Trip Report Completed: How to Avoid a Rebel Invasion: a dual August trip report

Hello all! It's pre-trip report time, title explanation to follow!

Who:

That's all of us back in August of 2017 at Whispering Canyon Cafe.
From the left: SIL @NessNewt, myself with my younger niece E on my lap, mom C, bf P, my now middle child R, my oldest hiding his head T, with older niece L in front of him, and my brother Z. We're all going back and we're bringing this cutie:

It's baby E's first trip! Well, outside the womb that is. Lol
Where: Pop Century for Me (K), P, baby E, C, R, and T
Coronado Springs for @NessNewt (V), Z, L and E
When: August 10-16 for Myself, P, baby E, C,R and T
August 14-21 for @NessNewt (V), Z, L and E
We're getting out before Star Wars Land opens and the masses flood the parks, hence the first part of our trip title. And @NessNewt and I will both be reporting, so it's kind of like 2 trips in one!

 

[krisri18]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us! I love that E is not afraid of the characters.. those pics were all so adorable!

Thanks for reading! We were fully expecting him to freak out and cry for the characters but when he didn't, we just figured we'd meet as many as we could!

I was stressed out reading about your experience at the airport!! Glad it all worked out in the end!!
Great TR & congratulations again!! And Baby E is adorable!! I assume @NessNewt still has some things to add to this?

It was stressful being in the airport! That's the second time that I've come dangerously close to missing a flight but the whole debacle with the stroller was giving me anxiety!
Thank you for following along, @NessNewt still has a few days left to cover for her crew but the school year is starting up here and she works in a school so she may be a bit slow to update.

Thanks for sharing your side of the rebel invasion

Anytime! So glad we got out before SWGE opened! Those crowds looked a bit much for me! Although I wouldn't have minded the 5 mins wait for SDD! Lol

 

[NessNewt]

I was stressed out reading about your experience at the airport!! Glad it all worked out in the end!!
Great TR & congratulations again!! And Baby E is adorable!! I assume @NessNewt still has some things to add to this?

Yes! More to come!

 

[NessNewt]

Day 6/ Day 3 for our crew CONTINUED

I forgot that before we met Launchpad we watched the bird show in front of the tree of life. Birds of Wonder? Flights of Wonder? Something like that. That was so fun and beautiful!

After Launchpad we attempted to find a spot at Nomad Lounge for lunch. But it was packed. We were planning on meeting my mom and stepmom (L2 & C2) here so we just sat outside and waited.

The girls did not appreciate the waiting.

Z did not appreciate their whining.

But finally L2 and C2 came around the corner. The girls were so excited to see them!

Everyone was getting hangry so I mobile ordered from Sautili since we wanted to try it anyway.

C2, L2, E, J, L & Z after finishing our lunch.

Everyone was very happy with the food here. My one disappointment was the creamy herb dressing. Whichever herbs they use were off putting to me. I couldn't pinpoint what herb it was, but I know it wasn't a basil or dill or rosemary or thyme... Maybe cilantro? I wasn't a fan but everyone else liked it.

We had promised the girls some time in the Boneyard so we went there next.

Then we took a spin on Triceratops Spin.

As we were getting off there was an announcement about potentially bad weather. I suggested we head over to Africa to catch Festival of the Lion King in case of rain. Well on our way over C2 started asking for a Dole Whip with rum because she remembered getting one in AK on a previous trip. And the girls were getting hungry again. So we stopped at Tamu Tamu and found some hidden seating that was semi covered while everyone devoured their various alcoholic and non-alcoholic Dole whips.

I remember starting to feel frustrated around this time. The girls and Z were really cranky and it felt like no one was agreeing on anything and I felt like I was being asked a LOT of questions. But sitting and taking a beat helped a lot.

J noticed Dinosaur didn't have too long of a wait time and suggested we do that next since we had missed the next showing of FOTLK. Everyone agreed except L who, as you'll remember, LOVED Expedition Everest, but was too scared to ride Dinosaur.

I offered to sit it out mostly because I didn't want Z to get more cranky.

E rode! This was the very beginning of the ride and the ONLY time her eyes were open .

L and I took the train out to Conservation Station. It was OK.

We met up with everyone again in the Africa section and finally FOTLK.

It was phenomenal as usual.

Now L2 and C2 were fading fast at this point. My plans to get them on FOP just weren't going to happen. They decided they would leave after our FP for our safari ride.

