Trip Report The "We didn't eat any cupcakes AGAIN?!?" Trip Report

SO sorry for the delay in posting this up! It's been absolutely nuts since we returned. I'm working on posting this in chunks here over the next day or two so bare with me! Keep checking back for more updates! Fingers crossed that the photos work! LOL!

 

[ExtinctJenn]

Sunday (12/1) Day 1 - Travel Day

My goal for this morning was to be on the road by 8am and we managed to be out the door and on the road about 7:45!I knew that we'd probably run into a little bit of traffic being the weekend after Thanksgiving but I didn't expect to come to a complete stop on the Interstates as much as we did. It took a little longer than I would've liked but we got into Atlantic Beach about 2:30 which was actually not bad at all.

We knew we probably couldn't check into our hotel until 3:00 and that, unlike WDW's properties, most chain hotels were pretty strict about that (even if they had 30 rooms ready) so rather than even attempt it, we drove past our hotel and out to the beach. We had promised Aaron that we'd give him some real beach time this trip because in March it was just too cold and we left as soon as we got there. As is typical as you drive closer to the coast, we watched the temperature slowly drop but it was about 60 right at the beach so off we went!

The main thing Aaron wanted to do was play in the sand. It had rained before we arrived so the sand was pretty wet but that was perfect for him to build a little sand man.

After the beach we went to check in at our hotel and realized after bringing everything in that we were really hungry. It just so happened the hotel we were in was right next door to one of our favorite restaurants (Bono's) so we walked over for an early dinner around 4:15ish. After we filled up on BBQ goodness it was time for Aaron to bang out some of his math homework!

After FaceTime with Gringa (Aaron's grandmother) and some snacks and iPad time, it was time for bed. We all went to sleep pretty early and got ourselves ready for the next day!

 

[ExtinctJenn]

Monday (12/2) Day 2 - Arrival Day

As is typical on arrival day we all woke up in an awesome "let's do this" kind of mood. We took our time and though we left a little behind schedule it didn't really matter. The drive was smooth sailing until we got about 30 minutes out from property and then we ran into traffic.

Once through our little traffic hiccup I-4 was clear and we found ourselves driving under the welcome sign at 9:51a and pulling up to this at 9:54am!

Unlike our last arrival at CBR back in 2007, we were able to find a parking spot really quickly and got in to check-in. I had done online check-in and said we'd arrive at 9am so we were good there. I had requested a room in Jamaica and added the preference of a corner room but I know it's always iffy what you get.

There was a bit of line to check-in (even for online check-in) but a few minutes later off we went to our corner room in Jamaica (I love online check-in)!

First let me just say how much I love the refurb of these rooms. The last time we were here it felt a little over colorized but these rooms are just beautiful now.

When we booked the CM explained the fridge thing to me (which I of course already knew about) but noted on the reservation that we'd like one if possible. We were incredibly pleased to check and find our fridge plugged in and operational so even better!

Today's plan was to take it easy, resort hop and have dinner at Chef Mickey's at 5:15pm so after we unpacked we headed over to Port Royale to wander, pick up some food and show Aaron the pool (he was only a year old last time we were here).

Bill and I each ordered the Cuban. I was a bit disappointed when they came out looking like this. They were good but Cubans should come on panini not a squashed sub roll. Meh.

We also picked up our first cupcake of the trip. We had planned to get as many as we could since in March that plan fell through. How'd we do? Well... these (one of each) were the only cupcakes we had all trip. *sigh* Fail again!

The first resort on our agenda? Yacht & Beach Club! So why are these next pictures of The Boardwalk? Well because I'm a dummy and we turned left too early so we decided to start here and then walk around to Beach Club! LOL

 

[ExtinctJenn]

A little before 2:00 we finished our fun at these resorts and decided that since we had dinner at 5:15, we'd head to the Contemporary, check out their decorations, take in a little shopping (Aaron had been checking every shop for the Mickey outfit for Duffy), grab a boat to Wilderness Lodge and then come back for dinner.

(he kicked my butt)

Unbelievably this plan took shape perfectly. Not only did the Contemporary shop have the outfit Aaron wanted but the timing was great! We got back to the Contemporary about 4:00 and headed over to see the tree in the lobby of the tower and then up to walk the bridge back in.

We took a seat in the lounge beside Chef Mickey's at about 4:15. There wasn't anyone at the podium yet to check us in so we waited with a few other families apparently doing the same thing. At 4:45 I went up to check-in with another family in front of us. Turned out they had been sitting there 2 hours hoping to get in as a walk-up. They weren't too happy when they found out they would be looking at another 2 hours potentially before they could be seated but I gotta admit, I had little sympathy for them. When I checked in I asked if Aaron could do the opening (since we were first) and the woman said they weren't ready yet. I thought that meant when they were they'd let us know but nope... that kinda ticked me off but we hadn't built it up for Aaron or anything so it was all good.

