Star Wars vs the Princesses - the VGF with 2 littles in June 2015! ***Finished 7/19!

[azarine]

We had the BEST TRIP EVER last week at the VGF (well, first night at POR) and I am SO excited to relive the details with all of you! I have been reading and loving TR's for the past year during my planning process and hopefully this will help the post-trip depression!

We are me, DH, DD5 and DS2 (turns 3 just a few weeks after the trip).



The theme and focus of our trip started with the princesses, because when I started planning this trip a year ago, DD was obsessed with them. I knew we'd be there during Star Wars Weekends, and DH is a Star Wars fan but I figured then that he would probably just go check out that stuff in the evening by himself. Well I didn't know that both of my kids would be obsessed with Star Wars by June. They didn't get into it until all of our ADR's and FP+'s were booked, of course. So I did some last minute changes to add lots of Star Wars magic that made our trip so much more memorable.

This will be filled with lots of details about traveling with a 5 and 2 year old that I hope will be helpful to others. We hadn't traveled with them much before this - plenty of plane rides but just to visit family. We also had never done heat and humidity anything close to Orlando in June, so all about how we survived the heat (we live in Wyoming where it is blessedly dry!)

Highlights: the Perfectly Princess Tea Party at the GF, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, Galactic Breakfast, Rebel Hanger, and meeting Baymax!

Details:
First night (June 1) at the Port Orleans Riverside because this was a late add on to the beginning of the trip

June 2-9 at the Villas at the Grand Floridian (ahhhhh), 1 br standard view suite

We are:

Me: fond memories of 2 Disney trips as a pre-teen, and especially the Grand

DH: HUGE Star Wars fan who teaches robotics so was super stoked to meet Baymax

DD5: previous Princess fan, now says she loves princesses, pirates, and Star Wars
Fave thing: Perfectly Princess Tea Party

DD2: LOVED both Toy Story shooting rides and everything Star Wars except Stormtroopers and Darth Vader who were terrifying

Here we go! Check out our pre-trip report here.

 

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Saving for table of contents

 

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DAY 1: We're going to Disney World!

We had to get up at 4 am to be at the airport 1 1/2 hrs away. We had told the kids we were going on a trip, but not where. DD woke up on her own at 4:30 as we were getting ready and we told her we were going to Disney World - she was just as excited as I'd anticipated That strategy worked well for her because she needs time to prepare (so she knew we were going somewhere) but if she'd known it was Disney, she'd have driven us crazy and not slept for days beforehand.

Flights were pretty easy (thanks to movies and games on 2 Ipads) until we approached Orlando - crazy thunderstorms made us have to go to Tampa, where we sat on the tarmac for at least 2 hours... this was pretty torturous on the 2 year old and me. He had only had a 1/2 hour nap on one flight. But we finally made it. We were supposed to land at 6:15 and landed at 9:15. Thankfully Wendy's was still open in the airport so that was dinner.

I had gotten a text with our room number earlier; very happy to have Alligator Bayou like I'd requested (for the pulldown bed). Made it onto ME with no problems. The bus was mostly full when we got on and took off 5 minutes later so good timing for us! We'd decided not to put the yellow tags on our bags because we were arriving so late and wanted to have the kids stuff before bed.

Made it to POR with luggage and thankfully had a bell service driver take us to our room because it was a long way and the kids were exhausted. This was pretty much later than they'd ever stayed up (our kids are early to bed and we like it that way . DS had fallen asleep briefly on the bus which caused him to not be ready for bed at 11:30 pm... UGH. Getting them to sleep in that small room (we always book a suite at other hotels) was tough. AND THEN as I was trying to fall asleep, I realized that we had left a bag at baggage claim - just totally forgot to get our 3rd bag.