It was a GREAT safari ride.

Our driver had a very dry sense of humor. L was in STITCHES laughing at the sarcasm.

We encountered a lot of animal crossings in our path.

Including the ostriches who our safari driver said she had had some bad run ins with and was now very cautious of.

There was a deer type animal hanging out right in front of the lions.

And there was a rhino back up with rhinos getting REALLY close to the Jeep. That was amazing.

After our safari, L2 and C2 took off back to the hotel.

The grumps had caught up with the rest of us at this point. You'll note we did a lot of walking back and forth across AK. E had been asking for popcorn all afternoon but we hadn't found any yet. She was getting whiny about it and Z was getting frustrated with her. I was feeling irritated and actually ended up snapping at Z as a result.

Bless J who took this all in stride and went and found the popcorn for us.

We tried Nomad Lounge again without success so we game planned outside of Tiffins.

Z and E both wanted to ride FOP. J offered to do standby with L for Expedition Everest. So Z, E and I made our way to FOP.

The THING is, E is not really a coaster kind of kid.

And sometimes her tummy hurts on rides.

We tried to talk her out of FOP.

But her mind was made up.

So the three of us walked through the FP line. I kept looking at E expecting her to get scared and want to back out.

She was fine in line.

But for SURE she would get nervous during the pre show video.

Nope. Still ready to go.

OK, bit the second pre show will probably make her nervous. Or the goggles?

Still good to go!

I relaxed at this point. She was so confident. I realized how much older she was since our last trip. Maybe she would really like it!

Then we walked into the room with the ride vehicles. I put my bag in the storage space, turned around...

... And saw her face. She was scared. Her demeanor had changed. It was starting to hit her and I knew she was about to back out.

So I quickly jumped into action, guided her into the seat, put one hand on her back to keep her sitting forward in the seat and let the restraints come up to lock her in.

She said she was scared and I reminded her she could close her eyes if it got scary.

So she put on her goggles, held on with one hand and held my hand with the other.

And closed her eyes. For the entire flight.

BUT she was super proud of herself for riding and she got this as a souvenir:

I'm 90% sure we rode Kali River Rapids after this. (I had switched L and J to a FP earlier and then snagged an overlapping one for Z, E and me).

Then we left. Way too late. That was a looonnnggg day. Fortunately, I let Z sleep in a little the next day and moods were vastly improved after a good night's sleep!

 

[Rista1313]

Everyone was very happy with the food here. My one disappointment was the creamy herb dressing. Whichever herbs they use were off putting to me. I couldn't pinpoint what herb it was, but I know it wasn't a basil or dill or rosemary or thyme... Maybe cilantro? I wasn't a fan but everyone else liked it.

I don't like that herb dressing either... and I figured I would love it. Next time I think I'll try the onion dressing.

 

[NessNewt]

I don't like that herb dressing either... and I figured I would love it. Next time I think I'll try the onion dressing.

I have the same plan!

 

[NessNewt]

Day 4

Our Saturday started with another coffee run with my sister, J. Then J, E, L, L2 and I took off for Epcot. Z stayed at the resort because he needed a little more rest. C2 was heading out for breakfast at Boma with P2, K2 and M who had arrived the day before as well.

We RD'ed Soarin' which is my mom's favorite ride. Once we were off I looked and saw Frozen Ever After had a 10 or 15 minute wait. On the walk over we saw dragonflies twice. In our family, dragonflies mean my aunt Becky (who passed away many years ago) is visiting. This was especially impactful as my aunt had lived in Orlando and the last time we saw her was when we were at Disney. My mom and I got a little choked up and the pushed forward.

We saw a lonely Photopass photographer standing in Norway and with barely anyone around took a few photos.

L is unreliable when it comes to smiling in photos.

We waited just a little bit to ride FEA and then did a little gift shop browsing, pin trading and a couple more pictures in a slightly different spot.

Z joined us for our fairly late breakfast at Akershus.

Princesses and/or air conditioning may factor into L's smile.

We ate here two years ago and loved it. Z especially loved the smoked salmon with a dill sauce (I don't like fish and even I liked it).

