Trip Report *completed* The 100 Cute WDW Trip report

Hello Everyone! we just came back from the Disney bubble, and I wanted to share our trip with everyone. I recently posted my Pre-Trip Report , but I'll reintroduce our cast here:

MIL aka Mom
The Husband aka Hubby
Ms. Sunshine aka Me
and 4 year ZuZu (First timer and 100 cute).

You will soon see why I named this trip "100 Cute". We spent 5 days, 4 nights at AKL and it was a well needed vacation for everyone. I even snuck out of work an hour early so that we can hit the highway a little earlier, which I don't regret one bit. Even though where we live it's only a 2 1/2 hour drive, we still got there kinda late in the evening, and that extra hour meant the difference between 8pm and 9pm, which when you have a 4 year old can mean the difference between cute and obnoxious. When we finally arrived, I got that warm tingly feeling when the cast members said "Welcome Home". We were so excited to get our trip started, I was counting down the miles on the GPS (31 miles. 24 miles. 10 miles. Hubby was not amused.) I had already did online check in, but I still went up to the desk and we were given a map of the resort with our room number. The drums were playing in the lobby. It was awesome. We found our room and tapped all of our magic bands to the door to make sure they worked, dropped our bags and went to the balcony to see this:

That view was the absolute saddest thing ever. I swear every time I looked out there a fairy lost its wings. Now, I get it. We booked an standard room. We were going to Animal Kingdom to see animals. We didn't need to see them outside our window. But come on, cant you guys at least give me something to look at, like a potted plant or something?
Hubby and I went to check out the pool and find the smoking area, saw they were playing the lion king, but we were too tired to venture out by now and we're just waiting for the food to arrive from room service. Wifi was also non existent, we just couldn't pick up the signal, but you don't come for wifi right? You come for the beautiful view.. First impressions: resort is beautiful, so much to look at, if you can make it out, because it's very dim lighting. My husband has some sight issues; he jokes that I'm his "seeing eye wife" , but he really needed to hold my hand in this place, especially while we were outside by the pool at night.
When our room service arrived we were starving, Zuzu ran up to the cast member and gave her a hug! She must've been just as hungry, she doesn't even greet family like that! The woman was just as surprised, I'm sure she doesn't get greeted like that very often. Now, Zuzu is very witty, as most 4 year olds are, and she knows that 100 is a big number. So she uses it as a unit of measurement to describe things(ex: Mommy, that rock is so big. Like 100 big). Hence the title of my report. So here's a summary of our arrival day:

Room Service Hug: 100 Cute.
Standard room view: 30 Cute.
Animal Kingdom Lodge Lobby: 100 Cute.

We ate, showered and went straight to bed, because the next day was Magic Kingdom.

 

[Ms.Sunshine]

By this point in the day we were really hot and tired. We were going to head to the buses, when Zuzu asked about meeting Joy and Sadness. Both she and Hubby had worn their Inside Out shirts just for Epcot day. We couldn't leave without seeing them at least, so we stopped at the restrooms, took a little break, and turned back around to their meet and greet. And I'm so glad we did.

Sadness was awesome! She tried to come with us when we were leaving, the handler had to pull her back!

Joy LOVED seeing herself on Zuzu's shirt! And she was pretending to be scared of Hubby's Anger tee.

I didn't really take any character pics, I mostly enjoyed watching my family enjoying their time with them. That for me was everything.
When we first got to the meet and greet Baymax had a 5 minute wait. In hindsight Hubby could have taken her to see Baymax while I waited on the Inside Out line, but we didn't think of it at the time. It wasn't a big deal though, she's only seen the movie a handful of times.

After this we were done, so we went to catch the bus back to AKL. It had started to pull off, so Hubby ran ahead to try and catch it. Luckily the driver saw us and stopped to wait. Mom was tired and wanted to relax in the room with some room service, so we took the opportunity for some alone time. I made a last minute ressie for Boma thru the Disney App on the bus ride back for two (we were still celebrating our anniversary, as if we needed another reason to want to be alone). We had a quick shower, changed and headed down stairs.
OMG Boma was great! Side note: We saw two little boys with their parents at the Boma check in desk, pestering each other, one literally kicked the other one in the butt. 5 minutes later their parents had separated them and were sitting at opposite side of the bench. Boys!

The orange almond cheese cake was amazing, and so were the Zebra Domes. There was this mustard sauce on the roast pork, and the roasted chicken was delicious. I didn't care for the couscous, but that's just me. We just talked, enjoyed the food, had a few drinks (mmmm, sangria). It was a perfect end to Epcot day.

