“You’re My Favorites: Now Go Away!” Feb/Mar 2019 First Family Trip (Complete 8/19)

[Lesley Wake]

My Citrus Freeze (Florida Cane ‘Orlando Orange’ Vodka, Peach Schnapps, and Mango Puree) was exactly my kind of drink: sweet and fruity.

That looks so good! I can't believe I didn't get it in February!

As we were getting ready to head out, the characters started rotating through again. We didn’t do a second full set of photos, but we did stop to chat with everyone. We were talking with Chip about how people couldn’t tell him apart from his brother, just like people can’t tell the girls apart. He started miming something I didn’t understand, clearly got frustrated, and pulled out the character book to his page. After skimming his article, he ended up snagging the pen from the bill and writing us a note on a napkin (that’s how seriously he wanted to tell us) that he and Dale were best friends, not brothers.

That's so funny - I didn't even know that!

Fun fact: I’m not sure which kids are in their photo. I’m pretty sure it’s C on the right, but I can convince myself that A or B could be on the left: Mom of IDs problems.

Haha, yeah I can imagine that would be complicated!

we encountered Gaston asking people if they had seen Belle. The girls started walking around the area yelling for Belle, but the France pavilion was a bit further than their voices could carry. We quickly hopped into the very short line that had formed and the girls told Gaston that unfortunately, they hadn’t found her.

That is sooo cute!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I love all your photos and it is very rare to see Gaston in Epcot, so that was awesome!

We really like Garden Grill, the characters here are really good meets, spend much time with you!

 

[MomtoLandK]

Enjoying your report! Your girls are adorable! I loved the first visits with each of my girls who were each about the same age as your girls when we took them on their first trips. It is so much fun to see their little faces light up when the see the characters!

We haven’t done Garden Grill for lunch or dinner since 2012 or 2013, but your review I making me think we need to again. I really liked it, but we have been doing PPO breakfast there the past couple of trips so that we could get on Soarin right away.

Great that you ran into Gaston in Epcot. We have never met him because my kids haven’t wanted to wait in the long line at MK.

 

[evre13]

You look like you had the best luck with character meets! I love seeing how happy the girls are -- and even happier you were able to have an adult bev at lunch!

 

[amazingact21]

Sounds like it was a successful Garden Grill meal! I feel like the characters get to come around a little more often at this restaurant as opposed to other places.
I've never really thought about Chip and Dale's relationship before. Too funny that you got a personalized note with a...maybe truthful answer.

Gaston in Future World? That's a lucky find! I didn't know that was a character training spot; I just assumed they had the one near the IG and that was it. Love that girls tried helping him out by calling for Belle.

 

[Penny McMouse]

Following. I can't wait to hear how the rest of your trip turns out!

 

[lvcourtneyy]

Garden Grill is one of my favorite character meals!

Good score on Gaston in training. His lines get so crazy in Magic Kingdom!

 

[cinderaimee]

Garden Grill was one of my favorite meals of our trip too, and I am right there with you on that pot roast - I ate waaay too much of it but it was totally worth it.

So many cute meets at Epcot!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Pluto held the autograph book right up next to his nose which the girls thought was hilarious. When people ask them about meeting characters, Pluto holding the book to his face is a top story they tell.

I love how they pick things like this as the most memorable thing. It is always something that you could never plan. I love her face in this pic!

We were talking with Chip about how people couldn’t tell him apart from his brother, just like people can’t tell the girls apart. He started miming something I didn’t understand, clearly got frustrated, and pulled out the character book to his page. After skimming his article, he ended up snagging the pen from the bill and writing us a note on a napkin (that’s how seriously he wanted to tell us) that he and Dale were best friends, not brothers.

I love this, and I don't care if it is true or not...

Fun fact: I’m not sure which kids are in their photo. I’m pretty sure it’s C on the right, but I can convince myself that A or B could be on the left: Mom of IDs problems.

I was thinking this... Was one mad that they didn't get a picture?

We quickly hopped into the very short line that had formed and the girls told Gaston that unfortunately, they hadn’t found her.

Love it!

And this pic is great as well!!!

Minnie was so surprised by the girls that she counted them and pointed at me to confirm what she was seeing. Yes, Minnie, I find the number of identical children I created to be quite shocking, too.

You guys really are show stoppers... Even Minnie is impressed.