We were disappointed with the food this time. The table gets bacon and scrambled eggs and sausage and a cheesy potato casserole. Then everyone can hit up the cold buffet for fruit, yogurt and pastries, as well as Mickey waffles. It was great for the girls, but the dill sauce was gone so Z was really bummed. The cheesy potatoes were good and everything else was fine, but for the out of pocket price it's a really poor value. (We were OK with it since we had the dining plan but I don't think we would pay out of pocket for it. )

The princesses were amazing! We met Belle upon arrival and then Snow White was the first to come to our table.

A quick side track here. I got the girls a Jr Disney Encyclopedia for character autographs this trip. It's a cute idea but OMG a pain in the butt to have every character's page ready. We used bookmarks but it still felt like a lot of prep work and I wouldn't be quick to use them again.

I mention this because Snow White came to our table, said hello, saw our books and said, "I am page 120!"

THANK YOU SNOW WHITE!

After getting our fill and meeting a castle load of princesses we decided it was time to go meet a queen.

AND another princess...

Oh, Princess Anna. This might have been the highlight of the trip for the girls. She had them in STITCHES.

She commented on E's gloves. And then on L's baby Sven. She said Kristoff doesn't really know how reindeers talk. I asked her "How do reindeers talk?"

Coming up: Anna translates reindeers...

 

[NessNewt]

Day Four continued

"How do reindeers talk?"

"Hi. I'm Sven. And I like carrots."

We took up way too much time with her. There was a back up. To be fair it was Anna who wasn't really wrapping things up. They were all having fun. I had to break it up.

After our visit to the summer house, we went to Test Track and used our first FP of the day.

And then we separated for a bit. L2 and J went to the Starbucks for some ice coffee while Z, myself and the girls went to visit some friends.

It was raining while we were inside but we were a quick walk to the Starbucks so we dashed between the rain drops and met up with L2 and J. We all went into Club Cool and did some sampling.

L2 said Beverly tastes like sweet ear wax.

While we had been at Epcot, our second group, P2, M, K2 and C2 had breakfast at Boma and then came to Epcot to do the Behind the Seeds tour. They all had upcoming FP's for Living with the Land as did J and L2 (instead of the characters we met). I snagged some overlapping FP's for my foursome and we had a small window where we could all scan in at the same time. So after some soda sampling we walked over to the Land Pavilion. The girls were excited to see MORE family. And the 10 of us rode Living with the Land.

After our ride we headed back to the resort for a rest.

On the way there was a photographer I wanted to stop at. My mom agreed but no one else was interested. We sent them on their way and got a picture just the two of us.

We headed out to the buses and were almost there when Z texted to say the bus was there. We started jogging in what I thought was the right direction. We ran into J who I thought had come to find us. She didn't say I was going the wrong way so we kept going. Turns out she had been in the bathroom and didn't know where the bus stop was! We had gone the wrong way! Z called and said he had asked the driver to wait, were we almost there? I asked which stop and it was FAR. I said I didn't think we'd make it but we saw it was still waiting. So we RAN.

Running. In Florida. In August. Around 2:30 in the afternoon.

As we got to the doors the bus driver closed them. We laughed so hard! We thanked him, and tried to thank Z but apparently he had told him not to wait

J and I got off at the first stop to hit up the counter service and then carried the food back to the room. This was a little much and our arms were definitely shaking by the time we got back!

We had gotten a cupcake that J and I decided to share but we had forgotten forks and it was super messy and super delicious. In an attempt not to make a mess J and I were eating the cupcake directly over the paper plate and getting frosting all over ourselves. We looked up and made eye contact and the whole thing was so ridiculous we both started cracking up. Another favorite memory of the trip!

We got some more pool time in before we had to get ready to head back to Epcot.

We were running a little later than I wanted to be, and since our "break" time had included swimming and me getting the food from the quick service I wasn't feeling like I had had much of a break. So I was a little frustrated.

The bus for Epcot showed up and we got on. We were the second to last stop before the bus left the resort. In between our stop and the stop at the lobby, L looked up at me (she had a seat, I was standing because it was packed) and said "I forgot Curious at the bus stop.

DEEP BREATH.

Oh, you mean to forgot your brand new stuffed animal that you absolutely love at the bus stop after Daddy suggested you leave it in the room so it wouldn't get lost and that we reminded you not to throw or put down because it could be forgotten? THAT Curious?

Of course I didn't say any of that. I turned to Z and said "I have to get off. I'll catch up" and got off the bus at the lobby stop, walked back to our bus stop, grabbed the stuffed animal and caught the next bus to Epcot.

