Way Out Here, Eh? - A June 2019 TR *PTR Link Posted

Woohoo for growing! That will be so nice on future trips.

I'm starting to believe Evie will hit the 44 inch mark by the time we make it back to Disney! :sad2:



100%. We've been buying them since they came out in local stores but they still don't taste the same without that Main Street loop playing in the background.

I bet it's nice to have a little Disney treat at home. Kind of like when you bring back snacks from a trip and break into them.



That's great that you now know how to approach the parks with Evie! And that you had such a fun time!

I can't blame Evie for being overwhelmed by the crowds and noise during a regular day. They are a lot to handle! Knowing what I do now, though, should hopefully mean a little less grumpiness on future trips.



Loved reading about your VAH night. It was just perfect for your family.

I'm so grateful we had the chance to do it. It's tiding us over during this long absence between visits.
 
Thanks for the great review of the Villains party! I was supposed to attend my first in April, but of course that whole trip was cancelled. Someday!

So many cancelled plans. It's still sad to think about. Hope you are doing okay, by the way! I know with school about to start and the uncertainty around everything life must be stressful right now. I'm sending positive thoughts your way! :hug:



This is said so beautifully and I fully agree!
I’m so glad you had a wonderful party night.
How fun to meet Cloe and Dan, I miss her reports
The kids sure enjoyed the night from your review, that is wonderful!


I'm so grateful we did the party, and it was fun meeting Cloe. According to the kids, the party was their favorite part of the trip!
 
On paper those parties sound like a ridiculous waste of money, but man I'd be lying if every single report I see from one doesn't completely flip that thought on its head.

I imagine we're a couple years away from splurging though. We're moving our September trip to next December (covid and new baby on the way), so we'll have an almost 3 year old and an 11 month old. I don't foresee those late nights being a thing for a bit. But every time I read about someone else's experience, it reminds of me of the early days of the Christmas and Halloween parties before they got popular. The low crowds, the exclusivity, the feeling of magic and happiness amped up to 100.

I agree completely. The cost of the party is astronomical, but when you piece it all together it really is almost a better value than a one day ticket. You ride more attractions, get as many snacks as you want, and get a little breathing room on the sidewalks.


I will say, though, the only thing that felt a little wasteful was Evie's ticket. We definitely didn't get our money's worth out of her ticket because she wasn't tall enough to ride the mountains. Waiting and taking the kids when they are older/taller and able to handle the late hours is a wiser idea.





I did not know this about Evie. My daughter also has a fairly mild dairy intolerance that she manages well but has to decide between pizza or an ice cream Mickey Bar on holidays to WDW - can’t have both without paying a not so pleasant price!


Evie's is pretty mild. She just gets a stomachache if she eats too much. She drinks soy milk and doesn't put cheese on stuff like tacos or eggs.
But man....having to pick between pizza and ice cream on vacation is brutal! :rotfl:
Then again, I'm relieved I don't have that kind of decision in general.



This makes complete sense. Disney alone is a lot of stimulation.

That's a Diser family behind you! @Cluelyss and family 🥰 🥰


Oh really?! How awesome! No wonder they were so fun to sit in front of. Us DISers know how to enjoy a party. Thanks for pointing that out. And @Cluelyss your costumes rocked!
 


I'm starting to believe Evie will hit the 44 inch mark by the time we make it back to Disney! :sad2:
it’s so hard not knowing when we will ever get to go back and even worse for you guys as you’re missing family as well. Sending you hugs 🤗
like when you bring back snacks from a trip and break into them.
We do this every trip just to ease the pain a little or relive the magic depending on how the mood is
Knowing what I do now, though, should hopefully mean a little less grumpiness on future trips.
Figuring out our kids definitely helps make for a more enjoyable trip says a mum of a 13 year old without a single character pic!:scared1::rotfl:
According to the kids, the party was their favorite part of the trip!
Wow! High praise indeed!
Evie's is pretty mild. She just gets a stomachache if she eats too much. She drinks soy milk and doesn't put cheese on stuff
Until the age of 2 my daughter couldn’t have any dairy but now she can eat most things in moderation except milks, creamy sauces or yoghurts really so life a lot easier
But man....having to pick between pizza and ice cream on vacation is brutal! :rotfl:
Then again, I'm relieved I don't have that kind of decision in general.
She has resorted to “no cheese” pizza at times just to get the Mickey bar lol. Glad that’s not a choice I ever have to make even if it would be good for my waistline if I did!:rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2:
 
June 14th, 2019:


The party night wiped all four of us out. The kids didn’t wake up until after 9 a.m.; probably the latest they’ve ever slept in their lives! Because of that, we took our sweet time getting ready. This was our last full day at Disney, so it was time to gather all the supplies and shove them back in the suitcases. That kept me occupied for the remainder of the morning.

