Trip Report Paul, Christina, and Lorelai take Eggs to Disney!

tehSAC · Jan 10, 2018

So I left off with us leaving Pirates. I left out before leaving the area, the girls purchased themselves some swords, which will make an appearance later on in this report. Its close to 10:15 – 10:30 now, and I want a treat. Something I crave every time I come to Disney. A dole whip float. Now I was in Orlando for work earlier in the year for a conference, and I made the trek to the Poly for at least one. Okay I lie, I had at least two.

Anyway I couldn’t leave Adventureland without having one, so we found a shaded seat near the flying carpets and I enjoyed my treat. Lo and Ella shared a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

MK7 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

Lo looks so excited. LOL

Taking off from there, we decided we wanted to go and explore Tom Sawyers Island. None of my family had visited this attraction, and its one of my favorite spots in all of the MK. Next thing I knew, I hear Ella shouting “Daddy! Bear! O’er There!” pointing in the direction of Wendell walking around Frontierland. We walked over and waited our turn to greet him, and he was fantastic with her. Lorelai wasn’t into it, but Ella loved him. She didn’t want him to walk away.

MK9 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

MK8 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

Leaving him, we parked the stroller and headed down to the dock to catch the raft over to the island. The short trip over was uneventful, and soon we were exploring. Lorelai isn’t much a fan of enclosed spaces or areas where she has a hard time seeing her surroundings so the caves were a bit iffy for her. I convinced her to check out the mine first, and someone who thought we were someone else, decided to jump out and scare her. She was in tears and quickly exited the mine the way we come in. That was a bummer for me, because I wanted to show her the hidden goofy. Oh well, Ella and I continued while Mom and Lo found a place to sit for a few. The girls would end up crossing the barrel bridge a few hundred times, before we finally made it back to the fort. Here we let them explore, and I did a bit myself.

MK10 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

After a half hour or so, we headed towards the dock, with no plan of what was up next. Waiting for the raft, the girls mentioned they were hungry. I suggested Cosmic Rays as we had a fastpass for the Speedway around 1:30. They thought that was a good idea, so we headed towards the train station.

MK11 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

We enjoyed our short trip to Storybook Circus. We looked at the menu on the Disney app, and placed our order all on our trip over. I couldn’t praise that enough. It was so fast and easy, and our food was ready by the time we arrived to cosmic rays. Before we left Storybook Circus, Lorelai found the fountain and decided to take a run through it. A quick eye roll from me and we were off. LOL The girls found a place to sit near Sonny while I grabbed the food. After lunch the pirates would come out while we enjoyed the air conditioning.

MK13 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

MK12 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

tehSAC · Jan 15, 2018

During lunch my Brother in Law wanted to meet up with us again to get another family photo in front of the castle. They were in line for Seven Dwarves and we had a fastpass. We agreed to meet later in the afternoon for our photo. After lunch and enjoying Mr. Eclipse for a bit, we headed out and towards the People Mover. I wanted to take another spin, and Ella and Mom had not enjoyed it yet this trip. First was a stop at the restroom then heading off towards the moving ramp. Wasn’t much of a wait and we were off. I think I could ride this over and over. Just love how simple it is.

After we finished up with the People Mover, we took a look at the wait time for Buzz, but it was 60 minutes, and none of us wanted to wait for it. Plus we had a fastpass for the speedway, so we headed that way. Now I’ll be honest I wasn’t really interested in this, but Lo really wanted to do it. Plus she was big enough to drive on her own, so why not. Lo drove one car, I had my own, and Mom and Ella rode together. A few swerves here and there, and a headache from the fumes spewing from the car in front of you, we were finished. Why they have this attraction still and haven’t replaced it with a Monsters Inc themed land yet is beyond me. Oh well Lo really enjoyed it.
After that, we headed for a journey in the hundred acre woods, which we all enjoyed, and then we finally met up with my BIL’s family.

Castle 1 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

Castle 2 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

After our photo, we decided to do a little shopping, and a bit of a rest behind the Ye Old Christmas shop. My wife loves Christmas stuff, and actually found an awesome Minnie “Haunted Mansion Bride” Nutcracker to add to her Nutcracker collection. :thumbs up: While we were waiting, I found a fastpass for Peter Pan at 2:45 in the Afternoon. I snatched that up, and we headed over to find a spot for our stroller. Ella wanted to ride with me, and she loved every second of it. For the first few seconds in the ride she couldn’t stop talking about how the CM made our lap bar go down. She kept saying “magic daddy, magic!” LOL After Peter Pan, we had enough time to ride Small World again before our ADR at Be Our Guest.

