“You’re My Favorites: Now Go Away!” Feb/Mar 2019 First Family Trip (Complete 8/19)

I'll be interested to hear how your FP+ plans turned out!

I'm thrilled you all loved the Lion King! I don't remember a parade at the end, but perhaps that's new in the past few years with all those dining packages.

That's definitely a longer-than-average wait for the safari with a FP+, but thankfully a lot of the queue has somewhat of a cover. It may have been worth it for the good luck of sitting in the back of the vehicle!
 
I’m enjoying your trip report. We took our daughter last year at 5; it’s a great age for Disney. That said, she’s giddy she will be tall enough for the bigger rides on our next trip.
 
I have caught up, I am so impressed with your Disney planning, love it!

Andi and I are always amazed how people just come to Disney and have no clue what to do, many cranky first time park goers!

I love AK, the details and beauty of this park always amazes me.
 


I am all caught up. I read a post yesterday and lost all of my comments. ;(

The girls loved it, too. I know most kids favor the monkeys, but mine were hands down for the dancing birds.
Gwen loved the guy twirling the fire baton the first time.

I hope Animal Kingdom turned out to be a good day! The Disney tireness is hard. I find even with the times we rest they are still so tired some times!
 
I was a few updates behind, but I'm all caught up now.

It doesn't help you much, but I was kind of relieved to read about about just an "okay" experience at HDDR. Everyone talks the show up so much, that I felt like I was missing out on a Disney classic. However, I'm like your husband and don't like the food offerings so I had resigned myself to being the one person who couldn't sing HDDR's praises. It came as a nice surprise to see that you thought one of the other monorail restaurants would be just as worth your time and money.


Poor C...all those early mornings catching up to her. Kids can become quite emotional fast when they're tired. And not getting picked to join in the parade is one of those little moments that can snowball for them.
Had to laugh at your comment about five kids talking to you versus three. I've made a similar comment when several of my son's friends have tried to say something all at once at the bus stop before. After a point it just becomes the Charlie Brown "whomp whomp whomp" sound.

KS can be a Catch-22. It's exciting because it's live animals! But because it's live animals you have to be patient when things like a rhino block the road. Glad the holdup didn't take too terrible long and that you were able to see some animals you can't see back home.
 


I'll be interested to hear how your FP+ plans turned out!

I'm thrilled you all loved the Lion King! I don't remember a parade at the end, but perhaps that's new in the past few years with all those dining packages.

That's definitely a longer-than-average wait for the safari with a FP+, but thankfully a lot of the queue has somewhat of a cover. It may have been worth it for the good luck of sitting in the back of the vehicle!

Calling it a parade might be overkill. A couple kids from each section dance around a very little bit and then go back to their seats.

The safari wait was unfortunate, but Disney obviously doesn't control stubborn animals.

We loved the back of the vehicle! It was great to be able to turn around and keep watching animals that were being particularly active.

I’m enjoying your trip report. We took our daughter last year at 5; it’s a great age for Disney. That said, she’s giddy she will be tall enough for the bigger rides on our next trip.

Thanks! I do think this was an awesome age for a first trip, but I'm also looking forward to planning without having to factor in rider swaps in the future.

I have caught up, I am so impressed with your Disney planning, love it!

Andi and I are always amazed how people just come to Disney and have no clue what to do, many cranky first time park goers!

I love AK, the details and beauty of this park always amazes me.

I dislike being out of the loop at a new place in general, much less somewhere as expansive as Disney. That urge has only grown since having the kids, too. If I didn't want to end up turned around when it was just Hubby and me, I really dislike getting things messed up or confused when there are three little girls relying on me. Of course, Disney planning is a whole other level than just looking up bathroom locations and ride height requirements before heading to a local Six Flags. :-)

This has been fun to read! Thanks!

Thank you.

Gwen loved the guy twirling the fire baton the first time.

I hope Animal Kingdom turned out to be a good day! The Disney tireness is hard. I find even with the times we rest they are still so tired some times!

My girls dislike too much pyro, so the fire baton twirling was never going to win them over. Ballet, though, they love!

The Disney tiredness is next level, for sure. I just wish they would sleep in and/or nap when given the chance, but it never happens for them.

It doesn't help you much, but I was kind of relieved to read about about just an "okay" experience at HDDR. Everyone talks the show up so much, that I felt like I was missing out on a Disney classic. However, I'm like your husband and don't like the food offerings so I had resigned myself to being the one person who couldn't sing HDDR's praises. It came as a nice surprise to see that you thought one of the other monorail restaurants would be just as worth your time and money.

I'm not sure why HDDR just didn't quite do it for the adults in our party. Not everything can be for everyone, I guess.

Poor C...all those early mornings catching up to her. Kids can become quite emotional fast when they're tired. And not getting picked to join in the parade is one of those little moments that can snowball for them.

I knew coming into this trip that I'd end up dealing with the effects of overtired kiddos, eventually. I had just hoped that it would take a little longer because I didn't factor in how much earlier than normal they'd be jumping out of bed. At least they were taking turns being the Grump Du Jour. It's so much more frustrating when they're all in a funk together.

Had to laugh at your comment about five kids talking to you versus three. I've made a similar comment when several of my son's friends have tried to say something all at once at the bus stop before. After a point it just becomes the Charlie Brown "whomp whomp whomp" sound.

My one friend and I go out a lot with our kids, which means six kids seven and under who are all quite chatty. I've gotten adept at following 3-4 conversation chains at once by this point :-)

KS can be a Catch-22. It's exciting because it's live animals! But because it's live animals you have to be patient when things like a rhino block the road. Glad the holdup didn't take too terrible long and that you were able to see some animals you can't see back home.

In the grand scheme of things, the wait wasn't bad and the safari was more than worth it. Those kind of delays are bound to happen, one way or another.
 
Park Day Four: Animal Kingdom (cont’d)

We didn’t have far to go for our ADR and were checked in at Tusker House at 11:57. I had heard that this was one of the places most likely to make you wait, plus there were several groups milling out front. When the host checked us in, he estimated a 15-minute wait and told us to stay in the area to be called. Given the restaurant’s reputation and the crowd, I asked if he could instead text us when our table was ready and he was happy to oblige. That would give us the chance to wander a bit into Africa instead of just staying put. In reality, by the time the kids all had water (ice water and cups were on a table for self-service) and pressed a penny, we got the table ready text. We were heading in at 12:02pm after only a 5 minute wait.

Our server came to take our drink order and warn us not to go up to the buffet quite yet because we would have special visitors soon. I asked about available specialty drinks on the DDP, which included all of the adult beverages on the menu plus a few flavored lemonades for the kids. Hubby and I both got cocktails and the kids split between Jungle Juice and the flavored lemonade. Before our drinks could even come out, we were hit by a wave of friends.

