Trip Report We're Not Stopping... Just Keep Hopping! A September 2015 Trip Report

And so... we are back. How is it that the wait for Disney is so long and exciting and then in a blink of an eye, it’s over?

I am so glad we were able to take this trip. It was a difficult year and we really needed some magic and fantasy to “reboot” our lives. We were in Disney from September 11th - 21st and stayed at French Quarters.

For those of you who do not know us...

Me - Mary / Mom (The Disney Fanatic)

Ross / Dad / Grumpy (Although he had an identity crisis this trip and thought he was Cinderella.)

Julia / Sissy - My now teenage Mouseketeer

Hope / “The Hopester” My 6 year old princess - diagnosed with Severe Autism and Sensory Integration Disorder.

If you want to check out our past adventures:

September 2013 Trip
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/completed-this-is-autism-when-you-add-a-little-pixie-dust.873100/

September 2014 Trip
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/honey-i-blew-up-the-magic-band-completed.892800/

Even though we are all in Post Disney Depression, at least I can re-live the memories!

Ready or not... Here we go!

 

[Figment Forever]

So excited to read your report! The Disney Jr experience sounds so sweet. So glad Hope got to experience that!

Thanks so much for reading! It was amazing to have her get a moment like that!

 

[Figment Forever]

You guys got some great photopass photos! You seriously look so happy its contagious
Following along!

Thanks so much! I remember a few years ago, we came home with about 17 Photopass pictures. This time? 707 pictures! Like I said, Ross was going to get his moneys worth!

 

[kimberlymautz]

It looks like a fantastic trip!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

What great photo's of Hope!!! Certainly worth standing in line for!!!

 

[Mom@disney]

I too am so excited for the next Star Wars movie to come out! And I love that Harrison Ford is in this one...one of my most favourite actors!
Hope looks ecstatic to see those characters. Great photos!

 

[FlaggNL]

Thanks for the great report! As always following along! You were at POFQ We will be in 9 days!!

 

[Figment Forever]

It looks like a fantastic trip!

It was! People ask me how we can go back every year - I don't think they understand it is so much more than a trip - it is truly just a magical time! Thanks for reading!

 

[Figment Forever]

What great photo's of Hope!!! Certainly worth standing in line for!!!

Yes - I agree! I was so happy my husband didn't try to talk her out of it!

 

[Figment Forever]

I too am so excited for the next Star Wars movie to come out! And I love that Harrison Ford is in this one...one of my most favourite actors!
Hope looks ecstatic to see those characters. Great photos!

I love Harrison Ford! I was so in love with Han Solo! When I saw the new movie clip with him saying, "Chewie, we're home!" I got tears in my eyes! lol How geeky am I?

 

[Figment Forever]

Thanks for the great report! As always following along! You were at POFQ We will be in 9 days!!

I'm so excited for you guys - you're almost there! Have a beignet for me!

 

[Figment Forever]

We all wanted to see the Frozen show before Fantasmik! so we headed that way. I am not over the top Frozen but I have to say I LOVE this show - we all do actually. It’s funny that Ross has never seen the movie!

We never went to the American Idol show, so I think this was the first time we would be in this theater since Ross & I saw Superstar Television!

We rode TSMM one more time.

Then Julia asked if I would ride TOT with her. I really didn’t want to go, like I said, I don’t do well with freefall rides. But my husband and oldest child promised me that it was NOT a free fall but a rollercoaster. I gave in. We did not have a fast pass, so we went on the standby which posted 20 minutes. Soon it was our turn. Of course you all know how it turns out... because it is a free fall! After my Mission Space - orange mission debacle from 2 years ago - that’s not something I wanted to repeat!

I actually LOVED TOT except for the drops. lol I love the Twilight Zone show and finally convinced Julia to watch it this past year. The entire ride experience is awesome! As I have said, I just do not like free fall rides! The video from Memory Maker is comical because if you read my lips, it’s obvious I’m scared out of my mind!

 

[Figment Forever]

Just as we exited TOT, Ross texted and said he and Hope were going to watch Frozen again. We tried to get there in time, but missed it by minutes. There was a mom outside sobbing with her little girl who, of course, was dressed as Elsa - begging them the CM’s to let them in - it was the last show of the day. They were really nice but said the show was closed and no more people could enter. This mom would NOT give up! She went from sobbing to being really nasty to the CMs. I was glad I didn’t have to deal with her!

So we walked around a bit... and visited Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz)- and then noticed the skies looked angry!

It started to POUR! Julia and I dashed into One Man’s Dream. We were glad to actually have some time to enjoy it.

By now it was also thundering and lightning. Of course our thoughts were all on Fantasmik! We wanted to see it but knew the weather may get in the way. By the time Ross and Hope were out, we thought about getting a bite to eat. Julia was hoping for Pizza Planet - but it had closed. We walked towards Fantasmik and realized the line went all the way to the front of the park! Apparently, since they were not sure if the show would take place, they were not letting anyone in the theater! I have never seen such a line! I wanted to take pictures but it was raining too hard.

We asked Julia what she wanted to do. We were all torn. We all wanted to see the show - but not in the rain. I was worried that it would be canceled because the weather didn’t seem to be improving. Finally, we decided to leave. It was probably a good idea to head to the hotel and relax and get a semi-early night sleep.

NOT...

Downtown Disney here we come!

 

[Figment Forever]

Day 2 Continued...

