Trip Report Completed - Mom and Maddie - In the Big Blue World - April 2015

Hi Everyone!

We recently returned from our second magical mother/daughter trip to Disney World. I hope you enjoy our trip report!

Who:
Mom aka Lori - I am a manager for a telecommunications consulting company and I have been working there for 16 years. I am also a mom.
Maddie - 11 y/o 6th grader and wonderful daughter

When:
Sunday, April 19, 2015 - Sunday, April 26, 2015

Where:
Art of Animation - Little Mermaid

Tickets:
6 day park hopper

Here are links to my first trip report from February 2014 and my April 2015 Pre-Trip report in case you would like to check them out.
First Trip Report: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/first-timer-not-anymore.881139/
April Pre-Trip Report: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/once-upon-a-dream-with-mom-and-maddie.891334/#post-6368896

 

[disneyfirstLJ]

Monday, April 20, 2015 - Spring Break Day 3 cont.

We came upon the Backyard garden display and enjoyed walking though that area. We looked over the menu for the Urban Farm Eats outdoor kitchen but nothing appealed to us. We also did a quick walk into the kids playground to take a photo of Mike and Sully. Then we came up on my favorite topiary of the entire festival, Bambi, Thumper and Flower. They are so cute!

We walked into Canada and stopped to watch the Canadian Lumber Jack show. It was okay but I wouldn't stop to watch it again.

After Canada we walked into England. This is one of my favorite pavilions. Love the red phone booth.

 

[disneyfirstLJ]

We came upon Hook, Peter and the Crocodile.

I love Tea especially now that I have given up coffee and we spent a good amount of time in the tea shop. We also did a self guided tour of the tea garden.

Next we moved to France and we only stopped briefly because by this point Maddie was on a mission. She wanted to get to Japan.

 

[disneyfirstLJ]

We arrived in Japan after racing through France and Morocco. The Japan Pavilion is Maddie's favorite place in all of Walt Disney World. She wants to visit Japan someday and she hopes to even live there. She loves everything Japanese. The first thing on her list was Frushi. She couldn't wait for me to take a picture before she took her first bite.

It was so good!
We walked around the pavilion taking lots of photos along the way. It is so beautiful and peaceful there. After walking around and Maddie spending a bunch of her souvenir money in the shop we were able to watch the Tiko Drummers. Oh, Maddie loved it!

Peaceful!

Shaved Ice from Japan

 

[disneyfirstLJ]

Next up was the American pavilion. We stopped at the Smokehouse outdoor kitchen and I had the Beef Brisket Burnt Ends Hash (hold the Jalapenos) and the non-alcoholic frozen lemonade.

It was pretty good but not something I needed to have again.
Next we moved to Italy. I ordered the Cheese Manicotti but Maddie ate most of it because it had way too much cheese for me. I guess I didn't take a photo of this menu, oh well.

We breezed through the other pavilions but we did stop at the quick service in China because Maddie wanted the pots stickers. She tried them during our last trip and really liked them. By this point it had started to rain.

We had to go into a store for a while to wait out the down pour and thunder/lighting so while we were waiting, Maddie put on some hats.
2015 Ear Hat

Jessie

Sully

Once the storm started to let up a little we walked quickly to the buses to go back to the resort. It was around 2:30. Time to take a break anyway and rest.

 

[disneyfirstLJ]

End Day 3
We decided to eat dinner at the Landscapes of Flavor because it was still raining really hard.
Maddie had the child's pizza with brownie bites and I had the create your own salad.

We did some pin trading in the store and in the lobby of the resort. We also checked out the arcade. Maddie tried on another hat in the shop.

I went over to the concierge desk to see if Fantasmic was still going to go on at Hollywood Studios due to the storm. They said it was most likely going to be cancelled so Maddie and I decided to go back to our room and rest up for the next day. We did 16,747 steps which is 7.77 miles.

Next up: Magic Kingdom and Epcot

 

[Mary<3sWDW]

Enjoying your report! I love the room you stayed in - adorable!!

 

[FlaggNL]

View attachment 102333
Maleficent, my favorite villain

Wow what a great painting!!!

 

[Disney Shib]

I adore mom & daughter trips. Some of my favorite memories are when my mom and I take off just the two of us. Following along and loving your trip report.

 

[disneyfirstLJ]

Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - Spring Break Day 4

We woke up early today because we wanted to make rope drop at Magic Kingdom to see the Welcome Show. I love the Welcome Show and always have tears in my eyes when the cast members sing Good Morning. We ate breakfast at the Landscapes of Flavors again and had the child's waffles. I have no clue what Disney puts in those waffles but they are yummy. The waffles were Nemo themed today.

After our breakfast we got on a bus to the Magic Kingdom.

Maddie waiting for the Welcome Show!

Me waiting for the Welcome Show!

Here comes the Mayor

Now Casey Jr. is coming down the track with characters to greet the guests.

After the Welcome Show Maddie I were heading to Fantasy Land. Our goal was to ride Peter Pan's Flight and Small World before our Seven Dwarf's Mine Train FP+. We didn't stop to take any photos along the way because today was going to be focused on rides. We made it to Peter Pan and walked right on. Now, I like the concept of this ride but it always makes me nervous. I am afraid of heights. My heart always beats so fast when we ride this one. Can you tell I am not a person who enjoys thrill rides? The new queue for Peter Pan is awesome and I am glad we were able to experience it. Next up was Small World. This is one of my favorites. Not only for the history but also the beauty.

 

[disneyfirstLJ]

Tuesday, April 21, 2014 - Spring Break Day 4 cont.

