Mickey vs Harry Potter! A March Break TR 02/14: better late than never!

[Alexsandra]

Hi people, I know it is a little late for this trip report but I was kind of suffering from Disney withdrawal and thought that writing a TR about my last trip would help getting rid of those blues. When I go too long without a Disney Trip I start to loose it. I wish I was there now!


I miss the Disney Magic

I really had not found the time to write up a TR since our last trip, been so busy with work and everyday life with two active boys. Hey all Moms out there know what I'm talking about! Anyway, I will try to post often so that this TR doesn't drag on too much. I love TR with loads of pics so mine is going to be picture heavy. Hope you all enjoy the ride! Here it goes.

First, let me introduce the family:

DH John, DS4, DS7, myself!

The Plan
We decided to take a trip during the kid's March Break. I know it is not the best time to travel money wise since everyone here in Canada has the same idea: to get out of Dodge. Winter in Canada is brutal and by the time March comes around we had just about enough of shovelling our driveways, de-icing our cars, and contenting with frozen hands, feet and nostrils. Ya, you know what I,m talking about all you Canuks out there!



To beat the high prices and crazy crowds at the airport we decided to leave a few days before the March Break madness. We booked our flight for Feb 25th. to come back on the 4th. We also were lucky enough to receive a PIN from Disney for free dining with arrival dates till the end of Feb. so that worked out well for us. We were able to save a big chunk of money on food.
We booked POFQ which is our favourite moderate resort on property. We love its small size and the boat to DTD.

This was our 5th trip to WDW so we decided that on this trip we would do something different and bring the kids to Universal for the last two days of the vacation. My oldest is a Harry Potter fan so I knew he would love it. I was a little concerned about how much my youngest was going to be able to do there but my worries were unfounded. As you will see later in this TR, he loved Universal. John and I had visited US on our 10 year anniversary trip without the kids and we stayed onsite at RPR and loved it. I had bought an AP to take advantage of the discounted room rate and discounted food and merchandise. My AP was still good so we used it again to book a discounted rate at Hard Rock Hotel this time around. I used my aeroplane miles to buy tickets for the parks so did not have to pay OOP for that.


Shot at airport on arrival. Can you see the excitement!

Departure Day
We got up with difficulty at 4:00 AM . Our flight was leaving at 8:30AM and we had to be there 3 hours in advance because we had to pass customs before the flight. I got to the check in counter looking like this:


We got through security and customs and boarded the plane. The flight went well with the kids were hooked up on their iPads while Mom and Dad tried to catch some zzz.
We got to MCO at noon so decided to get a bite to eat at the food court in the airport before heading over to catch ME. After our full bellies we boarded the bus for POFQ and were stating to feel the Disney excitement!


Magic Express Bus, love that service! No luggage, no hassle!


Oh we are starting to get excited!


Oh this is the face of a happy little boy!



This is what I look like every time we drive by the Disney World gates:


We checked into the hotel and got our Magic bands. We were happy to find out that our request for building 5 top floor was granted, however we were not that thrilled to find out that the pool was closed for the length of our stay. The lady checking us in did tell us that the resort had a golf cart chartering its guests to the POR pool. I was a little peeved that no one had notified us before we got the the resort. I might have changed resort. In the end it worked out well since we only swam twice.

We walked over to the room and were happy to be facing the pool. It was a nice view despite its closure.


Nice clean rooms!


Double sinks


Table and chairs

We then walked around the grounds a little just to get some fresh air.


The river that runs behind the resort


The path along the river brings you to POR


The charming cobblestone road


The boat to DTD

Next up family fun at POR poolside!

 

[Alexsandra]

OK so it was now around 2 o'clock and we decided to hit the pool. We had not received our luggage yet but I had planned ahead and packed our bathing suits in our carry-on luggage. We got changed and walked to the path behind the resort were the check-in lady told me to go to catch the shuttle to POR's pool. After waiting for 5 min, a golf cart showed up to bring us to the other resort. It was about a 5 min. ride and we quickly got off and thanked the driver.


The kids liked riding on the golf cart.



When we got to POR, my youngest son wanted to play in the play area he spotted. I watched him play while my husband went to stake out some chairs for us by the pool. The play area was really well done and went with the POR theme. My boys had a blast playing here and I sometimes forget that sometime a simple play area like this is all they need to have loads of fun.









We found a hammock near the path leading to the pool so my youngest and I lay there for a while to relax and enjoy the breeze.


