DIS-Meet Junior – June 2014 Girls Trip ~ Updated 1/21: See Ya Real Soon!

[TheMaxRebo]

ugh, we had the same thing happen to us this summer where we had a PPO ADR at CP (wow, that's a lot of acronyms) but then they moved park opening and it was no longer PPO so we just dropped it. We like it but just wasn't worth the cost to us without the PPO benefits - and we had other table meals planned that day so figured it was for the best. Definitely hope you get the bunch option to work out!

This trip they definitely asked Olivia how old she was when I went to take her and Peter on Mine Train and as she was 7 they let her ride alone but you need to be 7. I definitely rode with both of them together on Big Thunder so hopefully that works out for you!

We wound up doing both the inside and outside at TS - the inside was just freezing so we had to leave, but I have to say we really liked the ouside - they had live music and the dole whipe drink is pretty darn good - plus you can get the pulled pork nachos from Captain Cook's and bring that out with you. So maybe just duck in and check out the inside and see an effect or two and then head out?

We did California Grill a few trips ago as a big group with another family (10 in total - including 4 kids ... this was pre-Emma) and we had a great time. They had us at one big table and we shared some flatbreads and other apps, etc. and then got to see the fireworks and stuff. So you should have a great time. We did find that the place largely clears of out kids after the fireworks but up until that point it feels pretty kid friendly. So tip for if you want a romantic "date night" plan to arrive close to firework time, and watch them with your pre-dinner cocktail and then have a quite meal aftewards

 

[jeni16]

You both probably already know this but the same thing happened with our 8:15 PPO at Crystal Palace & they still let us in the park early. We were still able to then get those empty park photos. You do use early park time eating breakfast but I didn't find that it really changed any of our plans & the waits were still reasonable after we got done eating.

 

[khertz]

It's still so weird to read these updates and the girls are SO little since I have seen them grow up so much since this trip happened!!!

Really great updates, and y'all are doing a great job trading off.

I'm having to work on my laptop using it as a tablet, so I couldn't quote all of the stuff I wanted to comment on (catching up outside because the weather is so nice and DS is playing with his friends!), but the picture of Izzy creeping in the back while Aria is hugging Tinkerbell made me literally laugh out loud!! That is a great photo!

 

[AprilRenee]

Yay for a Jedi training meet up! I'm so excited to meet you guys in person!! I also think Dug and Andrew will really hit it off. They have similar interests (aka Star Wars lol)

Ps I'm totally giving up our sleep in day to do Jedi training with you guys lol. I decided to move our sleep in day to our Epcot day the next day. Fingers crossed it all works out and we can haul ourselves out of bed that morning after a potential late night the night before lol


And I totally support your lack of car seat plan. Caden did really well at almost 3 with his iPad and headphones. I'm sure by now Izzy will be way fine. It also helped that I told him that the PILOT made the rule about seat belts and he was ALLLL about obeying the pilot. Lol

 

[Dugette]

12/11/16 Plans

Sorry, I got a few days behind and haven’t done responses yet either, but here’s another day of the trip plans:

We start this morning with a PPO breakfast at Be Our Guest. Thankfully, the park opening still remains and 9am, so that we should have time to eat and then queue up for another ride on 7DMT (which Izzy cannot wait to ride! ). I’m also looking forward to breakfast at BoG, as I’ve only had lunch there (twice). It looks tasty! Flashback to Be Our Guest in December 2013:



We don’t have any FP+ reserved for our MK morning, as we plan to park-hop to Animal Kingdom this day and made FP+ there instead. Our morning will probably be spent in Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. We’ll need to take a spin on the Peoplemover, of course. And I know that Izzy will demand “Buzz’s ride”. I’m also thinking it would be nice to do Enchanted Tales with Belle. We only did this once and it was Izzy’s first trip – and she didn’t have any patience for it, so not really very fun. But now, I think she’d love to play a role and would be much more interested, so I’d like to see it again without the toddler-wrangling.

I’m not sure what we’ll do for lunch this day. Something quick, though. One thought I had was stopping into The Mara, as Lauren & girls will be able to drive to AK from MK, but we won’t have a car, so taking a bus over to AKL, then to AK might be best. And when in AKL, might as well have some zebra domes… So, we’ll see and play it by ear.

Our FP+ for AK start mid-afternoon with meeting Mickey & Minnie in their safari gear. This meet has been a consistent standout for us, so must do! Labor Day weekend 2014:



However, I have to admit that I am super bummed to hear that Dug the dog is not longer meeting in AK! That was my other must-do character meet at AK. Also Labor Day weekend 2014:



We split up another of our FP+ selections, doing 2 for Everest and 3 for Dinosaur. The thinking here is that Dug and I can ride Everest (no one else can) and then Dug, Izzy, and I can ride Dinosaur. Izzy hasn’t been yet, so that’s a must-do. She loves dinosaurs and claims she won’t be scared because "the real dinosaurs died in a storm and these are pretend". We’ll see how she handles it. Aria has a history of being scared of this, so she might skip it, but if she wants to ride, we can use Rider Swap to make that happen. (Also, Dug and I can get Rider Swap for Everest too, so that we can come back after dark, if there is time). Oh, while we’re doing Everest, Lauren might be able to take the girls to the Boneyard or Triceratop Spin (not sure she could do that with all three…).

Another 40” ride that Izzy’s newly qualified for is Kali River Rapids. However, it will be December, which means any weather is possible. And I don’t love getting wet in general, but especially in the cold and wearing jeans. So, I’m not telling her about this one and we’ll make a call when we’re there. If it’s like 80 degrees and sunny, maybe we’ll do it.

Lauren wants to bring her girls to Flights of Wonder and we want to bring Izzy to Festival of the Lion King, so we’ll split up for a bit. We last saw FotLK three years ago, before it was in the new theater. And, as I mentioned with Enchanted Tales, that was the same trip where Izzy was too young to have a lot of patience with the show. She enjoyed it for a bit, then got very restless. Here she is still enjoying it:



I think she’d do a lot better now and I’d love to see it again. And, much as I like Flights of Wonder, we have a very similar show at the MN Zoo, so I’ll be okay missing it. (Side note: the last time Izzy and I went to the zoo one, the very first bird flew away – NOT part of the show – and they had to cancel the rest of the show in order to find it and make sure it didn’t fall victim to predators in the zoo! I imagine they tracked it down, but wow!)

