Wonderland Katie's family fun trip report! **Complete**

JMed, I got a lot of this trip's wardrobe from Hot Topic, including this shirt

Day 2 (Thursday): Magic Kingdom!

Today, all of us but Matt got up bright and early to hit MK for the 8am EMH welcome show! Matt was still sleepy from his late night before, so he was fine with just catching up with us later.

We made it to the park and through bag/gate check by 7:40, and got a prime viewing spot front and center where we got our first Memory Maker photo! I really loved having this for such a big family trip, but I don't think I'll shell out the money again for smaller trips.

The welcome show started, and I got a bit misty eyed watching it. Then the train came around the corner and into sight, and my mom and I both started crying with tears streaming down our faces! Lol we were just so excited to be there, and to see Desmond smile at the train and light up when he saw Mickey up there on that platform

We then made our way down Main Street, enjoying watching the Main Street Citizens in the vehicles. We cut through Tomorrowland to our first stop of the day: Under the Sea! (*I had made out itineraries on Touring Plans, not as a strict plan, but more as a guideline so we weren't standing around wondering what to do next, something my family is notorious for... We remind ourselves of the vultures in the Jungle Book... "Whatya wanna do?" "I dunno, what da you wanna do??" *)
So we walked right on to Under the Sea, but the bit of the queue we saw was really cute, and the ride itself was very cute too!
We then went over to ride Dumbo, which Des had been watching numerous YouTube videos of so I knew he was excited. We walked right onto that as well, which I was actually a bit disappointed in because the indoor play/wait area looked really fun for him! He thoroughly enjoyed the ride!
We then backtracked a bit to the outside of Mad Tea Cups because Alice was to be meeting there, and I wanted her to be the first signature on my shirt!! Oh man, I forgot to talk about this before, but I got a shirt with 9 "princesses" on it that I planned on having them all sign so I could frame it! And I was also wearing tights with Alice's picture on them that day! (Which I'm not sure I got a great picture of, but I got a lot of compliments on them )
ANYWAY, I used the MDE app to track myself to exactly where Alice was supposed to be, and sure enough, she and the White Rabbit were walking up, ready to ride the Tea Cups then start signing autographs! I happened to be first in line, and figured it would be rude to not have a spot for the White Rabbit to sign, so I had him sign next to Alice's picture too She was very cute, although I could tell her accent wasn't genuine.

You can see the tights a bit in that one, but its not straight

Then Desmond, Dad, Ellen, and Luke rode the teacups, which I think was Desmond's favorite ride of the entire trip! He beamed from ear to ear the whole time, turned the wheel on his own to spin, and clapped when it was over
We still hadn't heard from Matt, so we decided to head over to Small World since the rest of us figured it would be a ride he definitely didn't want to do. I really enjoyed it and think it's been updated since I last rode it. Well we got stuck in the last room, and Matt texted me saying he was at the park. I told him we were almost done with iaSW and he replied that he was sad because that was the ONE ride he did not want to miss this trip (I learned later that it is his grandpa's favorite ride so it was sentimental to him). Well we promised we would ride it again, and headed to Gaston's tavern to meet Matt and so we could all share a few cinnamon rolls and Lefou's brews The cinnamon rolls were huge and pretty tasty, and the Lefou's brew was really tasty! Although I wasn't a big fan of the foam on top, the rest of it tasted, to me and Ellen, like a frozen version of Starbucks' Spiced Apple Cider.
When we were almost done eating in the hunting lodge (which Matt and Dad loved for all the antlers) Gaston himself opened the door near us and yelled, "Lefou! Where are you!?" Well, we hadn't planned on meeting him, but he was pretty cute and fit the part so we decided to get in line. He was hilarious to listen to talk to everyone! When it came our time to meet him, I decided to have him sign next to Belle's picture on my shirt He declared that she would love to see it there and allowed us to swoon over him

He even had the nice, big cleft chin to complete the part

By this point, it was time for our FP on Peter Pan's flight! I'm not a HUGE fan of this ride, but I agree that it is a must do, and there is no way we were going to keep Des entertained in that stand-by line
We then did Mickey's Philharmagic, which is Matt and my favorite of the 3D shows. Desmond wouldn't keep the glasses on but I think he enjoyed it anyway!