Everything on this buffet was absolutely yummy. It was a fantastic way to start what is always some of the best eating we do!

A little back story here...

Aaron has been visiting WDW since he was 10m old. His first couple trips he was fine with the characters. Not afraid but also not truly "into it" if that makes any sense. He was pretty young afterall. Then he went through a phase on one trip where he was petrified of them followed by more where he was excited but didn't really interact much or anything.

For those that aren't familiar with our story, Aaron suffers from Pediatric Bipolar Disorder. Lots of folks know what Bipolar is but in kids it's very different. It's extreme mood swings often with unfounded fears or emotions that are blown out of propotion to what they are associated with. Much of what he experiences is on the autistic spectrum so very often you don't know what you're gonna get. He is undoubtedly at his best when he's at WDW however. He'll have an issue here and there but a lot less frequently than anywhere else.

 

[ExtinctJenn]

For whatever reason, this was the trip to start a new phase. He was absolutely extactic each time a character was nearing our table. He was smiling bigger than I've seen in a long time and in almost every case was bouncing up and down in his seat. We decided this trip he'd have every character he met hold Duffy for the photos and that just seemed to highten the intensity of his excitement. He'd ask them quietly to do it and when they took him he'd just light up. Honestly this trip made for some of the best character interactions we've ever had.

After dinner we hopped onto the monorail to head to the Poly and check out their decorations. Being the first time we've done this we focused only on the lobby's of each resort. I found out later that we missed out on some great stuff outside. Oh well... next time!

While at the Poly we came across this little baby... Bill being a huge Grumpy fan, there was no passing this one up, we had to grab it!

After the Poly (where I tried to get another cupcake and failed) we headed over to the Grand Floridian. Aaron absolutely loved the gingerbread house but as typical we had to drag him away from it else he'd want to spend our entire budget the first night.

Once back at the Contemporary we headed out to our car but stopped to check out the tree outside now that it was lit up. While out there I noticed one of the rooms in the resort had their entire railing covered in lights. So cool!

By now Aaron was exhausted so we hopped into the car and headed back for a great night's sleep at the resort!

 

[ExtinctJenn]

Tuesday (12/3) Day 3 - DHS/Epcot Day

So first let me give some background on what today looked like for us. This was to be our first experience with FP+ and also an odd day where we had to hop back and forth. We had a 9am FP selected for TSMM and a 12pm FP selected for RNR. This was followed by a 3:30 ADR at Garden Grill and then a FP selection for Fantasmic! So, we were going to have to hop to Epcot for dinner and then run back. It was the only day we were really oddly setup like that but we weren't sure how it'd all go.

We drove over to DHS and arrived at about 8:30 so we got a nice close parking spot. We headed in and joined the crowd waiting for rope drop and realized it was literally the first time we'd ever been there for opening. Maybe I wrongly assumed it but of all the places you'd think there'd be some sort of opening show, DHS would be it but nada huh?

Last time we rode TSMM Aaron was going through a tough day. He was terrifed to ride it until 30 seconds after we got into the ride vehicle (i.e. the queue wait was excrutiating). This time, as seemed to be the theme for the trip, he was beyond excited and practically ran to get there with us. This was also the first time that he actually played the game vs. sitting in between Bill and I watching. The idea was to let him win but with Bill behind us and unable to see his score, Bill won, Aaron second and me third (because I didn't pull my trigger much at all lol).

After TSMM Aaron wanted to go to One Man's Dream which is one of his very favorite attractions at DHS (he's so my kid huh?) so off we went! It'd been a long time since we stayed for the show and as we were one of two familes in the attraction (that's so sad) they held the movie to start until we were ready. At first Aaron didn't want to watch it but once it started he was fixated, quietly listening to every word Walt was saying.

While Bill took a smoke break I sent Aaron over to pose with the truck outside the Backlot tour but we didn't do it this time. Not much has changed and it's just sort of sad for me each time we ride it so I was absolutely fine with skipping it.

While Bill was smoking Aaron and I had a conversation about Tower of Terror. The past 2 trips we've taken he was tall enough to ride it and said he would but chickened out the day we were at the park. He'd nonchalantly say "we don't have enough time, let's just do it next trip" and we'd move on. This time I mentioned that daddy could go grab a FP for it so we'd at least have our place in line saved and he could decide once we got there. He went for it so while he had some time to play in the HISTK play area, Bill ran over to ToT to grab a FP.

Next up... Droids! No, not Star Tours (makes me nausiated and Aaron's not a huge fan) but the Droid Factory in the gift shop! At first it was just supposed to be me making a droid (Aaron made one last time) but we decided at the last minute to do the 2-pack and each made one!

