My sunglasses rode SDMT with Paul Rudd - a Nov 2015 TR
- Thread starter mrsjoannh13
- Start date
mrsjoannh13
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 13, 2015
While I'm thinking of it, I wanted to include a few random stream of consciousness thoughts and tips from our trip.
1. Staying at the Contemporary is the bomb. If you don't want to wait for the monorail you can walk to and from Magic Kingdom. One day Rob walked while the rest of us took the monorail and he beat us to MK by several minutes.
2. If you're on the fence about whether or not your child needs a stroller, bring it. They will be a lot less tired, have protection from the sun, and you'll have a spot to store packages.
3. Split stays blow chunks. It was the biggest pain in the butt moving from CBR to Contemporary. Disney sent 2 sets of Magic Bands and that process was convoluted. We had issues with the dining plan associated with our second resort and it was a big time waster. Just my opinion, but I would never plan to do this again. If I want to see other resorts I would go tour them at my convenience at some point during the stay.
4. Don't do the deluxe dining plan (3 TS and 2 snacks a day). We booked it due to lots of signature dining and character meals but we were all so stuffed and miserable every day. At the end of the trip we had 6 meal and 20 snack credits left. We used them to bring home souvenirs but it was just too much food.
5. Related to #4, even if you eat 3 meals a day at home you will probably only do 2 meals a day at Disney. Breakfast is usually a buffet or otherwise more food than most are used to. You won't want to eat much for lunch and by dinner you'll just be getting a little hungry. You'll be so stuffed from dinner you'll hardly want breakfast the next morning. I actually eat 5 smallish meals a day at home so I thought 2 or 3 a day would be fine and I couldn't handle the volume of food. Rob can eat more than the average person and he put on 10 pounds during our trip from all the food.
6. You will only do about 1/3 of what you hope to do if your child needs a nap. I was surprised at how little we were able to do each day before we had to get Little H settled for naptime. Really only about 3 attractions after breakfast and we were having to head back for a nap (she would not sleep in her stroller - sigh). We didn't get upset over it and know that as she gets older she'll have more endurance and be able to go more commando. If we had pushed her, it would have been a miserable trip. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking about how much money you are spending each day and want to get your money's worth, but you'll have a bunch of grouchy family members if you succumb to this. Don't do it! Let your little ones set the pace and you'll have much happier memories.
7. You will get A TON of restaurant ADRs the day prior. Keep your phone out if you are looking for something. I could not believe the volume of ADRs I saw for some hard-to-get restaurants like Akershus, Chef Mickey, 1900 Park Fare, Be Our Guest, Tusker House, etc. I also saw one for CRT a couple of days out. So don't give up hope. Just keep checking MDE on your phone the day before when you are waiting in lines, on the monorail or whenever you have a chance. Lots of things become available as folks discover they booked too many ADRs (raising my hand), are too tired to make dinner ressies (again raising my hand), or just over booked and finalize their plans a day or two prior (guiltily raising my hand).
8. IMO memory maker was a good investment with the advance purchase price of $139. We got over 300 photos and whereas they are not the best (some of the photogs were better than others) you will have some really good shots that you cannot capture on your own. Just remember to DOWNLOAD all of your photos BEFORE THEY EXPIRE! I think you have 30 days after your trip to do so.
9. The Dole Whip is overrated.
10. No matter how young or old you are, rice krispy treats are one of the best culinary creations of all time.
11. Take a notepad along with you or something to write down notes each day. When you get home you will not remember what you did - it will all be a blur. I started with a small notepad and would jot things down a couple of times a day. After a couple of days I just started typing a word doc in the early morning, during naptime, and after we got done for the day. I captured some specific funny memories that I would have otherwise forgotten. And it helps with trip reports, too!
12. There will be some rude people on your trip. In the immortal words of Elsa... LET IT GOOOOOOO! It's easy to have these clods put a damper on your vacation when they cut in line, push in front of you to get on an elevator or whatever. Don't dwell on it. Focus on the vast majority of people who are polite and kind. Luckily there are a lot more of them in the world.
13. Check your dining plan credits with your hotel's concierge. We discovered several mistakes - including 2 restaurants billing us for my daughter who was 2 years old. Get a print-out midway through and the last day so you can use any credits towards souvenir snacks (rice crispy treats travel well!).