POR Thoughts: DD loved the pulldown "Princess Tiana" bed with the alligator I enjoyed the relaxed feel but got lost several times in Alligator Bayou! The main bridge was under construction so it was a hike to the main building. I just couldn't do a room this small with 2 kids for an entire week either. Liked the curtain between the bathroom & bedroom though.



DAY 2: We're here! POR to the VGF via Downtown Disney

I woke up at 6 am the following morning SO happy to be at Disney, but stressed about our 3rd bag because it was full of all of our shoes and all of my makeup! Everyone else was still asleep so I snuck out of the room and called United baggage services and finally talked to someone who said the bag was still there at MCO. I picked up our stroller from bell services (double City GT from Kingdom - SO glad we did this, and service was fantastic). Got coffee and food and headed back to the room - what a beautiful resort.

We went back to the QS restaurant for breakfast, and decided that DH would take a taxi back to MCO to get the bag. Expensive option but we just didn't trust ME to get us the bag, especially with us switching resorts today. He was only at the airport 30 seconds - got the bag and back on the taxi, and the driver gave him a break ($100 total roundtrip). Expensive mistake that we won't make again!

I wasn't about to let the bag mixup put a damper on our trip. The kids and I explored POR while DH was gone. Loved the playground there. Beautiful grounds. Very easy to get lost though!

We had to checkout by 11 am so I got us all packed up. We had left this day mostly unplanned to see what we felt like doing - head to the GF and swim, try to make it to MK for the parade, or do Downtown Disney. Since we hadn't gotten a text with our GF room number yet, and we knew DS was going to be a little tired today, we opted for DD. We sent our bags with a bellman to be taken to the GF and got on a boat for Downtown Disney.

We had lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express which was delicious! Pepperoni pizza, Caesar salad, and mac & cheese all fantastic. Thus began DS's eating strike that lasted the whole trip... he usually eats a TON of food, and he barely ate the entire trip. Just a heads up for other parents Definitely added to his grumpiness factor too. DS had his heart set on a lollipop so we went to Goofy's candy store. This is just the beginning of things I would NEVER do at home... give him a lollipop after not eating his lunch

The kids loved the train ride. DS saw it and exclaimed "My found Disney World!" Our first ride



We did a few stores and were getting hot and tired. Loved making droids though! Got a bus to the GF and DS fell asleep on my lap on the bus. I was SO excited to be approaching the GF for the first time since our honeymoon 13 years ago!

I ended up sitting at the GF bus stop after we got off with sleeping DS because he really needed a nap, and I knew he'd wake if I kept walking. It was lovely just to sit and soak up the atmosphere and thankfully I was under a roof because it rained while I was sitting there. We'd gotten a text earlier that our room wasn't ready yet. It finally was at 3:30 and DS woke up and we headed up! We LOVED our 1 br suite - more on that later! I had requested the highest floor possible and specific rooms that would have given us fireworks views. We got the 4th floor which was the top in the wing we were in, but no fireworks view - oh well. Actually I take that back, we did see some - more on that later!

We unpacked a little, showered, and got ready for our first character experience - 1900 Park Fare! I was thrilled to get the best photo of the 4 of us that we've had in a long time! So happy that I didn't have to worry about getting a nice one for the rest of the trip - that was already taken care of



You are getting full honesty in this TR - this wasn't the most impressive meal. The kids weren't really into the characters yet - it took them a few M&G's to warm up (we had no way of knowing this!). Cinderella wasn't very interactive. The stepsisters were great though and we really enjoyed the food, including the strawberry soup!



Got the kids down as early as possible and I headed to the concierge to see about getting Star Wars dining reservations. I was able to get Rebel Hanger for the following day at 4:40 pm. We had initially planned on being in MK that evening but changed our plans for Rebel Hanger. I also paid for a Dining Buddy alert for a Galactic Breakfast ADR - if only I had known at 180 days that my kids would be so into Star Wars! Will we get it? Stay tuned...

 

[glennbo123]

Looks like some good SWW stuff will be coming in your report -- looking forward to it!

