"That Little Girl is Judging Me"- A Mother/Daughter TR

[Sam33]

I've been wicked sick the last 4 days and I'm finally feeling better. Also the Avs are playing in two hours and I can't handle the wait. It's an elimination game but we've been SO awful in Minnesota. So it seems to be the perfect time to get an update in!
It's time for OUR FIRST FULL DISNEY DAY!

We woke up to this:



Isn't he cute?!

And we ate breakfast out on the balcony. It was a tad chilly and it was supposed to be cloudy in the morning. Forecast accurate so far.


We both had cinnamon rolls, milk and bananas. Mom had her coffee, though! I was so awake I didn't even need coffee.

We headed down to the bus stop and had really good luck. The bus came right away (we had great luck with this all trip until the last day!)
This ride took about 20 minutes. It was definitely the longest ride of the trip and the only one that really felt long. We got to the gates of Magic Kingdom with about an hour until the opening show!
We also got asked about 15 times if we had made our fast passes. So if you don't want to stand in line at a kiosk to get fast passes. Show up early before open and you'll find plenty of people dying to help you make selections.

It was pretty chilly, the sun wasn't out yet and I didn't want to carry a jacket around later so I went for the tank top and nothing else.


Mom wanted more coffee and thought it was silly they didn't have a little stand in the holding area but she got over it. She didn't really NEED the coffee. She just needed it.

With our new view I realized I wanted a longer break this afternoon so we moved some fast passes around. We moved a night time Splash to the morning (which turned out to be highly necessary!) and pushed our other fastpasses back a bit for after the break.

We also randomly decided we would be riding Space Mountain. Last trip we hated it. I have always loved it before but it was so jerky and we were not in good moods last time. But we went for it! So with our plans set (why do I plan so far in advance? We changed almost every thing ) we hunkered down for the show.

Finally it was welcome show time. My favorite time of any trip. I cry every time and have to sing along and I'm just so happy.



Yeah! The mayor. Woo









It was getting PACKED. Much busier than I'd ever seen it at rope drop. It was only supposed to be a 4/10 crowd day so I was wondering if this was a fast pass + symptom. It wasn't. It was the busiest day EVER (not ever, but for my reality it was!)

We headed over to Space Mountain with what seemed to be everyone in the park and waited for them to open Tomorrowland. Then we got to Space Mountain and waited in a super long line for them to open that. It was looking grim!





The standby line was up to 20 minutes before they even opened the ride

Once we got going we realized that was wrong. We walked right on and had a great time. I'm always afraid I'm going to get decapitated on it. No need for rationality.

After the ride we decided to ride Buzz because it was right there and we might as well before headed out.



I am SO BAD at this ride I can't even stand it. It's so frustrating. My mom beat me AGAIN. Maybe my gun was broken

Next it was time to head over to an old favorite. Haunted Mansion! The hub construction was pretty sad. Very obstructive. But we still found spots to get decent pictures!






Tangled bathroom! So awesome. I actually used it later on in the trip. Best bathroom ever





We had a super short wait and of course loved it! The park had been open for about an hour so we headed over to Adventure Land to ride Jungle Cruise and Pirates before they got long and we had a 10:10 Splash Mountain FP+

THAT PLAN FAILED. Jungle Cruise was over an hour wait already! WHAT. We had a FP for later so we didn't fret. But I love that ride and was really thinking we wouldn't have too much of a wait after less than an hour being open.
Luckily, Pirates was still 10 minutes (aka ten minutes of walking through the queue) so we walked on that and had a fabulous pirate adventure.

We headed over to Splash Mountain and with crowds starting to pick up, we decided after the ride we would go over and get lunch and then take a break




This is probably my favorite ride. I love it so much. Last time we went it was the year Splash skipped it's refurb because of Thunder Mountain being down. Everything worked much better this trip! Those refurbs are just too necessary.
Mom forgot the part after the plunge where everything turns out happy. So that was fun. She was pretty sad for Br'er Rabbit there.

 

[Sam33]

A quick lunch post because I had too many pictures!