 

[Ms.Sunshine]

Your husband and my husband would get along well! We both love Japanese culture, but he is a huge Dragon Ball Z fan. He watches it all the time...it just sounds like a bunch of grunting to me.

He now has Zuzu running around and telling everyone her power level is the strongest. LOL

 

[Beckett]

This trip report is 100 awesome! (so cute!) following along! My daughter who will be 10 soon also has a big issue with the loud sound from fireworks so we always leave before Wishes because I'd rather not see her feeling scared during her vacation, I want it to be a pleasant experience! My first language is also Spanish and I am also a teacher, like your MIL, and I've had to hold myself back from scolding young children who misbehave in lines your family is adorable!

 

[UberPlannerMom]

One of my kids has an aversion to loud noises as well. I am sure you can imagine that doesn't go well with his older brother being a competition dancer. We have had to find something that works. The ultimate answer turned out to be ear muffs, not plugs. Kids pull at plugs and getting them in is a royal pain. The ear muffs work like a charm. Now, I don't mean the kind that keep your ears warm in the snow but the kind that people wear at the shooting range. Walmart carries them in the hunting section for as little as $10, you can use them whenever you want, the kid can still hear but the bang is taken out of sound and they come in kids sized (I think you can even get pink ones if I remember right.) Just a tip for your next trip!

Oh, and if you ever are worried again about making a bother with your autograph book, just hand it over to the handler and they know what to do.

Looks like you had a great trip so far!

 

[MinnieM123]

I think the face painting design on ZuZu's forehead is so cute!!

And on another subject . . . Zebra Domes! Yummy!!!!!!!!

 

[Ms.Sunshine]

One of my kids has an aversion to loud noises as well. I am sure you can imagine that doesn't go well with his older brother being a competition dancer. We have had to find something that works. The ultimate answer turned out to be ear muffs, not plugs. Kids pull at plugs and getting them in is a royal pain. The ear muffs work like a charm. Now, I don't mean the kind that keep your ears warm in the snow but the kind that people wear at the shooting range. Walmart carries them in the hunting section for as little as $10, you can use them whenever you want, the kid can still hear but the bang is taken out of sound and they come in kids sized (I think you can even get pink ones if I remember right.) Just a tip for your next trip!

Oh, and if you ever are worried again about making a bother with your autograph book, just hand it over to the handler and they know what to do.

Looks like you had a great trip so far!

Thanks! I had seen the earmuffs on Amazon, didn't know they had them at Walmart too. I'll have to be on the lookout for those!

 

[Ms.Sunshine]

I think the face painting design on ZuZu's forehead is so cute!!

And on another subject . . . Zebra Domes! Yummy!!!!!!!!

Thanks! Mom insisted on the Frozen face paint, and since she had to clean it off that night.....let's just say ZuZu wasn't getting any more face paint after that!

 

[Ms.Sunshine]

Day Three: Animal Kingdom.

This was our last day at the parks, but we were having breakfast at Tusker House. It was a pretty early ADR, but an otherwise lax day. We got on bus #5178, and I remember this bus because the driver, John was hysterical. He was making jokes, doing Mickey Mouse impressions. I was almost sad when we got to the park so quickly!. He made the ride over really enjoyable. Once there we stopped at the gift shop outside of the gate to pick Zuzu a pair of animal themed ears and a sun hat for Mom. Once we got thru bag check we headed right over to Tusker House.

OMG Tusker House was great! I got a second plate just for the breakfast potatoes.. Zuzu had Fruit Loops (one with milk and one without, since she can never decide which), Mom got her usual pastries, Hubby got some cinnamon roll thingy. The Jungle Juice was so good, but we mostly had tea. I think 3 days of vastly different foods were starting to take a toll on our tummies.

Wish my pictures weren't so blurry.

Now, Zuzu had a great time, but I think the award for Most Fun Had belongs to Hubby. He had a ball with the characters here, he took selfies with all of them. Zuzu got her book signed by all the characters. Once we were done eating, we headed over to find some penny machines and shop while we waited for our fast pass for Festival of the Lion King. We went into Zurri's Sweet Shop, where one of the cast members offered us some fudge samples. I'm not a chocolate person, but it was sooo good. We started talking with the woman and found out she was from Queens, NY. It's funny how New Yorkers don't want anything to do with each other when they're in the city, but outside of New York there's a strange gravitation to each other. After a little shopping we headed back to the Lion King. The drummers were out, playing music and pulling people into the circle to dance, it was fun to watch!

Before the drummers were out.