 

[petals]

Great choice for the ears! I also swore I'd never buy ears and I now own 9 pairs, but 5 of those are ones I had made before my trip

 

[Woth2982]

Just found your TR and joining in! We are headed to the World Memorial Day weekend and your boardwalk ice cream has made it to the top of my list of things to get! DH and I are staying at the BC and I love being able to walk over to the BW!

Your first full day sounds like it was a great success. The girls look like they are through the moon with all the Disney magic. I was scared of Pirates as a kid so I completely get their apprehension. Isnt the International Gateway at Epcot the best? It is like your own little VIP entrance. You have really got a lot done in Epcot as well! I am very impressed. Too bad about missing Gaston's autograph, but it doesnt seem like the girls are too upset.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

OMG I'm so glad. When I read about the vomit I seriously had heart palpitations. I have serious vomit anxiety and would hate to see stomach bugs ruin anyone's trip!

I was VERY relieved when it didn't turn into anything serious. Planning a trip in winter with preschoolers, the risk of it being ruined by illness was always in the back of my head.

I'm joining in - what a great start to your report! I'm having so much fun reading it and I love all the detail you included!

I understand your girls' excitement for the Disney statues at the airport - I get pictures of them nearly every trip, too!

I've never done a grocery order, but I may need to consider one for my next trip as I'll have a nearly two-year-old with us. When ordering, do you just include the resort name and address for your order?

I remember reading that they now open MK before the regular park opening time, but your report indicates it's even earlier than I thought. Is there any advantage to a PPO breakfast anymore? (Also, I loved getting pictures of the castle without all the crowds in it - I hope that's still possible!)

I didn't know you could get pixie dusted without having an appointment at BBB or the barbershop. Good to know!

It's a bummer you missed Merida on your first day, but what a lovely surprise photo with the Fairy Godmother!

It's too bad your girls didn't enjoy Soarin'. Maybe they'll enjoy it more on your next trip as they'll be a bit older!

What a great meet with Gaston! His lines at MK do get ridiculously long (I still haven't met him!) so what a nice treat to run into him at Epcot. The picture of your girls with him is great, too!

I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Grocery delivery is a little different depending on which service you're using. For Walmart, once you put in the resort address, it gives you choices as to what you can order, times you can schedule delivery, etc. You don't need to have a room number, reservation number, or anything like that- name and resort was fine.

The PPO breakfast advantage now only applies to BoG. Everyone gets up to the castle at the same time, but only PPO at BoG and CRT can go behind the castle before the welcome show. CRT is generally going to take too long to be a touring advantage, but BoG you can be in, out, and in line for your preferred Fantasyland top priority (7DMT is most common, with Peter Pan thrown in, too) before the RD crowd makes it around the castle. Front of the castle pictures without crowds are a thing of the past, but back of the castle pictures can still be crowd-free.

Sounds like a great meal at Garden Grill! And I love the photos of the girls with Gatson and at the Visa spot- so cute!!

Thanks! We had really good character luck this day.

Great trip report! I have identical twin girls, I am fully prepared for the commentary when we take them on their first trip next year when they'll be about 18 months. I find men always say, You've got your hands full and women will say what a blessing, you're doing great, etc. So funny being a MoM!

Thanks, glad you're enjoying it!

When they were younger, I found that men were much more likely to comment on the stroller: they were quite impressed with the mechanics of snapping three infant seats onto one frame.

Wow you are having a pretty successful morning in EPCOT! Glad the Wreck It Ralph and Vanellope meet wasn't too long for you all. I stopped in on my December trip and it was 45 minutes so we passed.

And nice score on Minnie and Gaston!

We had really good character luck this day. The girls were super into both Ralph movies at this time, so skipping it wasn't going to be an option for us. I was pleasantly surprised at how short the line was, too.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

That looks so good! I can't believe I didn't get it in February!

It was quite yummy. I was very pleased.

Haha, yeah I can imagine that would be complicated!

Normally, I can see their clothes, so I know who's who. The cropped out faces make it really hard!

That is sooo cute!

It was a magical moment for sure.

I love all your photos and it is very rare to see Gaston in Epcot, so that was awesome!

We really like Garden Grill, the characters here are really good meets, spend much time with you!

We were very pleased with Garden Grill. You'll see that we ended up doing a lot of character dining and it was a favorite.

