Trip Report COMPLETED: The Cold(s) Didn't Bother Us Anyway

...well, maybe it / they did bother us a little bit, but we can get into that later!

If you missed my pre-trip report, you can find it here: https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/what-am-i-getting-myself-into.934410/

Now let's get into the details:
WHO: Me (Kelli), my husband (Tim), son #1 (SJ) & son #2 (H)

WHEN: 1/15-1/20
WHERE: Disney's Pop Century Resort
WHY: Again, let's be real, this isn't necessary! But, if we really need a reason, I couldn't stand being away from my most favorite place any longer!! And, the kiddos were both "free" (as in, we didn't have to pay for tickets - but they eat about as much as a grown adult), so we had to take advantage before SJ turned 3. Also, on a personal note, the past couple of years have not necessarily been smooth sailing. We have overcome quite a lot of challenges, and we wanted to do something to celebrate! I can't think of any better way than to go to the happiest place on earth!

So, clearly we survived our crazy adventure, but did we stick to the plans, or did we wing it?! Was it "better than we expected"? (points for movie reference)

Only time will tell....

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

The moment we entered Adventureland and H heard those tribal drums playing, he was bopping to the beat! It’s crazy to me that someone so young can have such great rhythm! (Tim could use some dancing lessons from his kid!)

We parked the stroller and made way for our first ride of the day.

If you guessed a cruise down the rivers of the world, you were wrong! We were off to catch a boat ride with some of our favorite mateys!

I love this ride, and SJ and H had fun too! Slowly but surely creating little ones to beg daddy (and grandpa) to go to Disney!
After Pirates, we tried out an attraction that would be a first for all of us! Hey Genie! Can I rub your lamp and make a wish (or two or three)?!

We said goodbye to the land of adventure (we would be back later), and made our way over to Fantasyland.

Castle selfie!
We passed Sleepy Hollow and I made a mental note that we would be back at some point to get a waffle. Never happened! Oh well, there’s always next time, right!?
Now it was time for our last FP (well, the last planned one). I pulled a @Tuvalu and tried to see how many FP I could get in a day!
The next ride was a big one for SJ. I was so excited for him to ride (and this was another new one for Tim and I as well). But...

Where’s SJ!?
That’s right....he was too short by a hair!! We measured him at home, but alas, he didn’t make the cut this trip! Next time buddy!
The ride is super fun, and I loved the part when you are in the mine. But I am with everyone who says this is just too short! I mean, there is so much extra space that seems could have been used to lengthen the ride, but I’m no imagineer (although, I should be!). Tim took his turn and also enjoyed the ride, but we were getting hungry. Next up, lunch!! Did we get a coveted Magic Kingdom ADR?

 

[ELeigh]

The moment we entered Adventureland and H heard those tribal drums playing, he was bopping to the beat! It’s crazy to me that someone so young can have such great rhythm! (Tim could use some dancing lessons from his kid!)
View attachment 260287
We parked the stroller and made way for our first ride of the day.
View attachment 260288If you guessed a cruise down the rivers of the world, you were wrong! We were off to catch a boat ride with some of our favorite mateys!
View attachment 260289
I love this ride, and SJ and H had fun too! Slowly but surely creating little ones to beg daddy (and grandpa) to go to Disney!
After Pirates, we tried out an attraction that would be a first for all of us! Hey Genie! Can I rub your lamp and make a wish (or two or three)?!
View attachment 260291
View attachment 260292
We said goodbye to the land of adventure (we would be back later), and made our way over to Fantasyland.
View attachment 260293
View attachment 260294
Castle selfie!
We passed Sleepy Hollow and I made a mental note that we would be back at some point to get a waffle. Never happened! Oh well, there’s always next time, right!?
Now it was time for our last FP (well, the last planned one). I pulled a @Tuvalu and tried to see how many FP I could get in a day!
The next ride was a big one for SJ. I was so excited for him to ride (and this was another new one for Tim and I as well). But...
View attachment 260296
Where’s SJ!?
That’s right....he was too short by a hair!! We measured him at home, but alas, he didn’t make the cut this trip! Next time buddy!
The ride is super fun, and I loved the part when you are in the mine. But I am with everyone who says this is just too short! I mean, there is so much extra space that seems could have been used to lengthen the ride, but I’m no imagineer (although, I should be!). Tim took his turn and also enjoyed the ride, but we were getting hungry. Next up, lunch!! Did we get a coveted Magic Kingdom ADR?

Love the pictures so far! I know Pirates is going to be a priority on my next trip, my kids loved the ride in Disneyland and haven’t been in WDW yet. I find it funny that the guy in the background of your picture of the flag is using a selfie stick when they are supposed to be banned from the parks.