We decided we really wanted hotdogs so we went and got in line for Casey's Corner. It was 10:40 and the line was LONG. I went and grabbed a table and she waited and got our food







We each got chili dogs and fries and it hit the spot perfectly. We also decided it was a great time to leave. The crowds were flooding in








We were blocked by the parade so we decided to watch it!













And we headed to our new home for a fantastic afternoon break. To follow.

 

[DisneyPride072308]

Anyway, she checks us in and tells us where our room is and I immediately notice something. We paid for a pool view and that room is not by the pool. In fact it's super far from the pool. In fact it's on a Savannah.
Free upgrade. What up.

Just started reading your TR and am enjoying it so far!
Last time we went to Disneyworld, we were with family members who stayed at AKL while we stayed at POFQ .
They also got upgraded to a Savannah Room. I wonder how often that happens? Anyways, the kid staying in our room pretty much slept over there every night because he was loving the animals right outside the window! I hope to be able to stay at AKL soon. It is a beautiful resort.

 

[Sam33]

Just started reading your TR and am enjoying it so far!
Last time we went to Disneyworld, we were with family members who stayed at AKL while we stayed at POFQ .
They also got upgraded to a Savannah Room. I wonder how often that happens? Anyways, the kid staying in our room pretty much slept over there every night because he was loving the animals right outside the window! I hope to be able to stay at AKL soon. It is a beautiful resort.

I bet it happens pretty often. I've heard it is one of the least full resorts, usually. And if they're not booked you might as well upgrade people! It makes sense. If we stay there again we WILL be paying for the extra. It's that worth it. We don't want to hope for an upgrade and not get it. I suppose that happens with quite a few people. Makes financial sense for Disney!

 

[MelMel11]

Count me in!!! Enjoying your TR..

 

[LindseyLou2222]

Your castle pictures look so good! And your hot dogs aren't too bad either, lol!

 

[jaberwock]

So nice to know I am not the only one who changes their plans last minute! Usually after carefully planning them to T months before hand.

 

[deedee2177]

Following along as well. We were there from 4/22-4/26. Can't wait to read more!

 

[AMVmom]

Love your trip report so far! I usually just lurk and read everyones trip reports but I just had to ask you: WHERE DID YOU GET THAT DOLE WHIP WITH THE RUM?! I need it! Is there a stand by Canada? By the way, I'm pretty sure I always get the broken gun at Buzz Lightyear and at Toy Story Mania too!

 

[Sam33]

Your castle pictures look so good! And your hot dogs aren't too bad either, lol!

Thanks! The hot dogs were perfect. I just wish they had shredded cheese on them instead. The chili kind of over powered the cheese. But the hotdog part was delicious!

So nice to know I am not the only one who changes their plans last minute! Usually after carefully planning them to T months before hand.

Yeah, I am already planning my days out for our Nov 2015 trip! Even though I know I will change it all every morning we are there I'm just glad I've experienced the system now so I KNOW we'll be able to do that. We were able to change everything the morning of a super busy day. I wasn't expecting that!

Following along as well. We were there from 4/22-4/26. Can't wait to read more!

Welcome! And thanks! Did you like April? It was hard to beat the weather we had!

Love your trip report so far! I usually just lurk and read everyones trip reports but I just had to ask you: WHERE DID YOU GET THAT DOLE WHIP WITH THE RUM?! I need it! Is there a stand by Canada? By the way, I'm pretty sure I always get the broken gun at Buzz Lightyear and at Toy Story Mania too!

It's only for the Flower & Garden festival
But if you go during that time there is a stand with pineapples on it right at the start of World Showcase by the Duffy gift shop!

But I suppose if you really wanted, you could go to The Poly and grab a Dole Whip and then walk up to the bar and pay for a shot of dark rum and make one yourself! I may have to do this next year

 

[Sam33]

Count me in!!! Enjoying your TR..

Thank you!

 

[DisneyJo]

How great you're having a Mum/Daughter trip, it sounds as though you're having tons of fun so far and I can't wait to read more

 

[glennbo123]

Caught up. I really like the picture you took at Casey's, with all of the red/white umbrellas.