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All of the character interactions were fun. My memory with Donald and Mickey is a little fuzzy, as I was so focused on getting autograph books and pens in hands. I do know that Daisy drew a little heart next to Donald’s name before signing her own, which the girls really liked. She was very sweet when they said that she was B’s favorite. Plus, I was glad to have three of the four characters done in the first fifteen minutes. It would give us some time to pick and eat our food without jumping up too much. The server brought our drinks and told us to go ahead to the buffet because Goofy was having a rest.

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This was our first of two buffet scheduled for this trip and the girls were very excited. We found out when we cruised for their fourth birthday that they adore buffets because they love seeing all of the choices and being able to pick exactly what they want. I think they may love them as much as Hubby and I disdain having to juggle plates of food and kids who want to look everywhere but where they’re walking. The fact that a plate of food hasn’t landed on one of their heads is downright miraculous.

As is our buffet custom, we had to first tour the whole spread and discuss options. When the girls saw the kid-height buffet section, they lost their minds. Bring them to a theme park, put them on world class rides, let them meet all kinds of characters, and they’ll tell anyone who will listen that there was a buffet down where they could reach! My feelings about the kid sized buffet are very similar to how I feel about the kid sized grocery carts at Trader Joes: the kids are in their glory and I’m gritting my teeth trying to let them do it themselves while every part of my being just wants to intercede so that things move faster and with less likelihood of injury or spills. We were on vacation, so I did in fact let them use the tongs themselves to pick each grape and cheese cube individually for their plates. I loaded in some chicken wings, corn dog nuggets, and rice for good measure.

Once their three plates were done up, we got them situated and Hubby went to make his plate while I started cutting food. It turned out that whomever ordered the lemonade didn’t actually like it, so that got moved to the adult section of the table and the CM brought extra jungle juice as a replacement. By the time Hubby made it back, the girls had eaten all of the fruit and cheese, so I made a quick fruit run to keep them happy before heading over to make my own plate. I grabbed a couple of sides and headed for the carving station when one of the girls came and told me she had to go to the bathroom. I put my half-done plate down, started towards the bathrooms, and quickly ran into an unwelcome sight.

There were two CMs letting people know that the restaurant bathrooms were out of order and that we could go out to the marketplace bathrooms instead. They had even posted another CM at the emergency exit door that fed out that way so that we could go straight out and back in without having to walk back through check in. In addition to the CMs, I could see several large tools and folks in construction uniforms coming and going, so this was clearly a big plumbing issue and one they were actively working to resolve. We headed out to find a line out the door for the marketplace bathrooms, which at least moved quickly.

Once we were back in Tusker, my lunch plans were derailed by the other two girls saying they had to go, too. Hubby took them this time, since I hadn’t seen a line for the men’s room, but it took him a while as well. Thus began our sitcom-worthy 5 trips to the restrooms over the course of one lunch. I went three times, Hubby went twice, and each trip after the first included two children saying they had to go. For anyone doing the math, that leaves each girl using the bathroom three times during the meal!! You see, it was a hot day, the girls probably started the meal a little dehydrated, and they each downed their entire jungle juice. Life lesson: if you find out a restaurant has drastically reduced bathroom capacity, take the kids drinks away ASAP. After the first two trips, we figured out that we were seated by an emergency exit door that dumped out to the Lion King bathrooms, which were larger and less crowded. Whomever stayed behind just had to watch the window to let the crew back in through the emergency door upon their return.

In between bathroom trips, I did manage to make and eat a real plate of food. I enjoyed it, but I couldn’t tell you what I had. The ridiculousness of the near constant restroom visits has blocked this meal from my mind, other than the bread pudding, which was phenomenal. As we were finishing up dessert, as I asked the server out the little parade that happens around the restaurant as well as our meeting with Goofy. She told me the next parade was 1:25pm and Goofy wouldn’t be far behind.

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The girls were in their glory following Daisy with their maracas. You’ll be shocked to hear that, after their trip around the room, two of them needed the bathroom! I rushed them out the side door to the Lion King bathrooms, reminding them the whole way that we needed to move fast so we that we wouldn’t miss Goofy. Of course, we got out of the restroom at the same time that the show let out. I just had to hold on tight to the girls and shove through, as it seemed I was moving completely upstream of everyone else in that moment. Like I said, sitcom-worthy. We did make it back just in time for our visit.

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We headed out and tried to regroup to see what to do next. I had hoped to do Gorilla Falls before lunch and Jungle Trek after, but the lost water bottle and safari FP delay hadn’t allowed that. Plus, despite being seated early, we still weren’t out the door until 1:45pm, or one hour, forty minutes past our ADR time. I had budgeted as much as two hours for lunch, so we still had some cushion, but not enough to do both trails. I asked the girls if they would rather see gorillas or tigers, but they requested bears. A quick google search got me nowhere, so I left Hubby and the girls browsing at a little booth and headed to ask the CMs back near the safari if there were any bears in the park. I didn’t have high hopes, because I figured google would have found them, and the CMs confirmed that there were no bears in the park. When I went back to give the girls the bad news, I found them deeply engrossed in pin shopping. Having acquired their two pins the day before, they wanted to buy a lanyard and just about every pin on display. Had I known that they’d be getting into pin trading, I would have purchased pins and lanyards on the cheap before our visit After considering it, I had actually decided we had enough going on without trying to add pin trading to our trip. The universe had other plans, so we let the girls use their gift cards to select one pin each and a lanyard to share.

Pins purchased, they wanted to play on the nearby drums and I needed to regroup. They didn’t seem all that excited about either of the animal trails, we had just blown our buffer time buying pins, and we needed to be in front of the tree of life in 30 minutes for an experience I thought the girls would really love. After thinking through our options, I landed on a new course of action: find Kevin, visit the Lion King dance party, and head to the Tree of Life. That’s exactly what we did.

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Having never seen Up, the girls don’t know who Kevin is, but they were still very impressed by her. That is one intricate costume and it was cool to see it in action. They were much more familiar with Rafiki and Timon, whom they kept wanting to dance much too close to. I would back them up a bit, remind them that lots of kids want to have a chance to dance with them, too, and they’d back up for a bit before once again sidling up too close. I have to give a lot of credit to those CMs, it has to be hard to be moving around with a large costume and limited visibility in a sea of kids well below your eye line.

I had misjudged the popularity of our next item on the agenda, so we had time to take some family Photopass pictures and still get front row seats for Winged Encounters. The pictures of the show aren’t awesome, but this was fun to see in person. There are three perches that the birds can freely fly between while the CM is talking about them and then there’s a big flyover at the end.

