Our Second Trip of Firsts

[JAMIESMITH]

Visiting Princess Fairytale Hall

I got online at midnight on our sixty day mark and tried my best to get fast passes to meet Anna & Elsa. I checked every single day, multiple times per day and never could get the coveted FP+. It frustrates me to no end to stay on property and still not be able to get fast passes for one of the more popular attractions. You can add me to the list of FP+ haters! Okay, I’m done venting…

Since we couldn’t meet those ladies, we opted to meet two others. Even with a fast pass, there was a short line, but there was a cute little girl about Maddy’s age wearing a really adorable handmade Cinderella dress and I enjoyed talking to her mom while Maddy played with her.

The first princess we met was Rapunzel. We were excited to meet her because we didn’t get to on our first trip. She was very sweet.

Next was Cinderella. This was probably the best character interaction of our entire trip. Cinderella asked Maddy to make a wish with her, which resulted in some really cute photos! She gave out lots of hugs and even sang “A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes” with Maddy.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Magic Kingdom & Visiting The Poly

I'm sorry I don't have many pictures to go along with this update.

We visited Big Top Souvenirs where Maddy picked out a Barbie sized Belle doll and I bought an assortment of popcorn to carry home to my parents. I also looked here for the oreo caramel apple my cousin had requested I bring her. This is one of the better shops inside Magic Kingdom.

Space Mountain was still down so we didn’t get to ride it this trip.

We walked into Main Street Confectionary, but it was very crowded. They also did not have an oreo caramel apple so we didn’t buy anything there.

I had originally planned to have dinner at The Grand Floridian Café because we enjoyed it so much on our first trip, but I decided that it would be nice to visit The Polynesian Resort for dinner instead. Ohana has been getting some mixed reviews lately so I made us a reservation at Kona Café. We left Magic Kingdom and hopped on a very full monorail. We were a little early so my husband went outside and found a smoking area while Madilyn and I looked around the gift shops. I bought a Polynesian Resort t-shirt for myself. Our reservation time was getting close so we went back upstairs to the restaurant.

I only took one photo, but I was surprised that I actually like the new look of the lobby.

Kona Café had just opened for dinner and we were seated very quickly. Our waitress was named Holly and she was outstanding! Madilyn and Jamie ordered cokes, but I ordered a virgin pina colada that was included in the dining plan and a glass of water. The sweet bread that they brought out was warm and fresh and delicious.

Jamie and I both ordered the New York Strip with molasses-bacon butter. This was a melt-in-your mouth steak and the butter added such a great flavor. Madilyn got the Mickey Ravioli and ate every single bite. For dessert, I ordered the banana-chocolate crème brulee which was very good, Jamie ordered the kilauea tart which was a lot like the chocolate wave at Coral Reef, and Madilyn got a kona cone. This was the best meal of our trip, a couple of others came close, but this was our favorite.

$319.12 - $100.61 = $218.51

We spent a little more time walking around the lobby and grounds of The Polynesian and ran in Captain Cooks to refill our mugs before going back upstairs to get on the monorail. We had a bit of a wait, but a really nice cast member gave us some transportation cards for the lime and green monorails and told us a lot about the monorail system. I know that not everyone gets it, but there really is something extra special about this resort.

We got off the monorail at Magic Kingdom and walked to the bus stop for Boardwalk Villas. After Jamie got on the bus, Madilyn and I went back into the park. We had one more thing we needed to see!

A really nice photo pass photographer took our picture. Look no crane!

Maddy played with some little girls from Alabama and I chatted with their parents while we waited for Celebrate the Magic to start. This was very cool and another first for us! Our favorite part was when the castle turned brick and Wreck It Ralph wrecked it while Fix It Felix cleaned up his mess. This was also the first time we had seen Wishes from inside the park. I honestly don’t know what I like more seeing Wishes from The Poly beach or front and center from Main Street. Both experiences are magical! On the way out of the park, Maddy told me that her wish with Cinderella had been to see fireworks that night. That made me tear up a little!

We were the last two people to squeeze on the bus back to our resort. We stood right behind the driver who chatted with Maddy all the way there. He enjoyed her southern accent and several of the other passengers were laughing at them! He gave her some stickers which she shared with a little boy standing behind us.

 

[saintstickets]

What a great day at MK!! So many firsts always makes the trip special too. I'm so glad you enjoyed it as well as your meal at Kona Cafe. It's on our bucket list to try. We ate at 'Ohana during our last trip and really enjoyed it. Looking forward to more of your TR!