Around lunchtime, Alex made a push to visit the Magic Kingdom. Personally, I was pretty “parked out” but I knew Alex wanted to catch the Festival of Fantasy parade and would be disappointed if we missed it.

Plus, we had Peter Pan Fastpasses booked.

Those are hot commodities! Couldn’t let Landon miss one last flight over Neverland.



It was hot and muggy out, as evidenced by my kids’ beet red faces:

519435



On this final day I realized we did a pitifully poor job trying out the new park snacks. I had a list on my PTR of things I wanted to try, separated by parks and broken down into priorities. And I hadn’t tried any of them!

I really dropped the Disney food ball.

Man. Didn’t buy my daughter a pair of Minnie ears, didn’t eat a lot of new food, not my finest Disney veteran trip! (Can I blame it on the move? Can I blame EVERYTHING on the move??)

I was craving something savory after PPF and figured everybody would agree with the fan-favorite tater tots. Excuse me, potato barrels. Because that’s happening….


I led us past the carousel to Frior Nook’s and decided which bowl to order:

519436


Sadly, I am the only one in the family who likes spicy food. (Actually, Evie is slowly coming around. She lets me sneak Frank’s onto her burritos.) I would have liked to try the buffalo tots option, but I knew everyone else would rather have Mac and Cheese.

519437


We sat on a bench with our fare and gobbled it down. Then all agreed it was too hot to be outside. An air conditioning break was in order.

The kids thought Philarmagic would fit the bill, but Alex had other ideas in mind. Ever the shopaholic (envision my eye roll here) he set off to Main Street and the Emporium.


Inside, the kids found the Wishables series packet and begged us to get one. I know a bad idea when I see one, and immediately I knew Landon would be irritated if he got a plush he didn’t like. But Alex coaxed me into giving the packets a chance.


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Evie got a Little Mermaid bag and ended with a Scuttle. She was content with it.

Landon got a Toy Story bag and got Zurg.

He was not content.

:rolleyes:


As expected, he didn’t like the toy.

What do you know….mother knew best. Hmmmm.



We took the kids onto the sidewalk near the Barber Shop and sat down. Alex wanted to sit and rest until the parade, and fortunately Evie started up an interesting enough game with Landon that he was willing to play with his new toy.



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While we waited, Alex wanted another snack. I agreed to split something with him on the condition it wasn’t too sweet. I wasn’t in the mood for anything super chocolatey or rich.


He came back with:

519441

A Mickey shaped sugar cookie!


Like seagulls at the sound of a crisp bag at the beach, the kids stopped their game and flocked over to mooch pieces of cookie. Between the four of us, the treat was the perfect amount and was exactly what I wanted. I really liked how there was only a touch of frosting and sprinkles on certain spots. It allowed the sugar cookie to shine through while still giving the occasional touch of sweetness. Without a doubt I’d get this again to share.


As time passed and the parade time grew closer, characters meeting in the middle of Town Square went inside:

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And the clouds in the sky darkened.


Looked like we were going to have yet another rainy day at Disney. Alex was reluctant to call it, so I whipped out our rain jackets and embraced the wet.
When the rain did arrive, the kids had a blast jumping in the puddles.


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Glad somebody was. Because I was one hundred percent over it.

Nine days at Disney can really wear you down. And I was beyond ready to get the heck out of dodge. I told Alex he was free to stay and wait to see if the parade would run, but I was heading back to the room. Reluctantly, he agreed to throw in the towel and come with me.



Eventually, the rainstorm passed. We took the kids to the pool for one final afternoon of fun, Alex ran out for dinner and brought it back, and then we put the kids to bed early. After which, Alex snuck down to the ice cream shop in the Shades lobby and bought us two scoop waffle cones.


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Dessert tastes best when sneaked behind the kids’ backs.


My family had one last hurrah on the horizon before we left the following morning, and it was something I was very much looking forward to.




Up Next…I’ll Only Meet the Girls
 
Looks like a fun day! Glad everyone had a chance to sleep in and rejuvenate.....9 Disney days can definitely be overwhelming! I think I would have called it on the parade too. I am not the biggest fan if waiting in the rain. Can't wait to hear what you had up next!
 


Glad you guys could sleep in after such a long night (and trip)!

