Trip Report The "That Family Was So Bogus On Small World" Trip Report!

Ok guys just got back home after spending almost a week at Disney World! My family had an awesome time there. This was our second trip this year and was a lot better than our May trip! It's amazing what can change in 6 months with a 2 year olds attitude!

The cast is me, Steve (28), my wife Megan (31), and our 2 boys Landon (5), and Declan (2).

Our last trip in May Declan was awful! Didn't want to go on any rides or meet any characters and boy was this trip different for him! He loved everything and would literally run to the characters to give them hugs! He so made this trip worth it with doing that alone! As for my 5 year old, the title in the thread comes into play and we will get into that a little later!

Before our day to day activities I am going to do a run down of our experiences! I hope you enjoy reading about our families' experience as much as we enjoyed experiencing it!

 

[stevehousse]

Ok, here we go! We were in the world from Nov 12-17. DThis second trip in one year was unheard of for us! You can find my pre trip report on here (the why am I doing this pre trip report) if you are interested! Now, even since our kids were born we have not stayed at a Disney resort for almost 6 years! Not really by choice, but for expense purposes. This would actually be our very first trip with just us 4 as s family with no extended family joining us! Wow what a difference that makes alone!

Resort; we stayed at All Star Movies resort with free dining, upgraded dining of course! Wow was that a money saver! Neways, we loved our resort. I stayed at pop years ago, but never at all stars. I have been to Disney countless times and have stayed at all different levels.

We chose, well Landon chose All Stars because he wanted to stay with Woody and Buzz. We had a ground floor level room right in the heart of Andy's Room. Our room was cute, a little on the small side, but perfect for us as we only really spent time at the resort to sleep. We did not experience any rude or loud guests there and our resort at the time we stayed was not very crowded at all! Our room was clean and we really enjoyed staying there and would again! I think a lot of people on this board had me scared to stay there, but it was nothing like everyone on here said it would be!

MDE: I was actually impressed with how well the app was working while we were there and the wifi! I think only once did my app take an extra long time to load and had to exit an try again. It wa great being able to double check our fat pass times, even being able to switch times and experiences were very smooth. The only thing I couldn't do was change my FP time for TSMM. The only problem I actually had, was that when I changed our animal kingdom FPs around, it still would display our old times, so it looked like we had 6 FP experiences but really didn't and had no issues at the park because of it.

Dining: everywhere we ate we enjoyed and had no problems whatsoever! Great waitstaff, great food, and the kids had a blast at all the character meals!

Magic Bands: this one worried me the most with all the craziness I had read about! No worries though, as our bands worked flawlessly with no problems whatsoever! I think only 2 times I actually had to rescan my band to buy something in a store because it would not read the first time. I will say that our first day at MK it was very humid outside. My band was bothering me because of the sweat it was creating, but after that first day, it didn't happen again and I actually forgot at times that I was wearing it. I actually locked myself out of my room once because I thought I had it on when I really didn't. My son even "lost his band" (we will get to that later) at DHS and all we did was go to guest services and he got a new one, same color an all!

FP+: this worked great for us! I was able to switch times when I needed to, with the exception for TSMM. Since Delcan is only 2, and most of our fast passes were for the bigger rides, we ended up using the ride switch passes a lot, so usually me or my wife would have one unused FP that we didn't need to use because we had the ride switch pass. We only ended up using the old fast pass system once during our entire stay.

CMs: we encountered great CMs our entire stay! Friendly and helpful, not like anything that people on the board have talked about! (Rude and unhelpful cms were nowhere to be found here from the front desk, to the ride attendants and housekeepers! All super friendly)

Christmas Party: we had a blast! This was our first one and we all really enjoyed it! We are actually planning on going to the Halloween party next year!

Overall we had a fantastic stay and can't wait to go back! I can't wait to go over all the fun we had, from talking Mickey, apple bottom twins (lol, picture to come), character interactions, and a crazy scooter family that cannot be missed!

 

[tmc917]

I'm excited to hear about your trip. My son will be 2 and a half when we go next November.

 

[RandomPrincess]

My son is also 2 and he has as many mood swings as a preteen girl! Glad to hear you had a good trip, can't wait to read more.

 

[Zipadeelady]

Ready for more too!

 

[stevehousse]

I almost forgot! This one is a little weird. Ok it had to do with Photopass. We did use our bands to scan for pics. Megan was in change of makin sure she scanned her band for the photos, and I ended up doing it about 3 times.

