House of Estrogen

SoCal Day 8: California Adventure and Mickey's Halloween Party

Our next morning at California Adventure was a bit more relaxed. We were mostly trying to knock out a few rides we had missed the day before. We rode Soarin' which is always a favorite. It was probably our last time to ride it as "Soarin' Over California" too as Soarin' is getting ready to undergo major renovations both at Disneyland and Epcot to become "Soarin' Over the World".

 We got warm hugs from Olaf,

and Nina and I went on Tower of Terror.

We were dying to try out the snacks at the Cozy Cone Motel, so we headed over to Carsland.

The Cozy Cone is just too cute. Each cone sells a different snack... Popcone, Cone Queso, Ice Cream Cones, Cone-Coctions, Cones, cones, cones! We tried just about everything.

Elise and J.C. got bread cones filled with chili or barbeque. Addison and Nina got ice cream cones. I got a cone full of mini churros with Mexican chocolate dipping sauce. Delish!

Carsland is all about the details... love it.

Despite all of J.C.'s protests about not wanting to get wet, we convinced him to go on Grizzly River Run which was a blast. Then we had lunch at Smokejumpers Grill and went back to the condo for our usual afternoon siestas.

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

For the evening, we had purchased tickets to Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland. The Halloween Party is a separate ticketed event. The park closes at 6:00 to anyone who doesn't have a Halloween party wristband. I had always wondered how they actually enforce that, but they do it quite well. They are checking for wristbands everywhere you go... before you get on a ride, before you get in a trick-or-treat line, entering or exiting different areas of the park. They definitely manage to lock it down to just party guests and escort anyone out who doesn't leave on their own.

I was pretty sure I couldn't convince the family to go entirely in costume, but they were all completely onboard when I suggested that we wear super hero t-shirts to go along with Addie's Wonder Woman costume. I think we turned out rather festive looking even if a t-shirt is a bit of a costume cheat. We were certainly a lot cooler and more comfortable than some of the people we saw walking around in full-on furry or leather costumes in 90 degree heat.  People watching is half the fun of the Halloween Party. Guests go all out with their costumes.

Our first stop was the Little Red Wagon for their famous corn dogs. Holy awesome hand-dipped corn dog, Batman! Excellent dinner! We enjoyed people watching while waiting for the sun to go down, so it would start cooling off.

There is an overlap from 3:00-6:00 when party goers are allowed in the park and non-party-goers haven't left yet. It is very crowded during that time, but as soon as you start approaching 6:00, ride lines drop dramatically. We rode Star Tours and Astro Orbiter.

The Halloween Party was a bit of a mixed experience for us. The kids loved the trick-or-treating. It was fun seeing both party-goers and characters in costumes. The decorations were great, and the short lines for rides were a real treat. On the downside, the party specific things like trick-or-treating, meeting the villains (who are rarely seen in the parks), and meeting the characters in costume all had very long lines.  It was a strange mix of crowded and not crowded. If you wanted to meet Malicifent or Cruella de Vil, your wait was well over an hour, yet if you wanted to ride Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy, your wait might be just 10 minutes. The Halloween Party is definitely a great way to ride lots of the popular rides that usually have long waits. The main goal for us though was the more Halloween-specific activities, and those were all more crowded than I had anticipated.

The castle looked appropriately creepy and Halloweeny. The lights and sounds on Main Street were fun, and the Halloween fireworks show is neat.

Rivers of America was spooky as well with fog and special lighting.

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

It was all good. Everyone had a good time. Nina and I rode Haunted Mansion Holiday (Haunted Mansion at Disneyland gets redone this time of year with a Holiday overlay.). I think Addie rode the Winnie the Pooh ride 3 times in a row with no wait, and how cute is Pooh in his bee Hallloween costume?

Am I glad we went to the Halloween Party? Definitely.  Would I go again?  Not sure.  I think you have to go with the right expectations. You are not going to meet every villain. You may not meet any villains unless you are willing to spend a lot of your evening in line. You are not going to see every character in costume. You are going to have to battle bigger crowds at times than you feel like you should given the price you paid for the ticket.

We ended the night with this lovely photo of me on Splash Mountain (which was walk-on... no line at all). Nice.  This was another one that Addie had begged to go on but then came off declaring she would never ride it again.

It was a fun night. It definitely didn't quite live up to expectations, but it was fun regardless.

