11 yEARS later, here we are again...UPDATED 2/23! The Last Day!

[Stallion]

We're back! After an 11 year absence, I decided it was time to write another trip report.

You might remember us from such trip reports as Disneymoon 10/8-10/18!
​

Now I know you're asking yourself, why decide to write one now after so long? No real reason really, just thought it'd be fun to start one up again. After all, the last one had 12K views! Big in my mind, really low in the grand scheme of the DIS

Where to start? Where have we been the last decade?
At the end of the original trip report, I stated:
"There are currently no plans for a future trip, but hoping for later this year or next."
Well we did skip 2007 to go to Vegas, but realized where our true love was, Disney World! We have since been 13 times to the World, once to Disneyland in 2008 and our first Disney Cruise in 2016. And have gotten to take our little ones along the way. Here are a few photos over the years.
Cue Through the Years!

I hope you all had Kenny Rogers in your head the whole time
Sorry for the visual overload. Some made me happy while the others were a reminder of how much weight I've gained. Darn you peanut butter! And these were just the ones I picked, think of how many pictures I had to go through! You're looking at 11 years here people

Now onto the cast of characters!

Me(Steve) DH (39)
Tracy - DW (40)
Sydney - DD (7)
Nate - DS (3)
*I didn't post pictures of us since you all just saw and can probably figure it out*

As you can tell, we love Disney. It's pretty much the only thing we look forward to year in year out. The atmosphere, the food, the rides. It gets us every year and this year was no different. Our last trip was the week before Christmas of 2017 so naturally we had the itch go to back the instant we walked in the door. Well maybe not instantly, with Christmas, New Year and DD's birthday all within the next month. But AFTER that yes, had to start planning for 2018.

Only question was when. With DD in school now our options are limited. So instead of going over spring break with EVERYONE else, we decided to go back in August. You know, when it's ridiculously hot out NBD. We did it in 2017 and we managed so why not just do it again. But for how long? Since we bought the SUV I said I wanted to drive to avoid the airports. I just hate them now, especially with kids. It's just so stressful nowadays and everyone knows the lines at MCO can be ridiculous. Plus with ME picking you up 4 hours ahead of time I just couldn't deal with making sure the luggage was at airline check in time, just too much for me.
Yes a 14 hour car seems much more reasonable right? For me, absolutely. PLUS we get to pack the luggage heavy, bring extra bags for souvenirs and drive around the Disney Bubble without having to wait for a bus while holding a double stroller.

ANYWAY, we decided on 10 days, August 12-22. Since it's such a long car ride figured let's make the most of it and take our time and do what we wanted when we wanted.

We found a travel agent through the DISBOARDS and we got a great deal staying at the Poly. Since DW renewed her AP, she didn't need tickets, only myself and the kids. Went to a third party site and ordered 8 day PH. No dining plan either, we'll just load up gift cards with money and use those for all our dining needs.

Last year, we all had APs but since we were only going once this year it made sense to just have the one for discounts, which definitely helps with pins and food.

You always might remember I posted a pic in the last report of our new pin board. Well that board has grown into multiple boards and now the kids have them! We love our pins and while we don't have half of what others have, we are pretty proud of our collection. What's that? You want to see them? Of course! More visual evidence please!

We're going to need another board considering we bought MORE pins the last time. We can't help it, we love it
Honestly the only reason I took these pictures were when we got down there we can safely say we either do or don't have that pin. Which came in handy for sure! Take pictures of your pins!

Where was I? I'm rambling. Ah yes, after we got all booked now came the painstaking waiting game. 180 days seemed like an eternity but now comes the fun part of picking out which restaurants to go to. Where to eat? For me, the best meal is 'Ohana dinner. Hands down. The noodles, the pot stickers, the shrimp. The shrimp. The shrimp. Yes I keep asking for more shrimp. We made sure that would be priority when our 180 came.

We generally plan our meals first and then decide which parks we're going to hit that day/night. And like most plans, they change constantly so we like to plan for dinner almost every night. We know there will be some counter service nights included as well. DD's favorite restaurant is Cosmic Rays so that was in the plans as well.

