Trip Report When Emotions Are As Unpredictable As The Weather

Welp, we have been back from our trip for almost two weeks, so I guess it's about time I start this report!

You can read about the details leading up to our trip here, but I'll give you the quick lowdown.

When: June 11-18
Where: Disney's Art of Animation Resort (Little Mermaid section)
Who: Our crazy family of 4
Me (Kelli), husband (Tim), SJ (4), H (2...going on 13 )

Why: Mainly because I can't stay away from my happy place, and also because we wanted to take advantage of one of our kids still being free.

Before I start the trip report, I have two "stories" to tell that are more pre-trip (but didn't make it into that report) that will help provide a little bit of context. Sorry for the following as it is going to be text heavy!

1. A couple of weeks before our trip, SJ had an autism assessment. This would be the second one that he has had (the first one was done when he was two and came back as "not autistic / not on the spectrum"). SJ is nonverbal (for the most part) with global developmental delays. Every test that he has had in his life has come back with no results and no answers as to what is causing these delays. His pediatrician wanted to do one more autism assessment just to rule it out before figuring out next steps.

When we went to WDW last year, we had a very difficult time with him when it came to transitions and waiting in line. My thought was that I would try the disability pass if he had autism. His assessment came back negative for autism with no new diagnosis. I didn't think he would qualify for the disability pass without autism, so we didn't even think to consider it. Looking back, I wish we would have thought about pursuing it a bit more. I'm not sure it would have helped us anymore than how we managed without it, but I'm curious to know if he would have had an easier time with it.

2. A week and a half before we were supposed to leave, I got a phone call from my dad. When he calls, it usually isn't good. It wasn't. My grandpa was not doing well, and they thought he had a few strokes in his sleep at some point. They were putting him on hospice and said he could last a few hours, days, weeks, even months. My dad told me that him and my mom had already talked about how they didn't want this to ruin our trip. If he were to pass away right before or while we were on vacation, they didn't want us to change our plans to attend the visitations and funeral. This was so hard for Tim and I to even think about because we were both so close with him. He ended up passing away the next day and we were able to be there with my family.

I was very close with my grandpa growing up, and this one hit me so hard. I'm so thankful that he did not have to suffer for long, but it has been difficult to hold it together at times. This trip could not have come at a better time as I just needed to get away from reality for a bit.

On that note, let's get this thing started!

 

[Tuvalu]

1. As we headed to the tram, I had to take this picture for @Tuvalu (although it isn't the best quality). It was a family with like 5 kids, all dressed in overalls and matching shirts with a gigantic wagon. Do you think they made it on the tram?

2. I don't remember it raining this morning, but apparently it did on Main Street.

3. Is there a PhotoPass picture for this ride??

1. PLEASE please please NO!!! (Spoiler ~ Happy to see wagon family was not allowed on the tram!)
2. It rained because the sky was crying that Em and I had left for home.
3. There isn't a PhotoPass picture for BTMRR, but I wish there was!

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

1. PLEASE please please NO!!! (Spoiler ~ Happy to see wagon family was not allowed on the tram!)
2. It rained because the sky was crying that Em and I had left for home.
3. There isn't a PhotoPass picture for BTMRR, but I wish there was!

I may have shed a tear or two because I missed out on meeting one of the inaugural members of the Magicians!

 

[MegRuss626]

I may have shed a tear or two because I missed out on meeting one of the inaugural members of the Magicians!

I think we need to get @sheriffwoody to add Magician shirts to her shop!

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

June 13: still in MK

A little more of our adventures in Liberty Square!

Now that they had a little break from the stroller to run around, it was time to get moving again towards Fantasyland. First up was as FP for IASW.

H liked the hippo!

@Figment Forever you can tell Hope that all of the dolls were accounted for in June! Hopefully they were still there during your trip.

After the happiest cruise ever, we went for a ride on Cinderella's Royal Carousel. This is always a must-do for our kiddos. A tip for those who have never ridden - don't watch the mirrors on the inside while the ride is going.

CHEESE!

Next up we made our way to visit another Disney princess.

If you thought we were heading in to eat with the Beast and Belle, you would be wrong. Although, I could have gone for a bowl of that french onion soup! YUM!

 

[sheriffwoody]

I think we need to get @sheriffwoody to add Magician shirts to her shop!

hahaha I can work on that!

 

[Figment Forever]

@Figment Forever you can tell Hope that all of the dolls were accounted for in June! Hopefully they were still there during your trip.