We then headed over to BTMR for our FP there. Matt doesn't do coasters, so he was going to try to find the little playground for Des to play. We quickly got up to where the line splits for the two cars, and it wasn't long at all before we were on the ride. I sat in a row by myself, and the lap bar was in between two clicks so I was sliding back and forth on all the turns! It was a blast! I wish they had a PhotoPass for this ride!

We left the ride to find that Desmond had fallen asleep in the stroller We decided to go to Pecos Bill's for lunch where most of us got taco salads. We were shown to a quiet, dimly lit room upstairs, which was very awesome since Des was still asleep. I found the food to be very yummy, and enjoyed the many options at the toppings bar!

At this point, Matt and Dad decided they were going to take Desmond back to the hotel for a nap and possible swim, which was good in theory, but after this day we figured out just to let him sleep in the stroller until he woke up on his own and he would get a lot better rest that way.

Ellen, Luke, Mom, and I then went on our Splash Mountain FP, and got just wet enough to cool off Anddd I just realized that I don't have a PhotoPass picture from that... Grr, I wonder why not? Anyway, I bought a couple of pins from the shop (A Cinderella's castle with rotating fireworks backdrop, and Splash Mtn with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy going down the plume). We then headed to Pirates when we waited in our longest line of the day, a whopping 18 minutes Then hung out in that shop for a little bit where I got my first couple Alice in Wonderland pins (that I attempted to collect, without much luck, during the trip), and I saw this super cute Jack Skellington style Mickey that I wanted to get but talked myself out of it

We then went to the FP+ kiosk for the first time to add an additional FP for Space Mtn as soon as we could get one, and the CM at kiosk was great and everything went smoothly We then stopped and grabbed a couple Dole Whip floats to share and made our way to the hub for the Festival of Fantasy parade! Our spot was really right in front of the Mickey and Walt statue facing Main St, which would have been perfect had the parade been coming from Town Square, but alas it was still a decent spot, albeit hot!! The very tall gentleman just to our left kept feeling the need to lean wayyy out into the street to take photos, which I don't understand because he was a full head taller than everyone in front of him, but oh well, it was still a FANTASTIC parade!! The plethora of different characters made me happy and the music is so fun! I took way to many pictures of it all

This dude came really close to us

By this point, Matt texted to say they were on their way back to the park because Des wanted to "see Grammy" instead of swim. So since they were on the Space Mtn FP, we decided to wait for them to ride it so we headed straight from our parade spot to Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, which was a first for the 4 of us and we loved it! Luke was in an improve group all through college so he was definitely cracking up and thinking that he would love to do it some day I didn't realize how improvised it was, I figured they took canned jokes and inserted people's names into them or something, so we were all impressed with how timely the mouth movements and gestures were, and the people they picked on were all good sports

Ellen and Luke then did Stitch's Great Escape (which they enjoyed), while mom and I decided to take a rest on a curb and wait for the other 3 to get there. It turns out Mom and Dad didn't feel like going on Space Mtn, so Ellen, Luke, and I rode while the rest of them cooled off near the mister. Oh. My. Gosh. I was in the front car, with every intention of keeping my hands up the whole time, but as soon as the first drop I put them down feeling like, "AHH MY ARMS ARE GOING TO GET CHOPPED OFF!" it was such a blast lol, I don't remember it being so intense!!

We then went to the FP+ kiosk and got passes for Buzz Lightyear for just 40 minutes later than it was now, so we rested for a bit then I took Desmond on the Tomorrowland Speedway. He was super excited and he loved it, but I was terrified! The thing had the touchiest steering wheel, and I was letting Des steer at first but we were bouncing off the rail like crazy, so I took over steering but that didn't help anything! I was afraid he'd have shaken baby syndrome by the end But we survived, and then it was time for Buzz! Des and I rode this together, and even though he didn't get the concept of firing the laser, he moved the car back and forth a couple of times
You can kind of make him out in the picture

Alrighty, well it's time for bed for a 5am work wake up call I'll continue this day tomorrow!!

That's awesome, NHShorty! Desmond really did great, and it's nice that the vast majority of rides don't have a height requirement. Also, I think 2 is a great age for the dark rides, because Desmond really isn't scared of anything, yet! I'm sure a few years from now will be a different story

Thanks, Alicemouse! I'm thinking the app said she started meeting at 8:40, and we got there at 8:43 and she was just walking up. However, at that time, she was already holding a little girl's hand who was the one the ride with her, so I'm not really sure how she went about being able to do that, but that would be fun to do (if I could ride the tea cups without barfing )

Woot! they really have a huge Disney collection on their site!