Before ToT we decided we needed to get some food in our bellies. We hadn't eaten a thing all day but had drank a lot and had that lovely "slosh" going on. We stopped into Starring Rolls where we planned to get another of the cupcakes on our list but instead came out with two of these babies. The plan was to come back later to get the cupcakes to go so that we didn't have to carry them around the rest of the day. Unfortunately what we didn't know was what time they closed and we ended up misisng the opportunity.

Then... off to ToT! While we were in the queue Aaron was getting nervous but he kept smiling. I asked him to show me his ToT face and this is what I got:

Once we were in the basement part of the queue his face changed completely. He wasn't smiling and looked really worried. He said a couple times that he was scared and we told him he'd be fine and, as the theme proved, he was great about it. He was definitely on the borderline of terrified and excited the entire time we waited and once we were put into our elevator he began gripping onto Duffy so hard I thought he'd pop a stitch. He did awesome though and came off smiling. He said he loved it but doesn't want to do it again until he's 10. LOL!

(that's us front right)

Part of our agreement with Aaron was that anytime he rode something new for the first time, he'd get to pick a souvenir from the gift shop. This "You can check in but you can't chicken out!" necklace was his pick!

After ToT, Aaron and I headed over to RNR to prepare for our 12:00 FP while Bill took a smoke break. It was about 11:38 so we had some time to kill.

We checked out the little gift stand outside and picked up these things called "Schwings" for Aaron's shoes (yes I picture Waynes World too).

Then it was time to ride! Aaron rode this for the first time in March and still loves it. Absolutely no nerves at all.

(dang lights)

After RNR we decided we'd really done everything we wanted to do at DHS until later. We had debated how we'd handle our hop to and from Epcot but landed on using the bus system (something we'd never done). We didn't have to wait long for the bus to come and we were off!

We arrived at Epcot a little before 1:00 and realized we had a ton of time to do some Future World stuff before dinner (something we hadn't counted on). First up? Spaceship Earth (Aaron's favorite - again... so my kid huh?)!

After SSE we wandered over toward Imagination. While Bill had a break, Aaron borrowed my phone and took this awesome picture of Duffy!

 

[ExtinctJenn]

Next up... Imagination! I really do this ride just to close my eyes and remember what it used to be but Aaron enjoys it so I am always up for it. Typically it's literally just walk right on but much to my surprise there was actually a wait! Not a long one but maybe about 10 minutes or so. I'd say it's because of FP+ but not a single person went up the FP line while we were there nor did we see any waiting at the top.

Another one of Aaron's favorites is Living With the Land so we decided to head over to the Land pavilion next. As we walked in we decided to "force" Aaron into Circle of Life. Never had he seen the show and he was being so agreeable that we just sort of told him we were going and that was it. Again, he loved it.

Living with the Land was up next... sadly with zero wait. I found it kind of funny that with literally 5 people walking into the area to board a boat they were still asking "how many" as if they had to ensure they seated everyone with enough room for more.

We got off the Land at about 2:35 and realized we still had tons of time so we ventured back out and over to the Seas to visit Nemo and Friends.

As a side note, the FP entry door here is one of those perfect examples of why I take what I read on these forums with a grain of salt... I remember when they first started construction to build the door people were reporting with 100% certainty that it was a special entry for Turtle Talk.

I was really disappointed as once again the angler fish scene was static. I think it's been 3 trips ago that he was actually working. Someone needs to get a "Disco Angler" thread going! LOL!

Now, I need someone who has gone in the past few days to check me on this but I think one of the manatees in the tank wasn't doing so good. He was just sort of floating at the top of the water each time we went back in here while his partner was swimming around, eating lettuce. He never moved a flipper or his tail and just sort of floated from one side of the tank and back. It bugged me a lot actually to see it.

Anyway... after we found the hidden Mickey and let Aaron talk to some fish we headed back into the Land to check in for lunch. We were a few minutes early so I also requested a booth as the last two times we've gone we had a table and Aaron really wants to be able to stand up and watch the attraction scenes. At just about 3:30 on the nose we were seated in a booth and started our rotation!

The characters here are always great and this time was no exception. We had so much fun with them, laughing our heads off at some points. Near the end of our meal we (as tends to happen) got to see everyone twice. Chip was about two tables away and Mickey rounded the corner to our table (for the 2nd time). Between him and chip a large group had just left and their table was being bussed so Mickey had a seat with Aaron and hung out with us. Aaron was beside himself. He thought it was the coolest thing ever and was laughing so hard. Mickey asked if he could have a sip of his drink and of course he shared and then she had a laugh when he couldn't quite get the straw in his mouth. It was just a wonderful moment.