Our AK late afternoon/evening is really up in the air, depending on Rivers of Light, the mythical evening spectacular that may or may not ever debut. We have a FP+ for a sunset safari, hoping that will work out well. And we have multiple Tiffins ADRs, as we want to eat there…but we still might need to get a new one if RoL starts and has dining packages. We also would like to see the Tree of Life awakenings/special evening things. My final note is that @Leshaface told me that the hot chocolate at Kusafari is really good, so if it’s chilly, I’ll have to see if I can get some. Then, back to the resorts and off to bed.

 

[Dugette]

12/12/16

Ha, this date always gets my attention because it’s the day I went back to work after maternity leave with Izzy (12/12/12 sticks in your memory!) Who knew that 4 years later I’d be in WDW with her, Dug, and great friends!

This day begins with an early breakfast at ‘Ohana. Of course, with our Crystal Palace uncertainty, this is subject to change, as we have an alternate CP this day and it’s still a 9am opening day (so, if we can get ‘Ohana the other day, we may switch). But, anyway, I always love visiting the Poly and I think we’ll enjoy this meal. We did it once, 3 years prior – here’s Izzy trying to escape Stitch :



A nice feature of this meal is that it’s served family style, so we won’t have to be up and down running to the buffet and worrying about missing character visits. Now that Izzy is more familiar with Lilo and Stitch , I think she’ll enjoy their visits more too. And you can’t go wrong with Mickey and Pluto.

After breakfast, we can monorail to the Grand Floridian to check out their holiday decorations, which will round out our monorail resort explorations. Then on to the Magic Kingdom!

We have a FP+ for Peter Pan and will probably hit other Fantasyland rides: Tea Party, Dumbo (and play area!), Barnstormer – really depends what we haven’t gotten to yet, since this will be our third MK day in a row. Baby Izzy in Dumbo play area:



Our next FP is a split one with Lauren taking Maya on Pirates while Dug and I take Aria and Izzy on Big Thunder with FP+. After that, if we haven’t yet used our Rider Swap for Splash, we can hit that too.

Around lunchtime, we have Jingle Cruise FP+ and then Dug, Izzy, and I have a Skipper’s Canteen ADR. We wanted to check it out, but Lauren has already been there. We’ll probably have a light lunch just to try it, as we have big meals for breakfast and dinner.

After this, we have pretty unscheduled MK time. So, whatever still needs to be done. Dug wanted to do some of the Sorcerers and Pirate adventure game things, so at some point, he might do that – maybe pushing around Maya while she naps if the rest of us want to go on rides. He also expressed interest the other day in doing Hall of Presidents "one last time" before it gets a remodel.

Hopefully we can get decent spots for Festival of Fantasy and enjoy the parade.

After we’re done in the MK, we’ll walk over to the Contemporary for dinner at Chef Mickey’s. Believe it or not, my little family has NEVER eaten here. I figured I’d be booted off the DIS if we didn’t correct that soon (I mean, this is Izzy’s 5th trip, Dug’s 10th, and my 15th!!)

After dinner, I’d like to head back to the MK and try to catch the Castle Lighting ceremony. Izzy and I actually watched the live feed of it on the Disney Parks Blog the other day, but it would be nice to see it in person.

We can also hit any princess meets we haven’t yet done, low-wait Fantasyland rides, or use any remaining Rider Swaps that we wanted to use after dark. I mean, thanks to the utter lack of nighttime parade , we should have plenty of time while we wait for Wishes at 10pm.

Then off to bed, if we’ve all made it that long.

 

[Dugette]

12/13/16

Our last day begins with yet another PPO breakfast, this time Garden Grill at Epcot. We love Garden Grill and have been a number of times, but I’ve never done the breakfast. I know that Lauren did when she was on an allergy diet and had a bad experience, so hoping it goes better this time around. The menu looks great to me and the character interaction (especially Chip and Dale) is always amazing (2015):



After eating, we should be in position to catch Soarin’ without needing a FP – that’s the really difficult thing about having tiers and Frozen Ever After in the same one! So, I think what we’ll do is have either Dug or I wait with Maya while the rest ride and get a Rider Swap. We can save that Rider Swap for later after Lauren and girls head out (our flight is later), then we can ride again as a family of 3. In the meantime, whoever is waiting can take Maya on LwtL, maybe.

If we haven’t yet gotten to Test Track for some reason, we might try to hit that early on. And we have FP+ for morning Spaceship Earth. If there’s any other Future World things to do, we might have time to squeeze something in.

After that, we’ll start heading to World Showcase at some point, as we have our second FEA FP+ of the trip. It’s a hour or so later than what we were aiming for, but at least we got morning. We can take another spin on Donald’s boat while we’re in WS too, if we have time.

Lauren, Aria and Maya will need to head to the airport around now, so we’ll have to bid them farewell.

After that, we’ll probably grab some lunch. I think choices are: Tutto Gusto, the WS food booths, or Sunshine Seasons, depending on where we are and what sounds good.

If we are still in WS, Dug was interested in seeing the movie in France, as it’s been a while and Izzy is in love with France (and we hope to go there in the next couple years).

After that, maybe we’ll wander WS or maybe we’ll be scrambling to get in whatever we’ve missed or want to repeat. Maybe we’ll do the Disney Visa meet, if time.

We will need to get back to the Land pavilion to use our Soarin’ Rider Swap. We also have a mid-afternoon LwtL FP+, since we’ll be there – in case we have time. But, soon, we’ll have to head back to Pop and catch a Magical Express, probably around 3:30pm or so. Our flight is around 6:30pm and we’ll get back to MSP about 9pm. Then off to bed, as we’ll have work and daycare the next day! 2011 Magical Depress:



I am super excited for this trip and I think we’ll all have a great time! The holiday season is always so magical at WDW (2013):

 

[TheMaxRebo]

12/12:

- We did the breakfast at 'Ohana once a while ago and enjoyed it but it isn't at the top of our list. I do like the family style service though vs a buffet. We aren't super into Lilo and Stitch so that probably impacted things too ... but any reason to go to the Poly is a good one

- It's definitely nice that you will be able to take Aria on the rides and let Lauren go do other things with Maya

- Haven't gotten to it yet in my TR, but we loved Skipper Canteen. And Judi and I did some sharing of apps (I think we each got an app and then split an entree) so you can definitely do a lighter meal there as an option

- Good call on seeing the Hall of Presidents one time before it changes - and whatever your view of the election a change is a change to the attraction

- Also haven't gotten to our meal at Chef Mickey's yet either (which was also a first for us) but the cliff notes version is that we enjoyed it (especially the food) way more than we thought we would - very surprised at the variety of the food and everything tasted fresh and was hot, etc. The ribs especially I liked but Judi found things she liked too.