It was still pretty hot today, but after two days of melting we learned our lesson and wore hats (well, except for me, I HAD to have my leopard print ears, there was no other option). Hubby found this cool Indiana Jones-esque hat, (one the many hats he had purchased on this trip).
We got on the FP line for the Lion King after parking the stroller. The cast members were trying to get everyone to move in closer to the doors, but no one was listening. We waited awhile before the doors opened, but we got some decent seats. This show is AWESOME! I have always wanted to see the Broadway Show, but this is probably the closest I'll get. The costumes were great, the music, we loved it. It was 100 Cool. There was a person who insisted on using their flash to take pictures (there's one in every bunch). It really bugs me when people don't listen to the cast members' instructions. I tried not to let it ruin my experience, and it mostly didn't. It seemed like every show we went to this day there was That One Person. I didn't get great pictures, but I'll post the best of the worst.

Loved the "monkeys", they were great.

 

[Ms.Sunshine]

I don't know where the time went on this day, but these are the attractions we visited at Animal Kingdom:
Festival of the Lion King: 100 Cool.
Safari: 100 Bumpy. LOL.
Finding Nemo the Musical: 100 Cool.

After the show we walked the Gorilla Trail. I wasn't sure if we were allowed to take the stroller, but I'm glad we didn't, because there were quite a few people walking the trail today. Zuzu loved seeing all the animals. She actually reassured me that our hotel view was no a big deal whenI was bummed about it. (Mommy, we're going to animal kingdom, I'll see the animals there.) We saw the Hippos (100 Big, according to the Zuzu scale), Zebras, Meerkats, and the Gorillas towards the end of the trail. She didn't mind the walk either, and it was good to get her out of the stroller.

We had walked off our breakfast by now, so we headed to Harambe Market for lunch. I made sure to get pictures of our lunch this time!
I split some Ribs with Mom, Zuzu got some chicken on a stick and Hubby got his own Ribs. Everything was delicious! the carrot slaw, the black eye pea salad, the pink lemonade, everything!

There was this lovely string music playing in the background, and I didn't realize it was live music until we were leaving and I saw the musician playing. I liked this area, it was the only time I really felt like we took a break from the action of everything else. I made a phone call, Zuzu liked seeing the trains pass by. It was a nice break, and soon we were ready for our Safari Fast Pass.

We were a little early getting there (about 18 minutes) so we killed time looking for penny machines and shopping). Once it was time we walked thru the fast pass queue to board the vehicles. I wanted to take more pictures, but that's the fast pass lane for you.
Now, Hubby, being the good son that he is, tells Mom before hand that if she sat at the end the Giraffes would lick her, so when we when to board she ran behind me, leaving Zuzu now at the end instead of between us. I was going to sit her in the middle, but the driver took off so fast I just had her sit closer to me and put my arms tightly around her. I didn't get a lot of pictures, this driver really ran through the entire trail. And the ride was really rough, I felt like if I had let go of Zuzu she was going to fall out. But we all enjoyed it, and learned a few things.

One thing I can say about my camera, the zoom function is great. When I'm standing still, and the zoom is on, and the stars and planets are in complete alignment, I get great pictures!

After all the bumping around, we stopped for a water and bathroom break. I almost sent a search party to get Hubby. I guess two days of non- stop fun were getting to Zuzu, because by the time we were done with the restrooms she was completely passed out in her stroller. We let her rest while we walked over to our Nemo fast pass. We even had to stop and find her a hat with a brim to block the sun. As we got closer to Nemo though, I was getting concerned. I was worried she was going to sleep through the show. She literally slept until we got into the air conditioning at Nemo.. As soon as we sat down she opened her eyes. I guess she needed a recharge and some cool air.

Finding Nemo the Musical was amazing. I didn't think this could be turned into a musical, but there you go. There was a family sitting behind us with a little boy, about 1 year old. And they were beyond obnoxious. I usually don't let people bother me on vacation, but this little boy was walking up and down the stairs while people were trying to get seated. It was an accident waiting to happen. He almost got down to the stage before his mother went to grab him. A older boy, (not sure if it was a brother, but definitely his relative) went to grab him, and the Mother is yelling at him to leave him on the stairs. And then they knocked over a juice cup on the floor and we had to put our backpacks on the chairs so they wouldn't get wet. The mother was yelling at the older boy even after the show had started. I really tried to hold back my New York Attitude at this point. Even the family next to us were annoyed. I made a conscious effort to enjoy the show, and I did, which is why I have no pictures. I really sat and just enjoyed this show. On the way out the family dropped a stuffed mickey, and I handed it to the grandmother in the family. She said "Thank you, you really saved the day." Did not want to see what would happen if they lost that mickey.