Yes they were!

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

June 13 (cont):

We continued our tour of Fantasyland to have a trip Under the Sea!! I just love the queue area of this ride!

My boys!

Both of the boys really enjoyed this ride - especially the part where you go under the sea with all the bubbles. H was a little scared during the part with Ursula, but other than that, he did great!

Next up - the big top! I think I snagged a FP for this one while we were visiting with the Little Mermaid. The boys spotted the play area, so we let them burn some energy for a bit. SJ and H love fire trucks, so this was a hit for them!

Soon enough it was time for us to take a spin on Dumbo. Except, those skies are not looking promising.

Of course, right when it was time for us to board, the ride was shut down due to storms in the area. We decided to wait it out seeing how most Florida storms are over quickly (at least in my experience). At one point while we were waiting, SJ ran all the way through the line and into the play area Thankfully, the line was pretty much cleared out, so at least there wasn't anyone in my way while I was trying to chase him down. The rain continued to fall, and there was no sign of it letting up. It was then we made the choice to brave the rain and get back to the stroller. Except, our stroller was parked at the Tangled restrooms!!

We walked as fast as we could back to the stroller, only to find out that the rain guard was practically useless. Good thing the boys love the water, right?! By this time, Tim and I were soaked, so we quickly made our way to Main Street and headed out of MK and back to the car. And wouldn't you know, the rain stopped by the time we got back to our car. Our original plan was to take a break at the resort for some pool time, but the weather was looking like on and off rain for the rest of the day, so we skipped the break and went to AK instead. At least the drive took some time so we could dry off and H was able to take a little nap in the car.

Hello Animal Kingdom!

Me - "Hey, let's take a PhotoPass picture before we go in!"

SJ - I'm going to be goofy and lift up my shirt

H - hey, that looks fun! I'm going to do the same thing!

PhotoPass photographer - "You need to keep your shirts down or else I can't take your picture anymore!"

Seriously, we have to have THOSE kids!

Magic shot for the win! (And H being a total ham!)

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

June 13: Animal Kingdom

The rain had stopped and we were getting a little hungry, so it was time to venture into the park and find a snack.

I had read about how good the seasoned fries from Mr. Kamal's in Asia are, so we decided to give them a try. The only problem was that the awesome fries had recently changed, so they weren't the ones I was hoping for that were loaded with tzatziki (yeah...had to Google how to spell that one!).

The seasoning on the fries was good, but it was a little too much for me. These are very salty, with a little bit of sweet. They were okay. I wouldn't get them again, unless they came back with the tzatziki version.

Had to check out the Fichwa wall next!

After our snack we had a FP for FotLK. This was the first time we had a FP for the show, so I was interested to see if we would have better seats than usual. We parked the stroller and put the useless rain cover on (just in case), and headed in line. We were a little early, so we did our best to entertain the boys. There was a family in front of us with some older kids, and H ended up playing with them. I think we waited about 15-20 minutes before being let in. We were seated in the lion section (I think?) fairly close to the front, but I don't think having a FP made the seating that much better.

It was an awesome show as always, and the boys absolutely loved it! SJ has a hard time staying attentive and sitting still, but this one kept him interested almost the whole time! WIN!!

We exited the theater and got the kiddos situated in the stroller just in time to cover them before, you guessed it, more rain. UGH! This was going to be the only evening that we planned to spend in AK, and we really wanted to watch Rivers of Light. The show isn't my favorite, but H loved it last year. There were still a couple of hours before the show, so we took the new path from Africa to Pandora to ride Navi River Journey. We didn't have a FP, but the rain wasn't going to stop anytime soon, and that was the closest thing inside that would keep the boys out of the stroller.

By the time we got to Pandora, Tim and I were absolutely soaked! At that point, all we could do was laugh because we looked so pathetic. We found a spot to park the stroller that had the most tree cover and headed in line for NRJ. This was a new attraction for all of us, and the wait was listed as 40 minutes. I didn't realize that not all of the queue is covered, so we did have to wait in the rain for part of it, but not long.

I'm not sure how long we actually waited. I think it was longer than the posted 40 minutes, and boy did it feel like it! SJ and H were both getting stir crazy. I probably said "it's only going to be a little bit longer" about 100x in that line. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally made it inside.

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

June 13: Nighttime in AK

So, after waiting in line for an hour (checked my timestamps) for NRJ, we were finally seated in a boat. At least we were in the front row, if that makes any difference.

