Disney

Ok guys, settle in. This is going to be a long blog. I am going to detail our trip to Disney. If you are bored, this will give you something to read! I plan on posting this on another site as well (specifically for Disney) which is why I made it a separate post. Here we go!!

Day 1: Saturday

Our trip started out on Saturday, December 2. I drove with my mom and dog from Daytona Beach to Orlando (about an hour). Our first stop was the Best Friends Pet Kennel. OMG. They were amazing. The place was very clean and quiet despite being full of pets. We dropped Hoss off, chose some add on treats for him (extra walks, doggie ice cream, etc.) and headed over to Art of Animation resort.

Art of Animation was abut 3 miles from the kennel and we arrived around 10:30am. We got in line to check in and guess what? Our room was ready. The hotel lobby was very pretty and decorated with sketch drawings from various Disney movies. The hotel is in 4 sections, each of which is themed: Cars (where we stayed), Finding Nemo, Little Mermaid, and Lion King. We also picked up our Mickey's Backyard BBQ tickets from concierge for that evening.

Mom and I drove over to our section of the hotel. We stayed in a Cars family suite, which was very roomy and super cute. I requested a first floor room in the building closest to the food court and transportation. I requested first floor because my mom smokes, so I wanted to make it easier for her. We didn't get first floor, we got fourth, but we did get the building most conveniently located, so I was ok with it and so was she. Now, we were expecting a TON of family and friends to arrive from Baltimore, MD that day (33 of us total to be exact) including many of my in-laws who were bringing my niece (6) and nephew (9) with them on the plane. They were do to arrive around 1230pm. We had some things planned together (BBQ, Chef Mickey for my nephew's bday, MVMCP), but much of our trip would be spend together but apart. Mom and I had plenty of time to unpack all of our stuff before driving to the airport (about 25 minutes) to pick up my niece and nephew.

We got the kids and they were starving, and so were we. So, even though I had plans to go to MK that afternoon before the BBQ, we decided it would be too rushed. We were participating in the Disney Dining Plan (1 quick service, 1 table service, 2 snacks per day), so we took the kids straight to the food court to grab some pizza before heading to the room to unpack. After getting the kids unpacked and settled, we headed out to MK to activate our military tickets and catch the boat to Fort Wilderness for the BBQ. Transportation at Art of Animation was pretty darn good. Although the lines for MK were usually long, buses were almost always lined up to take everyone. We never waited more than 10-15 minutes for a bus, and it was usually because loading was slow, not because a bus wasn't there. We got to MK, where I activated our tickets (and upgraded mine to an AP) and then hopped on the boat to the BBQ which started at 530pm. We had attended the BBQ last year on Thanksgiving, so we already knew how fun it would be. I particularly love that wine and beer are included in this one, because I was ready for a beer for sure! The food at the BBQ is pretty good and includes BBQ items such as hot dogs, hamburgers, and variety of salads, beans, veggies, etc. The kids love the trick rope show and dancing with all the characters. My niece started to crash around 8pm, they had a very long day flying, etc. So, we left and grabbed the boat back to MK to catch the bus back to Art of Animation. I will say this- the bus ride from AoA to MK is long. It is the furthest park away from the hotel and usually took 20-30 minutes to get back.

Day 2: Sunday

On Day 2, we had plans to head to MK during the day, take a small break at the hotel after lunch at Chef Mickey and then head to Epcot in the evening for the Frozen Ever After dessert party and Illuminations. It all worked out, but it was too long of a day for the kids, even with the break. Lesson learned. MK was great. It was not very crowded that day, which is always nice. The park opened at 8am and we were there right at 8. Our first fast pass was for the Jungle Cruise aka Jingle Cruise. It was very cute and decorated for Christmas, complete with new Christmas themed bad jokes from the tour guide. After that, we walked right on Pirate's of the Caribbean with no wait at all. I noticed they have a new photo for Pirate's that was not there last year! 