Day 8 Favorites:

Addison: Grizzly River Run and Trick or Treating

Nina: Grizzly River Run and Star Tours

Elise: Star Tours, Trick or Treating, and Splash Mountain

Ann: Grizzly River Run

J.C.: Star Tours

SoCal Day 7: Disney California Adventure

This day was the Disney day I was most looking forward to. I must have reworked our Ridemax plans twenty times to get the "just right" itinerary.  We got there for rope drop and carefully positioned ourselves to the far right to utilize the "wide right technique" which purportedly puts you in the right place to beat the crowds to the front of the line for Radiator Springs Racers. We were in the correct spot. We were pumped and ready. Then the crowd grew, and grew, and grew. We started questioning our sanity. Were we really up to the rope drop race to Radiator Springs?  Just before the rope dropped, we decided we weren't cut out for it. Instead, JC and the girls headed straight to Toy Story Midway Mania while I gave up our prized right-hand side position to head left to get Radiator Springs Racers fastpasses. (The fastpasses aren't located near the ride, so it is a completely different strategy if you are heading there.)  The line wasn't bad for fastpasses, so I started toward the others, assuming they had probably already ridden the ride. I texted JC to let him know I was on the way, and he told me that Toy Story Midway Mania had a delayed opening and they were still in line. What?  Doesn't he know the first rule of getting to the parks early?  Don't waste time in line! I got over there, and the ride was still closed. JC, Elise, and Nina headed over to California Screamin' while Addie and I decided to go meet Donald.

I then got another text from J.C. that California Screamin' had a delayed opening as well. WHAT? How is a rabid planner supposed to handle all these ride closures? They went back over to Toy Story which by now was open. They walked right on with no line at all and then went back over to California Screamin' which had no line either. I guess the delayed openings scared people off and worked to our advantage. Whew!

Addie and I hopped in line for Toy Story and had a blast. I love this ride.

 

Nina was feeling a bit queasy after California Screamin', so JC and Elise went on it again while Addie and Nina posed for their own California Screamin' picture!

I don't know that Nina was thrilled with Addie's suggestion of the carousel, but she was a good sport and went on it anyway.  It was certainly more tame than the roller coaster! We went on Ariel's Undersea Adventure too.

By now, it was getting close to our fastpass time for Radiator Springs Racers. We left Paradise Pier and headed over to Carsland.

Carsland is just beyond amazing. Disney totally outdid themselves on this section of the park. I had been super excited to see Carsland, and it lived up to my every expectation. The details and theming are just perfection.

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

You feel like you're right there in the Radiator Springs, like you've been transported into the movie.

Radiator Springs Racers lived up to all the hype and expectations. People have called it the best themed ride at any Disney park, and that's the best way to describe it. So.Much.Fun! If you are contemplating a trip to Disneyland, it is worth it for Carsland and Radiator Springs Racers alone!

We visited Mater's Petting Zoo, and Elise and Addie went on Mater's Junkyard Jamboree.

 
They said it reminded them of the teacups? After that, we left Carsland and headed over to Pacific Wharf for lunch at Cocina Cucamonga. It was really good. Disneyland beats Disney World hands down when it comes to quick service food.

After lunch, we saw the Aladdin show which was wonderful. Then, I headed off to get Anna and Elsa fastpasses and nighttime Radiator Springs Racers fastpasses while J.C. and the girls went to Tower of Terror.  We described Tower of Terror to Addie in great length, telling her again and again that it has "terror" in the name for a reason. We told her it was scary and that she probably wouldn't like it. She still wanted to go though. I have no idea why. She isn't terribly daring when it comes to rides. For whatever reason though, she really wanted to go on Tower of Terror.

It went about as badly as we had predicted. She spent almost the entire ride with her head tucked under Nina's armpit, nearly in tears. She came out and said, "I'm never, ever going on that ever again." We resisted the urge to say, "We told you so." It was so tempting though!

We then met up with Sully and rode Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue which was a cute ride.

At this point, it was crazy hot, and we made our usual family split. Nina and J.C. went back to the condo for naps. The rest of us soldiered on. Fortunately, the wait for Anna and Elsa was air conditioned. Even though we had fastpasses, we still had to wait quite a while. We couldn't complain though. The A/C was a welcome respite. Addie was so excited to meet Anna and Elsa - definitely a high point in the trip for her.