MK14 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

Now a slight backstory before the next part. Lorelai loves Beauty and the Beast, and I knew I had to get a reservation at Be Our Guest. My issue I had was we were not staying on site, and trying to find reservations inside 90 days is pretty damn difficult. So I logged onto Touring Plans reservation finder and hoped I would get that magical text of a reservation that came free. To my surprise I would receive one a few days later, but by the time I logged on, it had already been taken. So I set the alert again and a couple more days would pass before I received another text. I was out to lunch with my wife and missed it again. Dammit! So they say third time is a charm right? Set it again, and a week before we are to leave, and I’ve given up hope im sitting at my desk browsing twitter. Up pops the notification and I jump straight onto the app. Scoring that coveted reservation! Dad of the year material right there. LOL
Soon enough we are greeted and sat in the ballroom near the windows. Lorelai is completely enamored and I couldn’t get a good shot of her. She just wouldn’t sit still.

MK16 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

MK17 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

MK15 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

For our meal, we just planned on visiting for desert. Seems kind of silly, but we were on vacation, and I wanted my little girl to enjoy this restaurant once.

MK18 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

Mine

MK19 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

Moms

MK20 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

Ella’s

MK21 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

Lorelai’s

MK22 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

Ella’s “Birthday” Gray Stuff.

tehSAC · Jan 16, 2018

After our desert, the girls and I took a walk around the restaurant. Viewing the rose, and rest of the west wing. It was starting to hit me that we were at the end of our trip and I was trying to let it all soak in. Sure Ella probably wouldn’t remember much of this trip when she gets older. However seeing her smile and excitement made it okay for me. As for Lorelai I wouldn’t see her here again in the near future. The way she bonded with her sister and the joy in her face was the icing on the cake. I just tried to slow down time and enjoy every little bit. It was close to 5:30 and I knew when we left BOG we would most likely be making our way to Main Street. It was a MNSSHP night and we did not have party passes. We made our way back to the table and headed towards the exit. On our way out we met the Beast and had our photo taken with him. Ella wasn’t much of a fan and honestly it wasn’t the best photo. Oh well we have the memory.

Upon leaving we crossed the bridge and found our stroller. We packed up and headed towards the castle. I forgot they would be setting up for the hocus pocus show, so the gates were closed. We headed towards the wishing well and each girl made a wish before heading down towards cosmic rays. Lorelai wouldn’t tell me her wish but I have a pretty good idea what it was.

Soon after we were shopping for pins in the emporium and other items we felt we needed. After we made our final purchases we headed out towards the train station. Lorelai realized she lost her misting fan she purchased and was pretty upset. She quickly got over it but still seemed bummed about a silly fan/mister. Ella was out cold, a day full of the MK was too much for this first timer. We took a few photos in front of the decorations and I climbed up the stairs to get one final shot down Main Street.

Sleepy by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

MK23 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

mk by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

mk2 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

We were then off to the Monorail to the parking lot. Lorelai and Mom checked lost and found for her water bottle but they did not have it. We loaded up the ride and headed back to the resort. That evening we would have pizza again, yes it was that good, and get one last night of swimming in. Before bed we would tell the girls of the mornings surprise before heading home. Brunch with Lilo, Stitch, Mickey, and Pluto.

16089 Steps, or 6.3 Miles logged for the day.

tehSAC · Jan 16, 2018

Our last day we woke around 8 AM. We had plenty to pack. The worst part of our resort was we were the furthest you could get from the lobby. Made for a pain in the to get things down to the ride. Super Dad and his side kick Flamingo Girl accomplished it while Ella and Mom got ready. One last look around the room to make sure we got everything and then in the car to the Poly. Now Pluto is one of Ella’s favorite characters. She has carried a Pluto stuffed animal ever since she could walk. So I was hoping this would be a great cap to our short trip. This was another reservation I had issues getting. It was between Chef Mickey’s and Ohana, and I could never land a Chef Mickey’s reservation. Thankfully Ohana came through, and honestly I was more interested in this one, than the other.

We were all excited on our trip over. I was the only one that had been to the Poly before, but that was only a few months prior. We arrived and found a spot to park, and off we went towards the lobby. Our Breakfast/Brunch was the last reservation “time” of the day which was fine by me as we had a long trip ahead. However I was slightly concerned with the time and the characters. Figuring it’s the end of the shift and people want to have a nice break. Walking up to the podium to check in I was hoping that wouldn’t be the case.
We had a short wait in line to meet Stitch. Actually I waited as the girls sat on the couches in the lobby until they saw I was almost at the point to meet him. Our meeting was brief, but the girls enjoyed it. Stitch signed their books, and we had a few photos taken. As we walked away, Stitch came up behind Ella and Lorelai and covered their eyes. When they turned around Stitch gave them a big hug and a pat on the head before he went back stage. At that moment I was thinking, this is gonna be fun.