14. Bring an extra large collapsible bag (like a duffle bag) along for souvenirs. We had about 20 of the small plastic Disney bags full of t-shirts, gifts for people at home, and little presents for Hailey that we had nowhere to put. A big canvas bag would have been great to throw everything in for the trip home.
15. I understand why some people say don't start with MK and go to other parks after. Once we got to MK it overshadowed AK and Epcot.
1. Staying at the Contemporary is the bomb. If you don't want to wait for the monorail you can walk to and from Magic Kingdom. One day Rob walked while the rest of us took the monorail and he beat us to MK by several minutes.
2. If you're on the fence about whether or not your child needs a stroller, bring it. They will be a lot less tired, have protection from the sun, and you'll have a spot to store packages.
3. Split stays blow chunks. It was the biggest pain in the butt moving from CBR to Contemporary. Disney sent 2 sets of Magic Bands and that process was convoluted. We had issues with the dining plan associated with our second resort and it was a big time waster. Just my opinion, but I would never plan to do this again. If I want to see other resorts I would go tour them at my convenience at some point during the stay.
4. Don't do the deluxe dining plan (3 TS and 2 snacks a day). We booked it due to lots of signature dining and character meals but we were all so stuffed and miserable every day. At the end of the trip we had 6 meal and 20 snack credits left. We used them to bring home souvenirs but it was just too much food.
5. Related to #4, even if you eat 3 meals a day at home you will probably only do 2 meals a day at Disney. Breakfast is usually a buffet or otherwise more food than most are used to. You won't want to eat much for lunch and by dinner you'll just be getting a little hungry. You'll be so stuffed from dinner you'll hardly want breakfast the next morning. I actually eat 5 smallish meals a day at home so I thought 2 or 3 a day would be fine and I couldn't handle the volume of food. Rob can eat more than the average person and he put on 10 pounds during our trip from all the food.
6. You will only do about 1/3 of what you hope to do if your child needs a nap. I was surprised at how little we were able to do each day before we had to get Little H settled for naptime. Really only about 3 attractions after breakfast and we were having to head back for a nap (she would not sleep in her stroller - sigh). We didn't get upset over it and know that as she gets older she'll have more endurance and be able to go more commando. If we had pushed her, it would have been a miserable trip. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking about how much money you are spending each day and want to get your money's worth, but you'll have a bunch of grouchy family members if you succumb to this. Don't do it! Let your little ones set the pace and you'll have much happier memories.
7. You will get A TON of restaurant ADRs the day prior. Keep your phone out if you are looking for something. I could not believe the volume of ADRs I saw for some hard-to-get restaurants like Akershus, Chef Mickey, 1900 Park Fare, Be Our Guest, Tusker House, etc. I also saw one for CRT a couple of days out. So don't give up hope. Just keep checking MDE on your phone the day before when you are waiting in lines, on the monorail or whenever you have a chance. Lots of things become available as folks discover they booked too many ADRs (raising my hand), are too tired to make dinner ressies (again raising my hand), or just over booked and finalize their plans a day or two prior (guiltily raising my hand).
8. IMO memory maker was a good investment with the advance purchase price of $139. We got over 300 photos and whereas they are not the best (some of the photogs were better than others) you will have some really good shots that you cannot capture on your own. Just remember to DOWNLOAD all of your photos BEFORE THEY EXPIRE! I think you have 30 days after your trip to do so.
9. The Dole Whip is overrated.
10. No matter how young or old you are, rice krispy treats are one of the best culinary creations of all time.
11. Take a notepad along with you or something to write down notes each day. When you get home you will not remember what you did - it will all be a blur. I started with a small notepad and would jot things down a couple of times a day. After a couple of days I just started typing a word doc in the early morning, during naptime, and after we got done for the day. I captured some specific funny memories that I would have otherwise forgotten. And it helps with trip reports, too!
12. There will be some rude people on your trip. In the immortal words of Elsa... LET IT GOOOOOOO! It's easy to have these clods put a damper on your vacation when they cut in line, push in front of you to get on an elevator or whatever. Don't dwell on it. Focus on the vast majority of people who are polite and kind. Luckily there are a lot more of them in the world.
13. Check your dining plan credits with your hotel's concierge. We discovered several mistakes - including 2 restaurants billing us for my daughter who was 2 years old. Get a print-out midway through and the last day so you can use any credits towards souvenir snacks (rice crispy treats travel well!).