The heat was getting to us as well, so we stopped by Clarabelle's for hand dipped ice cream on our way out of the park. Yum!

 
Then we said hi to Oswald, got autographs and went back to join the others for naps.

 

When we came back in the evening, we had dinner in Downtown Disney at one of my favorite spots, Earl of Sandwich, and then we wandered around Downtown Disney a bit. Elise was pretty psyched to find Lego Hulk.

I had spent much of the day periodically calling the Ask Otto hotline to find out the fastpass return time for Radiator Springs Racers. My goal was to get a fastpass return time just after dark. I succeeded in that quest, so Radiator Springs Racers was our main goal for the evening. If I thought Carsland was neat during the day, it is absolutely spectacular at night. I loved it!  I wish we had gotten there at dusk to see all the lights turning on, but we'll have to try for that another time.

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

Radiator Springs Racers almost feels like a completely different ride at night... an even better ride than it was during the day. Wow. Loved it.

Riding the Racers after dark was really our only goal for the evening. We ended up heading back over to Paradise Pier where we rode the Golden Zephyr

 

and the Silly Symphony Swings. Poor Addie looked like she was going to puke through the whole ride. I kept watching her, just sure she was going to hurl any second. When the ride finally came to a stop, she was looking a bit green. I don't think I'll take her on one of those swing rides again any time soon. This picture was taken before the ride, not after. She definitely didn't have a smile on her face after.

It was approaching bedtime for J.C. and Nina (are you sensing a pattern here?), so they went on back. The rest of us decided to stay for the World of Color show.

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

As a slight aside, in the above picture of the ferris wheel, do you see how the cars of the ferris wheel are on individual tracks within the wheel? In preparing for our trip, I've seen this referred to as "Mickey's Death Wheel", "Mickey's Wheel of Terror", "Mickey's Wheel of Doom", etc.  It actually has barf bag dispensers in each car!  It is supposed to be completely unnerving and terrifying. We did not choose to attempt it. It looks like such a pretty ride, but apparently it is evil. Given that Addie and Nina had already gotten a bit nauseous on calmer rides earlier in the day, I'm pretty sure at least one of them would have lost her dinner if we attempted the Wheel of Death.

Anyway, World of Color was... well... colorful.

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

We weren't that excited by it, so we bought some popcorn, and headed back to the condo before it ended to beat the crowds.

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

Radiator Springs Racers was enough nighttime fun for us. We had a blast that day, even if World of Color was a bit of a disappointment.

SoCal Day 7 Disney California Adventure Favorites:

Addison: Radiator Springs Racers

Nina: California Screamin', Aladdin, and Radiator Springs Racers at night

Elise: California Screamin' and Aladdin

Ann: Radiator Springs Racers at night

J.C.: California Screamin'

 

 

 

SoCal Day 6: Disneyland

When it comes to Disney vacationing, I'm a planner. I like to plan strategically to maximize fun and minimize waiting in lines. Although we had never been to Disneyland before, I had done my research, created my itinerary on Ridemax, and we had a plan.

 

We arrived at the park prior to rope drop, excited to see all the Halloween decorations.

We rushed straight to Peter Pan's Flight, knowing that our only shot at riding it with a short wait was first thing in the morning. So much for my fastidious planning... we got there to find a 35 minute wait. We weren't hardcore enough Peter Pan fans to waste precious morning low-wait time waiting for that one ride, so we gave up on Peter Pan. We'll have to save that for another trip. Fortunately, every other ride in Fantasyland had no wait at all, so we were able to cram in a bunch in that 35 minutes when we would have just been standing in the queue waiting for Peter Pan.  JC ran off to get fastpasses for Indiana Jones Adventure while the girls went on the Teacups. They practically had the ride to themselves!

Next we went on the Storybook Land Canal Boats which I absolutely loved. It definitely ranks up there as one of my favorite Disney rides of all the Disney parks.

It is so beautiful.

(stock photo from Disney Photopass)

(stock photo from Disney Photopass)

We were trying to focus on rides that are exclusive to Disneyland that we can't ride at Disney World, so next we were off to Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and Matterhorn.

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

We had just enough time to sneak in a ride on the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage before it would be time to race to our Indiana Jones fastpass return time. I was a little worried I would get claustrophobic in the submarine, but I did just fine. I think it helped that I was one of the last ones in and first ones out.