12/13

- We haven't done the breakfast at Garden Grill yet - but the dinner we did there surpassed our expectations ... and you are so right about the character interaction there. Seems like a good plan for Soarin' too - and be great if you get that rider swap for later.

- seems like a good plan for the rest of the day - hope it works out and no break-down delays on FAE or anything

We still haven't done Disney at the holidays as a family yet (I went once when I was a kid, but that was many moons ago at this point) ... just hard now to take Olivia out of School unless we do the break but it is super crazy crowded then. Someday

Hope doing your "1 month from today" posts helped out now and for later! They are a lot of fun to sort of pre-experience your future TR

 

[Imagineer5]

We don’t have any FP+ reserved for our MK morning, as we plan to park-hop to Animal Kingdom this day and made FP+ there instead. Our morning will probably be spent in Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. We’ll need to take a spin on the Peoplemover, of course. And I know that Izzy will demand “Buzz’s ride”. I’m also thinking it would be nice to do Enchanted Tales with Belle. We only did this once and it was Izzy’s first trip – and she didn’t have any patience for it, so not really very fun. But now, I think she’d love to play a role and would be much more interested, so I’d like to see it again without the toddler-wrangling.

I’m not sure what we’ll do for lunch this day. Something quick, though. One thought I had was stopping into The Mara, as Lauren & girls will be able to drive to AK from MK, but we won’t have a car, so taking a bus over to AKL, then to AK might be best. And when in AKL, might as well have some zebra domes… So, we’ll see and play it by ear.

First, thank you for doing all the month from today posts. You know me and weekends - I actually left work Thursday with the intention of signing on over the weekend, but then ended up doing SO MUCH this weekend I never had a free moment to do it. Phew.
Anyway

I envisioned grabbing a quick lunch somewhere in MK and leaving around 1-1:30 I think?

Oh, while we’re doing Everest, Lauren might be able to take the girls to the Boneyard or Triceratop Spin (not sure she could do that with all three…).

Yep definitely plan to do that! Hopefully we'll be able to all fit in one row, though, as I don't think they'll let the girls be in their own row? Hmm we'll see. if not then the boneyard will be fun.

Our AK late afternoon/evening is really up in the air, depending on Rivers of Light, the mythical evening spectacular that may or may not ever debut. We have a FP+ for a sunset safari, hoping that will work out well. And we have multiple Tiffins ADRs, as we want to eat there…but we still might need to get a new one if RoL starts and has dining packages. We also would like to see the Tree of Life awakenings/special evening things. My final note is that @Leshaface told me that the hot chocolate at Kusafari is really good, so if it’s chilly, I’ll have to see if I can get some. Then, back to the resorts and off to bed.

LOL The ROL business (or lack thereof) is driving me insane! But def want to see the tree awakenings and stuff. That hot chocolate sounded great, too.

This day begins with an early breakfast at ‘Ohana. Of course, with our Crystal Palace uncertainty, this is subject to change, as we have an alternate CP this day and it’s still a 9am opening day (so, if we can get ‘Ohana the other day, we may switch). But, anyway, I always love visiting the Poly and I think we’ll enjoy this meal. We did it once, 3 years prior – here’s Izzy trying to escape Stitch :

I'm excited to return here. The food didn't really excite me too much, but now that I know Kona has sriracha sauce I am hoping to grab some for the potatoes, and between that and some waffles I'll be happy. Last time we ate there, Aria was unsure about the characters and didn't want anything to do with them (except for Mickey).

A nice feature of this meal is that it’s served family style, so we won’t have to be up and down running to the buffet and worrying about missing character visits. Now that Izzy is more familiar with Lilo and Stitch , I think she’ll enjoy their visits more too. And you can’t go wrong with Mickey and Pluto.

SO nice! I made a (short) list of the character meals that aren't buffets for this reason. If these solo parent trips continue I can see visiting only those and regular restaurants.

After we’re done in the MK, we’ll walk over to the Contemporary for dinner at Chef Mickey’s. Believe it or not, my little family has NEVER eaten here. I figured I’d be booted off the DIS if we didn’t correct that soon (I mean, this is Izzy’s 5th trip, Dug’s 10th, and my 15th!!)

Yes, that is very crazy!!

Our last day begins with yet another PPO breakfast, this time Garden Grill at Epcot. We love Garden Grill and have been a number of times, but I’ve never done the breakfast. I know that Lauren did when she was on an allergy diet and had a bad experience, so hoping it goes better this time around. The menu looks great to me and the character interaction (especially Chip and Dale) is always amazing (2015):

Woohoo!! Yes, but I got to salivate looking at what Andrew and Aria got to eat. My bad experience was from the chef being really weird and making me something really disgusting as a substitution.

- It's definitely nice that you will be able to take Aria on the rides and let Lauren go do other things with Maya

It is really nice!! I appreciate that, since Aria will be able to ride some things. Before Dugette & family said they were going to come, I was envisioning booking 1 or 2 days of that babysitter care (in park) so that I could ride with her - but then that backfired when I got preggo so this works out so much better lol!

- Haven't gotten to it yet in my TR, but we loved Skipper Canteen. And Judi and I did some sharing of apps (I think we each got an app and then split an entree) so you can definitely do a lighter meal there as an option

I loved Skipper Canteen too. the environment is awesome - but the THOUGHT of the soup I had, and any Asian inspired dishes, omg I am going to be sick just thinking of them. So this is definitely a must skip for me, lol!