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After our flyover, it was time for our first attempt at rider swap. I had an EE FP and Hubby was taking the kids around to the Mickey and Minnie M&G on their 4 FPs. We crossed the bridge into Dinoland and headed around toward Everest. As we walked, I was very aware of how crowded everything felt. As a Disney rookie, I wasn’t sure if this was normal for this stretch of AK or if we were having a high crowd level day. After looking at TP the next day, they said that we had a crowd level 9, so it wasn’t just my imagination. This walk was also the first time that I had underestimated how far we’d be going between attractions. Up to this point in the trip, I felt like things on the map looked more spaced out on paper than they felt in person. Walking through Dinoland, past the Finding Nemo theater, and to Everest was a slog. Looking at the map after the fact, I don’t think going through Asia would have been any faster, though. Whichever way you swing it, EE is a hike from the tree of life because you have to go halfway around the Rivers of Lights stadium one way or the other.

We arrived at 2:46pm and I found the CM who was issuing RS passes. After pointing out my three too-short kids in the strollers, I told her I was riding FP and Hubby needed the swap. She looked at the trio and said that they would be tall enough to ride. Now, I had been monitoring their height very closely in the months leading up to the trip. C, my shortest by 0.25”, had measured 42.75” in December at the pediatrician, so I knew they’d be close to 44” once you factor in shoes. Just before our trip, I measured her in shoes against the wall and she was still only at 43.5”. If the girls were huge thrill seekers, I probably would have gone looking for cheap shoes with a thick sole. But, since they were hesitant on the more aggressive thrill rides at our local theme park, I wasn’t going to push it.

I had C hop out of the stroller to measure and, lo and behold, she was tall enough to ride. She didn’t have to try to stand tall or anything, either. Her head was clearly hitting the bar. Height aside, my girls weren’t going anywhere near a roller coaster that went backwards in a dark cave. They had gotten nervous in the backwards section of Spaceship Earth and, when I told the CM as much, she went ahead and loaded the RS onto Hubby’s band. I gave Hubby directions on how to get to Mickey and Minnie from Asia and sent him on his way while I hopped into the EE FP line.

While waiting, I started working through what C’s height would mean for the rest of the trip. The three rides we were RSing because of the 44” requirement were EE, FoP, and Space Mountain. Our EE swap was successful despite the kids being tall enough, Space was going to be a standby/4th FP for the first rider, anyway, but my FoP FP was for only 2 hours out and we had a problem. FoP was the ride that people had been given the most grief about when getting RSs. Now, not only did my 2nd party not have FPs but the non-riders were opting to skip despite being tall enough. My best hope was going to be trying to pick up 4 FPs for a time that overlapped mine in the next same day drop. Yup, that’s right ladies and gentlemen, my plan was now contingent on my ability to pick up 4 same day FoP FPs which would have to be valid in the next couple of hours before we needed to head for Rivers of Light. No pressure, though.

The next drop was supposedly scheduled for 3:01pm, so I was trying to gauge if I would be able to get on and off of EE by then. Otherwise, I could stay back a bit in the FP line, wait for the 3:01 drop, and then board the coaster. Thankfully, the FP line was moving well and my ride photo is time stamped 2:56pm.

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After the ride, I quickly tapped for my pic, exited the gift shop, and found a section of curb where I could sit. I had more faith in the browser than the app, so that’s the route I decided to take and I was refreshing starting at 2:59pm. Right at 3:01pm, I was offered a party of 4 at 5:35pm. I booked it and immediately attempted to modify, since it only afforded us 5 minutes of overlap (plus grace periods) with my existing FP. Upon modifying, I snagged at 4:30pm for a party of 4, which was essentially a perfect match for my 4:40pm solo FP!

I practically skipped over to meet back up with Hubby and the kids. I had just ridden an awesome roller coaster but that didn’t even come close to the adrenaline rush I had grabbing those FPs. It felt like a validation of my year of intensive research for this vacation; this was the medal being draped around my neck at the end of a hard-fought race. I made it over to the M&G and found our strollers, but no sign of the family, yet. I was going to see if the CMs at the greet would let me try to find them in the line when my crew emerged.

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Hubby was glad to see me and had done enough reading of his own to be psyched that I managed to pick up the FPs. However, his joy was a little more tempered given his experience in the 20 minutes since we parted. I had found the walk around to EE long and crowded with all three kids safely contained in strollers. He had to do it with a folded umbrella stroller resting on the canopy of the double and one girl “helping” him push the other two. Then, the FP line was a bit backed up because Mickey and Minnie needed a break, so he ended up hosting a small story time for our trio plus a few other families in line using the character encyclopedia. While he was excited about riding FoP together later, I think he was more excited to be back together as a unit and on our way to an air-conditioned show. The temps really weren’t that bad; we’re used to the heat and humidity during summer in NJ, but the contrast of leaving February temps and being dropped into the mid-80s was taking its toll.

We loaded the strollers up and made the hike back around to the Finding Nemo show. I understand why there’s no bridge from Discovery Island to that side of the park, it would be right in the middle of Rivers of Light, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. By the time we found stroller parking, the standby line was being let into Finding Nemo. Even with a crowd level 9 and our late arrival, we were able to get seats in the middle of the theater about two thirds of the way back from the stage.

I don’t have any pictures but, wow, what a good show! Everyone always makes such a fuss about FotLK which was, admittedly, gorgeous. Nemo, on the other hand, is one that people seem to think is fine, or good for a rest, but maybe a little boring. I came in with that mindset and was completely blown away. The production quality, the original music, and the puppeteering were so much more than a theme park musical has any right to be. Maybe it’s the original music that turns people off; these aren’t songs that they already know, love, and sing-along to. Hubby and I both walked out surprised that Disney hadn’t adapted the show into a full-length production and sent it on the road. The combination of puppeteering and performance was awesome. The large puppets especially, like the ray, shark, and sea turtle, were a sight to behold. Plus, fun fact: the composers for this show are also responsible for Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon, and Frozen. I mean, Robert Lopez is the first ever double EGOT winner. That’s a lot of talent to funnel into a show that isn’t going to NYC. Maybe there just wasn’t enough there to stretch it into a full length run time? Regardless, we were thoroughly impressed and the fact that it gave us 30 minutes to rest in air conditioning was an added bonus.

After the show, it was my turn to traverse the park with three kids in tow while Hubby took his swap on EE. We headed to the bathrooms behind Primeval Whirl and headed toward Triceratops Spin. The line didn’t look bad but the girls still weren’t interested in doing this particular spinner, so we continued onward to The Boneyard. They were off the minute we got through the gate and didn’t look back. Had they been younger, this would have been a very stressful stop for me. Luckily, we’ve made it to an age where I can be that mom messing around on her phone on a bench while the kids play. I remember chasing three two-year-olds around or pushing swings endlessly and being so jealous of the moms of older kids who got to have conversations without maintaining constant vigilance. It was with a sense of accomplishment that I lost sight of my kids and pulled up Facebook, knowing that they’d come find me if they needed something. While they were playing, Hubby was enjoying his encounter the Yeti.

