Escape From Craziness to Pandora, Po Boys, and Oppressive Heat - Finished & New TR Link 12/28

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We headed to get some lunch at Sassagoula Floatworks before putting the boys down for a nap. During this meal we found some big positives here and some big negatives. The positive is that the food it generally prepared fresh as you order it which is good, but the negative is that it wook about 25 minutes for us to get all of our food as some of us were getting things from different stations. DW had her’s first and was standing with the kids while I ordered mine and DS5’s food. It took them about 15 minutes for mine because they had to cook it, then I ordered DS5’s pizza which took about 10 minutes, so overall she was just standing waiting to pay and her food got a little cold. So, for a family ordering from multiple stations it was a little hard.

I totally agree with your assessment of the food court. It was really a pain with a family of 4 and wanting things from the different areas. I guess it was nice that there were more options but I don't know, we didn't love the food court either.

 

[cstorm65]

We have had long waits at Character Spot with our FP a few times. We just got back from a stay at FQ and we really love it there.

Yes, we've had long ones there as well, but this one definitely takes the cake. We had about a 15 minute wait at Christmas which is understandable, but this one was crazy!

I totally agree with your assessment of the food court. It was really a pain with a family of 4 and wanting things from the different areas. I guess it was nice that there were more options but I don't know, we didn't love the food court either.

I agree for sure. There were a few items we loved. The Po 'Boy I would go back for and of course the beignets and beignet sundae, but other than that it was a lot of stuff I feel you could get at about any food court on property. One nice positive though was that all of our food there was 20% off since Tables in Wonderland works at French Quarter. That is a nice benefit!

 

[cstorm65]

Day 8 Part 3 - “No Splash”

After lunch we decided to go ahead and let the boys swim before taking their afternoon nap. DS5 was ready and super excited about the pool and splash pad at French Quarter.

He wasted no time playing on the splash pad area which is awesome!

DS1 wasn’t quite as interested in the splash pad as there was a little too much “splashing” for him.

It was about that point I took him from DW and went to try and get him to play when he screamed at me, “No Splash Dada!” He was not a big fan. Oh well, we will keep trying. DS5 loved getting splashed though as you can tell from this next picture.

He’s in there somewhere!

We loved this pool and the decor while we were here.

After we swam for a while we headed back and put the boys down for a nap at about 2:45 and they took a good nap, especially DS1, which was much needed. We like the Disney rooms because they have the curtain that you can stick the pack ‘n play behind so it is easier for the young one to nap. He was behind the curtain here somewhere:

Now you can see him! And he really wants someone to get him out of that pack 'n play!

It was about 5:00 when they were up and we decided with our change in plans for the night to just ride down and eat dinner at Disney Springs. We weren’t going to spend much time at all, just dinner, maybe hit World of Disney, and then back so we could get a good night's sleep. A couple of pics as we headed to the boat dock.

Here were some boats coming in while we were waiting and some of the French Quarter Buildings from the boat dock.

DS5 was ready to get on the water!!

Up Next: “I Want Salad”...”Come Again?”​

 

[cstorm65]

Day 8 Part 4 - “I Want Salad”...”Come Again?”

It was about 5:30 when out boat arrived and we headed towards Disney Springs for Dinner. We got some good pictures from the ride:

Not sure what DS5 was pouting about, but I decided to join him:

Some cool clouds in the distance:

And guess who was tired:

We arrived at Earl of Sandwich by about 6:15, one of our favorite Disney food stops.

DS5 and I got in line to order while DW and DS1 got a table. I asked DS5 what he wanted and read him the things on the kids menu and to my surprise he says, “I Want a Salad”. I was shocked as can be and replied, “Come Again” and he again reiterated that he wanted a Salad. I mean come on kid were at Disney, we don’t have to get salads. It turns out since that day DS5 orders salads quite a bit when they are on the kids menu. Who knew! Here he was with his salad and he was very happy with the choice.

He ate every bite of that salad. I got a side of Potato salad for DW and I to share. We love it here. It is always really good.

DW got the Pepperoni Pizza Bread. She is not a big sandwich eater and we’ve never tried this before here, but she loved it. It was kind of an unexpected great find.

We got DS1 the kids turkey sandwich and he loved it, as long as we had ranch for him to dip it in of course.

And I got my standard, the Full Montagu. It is so good and the sauce it perfect. I could eat one of these every day of my life I’m pretty sure.

It was another great meal at Earl of Sandwich. It’s definitely a place we must go on every trip.

Up Next: Disney Springs...A Love Hate Relationship​

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

One nice positive though was that all of our food there was 20% off since Tables in Wonderland works at French Quarter. That is a nice benefit!