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

Welp, it was time for the highest sought after ADR of the trip...Be Our Guest! Why thank you Lumiere, don't mind if I do! We checked in at just the right time, because a line formed quickly behind me. I was handed the yellow rose, and after taking a few pictures, we headed inside.

We pre-ordered our food, which I am so thankful for, because the line to order food was LONG. I asked if I could make a small switch to SJ's meal, and was told that the kitchen staff was very busy and they may be unable to accommodate. No biggie if they couldn't (I didn't want the beast to be upset if dinner was late because of us)!
We were told to sit in the Rose Gallery, but I was really hoping for the West Wing. I purposely didn't look at any photos (other than trip reports) of the restaurant, because I wanted to really experience it first hand. It was BEAUTIFUL! Beast, you can take me as your prisoner anytime!

We grabbed our drinks and silverware and sat at a booth near the beverage station.

There was an attendant that stood nearby the entire time, and both boys made eyes with her constantly. It was super cute! (Them making friends with anyone and everyone is a theme of this trip). Then, another attendant came by and let us know that our food was coming shortly (and the kitchen was making the small change to SJ's meal...thanks guys!). SJ leaned over and gave her a hug, and then another hug, and then another hug. He is seriously so sweet, I wish I would have gotten a picture! She said she wanted to do something special for him, and came back with two Mickey straws! I know it seems like nothing big, but SJ loves that thing to this day!
Now, bring on the food! I ordered the French onion soup (per recommendations from @Doc Disney)! AH-MAZING!!! I could eat this all day everyday!

Tim had the braised pork (sorry, no pics), SJ had the grilled cheese with applesauce, and H had the pasta with marinara and applesauce. Tim's was super good, and I didn't hear any complaints from the kids, so we were off to a good start as far as good food!
Then, this happened...

Yep, he is “sleep eating”, and this isn’t the first time he has done this! Like, he literally nods off but continues to eat! It’s hilarious to watch, and the nearby workers also got a laugh out of it.

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

We let SJ catch some z's for a little while longer, and then we headed out to continue on with our day. But, not before snapping a couple more pictures of my favorite castle!

Thanks for having us!

I have to admit, even after reading all the rave reviews about this place, I was a little skeptical. Some friends of ours recently had breakfast here, and they suggested we cancel our reservation because it was horrible. I tried so hard to get this reservation, and I didn’t want to give it up. Plus, lunch was the one meal everyone loved from what I read, so we decided to keep it. I am so glad I did! The atmosphere immerses you right into the movie and the food was delicious! Every cast member we interacted with was great, and just the small moment SJ had with the waitress will be unforgettable!
We left the restaurant and discussed what we should do next. I was able to snag a FP for Space Mountain, so we made our way to Tomorrowland. H fell asleep within minutes, so it worked out perfectly! We took the path at the back of Fantasyland, and I totally forgot that it was the smoking path! Hold your breath kids!
We got to Space Mountain and quickly learned that it was down!
We decided to hang out for a bit, and luckily, it was up and running within about 10 minutes.
Out of this world selfie!

The ride was awesome as usual! Tim took his turn to ride and had a great time as well!

H was awake by now, so where should we go?!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Enjoying your report! I thought it was super crowded too

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

Love the pictures so far! I know Pirates is going to be a priority on my next trip, my kids loved the ride in Disneyland and haven’t been in WDW yet. I find it funny that the guy in the background of your picture of the flag is using a selfie stick when they are supposed to be banned from the parks.

I noticed that too!! Thanks for following along!

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

Enjoying your report! I thought it was super crowded too

I’m glad I’m not the only one that thought it was busy!
Thanks for tagging along!

 

[prfctlyximprct]

It wa super crowded! I was not expecting it!

And sleep eating, now that’s brilliant! My two favorite things

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

It wa super crowded! I was not expecting it!

And sleep eating, now that’s brilliant! My two favorite things

Bringing multitasking to a whole new level!

 

[Bullseye1967]

Following along.

 

[MerMom1981]

Awe! Your family is so sweet! Your report is stirring up memories of our first family trip when my kids were 2 and 4. They'll be 8 and 10 for our upcoming trip this summer.

My daughter was a major sleep-eater when she was a toddler.
Definitely LOLed

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

Following along.

Thanks for joining!

Awe! Your family is so sweet! Your report is stirring up memories of our first family trip when my kids were 2 and 4. They'll be 8 and 10 for our upcoming trip this summer.

My daughter was a major sleep-eater when she was a toddler.
Definitely LOLed

Thank you! I'm glad I can help you relive those memories. They grow up way too fast!!

 

[Doc Disney]

Now, bring on the food! I ordered the French onion soup (per recommendations from @Doc Disney)! AH-MAZING!!! I could eat this all day everyday!