 

[Sam33]

How great you're having a Mum/Daughter trip, it sounds as though you're having tons of fun so far and I can't wait to read more

Thank you for reading along! We had a fantastic time

Caught up. I really like the picture you took at Casey's, with all of the red/white umbrellas.

That is probably my favorite picture from the trip! It's just so hip

 

[Sam33]

If there was ever a time to do an update on a TR from your trip to Florida, it's during a snowstorm in May. Perhaps the only situation where I can look back fondly on the sunburn I'm about to get during this next update.
It is May 11 at 7:15PM and it has been snowing since I woke up this morning

Luckily it doesn't look as if we will get the NINE inches we were supposed to get, but it is supposed to continue through the night and we already have a couple inches accumulated.

Did I mention it is MAY!?! It wouldn't be so awful if it wasn't 70 degrees and sunny yesterday. *sigh*

Back to warmer thoughts.

We were exiting the park through a swarm of people. And if we thought Main Street was busy, it was nothing compared to the amount of people trying to enter the park as we were leaving. We could barely move through them! We finally got over to the bus stops and got an empty bus back to Animal Kingdom Lodge for some drinks by the pool and some animal watching.



I thought these ostrich lamps were just the coolest


I want one in my apartment. Despite the fact that they're probably the size of my entire bathroom!

We decided against swimming because we had a fancy pants dinner reservation and didn't want to have to try and look good all over again before heading back to the parks so we decided that sitting by the pool with beverages with suffice!


I got your everyday pina colada. Which was delicious.


Mom got a mango margarita! She says it was great and I believe her. Despite the plethora of delicious tropical beverages available at the pool bar, she got this about 100 more times.

Here we decide to soak up some rays.


I had applied sunscreen earlier in the day. But I guess with sunscreen the deal is you have to reapply. Being an adult, I know this. But being irresponsible, I ignored. At the time it kinda sucked but right now I'm just cold!

We needed more pool drinks so I kicked it up a notch and went with the pina coLAVA instead


You'll notice we are no longer by the pool. It turns out, we were being delinquents. We got yelled at by the lifeguards for having drinks by the water so we had to move to the much less appealing third row of loungers.

It was starting to get hot and I was getting crispy so we retreated to our room to watch animals and NAP. My first every Disney World nap. It became an every day thing Turns out naps are really refreshing!

Up next we wake up from our nap and enter the 7th layer of hell (AKA Fantasy Land at Magic Kingdom on a 9/10 crowd day at 4PM)

 

[glennbo123]

I was just reading on the internet about that freak storm out your way. Strange. And don't send it this way, I've got Springsteen tickets for 3 nights from now, outdoor venue.

Thanks for that AKL lobby pic....I needed that.

It was funny, before I read your comment about those ostrich statues I was thinking, "I wonder if they'd ever remodel and sell those things. I'd love one."

Oh my, Fantasyland at 4pm, when all beyond exhausted toddlers have simultaneous meltdowns?

 

[Sam33]

HOLY COW. I tell you what, if we didn't have a Be Our Guest dinner reservation I would have turned around right at the bag check line and came up with new plans for the night. I had never seen so many people in one place before. Touring Plans put MK at a 4 this day, EasyWDW had it a 5. I checked the next morning to see the "actual" crowd level and it was a NINE. I was relieved to know I wasn't just having issues comparing crowds. But given it would have been pretty much impossible to cram any more people into Fantasy Land we couldn't have been TOO far from a ten. And I was correct.

THIS is where we REALLY loved FP+. Without it, we wouldn't have been able to do a single thing this night. It was so busy it was unlikely anything would have regular fast passes left and the lines were so long it just wasn't worth the wait. But we ended up having a decent evening thanks to having fast passes pre-booked!

We headed straight to the new Fantasy Land. Our last trip was about two weeks before it opened to the public and I was anxious to see it. Looking back, I wish we would have visited when it was crowds low enough to navigate through, but it's effects were all the same. It. Was. Gorgeous.