After that, the kids wanted to do Aladdin's Magic Carpets, so we walked right on that as well. Our next fast pass was for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. My niece was finally tall enough to ride most rides this year (40 inches), so she was able to get on and loved it! Then, we walked right on Splash Mountain too! I told you it wasn't very busy. Mom took a smoke break (right there by Thunder Mountain). We wanted to take a short trip over to Tom Sawyer's Island, but they didn't open until 11am, and it was only 1030! So, we took a quick ride on the Haunted Mansion and took a few pictures.

So, we headed over for our third fast pass, which was meeting Rapunzel and Tiana. My niece only requested one person to meet, and it was Rapunzel, so I made sure I had a fast pass. I am glad I did, because they standby wait for them was 45 minutes! Fast pass took about 5 minutes. The kids got their autographs and photos and then we had to make our way to the Contemporary for lunch at Chef Mickey's for my other nephew's birthday.

I knew the Contemporary was right next door to MK. I didn't want to take the monorail, so we decided to walk. It was a bit further than expected for the kids. It was no problem for me and Mom but the kids were complaining after abut 5 minutes. I believe it took a total of 12 minutes to get there, so really not that bad. We arrived and Chef Mickey and waited for all of our party (27 of us). They were very accommodating and were able to seat us all together (in 3 tables). However, we weren't seated until about 40 minutes after our reservation time, which was hard with a ton of hungry, bored kids waiting for a birthday party. We did take advantage of the wait to get a bunch of great group photos at the beautiful tree. Now, Chef Mickey was in the convention center area because the normal restaurant was being refurbished. However, the ball room was beautifully decorated for Christmas. That is pretty much where my praise for Chef Mickey stops. The food was mostly empty at every station we went to. I understand that buffets run out and need to be refilled, but it is very inconvenient to have to get up multiple times with kids to get food. The waiter seemed very overwhelmed with the number of us (they should have given us more than one) and we were pretty much finished eating before he even got our drinks to us. The characters seemed to rotate around us, but never came to our table. Eventually, Mickey and Goofy came, but since there were so many kids with us, I felt like they rushed everything. The last straw was the birthday cake. Our waiter brought out the cake and then said he'd be right back with a light for the candles. Right back took about 10-15 minutes. Now, that doesn't seem too crazy, but when a big group of kids is waiting to sing happy birthday to a six year old, it feels like an eternity. They didn't make is special at all, and I was very disappointed in the entire meal.

After lunch, instead of walking all the way back to MK to catch the bus and drive 30 minutes back to AoA, we got an Uber. It was only $12! We were back to AoA almost an hour before everyone else. The kids asked if they could swim, so they got in the smaller Cozy Cone pool closest to our room. We let them swim for about an hour, and then we had to get them dried off and ready for Epcot. Our plan for Epcot was to just take our time walking through the countries, try some foods, shop a bit, and then go to the Frozen dessert party at 830. The kids love the Kidcot stations and getting their passports signed. This year, I also got them both a started set of pins, so they did some pin trading as well. We rode the 3 Cabelleros ride at Mexico and ate dinner there from the holiday kitchen. The food (especially the egg rolls) were delicious! We used our snack credits and shared everything. We checked in for the dessert party and got our bracelets and then walked around a little more. It was absolutely packed there. I think it was so busy for two reasons. One, it was a Sunday night. Two, Whoopi Goldberg was the speaker for the Candlelight Processional and that area was crazy busy. I would have loved to see it, but the kids would have been bored. 

