Momto2minniemice
Counting the Days till I can work at Disney too!
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2015
This is my first trip report! As I love to read them and learn from other family experiences I hope that our trip will help with another family's too! We just returned so while it is fresh on my mind let the story begin!
To me reading about the travel day is always fun. The days have been building for this very special day to come because we have been waiting SO long for it! I had to finish up a few things at work meaning I had to be at work at 630
and work for the next 4 hours. Lucky for me my boss knew where I was headed and did not hold me back on getting out of there quickly (even left about 15 min early let the pixie dust begin!). I sent a text to the hubs to let him know I was on my way as he was at home finishing up getting things ready. Once home I changed from work attire to travel attire and then the waiting began...... and we waited..... and waited.....and waited..... FINALLY we both were like lets just get the kids early and let the vacation begin. So off to get M and E early from school! We all know they were too excited to be at school anyways, and they were thinking about Disney!
We were off to the airport which was smooth, lucky for us as traffic where we live can be HORRIBLE! After making really good time we decided to park in covered parking as bad weather was coming in while we were gone (more on that later). To the shuttle and ticketing..... Taking southwest is never bad, but when traveling with kids it can be a little stressful trying to get seats with kids. We stopped at a restaurant outside of security since we had extra time. After a nice dinner we made our way through security without a problem. Then M and E asked for a pretzel, yes they just had dinner, but on vacation why not! We made our way to the gate and found a seat. We asked about what to do about our C boarding group and seating with our youngest since she is over the age of 6 but worried we would not get a seat with her. They told us to board with family boarding. The flight was pretty uneventful M and E ate had some soda!
We made our way to DME scanned in and walked onto a bus which was great saying it was about 9PM at this point! This is where the 1st FAIL began for the family (more on that later). We did not receive a text about our room so I went to check in at OKW. We are on Peninsular Road which was a great location. A short was to a bus stop and the hospitality house too, maybe 5 min walk. We we got to our room our bags were not there. I called and asked and they said it would be another 4 hours....... Yep fail I should have grabbed the bags...... I told the family to get some sleep and I would stay up and wait for them. I slept off and on, I did call about 1230 ish and asked if they had an update, they said the truck was at Poly and confirmed the bags were on the truck. That was good. The cast member was awesome told me to get some sleep and they would put them in the room very quietly if that was okay so they would be there when we woke up. I told her that would be awesome. As soon as I heard the door I jumped up! Long story short they cam about 230 in the morning. They came and that worked out so in the end it was okay! But in the morning we went to take a shower and the shower drained soooo slow! A quick mention to the front desk and it was fixed by the time we returned.
Our first day we headed to Epcot! We had lunch at Via Napoli, the largest pizza they had and we ate the whole thing and a salad and dessert! Lots of walking and looking at the art. We could not ask for better weather either after all there was no rain! We road Test Track, Frozen, Mission Space, Soaring, and the Ride in Mexico. A family mention to us that Frozen was only a 25 min wait. So we headed over to frozen with no fastpast and surely enough it was just a "short" wait for the ride! For Dinner we ate at 'Ohana it did not disappoint! The view was amazing as we were able to see the castle, we were on the dinning plan so Adult beverages were included. The food was so good. M like the shrimp and they made sure she had all that she wanted. Everyone ate so well, the service was great too! After dinner M and I headed Disney Springs and Daddy and E went back to OKW. We walked around just window shopping and picked a couple of shirts for the following day. Next up Animal Kingdom!
Animal Kingdom- was on the cool side for weather! We did enjoy Avatar area which was AMAZING to say the least! I wish we could have seen it at night though..... I think the next time we go we may make the fastpasses at night just so we can see it then. We road everything we wanted to ride too. That night for dinner we ate at Planet Hollywood. I would not eat there again. It was not horrible, but it was not overly great either. For being on the dinning plan they did limit the desserts a little. So the fancy desserts we were not able to get which is what M and E were looking forward too. The food was okay, nothing fancy. I had a hard time remembering what we had this night! I do remember that Daddy got sick this night. Not sure if it was the food or something else. As he was fine after he got sick and it did spread to anyone else which was a good then!
