It’s Disney, Four Hours of Sleep is Normal! Mother Daughter 2018 F&W TR! (Updated 9/22!)

Sounds like a nice lunch! It's sweet that they welcomed you back and even gave you a parting gift!

I know, I love that they do that. I keep reading reports on here when people have repeat visits to resorts they get welcomed back, which has never happened to us, even though we always stay at YC or BC! So it's nice that at least Tiffins will welcome us back! Plus we like the additional chocolate we get at the end of our meal!
 
Day 5, Part 4: Pandora!

Once we wrapped up at Tiffins we still had about 15 minutes until our FP+ time for FoP. We made our way over to Pandora to take some pictures and just explore the area. Last year it was so packed back there we didn’t really get a chance to explore, so it was nice that there were lower crowds there this day so we could.

We of course had to stop at the PP photographers!






I think our PP photographer was new to this spot...

Then we found these fun guys that spit water at you. We spent a lot of time here taking pictures and trying to make them spray us!












We then took some more pictures around the area, it really is so cool back there! It was actually pretty amazing how empty some areas were, such a huge change from last year when we visited!














It was getting closer to our FP+ time, and I wanted to use the 5 minute window before it opened, although I wasn’t sure if it would work for FoP. We decided to try it out anyways, and it did work!

We made our way through the queue, and had a short wait before it was our turn to ride, but only about 10 minutes.

FoP was, as always, amazing! I love this ride, it really is too bad we only get to ride it once each trip. Although now with DAH at AK, we may actually be able to ride more than once next fall!

After FoP, the heat started to get to us and we were ready for a break, so we made our way out of the park to the buses.

Luck was on our side today, and as we were walking up to the bus stop, our bus pulled up! What great timing! Feels like winning the lottery when you have a zero minute wait for a bus!

We were back at the BC by 2:15, and quickly made our way upstairs to change into our bathing suits for some quality pool time!

By 2:30 we were heading down to the pool. On the way over, we looked out the window and noticed how empty the pool area was, there was no one out there! We thought we had amazing luck.

Well, we were wrong, ha! Turns out the pool was closed!

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Apparently even though there was bright blue sky above us, there were storms nearby, so they had to close the pool.

We decided to wait it out, we figured with the beautiful blue sky above us, the storm was probably moving away. It was a good decision because the pool reopened about 10 minutes later! Wahoo!

It was nice being there right as it reopened since we had our choice of chairs, and the pool stayed relatively empty for a while. We ended up swimming for about an hour.

After the swim we headed back up to the room to rest up for our big night!

Next up: Pre-DAH!

 
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Then we found these fun guys that spit water at you. We spent a lot of time here taking pictures and trying to make them spray us!

Yes! Aren't those things so fun? You got some great pictures :)

BUmmer the pool was closed initially, but it sounds like it worked out, with it opening pretty soon after and staying pretty quiet. :)
 
Great pics in Pandora! I'm glad you were able to spend some time enjoying it and walking around without so many crowds!
 


I read your statement about 15 minutes until your FP as you only had 15 minutes left to use it and I was so worried you were going to miss it hahaha then my brain smartened up and I realized I had just read it completely wrong lol

So frustrating when the pool is closed! On DH and I's trip in July we made our way down to the pool and I had commented it would probably close as soon as we got there and sure enough as we were walking through the pool area I could hear them radioing to close the pool lol can almost count on the pool closures!
 
Yes! Aren't those things so fun? You got some great pictures :)

They are! We didn't see them last year when we went, so it was awesome to discover and jump and wave like crazy people trying to get them to spit at us!

BUmmer the pool was closed initially, but it sounds like it worked out, with it opening pretty soon after and staying pretty quiet. :)

Yeah, we were super sad when we got down there to find it was closed, but glad we waited! Love that pool, especially when it's that empty!
 
Great pics in Pandora! I'm glad you were able to spend some time enjoying it and walking around without so many crowds!

Thanks! Yeah, it was so nice to be able to actually see all the details we missed last year due to the crowds. It really is such a cool land!
 


I read your statement about 15 minutes until your FP as you only had 15 minutes left to use it and I was so worried you were going to miss it hahaha then my brain smartened up and I realized I had just read it completely wrong lol

Haha! Yeah, with my mom with me, being late will never happen! She's one to show up 15 minutes early to everything!

So frustrating when the pool is closed! On DH and I's trip in July we made our way down to the pool and I had commented it would probably close as soon as we got there and sure enough as we were walking through the pool area I could hear them radioing to close the pool lol can almost count on the pool closures!

Seriously, especially that week because it was so ridiculous hot! All we wanted to do was jump in! That's so annoying that they closed the pool for you guys just as you arrived! Stupid storms ruining pool time!
 