Once it was about 8pm, we headed over to the FEA dessert party area and waited until they started letting people in. The area was absolutely gorgeous and the viewing for the fireworks was amazing. The food was really good! They had a cheese/bread/veggie selection and then some fantastic desserts including a chocolate lava concoction that was heavenly. The party also included beer, wine, and a special frozen sangria made with champagne that was delightful. It was pretty chilly that night, so the hot chocolate was nice as well. Unfortunately, Illuminations was not until 9:30pm, and both kids fell asleep. The day finally caught up to them. We were given some special glasses that made the fireworks look like snowflakes. My nephew woke up to watch, but my niece slept through it all. These were by far, the best fireworks of the trip. Both my mom and I were crying at the end because the message and the display were so beautiful. After the show, our dessert party ticket included a special ride on Frozen Ever After. Surprisingly, my niece still wanted to do it after we woke her up, so we did. It was nice being able to walk right on. And, the crowd totally cleared out while we were riding, so the park was empty as we left. We thought an Uber might be quicker than the bus, and we would have been right... however, we got the worst, scariest Uber driver I have ever encountered. She had not idea where she was going. Thankfully, I sat in the front and was able to stop her from making at least 3 wrong turns or we would have take even longer getting home. 

Day 3: Monday

After such a ridiculously long day yesterday, we decided to let the kids dictate this day. We had FP for MK, so we planned to head there. My original plan was to stay there all day and watch Happily Ever After fireworks. However, the kids saw them last year, and opted to go home after lunch to swim for the rest of the day instead. We headed to MK on the bus. Opening was at 9am and we arrived pretty much right at 9. We headed straight to our first fast pass, which was Buzz Lightyear's Ranger Spin. This ride was down last year when we were there, so it was nice to get to do it this time. We had a friendly competition with scores, and I won. After Buzz, the kids saw the Astro Orbiter and wanted to do it. I hate spinning rides, but it looked like Aladdin's carpets, just higher. so I said ok. The wait was about 15 minutes, but I was not a fan of having to take an elevator to just get on the thing. Them I saw how much faster is went than Aladdin. I had to stare at my lap the whole time to keep from puking. But, the kids loved it. After that, we had a FP for Splash Mountain. The kids were super excited to do it again, but it was a bit chilly and overcast, so mom and I were not excited to get wet. When we got in line, they immediately came over the intercom and said the ride was shutting down for technical issues. Kids were bummed, mom and I were happy. We used the FP for Big Thunder Mountain again and it was just as fun as last time. Mom smoked and the kids called their dad on the phone. After BTM, we went to have lunch and use a quick service meal at Columbia Harbor House. We got there just in time because it was empty when we arrived, but after we sat down, the line got long and the place was packed. The food was pretty good for quick service. I got fish and chips, the kids had nuggets, and mom had a tuna sandwich. After we ate, we headed over for our last FP, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. I had been dying to ride this one because I couldn't get a fast pass for it last year. Everyone loved it! We rode, then took a few pictures.

After 7DMT, the kids wanted to go back to swim. As I said, it was pretty overcast, but the pool was heated so we went back. They wanted to check out the Big Blue Pool, which is the largest Disney property pool. It's Little Mermaid themed and so cute! My only issue was it was so big, I couldn't let the kids go in certain areas because I couldn't see them. They swam for a bit and mom and I decided we'd just eat dinner at the food court that night and make it a lazy evening since we had Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party the next night. The kids only swam for about an hour before they were too cold, so we went back to the room to put on pants and take them to the play area. We walked the grounds of the hotel and took some great pics (prepare for pic overload).

After playing, we headed in to the food court for dinner. It was pretty busy, but not overwhelming. The kids chose pizza, Mom chose to make her own pasta bowl, and I chose the short ribs. Everything was pretty tasty. The kids saw the arcade on the way into the food court and asked if we could do that after dinner. Mom wasn't into it, so I took the kids for about an hour and a half and they played pretty much everything in there. It wasn't packed, which was nice, and it was pretty big for a hotel arcade, and surprisingly cheap compared to somewhere like Chuck E. Cheese. After the arcade, we walked back to the room for baths and to get a good night's sleep. 