 

[Disney before Sally]

Thank you for sharing the magic. You have a beautiful family. However, you are making me want to switch my resort reservations. I'm booked at Yacht Club and I'm psyched to be close to Epcot which happens to be the favorite park for both my daughters. Not having the computer screen to make a post card to email after the Spaceship ride is a bummer. We always ask to be reseated to ride it again just to get an e-card. I hope you have more.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

What a great day at MK!! So many firsts always makes the trip special too. I'm so glad you enjoyed it as well as your meal at Kona Cafe. It's on our bucket list to try. We ate at 'Ohana during our last trip and really enjoyed it. Looking forward to more of your TR!

We did a lot of new things this trip, but there are still some things left on the old bucket list! Maybe we need a third trip of firsts? There are so many great restaurants at Disney, it's hard to choose! Ohana is the only one at The Poly we haven't tried so I'm sure we will have to try it someday.

Thank you for sharing the magic. You have a beautiful family. However, you are making me want to switch my resort reservations. I'm booked at Yacht Club and I'm psyched to be close to Epcot which happens to be the favorite park for both my daughters. Not having the computer screen to make a post card to email after the Spaceship ride is a bummer. We always ask to be reseated to ride it again just to get an e-card. I hope you have more.

Your family will probably love Yacht Club. It just didn't appeal enough to me during our visit to make me really want to stay there. I feel the same way about The Contemporary and lots of people love it. Based purely off of photos I would have thought that BC/YC would have been more to my tastes than BWV, but in person it was the opposite.

I wonder if they would have let us ride Spaceship Earth again without getting back in line?

 

[Disney before Sally]

We have switched carts in the on/off turnstiles many times. We just tell the CM at exit that our screen was not working and ask to ride again. They always accommodate. Not sure why Disney can't fix this. It is a long ride, but one of our favorites.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

My Husband's Favorite Park

We set the alarm and woke up early on Thursday morning. We filled our mugs at Boardwalk Bakery and caught a boat to my husband’s favorite park: Hollywood Studios. We were there when the park opened, but had to stand in a short line so that I could get my bag checked. We headed straight for Rockin’ Roller Coaster which already showed a twenty minute wait. We waited for a solid hour!

Madilyn barely made the height requirement for this ride. After our experience on Expedition Everest, I was concerned about how she would do. I put her harness down and she immediately started crying and saying that it was too tight. A super awesome cast member came over to check on her. She asked Maddy if she was sure she wanted to ride. She told her that the harness is supposed to be tight and showed her where to hold on. Once we got going, I started yelling to Maddy “Isn’t this awesome!” and soon enough she was yelling back “This is so fun!”

For months Maddy has been saying that she wanted to ride Tower of Terror, I think she just likes saying it! She has seen the ride on our vacation planning DVD and I really thought she would want to try it, but once we were there she changed her mind. I asked her several times during the day if she was sure she didn’t want to ride it, but she never did. Neither Jamie nor I care much about it (blasphemy, I know!) and Marie wasn't there to make us ride so we skipped it this trip.

We headed for The Great Movie Ride which was a first for us and only had a ten minute wait. We only spent about half a day at Hollywood Studios on our first trip so we missed a lot. We didn’t know what to expect from this ride, but we really enjoyed it!

We had a FP+ for Toy Story Mania, which would have been another first for my family, but the ride was down so we headed for Muppet Vision 3D instead. We all really like this one.

Then my husband found a smoking area while Maddy and I got in line to meet some characters we had never met before.

It was now time for our noon lunch reservation at Mama Melrose. I wanted to try this place on our first trip, but Marie talked me into trying 50’s Prime Time Café instead. We were given a buzzer and found a spot to sit in the waiting area. This is the worst waiting area I’ve ever seen. It was so crowded!

My girl and the Minnie Mouse she purchased the day before from the Christmas store in Magic Kingdom.

We weren’t seated until 12:30, but half the tables in the restaurant were empty. I think the theming of this restaurant is really cool.

We were using dining credits for the Fantasmic Dining Package which does include an appetizer, entrée, and a dessert sampler to share. We all ordered cokes. There were some soft rolls which were served with oil. Jamie and I got the calamari with three dipping sauces. This was really delicious! Madilyn started her meal with some fresh fruit. Jamie and I both ordered the charred strip steak which was served with the best macaroni I have ever put in my mouth! Madilyn got a cheese pizza. The desserts were the only part of our meal that wasn’t outstanding. I don’t even remember what they were. Madilyn got an ice cream sundae that was identical to the one she had at Kona Café the night before.