 

[Dugette]

I stopped bringing a car seat on for Aria as soon as I was carrying it plus the stroller myself lol, however since we rent a car always, I check it in a bag (with tons of room for extra stuff ) anyway, I think you will be totally fine without a car seat.

Thanks, good to know. I'm thinking we'll be okay too, but feels so weird to think about NOT having it.

I have considered doing this but don't have the guts to. I did however start doing something different- instead of gate-checking our city select inside a bag, since we added on a 2nd seat for Maya and it got even heaver, I figured out a way to fold it and have all pieces attached - so now I stroll it down the entryway and quickly fold it when I get to the end. I know your stroller is even easier to fold, so I would just push it down and fold it at the end. That has helped significantly as that was my least favorite part about having the stroller. In August going to CA, I did this with Maya in the carrier and Aria walking alongside me. I do like having the stroller in the airport though 1- So I Can load it up with our stuff (backpack, toy suitcase, jackets, food that we purchase, etc) and Aria, even at 4.75 STILL loves her seat in it lol. And I don't have to worry about her keeping up, too.

Izzy's hit or miss on wanting to ride in the stroller - she's big on walking with me, but does sometimes want a rest. At any rate, I've thought about wheeling the stroller down and folding it (which would be really easy), but I worry about it getting dirty or damaged if not in the bag. It folds outward, so the full seat is exposed. Have you had any issues with yours? I guess at least our stroller is several years old and not sparkling clean anyway.

Yes I am 100% for the breakfast option. If we cannot 1) get a 10:30 CP or 2) move Ohana to 7:30am this day, I personally want to keep the 8am CP, not sure your thoughts on that? We still have some time though to grab the ADR though! (i.e. I definitely don't want to do lunch here).

I agree. We do still have the BoG PPO day to get castle pics and stuff.

SO cute! <3 Maya isn't giving kisses but loves to lean in for hugs (at least on the dogs and cats lol). We shall see how it goes!

And she shouldn't be allergic to the characters! Actually, Izzy STARTED giving kisses (to us) on that same trip, so you never know. Something about a piggy nose is irresistible, I guess.

Yes, I think I'll stroll up there to grab a RS the first time, and maybe Dug can hold Maya the second time lol. Hoping we can hop on Pooh or something while you ride!

Sounds great!

Depending on the timing, I envisioned using the RS later, just with the FP times but we'll see how things are going!

Yep, makes sense to me.

This will be fun, I know Aria will absolutely have a blast riding (maybe she, izzy and you will be able to share a bench, as I know she'd love to sit with Izzy). And I am sure Maya will love the Carpets (although Aria might get a little jealous!)

I wonder if we could share? I've never looked into that. Maybe we'll all have time for the carpets at some point.

Did you happen to see the extra FP in MDE? lol

No, do I need to be MDE "friends" w/Andrew maybe?

ugh, we had the same thing happen to us this summer where we had a PPO ADR at CP (wow, that's a lot of acronyms) but then they moved park opening and it was no longer PPO so we just dropped it. We like it but just wasn't worth the cost to us without the PPO benefits - and we had other table meals planned that day so figured it was for the best. Definitely hope you get the bunch option to work out!

Love all the acronyms. I really hope we can get thing re-arranged.

This trip they definitely asked Olivia how old she was when I went to take her and Peter on Mine Train and as she was 7 they let her ride alone but you need to be 7. I definitely rode with both of them together on Big Thunder so hopefully that works out for you!

Thanks for the input!

We wound up doing both the inside and outside at TS - the inside was just freezing so we had to leave, but I have to say we really liked the ouside - they had live music and the dole whipe drink is pretty darn good - plus you can get the pulled pork nachos from Captain Cook's and bring that out with you. So maybe just duck in and check out the inside and see an effect or two and then head out?

Sounds like a plan to me!

We did California Grill a few trips ago as a big group with another family (10 in total - including 4 kids ... this was pre-Emma) and we had a great time. They had us at one big table and we shared some flatbreads and other apps, etc. and then got to see the fireworks and stuff. So you should have a great time. We did find that the place largely clears of out kids after the fireworks but up until that point it feels pretty kid friendly. So tip for if you want a romantic "date night" plan to arrive close to firework time, and watch them with your pre-dinner cocktail and then have a quite meal aftewards

We have an early ADR, so no plans to do fireworks from there. Should be pretty kid-friendly then.

 

[Dugette]

You both probably already know this but the same thing happened with our 8:15 PPO at Crystal Palace & they still let us in the park early. We were still able to then get those empty park photos. You do use early park time eating breakfast but I didn't find that it really changed any of our plans & the waits were still reasonable after we got done eating.

Thanks for the input! Do you remember what time they let you in?

It's still so weird to read these updates and the girls are SO little since I have seen them grow up so much since this trip happened!!!

I know, it's such a blast from the past! Heck, even my ongoing land & sea report is like that for me because she was 2.5 and is now 4.

Really great updates, and y'all are doing a great job trading off.

Thank you! As I said to Lauren, it's pretty fun finding updates on my own report that I didn't have to put effort into.

I'm having to work on my laptop using it as a tablet, so I couldn't quote all of the stuff I wanted to comment on (catching up outside because the weather is so nice and DS is playing with his friends!), but the picture of Izzy creeping in the back while Aria is hugging Tinkerbell made me literally laugh out loud!! That is a great photo!

Glad you enjoyed it - that cracked me up too! It's why I put borders on some of the awkward photos - just too funny.

Yay for a Jedi training meet up! I'm so excited to meet you guys in person!! I also think Dug and Andrew will really hit it off. They have similar interests (aka Star Wars lol)

I can't wait to meet you guys as well! And you and Dug also share a love for Hamilton (he is VERY jealous you get to see it)!

Ps I'm totally giving up our sleep in day to do Jedi training with you guys lol. I decided to move our sleep in day to our Epcot day the next day. Fingers crossed it all works out and we can haul ourselves out of bed that morning after a potential late night the night before lol

I hope it works out and doesn't cause any issues! Thanks for doing that - hope we're not a letdown.

And I totally support your lack of car seat plan. Caden did really well at almost 3 with his iPad and headphones. I'm sure by now Izzy will be way fine. It also helped that I told him that the PILOT made the rule about seat belts and he was ALLLL about obeying the pilot. Lol

That's right - I have to remember that about the PILOT.