Day 4: Tuesday

My original plan for Tuesday was spending the morning at Animal Kingdom, taking a 2 hour break at the hotel, then heading to MVMCP at MK. After seeing how the kids crashed on the Epcot night, I knew I had to change my attack. So, we went to AK, but for a much shorter amount of time. The bus to AK was practically empty and it only took about 15 minutes to get there from AoA. We arrived right as they were opening and headed straight for our first FP, Na'vi River Journey. Pandora was beautiful, but we didn't explore since we were trying to get out of AK early. Na'vi was gorgeous and relaxing, but I don't think I'd do it again because it's a short ride and kind of boring. After Na'vi, we had a FP for Dinosaur. On the way there, we stopped to see It's Tough to Be a Bug, which is a favorite for us. Then we headed to Dinoland. My niece was too short for this one last year, so she was excited to ride. It was fun, and neither kid was scared.

The kids kept asking for a snack and to play at the Boneyard, but I was trying to keep the day short. I had a FP for Expedition Everest next, so we started walking that way. My nephew, who rode with me TWICE last year, said he didn't want to do it, so we took some pics with Everest in the background. I was bummed, but we stopped for lunch right at 11am at Yak and Yeti quick service. The food was great! I had the teriyaki beef bowl, the kids had nuggets and fried rice, and mom had the orange chicken. The best part of the meal was the little duck family that was wandering under our feet eating crumbs, They were adorable! After lunch we took a few quick pics and then headed back to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, we had a lot of time before we had to leave for MK at 4pm. The kids were asking to swim again, so we gave them an hour in the Cozy Cone Pool. After swimming, we made them take naps. We told them whoever slept the longest could get a special treat. My nephew didn't sleep at all really, but did stay in the dark bedroom in bed for a good hour and a half. My niece slept the whole time. After they woke up, we told them whoever could stay up the latest at the party got a treat as well. We told them they had to make it to midnight! I had a dinner reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern at 505pm, and the line for the bus to MK was really long, so we decided to Uber. And that's where this day takes a turn for the worse. We didn't realize that Uber took us to the transportation center, not to MK. So, we were totally lost and confused when we got there, but we figured it out. I was worried we'd be late because we also needed to get our party wristbands. We headed up to the monorail platform, and wouldn't you know it, it broke down. So, there was a crazy mad rush for the ferry, and at this point we were only 10 minutes from our reservation time. I was panicking. However, I knew they would honor the reservation because it wasn't our fault. But, it would put a wrinkle in our plans for the evening. Once we arrived at MK, it was just past our reservation time. Luckily, they were only letting party guests in, so they were giving bracelets right there at the entrance. That saved us some time from having to find a wristband location inside. Unfortunately, we had to run past the party entrance which had photo ops, etc. Liberty Tree Tavern is at the back of the park, so we were all sweaty and tired by the time we got there. I ordered really cute sweatshirts for us to wear that night, and it ended up being the hottest night we were there! Once inside, we calmed down and made a pact to forget about the transportation debacle and enjoy ourselves. 

By far, Liberty Tree Tavern was THE BEST meal we had the entire trip. The food is served family style and is pretty much like a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. We treated this as our Christmas dinner since we won't be together this year. The bring out a big salad with a delicious sweet dressing and rolls with honey butter. After that, they bring a platter of meats (turkey, pork tenderloin, and pot roast) with stuffing and bowls of green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, and mac and cheese. We ate so much we felt sick, but still felt guilty there were so many leftovers! The dessert is a toffee cake with ice cream that is served warm in a skillet. We all had a few bites, but we were so full, we could barely walk out of there!

