EPCOT and Animal Kingdom

Saturday was rainy from the time we woke up until 3 p.m.  Luckily we didn't have to be there for rope drop since we had FastPass+ for the attractions we wanted (Soarin', Test Track and Illuminations), because we were tired after being at MVMCP until almost midnight.   EPCOT had a huge Christmas tree dividing Future World from the World Showcase, but that was the extent of the decorations that I noticed.  We started the day at Soarin' around 9:30 before hitting up Starbucks for coffees and cupcakes for breakfast.  Then we rode Will's favorite ride at EPCOT:  Test Track!  We used our room keys to another set of Fast Passes for later in the evening so we could ride again.

We did rider swap on Mission Space (can you say claustrophic?!) and then rode Ellen's Energy Adventure before lunch.   Will fell asleep in our booth in Mexico, and then kept sleeping after we moved him back to his stroller once we finished eating.  We walked around a bit since the rain had mostly stopped and then decided to go to Animal Kingdom for a few hours. 

Animal Kingdom also had a huge tree outfront.   The next day we'd see our third of these trees at Hollywood Studios.   We arrived just as the Jingle Jammin' Parade was going by.   After it passed us, we followed it toward Dinoland where we rode Dinosaur and then Tricerotops spin (Dumbo with dinosaurs) to cheer up Will after the scary Dinosaur ride.  Then Jason and I each rode Everest once before we headed back to EPCOT.

At EPCOT we rode Spaceship Earth (the big ball) then had dinner.  We had FP+ for Illuminations that night, which I had never seen before.   On our way, I noticed that the Character Spot was walk-in, so we said a quick hello to Mickey and Minnie before claiming our spot by the water for the show.

Wishes at Magic Kingdom is my absolute favorite thing about Disney World.  I can't say I was as impressed with Illuminations.  Not sure if I was tired, or if the "Reflections of Earth" theme just doesn't wow me as much at fireworks with the backdrop of Cinderella's castle.  Glad I saw it but I will choose Wishes over it or Fantasmic anytime!

Hollywood Vine & Dine

At Hollywood Studios we had our second character breakfast -- this time with Will's favorite pals from Disney Junior:  Special Agent Oso; June from Little Einsteins; Jake from Jake and the Neverland Pirates; and Handy Manny.  Will's current favorite show is Octonauts, but there is nothing in the parks themed to them.  My favorites are Doc McStuffins and Sofia the First.   Will wouldn't let me to go the Sofia meet and greet though.  :-)

Will collected four more signatures in his book.  I need to print all the character pictures now to put into his book across from the signature.  Fear not, Will also met Handy Manny, but he came while I was in the restroom, so his picture is on Jason's phone instead of mine.

Better than Handy Manny or any of the characters was the food!  I'd read mixed reviews, but I love breakfast food and thought all of it was delicious: frittata; biscuits and gravy; fruit; yogurt; cinnamon rolls; banana bread; pick your own omelet; and the list goes on.  The grand finale was my creation of Mickey waffles with warm strawberry compote and soft serve vanilla ice cream.  I made one for myself, but once Will saw it, I just gave him the first one and went back to make myself another.  Yum!   We could have stayed to continue a leisurely breakfast longer but we had to get moving on pulling more Toy Store Fast Passes and getting Will signed up for Jedi Training. 

MVMCP: Photopass

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

The reason I wanted to come back to Disney again during 2013 was to experience Chirstmas at Disney:  specifically Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom and the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Hollywood Studios.  We got to see/do both.   Main Street was beautiful all lit up.  It gets dark by 6 p.m., so this was the view as we watched the Castle Lights get turned on by the Fairy Godmother at 6:15 p.m.

 Expect to see the castle in my Christmas card!

Starbucks opened up in the Magic Kingdom and in EPCOT this summer, so of course, I needed a cappucino to sip on during the castle lighting!   And, yes, the next day in EPCOT we had breakfast there.  It's a Shields family favorite anywhere we go!  The boy was excited that Disney Starbucks sells Mickey cupcakes for breakfast!  (Ok, I was, too!)

