My trip report....The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

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Kris1971's picture
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After some swimming and a quick nap, it was time to get into our costumes for MNSSHP. I was beyond excited to attend MNSSHP, but if you've seen my other post...this ended up being the "ugly" part of "the good, the bad and the ugly", but I'll get to that in a minute. My whole family participated (much to the shagrin of my brother) by dressing as pirates. Not the most original costume choice, but easy to pack. We got on the bus to head to the MK around 6:00. The lines to get in didn't seem that bad, we got our bracelets and our candy bags and made our way on to Main Street. So far so good. Then the ugly started....the place was absolutely mobbed. I have never seen so many people in the MK at one time, and I've been going to WDW for years. The lines for trick or treating were outrageously long, and the lines for the rides were even longer. People were pushing and shoving and it just took away all of the magic for me. We barely rode anything at all. We spent most of our time in lines. It was so frustrating to spend that kind of money only to feel like we barely got to see and do anything at all. The only bright spot was that we got to experience a soft opening of the new fantasy land. We ended up getting to participate in Belle's Enchanted Tales. I won't spill the beans for those of you haven't seen it yet, but what a neat experience. Alaina, Liam and I all got chose to play a part. Very cool! After that, it was time for the fireworks. We were on the back side of the castle when they started. It wasn't necessarily the best view, but we enjoyed them none the less. After that, Liam really wanted to ride Peter Pan again (one of my favorites), but I really wanted to get on the haunted mansion since I hadn't had a chance to ride it yet this trip. The kids DEFINITELY didn't want to ride that one. They were both BIG chickens. So Mom, Dad and I headed to the Haunted Manion while Mike, Michelle and the kids waited in line for Peter Pan again. We met up afterwards for the Boo to You Parade. This was my first time seeing this parade, and it was so cool to see all of the villans! I even got to see the headless horeseman ride through to start the parade. After the parade, we decided we had enough of the crowds and we made our way back to Main Street, when all of a sudden one of my wishes came true....we ran into Captain Hook and got our pictures taken with him in full pirate costumes. By this point, my brother and sister in-law had taken most of their costumes off, so this picture is just me, my folks and the kids (minus Liam's hat, it had started itching earlier, so he took it off).

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Allie wrote:
Yay for more trip report!

Kris1971 wrote:
Sorry for the delay...back to my trip report.

So I forgot to mention during the Day 1 update that my niece decided she was going to stay in my room for the entire trip rather than with her mom, dad and brother. So we named our room "The Room of No Rules". One of my favorite memories of the trip was when my niece was jumping on her bed and I said, "Alaina, what are you doing?" She froze and I said, "you don't do it like that, you do it like this", and then I proceed to jump from one bed and belly flopped on the other. She laughed so hard and we spent the next 10 minutes jumping from bed to bed with each other. (don't worry no damage was done to the beds).

I love your "Room of No Rules"! So cute! And what an adorable family you have...can't wait to hear the rest!

Thanks, Allie. Before we left the room on check out day, we left a note in the safe declaring room 3342 "The Room of No Rules" and asking the next family to keep the tradition alive. It was my niece's idea. We figured if we put it in the safe, the next family would certainly find it and that Mousekeeping wouldn't throw it away.

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Oh my gosh that shrimp po boy looks good! Now i'm hungry, thanks a lot! Wink

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Allie wrote:
Oh my gosh that shrimp po boy looks good! Now i'm hungry, thanks a lot! Wink

Ha ha ha! That happens alot around here Allie! rolling
Yeah , and I'm hungry too now, thanks Kris, but I only have to wait 23 more days and I'm back there!