After Nemo we stopped to get something cool on our way to Yak & Yeti. I got this mango rum frozen lemonade, good but a little weak.
Zuzu got a strawberry lemonade pop that was delicious! We wished we had gotten that instead!.

 

[Ms.Sunshine]

It was sooo delicious and refreshing in that heat!
We were a little early for our ADR, so we took a bathroom break and sat to enjoy our frozen treats. We had to take more frequent breaks towards the end of the day, Mom was getting crabby.

We were finally ready for Yak & Yeti. We saw the penny press up front, but our table was ready, so I promised Zuzu we would get it on the way out. We sat down and ordered drinks. Hubby and I got this Fuji Apple Sake that was really yummy (though a little weak, imho).

Mom had a sangria, she asked them to put Kiwis in it, which they gladly did. We got the pot stickers, and Hubby got the wings, (which he so graciously shared with the rest of us). I think he over stuffed himself with the ribs from Harambe Market, because his stomach just wasn't in it for this meal. We both got the Korean Beef Wok plate, but he barely ate any. I, on the other hand, had no problems putting it down. Mom got the crispy chicken (said it wasn't crispy enough). We were pretty stuffed, but Mom couldn't pass up dessert. She ordered this Pineapple upside down cake with ice cream. OMG, this thing was sinfully good. I wish I had room to order one for myself, but she let me eat most of it anyway. Our server, Joel, was awesome. We didn't have to look for him, and he made some good recommendations. I actually filled out a comment card, which I never do.

We rolled ourselves out of there, getting Zuzu a penny before we decided to call it a day. I was a little bummed, since it was only about 6pm, and there was a lot of stuff we didn't get to do. But I knew going into this trip that we were going at a snail's pace. We took the bus back to the resort and got ready for check out the next day.

 

[Ms.Sunshine]

Day Four: Check out Day.

We had express Check-Out (which I guess we automatically got when we did online Check-In), so we didn't need to visit the front desk at all; my account was settled and the final receipt sent to my email all before I even got out of bed. Super Convenient. We had packed our souvenirs and things the night before, but we went down to Zwandi Marketplace for some last minute trinkets and then hit Mara for some pastries, which we enjoyed in our room. After breakfast we made our way down to the car, loaded up, and drove home.

Notes:

Even though I had been planning this trip for some time, by the time I had actually booked it I was scrambling for whatever fast passes and ADRs I could get. Hopefully I'll have more time to plan the next trip. I didn't book a lot of fast passes this time, but we still felt rushed and didn't really have time to just enjoy the park.

Standard View really means standard.

Invest in cold towels/Go when its not 200 degrees outside.

Overall we had an awesome trip, and I can't wait to plan the next one. Hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed re-living it.

 

[FlaggNL]

Thanks for sharing this wonderful TR! Loved reading it! Nothing more than re-living the trip by writing a TR! Time to plan a new trip lol

 

[Tiggerish]

So enjoyed your trip report! I'm staying at AKL in December and very much looking forward to it. I'm in a standard view , so I will make sure to remember your note.

My hubby has a stack of hats purchased at WDW and worn only a couple times.

Zuzu is such a pretty girl, and kind-hearted too, telling you not to worry about view she'd see animals in the park. So cute. I could spend hours on those trails.

Yak & Yeti is also the only place I've ever filled out a comment card for outstanding service. I can't remember what I had, but I know it was delicious.

I'm so surprised that the safari driver took off with Zuzu on the outside! The loader should have caught that--I thought they didn't want small children on the outside. You got some great pictures in spite of having to hold on to her. Can you imagine if that had happened to one of those crazy "parents" you encountered? They probably would have let their kids fall off the truck.

Thanks for sharing your trip!!

 

[Ms.Sunshine]

So enjoyed your trip report! I'm staying at AKL in December and very much looking forward to it. I'm in a standard view , so I will make sure to remember your note.

My hubby has a stack of hats purchased at WDW and worn only a couple times.

Zuzu is such a pretty girl, and kind-hearted too, telling you not to worry about view she'd see animals in the park. So cute. I could spend hours on those trails.

Yak & Yeti is also the only place I've ever filled out a comment card for outstanding service. I can't remember what I had, but I know it was delicious.

I'm so surprised that the safari driver took off with Zuzu on the outside! The loader should have caught that--I thought they didn't want small children on the outside. You got some great pictures in spite of having to hold on to her. Can you imagine if that had happened to one of those crazy "parents" you encountered? They probably would have let their kids fall off the truck.

