Trip Report Nov 19-22 (pre, during, and post)

The Plan

Day 1 - Friday, Nov 19
Assuming the drive has been successful (just gotta love 15 hours in the car) we will be checking it at Saratoga Springs at 7am and making our way to the Magic Kingdom parking lot around 8am.
9am - Opening, DD and I will head to Dumbo while DW gets breakfast at the Bakery and grabs Space Mountain FPs
9:30am - After we have all had breakfast (we are quick eaters) we'll hit some of the Fantasyland heights - Peter Pan, Small World - then over to Haunted Mansion if time allows before...
10am - First boat to Tom Sawyer Island to search for paint brushes and explore (and play checkers).
10:45am over to Adventureland for Pirates and maybe a Jungle Cruise, and visits with Aladdin and the Swiss Family.
12pm Lunch at Columbia Harbor House.
1pm With the ludicrous hope that our room is ready early, we will head out of the park and grab some Buzz FPs on the way out.
2-4:30 Relax time. Either in our room or in the lobby at SSR!
5pm Dinner at 1900 Park Faire. If you have read the last trip report or seen the pictures, you know about this. This time, DD wants to bring both the Anastasia and the Drizella dresses and switch between them halfway through dinner!
6:15pm Back to MK, to use Space and Buzz FPs.
7pm - Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party!
11pm Back to the room for some much needed sleep!

Well, I'm pretty excited!

Any new costumes for your daughter on the horizon?!

Can't wait for the Trip Report. Happy early Birthday to your wife! Have fun! :xmas:

The Plan

Day 2 - Saturday, November 20 (DWs birthday)
Much better rested, we will be up between 6 and 7am and on our way to the Studios to be at the gate around 7:30am.
8am - Opening, mad rush to Toy Story Mania to ride and get FPs.
8:30 - Tower of Terror and (if DD has grown 1 more inch by then) over to RnRC. She has been desperate to get on it ever since last visit when she loved Everest.
9am - Grab a lite breakfast at Fairfax Fair
9:45 - Voyage of the Little Mermaid. It is a must do in this family.
10:15 - We are hoping to do the Backlot Tour on this trip. Haven't done it in over a decade and I know most of my memories of it are from 1994! With the looming possibility of its demise, we want our DD to enjoy it at least once!
10:50 - Use the FP at Toy Story Mania
11:30 - Beauty and the Beast show time!
After BatB is over, it will be back to Saratoga Springs for a relaxed lunch in the room (food from Artist Point).
4pm - Time to head to Epcot and pick up a Kim Possible adventure for after dinner
5pm - Les Chefs de France for DWs birthday. Hopefully we will get a visit from Remy!
6pm - Time to help Kim Possible save the world, see the France and Canada movies and maybe visit a Kidcot station or two.
7:30 - The whole reason for the trip - a visit to the Rose and Crown for the grownups to have a drink or two while the little one gets some dessert.
8:30 - Claim a spot of land for Illuminations at 9pm
10pm - The sound of three people sleeping very well.

erstwo said:

Well, I'm pretty excited!

Any new costumes for your daughter on the horizon?!

Can't wait for the Trip Report. Happy early Birthday to your wife! Have fun! :xmas:

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No new costumes this visit. There was talk of pulling apart the two stepsister costumes and merging them into one, but the final decision was to take both costumes and change mid-meal at 1900 Park Faire. I would expect the future to hold many more costumes, though!

Hey! We'll be overlapping by a few days! Cool!

Time is zipping by! I'm starting to get this dreadful feeling that I won't be ready.... :lookaroun

The Plan

Day 3 - Sunday, November 21
In our family, this is a sleeping in morning, up at 7am!
8:30am - we should be in the line waiting to get into Epcot
9am - Like most of the masses, we will head to Soarin' first, then cross Future World to hit Test Track and Mission:Space. We'll grab an FP for either Soarin' or Test Track depending on the mood that morning.
10am - Time for the second tier of Future World - Spaceship Earth, Nemo and Crush, Living with the Land (my personal favorite) and Imagination (yes, we still do Imagination every visit) and maybe a viewing of Captain EO.
11:30am - Grab a KP adventure ticket and then take the slow boat to Germany (seems odd for a land locked country)
12pm - Lunch at the Biergarten!
1pm - a KP adventure, a boat ride with trolls, a boat ride with the 3 caballeros, and maybe a Kidcot station, too.
3pm - back to the room for some R&R and light dinner
5pm - Over to Studios to visit the Osbourne lights, the Muppets, and maybe the Great Movie Ride
8pm - Early to bed tonight. Tomorrow will be a long day!

Just doing some bored math work and came to realize this will be my 21st trip in 34 years (didn't visit until I was 4). Some alarming numbers:

Since the age of 4, I have visited Disney approximately once every 19 months. Remove the 1980s when I didn't have a single visit and you get once every 14 months.