Since we had 10 days (I know I say WE a lot) there were plenty of places to eat and knew wouldn't have trouble getting a reservation at the 180 mark. Here's the first draft we had:

8/12 - Chef Mickey's dinner
8/13 - HW&V Breakfast/Ohana dinner
8/14 - Hoop de Doo Revue
8/15 - Coral Reef Lunch/Cosmic Rays dinner/Happily Ever After Dessert Party
8/16 - Morimotos Dinner
8/17 - Plaza Lunch/1900 Park Faire Dinner
8/18 - Beaches and Cream dinner
8/19 - T-Rex Lunch
8/20 - Chef Mickey's Dinner
8/21 - 'Ohana

This changed a little bit after the initial 180 and even while we were down there. But we were prepared to EAT! At one point we had 3 Chef Mickey's on the lineup! (only wound up with one, more on that later)
So now that we have our dining set, we need to decide which parks to go on which days. For us the first park HAS to be MK, regardless of the day. I know you should read the crowd meter but it doesn't matter to us. We make our FPs and just do those and maybe a few extra. MK just has to be day one, walking into the park, looking down Mainstreet USA and seeing that castle. You know you're in the WORLD.

Our original lineup went like this:

8/12 - MK
8/13 - HS
8/14 - AK
8/15 - EP/MK evening
8/16 - Pool Day
8/17 - MK
8/18 - AK/HS
8/19 - DD/HS
8/20 - EP
8/21 - MK

And like dining, that plan changed over time and while we were down there. We had decided to buy an extra park day for the three of us to use, but wouldn't do that until we got down there.
NOW that we have our days lined up, just have to wait until that 60 day mark. Which as you all know takes forever. We did a countdown on the fridge for the kids that started at 100 days, so for us it was "How many more Saturdays until we leave?" That number was better than the actual number

We kept busy over time. For me it was planning DW's 40th birthday so that kept me consumed for a few months. Had a surprise party with all her college friends she hadn't seen in years, mixed in with family and friends and got an amazing princess cake (I'll show if there's enough interest).
Then came a week at Ocean City MD with my parents which was nice to get away and just sort of rest for awhile. However we're not really "rest" people, we like to move around a lot. Basically, we were itchy to be in Disney already (Am I using these things right? IDK ha)

During that time, we had found the live streams from ResortTV1 and Spokesmayne and we would watch those religiously. It kept getting us excited and amped up for our trip. If you haven't seen them, check them out. Oh and also Tim Tracker, which I'm sure you all probably already know. Anyway, watching the streams and videos of the different parks, food, and just the general atmosphere was a good way to pass the time and constantly say "We'll be there soon!"

Once August finally came, we knew we had to be ready. The weekend before we hit Target and spent more money than we wanted (who doesn't) and picked up any last minute items. Since we were driving, needed to make sure we had DVD's for the kids, snacks, drinks and any other clothes we might need. Also picked up a mister fan for the cheap!(Spoiler, it's now lost in AK)
I had ordered a new DVD for DD to hold while my son used the old one so they wouldn't wind up watching the same thing.
Also my Fitbit had died the week before so I ordered another one just so I could keep track of the steps, which came in handy last time.

Anyway, sorry for the long winded first post. I promise to post what ACTUALLY happened during the trip soon. I'm not sure if I left anything out but if I did I'm sure DW will tell me and I'll make amendments. Also if there's anything you'd like to hear about let me know!

If you don't want to read this at all don't let me know

Coming up, Day 1 and the 14 hour drive!

Steve

 

[amiskell28]

First! Excited to join in and read along!

 

[Eve & Wall-e]

Love all your photos. I see you have Eve (me) on one of your pin boards! DH (Wall-e) and I don't trade pins, though. We always start and end our WDW vacations with MK, too.

 

[Stallion]

8/11 Day 1 – The Drive!

I know I had previously said this was a 10 day trip, but it’s TECHNICALLY 11 since I’m counting the drive as our “official” first day of vacation. DD likes to call it the “Bonus Day!” I booked a night at Wyndham Lake Buena Vista for our “one off” and then we would have a night at Disney Springs.

I had been on travel for work the days leading up to the trip, so I packed my suitcase on Tuesday and left my poor DW to pack for herself and the children. Which honestly isn’t really a change from the usual since she knows just what to pack for the kids.

I got home around 6pm that Friday and pulled all the luggage down to the garage for the morning, checked the DVD players (I thought) and made sure I had quarters in the car for the Florida tolls and then eventually went to bed around 10pm.