14. Bring an extra large collapsible bag (like a duffle bag) along for souvenirs. We had about 20 of the small plastic Disney bags full of t-shirts, gifts for people at home, and little presents for Hailey that we had nowhere to put. A big canvas bag would have been great to throw everything in for the trip home.
15. I understand why some people say don't start with MK and go to other parks after. Once we got to MK it overshadowed AK and Epcot.
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mrsjoannh13
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 13, 2015
OUR FIRST MAGIC KINGDOM DAY!!!!!
I was so excited to be heading to Magic Kingdom. We had an 8 am at Crystal Palace so we got in with a small mob before the park opened. That morning, we went to hop on the monorail but were told it didn't start running until 8:30. WTH? Why would it start running so late on a day when the park opens at 9? Made no sense. But we didn't dwell - just walked on over.
We were hoping to get some decent shots with the castle but there were people everywhere.
Here's the Main Street tree (well the bottom of it, anyway).
Nonna and Little H heading down Main Street. This is at 7:50 am and you can see how many people were already ahead of us. Also, apparently it's a REALLY bad idea to let kids ride on scooters like this. One of the CM's told us if the driver stops short, the little ones can get broken collarbones. So we had to break this habit on the trip.
I tried hard to remember to get shots with me and Rob. Here's one of them!
Crystal Palace was great. The restaurant is just beautiful. Food was great and the characters spent a lot of time with Hailey. Everyone really enjoyed it. We were there until after 9 but luckily we had our "family of the day" fast passes in addition to our regular 3 fast passes. So we were all set!
The menu sign outside Crystal Palace.
Little H with Piglet. We also met Winnie, Tigger and Eeyore.
Pooh being silly.
The waitress brought Little H a birthday cupcake and card signed by all of the characters.
Mom and Dad having a (rare) happy moment. This is before they got tired and cranky (which happened a lot - Rob and I joked that we had 3 babies to look after on the trip).
A group shot minus Nonna.
The topiaries were just beautiful.
I was so excited to be heading to Magic Kingdom. We had an 8 am at Crystal Palace so we got in with a small mob before the park opened. That morning, we went to hop on the monorail but were told it didn't start running until 8:30. WTH? Why would it start running so late on a day when the park opens at 9? Made no sense. But we didn't dwell - just walked on over.
We were hoping to get some decent shots with the castle but there were people everywhere.
Here's the Main Street tree (well the bottom of it, anyway).
Nonna and Little H heading down Main Street. This is at 7:50 am and you can see how many people were already ahead of us. Also, apparently it's a REALLY bad idea to let kids ride on scooters like this. One of the CM's told us if the driver stops short, the little ones can get broken collarbones. So we had to break this habit on the trip.
I tried hard to remember to get shots with me and Rob. Here's one of them!
Crystal Palace was great. The restaurant is just beautiful. Food was great and the characters spent a lot of time with Hailey. Everyone really enjoyed it. We were there until after 9 but luckily we had our "family of the day" fast passes in addition to our regular 3 fast passes. So we were all set!
The menu sign outside Crystal Palace.
Little H with Piglet. We also met Winnie, Tigger and Eeyore.
Pooh being silly.
The waitress brought Little H a birthday cupcake and card signed by all of the characters.
Mom and Dad having a (rare) happy moment. This is before they got tired and cranky (which happened a lot - Rob and I joked that we had 3 babies to look after on the trip).
A group shot minus Nonna.
The topiaries were just beautiful.
mrsjoannh13
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 13, 2015
Of course, walking past the castle we must take hundreds of obligatory photos. I'll spare you and just include this one.
Okay I lied, here's one more....
After Crystal Palace we were off to use our first Family of the Day FastPass. I wanted to use it on Anna & Elsa since that was a priority and I wanted to make sure the FP actually worked. It's not something I could schedule, it just showed up as a "special" FP in MDE on my phone. So I anxiously walked up to the FP line, scanned my Magic Band and.... BOOM! WE'RE IN!!!!! So exciting. It was shortly after 9:15 and there was already an 80 minute wait for A&E. Crazy! Later in the trip we would see waits of more than 2 hours. Keep in mind we were there during a crowd level 4 and went to MK on the most recommend days.