I'M not happy when I don't get the wishable I want, I can't imagine a kid feels any better about it! hahaha Alex should have listened to your wise thinking!

Sorry you didn't end up getting to see the parade :(
 
What a great day! Shame the parade didn’t work out but hey at least there was ice-cream ( sshh I won’t tell if you don’t). Landon looks so happy in the rain:goodvibes It’s lovely how close him and Evie seem to be and so good they enjoy playing together:love:
 
(Can I blame it on the move? Can I blame EVERYTHING on the move??)
Yes, absolutely, 100%

but I knew everyone else would rather have Mac and Cheese.
That looks incredible. At this moment there is nothing I want more than a bite of that.

What do you know….mother knew best. Hmmmm.
😂 😂 😂

Without a doubt I’d get this again to share.
Plus it's so cute!

Dessert tastes best when sneaked behind the kids’ backs.
I don't have children but I totally believe this.
 
Sorry the parade got rained out again! Those snacks look yummy- I always have such big plans and then don’t eat even half of it!
 
Around lunchtime, Alex made a push to visit the Magic Kingdom. Personally, I was pretty “parked out” but I knew Alex wanted to catch the Festival of Fantasy parade and would be disappointed if we missed it.

I'm the Alex in our family when it comes to park time. I always want more.

On this final day I realized we did a pitifully poor job trying out the new park snacks. I had a list on my PTR of things I wanted to try, separated by parks and broken down into priorities. And I hadn’t tried any of them!

I really dropped the Disney food ball.

This happens to me every trip too.

I led us past the carousel to Frior Nook’s and decided which bowl to order:
519436

Danielle loves these. So sad they aren't available right now.

A Mickey shaped sugar cookie!

This does look like the perfect combination of sweet but not too sweet.

Nine days at Disney can really wear you down. And I was beyond ready to get the heck out of dodge. I told Alex he was free to stay and wait to see if the parade would run, but I was heading back to the room. Reluctantly, he agreed to throw in the towel and come with me.

I've never reached this point yet.

Dessert tastes best when sneaked behind the kids’ backs.

Absolutely!
 
I have always wanted to get the wishables but it is a rabbit hole I am not willing to go down yet, lol! I know I will have to keep getting them.
The sugar cookie and totchos are my kind of Disney snacking. Yum
It looks like a nice last full day minus the rain ☔
 
I understand your pain with Wishables because I almost never get the ones I want lol. I bought two packs in the Disney store outlet the other day of the Jungle cruise ones and shockingly got the two I wanted- the skipper and the boat! I should've bought a lottery ticket lol
 
I love long Disney trips but those last days - especially in the August heat and rain - can certainly be rough. But humungous Mickey shaped cookies generally help with that :earboy2:

I hate those Wishable things too. Casey is usually happy with whatever she gets, unless its a duplicate of something, which happens way more than it should. But we just call them twins.
 
June 1st, 2019 Part 3:


After checking into our room at Animal Kingdom Lodge, Alex and I returned to our car and drove to Disney Springs. It began pouring on the way over – a classic Florida afternoon thunderstorm where the bottom dropped out of the sky and the wipers weren’t making a dent against the heavy raindrops.

I loved it.

I grew up on summer storms and really miss them when I’m in Europe. Life is a lot easier when I’m contending with the light drizzle that is common in Germany; I can still take the family out and do stuff so long as we have rain jackets and boots. But what’s old and familiar, what reminds me of home, is a good old fashioned rainshower.


Don’t worry, everyone, the universe heard my prayers and delivered this in kind on our trip.

I got my fill of rain this trip.

Ask and ye shall receive.



While driving, Alex was trying to ask me which Disney Springs parking garage dropped us off closest to the stores we wanted.

Man might as well have been asking the clock on the dashboard.

I had no idea.

Still don’t.

The revamped Springs is still new and foreign to me. I was just along for the ride, fulfilling Alex’s first activity of every Disney trip. A tour around the stores…


He took a guess a parked in Lime:

View attachment 429959

Which proved to be the winner.


It was still raining pretty hard when we parked and walked to the escalator area; we waited a few minutes but eventually decided to make a break for UniQlo.

View attachment 429960


Last year, Alex had found a few really cool Marvel shirts from this store, and we had high hopes for finding another gem collection. We browsed the entirety of the store, simply because we didn’t have kids and we could! No navigating a stroller, no holding a reluctant hand, heck we stand and look at specialty shirts from Hawaii for ten minutes and not hear a single complaint!

Okay, I lied.

I grumbled.