 

[Dugette]

First, thank you for doing all the month from today posts. You know me and weekends - I actually left work Thursday with the intention of signing on over the weekend, but then ended up doing SO MUCH this weekend I never had a free moment to do it. Phew.
Anyway

No worries, you had plenty going on. I actually didn't get to them until Sunday, as we were busy during the day and then I literally fell asleep immediately after Izzy on both Friday and Saturday night! (which would normally be at least somewhat DIS time...but I was clearly exhausted)

I envisioned grabbing a quick lunch somewhere in MK and leaving around 1-1:30 I think?

I'm willing to play it by ear. MK lunch is good or whenever we are hungry and it's convenient.

Yep definitely plan to do that! Hopefully we'll be able to all fit in one row, though, as I don't think they'll let the girls be in their own row? Hmm we'll see. if not then the boneyard will be fun.

I'm not sure what's allowed, but I know that you rode with both girls sitting next to you in 2014, so with Maya on your lap, it would fit.

LOL The ROL business (or lack thereof) is driving me insane! But def want to see the tree awakenings and stuff. That hot chocolate sounded great, too.

Agree on all! I could use some hot chocolate - it's starting to finally get colder here (we've had a very mild November). I noticed Disney's ROL page says "coming soon" - but maybe it's always said that.

I'm excited to return here. The food didn't really excite me too much, but now that I know Kona has sriracha sauce I am hoping to grab some for the potatoes, and between that and some waffles I'll be happy. Last time we ate there, Aria was unsure about the characters and didn't want anything to do with them (except for Mickey).

Yeah, Izzy should be much more interested in the characters now than our first visit. And I remember liking the food - and especially that it was brought right to us!

SO nice! I made a (short) list of the character meals that aren't buffets for this reason. If these solo parent trips continue I can see visiting only those and regular restaurants.

Smart!

Yes, that is very crazy!!

In our defense, we did once have a Chef Mickey's ADR booked (along with a night at BLT), but that was the trip we had to reschedule last minute to attend Dug's Nana's funeral, so we had to cancel it. (Dec. 2010 - only took us 6 years to get back there. )

Woohoo!! Yes, but I got to salivate looking at what Andrew and Aria got to eat. My bad experience was from the chef being really weird and making me something really disgusting as a substitution.

I hope it's great this time! The menu sounds yummy and I'm sure the girls will have fun!

It is really nice!! I appreciate that, since Aria will be able to ride some things. Before Dugette & family said they were going to come, I was envisioning booking 1 or 2 days of that babysitter care (in park) so that I could ride with her - but then that backfired when I got preggo so this works out so much better lol!

Haha, happy to help! I feel bad that you can't ride some things with Aria, but at least she's been on them before, so that's nice. I'm sure she will enjoy going on them with Izzy holding her hand.

I loved Skipper Canteen too. the environment is awesome - but the THOUGHT of the soup I had, and any Asian inspired dishes, omg I am going to be sick just thinking of them. So this is definitely a must skip for me, lol!

This baby really doesn't like Asian food, huh? I really want to enjoy the environment and the food is an afterthought.

 

[JanBlessed]

I just started reading this TR ( you are arriving at your first ADR ) and loving it already!

I didn't know that THIS is how you had met each other. That's AMAZING !!

....and my MIL would kill me, too

 

[Imagineer5]

Izzy's hit or miss on wanting to ride in the stroller - she's big on walking with me, but does sometimes want a rest. At any rate, I've thought about wheeling the stroller down and folding it (which would be really easy), but I worry about it getting dirty or damaged if not in the bag. It folds outward, so the full seat is exposed. Have you had any issues with yours? I guess at least our stroller is several years old and not sparkling clean anyway.

I haven't had any issues. We had been putting it in the bag for 4 years, but on the DL trip with 2 seats and me holding Maya, there was NO way I could attempt to drag it down the tarmac (or carry it lol). I have to fold it kind of funny, but both seats face out and no issues with it so far anyway. Fingers crossed that continues to be the case, at least it doesn't go very far you know? Certainly less throwing around than if I checked it with the luggage.

I agree. We do still have the BoG PPO day to get castle pics and stuff.

Yes - another option is to move BoG to the 10th for 10 or so, if we can get that (do you have an alert set up for that? I'm getting confused with all our alerts lol).

No, do I need to be MDE "friends" w/Andrew maybe?

Oh yeah, Andrew and "Marie"...

I'm willing to play it by ear. MK lunch is good or whenever we are hungry and it's convenient.

Yep exactly. Maybe an ice cream lunch today!! I have a feeling Aria and Maya would both agree with that idea (since the ice cream parlor has non dairy ice cream too lol).

I'm not sure what's allowed, but I know that you rode with both girls sitting next to you in 2014, so with Maya on your lap, it would fit.

Very true!! It would only be an issue if they had a # of people requirement (like 3 max). We'll see! That would stink if they do though - on future solo-parent trips I wouldn't be able to ride with Aria, Maya and baby! (or have to wait until Aria is 7, I guess)

I hope it's great this time! The menu sounds yummy and I'm sure the girls will have fun!

I am SO excited to get to try the warm sticky bun thing. Andrew doesn't like sweets in the morning, but I MADE him try some because otherwise it would totally go to waste I think it will be fantastic now. Maya will get to enjoy some tater tots and maybe bacon or something plus whatever squeeze packet I bring. Since Aria loves chicken breast/chicken nuggets I'm going to try and order that at most places with a side of broccoli or something, so that Maya can have bites of it along with the packets - she LOVES chicken too.

Haha, happy to help! I feel bad that you can't ride some things with Aria, but at least she's been on them before, so that's nice. I'm sure she will enjoy going on them with Izzy holding her hand.

Yes thankfully nothing NEW that I'm missing out on!! She won't even miss riding with me, having Izzy to sit next to lol!

This morning Aria asked me why we didn't have a magic band countdown chain going, and I said we just hadn't had the time, but we can certainly make one tonight. I said are you so excited to go on a trip with Maya and me? And she goes, well Izzy and her mommy and daddy are coming too!! LOL apparently we aren't good enough for her hahaha.