When we get into the room (they let about 2 -3 families in the room with A&E) each of the princesses is talking to a girl in a wheelchair (there were 2 of them). They were severely disabled and I think might have been Make a Wish children. So I LOSE IT. Like bawling crying. I mean heaving sobs. I was a wreck watching how sweet the princesses were with these two sweet little souls. So we're next in line and I look like someone just killed my puppy or something.
On a happier note, Hailey was tickled pink to meet Anna and Elsa. I couldn't hear what Elsa was saying to her - I guess she stays in character and keeps her voice very low. I walked up to get in a couple of photos and Hailey was asking Elsa where Olaf was. Elsa said he went to the beach swimming today. I told Little H - don't worry he won't melt because he has his own personal flurries!
Then on to Anna, who must drink a cup of coffee every 30 minutes or so. She was bouncing around like Tigger. She was really funny - hiding behind her curtains from Hailey. More photos and then we were on our way.
This was the first of MANY carousel rides. Seriously, we could not get this kid off the carousel. We tried to get her off and she was a kicking screaming mess. She LOVED the carousel.
We finally pried her away and went to get in line for Gaston. While waiting we got some LeFou's brew at Gaston's Tavern. Everyone loved the brew (including Hailey). Don't worry - no alcohol. I will say Gaston does have a real knack for use of antlers in all his decorating. The actual meet with Gaston was a huge let down. This guy was the lamest Gaston. He was an insult to Gaston fans everywhere. We could tell other people in the line felt the same - it was not a good meet. We were just so disappointed as we LOVE Gaston. This guy just had no Gaston swagger whatsoever. The dude even shaved his chest hair. WHAT?!?!!?! Every square inch of him should be covered in hair!!!! Serious Disney fail.
Next stop was Peter Pan - luckily we had Fast Passes as the standby line was already more than an hour. It was a fun ride but nothing I would stand in line an hour for.
Then on to Buzz Lightyear. I liked the interactive nature of the ride but Rob thought it was fun to spin us around in circles like we were on the Teacups or something. Needless to say our scores were awful. Rob's score was 24,00. Mine was lower. Yeah - we need serious practice!!!
Okay I lied, here's one more....
After Crystal Palace we were off to use our first Family of the Day FastPass. I wanted to use it on Anna & Elsa since that was a priority and I wanted to make sure the FP actually worked. It's not something I could schedule, it just showed up as a "special" FP in MDE on my phone. So I anxiously walked up to the FP line, scanned my Magic Band and.... BOOM! WE'RE IN!!!!! So exciting. It was shortly after 9:15 and there was already an 80 minute wait for A&E. Crazy! Later in the trip we would see waits of more than 2 hours. Keep in mind we were there during a crowd level 4 and went to MK on the most recommend days.
When we get into the room (they let about 2 -3 families in the room with A&E) each of the princesses is talking to a girl in a wheelchair (there were 2 of them). They were severely disabled and I think might have been Make a Wish children. So I LOSE IT. Like bawling crying. I mean heaving sobs. I was a wreck watching how sweet the princesses were with these two sweet little souls. So we're next in line and I look like someone just killed my puppy or something.
On a happier note, Hailey was tickled pink to meet Anna and Elsa. I couldn't hear what Elsa was saying to her - I guess she stays in character and keeps her voice very low. I walked up to get in a couple of photos and Hailey was asking Elsa where Olaf was. Elsa said he went to the beach swimming today. I told Little H - don't worry he won't melt because he has his own personal flurries!
Then on to Anna, who must drink a cup of coffee every 30 minutes or so. She was bouncing around like Tigger. She was really funny - hiding behind her curtains from Hailey. More photos and then we were on our way.
This was the first of MANY carousel rides. Seriously, we could not get this kid off the carousel. We tried to get her off and she was a kicking screaming mess. She LOVED the carousel.
We finally pried her away and went to get in line for Gaston. While waiting we got some LeFou's brew at Gaston's Tavern. Everyone loved the brew (including Hailey). Don't worry - no alcohol. I will say Gaston does have a real knack for use of antlers in all his decorating. The actual meet with Gaston was a huge let down. This guy was the lamest Gaston. He was an insult to Gaston fans everywhere. We could tell other people in the line felt the same - it was not a good meet. We were just so disappointed as we LOVE Gaston. This guy just had no Gaston swagger whatsoever. The dude even shaved his chest hair. WHAT?!?!!?! Every square inch of him should be covered in hair!!!! Serious Disney fail.