STITCH by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

We were sat near the back of the restaurant, if I stood I could see the top of the castle out of the window. Pretty quick after we sat, we had some fruit and bread, plus that amazing juice. I think I had 6-7 glasses of the stuff. My mouth is salivating thinking of it right now. Soon after our drinks, our food arrived and boy did it look great! Waffles, Biscuits, Eggs, Potatoes, Sausage, and Ham. Daddy was gonna enjoy this. LOL

bk13 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

bk14 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

bk12 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

bk11 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

Poly by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

We could see the characters walking around the restaurant as we made our plates, however we didn’t see Pluto. I did not mention this, and we just went about eating our meal. I’m going to leave the rest of this meal to the next post. Its full of photo’s I will cherish for years to come. Until then have a magical day!

ELeigh · Jan 16, 2018

Just caught up with this TR. What a great trip, Lo buying the balloon for her sister is so precious. I hope Ella got to meet Pluto! Reading that she is such a huge fan made me remember that I need to get my son a visit with Pluto on our next trip as we missed him last time

tehSAC · Jan 17, 2018

ELeigh said:
Just caught up with this TR. What a great trip, Lo buying the balloon for her sister is so precious. I hope Ella got to meet Pluto! Reading that she is such a huge fan made me remember that I need to get my son a visit with Pluto on our next trip as we missed him last time

Thats Lorelai for you. Always looking out for her sister or someone else before thinking of herself. I've tried to tell her its okay to be selfish now and then, but she just doesn't grasp it. I love that about her.

tehSAC · Jan 17, 2018

Beware this is probably going to be a photo heavy post.

First I forgot to add this photo from my last post.

IMG_5135 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

So we are sitting there, and we first meet the Mouse himself, Mickey. Both girls were excited to see him, and Ella of course had to try and get Mickey to give her the “Rock” fingers. Mickey spent quite a bit of time with us, and the girls loved every second. I’m assuming since its close to the end of the shift and he had already visited the other tables in the area, was the reason we got a bit of extra time. Eh who knows, I just know we enjoyed it. I mean look at their faces.

bk9 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

bk7 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

bk8 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

bk5 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

IMG_5172 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

Then out of the blue, there he was, PLUTO! The excitement and pure joy that came out of Ella’s expression/mouth was unforgettable. Completely worth every penny. I mean this is why we do this right?

IMG_5146 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

IMG_5149 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

IMG_5147 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

We told Pluto that he was Ella’s favorite, and he liked that. He gestured for Ella and Lorelai to join him in the final parade of the day. I only wish I could have gotten a good photo of Ella and him holding hands as they walked away to start the parade.

IMG_5184 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

IMG_5191 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

When Ella and Lorelai returned to the table, my wife asked Ella, “How fun was that?” Ella at the moment this photo was taken was yelling out “HAPPY ME!!!!!” <3

bk3 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

Soon after Lilo would stop by and visit with the girls. I was on such a high seeing Ella with Pluto, I didn’t get many photos. They played peek a boo, and even danced a little bit before Lilo headed back stage.

bk6 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

bk10 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

After all the characters retreated, and my final glass of juice, we all just sat there and relaxed. We went around the table and said what we enjoyed most about our trip.

Me:
I enjoyed seeing Ella experience the park for the first time, Lorelai experiencing Pirates with me for the first time, and our first MNSSHP. However what I enjoyed the most was the time we got to spend together.

Mom:
She enjoyed Small World, Kilimanjaro Safari’s, and the girls having fun.

Ella:
Pluto and Mickey

Lorelai:
Lo said she enjoyed the trip and family time, but most enjoyed seeing Ella’s reactions to the characters and riding attractions with her sister.

I’m going to end this post, but there is still a little more to come before I close out on this report. There won’t be many photos, but I hope you stick around for the end.