3AM came QUICK as I immediately shot up in excitement and hopped in the shower to wake myself up and got ready. I packed the cooler and loaded the luggage into the car and set up the DVD players, and watched as one by one DD, DS and DW came down. All very excited until DS’s DVD player didn’t have any volume. Fortunately since it was a dual, we could just hand him the master one and just hand back and forth when he was ready to switch DVDs.
4:11AM and we’re on the road! GPS says 10pm, but that was wildly incorrect as I was about to crush that It’s always fun for me to set the time and see how much time I can knock off.

The nice thing about living really close to 95 is it only takes 5 minutes to get on the highway from where we live (VA). Plus the directions are super easy! I-95 to I-4! However I know I-4 is a bit of a nightmare so my plan was to take I-4 to 417, which has tolls, and jump down to 536.

30 minutes and DD says she’s getting car sick thanks to the DVD so she closes her eyes and before I know it the whole car is asleep so it’s just me and darkness. Since DS is now potty trained, I made it a point to stop at least one rest stop per state to walk around and stretch for a bit.

The drive was pretty uneventful, made it all the way to Manning, SC before my first gas stop. This is when DW said she’d take over so I could take a little nap along the way. Of course that time is when there was traffic J But I had a nice 2 hour nap and was definitely refreshed to continue the rest of the way.
We stopped at a McDonalds for lunch as soon as we got into GA and then got right back on the road and before we knew it we were in Florida shortly after 3pm! Another 3 hours+ and we’d be in the Disney Bubble!

Got on I-4 at Daytona and then jumped on 417 and hit plenty of tolls and stopped for gas. Unfortunately I read the signs wrong and listened to my GPS and I was on 528 heading towards I-4, which was stopped dead. Oh well, no turning back now, it’s Disney time! Kids were getting excited, as were we, as the signs for Disney kept popping up. Then came the exit and THE sign. The big purple sign that welcomes you with open arms. Sadly, since I was driving I couldn’t get a picture and it was the one right around Disney Springs so it was at an awkward angle BUT we were HOME.

The hotel is right on Hotel Plaza Blvd so I pulled in and unloaded the car and the family, self-parked and checked into our one off. It was a nice room, nothing special but it was nice for what it was. Here was the view from our room.

Anyway, off to Disney Springs for dinner! The nice thing about this hotel was that we could walk out onto the bridge and right into Springs.

One of DW’s and my favorite meals is Earl of Sandwich. I know I know, out of ALL that the Springs has to offer, we pick the sandwich place. That Tuna Melt gets us every time! We were fortunate enough to get there around 7pm so the dinner crowd was just rolling in. Lucky enough to get in line with on one in front of me and order while family grabbed an inside, air-conditioned, table.

It tastes better than it looks, promise!

After dinner our plan was to just walk around, visit a few shops and just take it all in. Well, a few stores later our wallets were a little lighter and we already had a few bags of souvenirs. The nice part about driving is that we packed extra duffle bags for stuff that already came in handy when we checked out the next day. Our last stop was Goofy’s Candy Kitchen and got some desserts for the evening before turning in. After all, we had to get up early to get to the Polynesian to “officially” start our vacation!

I apologize for the lack of pictures on this day, only took a few for the day but mostly did short Instagram stories which I'm trying to figure out to get to those together. But I wanted to get this quick update out there, I promise actual Disney World tomorrow! (maybe not tomorrow. checks will not be honored)
Steve

 

[buteraa]

Joining in. I'd love to see your DW Princess cake!

 

[Stallion]

Joining in. I'd love to see your DW Princess cake!

Here you go! (I think I finally got them!)

The book area was half vanilla half chocolate with vanilla and chocolate buttercream. The castle portion on the top was red velvet with cream cheese icing. I wish I had gotten more of that!

***Apologies, I'm trying to get the cake pictures to show up but they keep giving me fits

 

[cinderaimee]

Sounds like a fun trip, following along from just across the Potomac in MD! You made good time on the drive. My husband also place race against the GPS time

Interested to hear about a trip in August. We are going in January because we hate the heat and my kids are still small enough to pull them out of school and it won't matter much, but that won't last for long.

 

[Cloe Colton]

Fun start! Joining in!

Judging by how light out it was when you got to your hotel I'm guessing you beat that 10 o clock arrival time by a while! haha

 

[cajunfan]

can't wait to hear more!

 

[jchurch0409]

Following along!

 

[Stallion]

First! Excited to join in and read along!

Thanks!

Love all your photos. I see you have Eve (me) on one of your pin boards! DH (Wall-e) and I don't trade pins, though. We always start and end our WDW vacations with MK, too.