It is a cute ride. Now that I've done it once though, I don't feel the need to climb down into one of those submarines ever again.

Indiana Jones was next. Most of the family loved it. One didn't. Poor girl... I think we scarred her for life. It wouldn't be the only time on this trip either.

To offset the trauma of the Indiana Jones ride, I took her on the carousel while everyone else went off in search of churros.

We had a mediocre lunch at Village Haus restaurant, took a few more pictures, and then headed back to the condo for naps. It was H.O.T.!

After wonderful naps, we came back refreshed in the early evening as it was finally beginning to cool off.

You may be looking at these pictures wondering if we lost Nina somewhere along the way. Posing with characters is like her own personal version of torture. You won't find her in any character pictures by choice (we did force her to get in a couple photos though later in the trip).

Dinner that night was our best meal of the entire trip. We all still start drooling a little if you mention it. Big Thunder Ranch BBQ. I would recommend it to you, but they are closing it in January to make room for Star Wars Land, so you'd have to plan a trip quick. It would be so worth it though. Seriously. Yum. Heavenly. Mmmmm.

I mean what's not to love about BUCKETS of BBQ?  J.C. thought he had died and gone to BBQ heaven.

Star Wars, Schmar Wars... it is criminal that they are closing this place.

I think we had planned to go on Big Thunder Railroad right after dinner, but that sounded like a big pukefest waiting to happen after our huge meal.

 

We opted for Jungle Cruise instead. Addie was very excited that it was now dark enough to turn on her ears.

(Disney Photopass stock photo)

J.C. and Nina don't have quite the Disney stamina that the rest of us do, so they headed back to the condo. Elise, Addie, and I planned on taking the Disneyland railroad to another part of the park to ride a couple more rides before the parade. The train was out of order though, and our feet were out of order as well. We just plopped down on the curb and hung out resting, waiting for the parade to start.

Addie got to see Goofy again. He signed her autograph book...

and then tucked her pen in her braid.

 

The Paint the Night Parade was fantastic. I'm normally not a big Disney parade fan. We usually skip most of the parades at the Disney World parks. It is Disney blasphemy to even admit that, but I'm just not much of a parade person. Paint the Night is a new parade this year for Disneyland's 60th Anniversary though. I had heard it was spectacular, and I'm so glad we staked out spots to watch it.

 

The fireworks were great too, but my pictures are awful, so I'm not even going to bother sharing them. The parade was really the big highlight for us though. After the fireworks, we headed back to the condo to get some sleep before our big California Adventure day.

SoCal Day6 Disneyland Favorites:

Addison: Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage and Mad Tea Party

Nina: Alice in Wonderland ride

Elise: Paint the Night Parade

Ann: Storybook Land Canal Boats, Big Thunder Ranch BBQ, and Paint the Night Parade

J.C.: Indiana Jones Adventure, and Big Thunder Ranch BBQ

 

SoCal Day 5: Coronado -> L.A. -> Anaheim

Day 5 was really just designed to be a travel day. The plan was to leave San Diego in the morning as soon as morning traffic had died down, get to L.A. around lunch time, have lunch, see the Chinese Theater, the Dolby Theater, the Hollywood sign, and then get out of town heading to Anaheim before traffic got bad.   Best laid plans...

The older two girls decided they wanted one more beach visit since they had missed the afternoon at the beach that Addie and I did. That was going to throw us completely off schedule, but who can resist one more beach trip? We went back to Coronado Beach this time. It is such a gorgeous, wide beach with the finest white sand.

It was early enough that we basically had the whole beach to ourselves. We could sit out there pretending we were classy enough and rich enough to be staying at the beautiful, iconic Hotel Del Coronado.

We spent the morning playing in the waves and the sand, enjoying our last day in the San Diego area.

This picture on the restroom on the beach made me giggle. Frank L. Baum, author of the Wizard of Oz, spent many winters at the Del during the years that he was writing the Oz books. Some say that the Emerald City was inspired by the Del. I wonder how Baum would feel about his characters adorning the bathroom doors!

After showering and checking out of the condo, a So Cal bucket list item could be checked off - lunch at In-n-Out Burger.

