Celebrating 18 Years of Life, Love, and Laughter:Our 3rd Trip to WDW begins Aug. 9th!

Hello everyone!

I am attempting for the first time, to do a live Trip Report. Since we are now only ten days out from the start of our vacation :sohappy::sohappy:, I decided to go ahead and do a little pre-TR. So let's start with our cast of players, shall we?
~DH, the love of my life, who became a dedicated WDW fan after our first experience with the World and is as excited as his children to be returning.
~Myself, who can't think of a better way to end our summer vacation than by walking down Main Street USA.
~DD, 12, who can't wait to visit Pixie Hallow (*inwardly groans*) and get an even better score at Toy Story Mania on this trip.
~DS, 7, who has been patiently marking off his countdown calendar, and talking nonstop about Toy Story Mania, the Lego store at Downtown Disney, and meeting Pluto and Minnie. I should also add that he is high-functioning autistic, so much of our planning involves accomodating his particular special needs. He has an awesome big sister who is a wonderful help to her parents in that regard.

So why the loooong title? :lol: Well, all of the things we celebrate in our family actually happen during the kids' school year. We made the decision to move our trip from November back to August, so the kids wouldn't miss any extra school days (with a child in middle school, it's no longer easy to pull them out). We are only about two weeks shy of our 18th wedding anniversary, so what a better gift to give one another than a Disney vacation? And thanks to Pam from Kingdom Konsultants and a well-timed discount, we were able get a room at the Contemporary with a Magic Kingdom view! :sohappy::sohappy:

So that's it! 18 years of marriage and two wonderful children later, we are embarking on our third adventure to Florida! I'll lay out our itinerary and dining plans in my next post. Thanks for reading! :wave:

 

[nibblesandbits]

I am so glad Joel is doing so amazingly!!!! Sounds like such a fabulous trip for you guys already!!!

 

[PotteryGal]

Love it so far.
Joel sounds like he is surprising you all over the place.

He sure is!

Love the trip report so far! Your room at the contemporary?...Gorgeous! And it sounds like you all are having a lot of fun.

Thank you. Our hotel is gorgeous - I really love it here.

Sounds like Joel is having a great time. Good luck getting him out of there now! :lol:

Tell me about it :lol: - I don't want to think about leaving yet.

Thank you so much for posting about your Pixie Hollow experience. We are going in next week and I was super nervous that we would not be able to see Tink (a favorite of all my 3 youngest) because the lines are always crazy. My ds6 is on the spectrum along with other special needs and we get the GAC but I know it doesn't always apply for the character meet and greets. Last year a few CM's ushered us to the front of the line when they saw my son's pass but it was not something that we expected. Glad to know that we may actually get to see Tink

You are most welcome. I wasn't expecting anything, but we have the GAC so I thought I would ask. The CMs we had were very understanding - I hope the same for you. :wave:

What a beautiful view from your room, so jealous! Loving your trip report, looking forward to reading more. Let us know how the weather is this week, I'll be there in 4 days and we are already stressing about the heat, lol.

The heat is sweltering but not as unbearable as I thought it might be. We did a fair amount of indoor attractions and that helps.

Jenny! I am SSOOO glad you made it! Thanks for pics of the room! They are GREAT! Have a great one!

Thanks Lance! :wave:

LOVE that view, Jenny! SO GLAD you guys are having a good time! :sohappy:

Thanks hon! :kiss:

Yay, you made it!! I just love the Contemporary.

I can't wait to read about your day at the Magic Kingdom. At this very moment you're probably checking in for dinner at the Crystal Palace. :sohappy:

I know, I'm responding to this late....the wait for CP was a little longer, so Joel got rather fidgety...however we eventually were able to score a bench until our name was called. I'll go more into detail in my next trip post.

Your room is AMAZING!!! I can't wait for more updates! :sohappy:

Thank you! It looks like a full day on deck here....DHS, then Epcot. I hope to have another update very soon! :wave:

 

[PotteryGal]

I am so glad Joel is doing so amazingly!!!! Sounds like such a fabulous trip for you guys already!!!

So far so good! The social story book I made for him has been helpful in giving him a general sense of direction to his day - well that's kind of the point, isn't it? :lol: In fact, I need to get his book ready for today...talk to everyone again soon. :wave:

 

[DisneySam]

Glad you guys are having a great trip! :king:

 

[heartodisney]

I am very sad and sorry you guys missed the opening, but you all have seemed to make up in other areas! Joel is doin' great! I cannot wait to see more pics! Have a blast guys!