This baby really doesn't like Asian food, huh? I really want to enjoy the environment and the food is an afterthought.

Seriously!! It doesn't help that the only entrée on the menu that "typically" sounds good is the soup (which was really good) but it is asain-y and sounds terrible right now. But yes, the atmosphere is fantastic.

I just started reading this TR ( you are arriving at your first ADR ) and loving it already!

I didn't know that THIS is how you had met each other. That's AMAZING !!

....and my MIL would kill me, too

Thank you!! Hahaha yes, gotta love the DIS!! <3

I'll work on a new update today

 

[Imagineer5]

Okay we last left off heading out of the MK after a cute Tinkerbelle meet! Our next destination was EPCOT. This also happened to be right around nap time, so Aria fell asleep on the short drive over and Izzy may have too - but they were both fast asleep in the strollers upon entering EPCOT.

We first used a kiosk for some same-day FP's, and had a very nosy CM who wouldn't leave us alone, but finally we got what we needed done. A trip around Test Track was in order! But then, the skies opened up and it started DOWNPOURING! We were a bit unsure about our plans bc of the rain and sleeping girls, so we spent some time in Innoventions taking notes on our new FP, then ran across to Mouse Gear, and finally decided to head to Mexico. Dugette hung out with the girls inside La Hacienda, where people were taking cover from the rain (it's closed for lunch, but they open it up for indoor CS seating! I ran inside to La Cava and waited in a shortish line for some margaritas!

For myself a passionfruit one was in order mmmm

Not sure which one Dugette ordered, maybe the avocado? IDK but I got back to where she was sitting and she ran out to grab some chips & salsa to snack on (I didn't have enough hands for it all lol). It was packed at that point and I don't think they wanted to let her back in but she convinced the CM that her DD was sleeping inside haha

We enjoyed our margaritas and the chips and the girls got a really good nap in, but eventually we decided to brave the rain! We headed to Karamel Kuche for some treats on the go!

Sleeping Aria. Looks like I may have purchased some things from Mouse Gear for her (I have a terrible tendency to buy her things while she is asleep).

Sleeping Izzy and Dugette in line

I took this photo. Them somehow we completely FORGOT to take our treats with us?!?!?!

Soon afterwards the girls started stirring and Dugette wanted to check out the "new" American Adventure restrooms she'd read about...well the ones we went into weren't anything special LOL but she figured out later that the neat ones are on the right hand side, and we went to the left. Oh well! We continued around as we had some more letter-photo taking to do!

We made it to France and started with Izzy and P!

She was being pretty cooperative

The A didn't go AS well lol

Aria was NOT having anything to do with the letters in France, so we cut our losses and headed to Maelstrom where we had snagged FP's.

RIP Maelstrom!

And inside to visit with the troll! Izzy was not so sure

And I think once again Aria was even less cooperative. So we went outside trying to get some letter photos. Andrew's family is Dutch with some German thrown in, so I thought Germany would be a good spot to grab some photos for the PAPA and DAD collages.

Aria was refusing to look at me.

This picture CRACKES ME UP. Look at that angry face. And I had to put the letter down because she wouldn't stop putting her arm through the hole.

Our attempt at an A photo didn't go much better. (yes, she was covering her face with her hair).

We stopped back into Karamel Kuche and after a few minutes they found our pre packaged goodies behind the counter (phew) so we safetly stored those and continued over to Mexico! Donald's Boat Ride for the win! Aria's hair was doing some crazy stuff in the humidity so don't mind that...

Another must-do was meeting Duffy!! Not sure if RIP Duffy works here as he still meets in a few locations but not at WDW or DL So sad!

I guess Aria went up first

Man, she was miss sourpuss this afternoon.

I think Izzy was being shy again

After Duffy we went back to future world. Coming up - we had a dinner reservation at Garden Grill!

 

[Imagineer5]

Back to the future, I wanted to comment on our dining plans because, well, I'm really excited. We haven't been eating out as much lately as Maya is a peach (lol) and we've just been so busy we haven't had time! (Good dining near us requires going into the city, either Providence or Boston or so).

So I am going to look through the menus and comment about each restaurant, hope you don't mind! <3

1. Hollywood & Vine Minnie's Christmas dinner

Well this is actually a bad place to start, because I know very little about the actual menu. We made this 100% for the characters! I did a little digging though and found some photos and info, first they decorate H&V for the holidays with some cute displays.

I LOVE pretzel bread, so I hope they still have these (the cranberry butter sounds fun, too)

I'll skip past salads (I don't eat meat, but I don't like salad either)...although they do have Caprese salad which I love. Aria has been known to eat Caprese solely for dinner, so she'll be excited to see that. And a roasted butternut squash soup.

Going to skip right past the shrimp, the collard greens...the pork...Brussels sprouts...Maybe try some salmon. They have mashed potatoes AND a sweet potato casserole. So yeah, sticking with my carb load which is fine by me :-D

Ooh excited to try their pumpkin ravioli

I may have peeked some tater tots at the kids buffet.

Aria will ask for a plate ful of these

Overall sounds like we definitely won't go away hungry. Maya will enjoy some turkey and tater tots, maybe some other things based on an allergy buffet menu I hear they bring out to the tables now vs having a chef come over (though they still do that if you need them to). Plus for every meal I will carry around fruit/veggie pouches so she definitely won't go hungry!!

**************

2. Akershus Breakfast

Once again- hello PRINCESSES!! This is another meal not really known for its food. However, still looking forward to it of course!

This one is semi-buffet and semi-served. At the buffet are pastries, cheeses, etc. I've never found anything up there that Wowed me, but all still good and filling. The family-style served portion has eggs, bacon, sausage, and cheesy potatoes. Can you guess which one I'll enjoy?? Aria will eat the eggs and meat. There won't be much for Maya - maybe they can make an allergy waffle or something for her?

**************

3. Disney Springs dinner. Currently have a reservation at the Boathouse. For those reading my Jan/Feb TR, this review is upcoming - but it happened to be one of the best meals of the trip for ALL of us! It didn't hurt we got to sit in the boat-table!!

I had the fish tacos (Mahi) and they were amazing, so I'd order those again. All the meals were great though with tons of flavor.