Our impression was... well... meh. We were underwhelmed. That's OK though. We can now say we've had an In-n-Out Burger.  The milkshakes were tasty. After lunch, we were Hollywood bound! This L.A. detour was Nina's idea.  She was dying to get a picture with the Hollywood sign in the background. Although neither J.C. nor I had any desire to brave L.A. traffic, it seemed cruel to come within 30 miles of Hollywood and not let Nina get her picture. Without further ado... happy girl.

 

Another So Cal bucket list item checked off!  After pictures, we did the world's fastest tour of the Hollywood and Highland area, bought a couple souvenirs and hopped back on the road to join L.A. rush hour traffic. It took us a full two hours to drive the 30 miles to Anaheim. We can all now say we have seen the Hollywood sign though.

We arrived at our condo in Anaheim and walked over to Downtown Disney for dinner. Our dinner at Napolini was a mixed bag. My salad was excellent, but J.C.'s pizza was inedible. He threw most of it away. Poor guy... it was not a great way to end a pretty exhausting day.  We all collapsed in bed right after dinner to get a good sleep before our first Disney day the next day.

SoCal Picture A Day: Day 9

SoCal Picture A Day: Day 8

SoCal Picture A Day: Day 7

 

SoCal Picture A Day: Day 6

 

Disney World 2013 Trip Report, Day 6, Magic Kingdom Again

We were really hoping Nina would be completely recovered and ready to take on Disney, but she had a rough morning starting about 5:30 a.m., so we left her to sleep in.

Elise, Addie, and I took off for a second day at Magic Kingdom. We walked straight over to Fantasyland to pick up fastpasses for the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Then we hopped in line to meet Ariel. Can you imagine sitting in that mermaid outfit? It looks like it would feel so awkward.

Then we rode the new Little Mermaid ride. It is really nice. It is essentially a clone of the Nemo ride at Epcot, but it tells the story of the Little Mermaid. It is cute and well done. After that, we got a call from J.C. that Nina was feeling better, had kept down some food, and they were on their way to meet us! Yea!

Next we caught up with Gaston. He is absolutely hysterical! By far, he gave the best character interaction of the trip. The pictures with him cracked me up too.

 

Then we were off to Adventureland to meet up with J.C. and Nina.  We were so excited she was able to come. She had to stay off any spinny, fast, or up-and-down rides, but fortunately Magic Kingdom still has lots of options. We picked up fastpasses for Jungle Cruise and then went on Pirates of the Caribbean. With Addie being such a huge fan of Jake and the Neverland Pirates, she was really excited about going on Pirates of the Caribbean. I wasn't sure how she would like it since the pirates are quite different from the smiling, friendly animated variety, but she had a ball. Toward the end of the ride, we got stuck for about 10 minutes here.

I had never ridden that ride before, so I didn't know if we were supposed to be stuck or not, but I started to wonder if we were going to have to get out and swim. Eventually, they came on with an announcement that we were indeed stuck and would start moving in a few minutes.

As with so many rides, Disney marketing has mastered the art of ending every ride in a gift shop themed to that ride.  (This is an awful picture, but it was so great to see a smile on Nina's face!)

Pirates of the Caribbean dumped us out in the pirate themed gift shop, so Addie left there the proud owner of Jake to accompany Izzy who was purchased earlier in the week. As we were walking over to Jungle Cruise, a pirate cast member outside of Pirates of the Caribbean said to Addie, "Yo Ho! You have Jake and Izzy there!" Then he completely mangled the names of two other characters in the show while trying to tell Addie she needed those too. Elise gave him the classic 11 year old rolled eyes look.  I think the pirate characters need some Jake and the Neverland Pirates education if they plan to chat with five year olds.

Next up was Jungle Cruise. It was so nice that there were two rides in easy walking distance that were slow, flat, non-nauseating boat rides... just right for poor Nina.

We stopped at Pecos Bill's for an early lunch. That was pretty forgettable. I'm not sure I'd go there again. Then, Elise and J.C. headed off to Big Thunder Mountain which was clearly not an option for Nina, so the little girls and I went over to Tomorrowland for a ride on the People Mover, another slow, mostly flat ride.

Nina needed a little rest, so we sat down with a snack and waited for J.C. and Elise. Then it was off to the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor which I absolutely love. That show ranks up there as one of my favorite attractions at Magic Kingdom.