Ignoring the fact that in the early 90s I drove way too fast on I95, and subtracting the one time we flew, that gives me 600 hours in the car going to and coming back from Disney. Or 25 entire days in the car (although those early trips in the Ford Fiesta felt much longer than 15 hours)

It also adds up to nearly 100 days at Disney (some of those early trips were just for a day or two as we visited family in Orlando).

Now my brain hurts, so.... tomorrow, the Day 4 plan.

The Plan

Day 4 - Monday, November 22
Up at 6:30am, to load the car and be at AK for 8am opening
8am - Expedition Everest is our first stop and pick up FPs for later
8:30 - Like almost everyone else, stop #2 is the Safari
9:15 - We enjoy our leisurely walks through the jungles of Africa and Asia
9:45 - EE with FPs
10am - In line for the 10:30am Finding Nemo Show. What a great show!
11am - a quick visit to Primeval Whirl (assuming 1/2 inch of growth) for DDs first ride
12pm - Not sure where we will end up, but we will use all the rest of our DP credits to stock up on food and snacks for the ride
1pm - In the car, braving the mid-day traffic on I4, which means we have come to the end of our visit (excluding the 15 hours in the car).

Sorry for the delay getting all the plans up, but real life took a front seat for a couple days!

Next update will be from the parks!

Two Weeks Out

We are now just over two weeks out from our trip. DD has started her usual paper chain that she removes a link from each day until we leave. Meanwhile, DW and I have been reviewing plans and saving $$ wherever possible.

One nice event is that a friend is heading to WDW in January and asked me to plan for them. Doing so always is helpful to me. Looking at the parks experience through the eyes of someone who has never been sometimes sheds new light on experiences we may have glossed over or forgotten about over the years. It also gets me researching all the websites which often uncovers a new gem of wisdom.

sounds like a great plan for your trip. can't wait to hear all about it and see pictures of your adorable daughter in her costumes!

Three Days Out

OK, so this is the week. The excitement is at a fever pitch in the Brifraz household. DD has a paper chain that she takes a link off each day until we go and the anticipation has grown exponentially since we got under 10 links. DW and I have re-re-re-reviewed all the plans and finished preparing our guidebook.

This is, of course, the worst time for an over-planner. The thoughts of things not working out start creeping in. Luckily, over the years, things have never worked out quite right and we deal with it just fine once that happens. It's the anticipation that makes us crazy!

We will be taking the laptop along, so during the afternoon breaks or right before bed each night, I'll do my best to post updates on the action in the parks. Also hoping to get some good pictures to share! See you there.

Day 1 - Midday Report

Here we are! Halfway through our first day at DW. Leaving home at 3:15pm, we had a fairly traumatic first couple hours of driving - how is it that Washington DC can have traffic on every single highway that adds at least an hour to drive times? After that, we made great time and checked in to SSR at 7am. Much to our surprise, the room was ready. So, we unpacked our stuff into the room and got changed and then headed to MK for opening!

At the gates at 8:20am and ready to rock. (well, really ready for a nap, but not yet). At opening, DD and I headed to Dumbo. This is usually a Mommy/daughter activity, but Daddy wanted some pictures of the construction site! (will post when we get home). Then we had our usual great breakfast from the Main street Bakery. Nothing beats those cinnamon rolls!

Over to Peter Pan around 9:20am. After flying with the Lost Boys et al, DW and DD did It's a Small World while I hoofed it to Spack Mountain to pick up FPs. DWs report on the Small World refurb was very positive. Nice to see all the AAs working and in time with the music. Maybe I'll get to see it tonight?

9:50am and ready for Tom Sawyer Island to open up. Relatively light crowds today, so we were first in line and when we got to the island, managed to score a paintbrush! That was a big moment - first time we've gotten one. When we left the island, we were given FPs for Splash Mountain and headed over to ride it right away.

After a fairly good soaking on Splash, it was over to Adventureland for some Pirates. For once, the right side line was nothing and we happened to choose wisely. The hat pirate was out in full force. After pirates, we contemplated the lines for Magic carpets of Aladdin and Jungle Curise and decided that it was just time for lunch.

Columbia Harbor House for lunch and then we headed back over toward Tomorrowland for use the Space Mountain FPs and pick up some Buzz FPs to use before the MVMCP tonight. After a quick 15 minute pit stop at Philharmagic (always a favorite - even though I think I might have been dozing off a bit) we did Space Mountain.

It was our first time on Space since the audio was added and we thought it did add to the experience. First couple sound effects were quite well timed and effective and the music at the bottom was nice. We then headed out of the park and back to our room.

And now, after an hour and a half nap and tubs/showers all around we are pretty refreshed and ready for some quality Wicked stepsister time. For those who missed our last episode, DD has both Anastasia and Drizella dresses and tonight will be sporting both. If fact, she is currently wearing Anastasia over top of Drizella and will strip down mid-meal. And, it is time to go!