Enjoying your report! Your girls are adorable! I loved the first visits with each of my girls who were each about the same age as your girls when we took them on their first trips. It is so much fun to see their little faces light up when the see the characters!

We haven’t done Garden Grill for lunch or dinner since 2012 or 2013, but your review I making me think we need to again. I really liked it, but we have been doing PPO breakfast there the past couple of trips so that we could get on Soarin right away.

Great that you ran into Gaston in Epcot. We have never met him because my kids haven’t wanted to wait in the long line at MK.

It was a wonderful age for a first trip. They were completely in awe of every new thing they got to experience. The breakfast at GG looks delish, too! I was mostly booking lunch as our big meal of the day because I figured the kids would want the down time, otherwise I also would have considered at GG PPO. Bumping into Gaston was a really lucky moment to be sure.

You look like you had the best luck with character meets! I love seeing how happy the girls are -- and even happier you were able to have an adult bev at lunch!

We had excellent character luck this day. I was quite excited about it, definitely more because I had done so much research here and knew what the alternative could have been.

Sounds like it was a successful Garden Grill meal! I feel like the characters get to come around a little more often at this restaurant as opposed to other places.
I've never really thought about Chip and Dale's relationship before. Too funny that you got a personalized note with a...maybe truthful answer.

Gaston in Future World? That's a lucky find! I didn't know that was a character training spot; I just assumed they had the one near the IG and that was it. Love that girls tried helping him out by calling for Belle.

I didn't realize it was a character training spot, either. I'm so glad we happened upon him: them searching for Belle and reporting back to him was super cute.

Following. I can't wait to hear how the rest of your trip turns out!

Thanks! Welcome aboard.

Garden Grill is one of my favorite character meals!

Good score on Gaston in training. His lines get so crazy in Magic Kingdom!

We were planning on braving his MK line, so I was fully aware of just how lucky we were to happen upon him here.

Garden Grill was one of my favorite meals of our trip too, and I am right there with you on that pot roast - I ate waaay too much of it but it was totally worth it.

So many cute meets at Epcot!

Mmm, now I want more of that pot roast...

I love how they pick things like this as the most memorable thing. It is always something that you could never plan. I love her face in this pic!

I love this, and I don't care if it is true or not...

I was thinking this... Was one mad that they didn't get a picture?

Love it!


And this pic is great as well!!!


You guys really are show stoppers... Even Minnie is impressed.

They tell everyone that Pluto had to hold the book up to his nose. It is funny the things they key in on that become so important to them.

They didn't mind only having two in the picture. They can't tell who it is, either, so none of them know which one should be annoyed.

They are definitely show stoppers. This isn't the first time we have had masked characters go through the hassle of miming to confirm that they're triplets, we have a really cute photo of Count counting them at Sesame Place, but I figured it would be less of a thing in Disney, what with them seeing so many more people of all types every day.

Great choice for the ears! I also swore I'd never buy ears and I now own 9 pairs, but 5 of those are ones I had made before my trip

They love the color on the ears, so it makes them happy. I was just glad that they had gift cards, so my "is that really necessary" voice could be muted, what with it not being my money.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Just found your TR and joining in! We are headed to the World Memorial Day weekend and your boardwalk ice cream has made it to the top of my list of things to get! DH and I are staying at the BC and I love being able to walk over to the BW!

Your first full day sounds like it was a great success. The girls look like they are through the moon with all the Disney magic. I was scared of Pirates as a kid so I completely get their apprehension. Isnt the International Gateway at Epcot the best? It is like your own little VIP entrance. You have really got a lot done in Epcot as well! I am very impressed. Too bad about missing Gaston's autograph, but it doesnt seem like the girls are too upset.

Welcome! We loved staying on Crescent Lake, not least because of that awesome ice cream. The IG entrance really can't be beat!

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Park Day Two: Epcot (cont’d)

We left things heading to Test Track before the last Jammitors show of the day. At least, I thought we would be going straight to TT.

I worked hard to shut down the intense Disney planner voice in the back of my head (We have playgrounds at home! We do not have Test Track at home! I don’t even want to think about the hourly rate that I’m paying so my kids can climb on things!) and we hung out until it was time to see the Jammitors. We grabbed a bench and the adults sat while the kids goofed off a bit until showtime. Apparently, the DVC booth CM took quite a liking to the girls because she brought them over this.