Elise really wanted to meet the princesses. (Yes, Elise... really, that wasn't a typo... she's the oldest of the three, but the only one who still loves princesses). I walked over to grab fastpasses for the princesses while everybody else watched the parade. Then we all took one more spin on the People Mover.

Nina really truly had no interest in the princesses whatsoever, so she and J.C. stayed out on the porch while I took the other two in.

 

Next we had to race off for our reservations at the new restaurant in Beast's castle, Be Our Guest. I had promised Addison that she could ride the carousel before dinner, so even though we were tight for time, JC, Elise, and Addison hopped on the carousel for a quick ride while Nina and I checked in for dinner. As Nina and I waited for them, we got a kick out of the people who walked up to the check-in desk every couple of minutes to ask how long the wait was. Then, they seemed completely shocked when they were told that the restaurant was fully booked and couldn't take walk-ins.  Do they not realize that all of us dining there that night had made reservations 180 days earlier?

I really hate to even share pictures of this restaurant because my pictures do not do it justice at all. It is gorgeous... like breathtakingly, perfectly, wonderfully gorgeous. You really have to experience it in person.

The food was very good too. J.C. got the pork rack chop which he said was fabulous. Elise and I both ordered the sauteed shrimp and scallops in puff pastry. It was very good, but I think I might try something different another time. It wasn't a must-get. Addison got the awful grilled chicken again. I think Disney needs to take that off their kids' menus. I know they are trying to be healthier, but it just isn't good. Go back to good ol' chicken nuggets. Poor Nina was starting to tank, so she didn't eat any of her pasta. The desserts were gorgeous. Elise and I shared the chocolate cupcake and the lemon cream puff. We both actually preferred the cream puff - shocking!

Elise was the only one brave enough to visit with Beast.

Beast's castle looks really neat lit up at night.

After dinner, we offered Nina the option to stay and watch fireworks since she had missed them the night before. She was wiped out though, so we headed back to the resort for our last night in Florida.

Day 6 Favorites:

Addison: the boat ride (Pirates of the Caribbean) and the other boat ride (Jungle Cruise)

Nina: getting to go to Magic Kingdom

Elise: Big Thunder Mountain

J.C.: Big Thunder Mountain

Ann: Be Our Guest and having Nina with us

Disney World 2013 Trip Report, Day 5, Magic Kingdom

Day 5 was a very, very bad day for half of our family. It started out well enough. We decided this day was going to be our one sleep-in day. We weren't in a rush, so we went for a leisurely breakfast at the resort. Nina was complaining of her tummy hurting, but we assumed she was just hungry. We thought breakfast would solve her problem. We all enjoyed our breakfast except for Nina who mostly picked at hers and laid down in the booth.

By the end of breakfast, she was starting to look worse, not better. Our plan had been to spend the morning swimming, but Nina opted for a nap. Anytime your child chooses a nap over swimming at a fun resort pool, you know things are bad. Elise, Addie, and J.C. headed off to the pool. Nina was sound asleep the minute her head hit the pillow.

She slept like a rock for a couple of hours. JC and the girls planned on staying at the pool until she woke  up so as not to bother her. She began to stir, so I texted JC that she was waking up. As they started the (long) walk back from the pool, Nina leaped out of bed and ran to the bathroom to throw up. If there was any doubt about her being sick, there were no longer any doubts. J.C. agreed to stay in the room with her while the rest of us grabbed lunch at the resort and headed off to Magic Kingdom. While we felt bad having to leave them there, we were a also bit relieved to get away from Nina's germs.

Note to self: If your child plans to take a picture holding Tinker Bell, make sure she is not wearing a busy shirt with lots of colors on it. Tink disappears in the shirt.

Our first order of business was fastpasses for Dumbo. Besides meeting Jake, Addie's other big goal for this trip was riding Dumbo.  The poor child had asked every morning, "Is today the day we get to ride Dumbo?" and got a no response four mornings in a row. We walked directly to the new Fantasy Land and picked up fastpasses for Dumbo and Barnstormer. The machine shot out a free fastpass for Mickey's Philharmagic as well. I didn't like that show last time I saw it, so I didn't intend to use that one. I stuffed it in my pocket anyway. Much to my dismay, Addie wanted to ride the teacups too. She is too young to ride them with just Elise, so I was stuck riding that awful ride. The two of them loved it.

Me? Not so much.