Night 1 and MVMCP

Last night was a blast. Dinner at 1900 was excellent. We started with DD as Anastasia and ended up with Drizella. All the characters were great and played extensively with our DD. Then, off to MK for the party!

Before the official party started, we went and used our FPs at Buzz and also rode the Peoplemover. Once the party was up and running, it was over to Cosmic Rays to dance with Santa Goofy and Pluto.

When we got out of there, we hit Winnie the Pooh. The new line looks to be most excellent. Lots of different play areas for the kids. Sadly, they were not open as we went through, but we did enjoy the new Honey walls.

Then we headed to Toontown and got a quick ride of Barnstormer followed by visits with the princesses (and their princes) and the fairies. After all those meetings, it was time for some treats so we went to Pinocchio's and got some cookies and apple juice and hot chocolate. Refueled, we did a quick check to see if Anastasia and Drizella were out meeting guests, but they were already off stage for the fireworks, so we decided it was time to find a place for us to watch the fireworks as well.

Just in front of first aid was our viewing point and was great! At the end of the night, DD said the fireworks were the best part of the night! Following the fireworks we went back to meet with Anastasia and Drizella again. This, of course, meant another quick costume change! Then we headed to Liberty Square to find a good spot for the parade. While I held the spot, DD and DW went to Horseshoe to dance with Woody, Jessie, and Bullseye. Another blast. Watched the parade and made a quick walk over to Big Thunder for our final hurrah of the night.

Finally getting out of the park at about 11:15 were we sad to find the monorail was down. Do, DD and DW took the bus back to the room while I waited for a couple ferries before finally getting to our car and back to the room around 12:15am.

Alas, the night was not over, because both DD and DW ended up getting sick late at night. Our first thought was it was just over-stimulation and exhaustion, but upon further review we think that something they had at 1900 PF did not agree at all with them.

So, here we are this morning, just relaxing in the room waiting for stomachs to become a little more happy before we do anything. Some plans are being revised and we are trying to figure out priorities for our reduced park time. But everyone is still enjoying the vacation (and very happy not to be having the problems with reservations and DDP that seem to be rampant right now).

You are such a great trip report poster! i'm so impressed! Just a quick question...how was the crowd at MK your first day? Sounds like you guys got to do a lot of things.

becanya said:

You are such a great trip report poster! i'm so impressed! Just a quick question...how was the crowd at MK your first day? Sounds like you guys got to do a lot of things.

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Crowd at MK yesterday was relatively light. Based on the parking lots and everything it was maybe a 4 on the crowd-level=o-meter. 1 being some time in September when we can never come and 10 being last year at Christmas when we couldn't move!

The MVMCP was not terribly crowded. We had no idea what to expect from that crowd...all the character meets were a bit crowded, but most of the ride waits were 10-20 minutes at most.

Day 2 - DW Birthday (with two sick girls)

As mentioned, Friday night, both of the ladies had a bit of a rough time. So, we spent most of the morning just relaxing in the room. Both DW and I made trips to the Carriage House here at SSR to get some food from Artist Palette and ask for new linens. DW was feeling quite a bit better, but DD, being 6, was still not feeling so good and VERY worried that she would get sick again.

About 11am, we decided to just head over to Downtown Disney and do a little shopping. We needed to buy DD some new pajamas and also she had saved $13 for this trip so she wanted to find something to buy. After some debate and LOTS of discussion (DD loves to talk!) she decided to buy herself a Duffy Bear (comments on this later in the wrap up) after we agreed to split the cost with her.

Around 1pm we were heading back to the room. DD was feeling better, so we agreed to go to the pool for a little swim, then back to the room to eat some food. By 2:30pm, the girls were both asleep and getting much needed rest. Woke up at 4:30pm to go to DWs birthday dinner.

So, we drove to Boardwalk to park and go to Epcot via International Gateway. Picked up a Kim Possible adventure on the way in, then 5pm dinner at Chefs de France. Everybody was feeling much better once they had a full meal in them (and a nice visit from Remy!). Over to Germany to save the world from Doctor Dementor's mind control pretzels. Then a second KP mission to save Norway from Camille Leon's bad fashions and theiving ways.

We then went to the front of World Showcase to meet Duffy and buy our Duffy bear. It was about 7:30pm by this point and it was time for the whole reason for this trip - a visit to Rose and Crown! We decided to get one of the little tables outside to enjoy our drinks and wait for Illuminations. We played some cards, paid a quick visit to Pooh and Eeyore in UK and enjoyed an imperial flight (and some cranberry juice for DD). Of course, Duffy was highly involved in all our activity now!

Illuminations was, as always, amazing. Even with the Inferno barge still missing out on the show. We knew it was out of service but were still a bit bummed not to see it. Makes the Chaos portion of the show seem much less chaotic!