On MVMCP nights, the Magic Kingdom closes to regular guests at 7 p.m. and is open only for party guests until midnight.   However, party guests can use their party tickest to get into the park as early as 4 p.m.  We were through the gates at 4:01 and enjoyed more than 7 hours of theme park fun (and rain) using our party ticket.  Unfortunately, it did rain throughout our trip -- including on our party night.   Luckily it wasn't cold to go along with that rain but several of the outdoor special events that were supposed to happen during the party were cancelled for performer's safety. 

Between 4 and 7 we got some rides under our belt using our FastPass+ Magic Bands.  First up was Will's first ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.  I was excited that all three of us could squish into a single car so I could see this excited face up close!  He loved it and we went on it three more times throughout the evening; including once during the fireworks show!

After Big Thunder and Splash Mountain (where we got WAY more wet than we were hoping!), we used our Enchanted Tales with Belle FP+.  I knew that every participant would get a picture with Belle, so I wanted Will to have a role.  He was less sure.  I still volunteered him, but he didn't really warm up until the photo at the end.  He was being shy until the PhotoPass photographer said, "Cheese!" and then he lit it up - much to the delight of the crowd!   I am still sifting through the PhotoPass pictures of the trip, so once I get my CD with the Disney photographers' pictures, I may have to swap out some of mine for theirs.   The wardrobe and Lumiere both talked!

I was very excited to see the Christmas parade and had a plan that we would watch the less busy second showing at 10:30 pm.  However, as the time for the first parade rolled around at 8:30, I thought that the rain could definitely result in a rain out of the rest of the night, so we grabbed a spot in Frontierland (not the Main Street see the fake snow spot I wanted) just as the first parade started.  The view was horrible, but we managed to get Will up to the rope so he could see.  Jason and I didn't see much at all since there were people with kids on their shoulders in front of us.  But, I was right, and the second parade did get cancelled.  I'll just have to watch it on YouTube, I guess. 

One cool result of the rain:  ride lines and character greetings later in the night were short.  We got our photo with the Seven Dwarves and it only took 10 minutes from start to finish.  Most blogs say you need to plan on 90 minutes to 2 hours to do that since Halloween and Christmas are the only time they appear.  Will also got to ride the Buzz Lightyear ride 4 times in a row.  One parent would ride with Will twice while the other was on Space Mountain and then we switched. 

The party was fun, but I have a lot of "what if" questions in my mind with regard to the rain.  The good part was that we focused more on rides, so we didn't need to go back to the Magic Kingdom at all on Saturday and got to sneak in a few hours at Animal Kingdom.  Oh, and I got my first taste of the Tea Cups.  Never again!

 

Downtown Disney

After Ohana, we took the bus to Downtown Disney to window shop for a few hours until it was time to get ready for our evening at Magic Kingdom. 

I was bound and determined that on this trip we would get at least one picture for a Christmas card. I'm happy to report that Disney got several via PhotoPass, but I tried to capture some myself, as well.  Below is one of those opportunities.  Will is clutching his shopping bag with his Lightning McQueen Christmas ornament.  He and I both picked a favorite ornament as a souvenir.  

 

Downtown Disney is basically just an outdoor mall.  It's got shops, restaurants, and bars.  It has the world's largest Disney Store and a Lego store.  We stopped at the Lego store, but ironically the guys never made it inside.  They were building little cars outside the store while I did a lap through the Disney store.  When I went to find them I realized they hadn't moved yet.  I went inside and found these full size Buzz and Woody characters made from Legos.

And on the river there was this dragon that reminded me of the one at our hotel.  Behind it you can see the water taxi.   They went only to the two Port Orleans hotels, so we did that instead of a bus when we were done shoppoing.

This is probably a good post to throw in something about MagicBands.  These are Disney's way to make you spend more money!  You can link everything to it: room key; theme park tickets; credit card for purchases; food credits if you're on the dining plan; Photopass account; and Fast Passes.  You use it throughout the property and parks to make purchases and to get you in everywhere.   I never had to take my wallet with me anywhere.  You attach a pin code to it for identification purposes that you have to enter everytime you make a purchase.  There has been a lot of discussion on Disney blogs about how they don't work consistently from a technology standpoint and that by loading your FastPass on in advance it's ruining the spontaneity of the trip.