L apologized and thanked me in a very genuine way and she was much more responsible for the rest of the trip, but I was feeling aggravated.

Bonus! I got to ride on a bus alone carrying the stuffed animal! Of course it's Disney so I didn't get any strange looks, but I felt a little self conscious.

I made it to Epcot and caught up with everyone. We checked in and got wristbands for the dessert party later. Then we started a walk around the WS to get some food and enjoy the atmosphere.

E had a meltdown around Italy. I sat with her for a little while out of the way. It took her awhile to calm down enough for us to get a picture of all of us. You'll note she's not smiling.

E, Z, Me, K2, J, L2, M, L, C2, P2

We continued walking around the world heading towards the dessert party. E started to melt down again. I pulled her off to the side but was getting concerned. We hadn't even made it to the dessert party! I think K2 or P2 offered to let her piggyback to the dessert party which helped. We all crossed our fingers that dessert and sitting would turn things around.

Up Next: Dessert Party Heroes

 

[MickeyCB]

Final thoughts for my crew:
1. We love Disney food, but the dining plan in August was just too much for us! It was too hot and we were always too full from our table service meals to enjoy snacks. Thank goodness we had gotten free quick service and only paid for the upgrade!
2. We're renting a stroller next time. It was great having it to help haul things at the airport but I still have no idea what made it alarm at security so I wouldn't want to bring it again!
3. We like staying at POP, 2 rooms worked for us but I think our next big family trip will be either an off property rental (I know, blasphemy!) or renting DVC points and doing a 2bedroom again. We like having the space.
4. Taking a baby was a completely new realm for us. We missed all of the nighttime shows except HEA. We never made it around WS. We missed some of the things we usually do. But we got to do so many things with him that missing those things doesn't matter. I know he won't remember the trip, but we will!
5. Olaf is the greatest, that is all.
Edited: P picked my favorite place in the world for his proposal and I ❤ him even more for it since I can't imagine it was easy to do with everyone watching! I'm a very lucky girl!

Really enjoyed following along, and will continue to enjoy the rest of your family's adventures!

 

[NessNewt]

Day 4 continued

We made it to the dessert party, got seated at our assigned tables and I made my way to the bar.

Me: Can I get two drinks?
Bartender: Do you have two hands?

While I indulged in summertime margaritas, everyone else rallied together to help the girls get some dessert.

I didn't take any pictures of the food, but we all found things to enjoy. It didn't feel very busy, and despite the fact that I was worried about the bar developing a long line, it never did. Not were there any lines for the food, or the non alcoholic drinks. It was very relaxed, which we needed.

E had relaxed, and we were enjoying singing "happy birthday" to different tables of people.

L's birthday had been the week before and she had her birthday button on. She made sure the CM doing the birthday songs knew this and we all sang to her.

As it was getting darker, a CM came over to ask if we were enjoying everything. L commented that she didn't like the bread because it had salt on it. This was soooooo not a big deal, but the CM went in search of rolls for her anyways. The CM's name was MB and she spent some extra time chatting with us. She asked L if she could help when we go to ride FEA after Illuminations. L agreed and E asked if she could help as well. They got their instructions and we met Francisco who we would have to find after the show.

We watched the show with our Elsa glasses on. Illuminations isn't my favorite but I did want to see it one last time. This was the perfect way to do that.

After the show we found Francisco and MB. The girls were given special wands and instructions to help clear the path. (Think salmon swimming upstream).

No meltdown in sight now!

Ready to lead the way!

So the MB went ahead, Francisco following her, the girls following Francisco and the rest of us (including the rest of the dessert party) following them. It was kind of a big deal.

They took their job very seriously. When we got to FEA the doors were closed, so on the count of three the girls (and all of us) had to say "Guards, open the gates!" As the gates opened we returned the wands, thanked Francisco and MB excessively and the girls were told they had a job there anytime. It was pretty magical.

AND it meant we were the first ones on the boat!

I quickly instructed to everyone that we needed to do the "E" face. This has become a family tradition ever since this:

This was E's first time on FEA and her face cracked us all up. I'm pretty sure @krisri18 has some pictures of her doing this face on the ride too.

After the ride we headed out. We had an early morning planned the next day.

 

[NessNewt]

Day 3 FORGOTTEN INFORMATION

So our AK day? Remember how I said we went back to the resort and went to sleep?

