Cars, Trains, and Planes Oh My! A Feb 2014 TR

[ashw100]

Once we were done here, we all met up at Hollywood N Vine. I was really excited about this because, Connor could meet his favorite characters without standing in line. I had booked this 180 days out and figured we could see Jake easily. About a month before our trip, they announced that Doc and Sophia would join the lineup and this was awesome. Connor loves these characters and it made the meal that much better. And man was this place packed. I searched for two weeks trying to add my in-laws to this reservation to no avail. When I checked in I asked if I could add them and the CM all but laughed at me. I knew it was a long shot but I had to try. I apologized to them and sent them over to 50’s prime time hoping they could do a walk up there and knowing they would enjoy it because it would remind them of their childhood. We waited about 20 minutes to be seated. The boys were hot and hungry and Connor insisted on donning his Jake costume right away.


See those red cheeks.


James had fun looking at Gertie.

We were finally seated and it was so nice to be in the cool air conditioning. My mom ordered some glowing drink and the boys played with the cube until about month ago when the batteries ran out.



I am glad we did this lunch because Connor had fun meeting the characters and dancing along to his favorite Disney Junior songs. I however, was very disappointed with the character interaction. I know it was busy and they had a lot of people to see but it was stop, take a picture and then leave. I shouldn’t even call in a character interaction because there was NO interaction. Connor didn’t seem to notice and I would do it again because he had fun. Plus, even though it gets a bad rap, I though the food was pretty good.








James just learned to wave bye on command and here is waving to Jake, so cute.







We met up with the in-laws who thoroughly enjoyed their lunch and we headed back to AOA for a break.



Again James did not want to take a nap so my mom and I took him and Connor to the Cozy Cone pool.





And he fell asleep again in the pool.

After our rest we headed back to DHS for Joe’s birthday dinner.



I was afraid James would hate his magic band so I never even bothered to put it on him. He found it and asked to put it on and surprisingly kept in on the rest of the trip. He also wants to wear it and everyone else’s now that we are home.



I was really excited about this topiary because I think it is just so cool and I am even more excited that I get to go back for Flower and Garden this year.


Bye, Bye hat

We headed straight to our ADR at Mama Melrose. I thought of this ADR late in the game. We already had the reservation at HNV and I didn’t really want another ADR this day. I started to feel bad I couldn’t do something special for Joe’s birthday so we booked this in December of course I couldn’t get the F! dining package at this point but, whatever. Thankfully, I was able to add my in-laws two weeks out so that is something. There was about a 20 minute wait here and Connor fell asleep.





I perused the stores nearby just killing time and then finally it was time to eat.



Connor slept the entire meal so we used his dining credit for James. The server was very nice but, oh my gosh super slow! He insisted on us getting appetizers but, I don’t remember what we got. Joe got the steak and was very please. Then our sever brought out Joe’s birthday treat.


They were yummy.



At this point it was getting into our TSMM FP+ time so I was itching to get out of there. Our sever brought the check and surprise F! passes. He ended making our meal part of the package so the appetizers were included, even better.


By now it was 6:20 so we booked it to TSMM.



We were racing over to F! after our ride and then the unfortunate announcement came, F! was full for the night. It was about quarter to seven. I asked a CM what our chances were since we had the passes and he said not good. I was very disappointed. This was my favorite show when I went as a kid and I really wanted to see it. Oh well, there is always next time I suppose. We browsed some shops an found these really cool Cars/Star Wars matchbox cars. I got Connor a Mater Vader and Yoda Filmore. Joe was at Tatooine Traders to see if there was something he wanted. When we met back up he had bought a McQueen Luke Skywalker, great minds I tell ya.



Since the park was closed, we headed out.





I think we just relaxed the rest of the night and headed to bed early.

 

[Benchley]

I'm here and reading with interest. We're heading back in 2015 when our son will be six. He's fearless, and my DH wants to take him on TOT. I'm not so sure. I'd be very interested in your thoughts

 

[leahlefler]

I love reading trip reports - we're getting very excited for our trip in February, so I love living vicariously through your report! So much fun!

 

[ashw100]

I love reading trip reports - we're getting very excited for our trip in February, so I love living vicariously through your report! So much fun!

Thanks. I read so many reports before I went. It really helps with the excitement and hopefully some ideas as well. Your trip is so close . Hope you write a trip report. It really helps with the Disney blues.