As I was waiting to sign our receipt, Dale made his way back around and insisted on (once again - see above photos) keeping Aaron's head out of the shot. Another hilarious moment.

It was 4:45pm when we had finished up so we headed back to the bus stop to hitch a ride back over to DHS. This bus was a lot more full and watching the morons who don't know how to wait in line for a bus was quite funny (ask me what I mean if you want to know more) but we had a seat and made our way.

First stop... the very first kiosk we found selling Glow WIth the Show ears!

Now here's my official review on whether or not to use Fantasmic! as one of your FP+ selections: DON'T! It's a complete and total waste of a FP selection. Here's why: First, you use the same exact entrance location as everyone else, you just get to go in on the left side of the rope vs. the right. At the time you are given to arrive, the huge long line of people has already pretty much been seated so it's not like you're walking past it. Once you get to where the FP kiosks are, the stand by line goes to the right and comes up into the theater where the dining package used to enter. The FP line then merges with it inside the theater (what a cluster) and you seat yourself wherever you can manage to find a seat (which for us, entering at the very early side of our window, was over in Hades off to the far left). There was really no benefit to using the FP at all that I could see. The CMs will tell you it ensures you have a seat if the theater fills up but still not sure how that could be possible... I can't see them telling someone they have to give up their seat because a FP holder just walked in. It's not that we were disappointed with our seat (in fact it was a fantastic spot) but we could've gotten the same seat without using one of our 3 FP+ selections.

 

[ExtinctJenn]

I absolutely loved the GwtS ears but if you're sitting up front like we were, you kind of have to look around to see what's happening. Bill took off his ears and sat them in Aaron's lap so we could see though and that worked. Very very cool but need more people with them to really make it fantastic.

After Fantasmic! it was time for a first for all of us... the Osborne Family Lights! I made sure to never watch a video of this or anything as I really wanted to be surprised. All I can say is WOW! What a fantastic display! And the GwtS ears worked with it as well which was really cool. Surprisingly the very first thing we saw was the purple cat so I was proud!

At about 7:45 we could tell Aaron was worn out so we headed back out to the car and back to the resort. The end of a great first day in the parks!

 

[ExtinctJenn]

Wednesday (12/4) Day 4 - Magic Kingdom

Our first agenda item for the day today was a 10am ADR at Crystal Palace so we decided to start the day slowly. Aaron and I were up and ready early but we started off slowly, waiting to get to the MK until about 9:30. I thought maybe I'd check in early at Crystal Palace and we'd get seated early but no joy, we sat and waited until 10:10 in fact. Oh well.

Now... for anyone whose read my reports or comments before you may remember that Crystal Palance is our one absolute must do restaurant on each trip. We love the breakfast here and, even though Aaron is kind of out of the Pooh phase, we always liked the character greet setup here as for whatever reason it feels more "calm" that many others. We've never had any issues other than slow service from one server in particular who ironically we got AGAIN this time.

Unfortunately this time something was way off in their timing. I'm not sure if they sat us at the wrong table or really just didn't think but when we were sat there was one character on our side of the restaurant and he had already passed our table. The other 3 were on the other side (typically doesn't happen - usually 2 and 2). After we arrived they all went on break. By the time they came back out and the first character (Piglet) made it to our table, we were just about done with breakfast. Tigger came by as we were finishing our last plates but Pooh and Eeyore were still on the other side and no where near getting ready to cross over. We had each eaten 3 plates of food and sat for a long while before we decided it was just silly to be sitting there waiting and left. On my way out though I stopped and told one of the CMs about it and she insisted we go back in and meet up with Pooh and Eeyore before we left. She was awesome about it and I truly appreciated it but I felt as if I was interrupting other people's time with them so it was a little uncomfortable. Still, we got to see them and that made Aaron happy (Mr. I'm too old for Pooh).

Our first FP+ selection for the day wasn't until noon so we slowly made our way into Adventureland where we found no one at the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House and headed in. This was another first for Aaron, I don't think he even knew it existed. He loved it but felt the need to run through it, as if it was just a queue for something bigger. I think when he got to the end he was confused but he had fun anyway!

We stopped at Jungle Cruise and saw about a 20 minute wait so noted that we'd come back to it later in the day when we had our FP+ selection for POTC. What we didn't expect was that a few feet away we'd find a POTC queue with a 5 minute wait. We debated whether to jump on now or wait for our FP later in the day and decided it'd be silly to pass it by so on we went!

Another moment of backstory: Aaron has only done Space Mountain once. The last few trips we've taken we've either skipped it or I went on alone because he didn't like it. Today for whatever reason however when I mentioned I wanted to go on it he said he loved it and wanted to come too. So, after POTC we decided to use MDE on my phone to swap out our later POTC FP+ selection for a Space Mountain one. It worked absolutely perfectly! Unfortunately it also meant we'd forget to come back for the Jungle Cruise... oh well!