AND THEN as I was trying to fall asleep, I realized that we had left a bag at baggage claim - just totally forgot to get our 3rd bag.

I can't even imagine...I wouldn't be able to go to sleep after realizing that.

You are getting full honesty in this TR - this wasn't the most impressive meal.

Thanks for the truthful reporting. I've heard similar sentiments about 1900 Park Fare. I've considered doing it just to meet the stepsisters, because I hear they're a hoot, but that would be the only reason.

 

[azarine]

Looks like some good SWW stuff will be coming in your report -- looking forward to it!



I can't even imagine...I wouldn't be able to go to sleep after realizing that.



Thanks for the truthful reporting. I've heard similar sentiments about 1900 Park Fare. I've considered doing it just to meet the stepsisters, because I hear they're a hoot, but that would be the only reason.

Yep that was a night of very little sleep Thanks for joining in!

 

[jandlinz]

Hi! Joining in. Your family is beautiful. What a great picture! Your DD is so cute all dressed up. Can't wait to see your room. I've always dreamed of staying in the GF.
-Lindsey

 

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DAY 3 - MK!!! Our first park day!!!

We were up early and ready for rope drop. We did breakfast in our room most days which was great to save time and feed hungry kids immediately. Getting them out the door each morning was not easy.

This morning went just as we'd initially planned. The afternoon was going to be back at MK, but we switched it to HS due to our Rebel Hanger ADR.

The monorail wasn't running until 8:30 am unfortunately so we had to take a bus to MK. Park was opening at 9 this day. We left our room at 7:50, bus was there within 5 minutes, and we were at MK by 8:10 (DH thought I was a little nuts). But we were right up at the wall for the opening show and the kids (and me!) loved it. For the most part, transportation was pretty fast for us. There was only one afternoon when DH was trying to get to HS that he waited 45 min for a bus.




A note that they actually let people in before the show is completely over. We were a little behind the crowd because I was watching the show and didn't even realize that people were going in.

We were only headed to Peter Pan, though, so didn't have to hoof it too much! FP+ was great for us in having SDMT and A&E prebooked.

We did Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, and were on Dumbo at 9:24 am. I planned our rides strategically to see if my kids were scared by anything. The kids LOVED these first rides - the ones like Peter Pan were their absolute favorites. After each one, DS would exclaim "dat was FUN!!!" in his 2 year old voice and I melted Barnstormer was next, which I had thought would tell us if SDMT, Splash, and BTMR would be too much. Both kids HATED Barnstormer - it was faster and rougher than I expected. Later, DD loved SDMT and DS thought it was too fast. So Barnstormer wasn't a good gauge for SDMT.

After a quick bathroom and snack break at Casey's, we met Goofy, Donald, Daisy, and Minnie - all 5 minute waits. My kids weren't as into characters as I thought they would be on this trip, other than the Star Wars ones and a princess or two. But DS gave us a huge grin every time he was asked which was awesome



Then the Ariel ride with a 10 minute wait (was really more like 5). We stopped at Gaston's for coffee and a LeFou's brew for the kids - too sweet for me. But Gaston's was a nice relatively uncrowded air conditioned break.

Small World was next - we had a FP that had expired at 10:40, but a very kind CM let us in the FP line at 10:55. Small World was enjoyed but not a big favorite of the kids.

DH took DD to meet Cinderella and Rapunzel with FP+ while DS and I took a little break for him to run around a bit. DH said these princesses really weren't very engaging and DD wasn't very impressed.

Lunch at BOG - I had tried hard for this ADR and was excited! I had pre-ordered our food which saved some time in line. The food was delicious, took about 10 minutes to arrive, technology was very cool, and I loved the atmosphere.