Back to the room at 10pm and in bed ready for some sleep. This morning, everybody seems to be feeling ready for a full day, so we are starting to get ready to head to Epcot. See you later!

Day 3 (sort-of as planned, finally)

OK, everybody is feeling better here on Sunday, so off to Epcot we go for park opening!

Rope drops and I head to Soarin' to grab Fastpasses while DD and DW go to the character meets in Innoventions. If you have never tried this approach - it is a great thing with a little one. NOBODY goes to the character greet at the rope drop, they are all dashing for Soarin' or Test Track so if you can afford to split up - do it!

Once I have the FP and DD has had quality time with the fab 5, we do Living with the Land (a family favorite). Then over to Nemo for just the ride (no Turtle Talk this visit) and some fun pictures with Duffy and DD and the sharks. They DD and I went to Imagination while DW got some Test Track FPs.

We regroup in Innoventions for some Velcro time, a Great Piggy Bank adventure, and saving our house from fire. DD always enjoys the Innoventions West activities. Then, while DD and DW do Spaceship Earth, I get Mission:Space FPs (not that we really need them for Green side, but just in case).

It's right at 11am, so time to ride some boats in World Showcase - Gran Fiesta Tour and Maelstrom. Then over to Germany for lunch at Biergarten. Along the way, we are getting many Duffy pictures in different settings. Biergarten was excellent as always. Nice to see they have improved the beer list in the hall, so DW and I got a flight to enjoy tasting. After sticking around for some dancing at 1:15pm, we head to UK for our Kim Possible adventure. Saving the world for the third time in two days!

About 2:30pm, we are back in Future World and using all our FPs. Soarin' and then Test Track and then Mission:Space. All enjoyable as ever! Since it is already 4pm, we decide that everybody has enough energy to just head over to Studios and have a relaxing dinner before Osbourne lights.

Refueled right around 5:30pm, we grab a seat on the curb of the Streets of America to watch the lighting and enjoy the show. Magnificent as ever! We wander the area until the first Phineas and Ferb audio overlay (P + F fixing a broken lamp) and then MuppetVision. A brisk walk to Great Movie Ride in the hopes that we can see that and still make the 7:30pm Little Mermaid show.

As fate would have it, midway through the GMR is when the bug that DW and DD had a couple days ago would hit me. Almost had to jump ship mid-ride! But I make it to the end and take some time off while the girls enjoy Little Mermaid. After the show back to the room where I get to enjoy a rough night like the girls did.

So, now it is Monday morning, the girls are at Animal Kingdom and I am getting some extra rest in the room. Planning to check out and meet them for the 11:30 Nemo show, but that depends on how this cereal agrees with me....not looking forward to 16 hours in the car starting this afternoon!

Final report on today and concluding thoughts coming your way tomorrow.

Great report..Love it. I laughed at the traffic in DC, since I live in DC metro area and I work in DC, I know how true this statement is. Believe its a pain to plan anything based around time.

Back to the report.

Your daughter sounds so cute. I love her, though I hope she is feeling better. That is a shame. But I love the way you guys handled it and are not letting it stop you guys from having a good time, even if things had to be slowed down or changed.

I hope your having a great time at the final hours of the vacation!

Day 4 (reporting in absentia)

So, day 4. As already mentioned, I spent the morning trying to recover in the room while the girls went to Animal Kingdom. Turns out they had a most excellent morning there!

They got in just a little after 7am (EMH morning) and headed straight to Expedition Everest. Rode it right away and grabbed FPs to use later. DD loves the ride, but closes her eyes when the yeti scene is coming up! Then they headed of to Primeval Whirl. At just barely 48 inches, this was DDs first chance to ride. Well, they did it twice in a row (almost no line!). Then they went over to the Safari and grabbed an FP for that. With time to wait for the Safari FP, they grabbed some breakfast at one of the kiosks and relaxed a bit. Then on to the safari. The report was that they had a less than stellar driver, but the lions were out in full glory and even doing a bit of roaring! Once they had finished that, back to try another ride of Primeval Whirl. Okay, make that two more rides.

By the time they finished their fourth Primeval Whirl of the morning, I had joined the team and we were headed for the 11:30am Nemo show (it was 10:45 so we could get good seats). As always, an excellent show! After Nemo, the girls did Expedition with their FPs while I scouted out lunch options. Couldn't find PB+J anywhere for DD, but they (by total luck) we happened upon the shop right across from Tough To Be A Bug where they sell the picnics in the park - which had PB+J! Score! So, we grabbed lunch and hit the road.

On the road right about 1pm and back home in my bed at 6am. Just in time to wake up at 6:30am to go teach the youth of America!

Summarizing thoughts either later tonight (if I am still awake) or tomorrow and pictures as soon as we can get them loaded.