As I get older, shopping has gone way downhill on my priority list. To be honest, I sort of hate needing to buy new clothes, and since my kids outgrow their stuff every season, I feel like I’m always in a store, buying them new socks or leggings without holes.
Shopping at Disney Springs is one hundred percent Alex’s red wagon. And while I wasn’t crazy about doing it, I wanted him to get his fill. I picked the resort, the ADRs, even the Fastpasses for our Adults Trip…the least I could do was allow him one hobby.


Done at UniQlo, Alex and I made the dash to the re-designed World of Disney. I know there’s been some debate over whether the changes they made to the interior are better, and while I think they took a lot of the “Disney” look out of the shops, man is it so much more accessible now!


View attachment 429961


Mind you, I loved playing Marco Polo with my wandering husband as much as the next guest. But being able to see into the different sections is so much easier now. Especially with my tall husband; he can actually find me in the crowds versus the messaging back and forth that was our lot in years past.
I’m a fan of the changes.


Walking around the store, I got my first look at the snack series merchandise.

View attachment 429962


I love that Disney snackage is a trend now. Does anyone remember a time when snacks weren’t that well known? When Alex and I first started going to Walt Disney World, the Dole Whip was this hidden gem over in Adventureland. I had no clue about it until I joined the DIS and learned where to go to get one of them. Now, though, I can lay my head on a stuffed snack of my choosing.

And again, I’m a fan of this. The more popular the snacks are, the more Disney will make and the more accessible they will be. Keep dropping Dole Whip stands around property; I never know when the mood for ice cream will hit.



Alex still believed we were in Downtown Disney and that absolutely nothing had changed, so after World of Disney he walked us over (in the rain) to where the old Guest Services building used to be.
“Where are we going?”
“Let’s go ahead and activate our tickets while we’re here.”
“Okay. But Guest Services isn’t over here anymore.”
“You sure?”
“Pretty.”
“Well, let’s just go check and see.”
:rolleyes2

I was so convinced Alex was stuck in the past that I chose to wait outside in the drizzle while he was told the same information.

View attachment 429963


But in typical Alex fashion, what should have been a two minute exchange and morphed into five, forcing me to go in and track him down. As I suspected, he had found a friendly Cast Member in the Photopass shop (NOT the guest services building) and was chatting away. I think they were looking at a map of Disney Springs and discussing the best route to get to…the Guest Services location. Then Alex asked where we could find some nice dish towels for the kitchen, and she directed right across the hall to the Co Op.

I had mentioned before the trip that I would like some Disney towels, and Alex suddenly became distracted by the diversion.
Ticket activation forgotten, we were in another store, moving around the four corners with eyes on lookout for the kitchen section.


We ended up not finding any that we liked but did spot a couple of other nice items that were worth noting.


View attachment 429964
I wish I had a place for that Jungle Cruise artwork.




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Alex loves hats and thought this one was nice, but he said it fit his head weird. Albeit, he’s got a giant head so it’s possible. But I think he regretted not getting it as the trip wore on.


By this time, I was becoming hungry and told Alex we needed to put a pin in shopping and find food. So we left the Co Op and fortunately the rain was almost gone, but that also meant all the Friday night crowds had assembled.
We had a bit of struggle finding walkway space in the crowds, and with my hunger building, I knew we needed to find someplace to eat. Fast.

Alex and I came up to the Polite Pig and quickly decided that would suit our needs just fine.

Barbecue is always a winner in my book.
The line to order, though, was astronomical. It would have taken fifteen minutes just to reach the cash register. Lucky for us, two seats at the bar became available as we stood near the entrance debating our options.

“Want to sit here?”
“We can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because we have kids. Oh. Wait.”
We DIDN’T have kids. We were two adults. We could grab seats at the bar if we wanted.
“Heck yeah, let’s take them!”
:cheer2:


Photographic proof that sitting for a meal was that easy:

View attachment 429966


And like any carefree adult on vacation….we ordered waters.

:rotfl2:
Going crazy at Disney Springs!

We hadn’t drank enough water up to that point, and I am always on high alert for dehydration headaches in Florida. So it was boring old H2O for us.

Alex placed our order with the bartender and the food arrived in less than five minutes. It was unbelievably fast! I’m pretty sure we would have still been waiting to order our food had we been in line.
Talk about a great idea. Alex and I got the pulled pork sandwich and an order of fries to split:

View attachment 429967


The food was good. It wasn’t over the top amazing and not a large portion for what you pay, but it was a nice snack for us to share.

The best part?