PacNWTigger · Jan 17, 2018

What a wonderful experience Ella had with Pluto! I'm so glad you guys had a wonderful trip.

tehSAC · Jan 18, 2018

So the high of breakfast has hit, and the inevitable is in front of us. Vacation is almost over, and this time tomorrow, we will be back home. We still had a few things planned for the day before we would leave Orlando, but nothing would be as exciting as this breakfast. My plan before leaving was to get another dole whip, but I ate so much, that wasn’t in the cards. Before we had left the girls had painted/decorated some rocks to place in a couple random spots. In hopes of someone finding them and placing them in another location. We even set up an Instagram account for this, however it never really took off. Bummer for the Lorelai but it is what it is. Its popular with some of Lorelai’s friends so we thought we would try it out. Lorelai placed one outside the main entrance to the Poly, and I had an idea for a place to place Ella’s. As stated in the beginning of this report we wanted to stay at the AKL but that of course did not pan out. However who said we couldn’t take a detour and visit? I pointed the car in that direction and soon we were at the gate. Told the gate keeper we were visiting, and quickly found a parking spot. Lorelai and Mom wanted to veg out in the car, so Ella and I took a little adventure. As we made it to the front doors a Cruise Line bus pulled up and I told Ella that was for Mickey’s boat. She talked about Mickey’s boat and the bus the entire drive home and two days afterword’s. LOL We made our way across the lobby, and went out to the overlook and found a place to hide her rock, then admired the animals we could see. We would end up walking around the resort for probably a half hour or so before making our way back to the car.

After this little detour, we headed over to Disney Springs. To be honest we did not spend much time here. We did some pin shopping, and also found a couple items in the World of Disney store we wanted to bring home. After that was a quick visit to the Lego Store, and then back to the garage.

ds1 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

Now my wife is a nurse that works at night, and when I put Ella down to bed, Lorelai loves to watch Disney Vloggers on youtube. Well one evening after leaving Ella’s room she showed me some kid by the name of BrandonBlogs and his visit to the McDonalds on IDrive. She was in tears with laughter after watching this video. Honestly I still don’t get it. Anyway, when I was in Orlando for work in May, this McDonalds was down the way and bragged to her about visiting it. With that said, when we were leaving Disney Springs I announced we had one last stop before heading north. When we pulled into the parking lot, Lorelai started to laugh and said “Wonder if we will see Brandon?” LOL Sorry to let you down, but we did not see him.

Anyway we went in and let the girls blow off any remaining steam they had in the playground and arcade that is located upstairs. While watching them I mentioned I was going to go back to the Poly for my Dole Whip and my wife said “go for it”, but we never did. It was 3:30 by the time we left there, and I wanted to get out of town before rush hour.

Only photo from there I got.

mc1 by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr

I drove the entire distance home, except for the last hour, and the family slept. The drive home was uneventful, until just outside of Nashville. As we were heading north on 24 its around 2 in the morning and a group of deer would jump out in front of us. Causing me to slam on the breaks and drive like I was Mr Magoo. Those next 2.5 hours to Bloomington Indiana was the most tense I have ever been behind the wheel. Anyway we made it home safe, parked the car and I passed out until 3 that afternoon.
In conclusion of this report I would love to share a few thoughts.

First and foremost, I am the biggest Disney park fan in this family, I considered moving to Orlando and working for Disney before I met my wife. Now the rest of my family isn’t as big of a fan as I am, but we all had a wonderful time. Its not in our budget to take a Disney vacation every year, more like every 5. Plus we like to do other things each year. Now I know I might get roasted for that, but I cant change us.

Sadly I don’t see us going back for quite a while. That bums me out, but I’m sure I will figure out a way to get us all down there again. As for me, I will be in Orlando in May again this year, and am planning on spending a Sunday at one or two of the parks. Most likely rope drop MK, and then spend the rest of the day at EPCOT. That way I can get some EPCOT fix I haven’t had in years.

We enjoyed the MNSSHP, but would we do it again? Probably not, and there are a couple reasons why. First we didn’t care about the candy stops, nor the Character Meet-n-Greets. We wanted to see the decorations, parade, fireworks, and hocus pocus show. Plus we knew crowds would be lighter, and that was the biggest draw. Mainly because we don’t visit yearly, and wanted to get in as many attractions as we possibly could. Now if we were locals or visited every fall, sure we would probably go just for the party to take advantage of the other things that we didn’t do this year.

Our trip worked for us well. It was a bit packed and felt rushed at times. I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.

Thanks to all that followed along!

krisri18 · Jan 18, 2018

Thanks for sharing your trip with us! Now I'll be on the lookout for painted rocks around the resorts!

riverside · Jan 20, 2018

I enjoyed your trip report!! Thanks for sharing!!

tehSAC · Jan 23, 2018

krisri18 said:
Thanks for sharing your trip with us! Now I'll be on the lookout for painted rocks around the resorts!

riverside said:
I enjoyed your trip report!! Thanks for sharing!!

You're welcome. I enjoyed sharing.

Trip Report Paul, Christina, and Lorelai take Eggs to Disney!

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