Trip Report The I'm Ditching the Spreadsheets....an Unrecognizable Trip!

We arrived home around 10pm last night from our Disney vacation. The planning for this trip started in March, but by September it was not even close to the original. So how did it all turn out? Did I make the correct decisions? Was this trip as hectic as the last one? Should I have cancelled so many dining reservations? Did we miss too much because upon arrival I decided to rip up the spread sheets..the same ones that I so painstakingly obsessed over?! I'm thinking about all of this as I am attempting to organize my 609,504,302 photos.

There were a few hiccups, including my Etsy order not arriving in time, sprinting to the Magical Express just as the doors closed, leaving our Elf on the Shelf in the room after check out, getting stuck on a ride, a missing boat captain, broken ornaments, and a horrible 3 hour lunch. All in all it was an amazing trip. I do not regret the decision to change from the original plans, or the second, or the 3rd, or even the plans I had when we were on the plane heading to Orlando. I decided to throw out most of them and take a (semi) wing it approach.

 

[21stamps]

We walk around on the Boardwalk for a bit, stop for an ice cream, and then call an Uber to pick us up in front of BWI.
I had to take a few photos of their lobby decorations.

Now back to charge my phone and get ready for Chef Mickey's!!!

 

[21stamps]

We get back to WL, go up to the room. I hand T his outfit, and tell him to jump in the shower.
"Mommy, I don't need to go eat at Chef Mickey's. Let's just stay here."

Inside my head I am yelling--
What?!?!?! I searched for almost 2 months for these reservations!!!! And- we have the stupid dining plan these 3 nights..we've only used one Table Service credit.

I look at him, and ask "Are you sure? Don't you want to go eat and see Mickey, Minnie, Donald, etc. with the monorail above us?"

T- "No, I'd rather just swim."

Me- "Really? We're at Disney World. This is our last chance to eat with characters before we leave. I think you will enjoy it."

T- "I just want to swim. And hunt for Hidden Mickeys. And play games. Can we just go to Chef Mickey's next time?"

Me- "Ok, fine. We'll go eat here and then go to the pool."

Crazy kid. But, I called to cancel Chef Mickey.

We went to Territory Lounge for dinner. It was really good actually. We just ordered a bunch of apps and a salad. Bonus, I had a DELICIOUS much needed Habanero Margarita.

Dining Plan Used Credit Count-
Table Service - 2 out of 6
Counter Service- 2 out of 6
Snack - 2 out of 6
1 day remaining.

 

[21stamps]

Finish our food and beverages at Territory Lounge, then a quick stop at the room to change.

I am not swimming in this cold weather, but I will go in the hot tub. I watched him go down the slide a few times, then we went to sit and relax in water that I can tolerate.

He became bored after about 20 minutes..

Back to the pool we go..

This kid is in heaven when on a pool slide.lol

I was freezing - sweat pants, sweatshirt, zip up hoodie over my sweatshirt, socks, and gym shoes over my bathing suit.

Who are these crazy people swimming in December?!

I finally convince him to go back to the room and change for our Hidden Mickey hunt.

 

[amjt660]

We complete the course. T beat me.
Then he wants to do the "kiddie side" too. So, we go back to the front and wait about 15 minutes to do the other side. We got stuck behind a party of 8!!!! All playing together...slowwwwwlllllyyy. 3 of the women were wearing high heels. It was kind of funny.
Anyway, the waiting was excruciating. We would be here for another 2 hours, and we have Chef Mickey reservations.
I finally asked if they would mind if we wet ahead of them. ( No one was playing on the hole in front. )
They said "No problem" and I had to stop myself from visibly celebrating. We skipped the 5th hole and went ahead.
Things went A LOT faster after that.

Hole in one smug face bottom right.
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We finished up. Total time at Fantasia Gardens- 3 hours and 17 minutes.

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On our trip in December we did the fun course
My family is not golfers so the thought of doing a "boring" actual golf course was poo poo'd by all but me
Glad you did both and were able to "play through" past the slow party

Max

 

[MomofPrincessGrace]

I finally asked if they would mind if we wet ahead of them. ( No one was playing on the hole in front. )
They said "No problem" and I had to stop myself from visibly celebrating. We skipped the 5th hole and went ahead.
Things went A LOT faster after that.