Thanks! My MagicBand for most of the trip

Sounds like a fun trip, following along from just across the Potomac in MD! You made good time on the drive. My husband also place race against the GPS time

Interested to hear about a trip in August. We are going in January because we hate the heat and my kids are still small enough to pull them out of school and it won't matter much, but that won't last for long.

I did make great time, even with the stops. 14 hours isn't terrible! And yes, I feel your pain. We would always do October and then when DD started school we had to join the masses in going in the summer. It's hot, but there's plenty of shade and cool buildings to walk in that it's very doable. Naps are key

Fun start! Joining in!

Judging by how light out it was when you got to your hotel I'm guessing you beat that 10 o clock arrival time by a while! haha

OH yeah I did haha. I think it was just after 6 we pulled in and by the time we got settled to go out it was about 7 so had plenty of daylight.

can't wait to hear more!

Following along!

 

[Stallion]

8/12 – Day 2 (Day 1 of DISNEY!)

Woke up bright and early(not that early) and got ready. Since we didn’t want to leave all the luggage in the car overnight, I immediately started bringing the stuff down to the car and play Tetris. It’s shortly after 9 when I finally get everyone out of the room.

What a view!

Of course, the kids wanted to take a picture in the Mickey courtyard before we left.

They do love their Muppet Babies. I'm still salty over the no Scooter/Skeeter/Rowlf but they seem to enjoy it. Also can anyone else find a Gonzo that's not ridiculously overpriced?

ANYWAY, we hop in the car and make our way over to the Polynesian. I do love driving around the World. The signs, the perfect grass, the ZERO power lines. It's awesome. There wasn't a line getting in like previous years, especially on a Saturday which was nice. Dropped the family off at the front and I parked the car and met them inside. DW was finishing up with the front desk and everyone got their lei's which is the perfect start to a stay at the Poly. Our room wasn't ready and DW said the CM wasn't all that special, or magical. She wasn't bad by any means just sort of blah. DW commented that she hoped we would get a room at least

I walk over and pick our double stroller which was nice to have. It's a pain on the bus but since we have the car I don't mind at all. This actually might be the last year for the double since DD is getting too tall for it. But it's nice for her when she gets tired of walking and it's towards the end of the day. Also to hold all of our stuff! Autograph books, ponchos, drinks, the fan. It's nice to not have to carry all that stuff around for sure.
Picked up the stroller, grabbed the family and hopped on the monorail en route to the Magic Kingdom!

Fortunately since it was just after 10:30 it was pretty empty and we had a car to ourselves and could roll the stroller on no issues. A few minutes later and we're at the turnstiles and DD can never get her finger right and DS needs DW's to get through. OH I should mention the MagicBands. As stated earlier, I have my Wall-E one, DW has her new snacks ones that she was fortunate enough to pick up the last one at the store in the Wyndham. DD has her Elsa band and DS with the Lion King. He HAD a Darth Vadar one last year but that is now in Epcot's hands. Anyway, in we go!

Right? What a site. Gives you chills the first time every time. I don't care how old you are. We were finally here!
Our first goal was honestly to get something to eat. It was almost 11 and we wanted to get a start on the lunch crowd and head to DD's favorite, Cosmic Rays. It's amazing how hot it gets. Fortunately you can just walk through the stores and get some AC.
Make our way over to CR and walk in right where Sonny plays and no one was there! I parked the stroller right in front since I assumed this is what the kids would want. I make my way over to the counter and order our lunch which consisted of the Incrediburger, two cheeseburgers and chicken tenders.
Side note during this trip - my children ONLY eat either cheeseburgers or chicken tenders with fries. Anyway, I make my way back with the food only to find out the Sonny was "too loud" for DS so we had to move tables. Fortunately since it was so early there were plenty of tables higher up so we moved.

This was actually very good. Who wouldn't love a cheeseburger with mozzarella sticks and bacon! There was some sauce on it, I want to say ranch which added to it. Was too much food that we wound up splitting it and barely cut into the second cheeseburger we ordered. That one was a "just in case." As usual the kids barely ate what they had and we moved on to our first ride, Prince Charming's Carousel!
DD and DS both LOVE a carousel. When DD was younger that's ALL she wanted to ride and my son now picked up that love. Gone are the years where if someone didn't get the horse they wanted an epic meltdown would ensue. Fortunately now they have "backups" and we can talk them into a good one. It had the scrims still up but I actually preferred that since it added way more shade.
Off to Small World! Or as my kids like to call it, the Boat Ride

Turns out it IS a Small World after all. Such a nice relaxing ride, especially in the dead of summer when you need to sit down for a few minutes. I'm not a thrill ride guy so rides like this are A OK in my book.