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Day 4: EPCOT Day

So needless to say after three days of non-stop running, the kids and their parents were pretty beat. They decided to sleep in on Friday morning, so Mom, Dad and I headed to Epcot without them. We made a bee-line straight for Soarin. The standby line was only 30 minutes so we got in line and were lucky enough to get row 1. The ride was amazing as usual. When we got off, we headed to the Fast Pass machines and grabbed three fast passes for 1:00 so Mike, Michelle and Alaina could ride it when they got to the park. From Soarin we headed to Mission Space where we rode the green side (all Mom could handle). After we got off Mission Space, Mike called and they were at the entrance. We met up with them and headed to the Agent P booth so the kids could do a mission while we crusied the countries. They got their assignment and we headed to the left on our way to England. We stopped at the Hawaii booth for the Kailua Pork Slider, then to Canada for the filet (yum!) and a moosehead. From there we stopped in England to start the mission. I had no idea it was such an endeavor. Holy time consuming! Since the kids were wrapped up in the mission, I convinced Mom & Dad to head across the bridge and hit France for another Grey Goose Slushy (OK...we actually had more than one). From there I stopped at the Belgium booth for the Mussels (another Yum) and Mom grabbed some crepe's from a stand between France & Belgium. Dad was looking for something a little more substantial than the bite size piece you get at each stand, so I took him to Tangerine Cafe (thanks, Bella for introducing me to that place) and he got the lamb wrap (up here in the Northeast we call it a gyro). We grabbed a few more drinks then it was time for Mike, Michelle & Alaina to use their Soarin Fast passes. So we took Liam on the ferry across the lagoon and headed in that direction. When they got off of Soarin we hit the Imagination Pavilion and The Seas with Nemo & Friends. From there we decided we'd do a few more character pictures and head out. We had dinner reservations at 6:30 in DTD and it was already 4:30. I wanted to head back to the hotel to freshen up and take the boat over. They were running dragon boat races at DTD so the boat was only dropping off on the West Side, and of course we need to be on the opposite side, so once the boat docked we practically raced over to Wolfgang Pucks (Mike & Michelle's ADR choice). Now I have been to DTD many times, but never on a Friday night, and let me just say...never again on a Friday night. The place was wall to wall people. We made it to our ADR with 5 minutes to spare. They sat us in an odd room with a whole bunch of other large family parties. That's when I knew we were in trouble. The service was absolutely terrible. The worst service I've ever had at WDW. Of course, Wolfgang Puck's is not a Disney owned restaurant, but I've eaten there before and always enjoyed the experience. Not this time. File this one under the "bad" in "the good, the bad, and the ugly". Anyway, after dinner we attempted to hit the World of Disney, but the crowds were just too much for us and we decided to finsh our shopping back at the Magic Kingdom the next day. Our last day. sad

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Day 5 - Our last day yuck

The last day of a trip to WDW is always a blue day, but in this case, our flight didn't leave until 7:30 PM so we had almost a whole day left to enjoy. We got up, headed down to airline check in and checked our bags. I loved knowing we wouldn't see our bags again until we arrived in Philadelphia. Very cool. After that we headed back to MK. Once inside we headed straight to Sleepy Hallow for the last waffles of our trip and then decided to take Liam back over to Storybook Circus to ride his absolute favorite - Goofy's barnstormer coaster. If you ask him even today what his favorite part of WDW was, he'll say that coaster. Too funny. We did a few of the rides in Storybook Circus and then headed back into Fantasy land for the classics again...Peter Pan, Its a small World, etc.. From there we decided it was a good time to get lunch. I needed my Casey's, so Mom, Dad and I had chili cheese dogs, while Mike, Michelle and the kids went to Cosmic Rays for burgers. We sat at the tables outside of the Plaza and watched the people go by. The weather was absolutely gorgeous...sunny, mid 80's and ZERO humidity. After lunch we decided to finish up our shopping and hit the Emporium on Main St. I bought myself a Dole Whip t-shirt and a new baseball hat. I got my hubby a winter hit (he's a big fan of the wooly hats) and got Willow (my pup) a Cheshire Cat plush toy. We wanted to do Splash Mountain one more time before we left but it was closed down. Splash Mountain seemed to be having a lot of problems the week were there. I'm not sure why, but at least we got to ride it once. That ended up being my niece's favorite ride. Can't blame her. It is a classic! Well it was about 3:00 by now, and the Magical Express was picking us up at POFQ at 4:30, so we hopped the bus and headed back to the resort. We did a little more shopping in the gift shop there and then headed over to the pool bar for a few drinks before heading to the airport. All in all it was a wonderful trip, minus a few bad and ugly points. Still even with those few things that went wrong, I would still rather be in WDW than anywhere else!!!! I only wish I knew when I'd be going again! I'm bored not having another trip to plan!