I completely forgot! L and E went to sleep. Since our room was right next to J/L2/C2 's room and they were connected, we left the middle doors open and my mom and stepmom watched the girls.

J, Z and I went to grab a bite at Three Bridges Bar and Grill at the resort.

I have no pictures. But it was LOVELY and also part of the reason Z slept in the next morning. We really enjoyed the food and our drinks.

 

[krisri18]

Day 4 continued

We made it to the dessert party, got seated at our assigned tables and I made my way to the bar.

Me: Can I get two drinks?
Bartender: Do you have two hands?

While I indulged in summertime margaritas, everyone else rallied together to help the girls get some dessert.

I didn't take any pictures of the food, but we all found things to enjoy. It didn't feel very busy, and despite the fact that I was worried about the bar developing a long line, it never did. Not were there any lines for the food, or the non alcoholic drinks. It was very relaxed, which we needed.

E had relaxed, and we were enjoying singing "happy birthday" to different tables of people.

L's birthday had been the week before and she had her birthday button on. She made sure the CM doing the birthday songs knew this and we all sang to her.

As it was getting darker, a CM came over to ask if we were enjoying everything. L commented that she didn't like the bread because it had salt on it. This was soooooo not a big deal, but the CM went in search of rolls for her anyways. The CM's name was MB and she spent some extra time chatting with us. She asked L if she could help when we go to ride FEA after Illuminations. L agreed and E asked if she could help as well. They got their instructions and we met Francisco who we would have to find after the show.

View attachment 404303

We watched the show with our Elsa glasses on. Illuminations isn't my favorite but I did want to see it one last time. This was the perfect way to do that.

After the show we found Francisco and MB. The girls were given special wands and instructions to help clear the path. (Think salmon swimming upstream).

View attachment 404304

No meltdown in sight now!

View attachment 404305

Ready to lead the way!

So the MB went ahead, Francisco following her, the girls following Francisco and the rest of us (including the rest of the dessert party) following them. It was kind of a big deal.

View attachment 404306

They took their job very seriously. When we got to FEA the doors were closed, so on the count of three the girls (and all of us) had to say "Guards, open the gates!" As the gates opened we returned the wands, thanked Francisco and MB excessively and the girls were told they had a job there anytime. It was pretty magical.

AND it meant we were the first ones on the boat!

View attachment 404307

I quickly instructed to everyone that we needed to do the "E" face. This has become a family tradition ever since this:

View attachment 404308

This was E's first time on FEA and her face cracked us all up. I'm pretty sure @krisri18 has some pictures of her doing this face on the ride too.

After the ride we headed out. We had an early morning planned the next day.

View attachment 404309

You mean like this...?

 

[NessNewt]

Day 5 Hollywood Studios

We were SUPPOSED to catch a bus around 7:00 for EMH at HS. So we could ride SDD.

At 7:00 J knocked on the connecting doors and woke me up.

It was chaos. I think i woke up to my alarm and turned it off without REALLY waking up.

We ran around like crazy people getting ready. I made so many mistakes this morning. But we all got ready and made it to the bus stop for 7:20ish.

The HS bus drove right on by.

So we called a Lyft. Z ran back to the room to grab a inflatable booster for E. The Lyft driver called and said he couldn't pick up there, he had to pick up at the lobby. So we made our way to the lobby. It was a long walk. We were rushing. Z was running to catch up. Finally caught the Lyft ride.

Sent L2, L and J through security without bags. They got as far into the crowd as they could. Z and I caught up but E didn't want to ride SDD. They went to Midway Mania.

I wasn't happy with our place in line. I guessed we were looking at a 90 minute wait. The ride didn't have people on it yet. There were no wait times for SDD posted yet but all the other wait times were climbing. It was 8:08 and everything else had at least a 20 minute wait. I was feeling kind of crushed and guilty and like I was letting everyone down.

L, L2, J and I got out of line and went to Woody's lunchbox for some breakfast.

L2 and J went back to the Starbucks to get coffee. We caught up with them and went to check out Star Tours. It was a 25 minute wait and we had a FP later.

We just kind of wandered and I was feeling cruddy. I had pushed everyone to rush there and I didn't feel like things were going well.

I decided we should go see the Fancy Nancy face painting. We went over and there was only one person in line for it so we got in line. Z and J went into the Star Wars bay place.

I have to say, I really liked this. We've talked about BBB before, but the girls hate getting their hair done. This was a very mini pampering and they both loved how it looked.