Selfie

We then headed to the pool where my husband was waiting for us. The pool was packed. We stayed at POR on our previous trip and love all the amenities, but we disliked the large size of the resort and all the bus stops. The pool at POR is really pretty and I personally prefer it to POFQ but I guess that is because it is more subdued and pleasing to an adult crowd. My sons, of course, love the Dragon Slide at POFQ so prefer that pool aesthetically. The pool at POR has waterfalls and rocky landscape that is quite breathtaking and it also has a great pool bar! The pool was heated to the perfect temperature and we all enjoyed our afternoon swimming there. I think what made it so wonderful was that we were in the "frozone" we call home just a few hours ago and now we were enjoying splashing in the sun in warm Florida weather!











The boys were drying off on the pool chair for a while while I packed up our stuff to head back to the hotel.



We decided to walk back instead of waiting for the shuttle and it took about 10-15 min to walk from POR pool to POFQ's pool. We all took showers and got changed for our ADR at T-REX in DTD. We headed to the boat launch which was located right behind the pool area so right behind our building. We waited about 5-10 min and all boarded the boat to DTD. The boat ride itself was very enjoyable and relaxing. The the kids love to watch all the passing scenery. We also got some great shots of DTD from the water at sunset.


Our building is to the left of this path. The pool is on the right and the boat launch is at the end of the path where the sign is.


The View of the river again! So pretty


There our boat!


It was packed with people


DTD at sunset


Love this hot air ballon with Tinkerbell!

 

[Alexsandra]

Once in DTD we found the T-Rex restaurant and checked in with the hostess. There was a long line of people without ADR waiting to get in. I was really happy that we had reserved ahead of time since we still had to wait a good 15 min. before we were seated. The T-Rex restaurant is quite impressive for those of you who have never been and is a must do for families with little boys. This is a prehistoric themed restaurant is filled with tons of life size animatronic dinosaurs. Every 15 min, there is a meteor shower where all the lights flash and the skies become red with fire. My sons were in awe and were so impressed with the dinosaurs. There are different themed areas but we were placed in the ice cave where you could see a giant Dinosaur skeleton frozen in the wall of ice. My son is severely allergic to nuts and since it was noted on our ADR the server was already aware and told us to order drinks but to wait for the chef to take our order. The chef came out after a few minutes and was really nice and understanding of my son's allergies. I also have allergies so he noted those as well. The chef personally brought out my son's mac and cheese to assure us that it was nut free and even offered him a nut free brownie with ice cream for dessert. He was in heaven. The food we ordered was very good and we all enjoyed our meals.


Cool, a dinosaur!




Looking everywhere, so much to see


The look of sheer amazement plastered on his face the whole meal!


Dino skeleton frozen in ice in the background


Meteor showers


My husband's steak with veggies and scalloped potatoes


My bacon cheeseburger with side order of Veggies

As you can imagine I ate that sucker up in no time.



Giant wholly mammoth


Area made to look like if under the prehistoric oceans


Giant T-rex in the background.


Store area at the front of the restaurant

After our meal, the restaurant has a small dig site area right outside where the kids could dig out some dinosaur bones. The boys played in there for a while my DH and I sat on a bench and relaxed a bit.





We then walked over to the Babycakes store and I bought a few treats. Since my youngest and I are intolerant to lactose, we were excited to try some of the cupcakes. They were good but nothing to write home about. If you do have a gluten intolerance though they are pretty good considering. Sorry forgot to shoot the desserts we chose.



We then walked around DTD shopping and ended up in the LEGO store. This place is amazing. We were in there for a really long time because my boys could not stop playing there. They have a kid zone with millions of Lego's where kids can play and create tons of fun stuff. There are Lego sculptures everywhere around the store and are completely amazing! I got some great photo ops.











After the Lego store, we decided to call it a night! We were all pretty exhausted from our day and could not wait to get back to the resort. It was a great end to the perfect day!

Next up, Day 2 Magic Kingdom, here we come!

 

[DisneyJo]

What a great first day you've had. Your boys are so cute

 

[TeamSy]

Your boys are adorable!!! That hair!!!!! So cute!

 

[ariane37]

Following We were there in Feb. '14 also, from the 8th-18th and were at POFQ from the 8th-15th. We were a bit bummed about the pool being closed but it ended up being pretty chilly anyway! We stayed at AoA our last few days and it warmed up so our boys swam there.