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Glad to hear the good outweighed the bad, Kris! Great trip report Smile

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Super trip report Kris. I love the pictures of your family. Can't wait for more! yay mickey laugh

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HOLY COW...I just realized I forgot to mention the last thing I did before leaving the MK on Day 5 - I GOT MY DOLE WHIP FLOAT! How a girl could forget to mention something as important as that is beyond me. wink

It was SCRUMPTIOUS!!!!!

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Love reading your report and you are the coolest aunt ever! cool

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Magic Mirror wrote:
Love reading your report and you are the coolest aunt ever! cool

That is so sweet. Thank you. I try!

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Awesome trip report and I have to agree you are the best aunt ever. I think you should plan your next trip for the next time me and mase are down there Smile

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Jess wrote:
Awesome trip report and I have to agree you are the best aunt ever. I think you should plan your next trip for the next time me and mase are down there Smile

Aw thanks!

I would love to be down there at the same time as you and Mase! That would be so much fun!!!! I've actually been considering giving a solo trip a try. My DH doesn't mind WDW but he doesn't feel the need to go more than once every few years. Me on the other hand, I'd like to go every year if possible!

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Kris1971 wrote:
Jess wrote:
Awesome trip report and I have to agree you are the best aunt ever. I think you should plan your next trip for the next time me and mase are down there Smile

Aw thanks!

I would love to be down there at the same time as you and Mase! That would be so much fun!!!! I've actually been considering giving a solo trip a try. My DH doesn't mind WDW but he doesn't feel the need to go more than once every few years. Me on the other hand, I'd like to go every year if possible!

Hey... we will take ya with us!

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Great trip report!!!!!! Loved hearing about it all... and I'm with you, I'm bored not having a trip to plan =(

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emmaanne wrote:
Great trip report!!!!!! Loved hearing about it all... and I'm with you, I'm bored not having a trip to plan =(

You know you can come with us to Em Smile

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Mase wrote:
Kris1971 wrote:
Jess wrote:
Awesome trip report and I have to agree you are the best aunt ever. I think you should plan your next trip for the next time me and mase are down there Smile

Aw thanks!

I would love to be down there at the same time as you and Mase! That would be so much fun!!!! I've actually been considering giving a solo trip a try. My DH doesn't mind WDW but he doesn't feel the need to go more than once every few years. Me on the other hand, I'd like to go every year if possible!

Hey... we will take ya with us!

Is your suitcase big enough. laugh

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Kris1971 wrote:
Mase wrote:
Kris1971 wrote:
Jess wrote:
Awesome trip report and I have to agree you are the best aunt ever. I think you should plan your next trip for the next time me and mase are down there Smile

Aw thanks!

I would love to be down there at the same time as you and Mase! That would be so much fun!!!! I've actually been considering giving a solo trip a try. My DH doesn't mind WDW but he doesn't feel the need to go more than once every few years. Me on the other hand, I'd like to go every year if possible!

Hey... we will take ya with us!

Is your suitcase big enough. laugh

Well my father in laws not coming this year so there's an extra plane ticket, room in our room and park pass

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Cool. I've never stayed at AK before! wink

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What a great trip and awesome report!!! May have to try that po'boy. . . laugh

AND congrats on the dole whip float! Now you have truly stepped over to the "Disney Side", grasshopper!!

