He's Not Heavy, He's Your Brother - Nov '16 TR (COMPLETED 8/28)

[anniebean]

Following along. Your family is adorable! I miss my kids being young sometimes.

 

[cinderaimee]

Following along. Your family is adorable! I miss my kids being young sometimes.

Thank you!!

 

[cinderaimee]

Day 5 - Friday, November 17- 'Ohana


I had slept in the pull-out next to DS1 in case he was sick again. He woke me up around 6:30 saying he was going to throw up again, which he managed to get entirely in the plastic bag lined trash can I put next to the bed (If you have small kids, you know this is quite an accomplishment). After this, he had a little water and watched TV for a little bit and said he was feeling much better. Looking back, I wish I had planned a longer trip with a rest day here. DH woke up and no one else felt sick, so we guessed the puking was due to a combination of the different foods, excitement, sun, and all that soda he had at Club Cool.

Our plan for the day was to go for our breakfast reservation at 'Ohana, and then head to AK and use our first two FPs - Safari and FOTLK. After that, if DS1 was feeling worse or fussing, we would head back to the resort and take it easy for the afternoon. We got ready and packed up for the day (I put a bunch of gallon-size ziplock bags in the outside pockets of my purse and backpack that I could grab quickly in case of a barf situation).

We headed down to the bus stop where a MK bus was loading up. I think the Thanksgiving crowds must have started arriving because this was the first day we had to stand on the bus. We got to MK quickly and headed for the resort monorail. We didn't have to wait too long before one arrived and we were on our way to the Polynesian.

Blue skies over the MK from the monorail

We arrived at the Polynesian and I was blown away by how beautiful it is and beautiful all the themeing is.

We arrived quite early for our reservation time, so we looked in the Moana Mercantile and checked out the resort before going to check in and ended up waiting another 30 minutes or so before we were seated at a table. We got our bread, coffee, juice, and a plate of fruit.

Then the first character came near the table - Stitch. DS2 was terrified. He climbed in my lap and hid his face. DS1 didn't want anything to do with the characters or the food and laid down on the booth bench behind DH.

Stitch made a very quick visit to our table (I think he got the hint the kids wanted nothing to do with him), and then our platter of food was delivered. Pluto came around next, and a second platter of breakfast was brought to our table even though we had barely touched the first.

At this point, I was pretty disheartened with the whole thing. This breakfast was something I had really been looking forward to the whole time I was planning the trip, and here we were - DS1 wasn't feeling good, DS2 was terrified, DH was annoyed that we had to wait so long and that the kids wouldn't eat, and all I knew we were paying $100+ for this, and it seemed like such a waste of money.

And then Mickey came.

Mickey just makes everything better, right? He waved at DS1 (still laying down in the booth) and we explained that he wasn't feeling good. We expected Mickey to move on quickly like the other characters had, but Mickey came and sat in the booth next to DS1 and high-fived and tickled him until DS1 was sitting up and laughing and smiling. It was such a sweet moment.

Next Lilo came and DS1 hid again.

While she was at our table, the music started and all the characters led a parade around the restaurant. DS1 didn't want to join, but DS2 got a maraca and danced around and had a lot of fun. After the dancing, Lilo came back to the table and like Mickey, she sat down with DS1 and gave him a hug.

At this point, I think we managed to relax a little bit. DS2 finally sat down on his own instead of clinging to me and ate almost all the eggs left on the platters, and all the pineapple bread.

At the table next to us was a dad and his 7-year-old daughter, just the two of them, so DH was talking with him about their trip and the daughter was showing us all her character autographs.

Our waitress was so nice and let us take our time finishing up and bringing more drinks even though it seemed the restaurant had mostly cleared out from breakfast. We paid the bill and headed downstairs to get a bus to AK.

The Poly is really so beautiful! I would love to stay here one day.

We went down to the Poly bus stop and it wasn't five minutes before an AK bus was pulling up. The only other person taking the bus with us was a CM who said she worked at Yak & Yeti. DH was trying to get some inside info about working at Disney, but she wouldn't spill too much.

Continued in the next post!

 

[cinderaimee]

Day 5 - Friday, November 17 - Animal Kingdom - Part 1

When we arrived at AK, it was really a beautiful day and DS1 had perked up a bit.

I was pulled out to walk through the metal detectors again here. I guess I just look dangerous?

