Goin' Down the Bayou ~ The TR (November 1-10, 2012) About This Page:

[jlhill4444]

Thanks for the review of GG, we have wanted to try it but have not made the time as of yet. It is now on our list for June! I think the kids would love the characters! Sounds like your did!

[JKnott17]

Originally Posted by lauriep

The photos with Big Duffy are adorable! Is it my imagination or did the meet-and-greet Duffys used to be lighter in color and with "fur" curly and more like the plush Duffys? They're still cute, I just remember them being more of a perfect replica. The bears sure made for a fantastic bunch of character interactions at dinner. I love Farmer Mickey's outfit. I don't like hearing about the problems with facing the spinning wall. I'm sure I'd have had problems as well.

That's a good question about Duffy, Laurie! I didn't even notice that he was darker or that his fur isn't quite the same as it is on the plush Duffy. I did look back at our pics with him last year though, and he looked just as he did this year.

Farmer Mickey is adorable, I love his outfit! And, the feeling I got from the spinning of the restaurant was horrible. The worst part of it all, because of the position I was sitting in, there was no where to look without noticing the movement, it was always in my peripheral vision. When the characters weren't around, I had to kee my head down just staring into my plate to block out the motion.

Originally Posted by OneLittleSpark

GLad the character interaction made up for the illness watching the restaurant turn. I would have the same problem. Ugh.

We haven't done GG yet. We have had 2 ADR's for it, and always ended up having to cancel it. We don't have room for it next trip. Maybe some other time though!

It's fun to have spend time with friends at WDW!

Love the pictures of the girls with Duffy too.

Just make sure you are facing towards the outside of the restaurant and you'll be fine. The first time we at at GG I didn't even notice the motion, so I was not expecting the reaction I had this night at all. The food is delicious though, and there is lots of it! I hope you'll be able to fit in in one year.

Originally Posted by Russi01

Love the girls with Duffy!!!

Thanks

Originally Posted by chezp

What great photos with Duffy and what a wonderful time you had at dinner!

Those pics with Duffy are some of my favorites, the smiles on the girls are just so big! I need to get prints so I can frame them

Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily

That was wonderful character interaction. I couldn't have dealt with the rotation. No way. What a great spot to watch Illuminations! It is a beautiful show!

The character interaction at Garden Grill is so much fun! This was our second time here, and both times we were cracking up laughing the whole time. Also, because the restaurant is not that big, you get mulitiple visits from the characters. I think this time we saw them about 3 or 4 times each over the course of the whole meal. And, each time they stop and give you lots of attention, not just a quick wave as they go by as we've had at some other restaurants.

Oh, and don't be afraid of the rotation. The first time we at there I barely even noticed it, I think this time I did only because of the position I was seated in. Facing outwards is much better!

Originally Posted by Cam22

Great time circling the WS! I'm going to remember that seating issue at Garden Grill because we have a large group for dinner here in June. I'm very easily motion sick and I'm sure that arrangement would have had me very sick to my stomach. But so glad for you all that the character interaction made up for it.

I think you'll be fine if you make sure you face towards the outer walls of the restaurant, I hope you don't get sick like i did, Cam! The characters here are always such fun

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Great pictures from Epcot and from your dinner! Sorry the motion of the restaurant was making you feel ill!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by jlhill4444

Thanks for the review of GG, we have wanted to try it but have not made the time as of yet. It is now on our list for June! I think the kids would love the characters! Sounds like your did!

I'm sure your kids will love the Garden Grill, those characters are just so fun!!

[DMA]

We would like to try Garden Grill in September so I'm glad you mentioned about the moving wall and motion sickness. That would do me in as well! The characters sound like lots of fun though! Can't wait for that!

[shazza]

There's a lot of great Duffy love in these last two updates.

Seriously - Disney should use one of the photos of the girls at the Duffy Gazebo in their promo material.

[JKnott17]

Originally Posted by DMA

We would like to try Garden Grill in September so I'm glad you mentioned about the moving wall and motion sickness. That would do me in as well! The characters sound like lots of fun though! Can't wait for that!

