports got shorter.

Saturday:
We had a late afternoon flight, so we didn’t get to Orlando until about 5:30pm. We just rode the Magical Express to Art of Animation, got dinner in the food court, and went to bed. The best part of all this was that Disney texted us on our way to the hotel that our room was ready and we could go straight to the room without checking in using our MagicBands as keys.

Sunday:
We had a really awesome day. We ate breakfast in the room and then rode the bus to Epcot—we were the only people on the bus—this happened a few times throughout the trip. We got to Epcot around 8:30am, and did Turtle Talk with Crush, the Nemo ride, character meet and greet with Baymax from Hero 6 and then with Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy.

After Turtle Talk with Crush, we had a lunch at Via Napoli, which we LOVE So yummy. After lunch, we walked around all the "countries" and then did more rides. DS1 and DS2 slept in the stroller for most of that, while DD loved going around to the countries and getting her stamps. We then had a FP for Test Track, which we riderswapped on, so DD and DS1 rode twice.

We went back to the hotel around 5pm, got dinner in the food court, and went back to the room. After the kids were asleep, I met up with a friend who was also staying at AoA for dessert and then I went back and went to bed. A long but great day.

Monday:
We had a pre-park opening 8:05am reservation at Hollywood and Vine in Hollywood Studios. Got on the bus at 7:40am. We originally thought that DH, DD, and DS1 would have to leave part way through to sign up for Jedi Academy b/c they only open for sign-ups at 9am when the park opens. But, they let the kids sign up as soon as we got into the park, which was so awesome. It’s apparently something new that they are trying. After that, the breakfast was terrific—DS2 loved seeing Jake and the little show they put on. We had a great time.

After breakfast, we went to the Star Wars Launch Bay, and met Chewbacca, which was SO, SO awesome. He was really cool--like the real Chewbacca. We all loved it. Left there, and saw a Star Wars short movie that compiled the whole story es into a 10-minute show. After that, it was time for Jedi Academy. DD and DS1 loved it. We left there, and rode Star Tours, riderswapping DS2. We then went to the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground, which I don’t recommend b/c it is totally chaotic and impossible to find your kids, particularly if they are really little.

After that, we ate lunch at the Backlot place (horrible service), and went to the Disney, Jr. show. DS2 loved it. Left there, and went to the Disney Visa character meet-and-greet with Darth Vader. The regular DV meet-and-greet had a 75-minute wait. We waited about 15 minutes using this special meet-and-greet. After that, we tried the Indiana Jones show, but left part way through to go to the Club Disney dance party,

Club Disney was really the only thing I had to my must-do list. It was so, so, so fun. A dance party with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto, and Chip and Dale. DS2 and I LOVED it. We could have danced all night. It wasn't crowded so there was tons of character interaction. One of those moments that makes all the crazy moments of being a mom worthwhile.

By the time we left, it was about 4:30pm, and none of the kids had napped, so we went back to the hotel, got food from the food court, and then went to bed.

Tuesday:
We got up early for a 7:10am reservation at Chef Mickey’s. We took a 6:40am cab to the Contemporary, and then after breakfast, took the monorail (DS1’s request) to MK. We got there around opening and went right to see Merida, and were first in line. She was awesome, with quick archery lessons and coloring for the kids.

We then did our FP for Enchanted Tales with Belle, which was cute, and then rode Barnstormer and Dumbo. Left there and walked across the park to ride It's a Small World, which DH loves. On the way, we came across a Sword and the Stone show. DD asked to watch, and ran to the front. DH and I were pissed b/c we wanted to get to It's a Small World before the line got too long. Next thing we know though, DD goes up on stage and they have her pull the sword out of the stone (after asking two big dads from other families to try and, of course, they weren't able to do it). The show people then had everyone yell, "ALL HAIL PIPER! ALL HAIL PIPER" and talked about how she was a hero. DD just ate that up. She was so, so proud of herself, and told every person that she could about what she did. So cute.