 

[Alexsandra]

What a great first day you've had. Your boys are so cute

Awww, thank you! I am so blessed to have two wonderful kids.
It was a great day. We've had some pretty terrible travel days in the past but this time everything ran smoothly and we got to enjoy the resort and DTD. Hope on my next trip it will be the same.

Your boys are adorable!!! That hair!!!!! So cute!

Thank you very much. I know, the hair is hard to ignore! We get a lot of attention everywhere we go, especially because the two brothers share the same fiery red hair colour.

Following We were there in Feb. '14 also, from the 8th-18th and were at POFQ from the 8th-15th. We were a bit bummed about the pool being closed but it ended up being pretty chilly anyway! We stayed at AoA our last few days and it warmed up so our boys swam there.

Thanks for following!
That is so funny, we just missed each other. Too bad you guys got chilly weather but at least got to enjoy AoA. How was you stay there. Did you like it? We are maybe considering trying it over POFQ on our next trip but not sure. We would stay in a little mermaid room because the suites are too expensive compared to a POFQ room.

 

[Bubbenstein]

Your boys are too cute! We'll be doing our first stay at POR in October, so I love seeing all your photos of the resorts!

We have a TREX reservation booked so I'm hoping our 2 1/2 year old doesn't freak out too much with the meteor showers! Seems like a lovely start to your trip. Can't wait to read more.

 

[Alexsandra]

DAY 2

So we woke up early because I had made an ADR at Crystal Palace in MK for 8:30AM. After showering, dressing and eating breakfast in the room, we headed to the bus stop. As we were waiting for the MK bus, my oldest started playing with this 6 y.o. boy and they quickly became friends. They sat together on the bus and were talking like if they had been best friends for the longest time. It was so cute! We started talking to the boy's parents who seemed really thrilled and even a little emotional that their boy was having so much fun with my son. That is when I came to find out that they had lost a son who a few years ago who would have been around my son's age right about now. This child had died of an illness and his younger brother was too young to remember him. The mom went on telling me that this was their first trip as a family since the death of their oldest son and how much it meant to her that her youngest son was having so much fun with his new friend. She got emotional and it broke my heart.
I can't even imagine what it is to loose a child. Talk about a heartwrenching story. I teared up and I gave them my condolences and we talked about the son she lost a little more. I was trying to find the right things to say, but I ended up feeling so awkward. Don't get me wrong it is not that I did not want to hear all this, it's just that I barely knew her and I did not know what to say to comfort her. What could you say to a family who has suffered so much and gone through so much hardship. I just ended up telling her that I was happy too that the boys were getting along so well and that they would have many more opportunities to do so since they were staying at the same resort. I have a great picture of both kids together but I cannot post the pictures as I don't know if his parents would allow that.

When we got to MK, we were all heading to Crystal Palace for breakfast but we parted ways with them so that we could take some pics of the empty park before our ADR. I love MK in the early morning when the park is almost empty. It makes me feel like I got the park all to myself and we always get great shots of the family in front of the castle. The Castle was being refurb. and there was a huge crane next to it that kind of messed up my pics so I was able to photoshop them out, thank goodness.


Daddy with his boys


My big boy


Me goofing around with the boys


Castle shot!


The Boys

Now it was time to check in to Crystal Palace. We love this place in the early morning with its beautiful glass dome letting in that morning light. It has become a family tradition to start off every Disney Trip with a breakfast at CP.


Crystal Palace


Love the victorian theme of the restaurant

We were promptly seated and the waiter took our drink order. But before we even got to get up to check out the buffet, we had a visit from our beloved Tiger. My son usually is not that into the whole "meet and greet" thing but this morning he seemed really excited to see the characters. He especially liked getting his autograph book signed. We then got to meet Piglet and Eeyor.


Yay, Tiger is hugging us.


Kheo happy to get his book signed.


Piglet


Eeyor's feeble attempt to see what he was signing was hilarious. My husband and I got a good laugh.


Big hug for Eeyor!

After meeting Eeyor, we were finally able to go get some food at the buffet. The breakfast at Crystal palace is quite good with fresh fruits and egg stations, but my favourite is their puffed french toast which tastes like a cross between a donut and a churro. Hey, I'm on vacation. I'm allowed to pig out . IT is written in the unofficial book of traveler.






Puffed french toast on the right. Ya, it says kids corner but I'm a kid at heart.

We had Pooh come to our table and Tiger again came to say goodbye.