We made our way through the park for our first FP for KS.

In the line for KS, you take the stroller part way through the queue and then hand it off to a CM. When we got to that point, we told the boys to hop out and discovered DS2 was fast asleep! I carried him through the line and held him in my lap in the car and he slept through nearly the entire thing.

Obligatory animal pictures ahead!

After the ride, I needed to take the boys to the bathroom and we passed a face-painting booth and DS1 immediately decided he was having his face painted. There was no getting around it. We didn't mind spending the money since he really hadn't even asked for much in the way of toys or souvenirs - all we had bought up to this point was a couple of plastic dinosaurs at T-Rex on our first day and a little Matchbox-type car before breakfast at 'Ohana. He picked out a super hero design and hopped up on the chair.

(this is his intense super hero face )

Next up: more stroller naps!

 

[epsmith921]

Just read the whole thing. First, the eyes of the clown at the pool seemed to be glowing in those check in night shots - terrifying.

I also was selected every time to go through the metal detectors. Just a mom taking my kids to Disney!

My (at the time) 18 month old threw up before we started eating at biergarten last year. Can happen to anyone. I am hoping the rest of the vacation was vomit free!

Your kids are adorable and so glad your husband liked Disney too!! Makes it much easier. .

Will be happy to see the rest of the trip. I love that superhero face too! Kids are the best!

 

[cinderaimee]

Just read the whole thing. First, the eyes of the clown at the pool seemed to be glowing in those check in night shots - terrifying.

Thanks for reading and commenting! Not a fan of the clown?

I also was selected every time to go through the metal detectors. Just a mom taking my kids to Disney!

My theory was I kept getting pulled out because H would go through one side of the table with the stroller and I'd go on the other side with the bags and seemed to always have a few moments of just standing there while he put everything back together, so I guess I looked like I needed something to do??

Will be happy to see the rest of the trip. I love that superhero face too! Kids are the best!

Thanks!!

 

[Stasieki]

Enjoying your TR!

 

[cinderaimee]

Enjoying your TR!

I'm glad you're enjoying it! Thanks for reading and commenting

 

[angelmav]

Really enjoying your TR!

 

[cinderaimee]

Really enjoying your TR!

Thank you!!

 

[kimmylaj]

loving your report. kids are adorable. cant wait for the rest

 

[cinderaimee]

loving your report. kids are adorable. cant wait for the rest

Thanks! I'm working on the next post to get it up today!

 

[cinderaimee]

Day 5 - Friday, November 17 - Animal Kingdom - Part 2

Our next FP was for FOTLK at 12:30. We had some time to kill, so we did the Gorilla trail walk. The crowds in here were kind of nuts and it was not easy to do with a double stroller, but the boys loved seeing all the different animals.

(This gorilla is Over.It.)

After we finished the trail, we walked back down to the Harambe area, where a street performance was starting, so we stopped to watch that.

At some point while we were watching the show, DS1 fell asleep in the stroller, only a few minutes before our FP was opening.

We decided he really needed the rest and to just let him sleep. We picked up a Dole Whip and sat in the shade while we planned our next course of action.

Going back to the resort was out of the question since we'd have to haul him out of the stroller to get on the bus, which would surely wake him up. We moved the FP to the next showing of FOTLK an hour later and just decided to walk around a bit.

We got some PP pictures taken

We saw Ballou and King Louie meeting but didn't want to wait in line, especially with DS2 being scared of the characters. Walked past Everest

and then the Finding Nemo show. There was a CM outside announcing the show was about to start and there were still seats left, so we asked if we could bring the stroller in since our child was asleep in it and she said no so we walked on (I'm sure they could have found somewhere for us to park it, but whatever) and finally made our way over to Dinoland. At this point, it was obvious DS1 wasn't going to wake up any time soon so we moved the FOTLK FP again to a later show that evening.

DS2 was tired of being in the stroller, so we decided I'd take him in the Boneyard and DH would hang out with the stroller. I think we played in there for over an hour. DS2 had a great time running and playing and digging.

We met up with DH again, who had found an old friend:

and more things DS1 slept through

DS1 was still sleeping so we walked around the Dino-Rama area and DH took DS2 on Triceratops Spin, which had a 10 minute wait.