 

[joanna71985]

Thanks hon! Can't wait to see you! :kiss:

Same here! The pictures are awsome, and the trip sounds awsome so far.

So far so good! The social story book I made for him has been helpful in giving him a general sense of direction to his day - well that's kind of the point, isn't it? :lol: In fact, I need to get his book ready for today...talk to everyone again soon. :wave:

That's great Jenny!

 

[PotteryGal]

Smallish Update

Hoo-boy it's hot today! We didn't last long at the Studios today, only till one. We arrived a little after opening, heading for Toy Story Mania....you must understand, Joel has been talking about this ride for literally months. When I saw the line for the Fastpass, I knew we would have to utilize his GAC again. We all thoroughly enjoyed it, and afterwards made our way over to see the Muppets. Afterwards we headed for Star Tours, which was a first for all of us. Everyone loved it! Tried to stop in Tattoine Traders for a bit, but it was pretty packed. It was almost time for our lunch ressie at Sci-Fi. After checking in, it was only a few moments until we were called and taken to our car. Lunch here was pretty basic: burgers, fries, choc. milkshakes for Abby and I, cherry Coke for Mike, and Pizza and fries for Joel. Oh my word those shakes were sooo thick! :slurp: And the food was delicious, absolutely filled us up. Desserts were included on the dining plan, but I couldn't think of it. Mike and Abby got apple crumble to go, since we were planning on leaving soon after lunch. Joel was fading rather quickly today, and Abby was dealing with some sunburn. So after seeing that the wait for Playhouse Disney was longer than we would have liked, we just decided to go.
I'm afraid I have no pictures to share right now - I took a grand total of one at DHS today....we're just not taking as many pictures on this trip yet.

I do have a few of our dinner last night at the Crystal Palace. Overall feeling about this meal was food excellent, characters wonderful, restaurant VERY loud, and service was just....meh. It was busy and I got the sense of our server just juggling too many tables at once. She barely refilled our drinks, and took forever to bring the bill. I think we'll stick to breakfast from now on there. Here's the kiddos with the characters:

After dinner at CP we went to see Monsters' Laugh Floor, which we liked (another first) and took a ride on Buzz. I have to admit since Toy Story Mania has come on the scene, riding Buzz just has no appeal to me. :shrug:

Tonight Abby and I hope to head to Epcot's World Showcase for a little while. In the meantime, it's rest time for me. TTFN! :wave:

 

[rlaeromech]

Jenny... Love the report. TAKE PICTURES. If the trip is going as well as it sounds, you will want pictures. TAKE LOTS, take them of JOEL. You'll regret not taking as many. This from someone who regrets always bringing a video and has less than 1 hour of total footage.

 

[KnK]

So glad to read things are going well. It's great to read that your son is doing so well. We have a Downs child in the family and uderstand the joy that comes from things going well and seeing them shine on their own.

 

[DisneyBunny]

Love it!!

And I'm SO jealous of that view!! I see a Bay Lake Towers DVC membership in your future :lookaroun

More pictures!! Your kids are growing up so FAST!!

 

[PotteryGal]

Tues evening through Wednesday

Hello everyone!

I'm attempting to catch up here...took a bunch of pics today at the AK, which I'm only starting to go through, so I may have to finish this TR after we get home. I will try to do as much as I can, however....

So, Tues evening was mother-daughter time at Epcot - we had hope to stay to Illuminations, but my foot...ugh. Blisters stink. However, after starting our evening with supper at the Contempo Cafe here in CR, we headed via monorail to Epcot and arrived shortly after 5. Made a quick stop in Innoventions and Mousegear - I found some cute Mickey-themed snack bowls there - then headed for World Showcase. Walked past Off Kilter doing a set - really sounded awesome, then headed for UK. Made our way into Twinings Tea (I'm a major tea fan, so this was a must) and then walked over to the Crown and Crest and found a gift for my hubby for our anniversary (I will post pics of that later). The British Invasion was performing when we left, so we enjoyed a little bit of that. My foot was starting to really hurt by then, so I knew Illuminations would be a no go by then. We did manage to get through a couple more countries, France and Morocco. I took this pic of Abby in France:

Abby had taken to wanting to get something little from each country - well, that was proving a challenge in terms of cost. She did manage a Mickey in UK with a British flag, a little compact mirror in France with a print of Degas' ballerina, and a necklace in Morocco. Whether she can complete the trek around the rest of world....well, may need to save that for future trips. MoRockin' was performing, along with a belly dancer (oh darn, hubby wasn't there to see that ), then we caught the Lagoon launch, and made our way out of the park by a little after 7. We didn't seen Illuminations, but we did watch Wishes again from our room.
I really, really don't think we're going to want to stay anywhere else from now on.
The next day, we switched things around, in deference to my hobbling, and decided to go to MK instead. We arrived just as the opening ceremony was taking place...omigosh it was AWESOME!! We then made our way in with the rest of the crowd and up Main St:

I think I bumped the setting on my camera, as the pics I took that morning have a bluish tinge to them:

I do think it gives you an idea of the heat, which had been steadily growing more intense all week.
Joel had his heart set on Dumbo today, but by the time we got back to Fantasyland the line was wrapped around to the topiary . I tried to convince Joel to ride the carrousel instead, but he wasn't happy about it. Sigh....so by the time he and Abby got off the Carrousel, I decided oh well, here we go....and we went over. As we moved to get in line, the CM called me over...she had seen his GAC and motioned us over to the handicapped entrance . Oh my I wasn't expecting that at all....Disney is just so awesome to those of us with 'special' kids. I got a pic of the kids before they took off:

After this, we rode Peter Pan and IASW, and then headed to Frontierland. Passed Frontier Donald doing a meet-n-greet...I just have to say, as bloody hot as it was, my heart just goes out to all of the characters, they must be twice as hot as we were. God bless 'em, because they're there for all of us. :kiss:
We rode BTMRR next, and as much as we tried to prepare Joel with headphones for noise and youtube videos, it was just not enough. Didn't like it at all...way too fast for him. The rest of us loved it however. At that point it was almost time for Abby to use her FP for Splash Mtn, so we sent her on her way, and grabbed some waters and a bench. Actually, I got a frozen lemonade, perfect in this heat. No, the rest of us weren't interested in Splash, I am just not a fan of log flume rides. We did see her come down, and I tried to take a pic, but it just blurred out on me. There was a little confusion meeting up with her, but we worked it all out, and headed for Haunted Mansion (Joel's choice). Very little wait here...in fact the crowds in Liberty Square/Frontierland were quite manageable. Joel rode with dad, and Abby with me. I guess when they picked up their 'ghost' at the end, Joel kept looking behind him to see if he could see it. :lol:
Lunch at Columbia Harbour House was next, I made my way upstairs with the boy while Mike and Abby got our food. Lo and behold one the CMs came up with them carrying one of our trays, as we were there for our anniversary and we shouldn't be 'working'. :animwink: Fish baskets for Mike and I, Chicken/Fish basket for Abby, and Mac-n-cheese/Fries for Joel. I don't know if CHH makes their mac-n-cheese better than other CS places, but Joel gobbled his food up. Yay!
At that point, Joel was saying 'hotel', so I decided to take him back, while Mike and Ab headed to Adventureland. Y'know, maybe it's a pirate curse or something, because everytime Mike wants to ride POTC, something happens...in this case the ride went down. They did manage a ride on the Jungle Cruise, visited Swiss Family Treehouse, and cooled off in the Tiki Room. They then made their way back to Main St, stopped off in Arribas glass shop and got my gift - hee - then came back to CR.
Up next, our visit to 1900 Park Fare!

 

[HollyBelle]

Love the update!! And Abby's Lady shirt is so cute. :sohappy:

 

[PotteryGal]

1900 Park Fare

After an afternoon of rest, we got ready to take the monorail over to the GF:

We had an early ressie at 4:40, and were one of the first into the restaurant; they chose a little cutie all dressed up in her princessy best to help open. So where did our server put us? In the side room at the back of the restaurant! :brick: I went up and got Joel's plate...pretty basic, pizza, banana, bread (his food is an entire issue in and of itself), and got myself some salad to start with. Mike and Abby then went and filled up their plates, and after they came back, I went back to get my main plate.
The food selection, was well, not fabulous. They still had their strawberry soup, so I made sure to get some of that...but other than a couple different types of salad, not too many hot veggies to choose from. I got some roast beef from the carver and some chicken marsala, and some corn from the kids' table. They also had some garlic mashed potatoes that were okay. The beef was quite fatty though, and the chicken was dry....I don't have incredibly high expectations of buffet food, but I wasn't thrilled with the lack of choice here.
The characters, however, were fabulous! All wonderfully in character...despite being in the back room, they got to us in fairly good time. Prince Charming was first, along with Abby and Sir Snoots-a-lot :