$218.51 - $111.84 = $106.67

 

[accountingbabe08]

Great reviews..thanks for sharing

 

[Disney before Sally]

We love Tony's in magic kingdom which is Italian, but have not tried Mama Melrose. I hold the menu out and ask what they would order and nothing jumps out for any of us. It does look cool inside. My family always wants Sci Fi. We also do not travel out of a park to eat, so I'm waiting for my first special resort stay at Poly to try the restaurants there.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Great reviews..thanks for sharing

Thank you for reading

We love Tony's in magic kingdom which is Italian, but have not tried Mama Melrose. I hold the menu out and ask what they would order and nothing jumps out for any of us. It does look cool inside. My family always wants Sci Fi. We also do not travel out of a park to eat, so I'm waiting for my first special resort stay at Poly to try the restaurants there.

We tried both Tony's and Mama Melrose and liked Mama Melrose much better. Some of my favorite table service restaurants are at the resorts. We enjoy exploring the resorts and it's nice to get away from the parks for a bit. I do try to choose a place near the park we are visiting.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

An Afternoon in Hollywood

After lunch, we spent some more time in one of the Disney smoking areas.

We rode Star Tours twice, once with a fast pass and again without. Our wait was about the same both times. My husband loves this ride.

Since Toy Story Mania was still down, we decided to use that FP+ for another ride on Rockin’ Roller Coaster. This time Maddy rode with her daddy. We all enjoyed it the second time around and would have gone again if the stand by wait hadn’t been so long. We got spoiled by the nonexistent wait times on our first trip.

We headed to the Art of Animation building. Since there were no characters out that we were dying to meet, we waited for the next drawing class to start. I was disappointed that we were drawing Baymax because we haven’t seen Big Hero 6 yet. I would very much like to do this again with a different character.

We used some snack credits at Writer’s Stop. I got a macchiato. Madilyn got a gingerbread cookie. Jamie got a chocolate cupcake and a coke. Everything was okay, but nothing to write home about.

$106.67 - $15.79 = $90.88

We had a FP+ for the Frozen Sing-Along, but when we got there the FP+ entrance was already closed and we entered through the stand-by line. Jamie and Madilyn had finished their snacks and Jamie’s coke was in my bag, but I was still drinking my coffee when we tried to walk in. I don’t know what Disney’s deal is with making me throw away drinks, but I wasn’t happy about it. We never ran into that on our first trip. I drank what was left in a hurry so we could go inside.

We sat in the uppermost bleachers. The show was every little girl’s idea of heaven and every daddy’s idea of hell. I wouldn’t care to see this again, but I am glad we saw it once. I took a few pictures with my phone, but we were really far away. The snow at the end was a nice touch.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Fantasmic Not Fantastic

After being tortured with the Frozen Sing-Along, my honey was in serious need of a cigarette. We spent a little time people watching from one of the smoking areas before heading to the Fantasmic Theater.

We were a full hour early. We were directed to the reserved seating area for the dining package. About fifteen minutes before the show started, a really rude group of people starting pushing and shoving their way into the row in front of us. They shoved against one man so hard that he spilled his beer all over himself and one of his kids. Not long after that a man sits on the bench next to my husband and starts shoving him over. We tried to tell him that there was no room, but he didn’t speak English and kept pushing until we were crammed against each other and there was room for him and his wife. My husband was irate! If Disney is going to offer reserved seating, they should have cast members to keep people out of the reserved areas once they are full. I don’t mean packed in like sardines full, I mean comfortably full.

This was our first time to see Fantasmic and it will probably be the last. We got there early for reserved seats, but had a hard time seeing past the large couple who sat in front of us and were cramped because guests arriving at the last minute practically forced themselves on top of us and the other families around us. The show was not good enough to make up for the aggravation! We left the theater as the show was winding down and were able to get on the first boat back to our resort.

Maddy and I picked up some dinner at Boardwalk Bakery. Jamie said he didn’t want anything. I had been looking forward to trying a lobster roll so I ordered that for myself and a turkey sandwich from the adult menu for Madilyn. Both sandwiches came with chips and a dessert. Maddy ordered a chocolate chip muffin and I got a holiday cupcake. The lobster roll was edible, but the lobster was chewy like it had been overcooked. Maddy’s sandwich was fine, but nothing special, just a sandwich. My cupcake was disgusting. The filling was just nasty! Maddy’s muffin was the only thing that was good. We gave it several chances, but Boardwalk Bakery was a flop for us!

$90.88 - $36.76 = $54.12

Sorry, no pictures!

