A Daddy-Son Pictorial Trip Report!

Thanks! I hope you and your friend are enjoying yourselves as well! Is it just me, or is it super crowded right now? I was expecting long lines because of spring break, but I didn’t expect the mexico ride to have a 30 minute wait or LWTL to have a +45 min wait. Geeze. Either way, we are having a blast!

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I love that DS4 has a princess crush (well, Queen :princess: ) and that she is Elsa!

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It is SUPER crowded — I kinda, sorta expected it, and it’s not bothering us as much because we really came only to amble around, ride a few rides, but mostly to warm the crap up. So I don’t feel the need to ACCOMPLISH EVERYTHING!!! — which is hard when I’ve obsessively researched how to do everything.

It does, however, get easier to relax because we upgraded to APs and are coming back twice more this year.

We RD’d the Magic Kingdom this morning and did a TON, and then left around 12:30, when it was really starting to get packed. Looking at the posted wait times midday makes me feel so smug that we did 9 (!!) rides with zero wait from 8am to noon — and only two of those were with FP! Boy does it really pay to get up early…

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Congrats on the AP! Your plan sounds similar to ours, as far as not doing everything. Of course, DS4 is just as happy chasing bubbles as he is riding splash mtn. Don’t forget to pick up your free flower and garden AP magnet in Epcot!

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:scream::scream: we didn’t get a free magnet! Oh geez I’d better pop back over there.

Also I love how everyone congratulates us on the APs. :blush:

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Hey you worked hard for that and you deserve it, after all!

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I guessed it and I have never even been to WDW! I am a DLR veteran though and I was able to recognize it from the “Best Coast” version. Such a fun report! Thank you for sharing!

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Yes we worked soooo hard for it. We had to walk all the way over to the Int’l Gateway to guest services and say, “hello we would like to upgrade ourselves to annual passes please.” Terribly hard work it was.

Though if you factor in the GAJILLION HOURS I have spent researching all things Disney World, perhaps you have a point…

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Sneak peek of what’s to come tonite:

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Oooooh have fun! That’ll be a late night for DS, eh?

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Yes. I was worried about that but he napped from 6 to 7:45 in the stroller so I’m hoping he’s good to go. He’s been staying up til 11 pm so fingers crossed I didn’t just waste a huge sum of money!

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Nahh I’m sure it’ll be amazing. Tell us how many times you ride all the rides!! Eat lots of Mickey bars! (Hello from the HEA dessert party!)

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$ spent on our children is never wasted. Cannot wait to read how he loved it!

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Ooh good choice! Enjoy HEA! I thought F! was my favorite show of all time, that is, until I saw HEA! We are catching that tomorrow, hopefully.

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What is the glowing Fantastic thing?

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We did the fantasmic dessert package which comes with a whole bunch of light-up stuff!

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HEA is the best thing ever, full stop. It is THE MOST MAGICAL. I haven’t seen F! in probably… oh god like 22 years? We’re definitely seeing it in June (since tomorrow we’re doing the Star Wars dessert party).

I hope you’re still going strong at DAH! I am LE POOPED. We got to the MK at 7:25 this morning. Ooftah.

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Day 2 - Part 2

I’ll preface this part by saying whoever designed the DAH events is an evil, sadistic genius. Make people pay a wad of money to stuff their faces with as much popcorn, ice cream, and soda as they want. Then, allow them to ride as many swirling, spinning, dropping, and shaking rides as they want. It’s a perfect recipe for disaster. That being said, WE LOVED IT! What does that say about us… More on DAH later.

So, we spent about 2 hours at Stormalong Bay, which is awesome! Hands down, the best pool on property. Dinner was at Cape May, which IMO is the best buffet that I’ve been to in the World.

OK, now on to the good stuff. We left for HS around 6 pm. DS4 immediately fell asleep on the way over, which is good, cuz he got a 1.5 hour nap in before F! and DAH. Tip: a stroller is very useful even for a 4 y.o. They get tired of walking very quickly!

We did the pleasant walk to HS along the little canal. And we definitely beat the boat, even walking at a leisurely pace.

I’m so glad we signed up for DAH, because the crowds were unbelievable during regular hours when we got there.

We snagged our DAH bands inside the park, then headed over to the Fantasmic theater. F! is a really great show and is neck-and-neck with HEA in the running for best evening show in my book. The soundtrack and finale are epic.

We did the Dessert package, which was actually worth the money IMO. We got 2 hefty boxes of desserts, a light-up cup, keepsake light-up lanyards, and the choice of the best seats in the house (the Mickey and Scar sections of the theater, right in the middle).

DAH began immediately after the end of F!.

We headed straight for TOT. DS4 went willingly the first time but he didn’t want to go on it again. However, he was brave throughout the whole pre-show and ride.

Then, who could pass up on ASS (Alien Swirling Saucers, of course). Actually, that ride is pretty lame, if you ask me, and it shakes and jerks you so much it’s painful.

Then, TSM x 2. My high score was 190K. How did someone possibly get the high score of > 500,000???

Then, SDD x 2. Go, Go, Go, Go! It was A LOT better than I expected based on the POV videos I saw on YouTube.

Quick food break.

Then we finished the night with a ride on Star Tours.

Final count:
ToT - 1
SDD - 2
ASS - 1
TSM - 2
Star Tours - 1
Rock ‘n’ roller coaster - 0 (DS4 too short)
Popcorn - 2
Mickey bars - 2
Water bottles - 2

Final thoughts on DAH: Totally worth the money. We did more in 2.5 hours than you could do in a whole 9 hr touring day. We cut out 30 minutes early after doing all we wanted to do.
You could easily get in more rides and food than we did, but we took it slow and enjoyed the empty park. Our wait time for everything was 0 minutes, except for SDD (which was 15 minutes both times). I would definitely do this again; it’s probably the best luxury add-on to your trip that you can do for yourself. BTW, DS4 was a trooper and was wide awake until he got back in the stroller for the 30 minute walk back to BCV.

You may think I’m crazy (I think I am), but I scheduled EMM tomorrow at MK, back-to-back with DAH the night before. With the crowds as they are, I couldn’t figure on doing it any other way. That said, I need to get some sleep. Thanks for following!

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That is hysterical!

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Full day report to come later but day 3 starts with EMM. Name the ride: this one goes out to you @missoverexcited and @PrincipalTinker

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