 

[ashw100]

I'm here and reading with interest. We're heading back in 2015 when our son will be six. He's fearless, and my DH wants to take him on TOT. I'm not so sure. I'd be very interested in your thoughts

Thanks for following along. About TOT, if your ds is fearless like mine, I would give him as much info about the ride as possible and watch a youtube video of it. Just explain it will drop you. If he can hear the screams and see the elevator dropping and still wants to ride, I say go for it. Worst case, he is terrified and won't do it again. I know TOT scared Connor but, it was also all he could talk about the rest of the day. I hope this helps, sometimes it is so hard to determine these things. I thought Connor would hate me for letting him go on it but, at some point if they think they can do it; you have to let them find out for themselves.

 

[ashw100]

Today was our last day and I was sad. Joe’s parents were going to stay with us for the first half of the day then head out to go visit relatives for the next couple of days. I was imploring everyone to hurry up because I wanted to catch the MK Welcome Show. Unfortunately, we walked up right as it started and had to wait behind the tapstiles.



I told everyone we were heading over to BTMRR first and as soon as I was through the tapstile I was off with James. I assumed everyone was right behind me but, I would be wrong. Not only was my family not there, there was nobody there. I was literally, by myself with James, wondering through the park. It felt like I had the whole place to myself.







I arrived at BTMRR and had nothing to do but wait and wait. I was starting to get very frustrated. I mean I am not in the best shape, pushing a stroller, and pregnant how could they not keep up. The rest of the party finally arrives and Connor gets measured and heads on. We got a rider switch which, is the only reason I went there because its not like I was going to ride but, maybe someone would want to go again. My mom decided she didn’t want to go and would go with me and James to Haunted Mansion. Little did I know she just wanted to yell at me. See, she was mad that I wasn’t being considerate of the rest of the group. I completely understand where she was coming from but on the other hand the only reason I was trying to get to there fast was so that they could ride the rides with little waits. I couldn’t ride so I was trying to do it for them to have a better experience. We ended up fighting the entire way to Haunted Mansion and it was very unmagical. I was on the verge of tears and just wanted to give up. How was my last day, at my favorite park, in my favorite place being ruined? We angrily rode Haunted Mansion and then headed to Adventureland in silence.







We met up with my in-laws and Joe so we could see Tinker Bell. Connor had “met” Tinker Bell at a fundraiser our local library put on and it was his favorite character there. I thought he would just love to meet the real Tinker Bell. One problem, my dad and Connor has taken off to the Swiss Family Treehouse. I was livid. I had done everything this entire trip to ensure that everyone but, especially Connor, could to everything he wanted. I had also waited in the hot sun, doing pretty much nothing so they could enjoy the rides we couldn’t and now they couldn’t wait five minutes for us to get to them. So, this part of the TR I am not proud of but it happened but, I will include it and we can blame it on pregnancy hormones, okay? I had a mini meltdown. I basically told everyone to shove it and that they were ungrateful for all I had done to try to give them a good trip. I told them if they wanted to ride Space Mountain (which was next on the list) they should head over and to leave me alone. I started to head out of the park. James, my little sidekick this trip, and I would have a nice morning at the pool. Inside I was heartbroken. I was upset that the Tinker bell meet wouldn’t happen and that my last magical day at MK was now tainted. Also, I was embarrassed . While my family had seen my temper before, I had never shown that side to my in-laws. Joe chased me down, probably after apologizing for my behavior, and talked me down. We agreed that the three of us would do our own thing and they could do their own thing. This was not how I wanted to end the trip but at least everyone could be happy. I was sad that we couldn’t be with Connor but he would never leave my dad’s side. I did learn my lesson though, if I want things done my way, I need to not involve other people who don’t understand. From now on, no grandparents allowed. Now that I have thoroughly embarrassed myself with my bad behavior, let’s get back to the fun.

We headed here.


What I needed was a little downtime on my second favorite ride the TTA.





Funny side note about this ride, when I went on this back in 2001, we went through Space Mountain and the lights were on. I thought this was normal but, it totally confused me. I thought that they turned the lights on for the TTA and off for Space Mountain. It made no sense to me but, why else would the lights be on. I had no idea until I read another trip report that this was something special when the rides broken down.

Everyone else rode…








We met up after our ride in Tomorrowland. I apologized but, said we wanted some time to do our own thing and we could meet up later. They went off and rode Space Mountain, Tomorrowland Speedway, and other things.





We went on Buzz next.


I love how just his hand is visible.



Then, we headed toward the hub in search of a snack that had thus far eluded us.




Mickey Bar!



James and I shared a popcorn and I think this is by far his favorite treat. We ate a lot of popcorn that trip. Now that my plan was out the window, I didn’t know what to do next. I really wanted to see Move it, Shake it, Celebrate it. I had seen it in passing twice but I wanted to be able to really check it out.