***BUT*** we may skip this and instead do Blaze:

I did a trial run of Blaze in Boston a couple months ago, and we were REALLY impressed. But I love pizza. We eat it every Friday night :-D This will be a "if Maya is a PITA in restaurants, maybe we'll take a night off and do something quick" type dinner.

Another option might be the AristoCrepes but it seems to open and close randomly, so not even sure it'll be open? I really enjoy crepes though - the Turkey one sounds good!

One further option is Frontera Cocina. I have a major hankering for Mexican food, so this would satisfy that very well. They have multiple guacamole options, a chicken tortilla soup, a chipotle chicken tostada, yummy tacos, enchiladas. I could find a LOT here!

I can't salivate too long over the cocktails but the food does sound amazing.

Queso fundido served with warm corn tortillas

Hmmm I might be rethinking that Boathouse Open Table reservation... @Dugette? LOL.

 

[Dugette]

Hmmm I might be rethinking that Boathouse Open Table reservation... @Dugette? LOL.

I'll respond to the rest later, but I seriously want to DIVE into that queso fundido right now!!

 

[Imagineer5]

4. Assuming plans don't change, our next ADR is for Crystal Palace breakfast. This is a MUST DO for every single trip. Not just for the pre park opening photos (though that's a huge bonus, that we won't get on this day most likely as MK hours changed) but because I love meeting the Pooh characters, and the food is fabulous. Once again it's carb overload, as my favorite items (in this order!) are the breakfast lasagna, puffed toast, and the multitude of breakfast potato options including the home fries and a cheesey potato casserole.

I like to round out my plate with a croissant or two.

Aria will likely enjoy a Mickey waffle, bacon and fruit (much more well-rounded, I think!). Maya will have some fruit and possibly a croissant - YES, baked dairy allergy means she can have that, I tried it out this weekend with no hives!! woohoo!

************

5. Actually my two must-do's happen in the same day!! California Grill is up for dinner tonight. I've always had a great experience here, and January was no exception even with the allergy.

In both January and May I ordered the artisan tacos. The FLAVOR, ugh! So amazing. - Adobo Fish or Braised Pork, House-made Cilantro-Corn Tortillas, Chipotle Crèma, Pico de Gallo

Looking at their newest menu, these are thankfully still there, along with some other contenders:
Creamy Potato-Gruyère Bisque
Multi-Grain Maine Lobster Roll Crostini, Harissa Oil

The old go-to favorite (I've been ordering this since 2007?)
Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli - Tomato-Fennel Broth, crispy Mushrooms, Tiny Basil, Benziger Estate Olive Oil

I honestly do listen to most if not all pregnancy related do's and don't's, and not eating swordfish is one of them. I have ordered it once in the last 2 years (pregnancy, then nursing) - actually that was when I was pregnant with #3 at Disneyland and didn't know it. But it's one of my favorite things. They have this, which sounds amazing -

Florida Swordfish
Baby Squash, Young Heirloom Tomatoes, French Beans, Fermented Garlic, Pinot Noir Syrup

But I'll probably abstain.

Aria generally gets the kid's grilled chicken breast here, and I'll ask the waiter to have them make it dairy/egg/peanut free so I can give some to Maya. She loves chicken!

Mmm this is going to be a delicious day!!

****************

7. Be Our Guest breakfast. This was a letdown on that Jan trip, as the allergy options aren't great. So this time is a do-over, with another breakfast favorite - the Cro-nut. It comes with another of my favorite things, a bananas foster sauce.

Even more ridiculous, it also includes a plateful of pastries! I need to remember to pack some Ziploc bags to bring the extras with us lol!

For Aria/Maya I am thinking of getting the allergy waffles or French toast sticks which come with fruit and they can share.

**************

8. Tiffins!! A newbie to add to my dining repertoire (I am about 5 restaurants away from visiting every TS place at WDW, that used to be more like 2 but then they started opening new places up at DS...Another bonus for Frontera Cocina as that'd cross that one off the list!!!).

Now, normally I LOVE LOVE flavors. Asian, indian, anything really. My least favorite meal is something so American it has no flavor. Let me rephrase that - I don't do plain food. And lots of American food is pretty plain - mac & cheese, burgers, fried chicken, meatloaf, etc. But kick it up a notch and I'm pretty happy. I make a jalapeno mac & cheese at home when we're feeling homey. Anyway, all this is to say, this pregnancy is kicking me in the butt because I can't DO or THINK or SMELL Asian, indian, etc. So Tiffins is sort of scaring me. But I'm going to go with it anyway!

For apps, the two that sound good are

Black-Eyed Pea Fritters - Zhough, Yogurt, Peppadew Purée - $11.00

or if I can get past my current curry-aversion:

Lobster-Popcorn Thai Curry Soup - Lime-Basil Emulsion, Popped Sorghum - $13.00

For the entrée, probably the

Chermoula-rubbed Chicken - Couscous, Dried Fruits, Picholine Olives, Preserved Lemon, Harissa Yogurt - $34.00

Or I might just do the fritters and a goat cheese/beet salad, if my stomach is not behaving.

This dessert does sound great though - Passion Fruit Tapioca Créme - Chocolate Crumble, Citrus Fruits - $9.00


I'm also super excited to check out the interior

I haven't talked about this much (I'm feigning ignorance of the amazing cocktails at these places) but I am excited about Tiffins' non alcoholic specialties, which include a Zingiber Fizzie - passion fruit puree, mint, ginger beer, lime juice, and the Hibiscus Henna - watermelon, hibiscus, soda water, lime juice. Maybe I'll order both and share them with Aria (and Maya, not sure what she'll think of the fizz).

Also the bread service sounds wonderful - a pomegranate focaccia bread served with pomegranate, molasses and olive oil

So this meal will definitely differ based on how I'm feeling (and I'm sure Aria will order grilled chicken again, but there is a beef option or even pasta/sauce). Sometimes she can be a PITA eating out too (behaves well, but doesn't want to eat) so I may give her some of what I order if that has been the case thus far.

**************

9. Ohana breakfast.

This meal is supposed to be a bit more relaxed, without having to rush off to the park, and being served vs. buffet. However the options are fairly limited IMO, with family style servings of eggs, bacon, sausage, mickey waffles, potatoes, and bread?

