Disney World 2016 Update

Been a gazillion years since I blogged, but I've had so many people text, message, or call me about Disney that I've felt overwhelmed about getting back to reach of them individually. I figured dusting off the old blog and making a post would be the easiest way to get the word out.
First of all, if you haven't already click above on the Disney Tips tab. There are so many things I've written before about Disney that are still great ideas. From where to eat to what to do as far as safety goes. Be sure you start there, because I'm trying to only post new stuff here. Also, know that I am NO expert when it comes to Disney. I'm just sharing what we've done and how it worked for us. I'm not getting paid to tell you about Disney(although I wouldn't mind that job.)
So, we just finished our fifth trip to Disney. This was our second trip in May. This brings me to my first thought. Go off season! The best time, in our opinion, is September! The crowds are so much easier to manage, and wait times will be better for rides. Early May is also considered off season, but we found this last time that lots of other people also thought early May was the time to go.  It was CROWDED! Going off season is also cheaper. Which brings me to my next thought-NEVER pay full-price for Disney!
There are almost always discounts available. We've gone with several different types of discounts from kids stay and play free to free dining. Go here to see current discounts. The great thing about discounts is that if a better one comes up before you go you can almost always get them to switch it over as long as it's not within 30 days of your vacation(your vacation is paid in full). Know that going to Disney is NOT cheap. For a week long trip we usually spend about $1000 per person with everything included. I'm sure there are ways to make it more affordable, but we have a motto that in Disney why say no when you could say YES! We give each of the kids a gift card when we get there that has their spending money on it. They can use their card to buy ANYTHING they want as long as it's within their limit. The great thing about Disney is that you can make your reservation with a $200 deposit, then make payments at your own pace as long as it's paid for within 30 days of your trip. We also MAJORLY save by using our Disney Chase card throughout the year. Each dollar we spend earns us Disney points that can later be used on ANYTHING Disney. This year we used our points to pay for our deposit, 1/3 of the cost of the trip, then ALL the spending money! If you haven't heard of this sweet deal from Chase you might want to look into it. We just use ours like cash on groceries and gas, then pay it off at the end of the month!

Have I mentioned I've already written a TON about Disney Dos and Don'ts? Here is a great post with info we still mostly follow.
The last two times we've gotten 5-DAY park hopper tickets and we've pretty much worked out a perfect system to see all the attractions we are interested in within the five days. We generally spend 2 full days in Magic Kingdom(the park with the most rides and best attractions for smaller children) a full day in Hollywood Studios(although due to several closures in that park you could probably spend only a half day and still do everything that is until the new areas open next summer!), and a half day in both Animal Kindgom(which is also about to have a lot of new attractions) and Epcot. We've also gone with 7 day passes and taken things a lot slower, but really, 5 days is enough in our opinion.
Those with older kids(or smaller families) may also like adding the waterpark feature onto their tickets. We plan to do this the next time we go in 2018. We've never been before, but they look like a lot of fun. If you're planning to add this feature to your tickets I'd say adding a day to your trip is a smart idea and go ahead and do 6 or 7 day passes instead of the 5 day passes.
Fast Passes(FP+) are a MUST in the park now. They are basically you saying THIS is when I plan to be at this ride. They are a 1 hour window, and are used to make lines MUCH shorter. For instance, The Dwarf's Mine Train never had a line shorter than about a 60 minute wait and was more often 95 minutes. With our fast passes we were able to skip the line altogether and ride in about 5 minutes. There are differing theories about how to use FP+ and when, but the bottom line is you get THREE choices. Until you've used those up you don't get any more. Once all three are used you can keep adding one at a time. We used them for our three most desired rides each day and reserved them AT MIDNIGHT on the night we were able to reserve them. If you don't, you'll likely not get all the reservations you want, but know that they will at times become available due to people changing their plans around. If you have a large group going, or you are going at peak season though, I HIGHLY suggest you making those reservations ASAP!
Dining reservations are also a must! Here are some tips I wrote about that. Most of them are still great EXCEPT!! Pizza Planet(one of my kids FAVORITE things to do in Disney World closed it's doors as one of the MANY closures at Hollywood Studio! BOO!)  It's tough to get in to restaurants last minute especially when you have a large group, so plan ahead and reserve meals ahead of time. We also ALWAYS use a dining plan. If you do your research you'll find that you can stretch your plan even more by using your snack as a meal in several places around the resort. Our favorite-the GIANT cinnamon rolls in Gaston's tavern. ALSO, Be our Guest is AMAZING and for sure worth the quick service reservation you can get for breakfast now. We got ours for 8am, then were able to be in the park ready for rides when they opened at 9.
Not sure when to be at each park? Check out Undercover Tourist. They have a GREAT crowd calendar that has been accurate for each trip we've ever taken! They also have touring plans that will save you TONS of time trying to plan each day. Take them and make them yours and you'll be sure to get to each attraction you want most! We love Undercover Tourist!
OK, our new must do list has to include some fun things we've recently learned about.