I fell behind but had so much fun catching up. Secret definitely out about the bakery in France. Last I was there an entire field trip of middle schoolers was there...UGH! I love a nearly empty World Showcase. I did the Italian lunch too - but with a different menu. They were decidedly NOT free with refills (this was late Oct), which was disappointing. Oh no, on your mom not feeling well... that stinks. I love what they’ve done with Disney Springs but agree I’m not too enthralled with the redesigned World of Disney. I’ve only done Tiffins for a special event. I loved it so not sure why I haven’t made my way back. Must fix this. Maybe over holiday break if I dare brave the crowds.
 
I fell behind but had so much fun catching up. Secret definitely out about the bakery in France. Last I was there an entire field trip of middle schoolers was there...UGH! I love a nearly empty World Showcase. I did the Italian lunch too - but with a different menu. They were decidedly NOT free with refills (this was late Oct), which was disappointing. Oh no, on your mom not feeling well... that stinks. I love what they’ve done with Disney Springs but agree I’m not too enthralled with the redesigned World of Disney. I’ve only done Tiffins for a special event. I loved it so not sure why I haven’t made my way back. Must fix this. Maybe over holiday break if I dare brave the crowds.

Thanks! It's a bummer the secret is out about the bakery, I would have been shocked to walk back there to find a field trip of kids! At least the food is still fantastic, and starting the day with a mimosa is always fun! :drinking1

I'm sorry you didn't have the drink refills at your lunch, we were shocked that they did that for ours but it was definitely welcome! Maybe they had pricier bottles at yours and didn't want to use as much?

Did you ever make it over to Tiffins over the holidays? We love that place so much, can't wait to go again next year!
 
I was off the boards for awhile due to my trip. I came home and it seemed like it took me forever to get caught up with work, getting ready for Christmas, and sleep. I had a five day, four night trip, but only slept 3-4 hours every night at Disney. Disney insomnia, but you know about that! The day after I got home, it hit hard. I've been sleeping nine hours a night to catch up!

I haven't tried Tiffins yet, but so many trip reporters seem to love it. I need to give it a try next trip. I was able to eat at Satu'li Canteen and really enjoyed it. That was probably the best quick service meal I've ever had at Disney.

Your pictures in Pandora are beautiful! FOP is definitely my new favorite ride in all of Disney. I was lucky enough to ride it twice, once at rope drop and later with the fast pass. Just amazing and lives up to the hype!

Bummer about the pool, but smart of you to wait it out!
 
Day 5, Part 5: Pre-DAH

Around 5:00 we headed over to Epcot to swing by some food booths for dinner. Our first stop was France where my mom got the escargot croissant.



She loved it! I tried a bite, and while I enjoyed the flavors, I was not a big fan of the texture of the escargot.

Next stop was Morocco where I got the hummus fries! These were really good and nice and spicy!


I have no idea what that drink is...apparently we got a beer at some point on the way over to Morocco!

We made our way around WS, where our next stop was Belgium where I got the beef and the beer flight. They were out of one of the beers in the flight though, so ended up doubling up one of them. They had also run out of the cards describing each beer. Surprised they were running out of these things so early in the festival!



The beef was really good, and the beer flight was too, although I would have liked to have tried all three beers!

Our next stop was Italy where my mom got the rigatoni and I got a glass of prosecco.



My mom loved the rigatoni, I thought it was good, but pretty basic. The prosecco was really nice.

After Belgium, we swung by Spain where I picked up one of the red wines (oops, forgot to write down which one!). This was really good, and surprisingly not too heavy for the afternoon heat.

We then made our way over to China where I got the dumplings. I got these last year too, and I guess I keep forgetting I’m not a fan of Disney dumplings, ha! They had good flavor, but were just a bit too crispy for me, I’m a much bigger fan of steamed dumplings.


Dumplings and the red wine from Spain.

Finally, we hit up the Greece booth where my mom got the Taste of Greece and I got the wine flight. The taste of Greece was fantastic this year, I liked it a lot better than last years version, and the wine flight was great!



While we were eating our goodies from Greece I look up and see this stunner!



At some point while we were eating, I checked MDE to see if I could get any FP+ for the MK that evening before DAH. I found one for the Jungle cruise from 6:30-7:30 so snagged it. We never have had luck getting FP+ that late in the day, usually most of the rides show no availability, so it was exciting to finally be able to get a FP+ after 5PM!

After finishing up at Greece we made our way over to the monorail to make our way over to MK for DAH!

Next: DAH, Part 1!

 
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She loved it! I tried a bite, and while I enjoyed the flavors, I was not a big fan of the texture of the escargot.

