Trip Report Did someone say adventure? MNSSHP & Free Dining trip report (8/29-9/7)

First of all, I have to say after not being able to go to the parks for almost 5 years, how lucky I feel to be writing this trip report! The fact that we got to celebrate our 22nd anniversary there ( our 15th, 16th, and 17th were all spent there) was amazing. We love free dining and it always starts right around our anniversary too, so that is great. We were able to go to MNSSHP in 2008 but only wore hats. This time when we found out that it was going to happen earlier and we would be able to do it again, we started planning our costumes.

I was terrified, that the kids, being older would maybe not have as much fun with the simple silly things that I have always treasured.. Thankfully it wasn't the case, as you will see.

Anyway, so on to the trip...

the players-

Me- DisneyShe, crazy Disney mom or for MNSSHP, Ellie

DH- B, or aka Carl -

DS

and DD

I will have a ton of photos to post and I will get much more into the Halloween party later but as far as photos go, I had to start with these. We put so much time into our costumes and It was totally amazing and so worth it, If you are going to MNSSHP I stress dressing up, the interaction you will get from guests and cast members and characters is amazing.

Day 1. Long night drive, starting at 10:00 pm on the 28th, our anniversary because DH wanted to have me there by opening show. We arrived right as the sun was rising. I will go back and add a photo from my phone later. We checked in at Coronado Springs where we had booked a standard room and were very surprised to have been bumped to a preferred Cabanas 8B room right across from the quiet pool and laundry facing the lake. YAY!! beautiful view. Pic coming soon, also on my phone.

And we made it to the opening show!!!

I love this show so much and being able to do it as soon as I got there was great! DD & I walking in ready to hit Splash Mountain, of course which is always a first and last for us.

Next up was another must do first day .... lunch at Pecos Bill's. I forgot to take pictures of the food here but DH got the burger and the kids and I all had the pork bbq sandwich and of course, chili cheese fries. Who doesn't love ooey gooey plastic cheese? is it just me or are the pickles there not just amazing? I wish they would add fried pickle side dish made with them.

To be continued tomorrow-

 

[ginadee]

Those costumes are amazing. Did you say your son is one of the pirates? Which one? Were people wanting to take pics you guys? Lookin forward to reading.

 

[DisneyGigi]

My son is on the left dressed as Jack Sparrow and Jack Sparrow on the right. Yes, we did get a lot of attention and posed for tons of photos and even signed autographs for cast members. They really kicked it up a notch and made it so fun! The girls loved him lol. It was great! Will post more tomorrow.

 

[Dizdutch]

Great costumes.

 

[FlaggNL]

Wow! Love the great costumes And thanks for sharing them!

 

[joshsprincess921]

Love the costumes!! Can't wait to see the rest of you TR!

 

[mrdrift]

Great start to the report, the costume are awesome !!!!! Will be watching for more of this report.

 

[DisneyGigi]

Thanks everyone for the comments on the costumes. After our lunch we rode Big Thunder Mountain standby wait at that point was still pretty low for a Friday and we took in Haunted Mansion on the way to see the new Fantasyland which I was very excited to see. It felt so crazy to still in mind see things the way that they used to be as we made our way around. I really have to say that I loved the Tangled restroom area. I know that it is just bathrooms and it was sad to see that old Skyway was completely gone now, but the area is really pretty. I think that they did a great job with the details.

We headed to ride the Seven Dwarf's Mine Train and took in all the sights including Beast's Castle, which for some reason was a whole lot smaller than I had imagined it would be from pictures but it is still beautiful.

The wait time was at 50 minutes and this was the first ride that we used Fastpass+ on. I was shocked at how fast that we were able to make it through to ride, much different than the old fastpass system. I didn't even really get to take many pictures because it did move so quickly. I loved that part about FP+ but there are also a few things I did not care for... (more on that later) Back to 7DMT... I loved it!!!! I know a lot of people thought that it should be more thrilling but I just thought it was so cute and everything very well done for a ride that you can take little ones on. A bit on the short side but great. Some people had been wandering about the size of the cars for tall people and I do have to say it is a very tight squeeze for my DS who is almost 6'6 and has really long legs. His knees looked pitiful but then again he has the same problem with most rides at MK now.

We hit Space Mountain and of CoP after this and then went to meet Talking Mickey.. which I was probably way too excited for for an adult. lol I don't know why the thought of Mickey being able to talk got me so excited, guess the 4 year old in me! I enjoyed it very much and the wait was nothing, which surprised me. 10 minutes, I think it was. His voice was a little low and a bit hard to hear at first. Here is DD with him, loved his card tricks

Okay, I don't have any idea how the random Poly from the ferry got on here but I don't know which one it is to remove it lol

 

[DisneyGigi]

Then it was time to head to Epcot so we hopped on the monorail where I grabbed one of these beautiful things, in a supersize! (Hey, 5 years is a long time to wait for a Grand Marnier)

It was a really hot walk around the World so I also stopped in Mexico for one of these...

The park seemed really crowded in the World that day, maybe because it was so hot but not at all when we got there or in Future World. Shot from the monorail

We strolled around and rode MS and Spaceship Earth then headed back to the resort to freshen up for dinner at O'hana.

I love this place!! Was kinda worried at some of the recent reviews but it was just as amazing as always. No rushed service at all, with plenty of the things we wanted. I didn't miss the turkey at all and the chicken wings and salad are still served. The pot stickers have changed with a crisper flavor on the outside a bit of sauce added. Server said it was updated the week before. It is great, just a subtle difference.

