Live Trip Report From WDW 2/2 - 2/9 - Page 11 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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After the stage show we hit some rides. We did POTC... where DD got cranky as we entered, because her shoe was untied, and just as she started yelling on the line (it was about a 5 minute line) Captain Jack came stumbling by! I was so shocked I didn't have time to get my camera out! He stood there and gave DD a hard time. She shut up IMMEDIATELY and just stood there staring. It was actually sort of freaky how much he looked like Johnny Depp. I had to take a good look to just make ABSOLUTELY sure. LOL!
So he talked to DD for about a minute and a half (during which time I STILL hadn't gathered my wits enough to get a photo - which irritated the heck out of mom) before stumbling away. He was really hot, though, I have to say. LOL!
With that ride done (where we bought a pirate donald duck bath toy - darn those rides that empty you into a gift shop) we hit the carousel (again) and then went over to the TTA. The lines were long Sunday so we just rode those three rides that morning. We knew going in that Sunday would be a bad MK day, but it just couldn't be helped - DD's birthday fell on Sunday and we knew it had to be spent at MK, lol.
We hit the Christmas Store where I blew more than I care to admit... and then I took these cute pix of DD outside...
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After the rides, at around 130pm, my friends decided to head home for a few hours - they were coming to Chef Mickey's with us later so they needed a rest, lol!
Mom and I discussed heading back to the resort like originally planned, but decided we were a little hungry, and wanted to see the parade. We considered trying the Plaza again since we liked the food there, but chose to try something new, and headed over to Tony's. We were told that the wait was about 45 minutes, but we said that was fine... and 10 minutes later we were buzzed to be seated, lol!
We were seated in the lovely window-room off of the patio, and had a great server who was a doll! We really had great experiences with servers on this trip, and I was pleased! As a former server, I am REALLY particular and while I'm lenient (I do understand when people are busy vs. lazy), I do hold people to high standards for service, lol. I was (tooting my horn here) a phenomenal server, and I expect the same from everyone, lol!
Anyhow, so mom and I decided to get a cup of minestrone (YUUUUUMMMM) and split a meatball sub. DD, of course, got a pizza. LOL! The food was REALLY REALLY good and the portion sizes were very generous. I was impressed, as always.
We finished up right at 3pm, and went outside to the square to pull up a patch of concrete for the parade. I admit I'm a bit dippy here... lol. When I see "parade starts at 3pm" I blindly assumed that at 3pm, wherever I was along the parade route, there would be the parade. Uh, no. Doesn't work that way, of course. Had I been using my thinking cap I'd have realized that, but... I was full from lunch (after being full from breakfast) and wasn't functioning properly!
CM's brought out fun stuff for the kids to pass the time, and DD had a blast playing hopscotch. She was so enthusiastic about it. I have to say the other kids in line just hopped and called it a day. DD would jump on 1 and yell "OOOONNNNNE!!!" and then jump on 2 and yell "TWOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" and so on... and did so with such enthusiasm, excitement and gusto that everyone watching was cracking up. I just had to shake my head. This kid goes full steam into everything. She went through about five times before I finally had her just sit out to give other kids a turn, lol!
So, at 335pm, the parade hit the square, for those of you who might wonder how long it takes for the parade to get from its start to the end...
It was a really great parade and I liked it much better than the old one (which I call the "snow globe parade").
I just loved your TR! We are headed down Sat. for 2 weeks! And after reading this I am more excited then ever. And its nice to see what you girls did, since we have a 2 1/2 year old little girl to entertain. 4 more days!!!
After the parade, at about 350pm, we headed over to the CR, where we parked DD against the wall under the monorail for her nap. She knocked out right away. Thank heavens! Mom read her book, and I shopped... again. LOL!
At 5pm we met my friends for dinner at CM's. DD was out like a light, so the lovely cast members let us just wheel her in to our table. We were perfectly situated in a corner, so we just parked DD and went to get out food (taking turns, of course, to not leave her alone). DD woke up shortly before Donald (the first character) got to our table, and she was very enthusiastic about seeing him!
Then Minnie came around next...
And Pluto...
You'll see the pop-up again in this pic. I ordered a second one as a keepsake (this one in the pic is the first one, reused, so DD could play with it to her hearts content). We also got a goody bag for $4.99 which was just some coloring books and crayons in a plastic bag. If you wanted the more expensive one (not sure how much it was), the goody bag comes in a nice canvas tote for you to keep. I have three Disney bags purchased on this trip alone, lol, so we elected to not get a fourth...
Here's yet ANOTHER cupcake for DD... the last one (at least until this coming Sunday when we have her family birthday party).
They had a "birthday celebration" that they do every 30 minutes, and the characters come over and dance at your table and stuff... and they twirl napkins... but for some weird reason, DD absolutely freaked out. She wanted NOTHING to do with it and started crying and had to sit on my lap, lol. She settled down immediately after the singing stopped. So weird!
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I just loved your TR! We are headed down Sat. for 2 weeks! And after reading this I am more excited then ever. And its nice to see what you girls did, since we have a 2 1/2 year old little girl to entertain. 4 more days!!!