It's great fun at the Garden Grill! And, the food is delicious I just wish I could have enjoyed it.

Originally Posted by shazza

There's a lot of great Duffy love in these last two updates.

Seriously - Disney should use one of the photos of the girls at the Duffy Gazebo in their promo material.

You're too sweet!

[JKnott17]

Friday, November 8 - Part 1


I forgot to add last time that we had found this little guy when we returned home on Thursday night



And the rest of the girls’ animals having a slumber party on the bed



Anyway, moving on to Friday morning …

I had hoped to be up and at ‘em early this morning so that we could get to the MK early enough to see the opening ceremony, but my family had a different idea. Everyone was moving like molasses getting ready, so we didn’t get out the door until 8:45 am. We had a bit of a wait for a bus, but finally an empty one came along and we were the only ones to get on. The girls, of course, went straight to the back of the bus to their favorite seats by the windows.





We had some time before we needed to check in for our tour, so I decided to finally make good on my promise to Abby that we would share a cinnamon roll as a treat this trip. Since Kaeli isn’t able to eat them because of her allergy, we split up and Chris took her to find a safe treat for them to share. I headed to the bakery with Abby, and we got a cinnamon roll and milk to share, yum!



We sat outside of city hall, enjoying our treat as we waited for our tour guide for the Family Magic Tour to join us outside. Chris had already checked us in, and we all got name tags as well as a bottle of water before we got started.


WARNING: I’m going to try to keep my description of the Family Magic Tour short and sweet, but I will have some pictures and a little bit of info about it, so if you plan on doing this tour and want to be completely surprised with everything that happens you should stop reading now. The rest of this post will be entirely about our time on the tour.








Ok, so after just a short wait, our tour guide came out and gathered our group together. He was a young man who seemed very eager and enthusiastic about working with kids and helping us to have fun on the tour. He was really great with the children, making sure that everyone got involved in someway and that no one ever felt left out. I thought I had written his name down, but it’s not in my notes anywhere.


Sprinkling us with Pixie Dust to get the tour started.


Now, I’ll admit, before I booked the tour I had researched it a bit and even watched videos of it on You Tube so that I knew what to expect, and also to see if it would be something the girls would like. Dawn had done it with her family also, and had told me stories about the things I would see and characters I would meet, everything she told me matched up perfectly with what I had seen in the videos online. Well, I was in for a surprise this morning, because the entire story line of our tour was different from what I had been expecting, and I think that was for the better.






Solving a puzzle clue









Pretending to be birds



Now they’re ballerinas


About halfway through, we stopped for a break near the Cheshire Café where we could use the restrooms and get a snack or drink (at our own cost of course ), and just sit and rest for a few minutes before continuing on. All in all, I think it took about two hours to complete the entire tour from beginning to end. We enjoyed it a lot, it was something new and different to for us to do while in the Magic Kingdom. But, you should know that it is not a “backstage” tour and you will not learn any facts about the MK, WDW, etc., it’s all just for fun. You should also know that some of the clues require the group to do silly things throughout the park, and the adults are encouraged to join in on the fun too! Don’t be shy! Some of the adults in our group were party poopers, but it’s all in good fun. You should have seen the looks we were getting from others as we crossed the bridge out of Tomorrowland while acting like monkeys! The girls had fun meeting some other children their ages, and it was exciting for them to solve all of the clues and find the items we needed to “defeat the Villains from taking over". Also, we got to meet two surprise characters during the tour, and everyone got a lot of personal attention from them rather than just a quick picture or autograph, one of the characters even led the kids in a few different games and a singalong.

When the tour was over, our guide thanked us all and wished us a magical day, handing each family special Fastpasses that were good for one ride on the attraction of your choice in any of the parks. What a nice surprise!


UP NEXT: Saying Goodbye to MK

[dutchdisneyfamily]

Thanks for the review of the tour. I've always wondered about it. Not sure my oldest would go along with it though. Love reading about it!