Our friends from the bus ride then came to see us at the end of the meal. We walked out of the restaurant together and they offered to take some pictures of us in front of the Castle and we returned the favour.After that we parted ways again as they had a FP attractions to get to. I stayed a little bit more and took some great shot of the boys together.


Oups, forgot to photoshop that crane out of the picture





We had some time to kill before our FP so we wandered into Tomorrowland. We took our time looking around and the boys stopped to look at some toys. It was fun not to run to a ride right away. There are too many times that we rush to beat the crowds, but I forget that there is so many little things that you miss when you do that. It was nice to just take it easy and the boys where having fun doing just that.






What a handsome cowboy!







We made our way to Fantasyland to make sure we would be in the area for our FP for Ariel's Grotto which was in 30 min. There was only a 10 min. wait for the "Under The Sea" attraction so we decided to to do that first. The entrance to the ride is so pretty and it made for some great picture. I love how Disney's imageneers think of every little detail. That is what makes Disney so magical!








Love the starfish details carved into the walls.





We did not get any pictures of the ride itself, because well, we wanted to enjoy the ride.

Next up, we meet Ariel in her Grotto!

 

[Alexsandra]

Your boys are too cute! We'll be doing our first stay at POR in October, so I love seeing all your photos of the resorts!

We have a TREX reservation booked so I'm hoping our 2 1/2 year old doesn't freak out too much with the meteor showers! Seems like a lovely start to your trip. Can't wait to read more.

You will love POR. The food court is really good and the grounds are beautiful. It is really one of the nicest resort on Disney Property in my opinion.
I actually brought my youngest to T-Rex when he was 1 1\2 y.o. and he did not get scared. Just ask before getting seated that they place you somewhere not too scary for your son. I sat next to him and when the sky turned red I made it into a fun game. The lights change colours but other than that it is not so bad. Rainforest Cafe was scarier for him because of the loud thunder. Here is a pic of us at the time. He is sitting in the front, right side.



We sat in the wooded area and had these dinosaur next to us. They were not very scary so it was perfect spot for him to sit.

 

[ariane37]

Thanks for following!
That is so funny, we just missed each other. Too bad you guys got chilly weather but at least got to enjoy AoA. How was you stay there. Did you like it? We are maybe considering trying it over POFQ on our next trip but not sure. We would stay in a little mermaid room because the suites are too expensive compared to a POFQ room.

We enjoyed AoA; we were in a LM room. I have 2 boys so since I never get to do girl stuff, I begged them to agree lol. The theming of the whole resort is incredible! And the food court is, in my opinion, much much better than the one at POR, POFQ, and even the one at CSR (and we love CSR). The LM rooms are a bit of a walk from the main building and bus stop but you get to walk through the Lion King area which is really cool, too

 

[Alexsandra]

We enjoyed AoA; we were in a LM room. I have 2 boys so since I never get to do girl stuff, I begged them to agree lol. The theming of the whole resort is incredible! And the food court is, in my opinion, much much better than the one at POR, POFQ, and even the one at CSR (and we love CSR). The LM rooms are a bit of a walk from the main building and bus stop but you get to walk through the Lion King area which is really cool, too

Sound cool! I might just give it a try on my next trip. I think the boys would enjoy the theming and the big blue pool looks really nice. Happy to hear good reviews on the food court as that is really important to me when choosing a resort. Thanks

 

[Kirby]

Enjoying your trip report. POR is my favorite resort. We toured POFQ on our trip last December and loved it. We just might have to stay there next time around.

 

[Alexsandra]

Enjoying your trip report. POR is my favorite resort. We toured POFQ on our trip last December and loved it. We just might have to stay there next time around.

Hi and welcome! I really love POR too. The ground s are so peaceful and the food court is great but you can't beat POFQ's small size. IT is so convenient with its one bus stop. And you get to use all of POR amenities too so it is a no brainer for me.

 

[Alexsandra]

When we got out of the little mermaid ride, it was time for our first FP attraction of the day: Ariel's Grotto. Ironically I had chosen this FP because after selecting my two first FP for MK, it was the only attraction left in the list that was worth wasting a FP on. I was not sure my boys were going to enjoy meeting a princesses but I was pleasantly surprised to see that they really enjoyed the experience. It also was an opportunity to take some great pictures of the boys with Ariel. We walked into the "grotto" and already they were excited. Ariel was sitting on a kind of seashell throne and was ecstatic to meet two little red heads like herself. She commented on how handsome my boys were with their bright red hair and was more than sweet with both of them. The boys were blushing and more than happy to take some pictures with her. It was really cute!