I'm glad you liked it! I think about that soup all the time...
Your boys are so cute! Those pictures with Mickey are priceless

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

I'm glad you liked it! I think about that soup all the time...
Your boys are so cute! Those pictures with Mickey are priceless

Yes, they are priceless (I mean...so worth the price of memory maker)!

 

[Starlight67]

Enjoying your trip report . I was there the same week as you. And YES--CROWDED! I was surprised by how crowded figuring the holidays were over, kids are in school etc. (BUT crowded in 72 degree weather beats crowded on one of those humid 90 plus degree weather days in the summer for sure!) Did you notice on the first couple days there were a few Christmas trees/decorations still up? Then in a bit of Disney Magic (aka the third shift crew) poof--they were gone!

 

[Nubs70]

What?! I swear us Michiganders can spot eachother a mile away. I live in Wyoming (MI)

Jenison

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

Enjoying your trip report . I was there the same week as you. And YES--CROWDED! I was surprised by how crowded figuring the holidays were over, kids are in school etc. (BUT crowded in 72 degree weather beats crowded on one of those humid 90 plus degree weather days in the summer for sure!) Did you notice on the first couple days there were a few Christmas trees/decorations still up? Then in a bit of Disney Magic (aka the third shift crew) poof--they were gone!

Happy to have you! I was hoping there might still be some Christmas decorations up, but I didn't notice any!

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

We made our way back to Fantasyland (but not through smokers alley) and went for a little spin!

I was hoping this would be a hit because the boys love to spin at home. But, as we started spinning, SJ got this look on his face like we were going to revisit his lunch.
False alarm! They ended up having lots of fun!

While we were in line for Mad Tea Party, I snagged a FP for Dumbo, so that’s where we went next.

I love the theming of this ride so much! And it doesn’t hurt to have all those cute elephants!

By now it was about 3pm, so we decided to head out because we had plans to hop over to another park. But, it was also Festival of Fantasy parade time, and we weren’t interested in watching. Easiest way to get out of the park now? MPB! I don’t know exactly what happened, but we took the train from Frontierland instead of Fantasyland (even though we were right there)! If you have a stroller and want to take the train, don’t take it from Frontierland. There is no stroller ramp, so you have to carry the stroller up the stairs. Sorry Tim!
We wanted to get one of the benches in the front so we could all fit with the stroller, but Tim got stuck sitting with it in a bench by himself! I don’t know why, but this was really funny to me.

We took our trip around the kingdom, and soon we were back at Main Street. We grabbed a bus to Pop so we could switch out our bags and grab more snacks, and soon enough we were back to the bus station. Animal Kingdom, here we come!

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

Our bus for Animal Kingdom showed up, but it was a Mears bus instead of a Disney bus. This seemed to work out better though. Comfy seats and the stroller could be stowed away at the bottom of the bus! Tim took a liking to the bus driver and talked to him the whole time. Meanwhile the kids were acting like wild animals (I’m going to just think that they were preparing for AK) and he was oblivious to it the whole ride.

Thankfully there were only a couple other people on the bus, so it didn’t matter too much.
We still needed to eat dinner, and I already had a place in mind. Once we got through security and into the park, I decided to try mobile ordering for the first time. This thing is awesome!!! I had my order for Flame Tree BBQ placed by the time we made it to the Tree of Life. I had read to say that you are there about 5 minutes before you are actually there, so I did just that. We took a couple photo pass pictures and then headed to pick up our food.

Tim took the boys and grabbed a table while I picked up the food. I only had to wait a couple of minutes, so not bad compared to waiting in line to order! This was our first time trying Flame Tree and it was soooo good!! I had the French fries with pulled pork and cheese and Tim had the baked macaroni and cheese with pulled pork.

So good!! Tim made some bird friends while we were eating. He even had a duck eating out of his hand which pretty much made his day.

Sorry! No picture of the duck!
It was about 5:30pm, so we packed things up and headed for Rivers of Light. I was pretty excited to see this as I didn’t have too much prior knowledge of the details of the show. We got in line and grabbed some seats near an aisle in case we had any meltdowns (I can’t bring Tim anywhere)!
The atmosphere was awesome, and H was once again dancing to the beat. There was a family behind us that was getting pretty entertained by the pre-show he was giving them! He does this really funny thing when you ask him if he is excited. He will look at you and just clench up and give this big eyes smile. That family was cracking up! Then the daughter (who was probably about 8) says, “Look, I’m excited” and tries to do the same thing! The mom says, “Its not cute when you do it”!

The performers came out, and one ended up coming down our aisle.

I really enjoyed the music and projections that were in the background on the trees. The show began and the floats started coming out. And then....everything went black and the music stopped!
Did we really just sit here for what seemed like forever on our only night at Animal Kingdom to have technical difficulties and a cancelled show!?!?

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Your family photos in front of the Tree of Life at AK are making me melt. SOOOOOOOOOO cute!