AMORETTE'S Cake Decorating Class. M and I woke up extra early to take the Amorette's Cake Decorating Class! But first we had some Starbucks to get us going! The a cast member met us outside about 0845 and checked us in then we went to a back door and they took our drink orders, we found our seats and start the 90 min class. They explained the history of the bakery and each step of the cake that we were decorating in the class. Over all it was a great experience, sadly we did not care for the taste of the cake as it has a weird gel like texture in the center that we did not care for. They did hold the cake for us as long as we picked up the cake that day. We were able to ask lots of questions and about to make purchases before the bakery open when the class was over. The cake comes home in a very fancy box, and it did fit in the fridge in a studio at OKW. Overall I would rate the experience an A+. We then met E and daddy at Sci Fi diner, we tried to take a bus , but got stuck at a resort so we got a lyft. It worked out and made the reservation. E LOVES to eat here! The food is good and is low key so she is able to relax a little too. For the first time they placed another family in the "car" with us. We thought this was a little odd. But not a problem at all! We road 3 of the 4 major rides. This day though it did RAIN! The only rain the whole trip!
Magic Kingdom! My favorite kingdom of them all! To me it is just so magical, to me I finally felt like I was at Disney. We had breakfast at BOG. Then rode several rides, we headed to Space MT and the sign said 35 min wait which would work out perfect as we had a fastpass for 7DMT coming up. We waited and waited and waited......we had about 15 left before our fastpass would be over so we asked a cast member if we should get out of line or what to do. They told us we would be okay. We finally made it.....85 min later
. It all worked out in the end. We had lunch at the Harbor House for the first time. Not too bad, the Shrimp mac and cheese was a big hit! Dinner was at our favorite secret place Trails End. You might wonder why do we like this place so much?!?!? Well we get there early and let M and E play at the playground and just run around for awhile and get away from all the crazy busyness of WDW! We then enjoyed some good home cooked food for dessert! I highly recommend Trails End to families with kids who need to get away and just be kids for a little bit!
A Minnie Van/Ultimate Day of Thrills VIP Tour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Each trip I try to plan something fun for the family. One trip it was the trip its self, or maybe a special dinner...... this trip though was a BIG surprise! We woke up very early and requested a Minnie Van which came in less than 5 min! M and E were asking all week about these vans and about flipped when they saw it! E thought it was the surprise. This is great for the MK as they drop you off where the bus drops you off. We checked in at the first spot and then were told to go the wrong spot 4 TIMES! Finally we found the right spot. And were greeted with 4 of the BEST cast members we could have asked for! E was so EXCITED she had no clue what to think! We were told go be back at a certain time and were given VIP lanyards to wear. We met others for our tour too. Once we were all back they explained what would be going on and what to expect. Bottom line stay with plaid! We were the FIRST to ride Space MT. The park was not open and got to see the people standing at Tomorrowland while we walked to Space MT. We then went to 7 DMT, HM via a back door, and then a nice break. Next up was PC, BTM, and then Buzz since Splash MT was down. We then were taken by private vans to Epcot for lunch at Sunshine Seasons. Lunch is included in the cost of the tour. We were able to have an entree, side, dessert, and a drink, and were directed to meet a cast member to check out. We had seated saved for us which was great not to have to look for seating. Lunch was not rushed and we had plenty of time. At lunch the cast members had told the staff castmembers a Sunshine Seasons how excited and good E was being and brought her a Mickey Straw. Then, just as we were to ride Soaring the ride went down. So the cast members told us we had limited time magic and took us to Test Track! Once we were done we were driven to HS were we were met with snacks and cold bottles of water. Then it was off to SW, TS, TT, and RR. At this point we said our good byes and had to make a choice. Stay at HS or we could go back to MK via private van. Our family went back to MK. Now our Cast Members were Jennifer, Hannah, and Kourtney which I can not say enough great things about! Each time something came up they made it seamless to us. They talked to M about the college program, different things about the rides, and the parks. Even when E wanted one of them to sit with her on a ride they would. Would I do this tour again yes, do I think it was worth the cost, yes! My dream is to have a private VIP tour!