Next up... Aaron shocked us again and said he wanted to do Splash Mountain with us. The wait was only 10 minutes so we jumped in line. We told him he'd only just get splashed with water unless we got the very front... guess what we got? LOL!

As we dried, we wandered slowly from Frontierland into Fantasyland for our 12:00 FPs for Peter Pan. Definitely a great use of a FP+ selection here as we always find ourselves in a long line for this one.

We had some time to kill before we could checkin for our BOG FP+ reservation so we stopped over at Haunted Mansion for a ride with the spooks. It may have been my imagination but it seemed like they were sending the doom buggies through a bit faster than normal. It was especially obvious on the boarding platform as literally the CM was yelling "keep up keep up" because walking at a normal pace you had to then sprint to get into your buggy. Kind of kills the "story" to have a CM yelling that too... just saying... and we ran into that kind of thing a lot this trip (CMs who were just so there for a J.O.B. only and hated the world).

 

[ExtinctJenn]

After HM it was time for BOG... a first and a very exciting one at that! A couple weeks before our trip I was able to get into the "Be Our Guest Lunch" site and get setup with a FP+ selection to dine there. We had picked out our meals and were set to go. We checked in at the stand outside and while they found our "reservation" they said something about not being able to pull up our meals to verify them. The CM said they should still be on our FP though and sent us up to the front of the line where we were sent to the right into what I think they called the study? We waited for a little bit and then were sent to the cash register where we learned that indeed our meal was not on our bands. No big deal as it took about 30 seconds to tell her what we all wanted but definitely didn't work as designed. We did have to wait quite a bit once we were sitting to get our food though the ambience was absolutely amazing and once the food arrived it was well worth it! Defintely will do this again!

After BOG we had about 20 minutes to use our FP selection for mermaid so we walked next door and hopped on. Everything was in perfect working order from what I could see and since it was such a point of argument in a thread recently, I let myself leave the immersive storyline and look up and yes I'll agree the ceiling and the stuff hanging from it is intrusive... but only if you look up at it. When looking at what I was meant to look at (the scene) I didn't notice the ceiling at all and the green things up there to "hide" it from natural view did their job. Still a great ride in my opinion and, since it was our 2nd time on it, I could take pictures (first time I was just enjoying it)!

Next up it was time for our previously swapped Space Mountain FP selection so off we went. Bill went to the smoke area (not a big fan of SM) and Aaron and I jogged down what was a very empty entry hallway. I could hear him behind me the entire time hootin' and hollerin'. He definitely had a blast!

After we collected daddy from the smoke area it was time for Aaron's favorite... the TTA! We had to wait in an incredibly long line... which completely confused me... until I overheard a group of people in front of me and realized that pretty much everyone thought they were in line for the Astro Orbiter. That always cracks me up. They've gotta get up there and be like "? *giggle*

(he was mouthing along to the narration)

Unfortunately the TTA was another spot where we ran into a CM who was just so very obviously unhappy to be there. I believe his name was Ricardo and he was the CM loading folks into the trains. My husband was in a giddy mood and when he asked how many (in his very straight faced, sun glassed, way) he said "259." Ricardo took a deep breath (expressing his irritation) and said "how many?" at which point we of course said "3." He pointed us to a train and as we walked Bill said "I thought you'd make me sit alone because I tried to be funny." Ricardo didn't even acknowledge him and before my head was even out of the way of his face was saying gruffly "How many?" to the next guests. Come on already guys... lighten up. I get that in your eyes my husband delayed your ability to ask the next group how many people they had and omg that train got an extra foot before we were in it but when you encounter someone in a good mood, go with it. Have fun. You work for Disney my God! But I digress...

After the TTA we decided to head over to the speedway and, similar to the rest of the trip, Aaron surprised us with another first in that he wanted to drive! So daddy got in the passenger seat and I got in front of them (though they sent me to another row) and I attempted to take pictures behind my head of them. LOL!

After the Speedway we rounded out everything else we wanted to do in Tomorrowland including MLF, Buzz and CoP. Then we trotted over to Fantasyland to hit the teacups.

As the sun started going down we had some conversation re: the castle lighting show. I really wanted to see this show as seeing the dreamlights was one of the key reasons for wanting to do this trip to begin with. It was something I was really emotional about and I wanted to see the show. We had some time left so we ran over to hop a ride on an elephant!

As we were leaving Storybook Circus we realized we hadn't eaten dinner yet and it was nearly 6:00. Knowing the show would start at 6:15 and not wanting people to get sick because they needed food, I agreed to stop into Cosmic Rays for some dinner (another first).