If only we were annual pass holders...

It was about that point I took him from DW and went to try and get him to play when he screamed at me, “No Splash Dada!” He was not a big fan.

Gwen wasn't a fan of getting her head wet for a long time. He will get there one day. And that splash pad lives up to it's name! Unfortantly both of my girls are too tall for that area!

Now you can see him! And he really wants someone to get him out of that pack 'n play!

So cute!

It was about 5:00 when they were up and we decided with our change in plans for the night to just ride down and eat dinner at Disney Springs. We weren’t going to spend much time at all, just dinner, maybe hit World of Disney, and then back so we could get a good night's sleep.

French Quarter is great for this. I just wish we utlized it a little more when we were there!

 

[Stasieki]

We have never eaten at Earl of Sandwich! Must change that.

 

[cstorm65]

If only we were annual pass holders...

We got our monies worth for sure! July trip last year, December trip, and then a June trip this summer. Was way cheaper than tickets for three separate trips, not to mention that we saved a bunch with Tables in Wonderland on food. The only bad thing we probably won't go back now until summer of 2020 when we will probably do AP's again for a year. Oh well, looking into a cruise for next summer anyway!

Gwen wasn't a fan of getting her head wet for a long time. He will get there one day. And that splash pad lives up to it's name! Unfortantly both of my girls are too tall for that area!

He likes the water, but when it comes to getting splashed, count him out!! He actually loves the water so much he wants to be all on his own, which of course he can't do yet. He doesn't like wearing a floaty or anything. Hopefully he'll at least wear a puddle jumper next month.

So cute!

When he wakes up he's ready to get up...right then!!

French Quarter is great for this. I just wish we utlized it a little more when we were there!

It was very convenient. It's not the quickest mode of transportation, but so much more relaxing than a bus ride!

We have never eaten at Earl of Sandwich! Must change that.

Yes you must!! It is definitely a must do. Although we did Wolfgang Puck Express in December and loved it too, so two great quick service options right there in Disney Springs.

 

[cstorm65]

Day 8 Part 5 - Disney Springs...A Love Hate Relationship

After another great meal at Earl of Sandwich we had plans to go over to World of Disney to look around, but we found a few things that we had been looking for. Of course World of Disney was the plan, but I can’t not stop in the Marketplace Co-Op. There is just some neat stuff in there sometime. DS5 loved this:

And I loved this:

Finally, I tore myself away and we headed towards what was supposed to be our only destination so we could get a good night's sleep. DS5 had to get spit on a little:

He was getting a little more brave!!

We got inside finally and found DS1 the Pluto pillow pet we’d wanted to get him. We got DS5 a Mickey one on his first trip, so this was the natural fit for DS1.

He loves that Pluto!

I also ended up getting a keychain I’d seen in about four gift shops so far on the trip and it kept catching my eye. I love the sign under the train station at the MK and this keychain is perfect!

DS5 had earned enough points for good behavior that he was going to get to pick a souvenir and he chose some Car’s figurines:

So, here he was with the cars he actually got:

DW also found a coffee mug she had seen a few places and had been wanting.

We finally made out way out of World of Disney without doing too much damage and started heading back towards the boat dock.

We had a nice ride back to the resort and the boys were doing well tonight! It was a great change to not go back to a park tonight. This easy evening was just what they needed to get a little rest, dinner, and now a nice early bed time to get ready for tomorrow.

We were back by 8:20 and had the boys in bed by 9:00. I went down and got DW and I Beignet Sundae’s and they were awesome! So awesome in fact I didn’t even get a picture. But I promise I will have one on another day as this wouldn’t be our last of these!

Up Next: That is Some Strong Jelly​

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Seriously he is so cute! I like the little tradition of the first gift!

Oh, I love this! You can have that on your key chain and it doesn't scream crazy disney person! But crazy disney people will love it!

Coffee mugs are always my souvenir. Practical! In fact, I am reading this while drinking my coffee at one one now!

Sounds like a nice and relaxing evening. I really need to plan more relaxing days into our trips.

 

[cstorm65]

Seriously he is so cute! I like the little tradition of the first gift!

It was pretty cool. He was really excited about his pluto..."My Pluto" he kept saying!

Oh, I love this! You can have that on your key chain and it doesn't scream crazy disney person! But crazy disney people will love it!

Exactly how I felt. Most people don't know what it is, but Disney people think it is awesome!

Coffee mugs are always my souvenir. Practical! In fact, I am reading this while drinking my coffee at one one now!