MK day continued!

After Buzz, we made our way across the hub for our 6:25 ADR at Crystal Palace, stopping for some Photopass pics on the way!

We saw a few of the MiSiCi floats from afar as we were walking on the path from Tomorrowland, but we cut at the front of the hub over to Crystal Palace because Dad and Matt were freaking out we'd miss our time; they thought it was going to be a lot further walk than it was
We checked in 15 mins prior to our ressie time, and waited probably 20 minutes to get seated, which wasn't terrible, but Des was running around and it was hard to keep him corralled in that small area. We did enjoy the ice water they supplied on the patio (even though it had that funny MK taste everyone talks about )

I was a little bit anxious for this meal, as it would be Desmond's first character interaction, and although his bedroom is decorated in vintage Pooh and Friends, he hasn't been super exposed to the characters on TV or movies yet to really love them. He wasn't overly thrilled to meet them, but he didn't cry or get scared either, which I was glad for, but we didn't get the greatest pictures because he was in the middle of eating when any of the characters came around.
I thought the food was good buffet food, and the salmon and prime rib were quite yummy, but it was nothing to write home about. Our waitress seemed a bit grumpy most of the meal, but she was funny and made up for it at the end when she brought out a card and cupcake for Mom and Dad (they were wearing their anniversary buttons), and announced to the surrounding tables about their celebration

We spent quite a bit of time at dinner, and afterwards Matt, Dad, and Des decided to head back to the hotel, and Des said he wanted Grammy to come too, so of course she did lol...
E&L headed to Tomorrowland while I decided to cut through the castle and check out the wait times for Princess Fairytale Hall to get more signatures on my shirt. The time was a little longer than I wanted to wait, so I slowly made my way around to the Speedway to meet E&L. I was really bummed that there wasn't a soft opening for 7DMT, but it was cool just to see all the details you could on the mountain; I really liked the flowers on top of the hill!

I went to a FP kiosk and got a 9:05 start time to meet Rapunzel and Cinderella. E, L, & I then went on Carousel of Progress, which I've never done before but after reading other's opinions of it on WDWFG, it was on my must do list I like 1900's history, so I really enjoyed going back in time with everything.
E & L headed to Frontierland, and I headed back to Fairytale Hall. It was a little confusing because the FP lines were blocked off for fireworks set up, and people were getting into heated convos with the CM at the front of the standby line about not being allowed to go in the exit to get to Sir Mickey's.... I had to wait a couple minutes and ended up interrupting the conversation to ask which line to go into to see Aurora and "mystery princess", which I knew was Snow White thanks to the MDE app The sign said the wait was 40 minutes, but I only had to wait probably 8 They were both cute and good at their roles! Snow commented that it must be a very long horse ride from Indiana to MK

I walked through Sir Mickey's and saw a super cute dinglehopper hairbrush and back around to the FP line for Cindy and Rapunzel, which I had to wait probably 5 minutes total to meet. Rapunzel doesn't have a picture on my shirt (which I was bummed out about because she is one of my favs), but I had her sign on the bottom. Again they were both very cute.

I was enjoying the peace and quiet of Fantasyland at this point, since MSEP was going on and everyone was getting their spots for Wishes. It was actually fun being by myself and at that point I was thinking that I would enjoy a solo trip sometime in the future
I wandered past the Tangled restrooms trying to find any other the hidden Pascals but I didn't have any luck. I saw that the wait for HM was 10 minutes, so I went through the interactive cue and had some fun with things. I loved the ride, and it was cool to go at night since my eyes were better adjusted to the dark and I felt like I saw more details. The interactiveness of the hitchhiking ghosts is so cool!! Afterwards, I felt so awesome for having ridden it solo I had to post a Facebook status "Haunted Mansion. At night. By myself. #fearless"
I then tried to call E, but saw her and L standing on the gallows, so we walked with intentions to find a spot for Wishes. We ended up stopping at a spot right in front of Crystal Palace where we had a good view of the castle and the fireworks, but due to the construction wall around the Hub, we weren't able to see anything that was going on in front of the castle (if there was anything). But either way, the thought Celebrate the Magic and Wishes were both beautiful!! E & L went into the Emporium while I went down to the Chapeau to get Mickey ear graduation caps embroidered for them. We spent some time in the Emporium then found a spot on the curb for MSEP. The parade was cute and there were aspects that I really liked, but overall I think I liked Spectromagic better. At this point we realized that we'd been in the park for nearly 16 hours!!!!! We were tired, but not overly exhausted. And we just all around had an amazing day!!