Without needing to ketchup another’s plate or cut a chicken strip into thirds or wipe down a messy face, we were finished with our meals in less than ten minutes!

“Alex, we were in and out of that place in less than half an hour.”
“I feel like we skipped something. Did we forget anything?”
“So this is what dinners as adults are like. I forgot.”

How much time have we lost in the parks over the years just from our kids eating their meals???

Anyone have that math?

It has to be a day’s worth. If not the equivalent of a couple Fastpasses.
*sigh*


Leaving the Polite Pig, the two of us went into the (correct) Guest Relations building and waited to sort out our tickets. There was about a fifteen minute wait, but that was fine because there were empty couches and my mom FaceTimed while we waited.


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My babies!

Evie was acting fine with the exception of her cough.

Landon kept looking at the screen and squinting his eyes.

“Where are you guys?”


Uhmmmm.

So before we left, we told Landon were going up to Minnesota to visit his Aunt and her new baby. Which was absolutely true.

I just happened to leave out the entire truth.

“Are you guys at Disney?”

“Why would you say that?”

Landon looked highly suspicious. I don’t know how, though. Behind me on the screen was a wall with artwork of the Springs, nothing overtly Disney. Nevertheless, he was studying the area hard.

I remember making eye contact with my mom and both of us raising our brows.

How did he know?!

He probably sensed it.


SOMEONE IS AT DISNEY WITHOUT ME!


:rotfl:

Whether he figured it out or not, I’m not sure, but he decided to drop the subject, and we spoke for a few more minutes before our names were called.


The Cast Member who worked with us managed to activate all of our tickets, including the kids’ so we wouldn’t have to do that later on, and swapped our passes from childrens to adults. Alex had purchased our tickets through Shades of Green in order to get the Florida resident/tax free prices, and when they had sent them to us, they had given us Kids Annual Passes. Since they were the same price, it was just a matter of the CM correcting the error on MDE. Hallelujah.





Up Next…I’m Eating This For You
To mention polite pig is amazing! I don’t eat much meat. (Picky eater due to an accident in 2017.) The Brussels sprouts are amazing at polite pig!
 
Looks like a fun day! Glad everyone had a chance to sleep in and rejuvenate.....9 Disney days can definitely be overwhelming! I think I would have called it on the parade too. I am not the biggest fan if waiting in the rain. Can't wait to hear what you had up next!

I think if I'm going to visit Disney for 9 days again, I need to plan a rest day after every 3 days or so. I'm just not cut out for the go-go-go touring style!



Glad you guys could sleep in after such a long night (and trip)!

I'M not happy when I don't get the wishable I want, I can't imagine a kid feels any better about it! hahaha Alex should have listened to your wise thinking!

Sorry you didn't end up getting to see the parade :(

I applaud everyone who's brave enough to get blind packs at Disney. Back when I bought pins, the stress of mystery packs was too much! There's just too much uncertainty! :rotfl:




What a great day! Shame the parade didn’t work out but hey at least there was ice-cream ( sshh I won’t tell if you don’t). Landon looks so happy in the rain:goodvibes It’s lovely how close him and Evie seem to be and so good they enjoy playing together:love:

Landon's pretty good about not letting the elements effect his mood. Evie, though, if it's cold or windy, she's grouchy. :laughing:
 
That looks incredible. At this moment there is nothing I want more than a bite of that.

I miss Disney snacks fiercely. If I had known I would not be returning to the parks for this long, I would have powered through and eaten many more treats!



Sorry the parade got rained out again! Those snacks look yummy- I always have such big plans and then don’t eat even half of it!

I really need to keep a list on my phone of what I want to try. After we leave a park, I'm always going, "Man, there was a yummy looking snack there I meant to get."
Next trip, right?! Whenever that may be...



I'm the Alex in our family when it comes to park time. I always want more.

I do feel bad that I don't stay in the parks as long as Alex wants to, but fortunately I think Landon has developed that "never enough" mindset. Him and Alex can tour the parks to their hearts' content while Evie and I hang back at the resort.
 
I have always wanted to get the wishables but it is a rabbit hole I am not willing to go down yet, lol!

There's so many collections and lines when it comes to Disney merchandise, you have to draw the line somewhere! :rotfl:



I understand your pain with Wishables because I almost never get the ones I want lol. I bought two packs in the Disney store outlet the other day of the Jungle cruise ones and shockingly got the two I wanted- the skipper and the boat! I should've bought a lottery ticket lol

Oh wow! That's pretty great luck there! I just can't handle spending the money and potentially not getting what I want. I hate uncertainty! :laughing:
 

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