Next we had a FP+ for Enchanted Tales with Belle which was great timing since they are so close, and DD loved being immersed in Beauty & the Beast. She LOVED this one and DH and I were totally impressed by the technology - Lumiere is amazing. This is such a cool attraction. Our Belle was fantastic. Even better - while we were waiting in the cottage to be let in, I got a Dining Buddy text for a Galactic Breakfast the next morning at 8 am (pre-park opening) - exactly what I was hoping for!



When we finished ETWB, it was about 1 pm and DS was totally done - hot and tired. We stopped for Mickey bars on our way out which was a mistake - melting ice cream and chocolate with a tired cranky toddler does not make a good combination. Made it out of MK with cranky kids and back to our room for naps for everyone but DD who watched cartoons DD & I spent an hour in the pool too, and then we got ready to head to HS.

We had a 4:50 pm ADR at Rebel Hanger - only waited 5 min and saw Chewbacca on our way in. We LOVED this one. We got pictures with Jawas, Stormtroopers, and this guy whose name I can't remember (DH is the Star Wars fan, remember).



Didn't get a photo with Chewbacca unfortunately. The drinks were yummy, the kids loved the lighted spaceships, the food was yummy. It was fun to order a bunch of appetizers to share. The dipping sauce for the fries was delicious. Trading with the Jawas was fun. DS was pretty scared of the stormtroopers (torm-poopers



As we were walking out, a Jedi Training show was going on so we stopped to watch it. I had debated whether we should try to get DD into it, but was glad I hadn't planned on it, because she was pretty intimidated by Darth Vader. Star Tours only had a 10 minute wait so DH & DD went on it, their first of many this trip, and DS and I went to find Lightning and Mater - he's a big Mater fan but DD is not.

This meet & greet was a little funny to me that they have it for stationary objects but whatever DS got a few minutes to check them out. He would have loved to spend more time with them.



We met DH & DD in Tatooine Traders where DD made a light saber and DS picked out a blaster that is now his absolute favorite thing on the planet. And I took one of my favorite photos of the trip:



Hmmm will have to figure out how to rotate that.

The kids were tired and grumpy so headed out and were back to the room by 7 pm. I went to MK after they were in bed and enjoyed just strolling and shopping on Main Street, and eating a cupcake

 

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Day 4 - HS

We decided to take a cab to HS for our 8 am Galactic Breakfast ADR. The GF concierge had said buses wouldn't be running this early. Now I'm thinking he was wrong but we didn't want to chance it. The cab was super convenient - I called bell services, told them we needed a van to fit the double stroller, and one was there in 10 minutes, that had carseats for the kids! And it was right outside the VGF rather than the main GF entrance so very close.

The Galactic Breakfast got a big thumbs up from us. You get a photo with Darth and Boba Fett as you walk in, then other characters circulate while you're eating. Everyone gets a plate of pastries and then there are several menu options to choose from. Good: getting to meet the characters, decent food options, watching Star Wars clips while eating, beating the rope drop crowd to TSMM. Not so good: the dark car was difficult for me to manage the 2 year old in and get him to eat. He was again terrified of Darth Vader and the Stormtroopers. But loved the others.





We finished and walked out of the restaurant at 8:53 and realized we were ahead of the rope drop crowd - hooray! We walked fast to TSMM. The wait was listed at 15 min but was more like 5. In talking with others in line, it may be that Hollywood & Vine made people wait after breakfast until the rope drop. So maybe we got super lucky - no one stopped us. We also had a TSMM FP+ for 9-10 am, so we rode again with our FP+, and were done at 9:20 am.


We are huge Big Hero 6 fans, so meeting Baymax was a priority. Our strategy was to have DH wait in line at 9:30 and have me & the kids join him by 10:30, when Baymax started. So DH grabbed coffee and headed for the line (which he had to chug because no food/drink allowed in there!). He was 4th in line.

The kids & I went to the 9:40 Disney Junior show - very cute and the kids enjoyed it. I didn't realize that it is puppets, not life-sized characters. The kids loved the bubbles and confetti. Sit in the middle, about halfway back - if you sit too close they are hard to see.