Thanks for sharing your trip!!

Thank you! Zuzu is very thoughtful and sweet. And thank goodness for camera straps! I place the blame solely on Hubby for telling Mom the Giraffes would lick her!

 

[Ms.Sunshine]

Thanks for sharing this wonderful TR! Loved reading it! Nothing more than re-living the trip by writing a TR! Time to plan a new trip lol

Thanks for reading! I don't think Hubby wants to hear about another Disney trip for a bit. I said the words "Disney Cruise" and he gave me a look.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Loved your trip report! ZuZu is absolutely precious!!!

We stayed at AKL, and like you, I kind of hated the Mara. A lot of people here seem to love it, but I thought it was small, and completely chaotic.

We take noise cancelling headphones for our daughter for the fireworks, but she usually refuses to wear them and cries.. fun!

 

[MinnieM123]

Standard view can be a toss-up. Sometimes you luck out if they upgrade your view (if the hotel isn't all that busy). Down through the years, I've paid a bit extra for specific views (no matter what hotel I stay at)--views are important to me. (To offset the extra cost, I then cut down on something else in my travel budget.) Some people, though, don't spend much time at all in their guest room and for them, the view isn't a deal breaker.

Agree--Zwandi Marketplace is one of the best gift shops in all of WDW's properties.

Food at the Mara is very good. It can be a little chaotic during prime meal times, but I think that the food makes up for any inconvenience. The Mara is still one of the best QS restaurants on Disney property.

If you'd like to go when it's a bit cooler, try December through April, or up to mid-May. I don't like the heat and humidity either.

Zuzu is adorable, and I'm glad that your family had such a nice vacation.

Thank you for sharing your experiences and photos. Enjoyed following along. Take care.

 

[FlaggNL]

Thanks for reading! I don't think Hubby wants to hear about another Disney trip for a bit. I said the words "Disney Cruise" and he gave me a look.

Whaha if Ria would say the words "Disney Cruise" I would also be flabbergasted and have the same look But luckily my whole family breath Disney so thats why we have 2016 and 2017 planned for WDW so far and april 2017 a DLP visit when the have the 25-year party!

 

[sheriffwoody]

I was just checking out the Urban Outfitters sale section and saw this! http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=37359692f&category=SALE_APT

Made me think of Zuzu's way of rating things

 

[PixieDustMamma]

We found a spot on main street to watch the parade and got a few cups of ice water and gatorade. I had forgotten to bring a blanket for the ground that apparently was made from lava because it was so freakishly hot out. Like 100 hot. Luckily hubby had gotten one of those water sprinting fans because I also forgot to pick one up from the dollar store. We ended up sitting on our backpacks, and of course Zuzu had the stroller. Was it worth melting in the hot sun? When the characters paid special attention to my kid, I'll say most definitely. Princess Tiana blew her a kiss, Pluto actually tried to get her attention, it was awesome.
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After being reduced to puddles of sweat at the parade, it was time to make our way back over to BOG for our reservation. We had dinner in the ballroom, the snow on the windows was so pretty.
BOG was great, imho. I know it's hit and miss for some, but we had no complaints. In fact, we were comparing every other meal we had to BOG for the rest of the trip. I had the pan seared chicken, tasted very light, mom had salmon, mentioned she would have cooked it a little longer, hubby has skirt steak with these awesome fries that he remarked tasted very " French " , he also had the salad with the champagne vinaigrette that was awesome, sadly no pictures made it due to reasons stated above(too hungry to remember I had a camera). That French onion soup was to die for! It was cheesy and oniony and delicious. We shared a strawberry cupcake (also delicious) and the lemon meringue cupcake ( which I didn't taste but hubby and mom enjoyed.)

Then Beast strolled through the Ballroom to get set up for the meet and greet, and we got our picture taken on our way out. I wanted him to sign Zuzu's book, but the cast member said he doesn't sign because of his nails. She told us he might have a stamp, but I didn't want to make a big deal of it. He's so tall!.

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After BOG I had no plans for the evening, so we let ZuZu dictate the pace from that point. She went on the merry go round, did a Tirana/Rapunzel meet and greet (which was awesome), hubby asked Rapunzel about having a smolder contest and she really thought it was funny! He asked Tiana where Ray was, but I think he threw Tiana off her game, she didn't know how to answer. They were wonderful and the shortest line too. We stopped for frozen lemonade (again). Then we realized the electric parade was starting and started making our way towards the front of the castle.

Oh my goodness those parade pictures are awesome!