I wasn't anywhere near hungry enough to eat my entire meal but I ate the majority of it. We then headed toward the castle. The show had already begun but we picked a spot on the bridge toward the hub and watched from the side.It was absolutely gorgeous. I just wish I could've taken it all in. Oh well, next time.

After the castle show Aaron wanted to do another ride on the speedway (passenger this time) so off we went!

Then it was time for another TTA ride followed by some dancing (yes dancing) at Club 626... another thing that in a million years Aaron would never have done!



After our dancing we had a restroom break and decided to head back to the resort to take a swim in the feature pool (yet ANOTHER first for Aaron). My lord he loved the pool... and the slide! He begged to be allowed to go back another day!

 

[ExtinctJenn]

Ok that's it for today... the rest of the week is coming soon!!

 

[Minnie_girl]

Following along!

 

[disneypearl]

Loving your report. Aaron is adorable and I love how his Duffy helped him with his ride on Tower of Terror.

 

[ExtinctJenn]

Thursday (12/5) Day 5 - Animal Kingdom & Downtown

Our plans for today dictated that we get up a bit early as we had a 9am FP+ selection for Kilimanjaro but as is always true with those first thing in the morning safaris, it was worth it!

The rest of our plans for the day included FP+ selections for Nemo and Dinosaur. We had some time to kill between the safari and Nemo so we let Aaron play in the dig area for a bit.

Official review on use of FP+ for Nemo... similar to Fantasmic!... I wouldn't waste a selection on it. We arrived at the early end of our arrival. We were let in the door at the top rear of the theater however we noticed as we walked down toward the stage that the normal entrance door was also open, again meaning that a FP really didn't get you anything different than a standby person.

We found a seat in our favorite spot (up against the path that comes out from the stage) and got comfy for one of our absolute favorite shows on property. Everytime we see it I just adore it. My one and only comment though is that some of the costumes and puppets are in need of some TLC. Being worn every day, 365 days a year, multiple times, is taking it's toll.



After Nemo was done we had some time before our FP for Dinosaur so while Bill took a smoke break, Aaron and I headed over for a spin on a Triceratops. Aaron loves these sorts of rides and while in the queue we had a discussion about how Triceratops are basically dinosaur versions of Dumbo but without the big ears. This lead to "well then how can they fly?" to which Aaron answered "magic!" I love my kid!

Next up it was time for Dinosaur! After reading the Disco Carn thread and the myriad of troubles this attraction has seemed to have lately, I was prepared to pay close attention as we rode. My final answer is that everything was working perfectly. The three large carno AAs were moving as they should. The lasers and smoke/fog were on. Everything seemed to be in perfect working order... win!

After dinosaur we headed back to the dig site for a bit.

And then we slowly headed out of the park.

Our plan for the rest of the day was to hit Downtown for our 4:00 ADR at T-Rex and then over to Disney Quest for the evening (note that plans do change). Because of the parking situation we decided to head to the resort, chill out for a little bit at the room and then grab the bus to Downtown from CBR.

Now... to add to the earlier explanation of Aaron's disorder: One of the biggest things that can send Aaron into a difficult behavior is disapointment. It can be disapointment of any kind but the worst is when he's in what is otherwise a manic mode (YAY VACATION!) and you have to tell him no when he asks for something. By Day 5 our souvenir budget was pretty much spent and we had enough for dinner (T-Rex was our out-of-pocket), maybe one or two small things and the Disney Quest tickets. Taking a bipolar child to Downtown... the king of all shopping districts... and having to tell him you don't have enough money to buy anything while you're there is a mistake and one we won't repeat. Aaron went into full meltdown mode, punching us and dropping to the ground in the middle of the busy DtD walkways having a fit. Bill (who can only handle these moments for so long) had it and left to go back to the resort. We followed and after about an hour or so of attempting to reason with Aaron and calm him, somehow we finally succeeded. I give Bill the credit here. I lost my patience when I went from having to deal with Aaron's meltdown to his as well and he took Aaron aside and managed to calm him while I stood far away taking deep breaths.

 

[ExtinctJenn]

We arrived at 3:45 for our 4:00 T-Rex ADR. This was the one and only time that we had any difficulty in that they didn't see our reservation but they weren't busy and sent us in. We were seated almost immediately and in the room Aaron wanted so all was once again right with the world!

After dinner Aaron played for a bit in the dig area at T-Rex and then we sat down to talk and he decided he was tired (shocker after 90 minutes of meltdown) and wanted to skip Disney Quest. He decided he was ok to wander the stores understanding he couldn't buy anything so off we went.

As the sun started to go down we decided to head back to the resort. Aaron wanted to do the pool again and this time the kid was just bonkers about the water slide. He did the big one no less than 15 times I'd have to guess.