We joined DH in line after this which was harder than I anticipated - I had read that it would be easy to join someone in line, but we had to walk through people which I felt badly about. But we did it and the M&G was awesome - great character interaction and the kids were mesmerized. DH teaches robotics and had a conversation with Hiro about it. I can see why this line takes forever because they really take time with everyone which is awesome - but plan to wait!



We'd brought DS's stuffed Baymax which Hiro got a kick out of - travel sized! DD got to fist bump Baymax

Next was Star Tours with FP+ - DH & DD rode and got a rider swap pass for later. I took DS for a break at Writer's Stop for coffee and cookies and air conditioning

Frozen Singalong was next with FP which didn't make one bit of difference in our seating. This was really just a retelling of the story but DD enjoyed it.

Then DD & I did Star Tours with our rider swap pass and I wish I hadn't - I get motion sick and I was a little green by the end. DD does too, but this one didn't affect her at all. After this was a face painting break!

Originally we had had a Hollywood & Vine lunch scheduled for the Disney Jr characters, but we cancelled it the day before when we were able to book the Star Wars meals instead - plus our kids just weren't as into the characters as we thought.

So we did lunch at ABC Commissary because I had checked and the menu looked good. I loved the salad with salmon. I was impressed by the efficiency of most QS restaurants at Disney - I was dreading waiting forever for food but they sure move the lines quickly.



We were all hot and ready for a break - did a little shopping and then back to the hotel.

So neither kid napped... that should have been our indication to stay at the hotel the rest of the day. But they were pretty happy so we decided to head to Epcot. Big mistake. Tired cranky kids the rest of the evening. The monorail to and from Epcot took forever. We did manage to ride Spaceship Earth and Living with the Land, and have a yummy dinner at Sunshine Seasons (loved their power salad).

Got the kids in bed as quickly as possible, and DH went to MK to explore a bit. We were glad the next morning was a sleep in day!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Joining in - sounds like a great trip so far and getting a lot done. Glad things worked out with getting the galactic breakfaste (I heard very good things about that - less then stellar about the Mickey H&V Star Wars dinner)

That's very cool you got to meet Hiro and Beymax!

always hard to know how kids will be with the character meets (and seems to change every trip)

 

[glennbo123]

We got pictures with Jawas, Stormtroopers, and this guy whose name I can't remember (DH is the Star Wars fan, remember).

That's Greedo. http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Greedo He (and Han Solo) are at the center of the controversy over "who shot first?"

DS was pretty scared of the stormtroopers (torm-poopers

Love that. That's officially their new name.

We are huge Big Hero 6 fans, so meeting Baymax was a priority.

Ooo! Is Baymax there all the time, or was it just for SWW?

 

[Candycane83]

Joining in! Your kids are so cute glad to read all your tips, I want to bring my one year old son next year and this really helps

 

[azarine]

Joining in - sounds like a great trip so far and getting a lot done. Glad things worked out with getting the galactic breakfaste (I heard very good things about that - less then stellar about the Mickey H&V Star Wars dinner)

That's very cool you got to meet Hiro and Beymax!

always hard to know how kids will be with the character meets (and seems to change every trip)

Glad you're here! Baymax was a huge highlight of the trip for

That's Greedo. http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Greedo He (and Han Solo) are at the center of the controversy over "who shot first?"



Love that. That's officially their new name.



Ooo! Is Baymax there all the time, or was it just for SWW?

Baymax is there for the time being - who knows how long. Not related to SWW.

Joining in! Your kids are so cute glad to read all your tips, I want to bring my one year old son next year and this really helps

Thanks for joining in!

 

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Day 5 - sleeping in, tea parties, and our late night!