Then it was finally time for the big moment... Dumbo!  I'm not sure if this really lived up to Addie's expectations, but she still claims it was her favorite part of the trip. Personally, I think she had much more fun on Test Track and Soarin'.

Next was Barnstormer. Addie liked it. Elise thought it was a bit of a snooze. I think she has finally graduated from the kiddie rides.

After that, we picked up fastpasses for Peter Pan. We needed to kill a little time before our fastpass return time. Since we had the freebie fastpasses for Mickey's Philharmagic, we just went to that. I should have stuck with my gut and skipped it. I really don't like that show. Oh well, live and learn. Peter Pan was, of course, excellent, so we finished our time in Fantasy Land on a high note.

Next, we hopped on the train to Frontier Land. I had seen in the character guide that Jessie was going to be doing a meet and greet soon. She was the character I was most excited to see, so getting to Jessie was our next mission. Her meeting spot is a little hidden. It is by the Splash Mountain queue, but Splash Mountain is undergoing renovations, so there really isn't any traffic over there. That worked to our advantage. Since she wasn't out there yet, there were only a few people in line in front of us.

Woody was a bonus! We didn't know he would be there too.

After our photo op with Jessie, Addison actually gave her a hug. I was so excited she was finally getting comfortable with the characters and even more excited it was with Jessie. Sadly, I didn't pull my camera out quickly enough to snap a picture. It was very sweet though... you'll just have to trust me on that one.

Throughout the day, J.C. had been texting me updates about Nina. The were texts like, "Threw up again", "I'm worried about Nina. Her eyes just rolled back in her head, and she passed out on the bathroom floor.", "Doing a little better. She's watching TV.", and then, "Watched TV for 15 minutes then fell asleep again."  Clearly, Nina was having a really horrible day. Considering JC hadn't left the room the entire day, I'm sure his day wasn't much better. I tried to convince him to switch places with me to go to dinner with Addison and Elise, but he refused saying he wanted to let me enjoy the trip. What a great guy!

Next, we walked to Adventure Land in hopes of riding a couple things there. Most had waits that were too long and fastpasses that were too far out, so we treated ourselves to some Mickey ice cream bars and rode The Magic Carpets of Aladdin.

Then we did a little shopping and hopped on the monorail to the Polynesian for dinner at 'Ohana. I was so sad that J.C. and Nina couldn't join us. 'Ohana is our family's favorite restaurant in Disney World. As usual, everything was delicious!

Customer service was fantastic too. Remember how Le Cellier wouldn't even switch out a potato side with J.C.'s steak?  'Ohana has a mixed veggie dish which contains baby corn among other things. Addie had eaten all of the baby corn out of the dish that was served family style at our table. She asked the waiter if she could have more baby corn. He brought some out in a little bowl for her. She ate all of those and asked for more. He said,"I'll see if I can get out a few more. I have to dig through the mixed veggies to find them!"  So... keeping score... Le Cellier - can't even throw a potato on a plate...  'Ohana - will painstakingly sort through mixed veggies to pull out just the baby corn. 

A+ to 'Ohana... love that place!

After dinner, we hopped the monorail back to Magic Kingdom for Wishes. That is such a great show, and we had a really good viewing spot right in the middle of Main Street.

J.C. doesn't care much about fireworks, but we were all feeling sad that Nina couldn't be there with us to enjoy it.

As we were leaving the park, we decided to buy one of the little spinning glow toys that they sell during the fireworks shows for Nina. If she couldn't be there with us, we figured we would bring a tiny bit of the show to her.

It was a late night, and Addie crashed on the bus ride back.

We got back to the room to find Nina looking slightly more human than she had that morning. She had spent the day in one of the queen sized beds, so in order to cut down on germ transfer, we moved her to the murphy bed. We called mousekeeping to bring clean sheets for the queen bed and then put Addie and Elise in there. We went to sleep hoping for a better tomorrow.

Day 5 Favorites:

Addison: Dumbo, Teacups, Barnstormer, parade (I forgot to mention that in the post, but I guess we watched the parade at some point too), baby corn, fireworks, castle changing colors, chicken legs (an appetizer at 'Ohana), and the monorail.  (She listed those off in exactly that order!)

Nina: the spinny light-up toy

Elise: fireworks and 'Ohana

Ann: fireworks and 'Ohana

J.C.: catching Addie at the bottom of the slide at the pool - watching her so proud of herself, squealing and laughing