Don't worry, Nate got his OWN board on the other side which I didn't snap a pic fast enough.

Next up was Peter Pan, which we had a FP for. We had just gotten in line when we heard a commotion and saw some poor child going through what looked like a seizure. Many people ran to his aid and eventually Security and the EMT's stepped in. I think he was ok, possibly just dehydrated but a scary sight to see. Some jerk was trying his hardest to film the whole thing and security had to keep stepping in front of him to prevent him from doing so. He was eventually escorted away but man, some people.

By this point it's pushing 2 and DD and I have a FP for MY favorite Disney ride, Big Thunder Mountain! (I know I said I didn't like thrill rides but I consider this tame) DW and DS HAD FP's to Flying Carpets but he fell asleep in the stroller so DW was going to take that opportunity to go through some stores and cool off.

Was nice to have FP's and breeze right up the hill passed everyone giving us "the look." Didn't matter to us though lol
Such a fun ride, you forget all the hills and twists and turns. It's surprisingly fast! The brake check at the end is hilarious and mean at the same time. DD doesn't get it yet but I told her one day it would probably leave a mark

It's around 2:30 and we had already talked about taking a break around 3 to head back to the room to cool off and get recharged before dinner. The thing was, we had FP for 7DMT and DS was finally tall enough to ride it! But that wasn't until 4:30 and we had another one later in the week so we just decided to leave and make our back to the hotel.

At things point it's after 3 and we still hadn't received a text about the room so we hit Captain Cook's and get some ice cream and more importantly for DW, her Dole Whip!

She's going to hate me for posting this
I'm not a pineapple guy so that's ALL for her. DD and I decided to get a Mickey bar.

It was her first and she loved it! So simple yet tasty.
After our snack, DS was starting to wake up so they took a detour into the BouTiki to see what they had to offer while I went to the front desk to inquire about our room. The CM was very helpful, however she was on the phone and there was plenty of silence so you're just sort of standing there wondering if something's actually happening or what. Eventually they found a room for us, apologized for the late notice and we make our way over to the Fiji Building.

2321 was our room number and while we had booked a garden view we had a nice view of the water, pool, the Great Ceremonial house and the Contemporary! Downside was it's literally right when you get off the elevator, which we think was our punishment for asking about the room
Didn't matter to me though, I had a room with a great view and my FAVORITE channel of all time, the WDW channel! I seriously would find a YouTube video some nights and use that to help me fall asleep. I don't know why I didn't take any pictures of the view, so sorry about that.
Since we had the room I called Bell Services to get our luggage brought to our room and they said it would be a few minutes, cool. So we got comfortable and watched TV and about 20 minutes later Bell Services calls and tells me they lost our luggage. I'm like "I'm sorry, what?" He tells me he's going to transfer me to someone else and I say ok and another CM gets on the phone and says they HAVE the luggage, they tried calling us but no one answered and now someone was on the way up. The phone definitely didn't ring but whatever, luggage found! During this time, it had rained so our 7DMT had gotten cancelled anyway! If we had time and wanted to we could ride after dinner but we'd decide then.

Originally we had scheduled Chef Mickey's for tonight, but we changed that last minute and booked Crystal Palace. Our original thought was we'd ride 7DMT, maybe walk around some and then go to dinner. Well that plan didn't really work out so after the luggage was delivered we freshened up and hopped back on the monorail. Our reservation was at 6 and we got there in just the right amount of time. I did see someone taking up a whole bench, sleeping which was odd to me. Apparently this is a thing as a friend pointed out to me. Thought it was strange but whatever, people get tired. Call our names and in we go!

The food was good, nothing really special about it. They had some decent options but since I've gotten older I can't really do more than one plate at buffets, they are mainly just so the kids can meet characters. We are also fortunate enough to be there before they started to remove straws and lids

DW apparently has the pictures with Eyeore so I'll have to grab those off her phone at some point. DD had just seen Christopher Robin and loved it so she was all about the Pooh characters. DS is starting to become a big Tigger fan so they definitely enjoyed this dinner. The waiter was really good, wish I remembered his name. Overall it was a good dinner and a great way to meet those characters but not one of my favorites. By this point it's getting late and we were tired so we decided to skip out before the fireworks crowd started. Which is INSANELY early by the way. I love the fireworks but I'm not sitting around for 2 hours on a curb when I could be doing something else.