We had dinner at BOG at 745. Now hear me out, up to this point we have loved this restaurant! But tonight was not the night. The day had been great, we wanted to end the day great too. We were sat in the room on the right The Rose Gallery. The room was nearly empty, our side of the room maybe had 2 maybe 3 other tables already eating, they were clearing the tables for the night (like the clean silverware) and bringing all the dishes. It sounded like the dish room to be honest. We were not impressed. The food was good, but not the experience we have had in the past. By the time we were done we were the only ones in the room (at least from what I remember). We left very underwhelmed.
(Note: We did mention something about about the experience to someone and Disney did take care of us.)
Animal Kingdom and Flight of Passage! The anticipation has been building M and daddy had talked about FOP the whole time! But saying we had been out the late the night before I tried to let the family sleep in as long as possible. We made it to AK road a safari, and then to FOP. It was worth the wait! We wish we could have has many more fastpasses for FOP that is how amazing it was! I did check multiple times to see if we could get another pass but did not get another one. We enjoyed lunch at Yak and Yeti! To be honest I go for the dessert, M goes for the Salmon, E and daddy goes for the food LOL. This meal was some extra pixie dust so it was nice to sit and enjoy it! OH we did get passholder shirts
Dinner was at TRex cafe and it was average, but bonus we did sit next to the fish take which kept E entertained during dinner. We then did a little shopping in DS while daddy went back to the room to take a break from us girls!
Next up was Epcot! A day of Art, both M and E love art so the day was spent looking at Art, eating way to much art LOL, and just enjoying our second to last day at the parks! We learned that they were doing the Art of Animation which they got to learn to draw Olaf. We ate dinner at Garden Grill, which is one of the best kept secrets EVER! Chip and Dale, Mickey, and Pluto came by to visit the table multiple times. Unlike other character meals where they come by one time. The table rotates slowly while you eat (Turkey, Stuffing, Green Beans, Mashed Tatars, Salad, Rolls, Pot Roast, Mac and Cheese, Drinks, Adult Drinks, Strawberry Short Cake, and Cookies). The service was amazing, the food was amazing. The thing I love about Garden Grill is the atmosphere for E, it is calming, not loud, no one running around. E was able to just chill and eat her green beans. Come to think about I think she might have just ate rolls and green beans LOL! We did some shopping and found the cutest Chip coffee cup and a MR. POTATO HEAD coffee cup! (They did survive the plane ride home)
Our last day was Magic Kingdom! We took a Minnie Van to MK as we had BOG ressies at 0800. But this time something magical happen! We were the 1st family at BOG! They set our table, gave us 2 golden fastpasses, helped us with our order, and we carried in Lumiere. Lumiere then sat on our table for breakfast. E felt so special too! We used our 2 golden fastpasses for 7DMT later in the day one during the day and one at night! The day was amazing we went from ride to ride not really waiting more than 30 min a ride or using our fastpasses. We did a little shopping and I got a new little DB bag (learning you can use your discount to purchase these bags!) We then headed over to dinner at 'Ohana, yes again but it was SO and when I saw an opening I thought why not! The service was even better than the last time. This time the waitress said since I was not drinking daddy could have my drink, so he enjoyed a second adult drink! We then headed back to MK for fireworks. We sat and watched them on the backside of the castle near the carousel. When the fireworks went off they were all around us, which was amazing! We then headed in to see Tiana and Rapunzel. Tiana is great, when she learned that E had not Beignets she was so funny!
We did headed the airport very early. Why do I make a flight early? I always forget that DME will get us 3 hours before this? For some reason it is worse when leave WDW then when go to WDW. We made it though. This time we took our bags with us LOL. With a 1/2 lb to spare in daddy's suitcase too! I told the family that next time we are bring an empty suitcase with us! Not joking about this either, if we fly Southwest why not? Better to have too much room than not enough room right? The trip was amazing. I love traveling to WDW in Feb! Hope you enjoyed our trip report!