Then we kept walking around and ended up back over at Everest

which had a posted 15 minute wait so DH told me to jump in line. I was sure this ride had a single rider option, but looking at the entrance, all I saw was Stand By and FP, so I got in the Stand by line. I didn't mind waiting since the line wasn't too long, and it was fun to see the queue, which has a lot of interesting stuff to look at. I have no pictures, I wish I had brought my phone!

When I got to the front of the line and placed in a slot, the CM called for a single rider! I laughed and asked the gentlemen who came over where he came from because I couldn't find the single rider line. He told me it was over by the ride exit/gift shop.

I love roller coasters and I loved this ride! It was so much fun!

I exited and found DH and the boys - DS1 was now awake and the boys were having a blast watching the trains come down the hill. I told DH how much fun it was so he asked DS1 if he wanted to ride it with him, and he did, so DH and DS1 ran off to get in the queue (in hindsight I should have grabbed a rider switch). My wait had ended up being more like 25 minutes, so I knew I had some time and took DS2 to pick up some popcorn for him and a Mickey pretzel for me.

Only a few minutes later after I got back and sat down near the exit, DH and DS1 came out. DH loved the ride! I asked DS1 if he had fun and he said "Yes!" so I asked him if he wanted to ride it again with me and he said "NO!" lol

This ride produced perhaps the greatest ride photo of the trip:

(Just for the record, my boys loved all the rides, despite the faces they captured in the ride photos. We recently went to a small amusement park at the beach and DS2 cried every time we got off a ride because he wanted to stay on them forever)

I had only had a few bites of the pretzel at the point and DS1 finished the rest of it. DH and I thought that was a nice, bland food to test his stomach with. He had slept over 3 hours in the stroller and was feeling much better, so we had some time to make up!

Next up: Kali River Rapids and some pixie dust!

 

[cinderaimee]

Day 5 - Friday, November 17 - Animal Kingdom - Part 3

(This part is a bit text heavy since I must have put away the camera for a little while here)

Our FP for Kali River Rapids had opened, so we headed down to that area. We didn't even need the FP - the Stand By time was 5 minutes. DS2 was just tall enough and they put him in a special seat on the raft that had a lap bar they pulled down.

We were in the raft with another dad and his tween-age son. They were both soaked to the bone! They told us they had ridden it 3 times in a row since there was no line. My boys loved this ride and we didn't get too wet, but DS1 did get splashed in the face which made his face paint run a little bit. Then when we exited the ride, there was a small splash area outside the bathrooms, which got DS1 more wet and messed up the face paint even more.

I took the boys in the bathroom to change them into dry clothes and try to clean up DS1's face. A wet paper towel did nothing but smear the paint around, so I tried a baby wipe and it wasn't much better. It was looking even worse and just turning into a big ugly blob, so I just gave up at removing the paint (when we got back to the room that evening, I had to use makeup remover to take it off!)

When we got out of the bathroom, DH bought the boys popsicles from a cart nearby and we started walking to FotLK to use our FPs. By time we made it over there, it was about 15 minutes before the show was supposed to start and we parked our stroller and started heading up to the building.

As we were walking up to the entrance, a CM approached us and said "excuse me, are you going to see the Lion King show?" and I really thought she was going to tell us the boys couldn't bring the popsicles into the theater, since they were still working on them. Then when I said yes she said "we have some special seats for you, if you'll follow me!" and lead us through a side door to a bench in the very front row! We were so shocked!

Then DS1 was picked to come up during the pre-show to lead our section in a lion roar! He did great and wasn't shy at all. I was so proud! I only wish he was still wearing his Lion King shirt he had worn all day until he got wet and didn't have smeared paint all over his face.

The show started and it was amazing. We were blown away and being so close was just incredible and I took way too many pictures.

After Lion King, it was getting dark out and we thought we'd see if we could get over to Rafiki's Planet Watch, but it was closed for the night. KS was still running and the posted wait time was 20 minutes. Since DS2 had slept through it the first time and I'd heard it's different at night, we got in that line to do it again. I didn't take any pictures this time around, but it was really cool and actually a little creepy since it was pretty dark out.

Next stop was Starbucks for caffeine and then back to Dinorama so DS1 could ride Triceratops Spin and play a few games.