[chezp]

Thanks for the review of the tour. Not having kids, it's not something we'd ever do, but it does sound fun for children.

[lauriep]

I always wondered what that tour was like. Sounds like fun for families who have been to the park before and are looking for something different.

[Colexis Mom]

Glad you had a great time on the tour! Great pics!

[Cam22]

This tour does look like lots of fun and I can see your kids remembering this day for a long time.

[JKnott17]

Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily

Thanks for the review of the tour. I've always wondered about it. Not sure my oldest would go along with it though. Love reading about it!

The tour was fun, but you're probably right about your son, it's mostly geared towards younger kids. There was a girl who looked to be about 12 or 13 and she seemed just completely bored the entire time, her mom had to keep asking her to stay with her brother and sister and follow along.

Originally Posted by chezp

Thanks for the review of the tour. Not having kids, it's not something we'd ever do, but it does sound fun for children.

Yes, I totally agree, it probably wouldn't be enjoyable for someone without kids

Originally Posted by lauriep

I always wondered what that tour was like. Sounds like fun for families who have been to the park before and are looking for something different.

I almost feel like they should change the name of it somehow, omitting the word "tour" from it. I think it gives the wrong impression, and I could see how people who might not have researched it much before going could be dissappointed in it. But, for what it was, we enjoyed it very much!

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Glad you had a great time on the tour! Great pics!

Thanks

Originally Posted by Cam22

This tour does look like lots of fun and I can see your kids remembering this day for a long time.

I think you're right, they had a lot of fun!

[JKnott17]

Friday, November 9 - Part 2


We had worked up quite an appetite saving the MK from the Villains, so we made our way up Main Street in search of some lunch.



It was so windy today!


We had a bit of a disagreement as to what everyone wanted to eat for lunch, the girls wanted hot dogs, but Chris and I were in the mood for burgers. So, the plan was to stop at Casey’s Corner for Kaeli and Abby, and then over to Cosmic Rays for some burgers. Kaeli got the regular hot dog meal, and Abby wanted the corn dog nuggets. I thought that I might be able to use a snack credit for those, but they aren’t eligible for that. However, if you add fries and a soda to them, you are able to use a CS credit. I was so glad the CM told me that, because it’s not on the menu at all and we would have ended up paying OOP for Abby’s meal.


Those hot dogs are huge!




The Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Parade came by as the girls ate, they enjoyed listening to the music as it went by. After the girls finished up, we stopped for a few Photopass pics in one of my favorite spots before heading over to Cosmic Rays.









Chris and I satisfied our burger craving, and then we were off to SM for one last spin through space. Abby wanted to do the Astro Orbiter again, but the wait was really long, so much to her disappointment we skipped it. We decided to head over to check out the wait for BTMRR and Splash, both were pretty long, but we still had our special FPs from the tour. So, we got regular FPs for BTMRR, and used the ones from the tour for Splash. Even with the FPs we had a decent wait, there was some problem with the loading process which slowed the line. We realized as we were waiting that we had forgotten the ponchos back in the room , so Abby was a little upset with us. Chris offered her his sweatshirt, and she was fine with using that to cover up so she wouldn’t get wet coming down the hill. Well, this is the picture we ended up with after that ride


Seriously, she looks like the Grim Reaper!


Up next was some fun on BTMRR.





After our ride, we decided to cut through Adventureland and make our way out to the front of the park. We’d have to say goodbye to MK for now , but we were headed over to DHS for the opening of the Osbourne Lights tonight!!


I couldn’t resist getting this little guy on our way out!






A couple more shots as we said goodbye



UP NEXT: Mer' Christmas!

[lauriep]

Originally Posted by JKnott17

Seriously, she looks like the Grim Reaper!

Exactly! Either that, or a mini-Darth Vader!

Wonderful photopass pix, and the one you took of the wind-blown balloons is great!

[honeybee723]

Sorry that you had to deal with motion sickness during your dinner. Doesn't really seem like a good combo. On a better note, I'm glad the meal was enjoyable for the girls, especially due to the awesome character interaction.