• Pirate Adventure Cruises If you've got a young pirate you'll want to check this out!
• Jedi Training Academy Brubbs did this on his trip last year! So fun! Be sure to get to the park early to sign up because spots go FAST!
• Winter Summerland Miniature Golf This is a great activity to do on your arrival or departure day. Doesn't take long, and if you plan and book your trip through Disney you get free tickets.
• Lots of new and changing Firework activity in Hollywood Studio and Animal Kingdom.
• Characters in Flight None of us had ever been in a hot air balloon. This isn't actually a Hot air balloon, but basically the same. Only runs when the weather is nice and there isn't much wind, so we've only been able to do it once, but there's lots of other great things to do in Disney Springs(where it's located).

People always ask me what the best time to go is. I always joke and say-NOW! It's true! But, seriously, 4-10 seems to be the best age as far as being able to do the most and it still be magical. OK, that's all I can think of for now. PLEASE read my post on Disney safety if you are planning to take young children. Now that they have magic bands there is a lot less worry because Disney can pinpoint their location or your location, but there is still a lot you can do to keep your littles safe at the most magical place on earth!

And THEN, Isaiah Threw Up!

 



 

So, we were finally on the homestretch. We had everyone sleeping for what would be our last night away from home. We were snoozing away in our plush sleep number bed when all the sudden we heard it. That sound you hear when someone is THROWING UP!! I jumped up and blindly slapped at Manly who was also already up and moving to figure out who it was. We both made it over to the bed at the same time and found the culprit.
Isaiah was laying there asleep, but covered in puke. He had shared the love with Addison who was also still sleeping away. We decided to get him up and put him in the shower. The poor boy was so limp and sleepy that he couldn't stand, so I got in the shower with my pjs on and helped get him cleaned up. Bless his little heart he hardly even woke up. Once we got him out we dried him off and put him on a makeshift bed made out of the couch cushions we had removed for the pull-out bed for Olivia and Mia. Because he was still so sleepy he hardly noticed where he was sleeping and quickly went back to sleep.
In the meantime we also had to get Addi up, strip her, wash her hair out, and find her a place to sleep. Because we had no extra bed linens, and because we now had a bed mostly covered in puke we had to put her in bed with us. Lucky KK got the best deal. She ended up on the non-puke-covered end of the bed all by herself because she had her own blankets and was on the other side of Addi when the "event" took place. She and the other kids never woke up at all.
We finally laid back down after just throwing ALL the puke stuff in the shower for the night(well, that this point it was 3:45am). We soon found out that Addison is part ninja!! That girl has some fierce kicking feet. She's also a blanket hog! Ha! She should have been an only child, bless her heart!

My sweet girl making herself at home in MY bed!

 

Poor sick baby boy who never got sick again, which was a blessing!

 

Sleep did finally come though. We slept in until Eli woke us up raring to go at 7:45am.
We cleaned all of our things up, packed the car up, and headed home. 5 stops and 16 hours later we were HOME!
Now, as I look back at the trip I'm able to enjoy the great moments we had. I never stopped being thankful that we were even able to go, but honestly, it was a TOUGH trip! The longer we go, the more we can pick out the good moments instead of the bad ones, so that's good. Looking back, the things that stand out to me the most are being thankful for our safety plan the moment they brought my baby boy back to me, having a blast with Addi at the Bippity Boppity Boutique, and eating with the fish at the Coral Reef.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go start planning my next trip in March. This one is going to be a LOT more relaxing. See, it includes me, Manly, and a big big beach. Sorry kids, but mommy needs a vacation from vacation!

 

The Time I Became Supersticious

SO, to end our vacation we headed over to Hollywood Studios for the evening. We had planned to see a few characters we still hadn't had a chance to see, get a quick dinner, then hang out for the Friday the 13th VILLAIN party!! The kids were really excited, because the villains aren't out to meet and greet much, so it was a rare treat to have them all together.

We didn't think anything about it when we got there and there was a really long line to get in the gate. Manly stood in line with Eli and the backpack while I went on ahead with all the other kids to stand in line to see Wreck-It-Ralph. It's a really cool waiting area, so although we were in line for about 30 minutes it didn't seem that long. The kids have only seen this movie once, but they LOVED it. The characters are HUGE!!