My daughter loves mini golf and we ALWAYS get stuck behind a large group or a family of 4 playing extremely slow. I have asked to skip ahead many time because I know my frustration from waiting is showing and I dont want those ahead of use to have to feel rushed.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Oh, The dining credits are making me so sad LOL.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

I was freezing - sweat pants, sweatshirt, zip up hoodie over my sweatshirt, socks, and gym shoes over my bathing suit.

Who are these crazy people swimming in December?!

Kids must have some super resistance to cool weather especially when a pool and a slide are involved. I would be wearing the sweats myself.

I always thought the max for a group at the mini-golf was 6. People should have been thoughtful and asked you to go in front of them instead of you having to bring it up.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

Oh, The dining credits are making me so sad LOL.

I know, right? Dining credits? I could go for some dining credits.

 

[21stamps]

My daughter loves mini golf and we ALWAYS get stuck behind a large group or a family of 4 playing extremely slow. I have asked to skip ahead many time because I know my frustration from waiting is showing and I dont want those ahead of use to have to feel rushed.

Ugh it stinks!!!
What even made the problem worse was that the people behind us were waiting too. So then I felt rushed. It was really annoying.

Oh, The dining credits are making me so sad LOL.

Trust me, it's making me sad as well. Lol

On our trip in December we did the fun course
My family is not golfers so the thought of doing a "boring" actual golf course was poo poo'd by all but me
Glad you did both and were able to "play through" past the slow party

Max

Thanks! I am not a golfer either!!!

Kids must have some super resistance to cool weather especially when a pool and a slide are involved. I would be wearing the sweats myself.

I always thought the max for a group at the mini-golf was 6. People should have been thoughtful and asked you to go in front of them instead of you having to bring it up.

I agree with you about the super resistance!

The person at the front desk told them to play in 2 groups of 4. They didn't.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

The person at the front desk told them to play in 2 groups of 4. They didn't

I cannot stand people like that. Really, like it would have hurt to have played in 2 groups? The inconsiderateness of some people. Hopefully they got sprayed by the hole with the water.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

We went to Territory Lounge for dinner.

Just checked out the menu. It sounds great! Appetizers for dinner is always a win! So, it is ok to bring kids there? Mine are pretty well behaved in restaurants, so I have no issues with behavior. Just want to make sure it is not frowned upon.

 

[21stamps]

Ok guys, here is where I made a mistake. On our way to the concierge desk for Hidden Mickey papers, my son stops at a desk with a book- opened to a photo of Poly. He exclaims- "Mommy, here's my favorite pool at Disney World!"
A woman walks over and starts talking to him, offering stickers.
Then she starts talking to me.

"Have you thought about DVC? You would save a lot of money. Would you like to take a tour?"

Side note- while we were at GF there was an older woman who was on the same lobby coffee schedule as me. We chatted every day. On the 4th day, she told me that they took the tour and purchased at Poly. She was excited. I said that I was happy for her, but DVC isn't for me.

So now, the DVC barker is telling me the same thing as the GF woman. Maybe I really should buy into Poly?
I had a weak moment.. I decline the tour, but I agree to have a DVC rep contact me the following week.

We go on our way as my brain starts churning and doing the math.. T is happily sporting his newly decorate shirt.

No time for deep thought right now..I'll revisit this later.

Time to find some Mickeys!!
We collect our papers from the desk, and start at the Villas.

Omg. This lobby is Gorgeous!

We walk into another room (thanks for the tip @epcotisbest !) admire the trains, and then decide to play a game of checkers before we start the hunt.

 

[21stamps]

I cannot stand people like that. Really, like it would have hurt to have played in 2 groups? The inconsiderateness of some people. Hopefully they got sprayed by the hole with the water.

Ha ha. We left way before them, so I didn't see..but I hope so too!

Just checked out the menu. It sounds great! Appetizers for dinner is always a win! So, it is ok to bring kids there? Mine are pretty well behaved in restaurants, so I have no issues with behavior. Just want to make sure it is not frowned upon.

I have had dinner with T, age 5 and age 6, at-
Tamboo Lounge
Mizner's
Garden View Champagne and Wine Lounge (I think this was a temporary thing)
Trader Sam's
Territory Lounge

There was a thread on here a while ago where a lot of posters said kids shouldn't be in the lounges. I disagree with that. If a child is well behaved there is no reason not to go. It's Disney World. Most people aren't going to lounges to get wasted.
It's a great way to eat food from signature restaurants without reservations... or just have a good meal and great drinks without reservations. We've never received dirty looks from other patrons, and our servers have always been great with T- making him fun non alcoholic fruity concoctions. He loves it. It's always a fun relaxing time.