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Hubby met back up with us and we firmed up our evening plans. We had plenty of time to use our FoP FPs but I was worried that, if we let the kids play until the last possible minute, they’d come out insisting that they were hungry and we’d have to decide between eating and riding. Instead, I wanted to go use the FPs and then let them play without a deadline hanging over our heads. It was not a small project convincing the girls to leave the boneyard, but I eventually managed it. It wasn’t until I told them that a) we’d be able to use the fast line on b) the really cool ride that the twins from the bus stop couldn’t stop talking about and c) we’d come right back to the boneyard afterwards that they willfully proceeded onward.

We got to FoP at about 4:50 and the kids started tapping in and walking ahead before the CM caught them for a height check. A and B were fine, but C wasn’t quite measuring up. I figured she was slouching, since she had clearly hit the bar at EE two hours earlier, but no matter what we did, she was a hair too short. And, I mean a hair literally because her hair was touching the bar but her head was not. The CMs really tried to help us out; they told her to blow out all of her air and take a deep breath in at the same time that she stood as tall as she could, but her head just wouldn’t touch.

Internally, I was livid. The only reason that I had booked this FP and gotten her hopes up was because she measured up at Disney’s own stick on the other side of the park. If we were doing this as a parent-only swap, I would have told them it was a scary ride that they didn’t want to do anyway. Instead, I had sold this as the best thing in Disney just to get them out of the boneyard and now C had to watch her two sisters go ahead and ride while she couldn’t. Of course, I had to swallow that reaction and be there to console my on-the-verge-of-tears daughter. To add insult to injury, the kid who didn’t get to ride was already having an overtired, grumpy, off sort of day. The CM loaded RSs for me, A, and B, then gave me and C a NRJ FP to use while we waited. They also gave her a paper card that will be good for a FP for her whole party once she is tall enough to ride. A couple of tears were shed, but I managed to stave off a full melt down by reminding her that this meant she would get special time with Mommy in the park.

I was feeling guilty as hell and laying it on thick, so I offered a piggy back ride over to NRJ. That may not be a big deal for most kids but, since they outnumber their parents, my girls rarely get that privilege. We tapped into NRJ at 5:02 to a very short wait before enjoying another beautiful ride through Pandora. On the way out, we bumped into a PP photographer and decided to commemorate the occasion.

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When we got to the FoP dump area, I told her she could get a special treat before dinner and that she could pick from what was available in the area. I tried to sell her on the Pongu Lumpia or the Night Blossom, but she really wanted “the blue cupcake.” I warned her that it wasn’t a cupcake and it might have a weird texture, but she was sold the moment she saw the picture on the menu board. She was seated an enjoying a treat that she didn’t have to share (another rarity in our family) at 5:23pm. As I suspected, she only took a few bites before telling me that she didn’t really like it. I thought it was delicious, but the flavor and texture were a bit more nuanced than her five-year-old pallet appreciated.

The rest of the family were off the ride a few minutes later and A and B ran ahead of Hubby when they spotted us. I asked what they thought of the ride and they told me that they loved it while, behind them, Hubby’s eyes bugged out and he violently shook his head. Upon further questioning, they admitted that they got a little scared at times but that it was fun. In Hubby’s version, they got freaked out by the preshows, disliked how they had to sit on the ride, and screamed through most of it while frequently dropping their glasses. Needless to say, it wasn’t the most immersive experience for Hubby. I asked if they wanted to ride it again but they said that once was enough. We decided that Hubby would take the girls back to the boneyard and text me his and the kids’ dinner orders from whichever combination of Satu’li, Flame Tree, or Restaurantasaurus they wanted, as those were the places I’d be passing on the way to them.

I wasn’t about to let those two RS passes go to waste, so I grabbed A and B’s plastic tickets and headed for the FoP standby entrance. I flagged a couple down on their way into the line and brought them through FP instead. It turns out they were season passholders who had never managed to get FPs for FoP, so they’d only ever experienced it in standby. We didn’t encounter any resistance up to the merge point. Even better, as soon as we were through, the CMs were calling for a party of three, so we were sent straight into the first preshow room. The ride was as incredible as everyone says; silly as it may be, I think the matching smells were my biggest “wow” moment.

I was off the ride at 6:00pm and I had a text from Hubby requesting a beef bowl from Satu’li for himself and a burger for the girls. He hadn’t specified his base or sauce, so I had to give him a call, anyway. He said that the kids were still playing strong and had told him that, while they would want a burger for dinner, they weren’t hungry yet. None of the adult beverages from Satu’li were speaking to either of us, so I just got a soda to go with his bowl and put in a mobile order for a burger and a margarita at Restaurantasaurus. Pro tip: while Satu’li uses real bowls and silverware, they also have to-go boxes and disposable forks tucked under the drink station if you need them.

It was about 6:15pm when I met back up with Hubby. That only left us an hour to eat and get to our seats before Rivers of Light, so we told the girls it was time to go. I marked in the mobile app to begin preparing the girls’ dinner and we went over to grab a seat. I picked up our food, cut the burger in thirds, took a couple glugs of margarita, and put in my own mobile order. I wasn’t very hungry after the big lunch, so I decided to try the pulled pork cheese fries from Flame Tree as my meal. I clicked to prepare my order and headed back onto Discovery Island. The fries weren’t ready when I arrived but came out quickly thereafter.

By the time I got back to Dinoland, Hubby and the girls were done eating. They stole a couple of my fries and then he took everyone else on a bathroom trip so that I could enjoy my cheesy, fatty goodness along with my half of the margarita. Everything hit the spot and I was finishing up while he walked them next door to Dino-Bite for ice cream cookie sandwiches. Being responsible vacation parents, we told the girls they could each get their own treat although we knew it was going to end up being way too much food. Even the CMs at the food stand tried to talk Hubby out of ordering that many, but a deal’s a deal. Each girl was the proud owner of three scoops of ice cream piled between two huge chocolate chip cookies. At 6:52pm we were on the move toward the dining plan section of RoL, which is near the Nemo theater.

Despite being a short walk, our trip was rather cumbersome. I didn’t want to give the kids the ice cream until we were seated at the stadium, so I tried to balance all three treats on the parent console of the double stroller. It would work for a few moments until one of them melted enough that the balance of the tower shifted and started to fall. Thank goodness the walk was short! We parked the strollers and Hubby headed down with the kids each carrying her own sandwich. Meanwhile, I still needed to hit the Nemo restrooms before heading in myself.