After all that, we got lunch at Columbia Harbor House (good but not great, plus a small seating area), caught a quick show by the castle, and then went to Tomorrowland. DD, DS1, and I did the stupid Lilo and Stitch ride and then we all used a FP to ride the Tomorrowland Speedway. The kids just loved it.

Our final FP was for the Festival of Fantasy parade, so we basically showed up 5 minutes before the parade started and got a seat on the curb. We all loved the parade. After, it was around 4pm, and we should have just left. Instead, we tried to wait in line to see Talking Mickey. The kids were sitting on the floor playing on the Kindles. Next thing, I look down and see a stream of liquid coming out of DS1. He's had an accident right there on the rug (something he hasn’t done in about 2 years). DH and I sprang into action without saying a word, just trying to quietly but quickly bust out of there and not to make a big deal of it b/c it likely would have shut down the meet-and-greet immediately until it was cleaned up. Instead, we let a cast member know when we got outside so they could handle it hopefully discreetly so kids wouldn't be upset if the line had to close.

I changed DS1, and we knew it was time to end the day. Rode back to the hotel, got take-out dinner from the food court, and were back in the room around 5:30pm.

Wednesday:
Wednesday was our "down day" without a lot of plans. We hung around the hotel room, had breakfast, gave the kids baths, let the kids play on the Nemo playground, walked around the resort, and then took the bus to Disney Springs. We went to the candy story, Disney toy store, etc. and then had lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express, which was so, so delicious.

We left there and the kids got their faces painted while I cleared up a problem with our dining plan, and then we went to the Lego store, which has a race track that the kids loved. They played there for at least an hour, and could have stayed longer. We walked around some more after that, and then took the bus to Fort Wilderness for the Hoop Dee Doo revue dinner show.

The show was good but not as good as I remember. The food was really yummy. After the show, we took the boat back to Magic Kingdom, and then the bus back to our hotel (only way to get back from Fort Wilderness).

Thursday:
We left the hotel around 7:30am for the Askerhaus princess breakfast in Epcot. Breakfast was fun, with Ariel, Belle, Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. After breakfast, we went back and did Turtle Talk and Nemo rides again, and then walked around the country pavilions that we missed earlier in the week. We also got pics with Chip and Dale, Donald Duck, and a few other characters. Mid-day we ate lunch in Germany, sitting outside in the sun.

After lunch, we took the bus back to the hotel. DS2 fell asleep in the stroller, and stayed asleep back in the hotel so I took DD and DS1 to the pool. It was a bit chilly for swimming, but the water is heated, so they were fine. They pool has lots of kids activities--games, dance parties, swimming races, etc. They had a blast. DH and DS2 came down a while later, and DH stayed with the kids while I did laundry b/c by that point, we knew we’d be staying a few extra days. After swimming, we had food court dinner again and hung out at the hotel.

Friday:
We had a whirlwind day doing all the things at MK that we missed earlier in the week. We got to MK around 9am, and didn't leave until after fireworks at 9pm. We weren’t sure we would stay that long b/c it started pouring rain around 10am, but once we saw how the rides cleared out in the rain, we stuck with it, and the weather ended up being beautiful. Here's a list of what we did:

--Rode People Mover, Winnie the Pooh, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train roller coaster (including DS2, b/c he just cleared the height requirement but I swear he was close to flying out), Small World, Peter Pan (2x after a cast member saw that DS2 really wanted to ride again but they weren’t doing any more FP for at the FP kioks and gave us “pixie dust” with special Peter Pan FastPasses to go ride again), Aladdin's Magic Carpets, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Little Mermaid ride, and the merry-go-round.
--Ate lunch at Pinocchio's Cafe (not my first choice but it was raining and we needed to get inside)
--Met Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Anna, and Elsa (the last one with a FP)
--Saw the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor show
--Danced at the Incredibles Dance Party
--Met Peter Pan and paraded around with him.
--Ate dinner Crystal Palace and met Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet
--Went to a Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Tutorial
--Watched the electrical parade and fireworks

We did so much b/c the park wasn't very crowded. We were able to just walk onto so many rides that normally have very long lines. It was a really great day.