 

[ashw100]

We had time before the parade started so, I checked the Lines app and saw the line for Minnie and Daisy wasn’t too bad. Now here is where I had my favorite moment with James. All trip he would be begging to get out of my arms but the moment I put him down to see the character he would freeze. This was totally expected and I was used to it at this point. First we met Daisy. I put him down he came right back up and I took him to Daisy myself. He did get comfortable enough to get down again to meet her.





Next up, Minnie and my favorite moment. As soon as it was our turn I put him down and he went running right into Minnie’s arms. It made me so happy to see him really interact with her.





After our meet and greet, it was time to move it, shake it, and celebrate it. I loved this parade. I loved the music and the dancing. I am so glad I made time to see it because now, it’s been replaced by the stupid one they have now. Sorry, I am not a fan; they took away my favorite song. I will reserve final judgment when we go in June but the Youtube video didn’t sell me on it.





We couldn’t stay until the end because I had a very important FP+ to use. We met up with everyone and said goodbye to the in-laws. I was unable to secure a FP+ for them. My parents offered theirs but they wanted to check out HoP before they left. I was happy they were able to come but, I wish they would have planned when I asked them to. It was pretty much impossible to add them to any of our FP or dining reservations and therefore, we had to spend a lot of time apart. Now, on to our FP+ for Be Our Guest. I was so excited to try this CS and so happy I was able to secure a FP+ for it. We walked right in and I told the CM that we had preselected our meals but would like to change them. This was no problem but we did have about a five minute wait to get the order screens. I mean really, who knows what they want to eat in a month. I ordered meals I thought everyone would enjoy but ultimately thought they should be able to pick it out themselves.





I know that I order the croque monsieur and stuck with that choice. It was absolutely delicious and I would definitely eat here again. I think everyone was pleased with their meals. Plus, you can’t beat the atmosphere. I love any theming that makes it feel as if you are inside the movie and this place does just that. It doesn’t hurt that this is one of my all-time favorite movies.









Look I actually took a picture of my food




After our yummy lunch, we headed back to AOA for an afternoon break via the bus.



I have no pictures from our break but, I know that I passed out. Now in everyday pregnant life, I took a nap every day and slept in as late as the boys would let me. At Disney, I was up between 5-6 every morning and didn’t take any naps. By this day, I was wiped out. Between the emotional morning and the non-stop pace of the trip I decided to needed to sleep more than I needed to start packing to head home so, that is what I did.
We headed back out around 3:30 and were in Magic Kingdom by 4.





First stop, talking Mickey. I just love talking Mickey and would wait to see him every day if I could. I thought we would get a better interaction as the boys would be more used to the characters at this point, I was wrong. They still didn’t like talking Mickey.





I had promised Connor we would go on PP and I had a FP for it, the only problem was we missed our window. I tried to reschedule but there were none available. I guess we would have to do standby but first we had another FP to use. We headed over to Winnie the Pooh. After Winnie, we had an ADR for BoG.

 

[ashw100]

I know you’re wondering why we were going to BoG again. See what happened was, I never made an ADR for it in the first place. I had read how unbelievably difficult it was so I didn’t even bother with it. I just hoped we would at least get to see it during lunch. I checked for the FP everyday starting 2 months out and one day, about a month out, I was lurking on the lines chat and saw somebody post that BoG had opening for February. I jumped on MDE looking for the FP assuming that was what they were talking about. Nope, ADRs had opened but I could only get it for this day. About a week later the FPs opened and again, the only day I could get was this one. I figured it would be different food so who cares. We checked in at 5 an only had to wait about 10 minutes.



Connor got to lead us to the table.



We were seated in the main room again but very close to the windows this time. I was happy about this because I had no desire to sit in the other two rooms.










Hey Beast!



I was pleasantly surprised by this meal. I heard some not to great reviews so, I had low expectations. I got the chicken provencal and kicked myself for doing so. I was a quarter of a chicken and I don’t like chicken on a bone. It tasted good but it grosses me out so I didn’t eat much. Joe got the steak and loved it, as did I. Our server was great and timely which I heard could be a problem here. To top it off, I got the grey stuff for dessert. I liked the cupcake more but it was still good. After dinner, we met the beast.







We went to the promised Peter Pan Flight next. The posted wait time was 30 minutes which was what we waited. I think this was the longest wait of the trip thanks to the tps and FPs I used. It was worth it though since Connor really wanted to do it again.