After dinner, it was party time! We made an executive decision about characters- not to meet them. The lines for the characters were so long, we didn't want to waste the night standing in line. So, we got on some rides because the place was empty! Whenever we saw a treat line that was manageable and moving quickly, we got in it. I brought along a tin to collect all the cookies because there was no way we could eat them all. We took a ride on It's a Small World because my niece really wanted to, and there was no line. It was nice to take a few minutes to sit an relax. We rode BTM again in the dark and it was better than ever. Then we headed over to the castle to watch Elsa make it Frozen. From there, we went over to Cosmic Rays for the dance party, Club Tinsel. My nephew didn't want to dance and sat and ate cookies with my Mom, but my niece and I danced for a good 20 minutes. By the time we were done, I was sweating and tired. We had about an hour and a half before Mickey's Most Merriest Celebration at the castle, so we headed to ride Barnstormer, which had no line at all! Then we took a quick spin on Dumbo, again no line! There was a treat station across from Dumbo, so we stopped in there to grab some treats and water and then made our way to the castle. Luckily, we scored a great spot to watch the Celebration and then the Holiday Wishes Fireworks at 10pm. My niece was fading fast, so we declared my nephew the winner for staying up the latest, and decided to leave. Walking down Main Street in the snow was awesome! The bus ride back to AoA was not. It was packed and we were the last ones they let on. There were no seats at all for the kids and they were both falling asleep. I sat them on the floor at my feet and they both feel asleep on the 30 minute ride home. I felt really bad for them, but we made it!

Day 5: Wednesday

Unfortunately, we had an early morning the next day at Hollywood Studios. We had a 10am brunch reservation with much of our group at Hollywood and Vine. We ended up arriving at HS right at opening and headed straight for Jedi Training sign ups. My niece was tormenting my nephew during the 20 minute wait in line, and by the end he was having a full on meltdown. So, since we had about 30 minutes until brunch, I decided to take him alone to ride Rock 'n' Roller Coaster since my niece is too small. When we got there, it was closed down, so we did Tower of Terror instead. It was only about a 15 minute wait, and it was a blast. He loved that he could brag to my niece that he got on first. We raced back to H&V for brunch, which was the second best meal we had on the trip. The buffet was well stocked, and the food was very good. I loved the biscuits and gravy and the sliced ham the best! All the Disney Junior characters came to our table and I never felt rushed. A cast member even came by to make sure we had met everyone! 

After brunch, we headed for our first FP ride, Toy Story Midway Mania. This is a favorite of mine from California Adventure, so I was excited to take the kids on it. We had a competition again, and this time my nephew was beating me until the last round, but I prevailed! From there, we stopped in to do Voyage of the Little Mermaid, which was super cute! Then we headed to the Tower of Terror for the next FP. My nephew wasn't scared since he had already done it, and my niece isn't scared of anything. We had a few minutes to kill, so mom smoked and we took pictures. The ride was awesome, as usual, and my throat hurt afterwards from screaming so much, I love the little video you get with memory maker! Both kids loved it and wanted to ride again, but the line was crazy long since RnR was still closed.

After ToT, we had a fast pass for Star Tours. Since we had some time before our window, I took the kids to the Disney Visa character meet and greet. It was Kylo Ren, and they were awestruck. My nephew is a diehard Jedi Rebel, but my niece is dark side all the way. Kylo Ren told her "You have great powers. Do not waste them on good". And she promised she wouldn't! We headed to Star Tours next, which both kids loved as well. After that, we had a lot of free time to kill. I scored another FP for RnR since it was open again. We headed for our Jedi Training time slot and the kids had a blast fighting Darth Vader! Them they wanted to go back to the Star Wars area to spend some time. We met BB8 and Chewbacca! 

From there, we headed over to RnR for our FP. We stopped and grabbed some ice cream, since we didn't have lunch this day (due to late brunch). Mom stayed with my niece and their ice cream while my nephew and I headed for RnR. Now, I was pretty sneaky about this ride. My nephew didn't know too much about it, except I told him it was a coaster like Space Mountain, inside and in the dark. He was nervous, but ok with getting on. The FP line took longer than expected, probably because the ride was down for so long earlier that lots of people were trying to ride now. It took about 15-20 minutes before we got on. I waited until we were strapped in and holding in the area to be shot off before I told him the ride went upside down. He was NOT happy with me, but he still liked the ride. I knew if I told him that before we got on, he wouldn't do it. Afterwards he told me he could cross "upside down coasters" off his list of things to try and was proud of himself for doing it. He looks pretty terrified in the pic though!