Saturday:
We got a slow start and then went to Animal Kingdom, which is our least favorite park. In the future, we’ll skip it. It didn’t help that it was freezing by Disney standards--in the 40s but the windchill was below 30 degrees, which is cold for being outside all day.

We rode the Safari, saw the Lion King show, did a few rides in Dinoland, had snacks for lunch, saw Donald Duck, and DH and DS1 rode the Dinosaur ride. By 2pm, we were all way too cold and had to go back to the hotel. DS2 and I took a nap, while everyone else watched TV. Then we went to dinner in the food court, DS2 and I went to a dance party in the hotel lobby, and everyone else played in the hotel's arcade. After that, just back to the hotel for bed.

Sunday:
We went to Hollywood Studios, so DH could bask in the Star Wars glory again on our final day. We rode Star Tours, went to the Launch Bay theater, saw the Muppet show, Little Mermaid show, went to the Club Disney character dance party, ate lunch at the ABC Commissary, took DS2’s picture with Jake again, and then ended the day riding the Toy Story ride. Riding Toy Story was the perfect way to end the trip b/c we all love it, and it was a FP that I was only able to get at the last minute. When we got on, it had a 120 minute wait.

Other than DS2 really acting up a lot (between not enough sleep, out of his routine, eating a lot of sugar, overstimulation, etc.), we had an amazing time, and I'm so glad we went for as long as we did (although the extra few days may have put us over the edge). We did so much, met so many characters, and just loved seeing the looks on the kids’ faces when we did things, especially DS2. We’re already planning for a return visit in a few years when Star Wars land is done.

ETA: Sorry, I should have mentioned that when we got outside, we did let a cast member know about DS1's accident in MK. We just didn't make a big deal out of it while we were getting out of line so not to cause a huge issue until we were able to tell a cast member, and they could take care of it.

[jeaniebueller]

Wow! What a trip. Thanks for sharing.

[curbsideprophet]

Thanks! Glad you had a great trip!

[ilikedonuts]

Glad you had fun! I'm going to read it more in depth in a bit, but I just want to say that I'm glad you got a chance to go to the dance party. Those are an absolute favorite in our family as well. So much fun!

[Deleted]

Oh man this makes me want to plan a trip. I didn't get to do Star Tours last year. I'm excited to see the new Star Wars stuff.

[sent]

The recurring theme of "no lines" and "empty bus" in your report is exactly why I wanted to go in January.  But then we had to go and buy a house.  

I didn't know about these dance party attractions.  Those sound right up DD's alley.  Thanks so much for sharing!

[egishere]

Good review!

How did you like AoA? We are staying there when we go in sept. Nemo suite. How was the food at the food court?

[Deleted]

I'm so impressed you did so much! Sounds like an awesome trip!

[bronxgirl]

sounds great!

[wannabe]

Wait, so you never alerted a cast member that there was pee on the carpet?

[turkletsmom]

Sounds like a great trip!!! I'm so excited to go!

[marie3246]

what a great trip. We are going this week and I can't wait

[cincodemayo]

Oooh sounds so fun! I have ask the dance parties written down, I hope we make it to one, they sound so fun!

[bunch]

Thanks for this! We leave sunday and I am so stinking excited.

[dcrunnergirl52]

Jan 26, 2016 8:11:11 GMT -5 minniemouse said:

Great report! Sounds like you had a great time. I have to admit I'm a little grossed out you left urine in the carpet without letting anyone know.

Sorry, I should have mentioned that when we got outside, we did let a cast member know. We just didn't make a big deal out of it while we were getting out of line so not to cause a huge issue until we were able to tell a cast member, and they could take care of it.

[somersault72]

Did you get to sign up early for Jedi training academy because you had a character meal scheduled?

[dcrunnergirl52]

Jan 26, 2016 9:16:33 GMT -5 somersault72 said:

Did you get to sign up early for Jedi training academy because you had a character meal scheduled?