Hubby got seats on the aisle about halfway down in the small section reserved for the dining plan. The girls were struggling to eat their treats because they were too wide for their little mouths, but we managed to break things up into smaller pieces and start passing bites around. We had chocolate and strawberry ice cream versions, and they were both delicious. A couple minutes before showtime, we had consumed half of the three sandwiches and I ran the remaining soggy goop up to trash cans while Hubby used my mom-stash of napkins and wet wipes to do his best to clean up the girls. I was back in the seat and the girls were as clean as they were going to be right in time for the 7:15pm show.

Once again, we came into this show with low expectations and were pleasantly surprised. A nighttime fireworks show it is not, but I thought it was beautiful in its own right. The projections on the fountains as they moved were a cool effect, something I hadn’t seen before. It certainly doesn’t have the high energy, grand finale feeling of the even shows elsewhere, but perhaps there’s a place for a chill, lower key end of night show at AK. It’ll be interesting to see how people feel about it after the announced update. Perhaps with the addition of IP, people will be more open to a non-fireworks show.

RoL was done about 7:35 and we were able to get out of the stadium quickly being on an aisle in a small section. Since the park didn’t close until 8pm and we were right there, Hubby and I decided to dash over and ride EE one more time in single rider. There was almost no line, and I was riding just a few minutes later.

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This coaster is even better in the dark and I’m so glad we snuck these rides in! Hubby and the girls were waiting for me right at the exit where you can tap for your photo so that he could jet over to the line ASAP. I’m pretty sure the kids tapped every ride photo from our coaster; they just loved using their MBs. While we waited for Hubby, we found the EE pressed penny machine and the girls did a quick pin trade with the CM at the register.

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He was off the ride at 7:56pm for an 8pm close, so we could have tossed a coin for one more ride if we really wanted to. Other families were speed walking through the exit to get right back on and I was a little bummed that the girls weren’t tall enough for us to all be grabbing in a few last rides together. When they’re a little older and a little more daring, we can be that family, too. For this trip, we decided to make the adult decision and start heading to the exit with our sleepy kiddos. We caught a little bit of the Tree of Life Awakenings while we walked. I thought about stopping for another set of PP photos, this time at night, but the long day was clearly taking its toll on the kids so we headed straight to the buses. There was another long back up at the Boardwalk bus, but Yacht Club pulled right up with no one waiting in the next line over. Once again, we opted to hop the bus where we knew we’d get seats and walk around Crescent Lake, rather than waiting an unknown amount of time for what was clearly going to be an overloaded bus. We were walking up to Yacht Club at 8:34pm and to our room just a few minutes later. We quickly showered the girls and they crashed as soon as the lights went out.

Our open-to-close day in Animal Kingdom was a success. In looking back at my plan, the only thing we missed was taking the time to see more animals. We did the safari and Winged Encounters, but didn’t do either of the main trails or any of the little parts of Discovery Island. We have passes to an excellent zoo here (the Philadelphia Zoo is actually the oldest in the US) but I still wanted to experience more of the zoo-like portions of the park. As it turns out, the kids wanted to spend that time buying pins and playing in the Boneyard, both of which made them very happy, so I’m not considering it a huge loss. I’m not sure how to recap our rides for the day, since we had 2 family rides, 6 rider swapped rides, and 1 Mommy-C consolation ride. I guess we’ll just call it 9 rides, 3 shows, 2 character encounters, 1 dance party, 1 nighttime spectacle, nearly an hour combined of playground time, and 1 exceedingly long bathroom break broken up by attempts to eat lunch.
 
Dining Plan Day 5

Day 5 Actual Spending
Kusafiri: $14.42
Creature Comforts: $12.82
Tusker House: $275.30
Water Bottle: $3.75
Satu’li Dessert for C: $5.66
Satu’li Meal: $19.24
Restaurantasaurous: $25.99
Flame Tree BBQ: $7.48
Dino-Bite Snacks: $22.44

DDP Day 5 Value: $387.10

Total DDP To Date: $1,701.90
Amount remaining to break even: $413.01

Moderate Splurge Adjustments
If I were paying out of pocket, I would have made Tusker House the latest breakfast reservation so I could get the lower cost. That would also eliminate the snacks from Kusafiri, since we would be eating much earlier in the day. I’m leaving the Starbucks in, though, because Hubby and I were both dragging and we would have needed the extra pick me up that morning. Out of pocket, we’d also eliminate three adults beverages between Tusker and Restaurantasaurous and one soda at Satu’li. I added one more QS dinner, though, as I’m assuming I’d want a more substantive meal if the buffet had been a late breakfast. Finally, we would have kept the crazy ice cream sandwich order to two, one chocolate and one strawberry, if we had been footing the bill. In all of the above, I think we came out with a better overall experience on the DDP. I was able to schedule the big meal when I wanted it, enjoy a few adult beverages, and let the kids go a little nuts with dessert. The time we let them get ice cream sandwiches “as big as our heads, and we each got our own!” is a top story from the trip that we wouldn’t have if we were being our usual miserly selves.

Moderate Splurge Day Five Estimated Cost (Tax and Tip): $291.52
Moderate Splurge Budget To Date: $1,145.17
 
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I really shouldn't have laughed at your bathroom story, but oh my goodness what a circus that must've felt like for you! I'm surprised you had time to eat with the constant trips in and out of the restaurant. Note to self: don't let the kids guzzle water at the start of a meal.

It made me really frustrated to hear C passed the height bar at EE but not FOP. Clearly, Disney wasn't consistent with the their measurements, and that is disastrous for parents and their kids. Poor children can't understand why they're 44 inches at one ride but 43.75 at another. Made me a little sad to read about C not being allowed on the attraction while A and B could go. Way to go, though, for making that time extra special. In the end, those one on one interactions can mean more than a headline attraction, but it's hard to process in the moment.

Admittedly, I have never seen the Nemo show, something I really need to remedy one day soon. I did not know it was made by the same creators of Avenue Q and Book of Mormon.


I am completely awed and amazed by your skills at landing 4 FOP Fastpasses! That's amazing. So 3:00 is the secret? I am locking that key piece of information in my planning notes. Is that the same time for other parks' passes? (So if I was looking for a 7DMT pass in the MK, would my best bet be to check at 3 o'clock there, too?)
 
Tell me where you find the drop times for FoP FP’s, that is awesome!

We love TH, sorry you were on a bathroom parade most of the meal:rotfl:

How odd with the height being different at FoP, glad to know the CM’s were helpful and gave you the NRJ FP!
 