I couldn't resist drooling over the Mine Train. It looks pristine from the outside. Another thing we missed by about 2 weeks I pick the worst times to go to WDW!








We had about a half hour to kill before our Little Mermaid FP. It would have been nice to meander through the area but the crowds, man. I took pictures very strategically, wanting to remember the beauty and not the masses of sweaty, cranky people.









This was the best picture of the fountain I could get without 100 people in there as well








IT WAS TIME FOR OUR FP! Finally! The wait time was over 100 minutes and they had used ropes to extend the queue all the way to the path outside the normal queue entrance. We walked right past and straight through the FP line.







I wished we'd have had MORE time in line because I wanted pictures It was very relieving to me that despite insane crowds and a super long stand by line, our FP got us onto a clam in less than 5 minutes. So far, we had experienced no FP nightmares.

I have to say, I was not impressed with this ride. It broke down three times while we were on it and I found the details lacking compared to other rides Disney does. Now, I love the kiddie dark rides, keep in mind that the Nemo ride is one of my favorites! But I hated how the ceiling looked like that of an office building and it appears as if they did nothing to hide it. I would ride it again but I wouldn't waste a FP on it and I wouldn't wait in a long line for it. Kind of disappointing. My mom was really looking forward to it because it's her favorite movie but she was unimpressed as well.

It could very well have been our moods, though! I was coming to the realization that I had fried myself and I was overwhelmed! It was time for our Be Our Guest reservation, though. And boy did that fix our moods!

 

[Sam33]

I was just reading on the internet about that freak storm out your way. Strange. And don't send it this way, I've got Springsteen tickets for 3 nights from now, outdoor venue.

Thanks for that AKL lobby pic....I needed that.

It was funny, before I read your comment about those ostrich statues I was thinking, "I wonder if they'd ever remodel and sell those things. I'd love one."

Oh my, Fantasyland at 4pm, when all beyond exhausted toddlers have simultaneous meltdowns?

Haha! We will keep in Colorado! I complain now, but we really need the moisture! After two summers of record breaking destructive forest fires, I'm trying really hard to be grateful for all moisture but it's pretty hard.
I can't say I'm surprised, though. I vividly recall a blizzard in June here.

(Hear that out-of-towners? Don't move here! The weather in the spring! [You're causing my rent to sky-rocket as well!])

Nah, I love Colorado...

Can you imagine the price tag if they ever DID sell those?!

 

[princess_momma]

I have 4 pages to catch up on, so I apologize in advance if this reply turns into a novel!!

I'm another CO girl. Born, raised, and still living here! Love it. My personal favorite is the Broncos but we are BIG fans of all the hometowns in our household. The walls in our living room are dedicated to the Avs, Broncos and Rockies memorabilia. Fun fact: my boyfriend was on a hockey team coached by Patrick Roy...we have the cute little team pic on display, right next to a Roy hockey stick! I just can't understand why our teams have to keep breaking our heart though. I don't think I'll EVER get over this past Super Bowl.

AKL is BEAUTIFUL. We just bought into DVC and I can't wait for the trip where we finally stay there. It is so gorgeous!! Pool view is great, but you can't really go wrong looking out and seeing giraffes from your balcony!

I love relaxing nights strolling through Epcot. Except we have never been to La Cava and I'm pretty sure that's sinful so we are determined to make it next trip!

YUM love the slushes in France. I had a preference at some point, but now I can't remember which one I liked more! They are both SO GOOD though.

Isn't the time difference in Denver crazy? I'm SOOOOO worried about this year because on top of that, I'm working a grave schedule. So it should be fun adjusting to be non-nocturnal and on FL time this next trip.

LOVE your MK day...you did all the wonderful things!! I love Space & Splash so much...particularly Splash, it's my all-time 2nd favorite (after Tower of Terror). I can't believe Jungle Cruise had such a huge line that early! I didn't get to ride it at all last trip (saved our FP's for thrill rides...obsessed lol) but we were also never in the park as early as you!