In case you can’t tell, that is a giant line of stickers. To suggest that the girls were in their glory would be quite the understatement. They were thrilled and decided that, with so many stickers, they should start handing them out, as well. Unfortunately, their delivery left something to be desired. From my vantage point on the bench, it was hilarious watching them run up to parents pushing a stroller, shove stickers in their hands, and run back to me before the confused moms could figure out what had just happened. It’s the thought that counts, right?

The girls are lovers of live music in all forms, so they loved the show.

We headed from the show toward Test Track. On the way, the girls saw a sprinkler that they really wanted to run in but we told them we’d see how it went once we used our FPs. I had no intention of letting them splash in the fountain. It wasn’t that warm, we didn’t have a change of clothes, and we still had plans for dinner in WS. However, every mom knows that sometimes, “Maybe, we’ll see” is the best way to postpone the fight in the hopes that the kids will forget.

We arrived at TT only to hear the CMs announcing that the ride was closed for incoming weather. We hadn’t noticed, but the sky was starting to get dark. The ride must have just closed because my FP hadn’t even converted yet, but it did as we stopped to consider our options. Our Mission: Space FP window wouldn’t open for another 20 minutes or so, but we went over to see what could be done.

The posted wait for the green side (the girls were slightly too short for orange) was 15 minutes. I asked the FP CM about potentially using our FP early versus just waiting in standby. She was willing to let us in early, but couldn’t guarantee that the system wouldn’t grab our TT anytime pass instead (thanks, Dis, for alerting me to that complication). We weren’t risking the TT passes for a 15-minute wait, so we did standby and proceeded to walk straight through to the spot where a CM was assigning people to rows. Is 15 minutes the minimum that Disney posts? With TT just going down, and this being the next closest ride, I was worried that 15 minutes would be an underestimate, not a gross exaggeration.

Although they were tall enough to ride, the girls couldn’t quite reach the buttons they were supposed to be pressing. They were pretty upset that they couldn’t do their jobs and it soured their ride experience. Hubby and I enjoyed ourselves, but the kids gave it a thumbs down. The poor CM helping everyone to exit politely asked how the ride was and got an earful about buttons being too far away. All complaints were forgotten when the girls saw the climbing structure at the ride exit. They tossed off their shoes and started climbing while hubby and I decided what to do next.

It was still raining out and the forecast said it would be for another couple of hours. We were supposed to be having dinner in the Mexico pavilion and calling it an early evening, but TT wasn’t going to be back up by then. Neither of us wanted to miss our chance at Test Track, and we weren’t sure we’d be able to get back there on our other Epcot day. We were also trying to be selective about the nights that we kept the girls out late, saving our chances so that they’d actually be awake for the night entertainment. We decided to switch things up a bit: go back to the room, shower, then head back into Epcot for dinner and our Test Track ride. Our hope was that, by getting showers out of the way earlier, we wouldn’t end up having them tucked into bed too late. Maybe not the most responsible parenting choice, but the Disney magic was clouding our judgment a bit, too.

Hubby and I donned our rain jackets, tucked the kids under the stroller rain covers, and headed towards the International Gateway. Having forgotten our earlier conversation, I completely failed to avoid the splash pad and the girls definitely didn’t forget my, “We’ll see…” from earlier. But, since the whole plan was to bring them back for showers anyway,

We just let them go to town. They were having a ball and kept running back to tell us, “Look, we’re soaked!” The giggling and squealing drew a lot of attention, too. There were plenty of smiles and laughter, several parents having to actively guide their children away from joining, and a few snide comments to balance things out. “Well, that’s going to be a rough bus ride. Good luck with that!” Seriously, dude, do you think that I hadn’t realized that I’d have to deal with the consequences of sopping wet kids if I let them splash? What is the point of comments like that? I guess there always has to be one. In our case, the sweet comments from older parents telling us to enjoy the moment drowned out the couple of grumps. For my part, I thought it was hilarious to see the folks going by in ponchos contrasted with my kids drenching themselves. After about 15 minutes, we dried them off as best we could with a microfiber towel I had in my park bag, bundled them into their rain jackets, and headed for the hotel. We were walking through the IG at 5:05.