We all slept till 7 am which was lovely (sleeping in has such a different meaning when you become a parent...) The kids played in the room all morning with the Star Wars play sets that Tinkerbell had left for them this morning We ordered room service breakfast because that's what I do whenever possible Unfortunately we think DH's breakfast gave him food poisoning because he was quite ill all day - ugh, poor guy.

Despite that, I proceeded to have the BEST DAY EVER. DD & I had reservations for the Perfectly Princess Tea Party which was basically the pinnacle of the trip. DD was totally enchanted the entire time. There were only about 8 children there with parents so it was a really intimate setting where each kid got lots of time with Rose Petal and Aurora. Basically Rose Petal does the whole show and Aurora appears toward the end to do a parade around the room with all the children, and talks with each one. My DD talked Aurora's ear off for 5 minutes and this was the highlight of the entire trip for DD.







The musician also comes around and asks each child what songs they would like him to play (DD requested the Star Wars song and cracked him up...) It was a lovely event and the children get all kinds of gifts to go home with. She is 5 and I felt the perfect age for this - they need to be able to sit and pay attention for 30 minutes to really enjoy this.


After the tea, all the little girls parade around the Grand Floridian lobby, upstairs to the photographer, where each has a photo taken. They then go to the gift shop and get more goodies and a birth certificate for the doll.

 

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Interruption for a Grand Floridian review...

I can't go on without sharing photos of our suite. First of all, I have a love affair with the Grand that started during my first 2 trips to Disney at age 12 and 14. Then DH and I spent our honeymoon at the Grand in 2002. So really I can't stay anywhere else at DW which is a problem! We have always stayed in suites since having kids, mostly so that we can put the kids to bed and have some space to enjoy. So the Villas were a perfect fit for us, and renting points worked out beautifully.

We had a 1 br standard view. I had requested the highest floor possible, not handicapped-accessible, and listed some specific room numbers that would have given us a view of the MK fireworks. We got the 4th floor (which was the top in our wing), not HA, but no MK fireworks view. We did, however, see the Star Wars fireworks at HS from our balcony! Far away but still impressive. The kids enjoyed the monorail being right outside our balcony. I just enjoyed the luxury of the Grand. The bathroom was amazing. Loved the 2 sinks. Loved the shower. Having a kitchen was great too - we didn't use it as much as I thought we might, but with 2 small kids, it was great to have PB&J's, fruit, snacks, etc when the kids needed them.

I completely forgot to take photos of our room before the kids, ahem, personalized it, so my apologies, you'll have to see another review for more room photos. Here's what I have.

Plenty of room, even with both beds folded down (which is how they stayed the whole trip!)



The kids loved the GF pool. They started out terrified of the dumping water at the Alice splash pool, and by the end of the trip were standing under it, waiting to be dumped on. They also LOVED the beach because there are absolutely no sandy beaches anywhere near where we live.

 

[NJlauren]

Joining in! Looks like you had a great trip!

Looks like DD loved the tea, it looks so lovely! So happy you got in for some Star Wars meals, they looks so cool.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

That tea party looks really nice ... just a lovely, special thing to do with your daughter! I can see why that would be the highlight for her

Your room sounds very nice, and very cool to have that access tot he monorail and a beach like that. Definitely makes it feel like vacation!

 

[kadrachb]

Oh my goodness your trip looks great so far! The princess tea party is too cute.
I also found the Cinderella at 1900 Park Fare to be not so interactive, along with the Cinderella at the fairy tale hall.

And your kids are adorable! Can't wait to see more!

 

[azarine]

Joining in! Looks like you had a great trip!

Looks like DD loved the tea, it looks so lovely! So happy you got in for some Star Wars meals, they looks so cool.

The tea and Star Wars meals were the best!!!

That tea party looks really nice ... just a lovely, special thing to do with your daughter! I can see why that would be the highlight for her

Your room sounds very nice, and very cool to have that access tot he monorail and a beach like that. Definitely makes it feel like vacation!

LOVED our room. Miss it terribly!