To me reading about the travel day is always fun. The days have been building for this very special day to come because we have been waiting SO long for it! I had to finish up a few things at work meaning I had to be at work at 630
and work for the next 4 hours. Lucky for me my boss knew where I was headed and did not hold me back on getting out of there quickly (even left about 15 min early let the pixie dust begin!). I sent a text to the hubs to let him know I was on my way as he was at home finishing up getting things ready. Once home I changed from work attire to travel attire and then the waiting began...... and we waited..... and waited.....and waited..... FINALLY we both were like lets just get the kids early and let the vacation begin. So off to get M and E early from school! We all know they were too excited to be at school anyways, and they were thinking about Disney!We were off to the airport which was smooth, lucky for us as traffic where we live can be HORRIBLE! After making really good time we decided to park in covered parking as bad weather was coming in while we were gone (more on that later). To the shuttle and ticketing..... Taking southwest is never bad, but when traveling with kids it can be a little stressful trying to get seats with kids. We stopped at a restaurant outside of security since we had extra time. After a nice dinner we made our way through security without a problem. Then M and E asked for a pretzel, yes they just had dinner, but on vacation why not! We made our way to the gate and found a seat. We asked about what to do about our C boarding group and seating with our youngest since she is over the age of 6 but worried we would not get a seat with her. They told us to board with family boarding. The flight was pretty uneventful M and E ate had some soda!
We made our way to DME scanned in and walked onto a bus which was great saying it was about 9PM at this point! This is where the 1st FAIL began for the family (more on that later). We did not receive a text about our room so I went to check in at OKW. We are on Peninsular Road which was a great location. A short was to a bus stop and the hospitality house too, maybe 5 min walk. We we got to our room our bags were not there. I called and asked and they said it would be another 4 hours....... Yep fail I should have grabbed the bags...... I told the family to get some sleep and I would stay up and wait for them. I slept off and on, I did call about 1230 ish and asked if they had an update, they said the truck was at Poly and confirmed the bags were on the truck. That was good. The cast member was awesome told me to get some sleep and they would put them in the room very quietly if that was okay so they would be there when we woke up. I told her that would be awesome. As soon as I heard the door I jumped up! Long story short they cam about 230 in the morning. They came and that worked out so in the end it was okay! But in the morning we went to take a shower and the shower drained soooo slow! A quick mention to the front desk and it was fixed by the time we returned.
Our first day we headed to Epcot! We had lunch at Via Napoli, the largest pizza they had and we ate the whole thing and a salad and dessert! Lots of walking and looking at the art. We could not ask for better weather either after all there was no rain! We road Test Track, Frozen, Mission Space, Soaring, and the Ride in Mexico. A family mention to us that Frozen was only a 25 min wait. So we headed over to frozen with no fastpast and surely enough it was just a "short" wait for the ride! For Dinner we ate at 'Ohana it did not disappoint! The view was amazing as we were able to see the castle, we were on the dinning plan so Adult beverages were included. The food was so good. M like the shrimp and they made sure she had all that she wanted. Everyone ate so well, the service was great too! After dinner M and I headed Disney Springs and Daddy and E went back to OKW. We walked around just window shopping and picked a couple of shirts for the following day. Next up Animal Kingdom!
Animal Kingdom- was on the cool side for weather! We did enjoy Avatar area which was AMAZING to say the least! I wish we could have seen it at night though..... I think the next time we go we may make the fastpasses at night just so we can see it then. We road everything we wanted to ride too. That night for dinner we ate at Planet Hollywood. I would not eat there again. It was not horrible, but it was not overly great either. For being on the dinning plan they did limit the desserts a little. So the fancy desserts we were not able to get which is what M and E were looking forward too. The food was okay, nothing fancy. I had a hard time remembering what we had this night! I do remember that Daddy got sick this night. Not sure if it was the food or something else. As he was fine after he got sick and it did spread to anyone else which was a good then!