During this time, our FP window for Mission: Space expired so I was able to start refreshing for 4th FPs. I managed to snag all of us TT passes in the window where the ride should still be down, hoping that we’d net a second set of anytimes to use upon our return (another trick I learned her on Dis). We spent about an hour in the room grabbing showers, relaxing, and waiting for the rain to die down. Our second set of TT FPs did convert to anytime, so we had the option for double rides if we wanted.

We headed back into the park a little after 6:00. I knew I wanted nachos and a margarita from La Cantina, but I was willing to make an additional stop for the kids. I offered to get them fish sticks and fries (fish and chips wouldn’t have meant a thing to them) from the UK pavilion on the way to Mexico. A took me up on the offer but B and C were insistent that they wanted a burger. After trying to talk them off of it for a bit, hubby and I decided to just go ahead and split up. He’d take the double stroller around to everyone’s first choice for QS in WS, Liberty Inn, while I hit up the UK and we’d meet at La Cantina.

I tried to put through a mobile order on his phone, but the phone rebooted midway through. He wasn’t feeling the adult beverage options at Liberty Inn, so I told him to just get the kids a chocolate milk with their burger. I headed to the UK pavilion with A and the umbrella stroller and got her meal. I wasn’t feeling any of the adult beverages there, so I just grabbed a Diet Coke to give myself a caffeine bump. I handed A the food tray to start eating and realized that I had no action plan for walking with my drink. The umbrella stroller had no cup holders as we always stored our stuff on the double. Even worse, the handles were such that you really need to push with two hands. I chugged enough of the soda so that it wouldn’t be spilling all over and awkwardly wrapped my hand around both it and the stroller handle. It wasn’t my most graceful trip through the park, as it was really hard to steer the stroller with the soda in hand, but we made it to La Cantina ahead of hubby, B, and C.

I plopped A down at a table, put in my food order, and flagged hubby and the other two girls down just as I was making my way back with dinner in hand. Hubby had a less than pleasant experience at Liberty Inn. Apparently, it was super busy there and trying to walk around WS in general was difficult with the big stroller. The girls had already finished their burger and fries, which I was shocked by. It turns out hubby thought he had to use a child QS credit, so they only split a kid’s burger and fries, not a full-size adult meal. No wonder they ate it so fast! They started picking on A’s leftover fries while Hubby and I dug into the nachos. Our whole meal was so much better than it had any right to be. The nachos were easily enough for two, loaded with thoroughly unhealthy but delicious toppings. After a day of touring, the margarita was a welcome treat, too. Since the kids were still hungry, we grabbed an order of churros to share before heading into the pyramid.

Our first stop was the Kidcot station, where the girls started their passports as well as picking up the little Ziploc bags designed to hold the free postcards. We also made a Mexico penny before heading to the Gran Fiesta tour. It was a walk on and we were loaded onto a boat at 7:18pm. We all enjoyed this ride, especially the fireworks display at the end. From there, we headed up to Test Track to use our first set of anytime passes.

The length of the FP line was unsurprising but disappointing. With the ride being down for about 3 hours that day, we were certainly not the only people needing to use FPs from earlier before the park closed. We were in line at 7:25 and designing our cars at 7:45.

A and C had to split design duties with me supervising to create the former, while B had Hubby all to herself to make the latter. From the design room, it was another few minutes before we got to test our creations.

A loved the ride, C was trying to put on a brave face but wasn’t 100% sure she was into it, and B was firmly opposed. Again, no tears, but she wasn’t going on again. We were in the dump shop at 8:10 where we had hoped to make TT driver's licenses for the kids, but the booths were out of order. The long FP line had kept us out later than we had intended, so we really should have left, but we had another set of anytime FPs to consider. The FP line hadn’t gotten any shorter, so a re-ride would likely be another 45-minute commitment. If we wanted to get the girls to sleep anything close to their normal time, we needed to leave. So, of course, Hubby and I decided to toss responsible out the window and see if the kids wanted another ride. A definitely wanted to ride TT again, B definitely did not, and C was somewhat interested but not enough to wait through that line again. I tried to convince B and C to try a Soarin’ reride, but that was vetoed as well. A and Hubby hopped back into the FP line while I grabbed the double stroller and headed back to the room with B and C. Rather than putting them to bed and waking them back up with A’s eventual arrival, I tossed on Disney Jr and let them veg a bit. The FP line was just as bad the second time around because the timestamp on this gem is 8:58pm.