Now, I will say that the shaman is the best part of the attraction. The fact that they can have that kind of movement in an audio-animatronic is beyond me. So, well done Disney. The rest is just, meh. They could have done a lot better in my opinion. I would say that this is a one and done for us, but this was the first time that we saw SJ really interact in an attraction. He was so intrigued the entire time - so much so that he stood up in the boat towards the end! Tim and I just sat there almost in tears because he doesn't usually show too many emotions during rides. Therefore, this is now a must do for us!

While we were in line for NRJ, I snagged a FP for Rivers of Light just in case the rain had stopped. The weather report didn't look promising, but when we exited NRJ, there was no rain! HOORAY! There was still a little bit of time before the FP window opened up, so we headed towards Asia to get some ice cream before heading in. We got our seats and ate our ice cream while we waited. There was the sweetest family behind us that had a boy H's age. The kids ended up playing while we talked with the parents and grandparents. It was so fun chatting with them, and the boys were having a good time too!

The time went by quickly and the show began. After about 5 minutes, there were technical difficulties and it stopped. The same thing happened last year when we watched the show. You would think this wouldn't occur on what seems to be a regular basis. Anyway, we waited another 10 minutes and the show started again (and thankfully, no technical difficulties this time).

Overall, I enjoyed the show this time much better than last year. I'm pretty sure it had to do with where we were seated. The floats in this show are so pretty! This is something that we will probably always try to see once every trip, but only if we can get a last minute FP. I don't think it is worth waiting in the regular line for an okay seat.

It was getting late, so we went with the masses and headed out of the park. Tim stopped at some point to get a coffee (with a double shot of espresso), which he finished in like 5 minutes. Why you would do that at 9:30pm is beyond me!

The tree of life is so pretty at night! Actually, I think all of AK is pretty at night with all of the lights, especially Asia!

The tram situation in AK was crazy at that time, so we opted out of the tram and walked back to our car.

We arrived back at the resort and found a friend on our walk to the room.

It was a rainy day, but oh so many memories were made. Tomorrow we would be spending another day in AK.

 

[riverside]

I don't think having a FP made the seating that much better.

I agree. I like it though b/c you don't have to get there as early & stand in a long line.

Tim and I just sat there almost in tears because he doesn't usually show too many emotions during rides.

You have me close to tears❤❤❤ That is so special.

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

June 14: Back at AK

Our first FP didn't start until later this morning, so we decided to eat breakfast together at the resort instead of feeding the boys in the room. In hindsight, that was probably a bad decision because Landscape of Flavors is right by the pool. As soon as SJ caught a glimpse of that, there was no turning back. This put Tim in a grumpy mood, so I did what I could to make the best of it. H was really enjoying the background music, and I got a really cute video of him dancing while we ate!

*insert fake smiles*

Tim got the bounty platter and I got the kids platter. We all shared (which also doesn't make Tim happy - he likes his food).

After breakfast we headed to the car (which was a fit because it was the opposite direction of the pool) and made our way to AK.

We still had some time before our first FP window opened up, so we stopped and watched the show near the Tree of Life about the macaws. Tim's sister has quite a few birds (including a scarlet macaw), so we had to snap some pictures and videos to send back home to her. Even though I'm not really a bird lover, it was a very cool experience having them fly right over your head!

After the birds we headed back into Africa for our safari, but not without a quick stop for some coffee!

With the stroller parked, we scanned our bands and made our way down the queue to our ride vehicle. I don't remember much about our guide, so I guess she was pretty good! I won't bore you with too many safari pictures (which are most likely out of order), but we all had a great time!

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

June 14 (cont):

More out of order safari pictures!

We bid our guide farewell and headed straight to the bathrooms. While I was spending time with H in the bathroom, Tim and SJ were enjoying some entertainment in Africa. I didn't take any pictures of the group, but I believe it had something to do with soccer.

I do have these cute snaps that I just love!! THAT SMILE AGAIN!!!

Now that we were done with our little break, it was time to head to the Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail. I love this area of AK. There was one time (before kids) that Tim and I spent probably close to an hour in this area just watching the gorillas.

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

June 14 (cont):

More from Gorilla Falls!

It was very busy in the gorilla area, so unfortunately, not a lot of pictures.

We exited the trail and packed ourselves in the stroller to head across the park to Dinoland. We said hello to Everest on the way - but unfortunately, did not have a chance to ride it this trip.