Next stop was Peter Pan - luckily we had Fast Passes as the standby line was already more than an hour. It was a fun ride but nothing I would stand in line an hour for.
Then on to Buzz Lightyear. I liked the interactive nature of the ride but Rob thought it was fun to spin us around in circles like we were on the Teacups or something. Needless to say our scores were awful. Rob's score was 24,00. Mine was lower. Yeah - we need serious practice!!!
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chiefdragon
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2007
Loving your report. We took our DD when she was this young, and it was one of the most magical trips with her. The memories are still fresh in our mind and hers 8 years later.
mrsjoannh13
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 13, 2015
That's so awesome! We talk about our trip every day and on the drive back were already planning the next one for her birthday next year. Can't wait!
mrsjoannh13
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 13, 2015
After Buzz, we could tell Little H was petering out and it was naptime. We still couldn't manage to get her to sleep in her stroller, so back to Contemporary with a stop to meet Mickey in Town Square. We thought about blowing it off but it was on the way and we all love the talking mouse. Cranky girl got happy pretty fast when Mickey started talking, singing and dancing with her. So it was a good meet, snapped some photos and then headed back to the hotel where Little H promptly konked out.
Short walk back to Contemporary. LOVE this guy - he is like ALWAYS happy!
Short walk back to Contemporary. LOVE this guy - he is like ALWAYS happy!
mrsjoannh13
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 13, 2015
I ran down to Contempo Cafe to get us something light to eat while Little H caught some Z's. We didn't want to eat much as we had a 4:30 at BOG. SOOOOOO EXCITED!!!! Or at least I was excited until I had to wake Hailey up after only 90 minutes. She's still a 2-hour napper and she was NOT happy about getting up. She started freaking out when I went to change her pull-up screaming that she wanted to keep her tee-tee diaper on. Yeah - THAT crazy cranky. I think this is truly the meaning of cray cray.
At any rate, we finally got her dressed (small miracle) and headed over to MK to use more of our "family of the day" FastPasses. On the way to our first FP, we noticed there was a musical production (sorry I can't remember what it was called) at the castle. We stopped and watched for a while as Captain Hook was on stage and he is one of Hailey's favorites. Then off we went!
We were able to squeeze in a meet with Cinderella and Rapunzel after a very short wait. Rapunzel was really cute - we talked about how long it takes to dry her hair and how she manages to do so without any frizz. Too funny. Then on to Cinderella. She took Hailey's hands and swung her around doing some serious ballroom dancing moves. It was one of the cutest of all meet and greets we had on the trip. Luckily Nonna got it on video. The photos were cute but the video is a priceless memory for us.
After that, Hailey spotted the dreaded carousel again. And we all know what that means.... more horsie rides for Hailey! Hooray (sarcasm). We let her ride a few times before heading over to BOG for dinner. As with all our other ADR's on this trip, we had virtually no wait for BOG. I guess our "off" dining times helped in that regard.
At any rate, we finally got her dressed (small miracle) and headed over to MK to use more of our "family of the day" FastPasses. On the way to our first FP, we noticed there was a musical production (sorry I can't remember what it was called) at the castle. We stopped and watched for a while as Captain Hook was on stage and he is one of Hailey's favorites. Then off we went!
We were able to squeeze in a meet with Cinderella and Rapunzel after a very short wait. Rapunzel was really cute - we talked about how long it takes to dry her hair and how she manages to do so without any frizz. Too funny. Then on to Cinderella. She took Hailey's hands and swung her around doing some serious ballroom dancing moves. It was one of the cutest of all meet and greets we had on the trip. Luckily Nonna got it on video. The photos were cute but the video is a priceless memory for us.
After that, Hailey spotted the dreaded carousel again. And we all know what that means.... more horsie rides for Hailey! Hooray (sarcasm). We let her ride a few times before heading over to BOG for dinner. As with all our other ADR's on this trip, we had virtually no wait for BOG. I guess our "off" dining times helped in that regard.
mrsjoannh13
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 13, 2015
We enjoyed the outside of BOG and the tour our hostess gave us once inside. It's nice how they walk you around the rooms before dinner and explain them to everyone and let you know when and where you'll meet the Beast. The hostess let Hailey carry Lumiere in as we walked to our table. Adorable. We all thought the restaurant was amazing and beautiful. After our vacation I asked what everyone's favorite meal was and BOG dinner was the winner!