Pro tip: put your short children to the front/right on TT if you want photographic evidence that they braved Test Track. For all you can tell, Hubby is just talking to an empty seat in this photo. Hubby and A made it back to the room about 9:20 at which point the girls crashed the second the lights went out.

We accomplished nearly everything we had hoped on our first Epcot day, although we were out much later than expected. The only things from my plan that got skipped were time to explore the Seas pavilion and Club Cool. I’m a bit bummed about the aquarium because there are a few animals that our local one doesn’t have, but it wouldn’t have been a pleasant experience if I had tried to make them stay and wait for their snack. Club Cool was intended as a time filler and one that I was fine to pass up. Our Epcot day ended up including 8 family rides, 1 Daddy-Daughter ride, 2 shows, 5 character meets, 1 drenched splash pad visit, 1 WS pavilion and 1 rotating lunch.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Dining Plan Day 3

Day 3 Actual Spending
Boardwalk Bakery: $4.27
Sunshine Seasons: $4.59
Fountainview: $22.43
Garden Grill: $223.39
La Cantina: $33.44
UK Fish and Chips: $16.56
Liberty Inn: $8.01
DDP Day 3 Value: $312.69

Total DDP To Date: $899.68
Amount remaining to break even: $1,215.23

Moderate Splurge Adjustments
If I were paying out of pocket, I would have made Garden Grill the latest breakfast reservation I could to get the lower cost. I also wouldn’t have allowed myself to buy coffee on the way into the park or at Fountainview, as I would have gotten my caffeine fix during breakfast only. With that different schedule, I also removed the kids’ snacks at Fountainview from our totals, since we would have been heading to eat at that time. I left the Sunshine Season snack, as I’m not sure that we would have eaten it right then, but would have inevitably grabbed a snack at some point later if the big meal had been earlier in the day. I also removed both adult drinks and my diet soda that came with the fish and chips, as I would have been drinking water without the DDP. All of that goes advantage DDP: having the credits allowed us to pick the meal time that best fit our schedule and grab the extra snacks and drinks that we would have talked ourselves out of if had we been paying OOP.

Moderate Splurge Day Two Estimated Cost (Tax and Tip): $228.41
Moderate Splurge Budget To Date: $710.32

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

ofed off a bit until showtime. Apparently, the DVC booth CM took quite a liking to the girls because she brought them over this.

I love this. And I totally have that struggle about the playgrounds... I swear they need bars near them to make the adults have a little fun as well.

nts pushing a stroller, shove stickers in their hands, and run back to me before the confused moms could figure out what had just happened. It’s the thought that counts, right?

Ha! This is what my girls would do as well. I have tried to have the girls spread the "magic" a little now that they are older.

“Maybe, we’ll see” is the best way to postpone the fight in the hopes that the kids will forget.

My girls know that We'll see usually means no... oops.

I plopped A down at a table, put in my food order, and flagged hubby and the other two girls down just as I was making my way back with dinner in hand. Hubby had a less than pleasant experience at Liberty Inn. Apparently, it was super busy there and trying to walk around WS in general was difficult with the big stroller. The girls had already finished their burger and fries, which I was shocked by. It turns out hubby thought he had to use a child QS credit, so they only split a kid’s burger and fries, not a full-size adult meal. No wonder they ate it so fast! They started picking on A’s leftover fries while Hubby and I dug into the nachos. Our whole meal was so much better than it had any right to be. The nachos were easily enough for two, loaded with thoroughly unhealthy but delicious toppings. After a day of touring, the margarita was a welcome treat, too. Since the kids were still hungry, we grabbed an order of churros to share before heading into the pyramid.

This is a struggle for us as well for World Showcase... There are great options but kids with different tastes, it is tough.

I love that you got your own car!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Your daughters looked like they were having a ball dancing and in the splash zone!

I love the nachos from Mexico, yum!

Glad you all did get to ride TT, it does go down a lot!

 

[suse66]

The drinks came after Mickey and I happily took advantage of my adult beverage included on the DDP. My Citrus Freeze (Florida Cane ‘Orlando Orange’ Vodka, Peach Schnapps, and Mango Puree) was exactly my kind of drink: sweet and fruity.

That looks great!