After Small World we walked over to Mine Train. Again, Maddie and I are not fans of thrill rides (Barnstormer did me in last February) so I was worried about Mine Train. We got the last mine car which I heard makes the ride more thrilling, lucky us! Maddie LOVED Mine Train. She thought it was really fun. I was scared the entire time but I was glad I did it.

We did it!
Like I said earlier, our goal for this Magic Kingdom day was to ride. Here is a list of all the rides we did on this day...
Peter Pan, Small World, Mine Train, Little Mermaid, Winnie the Pooh, Peoplemover, Carousel of Progress, Buzz Lightyear, Stich's Great Escape, Mickey's Philharmagic and Haunted Mansion. It was a very hot and crowded day but we still managed to get a lot done.
I didn't get any photos of the castle or around MK due to being on the mission to ride so we took a break so I could get some photos around MK.

Pretty!

Maddie wanted a snack at this point so we headed over to the Cheshire Café to pick up a cupcake in a cup. We sat at a table in the shade outside of the café. As we finished up I noticed this topiary of Alice by the Mad Tea Party and took a photo. Then my camera batteries died.

This was very sweet but Maddie enjoyed it.

We decided to walk over to Big Top Souvenirs so that I could buy some AA batteries for my camera. I always have extra in my bag but for some reason I forgot to put them in there this morning.

 

[Courtney6682]

Love your TR so far!! Can't wait to read more...and as the momma of a15 yr old girl...Maddie DOES NOT LOOK 11!!! Watch out @disneyfirstLJ

 

[disneyfirstLJ]

I asked a cast member working in Big Top Souvenirs if they sold AA batteries. She went behind the counter where the disposable cameras, etc. are located to find the batteries. She found a package of them but it was open. Then she told me to wait a second and she would be right back. The cast member asked her manager if she could give me 4 batteries since the package was open as a magical moment and he said yes. I was willing to pay for the 4 batteries but they just gave them to me. So nice! Maddie tried on more hats in the shop and we looked at the bakery case.

Looking at all those goodies made me hungry for some lunch. I had heard good things on the boards about the Diamond Horseshoe so we decided to try it. This was a big food fail for us. I had the bbq chicken sandwich with watermelon slush and Maddie had the child's turkey sandwich. It just wasn't very good.

Way too sweet!

 

[disneyfirstLJ]

After lunch we decided to head to main street to go shopping and came upon the Move It Shake It Dance And Play It Parade. We walked on the side walk and then through the Emporium to catch the parade at the end of the route. All the cast members in the Emporium were dancing and singing to the parade music as it went by.

I spy Minnie Mouse!

Maddie tried on another hat in the Emporium. This girl and her hats!

 

[disneyfirstLJ]

After doing some shopping we decided to head up to the train station to wait for the Festival of Fantasy Parade to begin. By this time we were both hot and tired. This gave us some shade. Maddie ate her Cinderella Coach apple that she got at the Confectionery. You can see a photo of it in the Big Top post above.
Crowd down main street

More Main Street photos

We waited and waited then the band came by.

We waited and waited. Then they announced that the parade was going to be delayed. Maddie and I waited until 3:45 when finally we gave up and headed to the bus. We were hot, tired and later on we had plans to meet up with family friends in Epcot. They live in Florida and we couldn't wait to see them again.

 

[Mickey2422]

Enjoying your report. My daughter and I have not had a solo trip together, but did take some solo time away from the boys our last vacation. Looking forward to more

 

[disneyfirstLJ]

Tuesday, April 21, 2015 - Spring Break Day 4 cont.

After a brief rest and time to freshen up we hopped on a bus to Epcot. We had a little time to kill before meeting up with our family friends. Maddie and I decided to walk around taking photos, shop in Mouse Gears, window shop in Art of Disney, cool off in Club Cool and then head to the World Showcase to meet up.
Daisy and Flower and Garden Sign

Donald

Chip and Dale

My Maddie looking refreshed

Our favorite store

Spaceship Earth with the fountain

 

[disneyfirstLJ]

Beautiful Artwork at Art of Disney
Lady and the Tramp - My favorite movie

Snow White - my favorite princess

Alice in Wonderland painting the roses red - Maddie's favorite

Love Club Cool and the beverage from Japan

Walking toward World Showcase

Anna and Elsa

My girl looking cute

 

[disneyfirstLJ]

End of Day 4
Our family friends, Steve and Kathy (he worked for my dad as a police officer and was like a part of our family when I was growing up) texted us to meet them in China. Maddie and I worked our way over to China. We stopped at the outdoor kitchen in China for the vegetable spring roll and the Oolong peach bubble tea. The spring roll was by far my favorite offering at the Flower and Garden festival. They were wonderful.

We toured around China and the rest of World Showcase with our friends. I didn't take any photos with the exception of this last one in China because we just wanted to enjoy our time together.

We found a spot after walking around to watch Illuminations.

This was our first time seeing this show and it was awesome. Maddie and I loved it. Steve and Kathy offered to drive us back to the resort so we wouldn't have to wait for a bus which was very nice of them. They parked over by the boardwalk so we were able to walk the boardwalk at night. This was another first for us. We had a great day! We walked 20,567 steps which is 11.2 miles.

Next up Magic Kingdom, Grand Floridian and Downtown Disney

 

[disneyfirstLJ]

Great start! I would love to stay at AoA some time but the Little Mermaid rooms seem to always be full for the dates I want. How nice that the CM came and found you to give you your room number!

Thank you for reading! AoA is a great place to stay. We have been lucky enough to have been there twice. It is really popular. Yes, the CM was very nice!

 

[disneyfirstLJ]

Lovely pictures! The food at the Boathouse looks delicious.

Thank you for your sweet comment. Yes, the Boathouse was wonderful. I would go there again for sure!