After nearly 2 hours in the pool it was time to head back and get some rest. We had 8am ADRs for Boma so it'd be an early rise kind of morning!

 

[ExtinctJenn]

Friday (12/6) Day 6 - Boma & Epcot

Everyone woke up really early today so we could get over to our 8am Boma breakfast. I was psyched for this one because it was yet another first for us. Not only had we never eaten there but we'd never been in AKL before.

The breakfast was absolutely wonderful. Bill fell in love with the sticky buns. For me, it was all about that french toast bread pudding with that sauce over the top. I think I ate what would amount to a plate full of just that and honestly wanted more.

Our day at Epcot had a slow start. We jumped onto SSE as we always do as we enter and then since we had some time until our 11am TT FP, we asked Aaron what he wanted to do. Since we had gotten so much of Future World done earlier in the week (unexpectedly) we aimed him toward things like UoE. Much to our surprise he decided to go on Mission Space! Another item that goes with the theme of him being more willing to do things this trip for sure.

After MS we wandered over to UoE but arrived just as the doors had closed for the preshow. We sat for a minute and decided to instead wander a bit until our FP opened up. We were worried for a bit when TT shut down "temporarily" just before our FP time but we caught a little bit of the show with whoever the guys are now with the trash cans etc. (I always called them the Jammitors but that changed ages ago I guess).

Then it was time for TT! We agreed that this time we'd each pick a certain aspect of the car to "own" as our own. Bill had the engine, I had the body shape and Aaron pretty much got everything else.

After TT we headed over to Club Cool to try out some of the new sodas.

Then we decided to do something we'd never done before. Because Aaron had been in such a great "character" mode this trip, we hopped into line for the Character Spot. The wait was only maybe 15 minutes so it wasn't bad and Aaron was so excited he didn't care.

Minnie took off with Duffy. The look on Aaron's face was hilarious. He didn't know what to think at first. I think he thought for a brief moment she was seriously stealing him. Very cute moment.

Our next FP+ selection wasn't until 2:00 (Soarin') so we had a bunch of time left to kill. Then it was off to Imagination! again.

When we got off Imagination we decided to make Aaron's day and headed toward World Showcase.

How would World Showcase make Aaron's day? Well, we knew Duffy would be out and decided no matter how long the wait, we'd let him meet him. Being that this trip was extremely Duffycentric, it was a wonderful moment for him. The wait was next to nothing and he just lit up at the idea.

Don't misunderstand... Aaron's disability is truly just mood related. He is a typical 7 year old boy otherwise and he gets that the characters are just people in costume. Still, there was something about them this trip and Duffy was the icing on the cake and a perfect last character interaction.

While we were on this side of things we decided to head into Mexico to hitch a ride on a boat but Aaron decided he was in Duffy mode after his M&G and just wanted to make one of the little puppets and move on until later when we came back for our ADR at San Angel Inn.

We still had about an hour to kill until our FP for Soarin' and we were hungry so we decided to head over to the America pavilion to pick up the one thing Bill wanted more than anything... a Turkey Leg. It was a really warm day and we were all exhausted by this day so I suggested taking the boat across but Aaron wanted to walk so off we went.

We made the long trek around to America and found the Fife and Drum... y'know, that place with the huge Turkey Leg sign and picture of a Turkey Leg on the outside? We stood in line for about 5 minutes and when we got to the window we ordered a Turkey Leg. The girl at the counter, completely straight faced says "I don't have any." Bill, of course, thought she was being cute... I mean how could the Turkey Leg spot not have Turkey Legs right? Each of us giggling and smiling we said "you're kidding right?" and she responded, again completely straight faced, no sign of apologetic attitude what so ever, "No I don't have any. You can try the cart at the front of the park." We explained that we had just walked all the way from Future World to get a Turkey Leg and she just sort of stared blankly and said "I don't have any." No sorry. No acting as if she felt our pain or wanted to make it better. Just nothing. Bill was livid. We headed into the QS in the pavilion to pick up some burgers but the realization that the one thing he was waiting the entire trip to have just killed his mood for a good while.

Aaron decided he didn't want anything from the menu and wanted what he saw back at the Fife and Drum... the Perry Lunch Box lunch. So, while Bill waited for the food I begrudgenly made my way back to the line. I waited a good 10 minutes in line watching people go up to the counter walking away with wine... at 11:30am. Ok a little early for me but hey. When it was our turn I ordered Aaron's lunch, from the same woman, and she says to me "I don't think I have any, let me check." I instantly felt my blood pressure rise. Had she came back to the window without Aaron's lunch I would've probably caused a scene (after the Turkey Leg incident with the same woman) but luckly they had "one left." *deep breath*

Then it was time for Soarin'! Another attraction Aaron has in the past given us a difficult time with but this time he was pysched and ready! This was the one and only time we ran into trouble as far as the FP return queue was concerned. When we got downstairs we noticed a huge line and it was for FP return. Slowly people trickled through though and after only a few minutes we were able to head in. Not sure they are organizing things as smoothly as they really could on this one queue wise. Once inside we waited in the concorse area for about 20 minutes before we were in the preshow spot. With two concorses and the amount of people who FP this attraction it just seems to me like it'd make more sense to send FP to the left, standby to the right and when it was slow in either, then fill in the blanks a bit. Instead it seemed like they were filling each side with standby until a FP walked up. Both options work but there was no denying the wait once inside because of how they were flowing the traffic.