THAT SNOW STORM IN MAY MADE ME SO MAD!! Not to mention the one ON MY BIRTHDAY!! (While you were still enjoying WDW...April 13th!!) I'm SO READY for it to be warm all the time. I have lived here FOREVER and can't handle the cold, but when I'm in Florida in June or August, I can handle the heat like a champ!! LOL. But seriously...stop snowing already CO.

Too funny you missed both New Fantasyland and the Seven Dwarves Mine Train by no time at all. Maybe next time you plan a trip, you should be like "Okay, these are the dates I want" and then book for 2 weeks after that!

Eager for more!!

 

[Sam33]

I have 4 pages to catch up on, so I apologize in advance if this reply turns into a novel!!

I'm another CO girl. Born, raised, and still living here! Love it. My personal favorite is the Broncos but we are BIG fans of all the hometowns in our household. The walls in our living room are dedicated to the Avs, Broncos and Rockies memorabilia. Fun fact: my boyfriend was on a hockey team coached by Patrick Roy...we have the cute little team pic on display, right next to a Roy hockey stick! I just can't understand why our teams have to keep breaking our heart though. I don't think I'll EVER get over this past Super Bowl.

AKL is BEAUTIFUL. We just bought into DVC and I can't wait for the trip where we finally stay there. It is so gorgeous!! Pool view is great, but you can't really go wrong looking out and seeing giraffes from your balcony!

I love relaxing nights strolling through Epcot. Except we have never been to La Cava and I'm pretty sure that's sinful so we are determined to make it next trip!

YUM love the slushes in France. I had a preference at some point, but now I can't remember which one I liked more! They are both SO GOOD though.

Isn't the time difference in Denver crazy? I'm SOOOOO worried about this year because on top of that, I'm working a grave schedule. So it should be fun adjusting to be non-nocturnal and on FL time this next trip.

LOVE your MK day...you did all the wonderful things!! I love Space & Splash so much...particularly Splash, it's my all-time 2nd favorite (after Tower of Terror). I can't believe Jungle Cruise had such a huge line that early! I didn't get to ride it at all last trip (saved our FP's for thrill rides...obsessed lol) but we were also never in the park as early as you!

THAT SNOW STORM IN MAY MADE ME SO MAD!! Not to mention the one ON MY BIRTHDAY!! (While you were still enjoying WDW...April 13th!!) I'm SO READY for it to be warm all the time. I have lived here FOREVER and can't handle the cold, but when I'm in Florida in June or August, I can handle the heat like a champ!! LOL. But seriously...stop snowing already CO.

Too funny you missed both New Fantasyland and the Seven Dwarves Mine Train by no time at all. Maybe next time you plan a trip, you should be like "Okay, these are the dates I want" and then book for 2 weeks after that!

Eager for more!!

YEAH COLORADO! And I am so jealous of your boyfriend. Oh man. Patrick Roy is probably my hero. He's the whole reason I got into hockey as a child in the first place! And we have a tiny apartment so we don't have many walls but it's mostly Avs (got my Flag and Matt Duchene fat head and my signed jersey and game used stick collection! [no roy though got a Hejduk!])

And it wouldn't be so bad if the teams weren't SO GOOD and then failed miserably. If they were just awful all year it would be so much easier to handle I still have to change the radio every time the Super Bowl gets brought up

You simply must go to La Cava. It is spectacular. I have loved every margarita I've tried there! I think about it a lot actually...

Jungle Cruise is so hit or miss. It can be super lame if your skipper stinks so I'm always worried to wait too long for it just in case! We got so lucky the last two trips with skippers! But I wish we could just use all 3 FPs for Splash. I can sit on that ride all day! Not the same with Space...It is just too much ACTUAL fear. I just feel like I'm going to get decapitated!

THAT APRIL SNOW STORM WAS THE WORST. We returned for Disney that day and it was like blizzarding when we landed. We had to walk to the shuttle and our car and wipe the snow off of it and all I had packed was flip flops, shorts and a light jacket! It was SO BAD. It was worse than last week. At least last week I had socks


And that idea WOULD be brilliant but our next trip is over my birthday! I just have to be there on my birthday I can always use more excuses to go back, though. "Husband, we have to go back we missed this last time!" haha