Yes, that's why. Because we had a character meal reservation before the park opened, they let us sign up when we got to breakfast at 8am, rather than waiting until 9am when the park opened. Kenny the Pirate (Disney expert) confirmed that this is something new that Disney is trying (so not sure how long it will be like this).

[Ashley&Scott]

Sounds like you had a fantastic trip! Glad to hear you really enjoyed your breakfast at Hollywood & Vine, that was one of our favorites too! The do a fantastic job getting the kids involved in the show.

[ilikedonuts]

Jan 26, 2016 9:16:33 GMT -5 somersault72 said:

Did you get to sign up early for Jedi training academy because you had a character meal scheduled?

It doesn't fill up immediately in the morning anymore because they doubled the capacity so if you were not going to have a morning ADR, I wouldn't worry about scheduling one just to sign up early. (If you already have a morning ADR, just ignore me lol)

[somersault72]

Jan 26, 2016 9:25:13 GMT -5 dcrunnergirl52 said:

Jan 26, 2016 9:16:33 GMT -5 somersault72 said:

Did you get to sign up early for Jedi training academy because you had a character meal scheduled?

Yes, that's why. Because we had a character meal reservation before the park opened, they let us sign up when we got to breakfast at 8am, rather than waiting until 9am when the park opened. Kenny the Pirate (Disney expert) confirmed that this is something new that Disney is trying (so not sure how long it will be like this).

We're going next month and I'm contemplating scheduling a breakfast so that we can do that.  We didn't get to do that on our last trip.

[somersault72]

Jan 26, 2016 9:44:23 GMT -5 ilikedonuts said:

Jan 26, 2016 9:16:33 GMT -5 somersault72 said:

Did you get to sign up early for Jedi training academy because you had a character meal scheduled?

It doesn't fill up immediately in the morning anymore because they doubled the capacity so if you were not going to have a morning ADR, I wouldn't worry about scheduling one just to sign up early. (If you already have a morning ADR, just ignore me lol)

Good to know, thanks!  DS loves the breakfast at Hollywood and Vine, but he's a bit old for the characters now.

[Amy]

Jan 26, 2016 10:17:59 GMT -5 somersault72 said:

Jan 26, 2016 9:25:13 GMT -5 dcrunnergirl52 said:

Yes, that's why. Because we had a character meal reservation before the park opened, they let us sign up when we got to breakfast at 8am, rather than waiting until 9am when the park opened. Kenny the Pirate (Disney expert) confirmed that this is something new that Disney is trying (so not sure how long it will be like this).

We're going next month and I'm contemplating scheduling a breakfast so that we can do that.  We didn't get to do that on our last trip.

We got to HS last week at 8:35 and they were letting people in already and sign ups were open. (9am open time and we didn't have a reservation anywhere)

[Amy]

Also just an FYI there is tons of seating at Columbia Harbor House, you just have to go upstairs. They don't do a good job of letting you know it's there.

[cajunmom]

Sounds like a blast, our last two WDW trips were cold ones so I know what you mean by being freezing there! It makes me sad that so many people say that they don't like Animal Kingdom and won't go back, I love that park.

[dcrunnergirl52]

Jan 26, 2016 10:37:39 GMT -5 Amy said:

Also just an FYI there is tons of seating at Columbia Harbor House, you just have to go upstairs. They don't do a good job of letting you know it's there.

Good to know. We saw that there was an upstairs but we had the stroller with us and couldn't find elevators while wrangling 3 hungry kids. Now I know better fro next time!

[dcrunnergirl52]

Jan 26, 2016 10:46:29 GMT -5 cajunmom said:

Sounds like a blast, our last two WDW trips were cold ones so I know what you mean by being freezing there! It makes me sad that so many people say that they don't like Animal Kingdom and won't go back, I love that park.

I think our issues have been the weather...first time we went it was like 100 degrees with 99% humidity. This time, it was freezing. And both times, we did it toward the end of our trip, when the kids were tired from such a big week. If we go again, we need to make it a priority and try for better weather.