 

[Disney before Sally]

I have read another reviewers negative comments about that bakery. I had considered the extra walking just to get a fruit tart or otherwise from this bakery. Now I might skip it. It is too bad that some suit will look at the eventual failure and assume guests are not interested in this type of food. I'm just shocked that your daughter rode RaRC more than once at such a young age! I rode it once, and I'm glad they gave my face skin back. My teenage daughters will not try it.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

I have read another reviewers negative comments about that bakery. I had considered the extra walking just to get a fruit tart or otherwise from this bakery. Now I might skip it. It is too bad that some suit will look at the eventual failure and assume guests are not interested in this type of food. I'm just shocked that your daughter rode RaRC more than once at such a young age! I rode it once, and I'm glad they gave my face skin back. My teenage daughters will not try it.

I personally wouldn't walk three feet to get something from that bakery! I had such high hopes for it before we tried it, but the only thing we got from there that was at all passable was Maddy's chocolate chip muffin. I'd stick with the French bakery in Epcot.

I don't understand why she loved RnR, but not EE. It blows my mind!

 

[saintstickets]

When we stay at BWV, we have stopped at the Bakery several times and never had anything special. It has been okay and it was convenient for a late night something to take back to the room but not anything I'd go out of the way for. We did buy a gingerbread house there one time right before Christmas that we took back home with us that was pretty good though. Too bad about Fantasmic. We've only seen it once and it was pretty good. The rude people one sometimes encounter can really ruin a ride, attraction or restaurant. I hope you got lots of pixie dust to make up for it during the rest of your trip!!

 

[heaven2dc]

Hi - I love reading all about your trip (I'm only on page 2 so far) - your daughter is adorable and loved the face painting at AK. I have a question tho - you mentioned you filled up your mug at Be Our Guest restaurant. Has the dining plan changed so that you can use the mugs at any of the Park restaurants? In the past they could only be used at the resorts. I am thinking of adding the Dining Plan to our next trip (we've enjoyed the ability not to stress about how much we are ordering for our meals especially for table service) and I wanted to make certain we followed the new rules.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

When we stay at BWV, we have stopped at the Bakery several times and never had anything special. It has been okay and it was convenient for a late night something to take back to the room but not anything I'd go out of the way for. We did buy a gingerbread house there one time right before Christmas that we took back home with us that was pretty good though. Too bad about Fantasmic. We've only seen it once and it was pretty good. The rude people one sometimes encounter can really ruin a ride, attraction or restaurant. I hope you got lots of pixie dust to make up for it during the rest of your trip!!

I'm glad our family isn't the only one with no love for the bakery!

Don't worry we experience some serious pixie dust the next day

Hi - I love reading all about your trip (I'm only on page 2 so far) - your daughter is adorable and loved the face painting at AK. I have a question tho - you mentioned you filled up your mug at Be Our Guest restaurant. Has the dining plan changed so that you can use the mugs at any of the Park restaurants? In the past they could only be used at the resorts. I am thinking of adding the Dining Plan to our next trip (we've enjoyed the ability not to stress about how much we are ordering for our meals especially for table service) and I wanted to make certain we followed the new rules.

No the dining plan hasn't changed. We just cheated the system a bit. The beverage fountains at Be Our Guest are out where anyone can refill their cups, we just chose to refill our mugs since they have lids. Also, most waiters/waitresses at table service restaurants will fill them for you before you leave

 

[vassar36]

following along. Love your trip report

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Going Our Separate Ways in Downtown Disney

We slept a little later on Friday. I think we got up around 9:00. Madilyn put on the Anna dress I had ordered her with some of her Christmas money from Grandma and Pop Pop.

This isn’t a great photo of my kid, but it does show the couch folded out into the bed she slept on all week.

We were at the bus stop by 10:15.

I took a few photos of the main entrance.

Our room was on the third floor by the tree in the left side of this photo.

We waited and waited and waited for a bus to DTD. It was 10:50 by the time we pulled away from our resort. The bus made a pointless stop at Typhon Lagoon. No one got on or off the bus there. We continued on to Downtown Disney. We pulled up at 11:20.

There were two quick service places at Downtown Disney I really wanted to try. Since we had already tried Earl of Sandwich on our arrival day, we opted to try Wolfgang Puck Express this time. I ordered the rotisserie chicken which came with mashed potatoes. I also got a big sugar cookie. Jamie wasn’t enthused with the menu, but chose the bacon wrapped meatloaf and cheesecake. Madilyn ordered a grilled-cheese sandwich and a brownie. We waited about ten minutes for our food to come out of the kitchen. This was a really good meal, especially for a quick service credit. I would definitely return!

And that officially puts us ahead with the dining plan! $54.12 - $63.75 = -9.63

When we left the restaurant, Jamie headed for the dock to catch a boat to the west side. I had already purchased a ticket to American Sniper through Fandango for the 12:45 show. Madilyn and I found a restroom before heading into World of Disney to check her in for her appointment at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique!

 

[accountingbabe08]

I love her Anna dress