Oh fun!!! TWO WEEKS! That sounds heavenly! Your DD should have a wonderful time! It's SUCH a great age for them to experience Disney! Where are you staying?
I have to say, Chef Mickey's is absolutely fantastic. The food was really top notch... I was again impressed. I keep waiting to hate something, lol!
I had some prime rib (YUMMY) with mashed potatoes, mac and cheese from the kids bar (that was out of this world), some cheesy potatoes casserole thing, uhm... some raviolis (shaped like Mickey), uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhmmm.... yeah... I can't think offhand... but it was really good. And the dessert bar was just to die for. I could definitely eat there again.
I expected it to be louder, but really aside from the little dance party (which wasn't that loud), it was really quiet in there!
Goofy came to visit:
And then the mouse himself... Chef Mickey! This one makes me laugh because Mickey went to kiss DD and he bonked her in the face with his nose, and she thought that was hysterical!
Then we were still there when Donald came back around. DD wanted to show him her buses (she was obsessed with these things) and he took one and drove it all over her arms, which she just loved! So cute!
After CM's, we rolled ourselves out of there, just stuffed!
Mom decided to head back to the resort, to pack (sniffle) so DD and I headed back to MK for Wishes and EMH. We got into the park around 735pm, and parked ourselves on the bridge beside the castle (to the right), for a great view of Tink. My plan was to watch Tink fly, and then head around to Dumbo, etc... during the fireworks.
So we saw Tink (a very big deal in DD's book) and then went around the castle. I tell you what, I know there's magic in seeing the fireworks with the castle in front of them, but... you get a GREAT view of fireworks from behind the castle, and it's such an interesting and different view.
Here's some pix:
Then we headed to Dumbo, where there was a 5 minute line! It was great! I had a great chat with the family in front of us about EMH's and then we rode Dumbo one last time!
Then one final spin on the carousel, one final ride in a Honey Pot, and one final boat ride through Small World before I decided I was exhausted, and we headed back to the resort!
DD fell asleep immediately upon laying down - it had been a really big day for her and she only had slept a little over an hour for her nap...
Then I sadly packed before soaking in a hot bath for twenty minutes. Then it was bed for me, too!
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Monday morning we woke up around 8am and finished the last minute packing stuff, and checked some emails. Then we went to eat breakfast at the Pepper Market. I've said it before, I thought the food was good, but overpriced, and I get annoyed that we have to pay 10% tip to a server that gets us a drink at a fountain that we could easily walk up to ourselves. It just annoyed me. What also bugged me is that you have a lot of restrictions as compared to other places like at the CR or Poly or WL, where you can order specifically what you want, and not have to get what you don't want.
Ah well, I'm whining about that and I shouldn't focus on the negative. It really wasn't a "negative" even. Just an "eh, I didn't love it". LOL!
After we ate, we did one last little shopping excursion in the gift shop (I know, I know), packed the car, and drove away from WDW.
In good news... my friend seems to have talked mom into possibly coming down for a weekend in the end of Nov / beginning of Dec (after Thanksgiving) to see the Christmas stuff. We'd fly down and maybe stay with them for 2 nights, or - if I can swing it, lol - we'd stay at the GF for two nights! I would LOVE THAT!
So we'll see. Then we're at the Poly for our week-long trip in early Feb next year (where so help me there better not be a cold snap!)
It was a wonderful week but I'm just beat. We got in at 1245am last night after a 14 hour drive (we stopped at 2 restaurants on the way home to break up the drive).
All in all, I think we ate our way through Disney. We nearly ate in more restaurants than we went on rides!
Here's the list of everything we went on / did:
MK:
Dumbo 2x
Carousel 4x
Carousel of Progress
Small World 2x
Pooh 2x
Peter Pan
TTA 2x
Met the princesses
Parade
Wishes
DHS:
TSMM
Playhouse Disney Show
Met Handy Manny (yay!)
Great Movie Ride
HSM Show
Parade
EPCOT:
Journey into Imagination
Spaceship Earth
Nemo
All of World Showcase
Off Kilter (they are awesome)
Where We Ate:
Monday:
T-Rex
Tuesday:
Plaza Restaurant
Ohana
Wednesday:
Cape May Cafe
Pepper Market
Room Service
Thursday:
Chefs de France
Kona Cafe
Friday:
Sci-Fi
Rose & Crown
Saturday:
Rainforest Cafe
Grand Floridian Cafe
Sunday:
Crystal Palace
Tony's Town Square
Chef Mickey's
Monday:
Pepper Market
Phew! That's a LOT of food! 13 sit-down meals! YUM!
It really was a great trip. Re-reading it, it's no wonder I'm straight exhausted! LOL! But it was wonderful... and now that I've done so much research, exploring and eating, I know exactly what I want to do next time around!! Wahoo!
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Just finished reading. Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us. The pictures of Wishes are wonderful. And all the pictures at Chef Mickey's with your DD are just so cute. Again, glad that you had a wonderful trip.
Great Trip!! you were able to rest some lol, I'm so glad you were able to get your camera back because it would have been terrible to have lost all those great pic's of your beautiful daughter. She did so well with all the character's . She had such a fun time!! LouigiAnne