(DS2 was sleeping by this point)

It was getting close to time for the park to close, and we wanted to stop at Flame Tree BBQ to see if we could get some dinner to take back to our room. Somehow we got the bridges mixed up and ended up back over at Everest, which had a 5 minute wait. I love a roller coaster at night, so I ran in and it was basically a walk-on. Everest at night was incredible, and at the crest of one of the hills, a bunch of fireworks went off right in front of us (I think from the HS show) it was so magical!

When I came out, DH was standing by the exit and the clock over the FP line said 6:59, so we passed the stroller like a relay baton and he ran into the queue. He had fun on the ride too and said it was so much better at night than the daytime.

We finally made our way over to Flame Tree and it was closed, so we headed for the exit. We stopped to watch the Tree of Life Awakenings for a bit and headed out to the bus. I think this night we had to wait quite awhile for the Boardwalk bus. One thing I found pretty interesting throughout the trip was that some of the other resorts would have massive lines all the time and usually for the Boardwalk, we would be the only people in the queue, or with only a few other people.

Anyway, we finally got on a bus and made it back to the Boardwalk. I took the kids up the room for a bath while DH went to the ESPN Zone on the Boardwalk and ordered some food to go, and brought it up to us. I think I had a BBQ sandwich and the kids had hot dogs. The food was fine, nothing too special.

After dropping our food off, DH took a bus to Disney Springs to pick up some gifts for his parents. A little backstory - DH's father has a business that DH helps him at a lot after he comes home from his regular job - helping with paperwork and emailing clients since FIL's English is not great, and he'll go to jobs with him on the weekends if FIL needs a hand with something. So the night before we left for our trip, DH's parents asked us to come over so they could say bye to the boys and while we were there, FIL slipped DH an envelope of cash and said it was his payment for all his work that year. Without getting into the numbers, it was so much that it basically doubled the amount we had budgeted for food and spending money. DH was so touched that he wanted to bring them back something nice. So he ended up getting some kind of cologne for his dad, a couple of Pandora charms for his mom, and Lego sets for his nephews.

We had a half day at MK planned for the next day, but this was the last night in our room so I put the boys to bed and started packing while DH was off shopping.

Our last day was a bit of a gamble. My original plan had us going home Saturday with Friday being the final park day. Then when I was checking flights, a 9pm flight caught my eye and I started thinking about doing one last half day before we flew home. To add one more day to our tickets only increased the price by like $50 total, so we went for it.

Up next: our last day

 

[cinderaimee]

Day 6 - Saturday, November 19 - Magic Kingdom and Departure Day

Our last morning, DS1 woke up first and came over to me crying that he wanted to go home and he missed his bed and he missed his toys. It was still pretty early and I wanted DH and DS2 to get some more sleep so I took him for a walk to see if we could find a doughnut to cheer him up. On our way down to the Boardwalk Bakery, we passed the arcade and DS1 really wanted to play some games, so we bought a card and played for about half an hour.

When we ran out of credits, we continued on to the bakery. If I'm remembering correctly, they didn't have donuts, but they did have yogurt that DS1 likes so he was happy with that. I was eyeing the pastries but we had so much food left in the room that we brought with us that we needed to eat. So we got the yogurt, juice, and coffee for DH and myself.

We got back up to the room and DH and DS2 were still asleep. We needed to finish packing and get our bags checked in for the Magical Express and all that so I woke up DH. While we were getting ready, I was talking with DS1 about our plan for the day and how we were goign to ride the Seven Dwarves ride again and he said "No, I don't want to ride that again. The witch is scary, I don't want to." So after quadruple-checking that he really really didn't want to ride it again, I did the unthinkable and switched our 9:30 7DMT FP (that I had worked so hard for!) to Winnie the Pooh.

I'm glad I had a little early quiet time with DS1 because the rest of the morning was a whirlwind of packing and getting the bags sorted out, but eventually we had our checked bags dropped off and our carry-ons with bell service and we said goodbye to our room. I took some pictures around the lobby - they had put up the Christmas tree and decorations overnight.

It wasn't time to be sad yet because we had one more day at the Magic Kingdom! We went down to the bus stop and I think the Thanksgiving crowds must have started coming in because it was the most people I had seen at the bus stop the whole week. When we got to the bus stop, there wasn't an arrival time showing for a MK bus so we thought we might be in for a long wait, but it was only about 5 minutes before a bus came.

We arrived at the MK and the crowds were insane! The security lines were long and right in the sun, but we made it through fairly quickly. We were already inside the time for our new Winnie the Pooh FP, so that's where we were headed, after a quick stop at the sword in the stone.