Tomorrow: EPCOT

Day 3 (Friday): EPCOT

*I'm going to do my best to remember all from this day, but we walked back and forth so many times, I'm having a hard time remembering what all we did, and when *

We were all a little bit slower getting around this morning, and we wanted to go as a group, so we ended up at EPCOT somewhere around 9:20. Our original plan was to get there at rope drop to head to Test Track, but once we got there the line was already at 40 minutes so we decided to keep checking back during the day.

We had a FP for Spaceship Earth at 9:30, but when we walked up, it was broke down We decided to head up the west side, and stopped into the Art of Disney store to look around. I wanted to buy about 95% of the store
We went into Innovations West and went to the FP kiosk in there. The CM we were placed with was probably the least friendly CM we met anywhere during the whole trip, which made us sad because he was from Indiana (and definitely didn't care when we told him we were from there too lol), but we were very glad to find out that, because SE was out of commission during our FP time, we got an open FP for one of the tier 2 rides that we could use anytime that day!
There was a big open area in the pavilion across from the Great Piggybank game, and we hung out there for awhile while E&L played some of the video games and Des and Dad played tag

At this point, some of us were feeling a little antsy that we hadn't ridden anything yet, so we went over to the Land pavilion and rode Living with the Land. I don't remember ever actually riding the ride (but I remember eating breakfast at the Garden Grill when I was 7 ha), and we all really enjoyed seeing the greenhouses, and learning a little something in the process
We then wandered to the Sea as we had a FP for Nemo and Friends, which is super cute. We then hung out in the aquarium for quite awhile, watching the dolphins play and enjoying the sea turtle and rays

We then hotfooted it to the other side of the pavilion for our Coral Reef ADR at 11:30. We checked-in at 11:25 and then had to wait about 20 minutes, which I wasn't sure why because they don't open until 11:30, so its not like we had to wait for anyone to leave our table?? Oh well, the decor in the lobby was very beautiful and modern. We were eventually seated, but unfortunately it was at two separate tables on a booth loop, at the very top so we were nowhere near the aquarium and had to talk loudly to hear anyone at the opposite table
All that being said, the food was very delicious! I got the pasta, and everyone else got a variety of things that we all enjoyed. I had the Captain's rum runner to drink, and Bailey's and Jack Daniel's Mousse for dessert
While the meal was good, we waited a long time to be seated, the waitress was slow, and the lack of closeness to each other, combined with the fact that there are so many other restaurants in EPCOT to try ,I don't think I'll be heading back there anytime soon.

Matt's pretty dessert!

It was time for our Soarin' FP!! Matt is not a fan of Soarin' because he said he concentrates too much on the individual panels and the slow frame rate so it gives him a headache Dad was afraid of the same thing happening to him, so they took Desmond (who was looking rather sleepy) in search of a beer while E, L, Mom, and I went Soarin'! Apparently when Luke last came with his family, they had a rather eager and cranky CM in the loading area, so he starting cracking up when we got to that part and started forcefully telling us to "STAY ON YOUR YELLOW GLIDER!!!" That, plus Patrick Warburton as the flight attendant had us very giddy. This was Mom and El's first time riding it, and it did not disappoint any of us!! Its so fun to swing your feet!! I'm excited for the enhanced version to be ready; I hope I can get Matt to try it again then

By this time, Desmond was asleep and Matt and Dad were happily sipping on their beers, so E, L, and I went over to Mission Space where the wait on both sides was pretty much a walk on to the loading area. Dad chicken out at the last minute when we did this back in '05 because of the small space, and back then they only had the "orange" version so Mom was not too keen to repeat it. The three of us decided to do the "green" version since we had just recently eaten lunch and were planning on more alcoholic beverages as the day went on, so we didn't want to feel urpy. I really enjoy this ride and probably would have been fine with the orange side, but we had fun either way!