When we arrived in Dinoland, we made the decision to split up. Tim and SJ rode Triceratop Spin while H and myself hopped in line to meet Donald. While we were in line, he did take a quick break, so we ended up waiting around 20 minutes. Not too bad I guess, and the wait was totally worth it! This was the first (of few) character meetings that we had, and it was so much fun!

We finished meeting Donald just in time to catch Tim and SJ on Triceratop Spin.

Haha! SJ is too short, but I promise he's up there!

We still had a little bit of time until our next FP, and Goofy's meet and greet was right behind us, so we decided to tackle that one as a family. On our last trip, SJ was pretty intimidated by the characters, so we didn't want to force him. But, now he was another year and a half older, so he should be better, right?

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

June 14 (cont):

We hopped in line to meet Goofy, but he took a break right as we were close to the front. It was a pretty short break, and when he came back out, both boys were really excited to see him. Next it was our turn - and unfortunately, these pictures will haunt SJ for a very long time!! HAHAHA!!

So, with that, it was me and H that met Goofy!! Which actually, ended up being just H because the CM kicked me out of the picture!

Torture now complete, we said good bye to Dinoland and back to Asia for our next FP. But, not without stopping for our own PP pictures. The boys can't have all the fun!

On our way, we noticed that the UP! bird show (yeah, I'm not going to look up the full name) was going to start, and this is something that Tim really wanted to see. He has grown quite fond of birds since his sister started owning them, so I obliged.

It was pretty cute, but not a must see for me every trip. Although, I guess it might be a "have to see" each trip if Tim has his way.

When we exited the show, it was starting to get pretty hot, so I was happy our next FP was for Kali River Rapids. This was another one that required rider swap, so SJ and I went first while Tim and H waited. The FP line was quite long, and SJ was having a difficult time waiting, but we survived. I also completely forgot that the rafts do not have a compartment in the middle for your belongings, so I was getting anxious that my phone was going to get soaked. I basically ended up having it in my pocket and sitting on it at the same time. And thankfully, it survived, despite the soaking we had! Again, SJ was fairly emotionless during the ride, so it was hard to tell if he enjoyed it, but he did throw a fit when we got off, so my guess is he had fun.

Next up, it was time for him to take a go around with Tim. While H and I waited, we decided to go through the Maharajah Jungle Trek. I thought he would like seeing the tigers, and he did have lots of fun! The tiger was pretty lazy, but right by the window which was neat.

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

June 14 (cont):

We watched for maybe 10 minutes, and then the area got pretty busy, so we made our way back to the bridge by the exit of Kali River Rapids. As we were waiting for Tim and SJ's raft to go by, H found a lizard on the ground (which I have a video of him chasing, but no picture). Back to watching for their raft, once he spotted them, he kept yelling "Hi Dad!! Hi Dad!!!". I also have a video of this (sorry - I don't know how to upload them), and the lady next to us said "Oh my goodness, that is the cutest thing ever!". It was pretty cute, but don't let him fool you.

Now that we were nice and cooled down it was time for some much anticipated lunch. We went back and forth on what we wanted to order, but finally decided and were able to mobile order on our way over.

No show for us today, but I had to take this picture (for the TR of course) because I didn't take one the night before when we were here.

I really enjoyed this new walkway to Pandora. It was very quiet and relaxing!

While Tim grabbed an outdoor table with the boys, I headed inside to get our food. It was already ready and waiting when I walked up!

"Get your hand out of the picture, I need this for the trip report!"

Tim had beef with potato hash, I had rice with chicken ( we both had the white sauce - but I don't remember what it's called). The boys shared the cheeseburger pods. Everything was so good!! I also thought it was a good value based on the amount of food that we received. The cheeseburger pods were probably my favorite out of everything. Satuli Canteen will for sure be a stop we make every trip!

Enough about the food, it was time for our final FP - Flight of Passage! We had to do rider swap again, so I rode first and then Tim went after me. The boys watched the Pandora robot guy while I was riding, and then I watched while Tim took his turn. It was kind of different, but the boys really enjoyed it. The ride was also amazing as ever!

It was time to leave AK, but I had to get a Night Blossom before we left. This was so good! I don't usually like boba balls, but I really liked the ones that were in this.

A few more pictures on our way out of Pandora.

We waved one last good bye to Animal Kingdom as we were not planning to return anymore during this trip. The boys were doing really good at this point, so we decided to skip the hotel break and head straight to Magic Kingdom for some more fun!