Next Cinderella made her way to us - she was so sweet. I should mention we had purchased two Cinderella postcards for my niece's little girls in the hopes that Cinderella would autograph them for them. She was all to happy to comply and even put their names on them:

Next up was Anastasia..very funny and full of herself, we were all giggling:

Lady Tremaine was appropriately haughty, Joel was a little more hesitant with her, and she said, 'It's the hair, dear, the height just intimidates people I think' :ROFLOL::

Finally Drizella made her appearance - I have to say, she was HYSTERICAL. Earlier, when Cinderella and Charming were waltzing in the middle of the restaurant, many people in our dining area were trying to photo/video them, and Drizella got right up there and was posing. Afterwards, she came back to meet everyone. When she got to us, she asked Abby if she liked having rodent ears on her head and proceeded to fix her hat so they wouldn't show:

Joel just didn't know what to think of her...she was so LOUD; telling people to 'hurry up!' when they were taking her picture; as you can see here, Joel is not real close to her:

We left not too long after this, but not before our server brought us an anniversary cupcake:

Oh yes, that Mickey on top was chocolate. Mike and the kids split it, as I was completely full - I will say their dessert buffet was good. I had a yummy bread pudding and a mini-carrot cake. Oh and just as we were leaving, Anastasia got a proposal and was screaming all over the place. Earlier, Drizella had gotten the kids in our dining area to get up and repeat after her: stretching, jumping up and down, patting head/belly, and then sat down and made all of them do jumping jacks. As the song ended she had everyone scream with her. Clamped my hands down on Joel's ears real fast on that one - holy cow, that girl had a set of pipes!
So overall, the experience was great, and the food was not. If you have the extra TS/cash to spend, it can be a fun experience. If not, head for the meet-n-greets in the MK. I think personally, the food has gone downhill...if we go back, it would be at their breakfast. Just my two cents.

 

[nibblesandbits]

I can't wait to hear about 1900 Park Fare!!! I'm so excited about this meal in Sept...I hope it was fun.

Edit: Just read the review...that makes me sad. Although I am still anxious to try this one out myself. Just for a different character meal experience. Never done a face character meal before and I think that the 2 step-sisters will be a RIOT around WHF!

 

[joanna71985]

Love the pictures!

 

[PotteryGal]

I can't wait to hear about 1900 Park Fare!!! I'm so excited about this meal in Sept...I hope it was fun.

Edit: Just read the review...that makes me sad. Although I am still anxious to try this one out myself. Just for a different character meal experience. Never done a face character meal before and I think that the 2 step-sisters will be a RIOT around WHF!

Especially IF he proposes to one of them. :animwink: Remember, only my own opinion...you may love the food. My overall recommendation, and this goes for any buffet, is book an early ressie when the food is fresher. :shrug:

 

[nibblesandbits]

Especially IF he proposes to one of them. :animwink: Remember, only my own opinion...you may love the food. My overall recommendation, and this goes for any buffet, is book an early ressie when the food is fresher. :shrug:

Hahaha...I might have to have him do that. I think they would eat him up! (But then again, I could be biased...:lol: )

 

[DisneyBunny]

Oh foo. I was hoping the 1900 one would be fun. Hrm. have to rethink my ressies now.

those pics from the stepsisters are AWESOME! I'm partial to Anastasia though :lookaroun

Glad they're being so wonderful about the GAC!! :sohappy:

 

[nibblesandbits]

Oh foo. I was hoping the 1900 one would be fun. Hrm. have to rethink my ressies now.

those pics from the stepsisters are AWESOME! I'm partial to Anastasia though :lookaroun

Glad they're being so wonderful about the GAC!! :sohappy:

I love the ones of Drizella! She crack me up in those! Those faces! :lol:

 

[rlaeromech]

Nibbs and Bunny!

We did 1900 Park fare with my daughter and it was a blast! The food was average but the two sisters where hillarious. We had 2 that looked different and they worked really well together. If you have never done it.. its worth a try in my opinion.. Nibbs, especially with WHF. I think, so long as they have the "right" characters... they can really ham it up with him.