After RnR, we had dinner reservations at Sci-Fi. I know this restaurant gets bad food reviews, but I absolutely love the theme and knew the kids would too. It took about 20 minutes from our reservation time before we were seated, but we got a car in the back and it was great. In my opinion, the food was good too. Mom got a burger and I had the Reuben. My nephew had nuggets again and niece chose the pasta. After dinner, we had tickets for the Fantasmic Dessert party so we headed to the other side of the park. The kids were getting tired at this point (it was about 730pm), but they were troopers. The dessert party here is very different from Frozen, but it was still pretty great. Basically, you go in a separate entrance and stop at a stand where they give you a light up lanyard, a light up specialty cup (adults get mugs with or without an alcoholic beverage- I chose the margarita, and kids get a light up cup with a lid), and a box of treats. The adult box had trail mix, different cheeses, chocolate covered strawberries, and a variety of little cupcakes, etc. The kids box had popcorn, different cupcakes, etc. and a kit to make dirt cake, which I thought was genius! It was a small container of chocolate pudding, a cup of cookie crumbs, and gummy worms! You mixed them all together and ate them out of the container. Super cute! The best part of the party was the seating. This was the cheapest dessert party. I believe I paid $39 per kid and maybe $59 per adult. We had center front seating and it was amazing! This was the second best show in my opinion, but the best if you ask the kids. Luckily it wasn't windy, so we didn't even get sprayed. with mist. I still want to know how they light the water on fire! After the show, leaving SUCKED. All those people trying to get out of the amphitheater is crappy. We stayed in our seats for a good 10 minutes and let it clear out. Then mom smoked while we took a bathroom break to let the crowd clear out a bit more. We took the bus back to AoA, which is a very short ride from HS, about 10-15 minutes.

ay

Day 6: Thursday

Since we had such a long day and late night last night, I had pre-arranged for this day to start late. My plan was to get to AK sometime around 11am since we would be staying for Rivers of Light. We woke up without an alarm this day and took our time taking baths and showers. It was a chilly, foggy morning and it was expected to be overcast and misty all day. When we were ready, which was around 9am, we headed down to have a quick service breakfast at the food court. I had the french toast, mom had eggs, and the kids had breakfast platters with eggs, bacon, and Mickey waffles. After breakfast, we headed to the bus for AK. Since we got there earlier than expected (around 1030), we wandered around Pandora checking out the new area, which was beautiful, but packed. I had a FP for Avatar Flight of Passage at 1125am. My niece was too short, so we planned to use rider swap so my mom could ride as well. Mom and niece had a FP for Na'vi to pass the time. My nephew and I walked right in, and the standby wait time was 180 minutes! Now, this ride is something amazing. I have never been on or seen anything like it. It literally made me cry. I didn't want it to end. I wish we could have ridden it more than once. Well, my nephew got to ride twice since my mom took him with the rider swap. I took my niece to get an ice cream while we waited for them. It was the most amazing ride I have ever been on, hands down. I don't really see why my niece was too short for it though, I think she would have been fine. 