However, when I looked on my photopass I saw 2 pictures that were of me, that I never scanned my band or any type of photopass media! They literally just showed up out of nowhere?!?

I was dumbfounded! How could this be? Like I said earlier, we used the ride switch for one of our rides at AK, dinosaur. Never scanned anything there but the photo of us showed in my phtot pass page! The other ride was just me when I went on splash mountain at the MVMCP all by myself and I only used the stand by line! I literally walks the que and was on, again no band scanned or any type of phtot pass card!

Just thought I would add that in because I was very surprised to see them just show up! Can anyone explain this?!?

 

[stevehousse]

Monday Nov 11

We arrived in Orlando around 5-6pm or so and our first night down would be at a hotel just outside the gates. We originally changed our plans and decided we wanted to arrive a day early. As I am writing this now I don't even remember the name of the hotel (oops) but it was of a holiday inn quality just outside the gates over near that mermaid gift shop...

Our first evening in town we decided to head over to Downtown Disney for dinner and to shop. We were all very hungry. Once we arrived the place was packed! We were able to grab a good parking spot and off we went!

We didnt really know where we wanted to eat, so we just decided on the first place we could find. We ate at Pollo Campero. I have never eaten here before and the food was good for what it was. I had the fried chicken and Spanish rice and pinto beans! We were so hungry so sorry for no pictures. I actually don't think I took many food pics now that I think of it! Megan had the burger and fries, and the boys both just wanted fries for dinner?!? After we ate we began to shop!

Really bad selfie with the kids! LOL

On a side note I dropped my phone while we were shopping and for some reason no matter how many times I restarted my camera, I couldn't get my selfie cam to function

After looking around for an hour we were tired! We had driven all night and day and we all went back to our hotel to go to bed early because the next day we would checking into our Disney resort and heading to the Magic Kingdom for our first park day!

 

[stevehousse]

Tuesday Nov 12

We were up bright and early! I am one of those people that for some reason I can always wake up early at Disney with no problem! We left our hotel around 8am. We drove over to All Star Movies and checked in!

Everything with our check in went smooth! And on top of it, our room was ready! I was very surprised it was considering it was only 830am. We got all our information and off we went to check our room out.

We were in the Toy Story section of the resort which was very close to the main lobby/ dining area and pool. It was small but quaint. The boys love it! We were right outside Andy's Room and the boys loved that they could look out the window and see Woody. We were in the Buzz building.

After we settled our things into the room we were off to the Magic Kingdom!

We parked and noticed the huge line for the tram! I hate riding the tram! I find it annoying...

Anyways we noticed how close we actually were to the front and figured we would rather walk than wait for the next tram to come along. We ended up beating that tram to the front!

We hoped on Monorail Peach and off we went!

We decided to head over and first meet Mickey before we did anything else! Te boys were both very excited! I asked Declan if he wanted to give Mickey a hug when he saw him and he shook his head yes with a big smile on his face!

Now I told you our last trip back in May, Declan didn't want anything to do with the characters whatsoever and this trip was so different! He literally ran up to everyone we would meet!

 

[stevehousse]

 

[stevehousse]

Sorry I do not know how to make that video anything other than flash! I got it off my Facebook...

So after our visit with Talking Mickey, we headed across the way to the hat store on Main Street! Declan ended up with McQueen ears!

And Landon had Sorcerer Mickey ears!

PS: this photo is actually from our day at Animal Kingdom! I didn't realize I never got a photo at MK with him in his new ears!

We moved along Main Street and ended up here!

I would say the crowd at MK today was not crowded but just crowded enough to make the park seem full! We went to go ride Buzz but the line said 30 minutes but we spotted Someone the boys wanted to see and decided to pay him a visit first before going on the ride! Maybe the line would be shorter by then...

 

[stevehousse]

We ended up meeting Buzz! The boys loved it! The Toy Story movies are their favorite! After they took their picture we headed over to buzz. We waited a good 15 minutes and was on! Declan and I "won" for best score! Megan and Landon always try to beat us but we always win! We then hopped on the Peoplemover.

Once we got off, we noticed the time and it was almost time for our Be Our Guest FP lunch that we were able to grab!