We got the potato leek soup and onion soup for appetizers. Potato was a bit better. For entrees, 3 steaks and 1 shrimp and scallops. Everything was good. Not great, but no complaints from anyone. Everyone seemed happy with their food. The server was also very good - he helped Rob with something regarding the logistics of our check since Hailey was 2. Something about paying OOP vs. charging a dining plan credit for her. He went out of his way to help us save some money on the check which I thought was very nice.
For desserts, strawberry shortcake, gray stuff and eclair. Again - all good. No rave reviews but no complaints. Oh, and there was some wine ordered along the way, too. Forgot to mention that. I mean it's the ONLY place to drink in Magic Kingdom. Gotta do it!
The waiter did hear that it was Hailey's birthday so he brought her a cupcake and a birthday card signed by The Beast and Belle.
After dinner we walked around to see the other rooms briefly and got photos with the Beast. Hailey is so good with the characters - not scared at all. She gave the Beast a big hug and we snapped a few pics of our Little Hailey Belle.
Here's a shot of the dessert cart with all the options:
I was glad we got to sit in the ballroom. With the Christmas decorations it was really lovely.
Hailey meeting our dinner host, the Beast. I have some better pictures I will try to post later from Memory Maker once I get through the trip report. This one kind of looks like he wants to eat her and she's trying to escape but they actually hit it off fabulously!
We got the potato leek soup and onion soup for appetizers. Potato was a bit better. For entrees, 3 steaks and 1 shrimp and scallops. Everything was good. Not great, but no complaints from anyone. Everyone seemed happy with their food. The server was also very good - he helped Rob with something regarding the logistics of our check since Hailey was 2. Something about paying OOP vs. charging a dining plan credit for her. He went out of his way to help us save some money on the check which I thought was very nice.
For desserts, strawberry shortcake, gray stuff and eclair. Again - all good. No rave reviews but no complaints. Oh, and there was some wine ordered along the way, too. Forgot to mention that. I mean it's the ONLY place to drink in Magic Kingdom. Gotta do it!
The waiter did hear that it was Hailey's birthday so he brought her a cupcake and a birthday card signed by The Beast and Belle.
After dinner we walked around to see the other rooms briefly and got photos with the Beast. Hailey is so good with the characters - not scared at all. She gave the Beast a big hug and we snapped a few pics of our Little Hailey Belle.
Here's a shot of the dessert cart with all the options:
I was glad we got to sit in the ballroom. With the Christmas decorations it was really lovely.
Hailey meeting our dinner host, the Beast. I have some better pictures I will try to post later from Memory Maker once I get through the trip report. This one kind of looks like he wants to eat her and she's trying to escape but they actually hit it off fabulously!
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mrsjoannh13
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 13, 2015
One of the things I really wanted to do today as it's the only day it would work in our MK schedule was to see the Frozen Holiday Wish. I saw videos on YouTube from last year and it just looked incredible. So after BOG, we hurried over to the front of the castle. It was a MAD HOUSE. Between the Frozen Holiday Wish about to start and all of the Christmas party folks coming in, it kind of reminded me of Mardi Gras day on Bourbon Street. Just wall to wall people and hard to move in the direction of your choosing. You kind of go the way the crowd is going. A little scary and frustrating with a toddler in a stroller and Nonna in the wheelchair. But we got a spot a ways back from the castle and just hoisted Little H up so she could see. It was a beautiful show and I'm glad we saw it.
This is the castle at the start of the show:
And here it is after Elsa covers it in icicles:
We had trouble getting out of MK with all the party-goers coming in. I could tell mom was getting frustrated navigating the crowd. People don't realize how hard it can be on someone in a wheelchair when they keep getting cut in front of. And being lower than the crowds in general, they can't really see anything - or at least they can't see as good as those of us able-bodied folks able to stand on our own 2 feet.
Back at the Contemporary, we gave Little H her nightly scrub down. Everyone seemed tired so sleeping in a little late tomorrow should be good to recharge all our batteries.
A shot of the Frozen castle the next morning.
This is the castle at the start of the show:
And here it is after Elsa covers it in icicles:
We had trouble getting out of MK with all the party-goers coming in. I could tell mom was getting frustrated navigating the crowd. People don't realize how hard it can be on someone in a wheelchair when they keep getting cut in front of. And being lower than the crowds in general, they can't really see anything - or at least they can't see as good as those of us able-bodied folks able to stand on our own 2 feet.