AMORETTE'S Cake Decorating Class. M and I woke up extra early to take the Amorette's Cake Decorating Class! But first we had some Starbucks to get us going! The a cast member met us outside about 0845 and checked us in then we went to a back door and they took our drink orders, we found our seats and start the 90 min class. They explained the history of the bakery and each step of the cake that we were decorating in the class. Over all it was a great experience, sadly we did not care for the taste of the cake as it has a weird gel like texture in the center that we did not care for. They did hold the cake for us as long as we picked up the cake that day. We were able to ask lots of questions and about to make purchases before the bakery open when the class was over. The cake comes home in a very fancy box, and it did fit in the fridge in a studio at OKW. Overall I would rate the experience an A+. We then met E and daddy at Sci Fi diner, we tried to take a bus , but got stuck at a resort so we got a lyft. It worked out and made the reservation. E LOVES to eat here! The food is good and is low key so she is able to relax a little too. For the first time they placed another family in the "car" with us. We thought this was a little odd. But not a problem at all! We road 3 of the 4 major rides. This day though it did RAIN! The only rain the whole trip!
Magic Kingdom! My favorite kingdom of them all! To me it is just so magical, to me I finally felt like I was at Disney. We had breakfast at BOG. Then rode several rides, we headed to Space MT and the sign said 35 min wait which would work out perfect as we had a fastpass for 7DMT coming up. We waited and waited and waited......we had about 15 left before our fastpass would be over so we asked a cast member if we should get out of line or what to do. They told us we would be okay. We finally made it.....85 min later
. It all worked out in the end. We had lunch at the Harbor House for the first time. Not too bad, the Shrimp mac and cheese was a big hit! Dinner was at our favorite secret place Trails End. You might wonder why do we like this place so much?!?!? Well we get there early and let M and E play at the playground and just run around for awhile and get away from all the crazy busyness of WDW! We then enjoyed some good home cooked food for dessert! I highly recommend Trails End to families with kids who need to get away and just be kids for a little bit!A Minnie Van/Ultimate Day of Thrills VIP Tour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Each trip I try to plan something fun for the family. One trip it was the trip its self, or maybe a special dinner...... this trip though was a BIG surprise! We woke up very early and requested a Minnie Van which came in less than 5 min! M and E were asking all week about these vans and about flipped when they saw it! E thought it was the surprise. This is great for the MK as they drop you off where the bus drops you off. We checked in at the first spot and then were told to go the wrong spot 4 TIMES! Finally we found the right spot. And were greeted with 4 of the BEST cast members we could have asked for! E was so EXCITED she had no clue what to think! We were told go be back at a certain time and were given VIP lanyards to wear. We met others for our tour too. Once we were all back they explained what would be going on and what to expect. Bottom line stay with plaid! We were the FIRST to ride Space MT. The park was not open and got to see the people standing at Tomorrowland while we walked to Space MT. We then went to 7 DMT, HM via a back door, and then a nice break. Next up was PC, BTM, and then Buzz since Splash MT was down. We then were taken by private vans to Epcot for lunch at Sunshine Seasons. Lunch is included in the cost of the tour. We were able to have an entree, side, dessert, and a drink, and were directed to meet a cast member to check out. We had seated saved for us which was great not to have to look for seating. Lunch was not rushed and we had plenty of time. At lunch the cast members had told the staff castmembers a Sunshine Seasons how excited and good E was being and brought her a Mickey Straw. Then, just as we were to ride Soaring the ride went down. So the cast members told us we had limited time magic and took us to Test Track! Once we were done we were driven to HS were we were met with snacks and cold bottles of water. Then it was off to SW, TS, TT, and RR. At this point we said our good byes and had to make a choice. Stay at HS or we could go back to MK via private van. Our family went back to MK. Now our Cast Members were Jennifer, Hannah, and Kourtney which I can not say enough great things about! Each time something came up they made it seamless to us. They talked to M about the college program, different things about the rides, and the parks. Even when E wanted one of them to sit with her on a ride they would. Would I do this tour again yes, do I think it was worth the cost, yes! My dream is to have a private VIP tour!