On the way out the line for the boat was pretty small so I opted for that and folded up the stroller and got a nice seat on the boat and enjoyed the quiet ride back. So peaceful to be on the water especially at night.

I don't know why DD looks terrified but she wasn't ha. The guy in the back clearly wanted his picture taken.
We dock at the Poly and make our way to Captain Cook's to get some milk, water and a soda and check out the cupcakes for possibly later in the trip. Spent a few hours unpacking and got everyone settled, set the A/C to 68 and set the alarm for 6:30! Tuesday is our Hollywood Studios day but not to rush for Toy Story Land, but to make sure DD got a good spot for the Jedi. That is the MOST important to her so that's what we make priority and since they have EMH's at 7, we needed to make sure we got there at least before 8. But more on that later!

Coming up - A battle with Kylo Ren, our first look at Toy Story Land and my FAVORITE dinner at O'hana!

If the pictures don't show up let me know, I was trying something different with them.

 

[Eve & Wall-e]

We have an ADR for breakfast at Crystal Palace on our next visit. We haven't been there before. Looking forward to meeting the characters.

I'm enjoying your trip report so far. Yum..Mickey Bars! Your Wall-e & Eve MagicBand is awesome!

 

[jchurch0409]

What a great first day!

 

[DisneyGrandma303]

Following along! Enjoying your adventures!

 

[Stallion]

Trying this cake again

Here you go!

The book area was half vanilla half chocolate with vanilla and chocolate buttercream. The castle portion on the top was red velvet with cream cheese icing. I wish I had gotten more of that!

***Apologies, I'm trying to get the cake pictures to show up but they keep giving me fits

 

[amiskell28]

Pictures look great!! What a fun first day.

 

[Stallion]

We have an ADR for breakfast at Crystal Palace on our next visit. We haven't been there before. Looking forward to meeting the characters.

I'm enjoying your trip report so far. Yum..Mickey Bars! Your Wall-e & Eve MagicBand is awesome!

The breakfast is good, nothing special as far as the food goes. I feel like all the character breakfasts are the similar, maybe a few things different. They are enjoyable and a great way to meet characters without waiting hot lines. And who doesn't love a Mickey waffle! I think you'll have a great time, especially when they have the march with all the kids.

What a great first day!

Thanks! The first day is always the most exciting.

Following along! Enjoying your adventures!

Thank you for following!

Pictures look great!! What a fun first day.

Thanks! I'm just glad they are showing up and you can see them lol

 

[cinderaimee]

What a fun first day! That Incrediburger looks so good!

 

[Stallion]

Hope everyone had a great labor day weekend! I had originally started the next day on Thursday, made it more than halfway through and saved the draft. Unfortunately I didn't actually save it and lost it soooooooooooo...............

Day 3 (Day 2 of Disney!)

As I had stated before, this was our Hollywood Studios day and it was most important we get there early enough to get in line for the Jedi Training academy, NOT Toy Story land. DD absolutely loves doing this and it's a Must Do (take that, Stacey!). One year we had made a mistake and didn't check the park hours and they wound up opening an hour earlier than we had expected and by the time we got to the line, it was all the way past Indy. Needless to say she didn't get to do it, tears ensued and since then we vowed to make it top priority to get to HS as early as we can.
This year was no different. At the time of booking, the park opened at 9am so we nabbed a Hollywood and Vine breakfast for just after 8, ensuring us an early entry and no issues. Then Toy Story Land opened and the hours were moved to 8am, with 7am being the start of EMH. Fudge I said. Only I didn't say fudge. We had gone back and forth whether or not to keep the breakfast since it's a hefty price for some pancakes and fruit loops. After much much deliberation we decided to just keep it since it's still early enough in the park and a good place for everyone to get breakfast, especially the chicken tenders and cheeseburger only children. Still sad that Starring Rolls is gone, that was THE place for us. Get there early, grab some pastries and fruit, sit down under and umbrella before the heat came and just enjoy the scenery. But sadly it's closed and the umbrella's remain just to torture us. Moment of silence for Starring Rolls.