I agree. We kind of collect them. I'm actually trying now to find some sort of shelf or something to hang them on or sit them on in my office. We have so many!

Sounds like a nice and relaxing evening. I really need to plan more relaxing days into our trips.

It really was. Of course we can really do that since we take these longer trips. The perks of both being teachers and being able to take these long summer trip.

 

[cstorm65]

Day 9 - Part 1 - That is Some Strong Jelly

Day nine started when I was up at about 7:50, which is pretty late for us at Disney World! We didn’t have any plans today to hit a park until around lunch time. We were just going to sleep in, do some swimming, and rest a little before head to a lunch reservation at Epcot. Everyone else was still sleeping when I woke up so I headed to Sassagoula to get some breakfast. I tried the Crispy Fried Chicken Biscuit with maple-bacon jam.

April had one of these for a meal in the last couple of days. She enjoyed parts of it. I thought it was just ok. The chicken was ok, but not chick fil a good, the biscuit was ok but a little hard like it had been sitting there for a while. The maple-bacon jam had decent flavor, but there was entirely too much of it and so the sandwich was way too strong with that flavor. The jelly was strong to begin with, but even stronger since there was so much on the sandwich. So, all in all, it was pretty good, and would be much better if they’d just tone back the jelly just a bit. I went walking a little bit and got a few pictures until DW texted me that they were awake.

After I got back to the room DS1 decided the stroller was a great place to play.

DS5 and I went swimming, but I didn’t take any pictures since I left my phone in the room. We did go back later and do a little playing in the playground areas that DS5 enjoyed.

We got a nice picture of the buildings around:

DS5 also got completely engrossed in the map that was outside of the main building as you can see:

After we finished swimming DW had put DS1 down for a quick morning nap, but we were planning on catching a bus around noon. We got to the bus stop at 12:00 and within 2 minutes we were headed to Epcot!

Up Next: I’ve Never Seen This Place This Empty​

 

[cstorm65]

Day 9 - Part 2 - I’ve Never Seen This Place This Empty

We arrived at Epcot at 12:15 and were inside the park in less than 10 minutes.

We were heading back for a lunch ADR, but had a little bit of time to kill first. First we headed to one of our favorite stops:

Club Cool! Such a great place to stop in Epcot, although it is usually extremely crowded and it takes a while to even get up to the soda dispensers for the sample. But, today it wasn’t all that crowded for some reason. So, DS5 and I enjoyed trying a few drinks.

As we were trying our drinks I looked across the room and saw this:

Yes, an empty Club Cool. I told DW that I’ve never seen this place this empty! And I’m pretty sure I never will again!

We headed over towards the Imagination Pavilion to ride Journey with a FP. WE only had time for one ride before our lunch ADR.

Some of my favorite scientists!

The boys had fun playing in the dancing lights area at the rides exit.

We started our walk to our ADR in the World Showcase and saw this along the way. It was July 10 and this seems early to be setting up, but I know they keep starting earlier and earlier every year.

We headed around World Showcase, but didn’t spend long anywhere as our ADR was at 1:30. We did snap a pic in China and Germany on our way.

By 1:30 we were close to our location and had this view across the lagoon.

Up Next: Pizza...Yes Please!​

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Crispy Fried Chicken Biscuit with maple-bacon jam.

I thought about trying this when we were there. I just felt meh about all of the food here.

But it such a beautiful resort.

Map are fascinating to Morgan as well.

 

[cstorm65]

I thought about trying this when we were there. I just felt meh about all of the food here.

I kind of agree. The Po Boys, French Fries, and Beignets were all great, but other than that there wasn't really anything we thought was great. If we weren't getting one of those things we always struggled with what to order.

But it such a beautiful resort.

We loved the scenery and layout as well. So much fun to walk around!!

Map are fascinating to Morgan as well.

This was the first time he has done this, but on our trip this past Christmas he had to get a map everytime we came into the park and he would just look at it and want to know where we were going!

 

[cstorm65]

Day 9 - Part 3 - Pizza...Yes Please!

When I left off we were almost to the site of our lunch ADR at one of our favorite places:

Via Napoli! We were checked in by 1:35 and DS1 had some fun playing in the lobby.

We were seated in just about five minutes in the long skinny room just to the right of the entrance. We looked at the menu for a few minutes, but we always know what we want here!

DW and DS1 were both ready for some pizza!

The first thing we always get is the Arancini - fried risotto balls filled with mozzarella and meat ragu.

This is our favorite appetizer and we are going to have to start getting two orders because DS1ate it like he hadn’t eaten in days. DW also usually gets an Aqua Fresca here and she really enjoys this!