After FOP, we had a FP for Kali River Rapids. It was chilly and misty, but the kids really wanted to do it. Luckily, I brought the ponchos with us, so we took some time to cover ourselves, stored our backpacks in a locker and rode. It was not enjoyable at all. The kids liked it, but it was super short. Maybe on a really hot day it would be fun, but not this day. We stayed relatively dry with the ponchos though, so that was a plus. We walked over to the famous mac and cheese cart because we were all hungry. Everyone got pretzels but me. I got the pulled pork mac and cheese and I was not disappointed. Best use of a snack credit EVER. After the rapids, the kids were being pretty rotten, so I got a beer and we decided to just walk the Maharajah Jungle Trek. It's basically like a mini zoo, and the kids love looking at the animals, so it was a nice way to slowly walk around. Afterwards, we headed over to Africa and took the train up to Rafiki's area so the kids could go to the petting zoo. We were pressed for time, since we had a weird 3:10pm dining reservation for Tusker House. It was the only time I could get with the ROL package. We got there and the wait was pretty long for having a reservation (about 20 minutes). The food was great, but we were not that hungry. I was also disappointed in the characters. We only got to meet two of the four, even though we stayed there pretty long. 

After our lunch/dinner, we had a FP for Kilimanjaro Safaris, which is a favorite for us. We got to see tons of animals, as usual and the kids loved it. By the time we were finished with the safari, we had to make our way to the first showing of ROL at 630pm. Mom stopped for coffee since it was chilly. We had decent seating for ROL, and the show was really cool and different, but it definitely wasn't my favorite and was a bit slow for the kids. Luckily we had the early showing, otherwise they probably would have fell asleep. After ROL, it was a nightmare getting out of that area. The area around Expedition Everest was a nightmare with people trying to get to the ride, half of us trying to leave ROL, and the other half lining up for the next ROL showing. It took a good 30 minutes of wall to wall people before we finally made it out. We walked back to Pandora just to see it lit up at night, and I have to say I think it's more impressive in the daylight. We got a quick glimpse of the Tree of Life Awakenings on our way out of the park to the bus.

Day 7: Friday

For our last day, our original plan was to spend half the day at Future World in Epcot and then head to HS for Jingle Bell, Jingle Bam! However, the kids had to be on the Magical Express the next day at 625am, so we decided to do Epcot, then head back to the hotel to swim and have an evening in. We took the AoA bus to Epcot and got there before they opened. The plan was to rope drop Soarin since we used our Tier One FP for Test Track. It worked like a charm. We headed straight there, no running, and walked on with no wait. My niece was too small last year, so this was her first time and was one of her favorite rides. It was also my first time for Soarin across the world, but I had done Soarin over CA many times before. It was magical. The smells!! After Soarin, it was just after 9am, so we had a quick service breakfast at Sunshine Seasons. Mom and the kids all had eggs and bacon breakfast platters, but I opted for the French toast bread pudding. I have to admit, I was highly skeptical when I saw it, but it was delicious. I even got the kids to try it and they both loved it! 

After breakfast, we had a FP for Mission Space. My niece is too short for Orange, and my Mom is too queasy, we we did the Green. I was disappointed in the FP line. It seemed to take a long time. At least 20 minutes. The ride was fun, except my niece couldn't reach the controls, which she was bummed about. After that, we had a FP for Test Track. Again, the line was slow. Another 20-30 minutes before we were actually on the ride, but both kids loved it! They wanted to stay and play, but we were on a tight time schedule and had a lunch reservation at Akershus.

We headed over for our third FP at Spaceship Earth after Test Track. We had all been on this one before, but my niece loves to go "inside the big ball" so we did it again. Mom and I both almost fell asleep, but it was a nice break. After Spaceship Earth, mom wanted to take a smoke, and she wasn't feeling good this day (bad cold), so I took the kids to meet Joy and Sadness. The line was pretty long, about 30 minutes, but our friends were in line too, and the kids played in the big open space in the back of the room while the adults waited in line. They were super cute when we met them too. They took a lot of time and 16 photos! Afterwards, we met up with Mom and made our way over to Norway.

We made our way to Norway, and realized we had about 25 minutes until our lunch reservation at Akershus for 1:25. The Elsa and Anna character meet was showing a wait of 30 minutes, so we went for it. Mom waited and found the restaurant so we could meet her after. The line moved surprisingly fast, and we were done in about 20 minutes. I loved this meet and greet. It was so smooth and each princess was so attentive and funny. The kids loved it.