 

See how big Ralph's hand is?! Wowzah!

Once we left there we went straight to stand in line for Buzz and Woody. This place is ALWAYS crowded because it's right in front of what is probably Disney's most busy ride, Toy Story Mania. We waited for close to an hour. It was while we were waiting that we started noticing the crowd was getting much thicker, and they were all in the 15-25 range. Most of them were dressed VERY risqué. We were starting to wonder if the Villain Dance Party might be a little different than what we imagined. Still, we waited in line with plans to grab a quick bite afterwards.

The great thing about waiting in line here is that there are GREAT places to take pictures.

HaHa!! Olivia is such a character these days!

Loved this one of my Mia. Ha!

Hysterical! Love these pictures so so much.

Olivia strapped to a rocket.

HAHA! Addi strapped to a rocket. Her face is PRICELESS!

CLASSIC! KK strapped to a rocket. HA!

Isaiah strapped to a rocket. Pretty nice "strapped to a rocket" face for a 3 year old.

Mia, trying to be strapped to a rocket.

Stinky Pete must have been stinky. Isaiah is trying to cover Mia's nose.

Daddy tries to join in on the party.

Totally worth the wait! The kids LOVED meeting Buzz.

When we got finished and walked out we knew we were in trouble and we needed to leave. It was obvious this wasn't the sort of dance party we wanted to be part of. There was a DJ mixing music on the main stage, a BAJILLION people gathered around, and suddenly the park was standing room only. Like we're talking we could hardly move our strollers around. We tried to stop and get something to eat, but EVERYTHING(even the pretzel stands) were PACKED and had mile long lines.

Although we really wanted to get to see the villains(who were still about 2 hours away at this point) we decided we needed to leave ASAP. We headed to the bus stops, and quickly decided to head over to Epcot to eat our last meal. We decided we'd be able to eat somewhere yummy, then watch the fireworks(which we hadn't seen this trip yet.). When we got to the bus stop there were only a handful of people there, and everyone was talking about how CRAZY the crowd was.

After about 30 minutes or so we realized we hadn't seen many buses. Still, we decided to wait in this line thinking that a bus would come soon. After an hour with no bus we decided we needed to find a different option. The kids were hungry, we were all tired, and it was getting late. We started hearing through the grapevine that there was a terrible wreck, and the buses were not running.

After about an hour and a half a random bus came by and stopped at a stop where there weren't any people. At this point there were about 50-75 people waiting at our stop. I decided to run up and ask the driver what was going on, and he said they were really backed up, and there really wasn't a good way out. I started to panic a little, and decided we needed another plan. I found some other transportation workers and they suggested the boat(that I knew NOTHING about for some reason!!). We headed over to the boat dock and were quickly aboard the boat. We had to make several stops, but we made it to Epcot just in time for the start of the firework show(that means it was over three hours since we had started trying to leave).

We didn't even get to watch the show because the kids were so hungry. We ended up just going to the first available place to eat(which was somewhere in "France"). They were ready to close, but were so kind to feed us first. We were the last ones in and the last ones out. I hated keeping them from closing, but we were so thankful they let us eat!

We finally left the restaurant and headed for the monorail exit, which was on the other side of the park. By this time we were among the last people in the park. That was kind of neat, but we were mostly EXHAUSTED and knew we still needed to make a trip to get back to our car and to our hotel for the evening.

I learned a LOT from this night. The short list? ALWAYS know EXACTLY what you are getting yourself into. I had read about the Villain Party on the Disney site, but didn't research it on any travel sites. If I had I would have likely decided we didn't need to go and saved us a LOT of issues. Also, KNOW your travel options from EVERYWHERE to EVERYWHERE!! I never thought I'd need to know the fastest way to get from Hollywood Studios to Epcot, so that wasn't something I had looked up. If I HAD we wouldn't have been waiting for hours for a bus while the boat was making 20 minute rounds!! KNOW YOUR OPTIONS!! Chances are your plans will have to change. Lastly, be willing to come up with another plan(or plan for it and have a back-up plan ready) when things go downhill.  

Luckily, we had no problems getting onto the monorails, and we were back to our car after about an hour or so. We loaded everyone up and headed back to the hotel we had been at the weekend before. We checked in, put the kids in bed, and fell FAST asleep. At least for a while... 

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

I can't believe we've come to the final day of our vacation! Friday started off GREAT! We got all packed up the evening before, so we were out the door of our hotel, and the first in line for breakfast at 1900 Park Fare for their Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious breakfast. We were DELIGHTED that the girls were asked to open the restaurant. It's a special honor, and the girls did great. They turn the kids who open the restaurant around so they can't see the door, have them say "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," then the doors are open and they have the kids turn around only to find Mary Poppins standing there to escort them to their table. Such a sweet moment from our trip for my big girls.