My feelings about the kid sized buffet are very similar to how I feel about the kid sized grocery carts at Trader Joes: the kids are in their glory and I’m gritting my teeth trying to let them do it themselves while every part of my being just wants to intercede so that things move faster and with less likelihood of injury or spills.

:lmao:

I'm pretty sure that's how most parents feel about those mini-grocery carts and kids' size anything! I'm glad it worked out okay and that the girls got to enjoy picking things off the buffets.

I'm laughing a bit at your multiple bathroom breaks (I'm sure you weren't at the time, but I bet it will become one of those "remember the time...?" stories as the years pass). Between the great character interactions and the bread pudding, it sounds like Tusker House was a success!

This walk was also the first time that I had underestimated how far we’d be going between attractions. Up to this point in the trip, I felt like things on the map looked more spaced out on paper than they felt in person.

Animal Kingdom is HUGE. When you see printed maps that "appear" to make it look the same size as MK, you fail to remember that AK is about five times bigger in size. It takes a really long time to walk from one attraction to another! Also, the path to get to Everest is cumbersome no matter the crowds, but the crowds certainly make it seem worse!

I had C hop out of the stroller to measure and, lo and behold, she was tall enough to ride. She didn’t have to try to stand tall or anything, either. Her head was clearly hitting the bar. Height aside, my girls weren’t going anywhere near a roller coaster that went backwards in a dark cave. They had gotten nervous in the backwards section of Spaceship Earth and, when I told the CM as much, she went ahead and loaded the RS onto Hubby’s band.

Oh, my goodness! What an unexpected surprise! :eek:

I'm glad the CM was kind enough to give you the RS anyway for your husband. I agree that your girls would NOT have enjoyed Everest (but hopefully they will on a future trip!).

The next drop was supposedly scheduled for 3:01pm, so I was trying to gauge if I would be able to get on and off of EE by then.

Would you please explain this drop of Fastpasses? Is this just for FoP or do all rides drop additional FP+'s around the turn of the hour? (I do understand how grabbing available passes and then modifying to find a better time works - I've just never heard of the "drop"!)

Also, HOORAY on grabbing 4 FoP Fastpasses!!! I can't imagine how overjoyed you were! :banana:

I don’t have any pictures but, wow, what a good show!

I completely agree - I LOVE the Finding Nemo Musical! I like Festival of the Lion King, but Nemo is definitely my favorite of the two. The visuals are amazing and the songs get stuck in your head for hours (but in a good way! ;) ). I started thinking of "Big Blue World" the minute I started reading about the show in your report!

We got to FoP at about 4:50 and the kids started tapping in and walking ahead before the CM caught them for a height check. A and B were fine, but C wasn’t quite measuring up. I figured she was slouching, since she had clearly hit the bar at EE two hours earlier, but no matter what we did, she was a hair too short. And, I mean a hair literally because her hair was touching the bar but her head was not.

What?! How is this possible with her hitting the bar at Everest just a few hours before?!

How disappointing for C and tough for you. I'm sure you were devastated, but it sounds like C had a great time experiencing some solo time with you. She looks so happy in that great Photopass picture of the two of you!

I wasn’t about to let those two RS passes go to waste, so I grabbed A and B’s plastic tickets and headed for the FoP standby entrance. I flagged a couple down on their way into the line and brought them through FP instead.

How nice of you to spread some Pixie dust!

Our open-to-close day in Animal Kingdom was a success.

I'll say! You packed in a ton of attractions and adventures into a single day. Your research really paid off!
 
Cute pics with the characters! But what a rough bathroom situation, I'm sorry it hindered the meal!

Glad you were able to see Kevin and enjoy the dance party!

You look super excited on EE- great ride photo!

That's amazing that you got FoP FPs! I need to look into those special drop times!

Wow that really stinks that C didn't measure up for FoP! Nice of them to give you a NRJ FP to ride while you waited at least. Seems like C took it fairly well considering- and she got some nice Mommy time out of it :)

Glad you were able to sneak in final rides on EE!

Sounds like a full but fun day!
 
Oh My! What a day!!!

My youngest is a frequent pee'r so I feel your pain at the lunch! I am sure you are kind of used to all of it, but I am tired just hearing about all the juggling of food and kids!

Before our drinks could even come out, we were hit by a wave of friends.
I do like that, get the meets over first, then you can actually eat in peace... Well, that would be the plan.

As is our buffet custom, we had to first tour the whole spread and discuss options. When the girls saw the kid-height buffet section, they lost their minds. Bring them to a theme park, put them on world class rides, let them meet all kinds of characters, and they’ll tell anyone who will listen that there was a buffet down where they could reach!
Ha!

w I feel about the kid sized grocery carts at Trader Joes: the kids are in their glory and I’m gritting my teeth trying to let them do it themselves while every part of my being just wants to intercede so that things move faster and with less likeliho
I think Trader Joe's in Marlton got rid of the tiny shopping carts. Cause that is the important thing in this trip report...

In between bathroom trips, I did manage to make and eat a real plate of food. I enjoyed it, but I couldn’t tell you what I had. The ridiculousness of the near constant restroom visits has blocked this meal from my mind, other than the bread puddin
I don't blame you for not remembering what you had.

I don’t have any pictures but, wow, what a good show!
We love that show. I dragged the girls in and htey didnt 'want to go. But I think they didn't remember it. Gwen loved it especially.

he CM loaded RSs for me, A, and B, then gave me and C a NRJ FP to use while we waited.
That was nice! I can't imaging how hard that would be, for one to be left out. I def don't think those height items are the same across the board.

I was feeling guilty as hell and laying it on thick, so I offered a piggy back ride over to NRJ. That may not be a big deal for most kids but, since they outnumber their parents, my girls rarely get that privilege. We tapped into NRJ at 5:02 to a very short wait before enjoying another beautiful ride through Pandora. On the way out, we bumped into a PP photographer and decided to commemorate the occasion.

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Glad she got some special momy time! She looks like she bounced back, at least.
 
Got hugely behind on my TRs, but finally caught up to yours!
After Beast and Belle had their dance, the kids were called up for their individual pictures with Belle. My girls misunderstood and thought that it was their turn for a dance with Belle as well.

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It was very cute though!

Despite my oh-so-slow walk, we encountered no line at Auntie Gravities and the timestamps on our photos say that I managed to get my treat a few minutes before Hubby (yes, he took a picture for me).

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You have trained him well!