The last item on our agenda for the day was a surprise. When I found out about the dessert party, I knew I needed to book this asap. At the time it was a crap shoot about when they ADRs would be released. I found out, through someone I follow on FB, that they would be switching this to a 180 day reservation and opened all bookings on one day. I rushed to the computer and it would not let me make a reservation for six. I was so disappointed but, not about to give up that easy. I ended up making two three person reservations under my name and Joe’s name. I just had to hope the tables were next to each other. I decided to surprise everyone with this. I was so happy I could add some extra, unexpected magic to our last night, especially, after the morning we had. The line was crazy long but moved quickly and we were soon given our wristbands. Thankfully, we were seated together.










The desserts were just okay. We were still pretty full from dinner but, honestly I didn’t do this for the food. I did it to be away from the crowds and to be able to enjoy the reserved area. The one thing I have to say about this is I am glad we got to experience the fireworks from the hub our first night. It’s not that this wasn’t great but, with the side view of the castle, you just don’t get the full effect of celebrate the magic or Wishes. I had no concept of the park prior to our trip otherwise, I probably would have already known this. Needless, to say this was worth it and I would do it again, but not if this is your first time seeing the fireworks, that I feel should be experienced on Main Street. I didn’t take any pictures because I just wanted to enjoy the show.
My plan was to go back to the hotel at this point but, I just wasn’t ready to leave yet. First, we hit Buzz.


I felt I must get a picture of this since it seems to be in everyone’s TRs







Joe became a Galactic Hero and saved us all from the evil emperor Zurg. Then someone had to go potty so the rest of us went to the dance party.



The boys didn’t want to dance so we left soon after. Next up, TTA.







We decided the boys could handle one more ride. My dad and I took them on Astro Orbiter while my mom and Joe did Space since, Joe missed that earlier.



We waited about 15 minutes and James started to lose it. It was all good in the end but, we were done for the night. We left Magic Kingdom by 10 pm. We crashed as soon as we got back because we had a very early day the next day.

 

[Benchley]

Thanks for following along. About TOT, if your ds is fearless like mine, I would give him as much info about the ride as possible and watch a youtube video of it. Just explain it will drop you. If he can hear the screams and see the elevator dropping and still wants to ride, I say go for it. Worst case, he is terrified and won't do it again. I know TOT scared Connor but, it was also all he could talk about the rest of the day. I hope this helps, sometimes it is so hard to determine these things. I thought Connor would hate me for letting him go on it but, at some point if they think they can do it; you have to let them find out for themselves.

Probably my fears more than his as I do NOT enjoy that ride at all. Thanks for your thoughts, I might have to release the reins.

 

[ashw100]

Probably my fears more than his as I do NOT enjoy that ride at all. Thanks for your thoughts, I might have to release the reins.

No problem. I totally understand as I am that way too. Whatever you decide, I am sure it will all work out.

 

[ashw100]

I had to wake up at 5:30 in order to get the room pack up. It is amazing how quickly things can spread out in the hotel room. Getting everything back in order was a pain. I was getting irritated and was very tired so I just started shoving things where ever. We were out the door by 7 am for our last ADR.
Which was in this resort.



And here we are.



This was the only table service my family did when we went in 2001. Honestly, I didn’t even know the theme parks had TS restaurants in them. My dad was more of a snack as you go person which ended up meaning we had about 1 meal (usually fastfood) on vacation. We still tease him about this. Anyway, I figured we had to eat here too.




You can see how tired we all look here.

As with most buffet/character meals, I feel this place gets a bad rap. Honestly, this was my favorite meal of the trip. I thought the food was delicious and fresh. Plus, I finally got to try the famous Mickey waffles and, they did not disappoint. On top of that, the characters were great. They all spent a lot of time with the boys and they really had fun.
















As a bonus, Donald was leaving I am assuming to go on break. With James’, new found love of Donald, I said look its Donald wave bye-bye. So what does Donald do? He comes over for one last hug, soo sweet.
After breakfast, I still had 3 snack credits to use and wanted to buy a nice picture frame so, we went to the gift shop in CR. Connor put on a hat fashion show for us there.







Sadly, it was time to head home.



We made it home safely and trip back was horrible but I won’t bore you with details. Overall, it was an amazing trip and I can’t wait to go back.

Some post trip thoughts:

-I wish we could have one more at the WS. It was so hard to do at night and we felt rushed to find a spot for Illuminations. I will definitely build more time here next trip.

-No more double ADRs in one day unless one is breakfast and the other is dinner. It took too much time away from touring and I couldn’t do everything we wanted at DHS.

-Always, ask kids to go potty before we leave. This is something I always do at home but, at Disney I was so excited to get out the door and would forget. This slowed us down in the morning once we got to the park.

Thanks for anyone who read along. Here is a link to my next PTR.