Back at the Contemporary, we gave Little H her nightly scrub down. Everyone seemed tired so sleeping in a little late tomorrow should be good to recharge all our batteries.
A shot of the Frozen castle the next morning.
mrsjoannh13
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 13, 2015
SHOULD HAVE BEEN HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS BUT WE SLEPT IN DAY THEN LATER WENT TO HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS ANYWAY DAY AFTER A BRIEF STOP AT THE MAGIC KINGDOM IN THE MORNING WHICH WAS PROBABLY A MISTAKE BECAUSE IT WAS VETERANS DAY DAY
So.... the title above kind of describes today in a nutshell. We planned to do HS in the a.m. and p.m. but everyone needed a bit more rest. We slept in and went down to Chef Mickey's for breakfast. It was good. Not the horror story we'd heard from some people in terms of it being filthy. We didn't notice anything along those lines. The food was fine - not great, not horrible. Just standard breakfast buffet. The service was the worst of our trip - the waitress was slow and didn't check back with us.
It was nice to see all the characters. We felt a little rushed but we got pictures and autographs. It was a packed restaurant so I understand the characters need to keep on schedule and make the rounds. The highlight of the morning was Hailey using her new digital camera to take a picture of Mickey. He then took the camera and snapped a photo of her. It was so funny.
Rob stayed behind to wait for the check from our unbelievably slow waitress. Mom, Dad, H and I went on ahead to MK. We took the monorail and Rob walked. Even waiting for our check, he still beat us to MK.
Hailey loved her new Fisher Price digital camera. She took pictures everywhere.
We were surprised how crowded MK was. It was Veterans Day and a non-party day so that made it so much more crowded. We only had time to do about 3 things all with FP's. First we did It's a Small World. Seriously I LOVE that ride.
I don't know what it is about the colors and little people and just everything about this ride but it makes me stupid happy.
But then.... HAUNTED FRICKIN MANSION. My favorite ride of ALLLLLLLL TIIIIIIME. Like of ALL TIME. How did I not go here first yesterday? I don't know. It's a mystery. Like not ordering lobster at The Boathouse. But I digress...
Hailey actually loved the Haunted Mansion. She called it the ghost ride and said it was her favorite (I think she just said that because I said it was my favorite, but that's okay). I stopped in Memento Mori afterwards and got a H.M. shirt and a book about the history of the ride that I planned to read on the drive home. Yay!
So.... the title above kind of describes today in a nutshell. We planned to do HS in the a.m. and p.m. but everyone needed a bit more rest. We slept in and went down to Chef Mickey's for breakfast. It was good. Not the horror story we'd heard from some people in terms of it being filthy. We didn't notice anything along those lines. The food was fine - not great, not horrible. Just standard breakfast buffet. The service was the worst of our trip - the waitress was slow and didn't check back with us.
It was nice to see all the characters. We felt a little rushed but we got pictures and autographs. It was a packed restaurant so I understand the characters need to keep on schedule and make the rounds. The highlight of the morning was Hailey using her new digital camera to take a picture of Mickey. He then took the camera and snapped a photo of her. It was so funny.
Rob stayed behind to wait for the check from our unbelievably slow waitress. Mom, Dad, H and I went on ahead to MK. We took the monorail and Rob walked. Even waiting for our check, he still beat us to MK.
Hailey loved her new Fisher Price digital camera. She took pictures everywhere.
We were surprised how crowded MK was. It was Veterans Day and a non-party day so that made it so much more crowded. We only had time to do about 3 things all with FP's. First we did It's a Small World. Seriously I LOVE that ride.
I don't know what it is about the colors and little people and just everything about this ride but it makes me stupid happy.
But then.... HAUNTED FRICKIN MANSION. My favorite ride of ALLLLLLLL TIIIIIIME. Like of ALL TIME. How did I not go here first yesterday? I don't know. It's a mystery. Like not ordering lobster at The Boathouse. But I digress...
Hailey actually loved the Haunted Mansion. She called it the ghost ride and said it was her favorite (I think she just said that because I said it was my favorite, but that's okay). I stopped in Memento Mori afterwards and got a H.M. shirt and a book about the history of the ride that I planned to read on the drive home. Yay!
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Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.
Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!