The CM also gave us a paper fastpass for the Disney Jr show. That was very thoughtful.

It was time for our first FP. L, J and I were meeting up with P2, K2 and M for rocking rollercoaster.

Back row is M and me.
Front row is K2 and L. L requested sitting next to Aunt K2 and P2 and J sat together. As we sat down I looked over at M and said "Just so you know, I'm going to scream" and he said "OK. I'll just laugh nervously".

Well, we both screamed and laughed nervously through most of it. I don't love going upside down and the corkscrew gets me everytime, but it's still fun!

This was L's first time on it and as soon as we had slowed down at the end K2 turned to me and said "She's fine. She asked if her face paint was OK." Whew!

While we rode this, Z, L2 and E ignored their Voyage of the Little Mermaid FP in favor of Muppets.

After that we met back up again to meet Olaf with a nonexistent wait.

The girls were warned their face paint could rub off on his snow so they were very careful.

Then we used a FP for Star Tours. L2 was the rebel spy! The girls loved that their "G Ma" was the rebel spy! They told everyone on our way out, lol.

At this point the girls wanted to use their Disney Jr show FP and Z cut me some slack and offered to take them. My mom went with him and J and I decided to hit up Baseline Taphouse.

We both had a blood orange cider that was really good. I needed this little break and am very grateful to Z for taking the Disney Jr show hit for me!

After their show and our cider we met up for the Indiana Jones show. They said standing room only but we actually found a little space for Z, L2 and the girls to sit. J and I just stood in the back. The show was great! It felt very classic Hollywood Studios (MGM, I guess) and in a good way.

 

[NessNewt]

Day 5 continued

After the show Z, the girls and I left HS to go back to the resort, while J & L2 met up with the rest of the crew for lunch at the Boathouse (which they LOVED).

After some lunch and rest at the resort we met up with everyone at the pool. There we decided that J, Z, L and I would go back to HS to use our FP for SDD, while E would stayed with the grandma's. She was wiped.

We did some morally grey things this evening... Please don't judge.

For our FP's, we had gotten SDD for Z, me, L and E. And then Midway Mania for J and L2.

We brought along E's and L2's magic bands with us. So J and I rode Midway Mania (with me using L2's FP) and Z, L, me and J rode SDD (with J using E's magic band.)

Then J, L and I rode AlienSS standby with a 20ish minute wait while Z played Pokemon Go.

My conclusion? Toy Story Land is WAY better early evening then early morning.

We dropped L off in the room and then Z, J and I headed up to the Dahilia Lounge in the tower for some nibbles. We could see the HS fireworks very well, and the food was really good. Especially the calamari. Which I'm normally meh about. This calamari was PHENOMENAL.

After we are and drank a little, we went down to the lobby. Z hadn't been able to charge anything to his magicband. The CM we spoke thought it was going to be an easy fix at first and then he started looking at it. Apparently our arrival issues (wrong dining plan) and their fix for it all didn't go perfectly smoothly and the permissions had been turned off for him. He did eventually fix it, it just took FOREVER.

Back to the room. Then we crashed!

 

[NessNewt]

You mean like this...?
View attachment 404342

Ha ha ha! Yes!

 

[SandiSmiles]

What a great night you had in EPCOT! So special that the girls got to lead the crowd and hold the batons!

 

[NessNewt]

What a great night you had in EPCOT! So special that the girls got to lead the crowd and hold the batons!

We all agreed that was very magical!

 

[eliza61nyc]

Wooza, how did I miss this trip report?? I must be slipping. anyhoo sorry I'm late to the party. Let me just say you have a lovely family. I'm going to binge read (lol if people can do it for GOT's I can do it with disney trip reports)

 

[NessNewt]

Day 6 for our crew

MK day!

I think we caught a Minnie Van this morning to MK.

Once in MK we headed over to the Tomorrow Land bridge.

I had suggested J, L and go straight to SM while Z and E RD Buzz.

E said she wanted to ride SM too.

We tried to tell her she wouldn't like it, she couldn't sit next to us, etc. She kept saying she wanted to ride. OK.

So E, J, L and I followed the pack to SM when it was time. We were lined up outside waiting for the queue to open when E realized she didn't want to ride.

I got out of line with her and walked her over to Buzz. Z was already riding. E and I got one ride in, found Z and the three of us rode again.