THE BOYS ARE BLUSHING


Ariel signs his autograph book


Ariel is very interested in my boys.


Picture perfect!

After that delightful encounter with the princess under the sea, we headed over to Circus area of the park. I absolutely love this area of the park with its bright and colourful Big Top Tent and attractions. It is just one of those areas of the park that I can hang out in and just watch the kids have a blast. Of course their is nothing more fun than riding Dumbo no matter how old you are. It is one of those classic rides that is just so "Disney" that you can't help smiling like a fool while riding it. Plus the new refurbed version is great with their play zone for kids. I love that the kids can have fun while we wait with a beeper till its our turn to ride. Whoever thought of this is a genius because we all know that kids and long wait lines do not mix!


Goofing around with his brother!


Hmmm, I think someone wants to ride Dumbo!


I told the boys to pretend the elephant was flying. I think DS did not quite understand. Hail Dumbo! Haha


Waiting in line, someone is happy!


Love their new play area




The classic shot!


Love the details!


Yay, having so much fun!


The view from up there


My son and husband rode again! Say hi!



After we rode Dumbo we were lucky enough to see a marching band right in front of the Big Top tent. They were amazing and the kids were really enjoyed watching the show. Like I said, I love this area of the park!





We were not sure what to ride next but my kids wanted to go back into Tomorrowland to ride some of the attractions they saw earlier that morning. I am not a big fan of Autopia but my kids begged me to go and the wait times indicated 20 min. which is usually rare. I always see wait times with over 45 min. on this ride and it boggles my mind why anyone would wait 45 min. to ride in a car that goes that slow and is on a preset track. But I guess cars in general will always be appealing to boys. So on we went. My kids were both high enough to drive so I went with DS7 while my DS4 drove the car behind us with my husband's help.






Oh, can you see the excitement! I'm driving a car at 7 y.o.


DS4 can barely see over the steering wheel.


And the race begins...


Hurry they're catching up!


Having a blast!

After seeing how happy this ride made my boys, I like Autopia a little more now!

Up next, Astro Orbiter!

 

[Alexsandra]

After Autopia, we decided to head towards Buzz Lightyear's Spin but we saw that Astro Orbiter had a five minute wait so decided to ride that first. This ride is like Dumbo but it is a lot higher and you can really see the whole park from up there. If you have any vertigo, this rid dis not for you. The boys liked it because the vehicles are shaped like a spaceships and spin around pretty fast.


Can you see the excitement?





Next was Buzz Lightyear's Spin. We all love this ride so much. It is just one of those rides that is short but sweet.


Ya, that is my face after seeing how low I scored!

We were getting hungry so we decided to have lunch at Be Our Guest QS restaurant. We started walking back to Fantasyland and we spotted the Seven Dwarf Mining ride in construction. Can't wait to go back to MK to try it!





So we got in line at BOG and waited no more than 20 minutes before we got into the doors. Again, I love all the details the Disney imagineers put into the theming of these places. This restaurant is so well designed that you really feel like you stepped into Beast's Castle.


Why so sad?


"Daddy, I'm hungry!"


The whispering Knights!

We ordered with the self serve screens and where I indicated that we had an allergies in our party. We then proceeded to the cash were they sent out the chef and he made sure my son and I both got allergy free food. My son had a pasta dish while I had the Quinoa salad which was very good! But the best part was dessert. I got a lemon meringue cupcake which was A-M-Azing! Mmmmm...


Mmmm, macaroni!


My allergy free meal!


My dessert: lemon meringue cupcake






Beautiful Mosaic in BOG

We had our next FP for the day for the "Enchanted Tales with Belle". The waiting time for this ride was 1 hour and 20 min so I was really happy that I had a FP for this attraction. We waited about 15 min before being ushered into Maurice's Cottage. While you wait in this room, you can spot a few of Maurice's inventions and tool. It is so cute. You then face a mirror which magically transforms into a door.


My husband's face reflects his feelings about this attraction. He is not too ecstatic to meet another princess, but he goes along with it anyway.




Maurice's invention


The Magic Mirror

So we walk through the magic door and are greeted by the talking "armoire" from the movie. The kids think this is hilarious. They start picking kids to participate in the little show with Belle and my son gets picked to be "Beast". He was so happy. He got to be the centre of attention and he even got to dance with Belle. I guess my son is a converted princess lover now!



The talking Armoire


He is picked to be "Beast"


That is a happy boy!


Lumiere


Belle walks in and the kids eyes all light up.