We parked the strollers and headed toward the bridge. I really wish I would have taken a picture of the line to get in! It was all the way down the bridge, wrapped around, and ended at the entrance to Gaston's Tavern!?! We made our way to the FP line and were immediately greeted. There were 2 CMs helping FP guests check in. When I walked up to confirm, I noticed the lady next to us was so confused as to why she couldn't make a FP for BoG! The CM told her 3 times that they are just in test mode and you have to be invited! I smiled as I heard this, one because I thought it was funny I got to "cut" all these people in line, and 2 because I knew the "secret" about actually being able to sign up without an official invite! I felt special! LOL The CM then directed us immediately down the bridge.

Obligatory gargoyle shot!

So before I begin this part of the story I have to back up for a moment. So far, we used our MB to get into our room, scanned at the entrance to the park, and also bought the kids hats with using the MB. All worked flawlessly, and that would be the story for the rest of the trip with the exception of the incident at BOG. I honestly don't even know if it was my band or the rose that malfunctioned.

So we get to the doors and were greeted by another CM. She confirmed our party and I told her I wanted to only use 3 dining credits and pay for the rest OOP. It was only a kid meal an a cupcake I needed to pay for. So we waited for about 3 minutes and were at another podium. The cm scanned by band, confirmed out order, then grabbed a rose and scanned it. We then were told I go to checkout. The CM scanned our rose, and our order didn't show up. He tried scanning it a good 4 times before he gave up. He apologized and asked us to give him our order. We had to think for a second because we had a few modifications for some of the food, and had to think about it, even though our order had just been read back to us just a few minutes earlier...LOL

Anyways, we re ordered, an I went to swipe my band to pay. Nothing showed up. I scanned my band twice and nothing. Megan scanned her band and it went through! All during the little fiasco, Declan had managed to grab 2 other roses from the lower counter where they were keeping them, and we got our rose mixed up! We ended up having to take all 3 to our table because we didn't want our food not to show up to us! LOL

We grabbed our seat and honestly waited a good 5 minutes and our food arrived! The boys had the pasta, Megan had the turkey sandwich which was really good, and I got the braised pork which was really really good!

We got all 4 different cupcakes for dessert and they all were very good.

When we finished eating we went around the restaurant to take photos!

Um, yeah, this is a big no no!

It was just about 1, so our first fp+ ride was up, Haunted Mansion. Landon loves this ride! After our mansion tour, we headed back to Fantasy Land to do Phillarmagic and It's a Small World!

 

[Cesar R M]

oh gods, the tablet photographer... XD

 

[stevehousse]

So we waiting a few minutes for Phillarmagic and enjoyed it! I actually haven't seen it for a few years, so it was nice seeing it with the boys. Declan loves Donald Duck. Surprisingly, the boys didn't want to ride the Merry go round? They seriously make us take them on the one at our mall everytime we go there, but not at Disney? We checked out its a small world and waited a good 10 minutes. And don't worry folks, because the title of my report actually comes from our second excursion around the small world!

After our world tour, we headed back toward Frontierland because we had our other FP+ Coming up. We wanted to do something new that we always said we would do, but never have! Tom Sawyers Island first! We hoped a ride on the boat and were there in a quick 2 minute trip! We got off the boat and walked around the corner and were greated, or should I say "welcummed" to the Island!

I guess the 12 year old boy inside me thought this was hysterical and inappropriate all at the same time!

So we hung around for a good 1/2 hour touring the island and ended up walking the barrel bridge more times than I could count! It was the boys favorite thing there.

 

[Zipadeelady]

Glad to hear some love to Tom Sawyer Island. We are going in 3 weeks and sadly have never been on the island. It is a must for this trip!!

 

[stevehousse]

Once we were off the boat from out trip to Tom Sawyers Island, our next FP were up. Splash Mountain was first. We grabbed a ride swap pass for that and also for our big thunder FP we had after splash. Landon changed his mind and did not want to go on splash mountain! he went on it last year and the drops scared him so he didn't want to ride. No worries though, as I used the ride swap to quickly run on while Megan and the boys grabbed a popcorn and waited for me. Splash is my favorite ride! Everything was working great! While I was in the boat I managed to change our splash FPs which were going to go unused, and changed to the Jingle Cruise for a little later in the evening no problem!

Once it was off, we still had a little time to kill before big thunder FP went through so we decided to meet Woody and Jessie! After that it was time for Big Thunder Mountain. Me and Landon scanned out bands and we were on! Front row! He loves this ride and I made him out his hands up! He loved it!

Me and Megan switched places, and her and Landon used the ride swap pass to get right back on! Once we were done, we headed over to ride Pirates of the Carribean! 5 minute wait, sure! However once we were around the corner to board, the ride went down. We waited a good 15 minutes before we were able to take our journey! I really wanted a dole whip but for some reason the line was insane! I told the fam I would just get one when we go back for jingle cruise! Since we had toured most of the park, we decided to make our way back around again to try and reride some rides...