Oh my goodness your trip looks great so far! The princess tea party is too cute.
I also found the Cinderella at 1900 Park Fare to be not so interactive, along with the Cinderella at the fairy tale hall.

And your kids are adorable! Can't wait to see more!

Yes, we were disappointed with all Cinderellas Loved all Belles and Ariels though!

 

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Day 5 continued...

I had a 1 pm appointment at the Spa for an 80 minute massage - total heaven. I've had many massages before but this was the first spa I've been to, and it was lovely. I wish I'd remembered my swimsuit to use the whirlpool. My massage therapist was fantastic.

Today was supposed to be our one late night of the trip to see MSEP and Wishes. After last night's crankiness I was worried, but thankfully DS took a nice long nap, and both kids had slept in this morning, and had a pretty quiet day at the resort. And DH was feeling better by the afternoon from the food poisoning. So we were off!!!

Originally we had FP+ for SDMT, MSEP, and Wishes for this evening. I changed them the day before because I wasn't thinking that the kids would be able to stay up that late - I was thinking we might see Wishes from the GF. And I'd read that the MSEP FP just wasn't worth it. So we had SDMT, Buzz, and Pirates FP+ for tonight.

So as we were leaving our room, the skies opened up and it started POURING rain. We do not have rain like that back home It was insane. But we were not going to let some rain detour our evening at MK and were glad it cooled off!



Thank goodness for the double stroller with rain cover which kept the kids totally dry. They loved the rain cover - spent the rest of the night pretending they were in their little house, even after the rain stopped. I think people thought we were torturing our children, keeping them in the rain cover

We had to go through 8" of water to get from the monorail to the MK entrance - it was nuts. DH was the only one without sandals, so we went straight to the Emporium and bought him some Crocs so he wouldn't spend all night in wet shoes. We got some food from Casey's Corner, and headed to Buzz!

The kids LOVED Buzz, even though we'd already done TSMM. They had seen videos of this one before our trip and were totally excited to shoot some aliens

Then we did the carousel, which was always great. I loved that this had such a short wait because my kids love carousels and there aren't any close to us. We rode many times!




Then Mickey's Philharmagic which we all loved, and then on to our SDMT FP+. I was surprised that the CM only had me put DS on the ground (I was carrying him) and didn't measure him. He was 37" without shoes at home So glad he made it on. However, DS was not a fan of this one - said it was scary and too fast. DD, however, LOVED it and had her arms up in the air! I was not expecting her to love all the roller coasters!

After an ice cream break, we headed to Pirates which we were really excited about - a favorite from our honeymoon and my DH and kids are all big pirate fans in general! We had a FP but I was surprised to see a 5 minute wait. It was 30 minutes when we got off!

After Pirates it was about 8:15 pm so we decided to just find a spot early for the parade. The kids provided entertainment for those around us The MSEP parade was fantastic. This was our first one and DD absolutely loved it. The enchantment in her eyes made the whole trip worthwhile. And she just absolutely loved the parades. DS did too but he was getting tired.



We were heading out on Main Street just as Celebrate the Magic started, so we stopped right in the middle of Main Street- so glad DD got to see this. She loved it. DS was tired and not interested at all so I entertained him while DH & DD watched. Then we headed out and decided to take the boat back to the GF in hopes that we could see Wishes from the boat, but it started while we were waiting for the boat, so we had a partially obstructed view from the boat dock. DD still loved it. Waiting for the boat, the boat ride, and walking back to our room took a long time - the boat dock is a LONG way from the Villas. The kids weren't in bed until 11 pm which is definitely the latest they've ever been up

 

[TheMaxRebo]

oh my gosh that looks like a lot of rain! and having to go through 8" of water is just never fun

Glad to hear about the stroller set up and that the kids were fine

Love your husbands shirt (at least it appears to be a swallow/coconut Monty Python one)

Sounds like a fun evening and glad your daughter enjoyed the MSEP so much!