She meets Kheo and he shyly plays out his role as Beast.


Jonah got to be a spoon.


Kheo does a wonderful job and Bell and him pose for a picture


Jonah gets a picture with her too!

Next up, shelter from the rain!

 

[DisneyJo]

What a cute little Beast and Spoon and I love your husbands face before the show

 

[ariane37]

I went on Astro Orbiter for the first time during our Feb. '14 trip and you're right - no good if you have vertigo lol! I was afraid of that but wanted to try it anyway-the views from up there really are pretty
BOG is one of our favorite restaurants, although we prefer dinner. We ate there when it first opened in Nov. 2012 for dinner and have since been back once for lunch and another 4x for dinner. Can't wait to go again this Nov!
Perfect that both your boys were picked to be in the show at ETWB

 

[Alexsandra]

I went on Astro Orbiter for the first time during our Feb. '14 trip and you're right - no good if you have vertigo lol! I was afraid of that but wanted to try it anyway-the views from up there really are pretty
BOG is one of our favorite restaurants, although we prefer dinner. We ate there when it first opened in Nov. 2012 for dinner and have since been back once for lunch and another 4x for dinner. Can't wait to go again this Nov!
Perfect that both your boys were picked to be in the show at ETWB

Astro Orbiter was cool. I never even realized that this ride was there. Too bad I did not get any pictures of the views up there. Next time!
I tried to get BOG for dinner but there were no ADR left, Arg! I have to make sure next time I try it for dinner. I know that now they serve Breakfast too. It would be interesting to try that if I can't get dinner reservations. No matter what, I have to go back. It is just so beautiful.
The boys were so happy to be part of the show. I was actually surprised how much they liked it, especially because my oldest son is so shy.

 

[Alexsandra]

When we got out of the ETWB, it had begun drizzling. We decided to go to see Mickey's PhilharMagic which was indoors and was going to keep us out of the rain for a little bit. The 3D effects in the show are really well done and the kids always get a good laugh at Donald messing everything up. It is definitely a must do for us when we go to MK.


kids messing around, again!


A blurry pic of Donald's butt sticking out of the wall after a spectacular crash landing.

When we walked out of the attraction, it was still drizzling so we decided to make our way back to the Circus area to do a little shopping in the Big Top Tent. When we got there we met up again with the family from the bus that morning so we hung out together for a while. We all decided to head into "Pete' Silly Sideshow" for a meet and greet with some of the beloved Disney characters. This is my favourite place for meet and greets because of the elaborate sets and the fun costumes the characters are wearing. It makes for great pictures.


Oh, he is so cute in his fortune teller costume!


After seeing us Donald went to try and hide. HAHAHA


Pic with the boys


Then with Dad


Next was goofy in his daredevil outfit!

After taking pics with the characters we headed inside the Big Tent where a CM had set up a hoop game for the kids. The kids played that for while the gown ups got to talk a little bit. The CM was so good with the kids. I was impressed to see how much fun the kids were having with him. That is Disney for you, everywhere you turn there is fun to be had!


DS7 giving it a go!

We then walked around the store a bit looking at all the merchandise and trying on some silly hats. The Tent is so pretty! The details and thumbing are so well done. You can't help feeling happy in that place. It was really fun to goof around and we could have spent half the day in that tent.




Look, it's Goofy!


John loves trying on hats,



This one is my favourite




Your mission Agent P is to make me smile!

After spending over an hour in the store, we were approaching our ADR at Cinderella's Royal Table. This was our first time dining here. We had never been because the price to eat here was so steep and I did not think my boys would be into the whole princess thing. Well a few months before our trip, my oldest son started begging me to eat inside the Castle. I did not think we could get a reservation so late in the game but I tried several days in a row and got a reservation for dinner. It was still raining outside so I was happy that the reservation was an early one. We checked in with the host who directed us where to enter into the Castle. As you walk in you see arched ceilings and beautiful stained glass . You really feel like a Royal Guest. They usher you into a lineup to meet Cinderella before leading you up to the restaurant located on the above floor. Cinderella was having a bad day I think because she was kind of unenthusiastic and really was just going through the motions. She barely said hello to my boys, just grabbed the autograph book to sign it and posed for a pic with her fake smile. She did not do anything awful but she was really not "Disney princess" material.


Beautiful detailed ceilings


Cute stained glass


Grumpy Cinderella!


Can we get this over with please!


Up we go to the main dining room!


Prince cutie pie