 

[21stamps]

Here's what I discovered-
I am HORRIBLE at finding Hidden Mickeys!!!

We even had strangers helping us.lol. A man and woman asked what we were doing, they had never heard of it, looked at the clues with us, and we all searched the lobby..over and over. I think we found a grand total of 3.lol. I'll have to check the papers when I get home tonight. We kept them, because obviously we couldn't turn our failed hunt in and get a prize

Found 1!!!

This was not easy!!

I don't advocate giving up on something.. but, I'm giving up on this.lol
We decide to go back to the main lodge and try to complete that worksheet.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

Here's what I discovered-
I am HORRIBLE at finding Hidden Mickeys!!!

We even had strangers helping us.lol. A man and woman asked what we were doing, they had never heard of it, looked at the clues with us, and we all searched the lobby..over and over. I think we found a grand total of 3.lol. I'll have to check the papers when I get home tonight. We kept them, because obviously we couldn't turn our failed hunt in and get a prize

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Found 1!!!
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This was not easy!!
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I don't advocate giving up on something.. but, I'm giving up on this.lol
We decide to go back to the main lodge and try to complete that worksheet.
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Do you know if all the resorts have a hidden Mickey quest?

 

[wishiwere@wdw]

We leave Tomorrowland and make our way to Dumbo to use our next FP.
Yes, I used a FP for Dumbo. Originally we had a FP for Buzz at 8pm, I knew at dinner that we wouldn't make it. Had to switch to something else, unfortunately, not many options to choose from.
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It was a mega waste of a FP. Not bc the line was short, but because my son wanted to play inside instead of going out to the ride.
Oh well, he was having fun. We had never stopped at this play area before, it was actually quite cute! I typically try to avoid the play areas, learned my lesson at Mission Space in 2015... took me forever to get him out of there.lol
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We go outside to board the ride.. and this happens
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It's now our 6th consecutive night seeing Wishes, so I wasn't too concerned about where we watched the fireworks from. Turns out- The Dumbo ride is a wonderful option

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I tried to take a selfie of us with the fireworks in background.. "tried" being the key word.
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We exit Dumbo and continue to watch. I thought this sign was appropriately perfect
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A few more Wishes pics.. I took a video for my niece who is a tad Ariel obsessed.
Here's a few screen shots.

It was gorgeous. Turned out to be a great spot!
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Awesome report... although I'm still catching up! I cracked up over your mission space play area comment. I couldn't get my son out of there either. And being that he was my responsibility and I didn't want to have to explain to his mom how and why I lost him, I ended up climbing in lol. Torture that was. Needless to say, we haven't done that again!

 

[21stamps]

Awesome report... although I'm still catching up! I cracked up over your mission space play area comment. I couldn't get my son out of there either. And being that he was my responsibility and I didn't want to have to explain to his mom how and why I lost him, I ended up climbing in lol. Torture that was. Needless to say, we haven't done that again!

Ha ha!! Thanks. I'm glad I'm not the only one!! I almost climbed in myself.lol

Do you know if all the resorts have a hidden Mickey quest?

I'm not sure. I know they all have Hidden Mickeys, not certain about the papers though.. this was the first I've heard of it.

 

[Tuvalu]

Do you know if all the resorts have a hidden Mickey quest?

I'm not sure. I know they all have Hidden Mickeys, not certain about the papers though.. this was the first I've heard of it.

I believe the Hidden Mickey hunt is unique to WL.

 

[21stamps]

Found one of our Hidden Mickey papers (sorry about the spilled coffee lol)

Apparently we only found 2. We searched that stupid phone room for probably 20 minutes..with helpers!! Never found it

We did find 1 at the main lodge, but I think I threw that away. Now I can throw this one away too.lol. I've had it in a plastic bag to take a photo of our failure to save.. this trip report made me finally accomplish something.lol
@Courtney6682 I will find the pins this weekend!

Here's our mini golf sheets, T didn't get his 5 holes in One, or even one of them on the first course. He did beat me both times though.
This is why I don't play golf.

We were one less hole on this one, I just forgot to skip it at the time.

 

[21stamps]

I believe the Hidden Mickey hunt is unique to WL.

Ha. That's kind of neat. The people we met hadn't heard of it. They just asked why we were searching the lobby. I wouldn't have known if it wasn't for a person on this site.