We found the rest of the family in the Flower and Garden headquarters pavilion, and we looked at some of the displays in there while enjoying the relative quiet of the area. We decided to use our "free" FP on Spaceship Earth! E, L, M, and I went while mom and dad watched the sleeping Desser. We were a bit worried that we'd have problems getting thru FP since it was an odd, open FP on our bands, but we had no problem what so ever We all really enjoyed the ride (which I've ridden before but don't remember), and Matt had fun putting our home in the middle of the Atlantic and our fun video afterwards. We all love Judi Densch too so that was an added bonus
Mom and Dad then rode, while E&L watched Des, I headed to the pin station, and Matt went back to the Art of Disney store as there was a steampunk Mickey Car he really wanted for his desk at work. As I was browsing the pins (and not finding any new Alice ones), he texted me to say he talked himself out of getting it since it was $90. At that time, I looked up and saw a pin version of the very bust he was wanting to get! So of course I got it for him and he was happy to have it. Afterwards I realized it was a limited edition of 750 (I have to upload a photo of it later)

We then decided to finally make our way towards World Showcase, as it was already 3:30 or so. We stopped at Club Cool and tried all the flavors! We all agreed that Beverly tasted good at first sip, but after that it was pure ickyness
Des was still asleep (even though the positions he was sleeping in in the stroller did not look very comfortable), so we walked toward Mexico, gazing at the topiaries as we went.

^my favorite part of Fantasia!!

We wandered into the Mexico pavilion and bought a couple of shot glasses from one of the kiosks. I think this pavilion is so beautiful, I could spend a long time in there! E, L, M, & I rode the Grand Fiesta Tour then headed out toward Norway, while mom got a Margarita from the stand
Desmond then woke up but still seemed a bit groggy, so Matt and Dad figured a Mickey ice cream bar would energize him

I had forgot to mention that we stopped at the outdoor FP kiosk and got passes for Malstrom with the assistance of a very nice Scottish gentleman (you're kindred spirit, King Fergus?? ) So we went on that next, which I don't know if we've ever done. It was cute and quite fun and I even some butterflies in my stomach afraid we'd go backward over the falls lol, but there was a construction wall up over the falls from the outside so we didn't really get the full effect. For some reason the film afterwards made me feel emotional (maybe I was Norwegian in a past life lol)... We then got a snack at Kringla! I only tried a bite of one thing as I was just not in a pastry mood, but whatever it was had quite a yummy filling!

We stopped and watching the acrobats in China for a little while, and I got the Beijing candied strawberries from the F&G kiosk. They were yummy but not overly delicious. We continued on through, enjoying the Lion King topiaries at the Outpost, and got a pager for our 6:40 ADR at Biergarten. We wandered around the shops while waiting, and Desmond absolutely LOVED the cuckoo clocks in Volkskunst! I think we stood their looking at them for almost 15 minutes, and the CM working the cash register came over and adjusted the time on a couple of them so they would Cuckoo for him
The Biergarten has such a great atmosphere and the food was delicious! I didn't try anything I didn't like! I got a glass of Riesling that was also crisp and refreshing. The band started a performance shortly after we arrived, and began another one right when we were done eating, so Des and I went down and danced for a little while

We were soooo full after dinner that we didn't make it very far before camping for Illuminations. We stopped on the elevated walkway over the miniature train between Germany and Italy and Desmond was very entertained by the little train while waiting. I got a Peach Bellini from the Italy F&G cart right before it closed for the show. It was yummy an refreshing but really expensive for the size. Illuminations is really cool but its not one I feel like I will always have to see.

Since the park was open until 11 for EMH, we continued around the lagoon. I was bummed because the F&G food booths didn't stay open after Illuminations, but I did stop at the Fife & Drum to get a Red Stag Frozen lemonade! Red Stag is my favorite liquor, and the alcohol was strong, but the lemonade was super sweet so Matt had to help me drink it We slowly made our way around, looking at the topiaries in the dark and enjoying the relative quiet.

E, L, Dad, and I were then going to get in line for Test Track while Matt, Mom, and Des wandered in the shops. Shortly after we got in line (that stated a 40 minute wait), the ride broke down. I decided to skip out this time, as Matt was wanting the head back to the hotel. He had told me that he was having the best day, so I wanted to keep him having a good day The four of us headed back to ASMu while E, L, and Dad waited and rode Test Track (which they said they waited probably a total of 30 minutes, even after the break down).

Today was a more relaxed pace than I had planned on, but I still had a really good time and I'm glad Matt enjoyed himself so much!!
Since I hadn't been able to get signatures from Belle or Mulan on my shirt, I decided I would go back to EPCOT on Monday with Matt, Dad, and Des, instead of going to Islands of Adventure with E, L, and Mom like originally planned.

Tomorrow: Hollywood Studios!!