Next stop was Morocco where I got the hummus fries! These were really good and nice and spicy!
Totally agree with you--loved the flavors of the escargot but not the texture. We picked it out and just ate the croissant. :) And the hummus fries were also yummy--i loved the slaw with them.

We made our way around WS, where our next stop was Belgium where I got the beef and the beer flight. They were out of one of the beers in the flight though, so ended up doubling up one of them. They had also run out of the cards describing each beer. Surprised they were running out of these things so early in the festival!
I was so disappointed that they were already running out of things! Ridiculous--they should be able to estimate this type of stuff better, or at least not run out so early in the festival, like the beaker at the Light Lab and such.

Finally, we hit up the Greece booth where my mom got the Taste of Greece and I got the wine flight. The taste of Greece was fantastic this year, I liked it a lot better than last years version, and the wine flight was great!
That taste of Greece was really yummy.
 
Day 5, Part 6: DAH, Part 1!

We ended up arriving at MK just before 7:00, and headed to the DAH entrance. When we arrived they only had wrist bands and no lanyards. Not a big deal, I had read on these boards they were giving out the lanyards at the end of the event now.

Well, we got into the park, and my mom immediately noticed there were people with lanyards. She started to panic thinking they were going to kick us out because we only had wristbands! HA! Oh mom.

I assured her we were fine and we only needed the wrist bands.

Since we were well into our FP+ window at that point, we made our way over to JC! It was a fun cheesy ride as always!

Next, we stopped by Pirates where there was a short wait, only about 10 minutes. Not too bad for pre-DAH! Actually, the MK in general seemed less crowded this trip during normal park hours than in past Septembers! We loved it!


This picture makes me laugh, hardly anyone looks happy!

We then made our way over to Frontierland where we found BTMRR had zero wait, so of course we had to go for a ride!

Btw, still annoyed they don’t have a picture on this one! Seems like a better ride for a picture than Pirates!

After BTMRR, it was about 7:50, and my mom really wanted to watch the fireworks. I didn’t want to deal with the crowds in the hub, so we ended up watching them from the Frontierland bridge!

I know a big part of HEA is the castle projections, but we actually ended up loving the view from the bridge. We could see some of the projections from there, and had a great view of the fireworks. Plus, we were all by ourselves!




Love the reflections in the water!

DAH didn’t start until 9:00 that night, so we weren’t sure what to expect for wait times before it started. We were pleasantly surprised to find practically no waits around the park though!

Once the fireworks ended we headed over to Splash where it was walk-on! We rode it three times in a row, the last time we had a log all to ourselves!






By the time we got on for our third ride, DAH had officially started.

After the third ride, since DAH had officially started, my mom wanted to go get some free snacks! She was obsessed with getting her money's worth at this event! Ha!

We made our way over to the cart by LTT where there was a very short line, only about 4 people ahead of us. We only waited about 1 minute! We ended up getting Mickey ice cream bars and cokes.

We stopped at one of the benches by the water to enjoy our snacks before moving on.

So far a great start to the night, we managed to get 5 rides in plus watch the fireworks all before the event even started!


Next up: DAH, Part 2!
 
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I was off the boards for awhile due to my trip. I came home and it seemed like it took me forever to get caught up with work, getting ready for Christmas, and sleep. I had a five day, four night trip, but only slept 3-4 hours every night at Disney. Disney insomnia, but you know about that! The day after I got home, it hit hard. I've been sleeping nine hours a night to catch up!

Ugh, I know all too well about the Disney insomnia! We always joke when we get home from our trip that we need a vacation to recover from our Disney vacation!

I haven't tried Tiffins yet, but so many trip reporters seem to love it. I need to give it a try next trip. I was able to eat at Satu'li Canteen and really enjoyed it. That was probably the best quick service meal I've ever had at Disney.

Oh I totally recommend Tiffins! The food is amazing! Also love the Nomad lounge there, has great food as well and fun drinks! I've never tried Satu'li Canteen, we'll have to check it out sometime, I've heard great things about it!

Your pictures in Pandora are beautiful! FOP is definitely my new favorite ride in all of Disney. I was lucky enough to ride it twice, once at rope drop and later with the fast pass. Just amazing and lives up to the hype!

Thank you! It was relatively empty back there that day so we had so much fun just exploring taking tons of photos! Isn't FOP amazing? We love that ride so much!

Bummer about the pool, but smart of you to wait it out!

Yeah, it was annoying, especially with beautiful blue sky above us! At least it opened soon after we arrived though!
 
Totally agree with you--loved the flavors of the escargot but not the texture. We picked it out and just ate the croissant. :) And the hummus fries were also yummy--i loved the slaw with them.

Yes! The texture was just so, wrong! Haha! The hummus fries were awesome though!