Also, since Megan had used the ride swap pass for big thunder, leaving one FP left over, I switched it to Space Mountain so I could ride it! We made our way back around toward the tangled area. Megan's phone was about to die so she needed a recharge!

I asked the boys what they wanted to ride, the carousel or small world again? Of course the chose small world! So I took the boys to hop in line and as we approached the entrance, it had a 40 min wait time listed!!! I was almost about to say forget it, but I took a good long look at the line and realized that there is no way it would a 40 minute wait. No joke, 5 minutes later we were riding! I don't think I've ever seen a more off wait time before!

Now as we boarded our boat, the family that had been sitting in our seats prior must have spilt their water bottle because as we boarded Landon got in first and went to the end, I went to sit Declan down, when I noticed a small puddle of water in the seat. I kept Declan in my lap and we were off. The whole time that little puddle of water was sloshing back and forth almost getting up wet! I looked at my son and told him " that family was so bogusfor spilling their water!" Of course I now had a 5 year old giggling his socks off at my statement! We got of the ride and headed back to meet Megan! As we approached her, Landon shouts out," mommy, that family on small world was so bogus!" And laughed hysterically. She have me a funny look as I had to explain. I honestly think he had me tell that story a good 30 times that week we were there! Everything we talked about always seemed to come back to that bogus family on small world!

Megan's phone was still charging and she was all for just relaxing (she was getting blisters, I told her not to wear her old flip flops, but of course she never listened to my advice) and told me to take the boys on another ride. We waited a good 20 minutes for Pooh, and the boys loved it! Megan and myself are not too fond of Pooh bear, but the boys like him! I figured she would be relieved she wouldn't have to ride! LOL

After our journey through the Hundred Acre Wood, we swung back around to grab Megan. We headed over by Dumbo and took a spin!

This ride looks so pretty at night!

So it was about time for my trip into space, I ran on the ride and was off a few minutes later!

I was very excited I got to ride because I haven't been on it our last 2 trips! We hoped on Buzz and did that after. Our FP for Jingle Cruise weren't up just yet, so we hopped on the people mover and boy was that a mistake!

 

[stevehousse]

So it was a little after 630 and our FP+ for Jingle Cruise was from 7-8. We had planned to e at the ride right at 7, because we were gonna leave the park after that for our 8pm reservation at Chef Mickeys! This people mover ride stopped at total of 4 times and we were on it for a full half hour! Ugh! At least I managed to get a picture of te castle all lit up!

Not the best picture because this was taken when we were actually moving!

So it's 7 an we rushed over to Jingle Cruise! But I had to get a better shot of the castle!

Ok so not the best photo taker, but it works!

We arrived at the Jingle Cruise and the FP line was out the door! Ugh! It was about 715 when we hopped in line, and we had barely moved! 730 came along and we didn't want to wait for the ride because we knew we would be late for dinner for sure if we stayed. We figured we would just go on it at the Xmas party later that week!

We made our way out of the Kingdom and hopped the monorail to Contemporary.

 

[RandomPrincess]

I hope that was water and not something else.

 

[ginadee]

Glad to hear some love to Tom Sawyer Island. We are going in 3 weeks and sadly have never been on the island. It is a must for this trip!!

Tom Sawyer Island will be a first for me this trip too.

 

[stevehousse]

Tom Sawyer Island will be a first for me this trip too.

Of all the times I have been to Magic Kingdom this was the first time I ever went here! It was relaxing an fun to explore all the caves! We will Definately do it again in the future! I will say though that the pop machine ate my money on the island!!!

 

[stevehousse]

So we arrived for dinner, checked in, and waited about 5 minutes before we were sat at our table. Our server greeted us immediately and took our drink order. He was very good throughout our service, lots of refills on our drinks. Always removing our finished plates very fast, and was also very helpful with letting us know if characters were about to be near us!
All the characters came by and had a fun time with the boys.

This was our first time dining at Chef Mickeys and we loved it! We would definitely go again! The food was really good! I really liked the sushi they had there...

After dinner it was just a few minutes after 9, so we walked outside onto the terrace an watched the rest of Wishes from up there. Once that was over we had planned earlier to go back to MK to watch the late MSEP, but we were all tired and of course Megan's feet were hurting her, so we opted out and headed back to our resort!