We had zero problems from a technology standpoint.  The bands worked every time we wanted to buy something; everytime we wanted to get into a park; and everytime we wanted to use our Fast Pass.  As far a spontaneity, I don't think a Disney vacation lends itself to that.  I am perfectly content to make my ride selections 60 days in advance; I know what my favorites are that have long lines that I want to skip.  We even had some ride reservations we chose to skip because of other plans, and I just got on my phone app and rescheduled for a later time.  It was no problem at all.  It may have been easier since November is not very busy at the parks so we could walk on to lots of rides without much wait, but in all, no complaints.

Ohana Breakfast

We had another first on this trip: character meals.  Will has historically been afraid of the characters, but he was warming up to them on the cruise, so we decided to try it at the parks.  Character meals are a great way to do a meet-and-greet because they come individually to your table, so there is no waiting in line.  Plus there is food to keep you occupied!  Friday morning we slept in and had brunch at the Polynesian Resort at Ohana's Best Friends Breakfast which is a Hawaiian themed restaurant featuring Mickey, Pluto, Lilo and Stitch.  

Lilo was up first and she was very funny which helped break the ice.  She signed Will's book and then gave him a high five, low five, and then knuckles.  Will was laughing so hard by the time she did knuckles that he couldn't even do it.  It's amazing how you can interact with these characters that don't talk!

Next up was Stitch.  In the picture he's pretending to lick Will which was also the source of tremendous laughter.   He was much better than I was expecting.  I must admit that I'm not a fan of the Lilo and Stitch movie.

Pluto is Will's favorite.  I was really looking forward to watching Pluto sign the autograph book because he usually rests the books on his nose.  However, since the book was open on the table, he just left it there and signed that way.  He signed his name and drew a dog bone.  Is it weird that a dog can write his name?

Last up was Mickey; we were one of the last families in the restaurant by this point, but we didn't have anywhere to be, so we waited our turn for Mickey.   We got some pictures with just Will and a few with all of us.

I was a huge fan of the Kona coffee, POG juice (pineapple, orange, guava) and the Mickey waffles. Will had a great time meeting and collecting signatures.

Port Orleans French Quarter

We stayed at the smallest of the moderate resorts: Port Orleans French Quarter. The hotel property was nice, and our room was fantastically located overlooking a river and near the pool and main building.   We learned our lesson in May about trying to get to Orlando too early on travel day and wearing out.  This trip we took it easy and got there late afternoon with our only plans being to swim and get a late dinner.  The swimming lasted all of 20 minutes since it was only in the 70s; overcast; and windy.   Will and I each did a few trips down the dragon slide and then we went to the food court for a snack of beignets.   

My great plan was to bus to the Magic Kingdom and then take the monorail to the Grand Floridian for a late dinner.  Unfortunately the resort monorail was shut down due to a switch problem.  We ended up taking a ferry from the park to the hotel.  When I booked the trip and the restaurant reservations, I was hoping the deluxe resorts would already be decorated for Christmas.  Although the hotel had their Gingerbread House up, the rest of the resort wasn't decorated yet.  None of the hotels really were, and only Magic Kingdom had up a lot of decorations.  The other parks had giant Christmas trees, but no other decorations that I really noticed.  I think this next week leading up the Thanksgiving is when the transformation happens.

After dinner, we walked to the Polynesian Resort and sat on lounge chairs on its beach to watch the evening fireworks at Magic Kingdom.  It was just as beautiful as I was hoping!  

Our ride back to our hotel was less beautiful, as it took over and hour and two buses to get there.  At least we didn't have to get up too early on Friday morning!

Disney World

We just snuck in a quick, but fun-filled trip to Disney World!  Yes, again!  This trip was different than our other two, though: Will was finally big enough to ride the 40 inch rides!  That means he got to experience Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Star Tours, Tower of Terror, and Dinosaur all for the first time.  He LOVED Big Thunder and Star Tours and rode each of those multiple times.  Pretty sure we won't see him raising his hand for Tower or Dinosaur anytime soon. . . .
I will be back blogging to catch up on our three days in the parks once I get some pictures downloaded and once I get a few business trips behind me. 

Management Material

In order to get the shrubs ready for Christmas lights, Jason had to trim some down.  I thought this picture of Will standing inside the window to supervise the process was pretty awesome.