I was so disappointed that they were already running out of things! Ridiculous--they should be able to estimate this type of stuff better, or at least not run out so early in the festival, like the beaker at the Light Lab and such.

Yeah, I don't understand how so early in the festival they were already out of things! Most of the drink flights we got they had already run out of the cards describing each drink!


That taste of Greece was really yummy.

It was so good this year, much better than last years! Excited to see what they come up with for next year!
 
Day 5, Part 7: DAH, Part 2!

After we finished up our snacks, we made our way over to HM where we walked right on! On the way out of HM, we stopped at the PP photographer there.



At that point my mom really wanted to go ride PPF. I was not a fan of this idea since I had read that even during DAH it’s a huge time suck, but my mom really wanted to go, so I obliged.

Unfortunately, I was right, it was a huge time suck. We ended up waiting in line for 25 minutes! Ugh.

Ok, note to self, if we do this event again, do not go on PPF!

After that ride we made our way over to Main Street to get some pictures with a nearly empty park!









Look how empty this place is!







After taking tons of pictures of a very empty park, we made our way over to ride Space!



Our next stop was Buzz! Like most rides (besides PPF) the ride was walk-on!



I easily beat my mom once again!

After Buzz my mom wanted to grab more free snacks, so we stopped by the cart in Tomorrowland where she got the frozen banana and I got the ice cream sandwich, we also picked up two waters.

We stopped at a bench in Tomorrowland to enjoy the snacks. Afterwards we trekked back across the park to our favorite ride, Splash!



We ended up riding three times in a row again! There was no wait, but they wouldn’t let us just stay in the log so we had to keep getting out and re-walking the queue. I wish there was a shorter way back there, it would save so much time!

Sadly, by the time we wrapped up our third ride on Splash, we were approaching the end of the event! It went by SO FAST! My mom wanted to take advantage of the free snacks once again, so we stopped at the cart in Frontierland to pick up some popcorn and two more waters.

It was midnight by the time we grabbed our snacks, so we made our way slowly out of the park. As we exited there was a CM with a handful of lanyards passing them out. There was a line to get them from her, but we decided to wait because it was a fun and free souvenir. We ended up getting very lucky, by the time we got to the CM, she only had three lanyards left and was saying that was it, there were no more!

After grabbing our lanyards, we headed over to the bus stop. We ended up waiting about 15 minutes for our bus, not too bad. It was nice having the popcorn with us to nibble on while we waited and on the trip home!

So overall review of DAH: It was amazing. Just amazing. I would do this event again in a heartbeat. I could not believe how empty the park was, and we loved how most rides were walk-on! By far our favorite add-on this trip! I had read reviews of really long lines at the snack carts, but for our event we didn’t see any of that. The three times we stopped at the carts there were only a few families ahead of us. Maybe we just got lucky with the carts we visited!

Step Count for this Day: 29,701

Total Miles: 12.4

Next up: Keys to the Kingdom!

 
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At that point my mom really wanted to go ride PPF. I was not a fan of this idea since I had read that even during DAH it’s a huge time suck, but my mom really wanted to go, so I obliged.

Unfortunately, I was right, it was a huge time suck. We ended up waiting in line for 25 minutes! Ugh.

Ok, note to self, if we do this event again, do not go on PPF!

Fun night! You have some great photos of an empty MK. :) As for PPF, I found the advice to leave that one and SDMT to the end of the night to work pretty well--we rode it about 40 minutes before closing and ended up only waiting about 5 minutes. But some of that may just be luck--right as we got off a bunch of people got in line, so that may have bumped up the wait. All of that to say, I'm sorry you waited so long for it!
 
I believe Spice Road Table has the same hummus fries that are sold during Food & Wine Festival. Those things are delish!

Italy used to have a really good ravioli during F&W. I haven't seen it for a few years now. I think that rigatoni replaced it. Glad your mom liked it.

Were all rides open during DAH? I know EMM is limited on which rides you can go on, but I've wondered about DAH. I would be like your mom with trying to get your monies worth on snacks! Why not?! I take it this was on off night from a Halloween Party?

Keys to the Kingdom? I love that you do so many extra events at Disney! I still want to do the progressive monorail dinner you and mom did a year or two ago.
 
Fun night! You have some great photos of an empty MK. :) As for PPF, I found the advice to leave that one and SDMT to the end of the night to work pretty well--we rode it about 40 minutes before closing and ended up only waiting about 5 minutes. But some of that may just be luck--right as we got off a bunch of people got in line, so that may have bumped up the wait. All of that to say, I'm sorry you waited so long for it!

Thanks! Loved how empty the place felt, it was amazing! Yeah, total bummer about the wait for PPF, we should have waited til the very end to go on, oops! Still had an awesome time, really hoping they have this during our trip next September too!
 

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