Yay for making it to the last day. Ha!

Saying the magic word. You can see the difference in their personalities in this pic. Ha!

The girls were SO surprised! Mary Poppins looked so lovely.

Mary Poppins walking the girls to their seat.

Us at a restaurant is kind of a big deal. Even if the kids are well behaved six kids is a lot of kids for one table. Ha!

We love this place because they have a great buffet. The kids LOVE the mickey waffles. That's not something I keep at home, so it's a very special treat for them. They also have a great fruity orange juicy breakfast drink that I love. We also love the variety of characters at their breakfast. Pooh and Tigger, Mary Poppins, and Alice and the Mad Hatter. The kids especially love the Mad Hatter. He was probably the best character as far as being able to stay in character and still be really funny. If you have an upcoming trip I'd say put this breakfast at the top of your list.

Pooh was our first visitor. Mia looks thrilled. Ha! She actually was, she just didn't want me taking pictures!

TIGGER! Obviously NO ONE liked him. Ha! Look!! ^ There's that yummy juice!

Mary Poppins. She also stayed in character telling the kids not to doddle while they were lining up for the photo.

Everyone.

LOVED.

ALICE!

Alice! Mia said, "You so Buu-ful!!"

The Mad Hatter!

The kids told him that Mia likes to call most days her birthday and have everyone tell her Happy Birthday, so he sang "A Very Merry Un-Birthday To You" to her. She smiled and said, "YEAH."

Happy children!

 

Addi with her breakfast birthday cupcake.

Once we left there we rode the monorail over to Magic Kingdom. Brubbs had still not had the chance to ride the train that got him lost, so we were sure to include that in our to-do list for the final day. It's another must do. Especially now that they have the Fantasyland depot open with the splash park. You can ride it from the front of the park to the back pretty quickly.

My baby boy loving his time on the train.

The little darlins on my row.

Sweet Girls. These two are such sweet friends.

On the go!

Daddy and Eli

Once we got off the train we made our way to Gaston's. It's a new quick service place where you can get HUGE cinnamon rolls and a special "LeFou's brew." It's a delightful blend of slushed apple juice with roasted marshmallow cream on top. It was SO good! I highly recommend using some of your snack credits for this really cool themed tavern.

Addi wanted her picture taken in front of the new Little Mermaid ride, Voyage of the Little Mermaid(which I didn't think was that great, but I guess no one asked me!)

Addi in front of Gaston's. She's wet from the splash park, not from getting in the fountain. Ha!

Oh boy!

After we finished our snack, had a bathroom break, changed diapers, and made a bottle, it was time to go to Space Mountain. We had gotten fast passes so that the big kids wouldn't have to wait in line. While the little kids and I waited for them to come out Stich came over! The kids have never seen the movie, so they had NO idea who he was, but Mia thought he was CUTE! Ha!!

My sweet babies with Stich.

Once Mia was finished with her "brew" the kids got about 10,000,000 germs while they threw away her cup. They looked so sweet working together though.

My sweet little pretty girl. Oh I love this tiny girl!

We left Magic Kingdom a little before noon, and headed over to Downtown Disney via bus. We shopped until we were hungry, then ate at a random place downtown that had lots of different things to chose from. By this point we were really starting to get tired, but the kids really wanted to go to a special even going on at Hollywood Studios that evening. Because it was Friday the 13th they were having a Villain Dance Party and Meet and Greet. If you know my KK, you know this was like a dream come true for her!!

My darling INDEPENDENT daughter.

She is SO full of personality. You just have to get on her good side. Ha!

Me and my birthday girl.

Tired KK.

This picture of the Smittle boys cracks me up! Ha!

Lulu is growing up! NOOOO!

Mia. Reverse planking. Ha!!

Sleepy Sleepy Bubby!

Momma and Mia after standing out in the sun at the bus stop.

Mia said, "Momma! Take my picture with HORSE!!"

The girls and I thought this was so cool. They were in all the windows of the toy store. It was dolls making up the dresses for the princesses. So cool!

Seriously?! My kids are so stinkin cool!! This dude is made from Lego's, by the way.

Also made of Lego's. Well, except for the Smittles.

 

After we ate we shopped a little more, then headed to Hollywood Studios to end our time at the resort. Little did we know the NIGHTMARE that would become this Friday the 13th. We just wanted to see the Villain dance party, for crying out loud!!