Like I said, DS1 loved the Arancini!

Uh-oh...what's the problem?

Now he is not happy that all of the appetizer is gone. Someone get this kid some pizza!

DS5 was playing with the crayons along the brick wall by our seat. Hopefully not drawing on the wall.

Finally, our pizza arrived. We get half Quattro Formaggi (white pizza: mozarella, parmesan, fontina, and provolone) and half Piccante (tomato sauce, mozarella, and Italian spicy sausage).

We get this almost every time we come her and it is always fantastic. The boys loved the Quattro Formaggi, I loved the Picante, and DW enjoys both kinds. I’m not sure what we’ll do as the boys get older because the four of us took care of almost the entire pizza that we got. This place was great again for us and the service is always good as well. So long, Via Napoli, until next time!

We did stop for about 15 minutes after lunch and watch the juggler in Italy. DS5 was loving it! He even got DS5 to shoot a ball into the basket he was using as a prop. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my phone ready to take a picture in time. I did get one shot of DS5 watching him though!

Up Next: Ice Cream and Drums...A Boys Dream​

 

[SweetSerenity]

Via Napoli is great for pizza! We really enjoy the restaurant, and the Arancini is awesome.

 

[cstorm65]

Day 9 - Part 4 - Ice Cream and Drums...A Boys Dream

After we finished watching the Italian Juggler we headed back around the other side of World Showcase and spent quite a bit of time in Morocco and Japan just looking around and not doing a whole lot of anything. Sorry, there won’t be much to this post other than some pictures.

We were in Japan at about 3:10, but new Matsuriza was starting in a little bit so we thought we’d waste some time because DS5 would love that show. We had a little fun in the shops.

I tried to get DW to try on one of these dresses, but she wouldn’t do it!

After we looked around for a bit it was time for Matsuriza to start. DS5 wanted some ice cream so I went to get him some while they watched the first bit of the show.

This picture says it all. What more could a five year old boy need? He has ice cream and is watching a drum show, two of his favorite things!

We finished with the show and headed back into the world showcase.

Unfortunately we had to walk towards this tour group:

We luckily made our way through the crowds on our way to our next FP in Norway.

We had to get some funny hat pictures in China:

Up Next: Are We Back in Oklahoma?​

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

We love those plush... of course the smaller versions of them.

 

[cstorm65]

Day 9 - Part 5 - Are We Back in Oklahoma?

We worked our way around the World Showcase and ended up back in Norway to use our final FP of the day to ride this ride. It would be a first ride for us on this one!

DS5 was asking in line if this ride was scary, so DS1 and I practiced our scary face!

A couple of pictures from our ride:

Overall we thought it was a great ride!!! The boys both loved it, of course Olaf is one of DS1’s favorite characters so he loved seeing him. He loved it so much this is how he ended up after we got him back in the stroller after the ride.

He loved it, I promise!! It was about 4:20 at this point and we had plans to try Test Track for DW and DS5 with a child swap pass we had saved, but we had been worried because storm clouds were getting close. About the time we got close to Test Track the winds picked up out of nowhere to about 30-40 mph. Not a big deal for us, we just thought we were back in Oklahoma! But, about the same time Test Track closed due to the approaching storm. We didn’t want to wait it out as we were wanting to be back at the resort by 5:30 or so. Turns out we got to the bus stop at 4:40, a bus came shortly thereafter and we were back at French Quarter by 5. We found this on the bed:

We rested for just a bit before heading down to the pool for some swimming. DS5 was loving the swimming and wanted to be in the pool every moment we were at the resort! After we finished at about 7:30 we stopped to let him color a little at the table in the food court while DW put DS1 to bed. He loves sitting over at this table!

And on the way back to the room:

I took DS5 back at 7:45 and he got in bed. We only really snacked around for dinner up until now as we were all still full from the late lunch at Via Napoli. DW was ready to lay down, but I headed down to get some dinner.

Yes, I had a Po Boy again. It is so good and there was really nothing else on the menu that appealed. It was 8:00 when I ordered, but I didn’t even get my food until 8:25. They had to cook everything fresh. Shrimp and fries which took a while. It was definitely fresh and delicious, but again, it took a while and would not have been good if the family had been there.

I headed back and to bed about 9 and everyone else had been asleep for an hour or so! I also checked out a sweet treat my Travel Agent partner sent me. They were so good as well!

Up Next: How Long Does it Take a 5-Year-Old to Pick a Snack?​

 

[paradesintherain]

Loving the trip report, and your boys are so precious!