Once off Soarin' we didn't have anything planned until our 6pm Maelstrom so we kind of went into "whatever" wander mode. This is where there is no sense to the direction we go and we'll often end up walking back and forth in Future World. On days like we'd had so far with waits being really great, it was a fine thing to do.

Next up... UoE! I still love this attraction though it's in desperate need of an update. Luckily Ellen and Bill Nye are still "current" (well, Bill Nye maybe not so much except for Dancing with the Stars lol) but they don't look anything like that anymore. That and the dino attacking Ellen was once again not moving anything but his mouth.

Then another ride on Living With the Land (one of Aaron's favorites).

And then over to the jumping fountains to let Aaron have some play time before heading into World Showcase.

 

[ExtinctJenn]

First up we hit what I will always call "El Rio Del Tiempo" and then we headed toward Norway for Maelstrom. After Maelstrom we caught a few minutes of the acrobats in China and let Aaron pick out his last souvenir for the trip.

Then back to Mexico for our ADR at San Angel. We took a last ride on El Rio and checked in at the restaurant. We were early but there was a huge line to check-in so we figured we'd get in it. The woman said we'd be seated as soon as a table was available. As we watched family after family get seated I got more and more irritated. Aaron was getting antsy and tired and because he hadn't eaten yet that can often lead to him not wanting to eat (which makes dinner not so great for us). Finally, at the exact time of our ADR we were paged. Had the woman said "we can't seat you until your ADR time" we would've wandered and done some things but because she said what she did, we sat on the ground outside the restaurant waiting for 30 minutes. Not cool.

I remembered our first time here the food was incredible. This time the food was just ok and Aaron ended up tired and putting his head down on the table until we finished. We waited forever for our check and then again for it to come back for us to sign and for our to-go desserts. Honestly, much as I love this restaurant, I'm not sure we'll go back. Just in general it was a bit disappointing. The service was not what I remembered and just in general it was "ok."

It was time to head out and end our last day in the parks. We were all exhausted and moody and ready to relax before our long drive back tomorrow.

 

[ExtinctJenn]

Saturday (12/7) Day 7 - Travel Day

The goal for today was to be on the road by noon at the very latest. It takes about 9 hours to get home and we didn't want to get home too late. There was a rather huge surprise waiting for Aaron at home that we wanted him to be awake to see!

While daddy took his time getting up, Aaron and I wandered out to the CBR beach to get some fresh air before we'd be stuck in a car the entire day. I had already gotten everything packed (except the clothes Bill was wearing in bed) so it was a relaxed morning.





We ended up getting on the road a good bit ahead of schedule (closer to 10am) which was great. By 11:00 Aaron was out, completely exhausted from a full week of fun.



We hit very little traffic but we did hit some rain. It's always depressing watching the air temperature slowly drop the futher North we drive, especially after a week of near record highs at Disney. All in all it was a fantastic trip. If I could undo the one issue Aaron had at DtD (one during an entire week is truly a fantastic thing) it'd be near perfect honestly. The crowds were light. The weather was amazing. Aaron was in a fantastic mood to do both attractions and characters, including some he's never done. We may not have gotten to do everything we wanted (poor Bill - I owe him a Turkey Leg lol) but we did so much we didn't expect to.

And then... as we pulled into the driveway... Aaron got what was his biggest surprise yet. When we opened the garage door, there stood his big brother (my step-son) Timmy and his girlfriend Bryttnie, waiting to see him and give him a huge hug. The entire time we were on property we were hiding a big secret and that was that while we were gone, Tim and Brytt were moving their things back in with us after a year and a half up in New Hampshire. Since we've returned it's been absolutely nuts around here between them moving in and preparing for Christmas. The one thing that hasn't changed though is that as soon as we're back, I want to go again! Next time... I'm going to build in some more days where we're not in the parks and can relax at the resort. I say that every time but this time I mean it!

 

[Susan Savia]

Loved your report and pictures!

 

[SarahBella82]

I loved reading your report and hearing how spectacularly well your son did with everything. You must be such a proud mom that he was willing to try so many new things! And I gotta say, he picked out the best souvenirs.