After the meeting, we headed straight for Akershus, which was just around the corner. All week my niece had been saying she hates princesses now, but that all changed when we went inside. She loved it. We didn't wait long, maybe 10 minutes, but I wasn't happy with our table location. It was on the aisle at an intersection and my seat was bumped at least 10 times. I had a sparkling wine and mom got a glass of wine too. On the way in, there is a meet and greet with photo with Belle. The appetizer is a huge buffet that we couldn't have eaten our entire lunch off of. For lunch, the kids chose pizza. I had the meatballs and mom had the stuffed pasta. It was all delicious, and we were stuffed. Dessert was not impressive, but mom and my niece liked the chocolate mousse. During the meal, all the princesses come to the table for autographs and pictures. At this meal we had: Aurora, Snow White, Ariel, and Cinderella. After they all come around, they do a Princess Processional and all the kids line up and walk around the entire place. It was really cute!

After Akershus, we decided to head back to the hotel. The kids wanted to swim one more time, so we got home, changed into our suits and headed to the pool. We got home around 330pm so I let them swim until about 5pm while Mom started packing. We decided to order food and bring it to the room to eat dinner and watch a movie. The kids took baths and then my niece wanted to go with me to get the food. We got quick service meals from the food court. My nephew got nuggets, my niece got mac and cheese meal. Mom got chicken soup and I got a salad and soup. My niece and I carried everything back to the room and we had dinner and watched Toy Story 2 until everyone was ready for bed. In the morning, I had them down for the Magical Express at 6am and I cried like a baby when they left. Here are some pics of the pool since I haven't posted any yet.

After the kids were off, Mom and I finished packing and packed up the car. Then we went to the food court and had breakfast. I had 4 quick service meals and 27 snacks leftover! So, we hung around paying for things for people! It was really nice to be able to give back. We paid for a family's quick service meals which would have been $60 total! We got down to 13 snacks and decided to use the rest in the big store. We got 13 really nice Disney snacks and my Mom is going to put them in the kids' Christmas box so they will have a little more Disney Magic! We picked up Hoss from Best Friends Pet Kennel and headed home.

Overall, this trip was amazing. I do have a few takeaways. I'll start with location. AoA was really cute. They had everything we needed and the pools were amazing (including complementary life jackets!. However, the hotel was very far from MK and after staying at Fort Wilderness in a cabin, I would rather stay there than AoA. Food wise the best was Liberty Tree Tavern hands down, no questions asked. For breakfast Hollywood and Vine, and then Mickey's Backyard BBQ. I would do all three of those again for sure. Snacks- the mac and cheese at AK for sure and the egg rolls in China at Epcot are the bomb. As far as rides go, FOP cannot be touched. It's the best thing I have ever been on anywhere. Other than that, Soarin and all the Mountain rides are great. The Safaris is also a must do. MVMCP I thought was great. Other people in my party were disappointed, and I guess if characters are your main reason for going, it was. We also didn't get to see any parades. I just can't bring myself to waste 1-2 hours to get a good spot. Which leads me to my next point- fireworks/shows. Illuminations cannot be missed. It is the most gorgeous display I've ever seen. The MVMCP fireworks were not impressing to me. Fantasmic was worth the dessert party, no questions asked. The Frozen dessert party was worth it to me, even though it was expensive. I had an unobstructed table, adult beverages, and a free FP on FEA. The convenience was worth the money to me. The kennel was also amazing, but extremely expensive. My bill (for the cheapest room, a few extra walks, doggie ice creams, and a bath) was over $400. However, they took amazing care of him and we even got to visit him when we had some free time. If I had to do it again, I'd stay at Fort Wilderness in a cabin with my dog and just drop him off for daycare since the kennel is across the street. If it's just me and my husband next time, we will probably rent an RV and do that. My only question now is... when can I go back?