Z is very good at this game. My score was just embarrassing.

Meanwhile J and L rode Space Mountain. I'm going to refrain from adding the ride photo since J felt it was unflattering.

We all met at the Joffrey's in Tomorrow Land for some coffee and donuts.

We also took a spin on the People Mover.

We started heading over to Fantasyland for our first FP. I think Z was hitting up a bathroom so I suggested a sisters picture.

Z found us and we hunted down L2 and C2 who had come over with P2 and K2. (M had left already for his flight back home). P2 and K2 had a FP for space, but the rest of us had one for 7 Dwarves.

There were seven of us riding so we came up with a great picture idea. We were all going to act like one of the dwarves during the on ride picture!

L2 is Happy, L is Dopey, E was supposed to be Bashful (I'm just impressed she's smiling!) and I was Doc.

C2 was Grumpy (this is how she always looks on rides which is why she got Grumpy), J was Sneezy and Z was supposed to be Sleepy.

He dropped the ball.

To his credit, he nailed it here:

After our ride we hit up a few more Fantasyland highlights.

Next we headed to Adventure Land to find P2 and K2 for our Splash Mountain FP.

 

[NessNewt]

Day 6 Continued...

On the way to Splash I asked J to grab this picture of me, since I had my special BTMR shirt on.

We rode Splash and Big Thunder, but I can't actually remember the order. I do know Z and E rode Winnie the Pooh instead of of Big Thunder.

We had lunch at Pecos Bill's after, getting a bunch of taco trios to share.

I know P2, K2, L2 and C2 went off to do something. Maybe get Dole whips? Or sit in AC somewhere?

Same with Z and E. They went to do something. My brain was done coordinating anything at this point.

L and I went off to try the Adventures of the Seven Seas.

I took zero pictures so I'm sorry for being text heavy. We got our first map and followed the directions to interact with different elements in Adventureland. I LOVED it. You follow the map and the directions you get at each spot to go to the next location where you scan your magicband and the setting comes to life.

L was so excited for this, but she ended up being a little nervous about it. I still managed to convince her to complete two maps with me. At the end of the second map Z and E found us.

AND they gave us all Pirate of the Carribean FP's when we finished the second map!

We were working on the third map but it was SO HOT. I was the only one still interested. We met up with the rest of the crew for our 4th FP at the Magic Carpets.

Then the 10 of us headed out.

J was heading back to finish packing and to catch the TE.

L2, C2, P2 and K2 had dinner plans at Wine Bar George but first they were taking a rest.

Z, L, E and I were also taking a break and making dinner decisions. Originally we were going to Storybook Dining this night but I had already decided to cancel that a few days before. We thought about Whispering Canyon Cafe but I decided I kind of wanted to be in the park. I booked us a dinner at Skipper Canteen's.

We sat in the Jungle Room. There were really pretty bird lights and a nice atmosphere.

The good
Z, L and I loved the food
Comfortable atmosphere
Good service

The Bad
E did not love the food
E was cranky from being hungry
I had to take E back to the lobby at one point because she was so crabby

After dinner we had a FP for Jungle Cruise. There was a HUGE FP line! It looked like they closed standby though and we were on relatively quickly.

Somehow we convinced both girls to try our FP for POC. I'll spare you the ride photo.

We also made an additional FP for Small World.

E was fading fast...

We got off the ride ready to head back to the room when L realized we only had one FULL day left. She started getting a little Misty eyed and I asked if she wanted to stay longer that night, with me.

So Z and E went back to the room and L and I had some night time magic.

I really wanted to see HEA but we were already a little late for trying to find a spot. I remembered @Tuvalu likes to watch from the Frontier Land bridge and L was open to the idea.

It is a wonderful spot! Not crowded, great fireworks view and you can even see Tinkerbell fly. I sang and cried along per usual. And as soon as it ended, we booked it over to Big Thunder and had two rides with barely any wait.

L also wanted to ride 7 dwarves again. We had a bit of a wait but it was manageable.

Our ride photo. You can see my elbow. We were doing Dopey faces.

Just a few more pictures so one more post!

 

[NessNewt]

Day 6 Continued

We lingered enough to catch the Kiss Goodnight as we were standing in line/getting a main Street picture.

This beauty:

I asked L later why she didn't smile. She said she was trying to listen to the Kiss Goodnight.

With that we headed back to the room to get some sleep for an early morning.