Thank you

Set the alarm for 6:30 and was out the door shortly after 7:15. We knew we weren't going to make it right at 7 but as long as we made it in before 8 we'd be ok. After we parked, DW and the kids took the tram and I pushed the stroller up to the front around the old bus loop(it closed the next day!) and I saw the line and almost freaked out but THEN I saw the EMH line which was empty and we rolled up and got right in, all before 8. I paused and took a breath and relaxed, we had made it in time.

DW and DD walked over to Jedi which had NO one in line so I took DS with me and took some pictures with Gertie!

My hat was crooked for most of the day, no one told me.

The girls got the 9:30 time slot which meant we could eat breakfast and go straight to Jedi and then onto other things! Our FP's for the day were TS Mania, Star Tours(Myself and DD), Disney Junior(DW and DS) and then Little Mermaid.

Our breakfast was for 8:10 (yes I know it's ONLY 8:10???) so our name was called shortly after we checked in and the place was EMPTY. Fortunately for the only other people that were in there, they sat us down right next to them

Being early has it's perks, the characters come by really quick and spend a little extra time with the kids.
Doc was cute, she danced to Puppy Dog Pals with them.

The food was ok, nothing special or great about it but it did the job. I did my best not to fill up too much, this was my only plate.

If you look close it's smiling at you!
The kids had pancakes and sausage. I couldn't tell you what else was on the buffet, but what was there was decent. Overall it's a good meal and a great place to meet characters without standing in hot lines.

We finished up shortly before 9, so since we were right next to Jedi check in the girls just walked over and I took Nate over to Star Tours to grab some water and put suntan lotion on us. Didn't have to wait long, fortunately as they came up pretty quick.

Here come the baddies!

Dad of the Galaxy

How perfect do you think his hair is under that helmet?

DD had the lower section so that meant she fought Kylo Ren. I think this was the first time she had fought Kylo Ren since they switched our Seventh Sister. She was excited as always and loved it. Totally worth all the unnecessary stress.

Picked up a few more waters and now it's off to Toy Story Land!

This place is just so colorful, pictures just don't do it justice. The characters talk, the green army men(and women!) walk around and chat with guests. It's a fun new addition.
The downside, it's small and has NO covering whatsoever. If you're hot and want A/C, just wait in the Toy Story Mania line. It may be long but at least you'll be covered and cool.

Since the line for Slinky Dog was 80 minutes, we walked over to Swirling Saucers which only had a 30 minute wait. The queue was pretty neat, but again, in the heat. They had big fans around it but definitely need more to help cool it down. The wait was about 30 and we were on the ride!
Was more fun than expected, a nice whip ride. The music is awesome and everyone loved it.

A quick trip the only other air conditioned place, the bathrooms, and then off to TSM!
The kids RAN through the fast pass line and we were on quick. The new queue, from what we could tell, was very well done. Saw Mr. Potato Head chatting up guests so nice to see him make a come back.

DW and DD rode together and I had DS. Now since DD is getting older and more competitive, she wanted to win. DW convinced her that it was a TEAM effort and their points combined could beat us. That was fine, I was just going to help DS anyway. Needless to say, the girls beat the boys but everyone had fun.

OH I forgot to mention! DW has family nearby and were going to meet with us for a few hours. Since school started on Wednesday they didn't have a lot of time during the 10 days but this day worked best. So while we waited for them we hit the Launch Bay to meet some characters and check out the SW stuff.

First up Chewie!

Love it when he roars!
Next up the ever pleasant Kylo Ren!

We had to remind the kids that he doesn't hug or high five. I love the intimidation he brings. Asks if they want to be a part of the first order and both of them say yes. To the dark side it is!

Back to the light, it's BB-8!

They got a little shy and just let him do all the talking, or beeping.
Why don't they have an R2 and C3PO meet and greet? I know there's one on the cruise but that's who I'd really like to meet.
The lines weren't really all the long so it was kind of quick. Like any good attraction at Disney, it ends in a gift shop. This year I promised myself I was going to buy the R5D4 1/16th figurine! Sadly for me, it wasn't there this year. Always buy it when you see it! Now it's online for too much money but I digress. It's at this time DW says her cousin is here so we meet up right outside. They have two boys the same age as ours and get along great.
Since DW had coordinated early, they synced up FP's with us so 4 of us did Star Tours and the other 4 did Disney Junior.
It only had a 10 minute wait but we had the FP we were using it and got right in. Right before we got in, I turn to DW's cousin and tell him that while I love the ride, I dislike the pod racing segment. Well low and behold, that's what we got. Oh well, I mainly check out DD's reaction and just has this huge smile on her face.
DW had said they would meet us out front of the store after, so we went out and didn't find them but realized the DJ show hadn't started yet! I never like going to that anyway since you have to sit on the floor and my legs cramp out too quick. But glad that DS got to see it one last time before they change it.