(blurry family picture!)

I really liked this ride because it reminded me of Snow White and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride from when we came to WDW when I was a kid.

After we exited the ride, DS1 had a major meltdown because he wanted to play with all the features in the stand by queue and we didn't do that part. I think we were all just a little hangry by this point, plus the heat and crowds were the higher than what were used to and moods were just not great all around. We were quite the crabby bunch this morning and I was kind of regretting my decision for a last park day.

We had an 11:15 BOG reservation and it was getting close to that time, so I went to check in while DH found a shady spot to stand in with the stroller.

The BOG check-in line was MASSIVE. A CM went up and down the line saying they were not accepting any walk-ins, so if you didn't have a reservation there was no point to waiting in the line. Then another CM walked down the line confirming with each party that they had a reservation. The couple in front of me had a 12:30 reservation and she told them they would have to come back at 12:30. So the line moved pretty quickly once they started kicking people out of it.

Since we had preordered our meal, I was given a rose for our table, so I waved DH over and we were able to go right in and pick out a table. The crowd outside the restaurant was huge, but when we got inside, it was empty! There were maybe 20 other parties seated in the whole restaurant. I suppose they had just opened for lunch at 11?

We picked a table in the ballroom near the Christmas tree (DS1 had no interest in sitting in the "scary" West Wing), and went to get our drinks and silverware. It was no time at all before our food was delivered. The waitress was really nice and gave the boys Mickey straws, even though we hadn't ordered them.

(not sure what he was doing here? probably dancing)

For the boys I ordered them both the kid's meatloaf with broccoli and fries, I had the Croque Monsieur sandwich and DH had picked out the Coq Au Vin, we also got the strawberry and master's cupcakes (because grey stuff!)

DH was happy with his food and my sandwich was fine, but I think ended up giving most of it to the boys because the kid's meatloaf was... not good. No amount of ketchup could help it.

While DH and boys were finishing up their food, I Facetimed my sister (she looooves Beauty and the Beast) and walked around and took pictures.

When the boys were done, we took them for a quick potty break and headed out of the restaurant.

When we got out, I was shocked to see the line to order food stretched nearly the entire length of the bridge! Do people not know you can order online? Sheesh.

Next up: the sweet smell of exhaust fumes !

 

[mamamelody2]

I read your whole report. Loved it! Sounds like a great trip.
I am going with DH November 12-20 this year, so it was interesting to see how things are at that time of year.

 

[leahlefler]

I love this trip report - what a great time! My DH is also a Grumpy Gills, but did well on our last Disney trip - we are going again in February. As long as I have everything planned and we do table service restaurants, he is happy. I'm happy to escape the snow (we live near Buffalo). I hope you guys will get to return again soon! It is so fun with kids!

 

[cinderaimee]

I read your whole report. Loved it! Sounds like a great trip.
I am going with DH November 12-20 this year, so it was interesting to see how things are at that time of year.

Thank you for reading and commenting The crowds were pretty good the first half of our trip, but it built the closer we got to Thanksgiving. Everything was all Christmas-ed out already, so don't expect to hear any of your regular music. Our next trip we're planning for a January or February for the cooler weather, but without all the Christmas because it was honestly a bit much for us. November was great for us, weather-wise. You can see all the blue skies in my pictures. We had one little sprinkle the night we arrived and some clouds the next day, but other than that, it was sun, sun, sun every day! I hope you do a TR when you get back

I love this trip report - what a great time! My DH is also a Grumpy Gills, but did well on our last Disney trip - we are going again in February. As long as I have everything planned and we do table service restaurants, he is happy. I'm happy to escape the snow (we live near Buffalo). I hope you guys will get to return again soon! It is so fun with kids!

Thanks for reading!! I think it's hard to stay too grumpy in Disney World! We're hoping to go back Jan/Feb of 2019. We're near DC so when we came back to the cold, it was quite a shock! Kids are fun, but I would love to come with my sisters for an adults trip! Maybe I would actually get to relax!

 

[anniebean]

Your AK day looked awesome! I'm hoping I get to ride Everest at night when we go next month.

 

[cinderaimee]

Your AK day looked awesome! I'm hoping I get to ride Everest at night when we go next month.

I hope you do! Everest at night is like a completely different ride!

Thanks for reading!