I'll enjoy the potatoes and crossing my fingers they have some good hot sauce (not tabsasco).

Aria will be happy with the offerings, and I'll ask for an allergy waffle or something for Maya.

************

10. Chef Mickeys Dinner

This one I just reviewed in my Jan TR but since it included allergy stuff, I'll ignore that. Generally they have a great chicken option, salmon -

Lots of pasta options, scalloped potatoes, mashed potatoes, etc. We won't go hungry here and there's a ton to choose from!

Their caramel bread pudding for dessert is also fab!

Not sure if they give an allergy menu or if they still send a chef out to walk the buffet with you, so we'll play that by ear but I'm sure I'll be able to get a small plate together for Maya. I have never given her fish nor tested her for it, so I'll stay away from any of that for this trip.

**************

11. Yes in 5 nights, we are going to 11 TS restaurants Garden Grill breakfast! Good to go out with a bang though, so I am stupidly excited about this adr too. This also goes on my very-short list of TS restaurants that have characters but aren't buffets, and luckily this food has always been stellar. (Well, I did BF in Jan and it was terrible, but that was thanks to a misinformed chef and allergies).

First up, the skillet cinnamon bun with warm vanilla frosting sounds Ahhh mazing.

In addition to that, they bring out fruit AND a platter of food - mickey waffles (WITH a chocolate hazelnut sauce), eggs, TATER TOTS, bacon and ham. AND biscuts and gravy. Once again I'll be carb loading, but man I think I should just ask for another plate of tater tots right away! haha.

And that's basically IT!

However along with these TS places, we have a few (quick, small bites) that I need to figure out - including lunchtime at H&V, 3x MK lunchtime (one of which will probably be an ice cream lunch), and an EPCOT lunch. Just something as simple as a jalapeno cream cheese pretzel would work, or a food booth or whatnot. Maybe Sleepy Hollow for another MK day.

Thanks for indulging me in our good eats!! Excited that we're just over 3 weeks away now!! Eek!

Aria loves ham, so she'll have that, fruit, bacon, tater tots and eggs. She may be convinced to try the sticky bun. Not sure if ham has dairy/egg/peanut (maybe dairy??) but if not, Maya would probably like it, along with some tater tots and fruit.

 

[jeni16]

Thanks for the input! Do you remember what time they let you in?

We arrived at 7:40-7:45 & they had no issues with letting us in for our 8:15 ADR. Which was good because I don't know that we would have made it through the regular lines of people otherwise. It was a zoo!

A nice photopass photographer even had us turn around and face the castle instead & captured the opening fireworks in the background.

 

[Dugette]

I haven't had any issues. We had been putting it in the bag for 4 years, but on the DL trip with 2 seats and me holding Maya, there was NO way I could attempt to drag it down the tarmac (or carry it lol). I have to fold it kind of funny, but both seats face out and no issues with it so far anyway. Fingers crossed that continues to be the case, at least it doesn't go very far you know? Certainly less throwing around than if I checked it with the luggage.

Good to know - and true about it not going too far. Of course, with both Dug and I on this trip, might just bag/carry it anyway, since we won't have a carseat or much else to carry on.

Yes - another option is to move BoG to the 10th for 10 or so, if we can get that (do you have an alert set up for that? I'm getting confused with all our alerts lol).

I don't have a BoG alert. I thought about it, but decided it didn't totally make sense because we don't have any alternatives on the 11th. Or something. I'm confused too.

Oh yeah, Andrew and "Marie"...

Okay, just sent the invites.

Yep exactly. Maybe an ice cream lunch today!! I have a feeling Aria and Maya would both agree with that idea (since the ice cream parlor has non dairy ice cream too lol).

Sounds yummy. Izzy made me buy some ice cream for her at the grocery store the other day. Gave her a small bowl for dessert and she wouldn't eat it because it wasn't in a cone. She failed to mention that requirement. Also, I've never seen her eat an ice cream cone, so not sure she actually would like it.

Very true!! It would only be an issue if they had a # of people requirement (like 3 max). We'll see! That would stink if they do though - on future solo-parent trips I wouldn't be able to ride with Aria, Maya and baby! (or have to wait until Aria is 7, I guess)

Yeah, and that's what I've never looked into. Hope it's not an issue for you!

I am SO excited to get to try the warm sticky bun thing. Andrew doesn't like sweets in the morning, but I MADE him try some because otherwise it would totally go to waste I think it will be fantastic now. Maya will get to enjoy some tater tots and maybe bacon or something plus whatever squeeze packet I bring. Since Aria loves chicken breast/chicken nuggets I'm going to try and order that at most places with a side of broccoli or something, so that Maya can have bites of it along with the packets - she LOVES chicken too.

Yes, the GG breakfast sounds really yummy. Izzy's a chicken nugget fan, but hit or miss on non-nugget chicken.

Yes thankfully nothing NEW that I'm missing out on!! She won't even miss riding with me, having Izzy to sit next to lol!

This morning Aria asked me why we didn't have a magic band countdown chain going, and I said we just hadn't had the time, but we can certainly make one tonight. I said are you so excited to go on a trip with Maya and me? And she goes, well Izzy and her mommy and daddy are coming too!! LOL apparently we aren't good enough for her hahaha.

Aw, well I'm sure she's happy to have you and Maya there too...I'm not sure what she'd think if you just dropped her with us and took off. Izzy's excited to be there with Aria too, however I've noticed she keeps mixing up Aria and a friend here (well, 45 mins away) that she only sees a few times per year - she seems to think they are the same person. But then I realized that, even though May 2015 doesn't seem that long ago to ME, Izzy was only 2.5! So, I guess it's reasonable that she's a bit confused. Then I told her, "I'm sure you'll remember her when you see her and be friends really fast." She replied, "Mommy, we're ALREADY friends!!!"

Seriously!! It doesn't help that the only entrée on the menu that "typically" sounds good is the soup (which was really good) but it is asain-y and sounds terrible right now. But yes, the atmosphere is fantastic.

I don't know what I'll eat there (I think they had some fancy mac & cheese or something? - I need to look at menus again), but I'm excited to experience the atmosphere of the place.