Since we had time to kill, we made our way over to Muppets. Was surprised how many people were in the theater but I guess since it was such a hot day people were just hiding from the heat. The show is good, wish it was updated though with more Muppets. I've always been a huge Muppets fan so this is always close to my heart, especially when you see the main four on the screen. I guess they haven't changed it because it still has Jim Henson's voice? I don't know.

During that time, DW's cousin had been texted with his wife about where to eat and ended up with Backlot Express. I've always enjoyed this place but was a little concerned about finding a place to eat, especially right at lunch time. We roll in and start looking for a seat when we see the girls already at a big table, and DS is asleep in the stroller. Cool! The guys got the food and we had a nice time catching up. We only see them once a year now and what better place to meet up than Disney! We got chicken tenders to split among everyone and picked up cupcakes to try.

The Darth Vadar one was just ok, and I'm usually one for peanut butter but it didn't really taste like it. But the BB9E. Guys. This was the BEST cupcake I had all week. Hands down the BEST. Stop what you're doing, go to Backlot Express and get this cupcake. It's a vanilla cheesecake cupcake and I wanted more of it. SO GOOD. I'm serious go now!

After lunch it was getting late and we wanted to get back to the room and rest before dinner but not before Captain Phasma's march!

Eyes and ears on her.

Phasma is DD's FAVORITE Star Wars Character. She had the shirt and the magicband on that day. Phasma gave me the stare down while the troopers had their eyes on possible rebel spies.

Love the interaction. I don't care how many times you see it, it's really fun to watch.

After the show, we took some pictures together and said goodbye.
Walked through the stores on the way out and since it was out I told DW to wait for the tram with the kids since it was going to be a long walk for everyone and I wanted them to be cool. I handed her my keys to get the car started and I strolled along. On my way back I noticed the tram on the way got stuck and wasn't going anywhere. It finally started to move but not before I had already made it back to the car waiting on everyone
Everyone passed out in the car on the way back to the hotel and once inside we rested and cooled off for a little bit before getting showers and ready for my FAVORITE dinner, 'Ohana!

Our reservation was just after 7 so we had plenty of time to get there, you know, being in the same hotel and all
Got to the check in desk and as soon as I gave the girl my number she knew where I was from and was from the same area so that was a fun little back and forth. While we waited DW got a nice picture of the kids.

It was only about 10 minutes before we got seated and a nice table with a view of the castle.

You can't really go wrong with a table unless you're right by the entrance but otherwise you can see outside pretty much everywhere.
First up was bread and salad, which I really enjoy the bread even though I strongly dislike pineapple. The butter helps
After I have a little of both come my favorite plate.

I honestly could just eat this and I would be just fine. DD eats the noodles so at least that's something. Otherwise we had the waiter bring out chicken fingers and a cheeseburger for the kids. Sadly, I don't have a picture of the steak, chicken and shrimp. But believe me when I saw there were A LOT of shrimp. I always get mad when I can't eat anymore because I love it so. Sadly I threw in the towel and DW was ready for her favorite dessert. I wasn't, since I'm not a fan of the whole banana bread pudding thing. I ate one of the kids krispy treat though
It's a great meal glad we could get a reservation so early in our trip. Fortunately we had another one for our last night so I knew we'd be coming back. The service left something to be desired though. He wasn't bad but a little inattentive at times.

We had decided to take a quick trip to the Springs after dinner but not before we got a picture with the Poly Man!

Made it to the Springs to just look at a few stores, bought a few(a lot) items and maybe a few droids and was back to the hotel by 11. The kids had passed out and it was nice to roll them around and then back the hotel. Tonight I couldn't complain about having a room right across from the elevator so I rolled them right in! We were exhausted to say the least but had a great day. We didn't have to get up as early as we did this day so we knew we'd be able to "sleep in"

Coming up, dancing in the Festival of the Lion King, facing the Yeti and dinner at the Hoop De Doo!

Hope you're enjoying!