For some reason, I thought there was a direct bus to DD. I asked a CM on the way out and he said yes - and told me where to go. But then when we got further out of the park I asked another CM who said - no - we would have to go to a hotel and then get a bus from there. I don’t know what I was thinking because we should have just gone to FQ and taken the boat from there. But we got on a bus to AoA and then got a bus from there. I think it ended up being a little longer of a trip, but no matter - we arrived!

We were starving except for Hope who had more important things on her mind - shopping! She was intent on getting to Once Upon A Toy. But we told her we were going to eat first then shop. (If...Then... statements work really well with her) She fussed a little, but no more than a typical child who wanted to go to the toy store, so it didn't bother me - she would have to wait. Our stomachs won out!

We went to Wolfgang Puck Express - the line went out the door! But it did move pretty fast. When we got to the front, I asked for an allergy menu. The CM took a regular menu and just pointed out what I could have. I was shocked that there were only 3 items. The rotisserie chicken, the salmon and the salads without certain dressings. I was happy with the salmon. I have to say, I was so hungry, I hoped that it wouldn’t take too long. Well no worries there! By the time we sat and got our drinks all of our food greeted us. Ross, Julia & Hope got a plain pie and a veggie pie to share.

I don’t remember the young man’s name but our server was one of the best of our whole trip!!! I felt like he deserved more of a tip than our servers so far from H&V or 1900! I had ordered creme Brûlée for dessert and Ross stared to give me a hard time. He asked the waiter if it was GF. Julia has a friend who makes it, so I knew it was. Like I said, I was so hungry and I wanted that dessert so badly, I snapped at the waiter before he could answer. I said, “If you want any shot at getting a tip I would say that it is GF!” I was honestly joking - but I guess I said it with an attitude because the poor waiter looked frightened! Ross ad Julia shot me looks and cracked up. The poor guy ran off saying he would have to check.. He did come back and tell me that it was. Ross thinks he lied because I scared him!

Hope wasn’t thrilled with dinner because she just wanted tot get to Once Upon A Toy. As soon as we finished, that’s where we headed to.

Everyone shopped around and YES - Hope did find what she wanted.

We didn’t stay too long - we were tired and it was around 11:00PM. So we took the boat back to FQ. I love the boat ride home. So much more relaxing than the bus! Hope fell asleep reading her book.

Ross went to the food court to fill our mugs while I downloaded my pictures to my computer. Then we were all asleep. Day 2 was over..

Up next: Pooh’s Soggy Eggos

 

[Mom@disney]

I can't believe you rode TOT! You gave me some courage to try it out next time.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

I didn't get to do ToT this trip and missed it! It's cool that you gave it a try!

 

[Figment Forever]

I can't believe you rode TOT! You gave me some courage to try it out next time.

I think it was my love for The Twilight Zone that convinced me. I really wanted to experience it! If you love the show, find the courage and give it a go!

 

[Figment Forever]

I didn't get to do ToT this trip and missed it! It's cool that you gave it a try!

I'm glad I did it - but I have to admit that I'm not sure I would go again.

 

[Figment Forever]

A few more of our PhotoPass pictures. I told you - Ross was going to get his monies worth.

 

[Figment Forever]

Day 3: Sunday September 13th - Magic Kingdom

Today we were heading to MK all day.

We had early ADRs at CP BEFORE the park opened. This was a very important detail to me because I have always wanted to enter the park before it’s opening to “experience” the feeling of walking down an empty Main Street & I wanted to be able to get a picture in front of the castle and the partners without the masses in the background.

Time to wake up!!

Remember, I mentioned that I am the early bird in the family. I am also the only one who has this goal. Ross and Julia couldn’t care less. I tried my best to get us there on time - our ADR was for 8:20. I begged everyone to get a move on. Park opening was at 9:00.

My morning shot of the hotel.

We arrived at our bus stop at 7:50 & I waved goodbye to the MK bus. We just missed it. It took almost a half hour for the next to arrive.

Bus stop pics...

Bothering my husband photos...

He asked me why I wasn’t taking a picture of the soda machine. So I had to oblige...

Finally on our way.

So of course we arrived at MK at 8:45. By the time we walked in, the breakfast line had closed, so we had to wait with the masses to get in.

We showed up almost an hour late for our reservations, but luckily they were also running behind, so we only had to wait a few minutes for our pager to go off.

I was very grumpy - I admit it. I was really bummed we were late. Plus a little sad that my family didn’t have the same desire as me to walk through an empty MK. I told Julia next time, I was going to breakfast by myself!

While we were waiting, I saw a CM who I thought was a Photo pass Photographer and asked him to take our picture. We posed and he stared at me and asked if I had a camera! Yeah - Ross teased me about that one for a while! I did give him my phone and he snapped a pic of us.

 

[Figment Forever]

We ended up with the same waitress as last year. She was a sweetheart and said she remembered us - but I’m not sure. I mean - they see so many people, how could they really remember? (Although that was the day our Magic Bands Blew up - so we were a memorable family that day!) But either way, she was a great server!

The chef came out and gave me the buffet tour. I asked him where the GF Pooh’s French Toast was... he looked at me confused for a second and them smiled. He said, “I wish”. He said he could make me some GF waffles so i said that would be great. Until they came to the table...

Really? I thought for some reason I would get Mickey waffles. These HAD to be frozen out of the box - and soggy too! I didn’t care too much - seriously, there’s so much to pick from. Besides, I was still so upset. Ross says I had a major attitude.

We all filled our plates. Ross and Julia proudly showed off their Pooh’s French Toast.

Julia asked for hot chocolate and Gwen brought her this creation.

Soon after, our 100 Acre Woods friends arrived to say hello!