Garden Grill was great on all fronts: the food, the characters, the service. We were very impressed.

I love Garden Grill too....breakfast is just as good!

Right about this time, A realized she had to go to the bathroom. I stayed in line with the other two while Hubby hustled A to the closest bathroom. Every time we moved ahead in line, B and C’s anxiety climbed while they watched the entrance. Hubby and A made it back with just one family ahead of us. At 2:30pm, we were meeting our favorite video game characters.

Awesome meet! That is on my list for this summer!

I have to say, I was super exited to have bumped into Gaston at a character training. I was hoping to catch one at HS or our WS day at EP, but this was completely off my radar. I knew how long his lines typically got in MK, so this just cleared up another big chunk of time later in our week. In our surprise at seeing him, we forgot to pull out the autograph book, but I’m happy to miss an autograph if it gives us 30 minutes back in MK.

I love bumping into characters out for training!

Minnie was so surprised by the girls that she counted them and pointed at me to confirm what she was seeing. Yes, Minnie, I find the number of identical children I created to be quite shocking, too.

Haha! people are always so surprised by identical multiples! I still get asked if the boys are identical and when I say yes, they are like "well, they don't look alike!" No, one has long hair and one has short but yes they are identical.

The girls are lovers of live music in all forms, so they loved the show.

It's a great show!

However, every mom knows that sometimes, “Maybe, we’ll see” is the best way to postpone the fight in the hopes that the kids will forget.

My favourite was"ok, maybe later......"

Although they were tall enough to ride, the girls couldn’t quite reach the buttons they were supposed to be pressing. They were pretty upset that they couldn’t do their jobs and it soured their ride experience. Hubby and I enjoyed ourselves, but the kids gave it a thumbs down. The poor CM helping everyone to exit politely asked how the ride was and got an earful about buttons being too far away. All complaints were forgotten when the girls saw the climbing structure at the ride exit. They tossed off their shoes and started climbing while hubby and I decided what to do next.

My boys loved the interactive area at Mission Space more than the ride.

Hubby and I donned our rain jackets, tucked the kids under the stroller rain covers, and headed towards the International Gateway. Having forgotten our earlier conversation, I completely failed to avoid the splash pad and the girls definitely didn’t forget my, “We’ll see…” from earlier. But, since the whole plan was to bring them back for showers anyway,

So fun!

Our first stop was the Kidcot station, where the girls started their passports as well as picking up the little Ziploc bags designed to hold the free postcards. We also made a Mexico penny before heading to the Gran Fiesta tour. It was a walk on and we were loaded onto a boat at 7:18pm. We all enjoyed this ride, especially the fireworks display at the end. From there, we headed up to Test Track to use our first set of anytime passes.

The Gran Fiesta tour is such a classic.

We accomplished nearly everything we had hoped on our first Epcot day, although we were out much later than expected. The only things from my plan that got skipped were time to explore the Seas pavilion and Club Cool. I’m a bit bummed about the aquarium because there are a few animals that our local one doesn’t have, but it wouldn’t have been a pleasant experience if I had tried to make them stay and wait for their snack. Club Cool was intended as a time filler and one that I was fine to pass up. Our Epcot day ended up including 8 family rides, 1 Daddy-Daughter ride, 2 shows, 5 character meets, 1 drenched splash pad visit, 1 WS pavilion and 1 rotating lunch.

Perfect Epcot day!!!

 

[amazingact21]

Playgrounds draw kids in every time. It's hard to pull them away from something that's available everywhere.

People were giving you grief about letting the kids splash in the pad? Sheesh... I give you kudos for coming up with a new plan on the fly AND fulfilling a (psuedo) promise to the kids. They look like they were having a blast in the water, and that's the most important thing.

You mentioned having to push the umbrella stroller with two hands on your walk to the Mexico pavilion, and that leads me to ask how you liked the stroller overall. We're using an umbrella for Evie this summer and have wondered if Landon can hop in it every great once in awhile when he gets tired. He'll be over the limit but will need it so rarely that it won't be worth bringing our good stroller. I know your girls are a little younger than Landon, but I was curious about your feeling towards the stroller in general.

Smart move getting the extra FP for Test Track to let it convert to an anytime pass. But a bit of a bummer that the line was backed up so much because of everyone else using up their passes. Plus, that design room can eat up a lot of time.