Trip Report Spoiler Alert. No Pandora, but Flowers and Gardens and Waves Galore.

Time for my first trip report!!! Exciting! First off going to tag some people in no particular order. @21stamps , @figmentfan423 , @Gabe1 , @betty rose , @littleroo, @Tony the Tigger , @donaldtoo, @Mr Ferret 88 , @Tuvalu , @TheMouseFan , @blgauger , @bee , @Cesar R M , @Songbird76 , @StarWarsGirl , @MinnieM123 , @MOXOMUMD , @ajrwdwgirl , @93boomer , @Courtney6682 , @amjt660 , @Doc Disney , @Goofyernmost @everybody

If you haven't read the ptr here is a link to it.
http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/our-hopefully-pandora-thrown-in-f-g-trip-2017.925406/

The planning for this trip May 19-27 started in November last year after I received a precious pin code in my email. I couldn't say no to that.

Eventually I ended up getting a better rate when the AP discounts came out(dh had an AP at the time), so I rebooked for the same resort, The Cabins at Fort Wilderness.

Who was going: me, dh, and the 4 kiddos(dd15, ds13, dd9, dd6). Who we were leaving at home(3 dogs, 3 cats, 1 cockatiel, and a dear SIL who was housesitting for a price. )

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

Gotta love entitled Disney parents..I mean, don't ya know- They Paid To Be There. Ugh. Drives me nuts!
Kudos for keeping your cool and handling it in a nice way.

My whole amazement with this was that she literally was ready to have a battle over a carousel horse for her son who was twenty something! I mean she was ready to bully a little girl (dd, not me )over a horse for her over 6 foot son!

 

[fractal]

After SW, dd6 wanted to go on the carousel. Since it was a walk on we did it.

Ok, strange story. You know how little kids eye up a horse and head towards it? Wel. Dd had her horse lined up. We got to the left side of the horse. I started to lift her up. She is little as in only 43 inches. Maybe 44 with crocs on. As I was lifting her ( I am just 5' 2"), I noticed a woman standing right by the right side of the horse. She went to me and said that she and her son wanted that horse and the one next to it which was at the end. I can understand that maybe because I am short and dd tiny she didn't see us. Dd was on the horse at this point. Her son, I noticed was over 6 feet tall and an adult in his 20's. I rolled my eyes internally and said rather loudly."dd6, this lady wants to sit on this horse so we can find another one." Her older son was visibly embarassed and told his mother that they should find other ones. This was not an issue since the carousel was empty. I was seriously baffled by this woman. If I wasn't such a non confrontational person I am sure I could have truly made a scene, but that is not me, and I was on vacation to have fun and go with the flow.
View attachment 214881

What?

I think I would have just told her "sorry" or "I'll try to hold it for you for the next ride" or simply ignored her. What gall.

 

[21stamps]

My whole amazement with this was that she literally was ready to have a battle over a carousel horse for her son who was twenty something! I mean she was ready to bully a little girl (dd, not me )over a horse for her over 6 foot son!

This is going to sound horrible, but I almost wish your daughter would have burst out with (fake) crying.lol. Would love to know how the woman would react.

What a jerk.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

What?

I think I would have just told her "sorry" or "I'll try to hold it for you for the next ride" or simply ignored her. What gall.

I know! If I wouldn't have lived it, I wouldn't have believed that something like that could happen.

This is going to sound horrible, but I almost wish your daughter would have burst out with (fake) crying.lol. Would love to know how the woman would react.

What a jerk.

When I told her that the lady wanted the horse, she looked confused. I am not sure she is the type to cry over something like that. Maybe having 3 older siblings has toughened her up?

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

We shared 3 waffles and a funnel cake between the 6 of us. These cute babies came to forage, ummmm beg. They were soooo cute and soft and had cold wet feet. How do I know that? One just happened to walk over my sandaled foot to grab a piece of waffle under the table. It innocently fell on the ground.

 

[MinnieM123]

My whole amazement with this was that she literally was ready to have a battle over a carousel horse for her son who was twenty something! I mean she was ready to bully a little girl (dd, not me )over a horse for her over 6 foot son!

O.k. I'm stunned . . . thought I had heard it all since I joined here, back in 2013--but no. There's always more BAD behavior from ADULTS--you can count on it.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

All caught up!

Trip is going great!

and wow. I can't believe the lady on carousel. Kids always trump me in amusement parks/theme parks. I went to WDW when I was a teenager and got on Dumbo. A child reallllllly wanted the color Dumbo I was in, and was screaming. I gladly got out and let him have it. What difference did it make to me? The woman seemed shocked. It's really not hard to be a decent human being!

 

[amjt660]

My response would be:

Were you born stupid or just brought up that way??

You know, nurture vs nature

Max

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

O.k. I'm stunned . . . thought I had heard it all since I joined here, back in 2013--but no. There's always more BAD behavior from ADULTS--you can count on it.

Yeah, I know. I had actually forgotten about the incident until I saw dd on the carousel horse when I was posting the pic. Then it all came flooding back out of the crevices of my mind. Baffling.

All caught up!

Trip is going great!

and wow. I can't believe the lady on carousel. Kids always trump me in amusement parks/theme parks. I went to WDW when I was a teenager and got on Dumbo. A child reallllllly wanted the color Dumbo I was in, and was screaming. I gladly got out and let him have it. What difference did it make to me? The woman seemed shocked. It's really not hard to be a decent human being!

Thanks for reading along!! I don't think it would even enter my mind to do what she did. I too would give up a certain colored Dumbo, or horse to a child. No clue what that lady was thinking. Not sure if it was gall or just plain stupidity. My bet is stupidity.

My response would be:

Were you born stupid or just brought up that way??