We walked over to Pioneer Hall at 3:45 since the confirmation says to be there 15 minutes early. However, they didn’t start seating people until 4pm on the dot. In retrospect, we probably could have stayed at MK longer and planned to catch the 3:30 boat to Ft Wilderness. Then again, leaving then would have put us walking out with the parade crowd and we could have missed the 3:30 boat. Better early than late, right? Plus, while we waited, we bumped into the same family who gave C her pin at Barnstormer. The girls were so excited to show them that they had already traded their pin and gained another.
I think you made the right call with timing. You wouldn't have wanted to be stressing about getting there on the boat otherwise!

Because of the YouTube viewing, the girls new what to expect and they were ready. This was the only meal this trip that I didn’t end up having to fish dropped napkins from under the table because they were not letting them go! Plus, the tables around us who only had adults gave the girls their washboards, so each of them ended up getting to play one.

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So cute! I'm glad they had fun even though you didn't like it so much!

The girls were showered and in bed right around their actual bed time (miraculous, I know). Hubby needed some air, so he grabbed a load of dirty laundry, started it downstairs, and then went for a run. He was able to time it so that he ran to HS in time to see the Star Wars fireworks on the path while he was running. After moving the wash to the dryer and grabbing a shower at the health club, he had his second dinner, watched Illuminations on the bridge, and just sat relaxing on the boardwalk for a while. He was out later than he probably should have been, but he needed the time and was ready for a fresh start in the morning.
Thats awesome he was able to see both shows!

Of course, after a long bus wait, I picked a very thorough security line which took a while. Then, to pile on, we got stuck at the tapstiles. The family in front of us was using their tickets for the first time and didn’t have magic bands, so the CM was pulling RFID cards out of his pocket to assign to each of them in addition to getting their finger prints. Not all of their party was there, either, so there was a lot of back and forth about which tickets he was just assigning a card to versus those that needed to be assigned a card, scan a fingerprint, and use an admission day. He was being very kind and patient with the family but there wasn’t much urgency in his actions. In the meantime, my girls had been having trouble placing their finger properly on the scanner, so they landed us a blue Mickey on the other open tapstile that this CM was monitoring. He didn’t help us until the other family was all figured out, we couldn’t go anywhere with our blue Mickey, and I kept smiling apologetically and shaking my head to the groups behind us.
Ugh, it is sooo irritating when you get stuck behind someone having issues, as well as the girls having issues! I always seem to manage getting stuck behind someone like that at Disneyland!

When the girls saw the kid-height buffet section, they lost their minds. Bring them to a theme park, put them on world class rides, let them meet all kinds of characters, and they’ll tell anyone who will listen that there was a buffet down where they could reach! My feelings about the kid sized buffet are very similar to how I feel about the kid sized grocery carts at Trader Joes: the kids are in their glory and I’m gritting my teeth trying to let them do it themselves while every part of my being just wants to intercede so that things move faster and with less likelihood of injury or spills. We were on vacation, so I did in fact let them use the tongs themselves to pick each grape and cheese cube individually for their plates. I loaded in some chicken wings, corn dog nuggets, and rice for good measure.
That is pretty hilarious and adorable! Kid-sized buffets are so cute!

I had C hop out of the stroller to measure and, lo and behold, she was tall enough to ride. She didn’t have to try to stand tall or anything, either. Her head was clearly hitting the bar.
Maybe it was the Jungle Juice doing it?

After the ride, I quickly tapped for my pic, exited the gift shop, and found a section of curb where I could sit. I had more faith in the browser than the app, so that’s the route I decided to take and I was refreshing starting at 2:59pm. Right at 3:01pm, I was offered a party of 4 at 5:35pm. I booked it and immediately attempted to modify, since it only afforded us 5 minutes of overlap (plus grace periods) with my existing FP. Upon modifying, I snagged at 4:30pm for a party of 4, which was essentially a perfect match for my 4:40pm solo FP!
Very nice! I was definitely looking forward to seeing how the girls liked FoP, until I read your next part!

Internally, I was livid. The only reason that I had booked this FP and gotten her hopes up was because she measured up at Disney’s own stick on the other side of the park. If we were doing this as a parent-only swap, I would have told them it was a scary ride that they didn’t want to do anyway. Instead, I had sold this as the best thing in Disney just to get them out of the boneyard and now C had to watch her two sisters go ahead and ride while she couldn’t. Of course, I had to swallow that reaction and be there to console my on-the-verge-of-tears daughter. To add insult to injury, the kid who didn’t get to ride was already having an overtired, grumpy, off sort of day. The CM loaded RSs for me, A, and B, then gave me and C a NRJ FP to use while we waited. They also gave her a paper card that will be good for a FP for her whole party once she is tall enough to ride. A couple of tears were shed, but I managed to stave off a full melt down by reminding her that this meant she would get special time with Mommy in the park.
That totally sucks! Maybe you needed to pull a Chris Hemsworth and stick a snickers in her shoes?

I wasn’t about to let those two RS passes go to waste, so I grabbed A and B’s plastic tickets and headed for the FoP standby entrance. I flagged a couple down on their way into the line and brought them through FP instead. It turns out they were season passholders who had never managed to get FPs for FoP, so they’d only ever experienced it in standby. We didn’t encounter any resistance up to the merge point. Even better, as soon as we were through, the CMs were calling for a party of three, so we were sent straight into the first preshow room. The ride was as incredible as everyone says; silly as it may be, I think the matching smells were my biggest “wow” moment.
Very nice of you!

I’m pretty sure the kids tapped every ride photo from our coaster; they just loved using their MBs.
Haha, it is fun seeing that green Mickey!
 
@amazingact21, @disneyAndi14, @SimplyGoofy, @missangelalexis and anyone else who was interested in the details behind my FoP pick up, here’s what I’ve got.

A few weeks before my trip, I was listening to back episodes of a few podcasts that I found most helpful. One of them was referencing a specific twitter account that they follow which tracks same day availability of FPs. Over the course of a touring day, Disney releases extra FP inventory on a somewhat regular schedule. There are no guarantees, especially if rides have had downtime or the park is at Easter/Christmas level crowds. However, most of the time, Disney puts additional inventory into the system as follows: AK 11:01 1:01 3:01 5:01, TT and Soarin’ 11:30 1:30 3:30, HS 9:31 12:01 2:31, MK no set pattern. It gets taken very quickly, so you want to be refreshing right at those times to snag a hard to get FP.

I came back here to investigate further and couldn’t find any mention of this. There are a few threads on other forums, but nothing here. After my trip, I did see one thread asking about this and the people who commented back said that it’s not usually discussed here. People are worried that, if Disney knows they’ve been identified and distributed, the times will be changed or cancelled entirely. I think it’s pretty safe dumping it down here, pages into a verbose trip report. But, maybe don’t make a stand-alone thread about it?
 
I really shouldn't have laughed at your bathroom story, but oh my goodness what a circus that must've felt like for you! I'm surprised you had time to eat with the constant trips in and out of the restaurant. Note to self: don't let the kids guzzle water at the start of a meal.