We had dinner at BOG at 745. Now hear me out, up to this point we have loved this restaurant! But tonight was not the night. The day had been great, we wanted to end the day great too. We were sat in the room on the right The Rose Gallery. The room was nearly empty, our side of the room maybe had 2 maybe 3 other tables already eating, they were clearing the tables for the night (like the clean silverware) and bringing all the dishes. It sounded like the dish room to be honest. We were not impressed. The food was good, but not the experience we have had in the past. By the time we were done we were the only ones in the room (at least from what I remember). We left very underwhelmed.
(Note: We did mention something about about the experience to someone and Disney did take care of us.)
Animal Kingdom and Flight of Passage! The anticipation has been building M and daddy had talked about FOP the whole time! But saying we had been out the late the night before I tried to let the family sleep in as long as possible. We made it to AK road a safari, and then to FOP. It was worth the wait! We wish we could have has many more fastpasses for FOP that is how amazing it was! I did check multiple times to see if we could get another pass but did not get another one. We enjoyed lunch at Yak and Yeti! To be honest I go for the dessert, M goes for the Salmon, E and daddy goes for the food LOL. This meal was some extra pixie dust so it was nice to sit and enjoy it! OH we did get passholder shirts
Dinner was at TRex cafe and it was average, but bonus we did sit next to the fish take which kept E entertained during dinner. We then did a little shopping in DS while daddy went back to the room to take a break from us girls!Next up was Epcot! A day of Art, both M and E love art so the day was spent looking at Art, eating way to much art LOL, and just enjoying our second to last day at the parks! We learned that they were doing the Art of Animation which they got to learn to draw Olaf. We ate dinner at Garden Grill, which is one of the best kept secrets EVER! Chip and Dale, Mickey, and Pluto came by to visit the table multiple times. Unlike other character meals where they come by one time. The table rotates slowly while you eat (Turkey, Stuffing, Green Beans, Mashed Tatars, Salad, Rolls, Pot Roast, Mac and Cheese, Drinks, Adult Drinks, Strawberry Short Cake, and Cookies). The service was amazing, the food was amazing. The thing I love about Garden Grill is the atmosphere for E, it is calming, not loud, no one running around. E was able to just chill and eat her green beans. Come to think about I think she might have just ate rolls and green beans LOL! We did some shopping and found the cutest Chip coffee cup and a MR. POTATO HEAD coffee cup! (They did survive the plane ride home)
Our last day was Magic Kingdom! We took a Minnie Van to MK as we had BOG ressies at 0800. But this time something magical happen! We were the 1st family at BOG! They set our table, gave us 2 golden fastpasses, helped us with our order, and we carried in Lumiere. Lumiere then sat on our table for breakfast. E felt so special too! We used our 2 golden fastpasses for 7DMT later in the day one during the day and one at night! The day was amazing we went from ride to ride not really waiting more than 30 min a ride or using our fastpasses. We did a little shopping and I got a new little DB bag (learning you can use your discount to purchase these bags!) We then headed over to dinner at 'Ohana, yes again but it was SO and when I saw an opening I thought why not! The service was even better than the last time. This time the waitress said since I was not drinking daddy could have my drink, so he enjoyed a second adult drink! We then headed back to MK for fireworks. We sat and watched them on the backside of the castle near the carousel. When the fireworks went off they were all around us, which was amazing! We then headed in to see Tiana and Rapunzel. Tiana is great, when she learned that E had not Beignets she was so funny!
We did headed the airport very early. Why do I make a flight early? I always forget that DME will get us 3 hours before this? For some reason it is worse when leave WDW then when go to WDW. We made it though. This time we took our bags with us LOL. With a 1/2 lb to spare in daddy's suitcase too! I told the family that next time we are bring an empty suitcase with us! Not joking about this either, if we fly Southwest why not? Better to have too much room than not enough room right? The trip was amazing. I love traveling to WDW in Feb! Hope you enjoyed our trip report!