You know, nurture vs nature

Max

I have no idea what was going on in her mind. I truly did not know how to react, but figured that embarassing her by saying what I did would suffice for me at Disney. Of course only her son seemed embarassed. Dh on the other hand probably would not have been as kind.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

After sharing breakfast with our web footed friends, we bumped into the Dapper Dans. Got this pic for @ajrwdwgirl dh Brad.

We were on our way to shoot some space creatures and beat Zurg.

After Buzz we headed towards a sentimental favorite, COP. I adore watching this old video.

Caught a glimpse of this robotic dude as we were waiting to go in. No opinion on it as we had no interaction and did not really witness one.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

We had a fp for mine train after COP. I tried to get pictures in the mine area but they were too blurry. We did request the last rows and were accommodated.

Off to Adventureland for some Tiki Room fun.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

We then checked out artwork and this tempted us. I decided just to take a picture of it instead.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

By now it was time for lunch so we decided to head towards GF and eat at Gasparilla's.

Dh got a roast beef sandwich. It was huge!!! And good, according to him. Plenty for 2 to share. Hard to tell but it had loads of meat on it.

I had a tomato flatbread. It was okay. I thiught it was a little salty.

The kids sat at one table and dh sat at the table next to them. They all enjoyed their meals.

It was a nice and peaceful place to have lunch. We would definitely eat here again. I would just choose something different.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

After lunch we headed inside and went to Basin. The soaps are so cute and if I pirchased them I would hate to use them. This is why I never purchased any.

Cannot say the same for the bath bombs, although the soap would last longer. Hmm I may need to rethink what to purchase there. The tube of bathbombs we got is already gone. Dd6 discovered the joy of bathbombs and started asking for a bath at 7 in the morning for a couple of days to use them. Soap. I thinking soap now.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

We went back to the room after lunch and rested for a bit. Literally just a bit. We then got in the car and headed to Epcot where we had an ADR.

First we stopped in Imagination and made some Figments.

After, we had to do The Land. Cannot get enough of the serenity of the greenhouses. Just give me a towel to lay on the freshly raked sand and leave me there for a while. I will be good. Maybe under a banana tree.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

We didn't have far to walk for our ADR because it was the Garden Grill. I had considered canceling this one because of the menu change, but kept it in the end.

The salad was really good. The kids gobbled the rolls.

This was the platter given to me when I mentioned that I was vegetarian. It had the mac and cheese, green beans, corn, rice, and a veggie loaf, and fries. The veggie loaf was delicious. U

This was the regular platter. The food was enjoyed, but we agreed that it was just too much food for us. The dessert was barely touched. In fact I don't think a dent was made in anything. Dh and I ate more than normal out of guilt. Lesson learned. We just cannot do these big meals. For a first timer who wants great character interaction and have large appetites, it is really great. Our CM was great too. This will be a skip for us for a long while.

 

[Tuvalu]

Regarding the adorable Basin soaps ~

I caved and purchased several. After a few uses, the soaps began to fall apart....literally. Whatever is infused into the bar (stars, Mickey heads, etc.) separates from the base and soon you have individual stars, Mickey heads, whatever....instead of one solid bar of soap. It's a mess.

 

[21stamps]

We didn't have far to walk for our ADR because it was the Garden Grill. I had considered canceling this one because of the menu change, but kept it in the end.

The salad was really good. The kids gobbled the rolls.
View attachment 215298
This was the platter given to me when I mentioned that I was vegetarian. It had the mac and cheese, green beans, corn, rice, and a veggie loaf, and fries. The veggie loaf was delicious. U
View attachment 215299
This was the regular platter. The food was enjoyed, but we agreed that it was just too much food for us. The dessert was barely touched. In fact I don't think a dent was made in anything. Dh and I ate more than normal out of guilt. Lesson learned. We just cannot do these big meals. For a first timer who wants great character interaction and have large appetites, it is really great. Our CM was great too. This will be a skip for us for a long while.
View attachment 215300
View attachment 215296
View attachment 215301 View attachment 215302 View attachment 215303

Where are the sweet potato fries?!?!?! Please tell me they aren't gone!!

I don't think we're eating there this year.. I keep going back and forth about it.
Based on your post I would definitely order the veggie loaf next time we do go! The salad, bread, and sweet potato fries are really the only thing I enjoy there. Kiddo liked the fish the first time he went, unfortunately that was gone last year. We barely eat anything off the main course, but the character interaction is great.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

Regarding the adorable Basin soaps ~

I caved and purchased several. After a few uses, the soaps began to fall apart....literally. Whatever is infused into the bar (stars, Mickey heads, etc.) separates from the base and soon you have individual stars, Mickey heads, whatever....instead of one solid bar of soap. It's a mess.

Yikes! Good to know! Ok, no soap then. Maybe just the body wash. I did purchase one body wash and am sparingly using it. Lemon. It smells delicious!

Where are the sweet potato fries?!?!?! Please tell me they aren't gone!!

I don't think we're eating there this year.. I keep going back and forth about it.
Based on your post I would definitely order the veggie loaf next time we do go! The salad, bread, and sweet potato fries are really the only thing I enjoy there. Kiddo liked the fish the first time he went, unfortunately that was gone last year. We barely eat anything off the main course, but the character interaction is great.

Yep, sweet potato fries are gone, which is what made me hedge about the ADR.

 

[21stamps]

Yikes! Good to know! Ok, no soap then. Maybe just the body wash. I did purchase one body wash and am sparingly using it. Lemon. It smells delicious!

Yep, sweet potato fries are gone, which is what made me hedge about the ADR.

Oh wow. I think that sealed the deal for me. As great as the characters are, I still can't justify it for bread and salad only...maybe if I wasn't still scarred from our experience last year.lol.

I think we'll either skip an adr altogether, or do Marrakesh or Spice Road.