 

[DisneyGigi]

Our original plan was to try to watch Wishes from the Poly Beach but it was coming a Monsoon so we had to scrap that plan. On a interesting note though, we got there way early, like almost an hour just in case so we could have time to eat and still make it watch and were seated immediately. The restaurants were the least crowded I have ever seen them, especially for free dining. There were many empty tables everywhere but Le Cellier. It was the only place we had to wait for our table.
The rain died down and we wandered around the resort for a bit. The off to bed for an early MK and fp+ lunch at Be Our Guest.

This place is so crazy busy!!! There were no standby tickets that they were handing out by the time we got there at 11:30 and it was chaos getting in. The FP+ preorder did not work. We had to reorder as we went through the line. It is beautifully done but so loud and crowded. Like a fancy cafeteria. The food was way better than I expected though. We all got the pork. The Grey Stuff was definitely delicious! Hit a few more rides before heading to DHS for the rest of the day. The first thing up was RnRC and then on to conquer my fear of ToT. First ride always kills me but by number two my hands are up in the air. Funny thing is I was so freaked out and by mid fall I was like ok that wasn't as bad as I remember. It made for a very entertaining ride video though I must say. I will be sure to add it later. The video only takes a few hours to show up on MDE in the memory maker. We ended up with like 15 of them. Will go back and add photos to this part of post in just a few.

 

[DisneyGigi]

DHS photos and go ahead and laugh lol, I am not hard to spot on ToT-

low, low crowds on this day it was amazing TSM was standby like 30- 45 minutes, which to me since 2009 days was crazy. We FP+ it and rode it standby. We rode RnRC, ToT, Star Tours mulitiple times, (like at least 5 each) Great Movie Ride and had dinner at Pizza Planet. So sad to me, being a mom that grew up with my kids loving Toy Story... yes, the food was not great.. but how amazing was it to take your kids to Pizza Planet? All the arcade machines are gone... no more ski ball, no crane machines, nothing! Hated to think this one was a goner, it was a sentimental thing.. but I do believe it is.
(have a few lonely photos I will post later)

 

[DisneyGigi]

Aug 31 AK day, have no idea how many times we rode Everest, it was walk on as was everything. Amazing day and amazing safari, no Lions but everything else was out 2 times in a row. Lunch was at Local Andapaur , Why did they get rid of the cool Chinese boxes? And the Shrimp Lo Mein? it is nowhere near as good now as it used to be. Still a good counter service but not as good.

 

[DisneyGigi]

Le Cellier for dinner, we almost changed our minds reading reviews on this one since the Filet change... Don't!!! The Spinach Risotto is amazing! So much better than the Mushroom Filet as great as it was and the Parmesan sauce is very tasty, not pungent like the Truffle Sauce but tasty.

And Epcot shot at night on the way out to get ready for a big day at MNSSHP!!!

 

[DisneyGigi]

We went to Ak for a bit this day but mostly took it slower since it was a long night. Saw Finding Nemo, I love that show and ate at Tusker House, where I totally fell in love with this duck. He was such a sweetie, almost hopped in my lap. And, I know they love everybody and want your food but I am tellin ya this duck loved me.

Then back to get ready!!!

 

[DisneyGigi]

Having a bit of a hard time with photos from my phone but here are just a few out of a ton from Halloween party. Will post many more tomorrow. The party was amazing, hardly anyone there and as I said the cast members and other guests made this so much more fun for us. I loved dressing up ad would highly recommend to anyone going; our family had a ball not only there, but also working on these costume,s together as a family. Simply amazing time! Buzz and Jessie (DD) deserve their own post, it was without a doubt, the cutest, sweetest, best interaction ever and it all got captured) Stay tuned for more!

 

[gsrjedi]

Those costumes really are fantastic.

 

[GardnerDisFamily]

Amazing costumes! How did you get a fast pass for be our guest? Im going end of October and so badly want to eat there but have not seen a fast pass option for it.

 

[DisneyGigi]

Those costumes really are fantastic.

Thank you!

 

[DisneyGigi]

Amazing costumes! How did you get a fast pass for be our guest? Im going end of October and so badly want to eat there but have not seen a fast pass option for it.

Thank you! You can go tobeourguestlunch.disney.com and enter in your confirmation number. Not your reservation number with the letters but a 12 digit number that will display online when you click and hover on online checkin link. It is around day 30 it let me book. Disney also is sending email invites but you do not have to wait for it. They come about 3 weeks out. Keep trying each day until your day opens. Have a great trip!!

 

[DisneyGigi]

More MNSSHP. This was the best of the whole night for me. Everything was great (except for the whole last minute pulling of Maleficent and the Queen for the Soiree. That was not cool) and I have photos and videos of the parades and video clips of the dance parties and decorations that I will put up in a bit but this was my favorite. DD loves Jessie, always has. Jessie was the very first character that she would even pose with without me when she was 2 and she even sat in her lap. Not with any other character though. So, this costume was perfect for her. We made everything, minus the boots. Even her hat was an old pink hat she had when she was little that we painted and laced. (she even had the pull cord on the back of her shirt) Anyway, when we first got there she wanted to do the Buzz Meet & Greet. I knew she was going to have fun with it but the look on her face when Buzz interacted with her the way that he did, melted my heart into a thousand pieces! She was little again, like 2, meeting Jessie the first time. Same big smile! He was amazing, spent so much time with her, getting so excited to see his Jessie. He even put himself into Spanish Mode for her! I will let the pictures say the rest.