It made me really frustrated to hear C passed the height bar at EE but not FOP. Clearly, Disney wasn't consistent with the their measurements, and that is disastrous for parents and their kids. Poor children can't understand why they're 44 inches at one ride but 43.75 at another. Made me a little sad to read about C not being allowed on the attraction while A and B could go. Way to go, though, for making that time extra special. In the end, those one on one interactions can mean more than a headline attraction, but it's hard to process in the moment.

Admittedly, I have never seen the Nemo show, something I really need to remedy one day soon. I did not know it was made by the same creators of Avenue Q and Book of Mormon.

Definitely don't let the kids guzzle water to start! I didn't think anything of it in the moment, we were all thirsty after the heat, but ho boy did it come back to bite me.

The inconsistency in measurement really bothered me, but I didn't want to make it into too much of a thing since she was right on the border between moderate disappointment and a full freak out. She ended up enjoying her special time in the end.

We love TH, sorry you were on a bathroom parade most of the meal:rotfl:

How odd with the height being different at FoP, glad to know the CM’s were helpful and gave you the NRJ FP!

A bathroom parade: that about sums it up.

The weirdest part about the height difference at EE and FoP is that they are both permanent structures. This wasn't someone holding a bar next to a kid where the ground might be a little uneven. These are two installed fixtures that are supposed to be the same height but aren't.

:lmao:

I'm pretty sure that's how most parents feel about those mini-grocery carts and kids' size anything! I'm glad it worked out okay and that the girls got to enjoy picking things off the buffets.

I'm laughing a bit at your multiple bathroom breaks (I'm sure you weren't at the time, but I bet it will become one of those "remember the time...?" stories as the years pass). Between the great character interactions and the bread pudding, it sounds like Tusker House was a success!

Animal Kingdom is HUGE. When you see printed maps that "appear" to make it look the same size as MK, you fail to remember that AK is about five times bigger in size. It takes a really long time to walk from one attraction to another! Also, the path to get to Everest is cumbersome no matter the crowds, but the crowds certainly make it seem worse!

Oh, my goodness! What an unexpected surprise! :eek:

I'm glad the CM was kind enough to give you the RS anyway for your husband. I agree that your girls would NOT have enjoyed Everest (but hopefully they will on a future trip!).

Would you please explain this drop of Fastpasses? Is this just for FoP or do all rides drop additional FP+'s around the turn of the hour? (I do understand how grabbing available passes and then modifying to find a better time works - I've just never heard of the "drop"!)

Also, HOORAY on grabbing 4 FoP Fastpasses!!! I can't imagine how overjoyed you were! :banana:

I completely agree - I LOVE the Finding Nemo Musical! I like Festival of the Lion King, but Nemo is definitely my favorite of the two. The visuals are amazing and the songs get stuck in your head for hours (but in a good way! ;) ). I started thinking of "Big Blue World" the minute I started reading about the show in your report!

What?! How is this possible with her hitting the bar at Everest just a few hours before?!

How disappointing for C and tough for you. I'm sure you were devastated, but it sounds like C had a great time experiencing some solo time with you. She looks so happy in that great Photopass picture of the two of you!

How nice of you to spread some Pixie dust!

I'll say! You packed in a ton of attractions and adventures into a single day. Your research really paid off!

I'm pretty sure those mini carts were developed by the same people who insist on buying the children in their lives loud and/or messy toys! :rotfl2:

We were having a "remember the time" moment in the middle of that meal. It was a laugh or scream type of deal, so we decided to laugh.

I also ended up liking the Nemo musical more than FotLK. The Lion King is gorgeous, don't get me wrong, but I've seen those types of acrobatics and aerialists before. The Nemo show is unique to that park.

C took it pretty hard when she first found out that she couldn't get on FoP, but she came around fast. I'm pretty sure she was over it the second she heard "piggy back ride".

Cute pics with the characters! But what a rough bathroom situation, I'm sorry it hindered the meal!

Glad you were able to see Kevin and enjoy the dance party!

You look super excited on EE- great ride photo!

That's amazing that you got FoP FPs! I need to look into those special drop times!

Wow that really stinks that C didn't measure up for FoP! Nice of them to give you a NRJ FP to ride while you waited at least. Seems like C took it fairly well considering- and she got some nice Mommy time out of it :)

Glad you were able to sneak in final rides on EE!

Sounds like a full but fun day!

EE was so much fun and I was really excited to sneak in the second set of rides. That's a really cool coaster.

C probably got over the FoP height issue faster than I did. I was putting on a happy face for her but seething. She was genuinely enjoying being the recipient of my full attention.
 
My youngest is a frequent pee'r so I feel your pain at the lunch! I am sure you are kind of used to all of it, but I am tired just hearing about all the juggling of food and kids!

It's been a few years now since I have had to deal with the frequent pee issue. When I had three recently trained two year olds, all bets were off. But, I've gotten used to them being able to wait and go at more normal intervals.

I do like that, get the meets over first, then you can actually eat in peace... Well, that would be the plan.

That was the plan :P

I think Trader Joe's in Marlton got rid of the tiny shopping carts. Cause that is the important thing in this trip report...

Oh, I know! We found out a few months back and I had to fight hard to hold back my glee when the cashier explained that they had gotten rid of them for safety reasons.

We love that show. I dragged the girls in and htey didnt 'want to go. But I think they didn't remember it. Gwen loved it especially.

We all loved it. I'm so glad we were able to fit it in.

That was nice! I can't imaging how hard that would be, for one to be left out. I def don't think those height items are the same across the board.

Those two in particular can't be the same, given our experience, which stinks because they're the only two 44" rides in that park.

Glad she got some special momy time! She looks like she bounced back, at least.

She bounced back fast, thank goodness.
 
You have trained him well!

I do, although I also reminded him before we separated :-)

I think you made the right call with timing. You wouldn't have wanted to be stressing about getting there on the boat otherwise!

I think it was the right call, too, but I wish there was a third option. If they had a dedicated boat/bus from MK to HDDR at, say, 3:30 (I would think they have enough people to have that make sense) then we could have had a little more park time before we had to leave.

That totally sucks! Maybe you needed to pull a Chris Hemsworth and stick a snickers in her shoes?

We thought about it. The thing is, the CMs really worked to try to get her to measure up. And, the triplet thing makes us very memorable for people even without an extended interaction. We would have to wait until they switched CMs and that would have been a whole other level of crazy I just wasn't up for.

Haha, it is fun seeing that green Mickey!

They loved being able to tap. I even had to go ask the front desk to put charging privileges on their MBs because they were mad that only the adults could buy food.
 

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