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Ollie wrote:
What a great trip and awesome report!!! May have to try that po'boy. . . laugh

AND congrats on the dole whip float! Now you have truly stepped over to the "Disney Side", grasshopper!!

Yep, Ollie. I've got to give it to the float. I had my first ever Dole Whip during last years trip, but I went whip straight up, no float. Now I'll never go back. Float all the way!!!

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Jess wrote:
emmaanne wrote:
Great trip report!!!!!! Loved hearing about it all... and I'm with you, I'm bored not having a trip to plan =(

You know you can come with us to Em Smile

You know I would totally take you up on that offer!!! haha! Packing my suitcase now... =)

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emmaanne wrote:
Jess wrote:
emmaanne wrote:
Great trip report!!!!!! Loved hearing about it all... and I'm with you, I'm bored not having a trip to plan =(

You know you can come with us to Em Smile

You know I would totally take you up on that offer!!! haha! Packing my suitcase now... =)

Smile

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Nice report! Thanks for sharing awesome

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DisneyDee27 wrote:
Nice report! Thanks for sharing awesome

Thanks, Dee. Have you done your trip report yet? Did I miss it?

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Kris1971 wrote:
DisneyDee27 wrote:
Nice report! Thanks for sharing awesome

Thanks, Dee. Have you done your trip report yet? Did I miss it?

Kris1971 wrote:
DisneyDee27 wrote:
Nice report! Thanks for sharing awesome

Thanks, Dee. Have you done your trip report yet? Did I miss it?

I don't do trip reports biggrin

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DisneyDee27 wrote:
Kris1971 wrote:
DisneyDee27 wrote:
Nice report! Thanks for sharing awesome

Thanks, Dee. Have you done your trip report yet? Did I miss it?

Kris1971 wrote:
DisneyDee27 wrote:
Nice report! Thanks for sharing awesome

Thanks, Dee. Have you done your trip report yet? Did I miss it?

I don't do trip reports biggrin

I get it. No trip report. Any favorite memories about the trip to share?

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There should be a warning on the Pirates ride that there's a dark drop, because that's the downfall of many a young rider...I remember that putting me over the edge as a wee-one, too!!

Okay, LOVE the "Room of No Rules"....that is AWESOME!!

And SUPER sad about your experience with MNSSHP....we went mid-October last year, and ditched the whole candy thing, because the lines were so ridonkulous...didn't see any characters, either, for that reason. But the parade and the fireworks made it worth it...best fireworks I've ever seen.

Your pictures are ADORABLE, and I'm so thankful that you spent so much time writing up that report for us to read so we could live vicariously through you!! Smile

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Nancy D wrote:
There should be a warning on the Pirates ride that there's a dark drop, because that's the downfall of many a young rider...I remember that putting me over the edge as a wee-one, too!!

Okay, LOVE the "Room of No Rules"....that is AWESOME!!

And SUPER sad about your experience with MNSSHP....we went mid-October last year, and ditched the whole candy thing, because the lines were so ridonkulous...didn't see any characters, either, for that reason. But the parade and the fireworks made it worth it...best fireworks I've ever seen.

Your pictures are ADORABLE, and I'm so thankful that you spent so much time writing up that report for us to read so we could live vicariously through you!! Smile

Thanks, Nancy. We had such a good time, and its fun to put it all down in writing and share it with you all!

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DisneyDee27 wrote:
Kris1971 wrote:
DisneyDee27 wrote:
Nice report! Thanks for sharing awesome

Thanks, Dee. Have you done your trip report yet? Did I miss it?

Kris1971 wrote:
DisneyDee27 wrote:
Nice report! Thanks for sharing awesome

Thanks, Dee. Have you done your trip report yet? Did I miss it?

I don't do trip reports biggrin

OTG I was afraid to be the only person not doing a trip report. I might give a highs and lows report but no real trip report. I don't even want to think about post Disney. The thought is depressing already and I don't leave for weeks.

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