Lucky for us Galaxy's Edge didn't bring the crowds: A family's first trip to WDW was a great success

For what it’s worth, Space wasn’t totally dark. I remember it from my childhood at being pitch black, but it definitely wasn’t this time. Obviously I don’t know if I remember it wrong or what, but it seemed “lighter” than I remembered.

And that EEMH was AMAZING. I couldn’t believe how much we were able to fit in. If you want to do Space solo, I’d try to squeeze a ride in during EEMH. It probably took less than 10 minutes from when we entered the queue to when we were out again.

I can’t believe his phone came out of his pocket!! My mum had her hat unsecured on one of our rides and it floated up and landed on her lap which was pretty funny. She wouldn’t have found losing it funny though!

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I am definitely going to tell DH that one of the “expert” liners was surprised to hear a phone could come out of his pocket. He was so frustrated at himself and at Disney for not being more explicit about what could happen to items. I thought this was a good cautionary tale for others!

Definitely! DS’s phone was always in his pocket and I’d have killed him if he lost it.

Thanks, that’s good to know! I am always reluctant to take my own time (like you getting “me time” riding TSM alone, ha), but I’m going to try, darnit!

I can’t wait for the next installment to find out what happened to the phone! Fingers crossed for a good ending.

Day 5: Epcot is amazing and the first step towards a resolution with DH’s phone

DH woke up really early and went to the cafeteria to do some work. While there, he noticed that his phone’s location moved to guest relations at HS, rather at ToT. As soon as he noticed this, he wanted to head over there (HS had opened at 6 am, so it was already open). He took the chromebook, so I could google chat to stay in touch with him and he grabbed a bus to HS with plans to meet us at FEA after Epcot opened.

Meanwhile, the kids were sleepily waking up. I had originally planned for all of us to take a Lyft to BC/YC and then use the international gateway so we could rope drop FEA with less of a crowd. However, I was pretty intimidated at doing all that solo. So I took the kids on the bus instead. We ended up getting to Epcot around 8:30, which I was worried was too late to do a successful rope drop. However, we got through the bag check and taps easily and we were quickly at the rope drop area, about ten to fifteen rows back from the rope. We were all pretty nervous about rope dropping without DH. He is much taller than me, and very good at maneuvering. The kids were grabbing tightly at me throughout the drum show that starts the day at Epcot.

And, then we were off! About 80% of the crowd headed left for TT and almost everyone else peeled off towards Soarin’! We felt totally alone in the world showcase as we moved quickly through Mexico to Norway. I had a bit of trouble finding the actual ride once we were in Norway, but I think we were on the second boat of the day. Woohoo! The kids liked the ride, but not as much as some others. We met up with DH in the gift shop. He had is phone, but now it was alllll bendy and the screen was completely shattered. Ugh.

He seemed (understandably) bummed about the phone but unwilling to let it ruin our day. We asked if he wanted to do FEA also and he said nah, he’d rather eat some breakfast together. So we went to Kringla, which we all really enjoyed. DH and DD really liked the school bread, but I prefered the thing with almonds all over it.

Then it was time for our TT fast pass, so we made our way there. Everyone really enjoyed the ride. And the kids really really enjoyed the part after the ride. They loved all the games and learning about cars and all. I didn’t want to rush them, so by the time we were done we were running behind from the original plan. DS accepted that he’d have to miss Mission Space, which was next, but he was the only one really interested in riding.

So we went off to Spaceship Earth with our next FP. The kids completely loved this and loved the room at the end of this ride too. They wanted to do SE again immediately, but we had a FP for LWtL and I was hoping to grab Soarin’ with a same day drop, so we headed off to the Land Pavilion.

As soon as we tapped in, I grabbed a Soarin’ FP for 7pm that evening without even waiting for the drop. I knew that time wouldn’t work because we had a reservation for Akershus then. I was able to modify it to around noon, but couldn’t get it any earlier (it was around 11 am at this point). Meanwhile, the kids completely adored LWtL. I spent most of the ride working on modifying our FP so I don’t have much of an opinion, but I think DH thought it was interesting too (he’s an environmental historian, so he has a lot of knowledge in this area). We used the bathroom and then couldn’t decide how to handle this gap in our plans.

DH says, why don’t we just ask if we can use the FP about 30 minutes early. We ask, and they say, sure no problem! However, then we had another problem. After DD had almost puked on FoP, she was understandably nervous to ride Soarin. I told her about the rating system I had seen here which put Soarin’ at way fewer :face_vomiting: than FoP, but she was still nervous. So DD talked to the CM at the ride who explained how she would be sitting in a swing and if she closed her eyes she almost wouldn’t feel anything. She decided to risk it. A bunch of nice folks surrounding us act all supportive and tell her she’s going to love it. Well, turned out it was her favorite ride of the trip!!! She totally loved it, said it was beautiful and didn’t make her sick at all. Phew!!!

I immediately get us another FP for it for later that evening, but we don’t want to make yesterday’s mistake again, so we know our morning needs to come to a close quickly so we can take a break.

We stop in Sunshine Seasons for lunch for DS knowing he won’t like or won’t be able to eat the food at Food and Wine. We get a kids meatball and noodles platter. DS eats the noodles and chocolate milk, DD eats his meatballs and applesauce. Adorable.

Then we quickly walk through food and wine. The kids get popcorns. I try to get another Mickey pretzel, but there are none to be found! :frowning_face: DH and I share crab cakes x2, loaded mac n cheese, scallops, and ravioli and are full.

DS really wants to ride a friendship boat, just for fun, so we take a boat from Epcot to HS and then a bus back to Pop. While we are on the boat, DH talks about “when” (rather than “if”) we come back to Disney, which gets me all excited. All my planning made the trip smooth enough that he’d consider it. Yay!!

We get back to Pop feeling good. We decide to swim, going to the computer pool this time, which was really nice. It was much quieter than the hippy dippy pool. After swimming we go back to our room and just chill for a bit. The kids watch some cartoons on the disney channel, laughing so hard we can hear them through the wall. Then we all shower and get ready to go back to Epcot.

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What a great morning!

Hooray! I’m glad the phone was found and that you guys had a great morning in Epcot. I feel like my Epcot planning was a total fail and part of why DH doesn’t want to go back to WDW, but he’ll consider Disneyland which I think I like better overall anyway.

I think Epcot was such a hit with my kids because they saw it as science museum meets amusement park and they like both in equal amounts. And we let the kids really take their time, rather than rushing from one thing to the next. There were definitely less “thrills” but that was totally fine with them (and us).
That said, we barely saw the world showcase, which I regret.

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My kids wanted more thrills and refused to ride any slow rides except Spaceship Earth. We did it without FPPs and I have a feeling we’d have liked it more in cooler weather or maybe more in the evening. They did like the interactive stuff at the Test Track exit, and Club Cool, and some other stuff… I’m about to start writing up that day, maybe I’ll figure it out as I do.

It really was! In some ways, it was my favorite morning of the trip. Especially after the insanity of the day before, it felt so good to take our time and soak up the ambiance.

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We were ready to head back to Epcot by around 4:30. At that point, we had a 5:30 FP for Soarin’ and an ADR at Akershus for 6:30 (FYI, our original ADR at Akershus was for 6:05, we were able to modify it back to 6:30 during our break when we decided we wouldn’t be hungry yet at 6:05).

The kids really wanted to do Spaceship Earth again, so we do, without a fast pass. We had to wait like ten minutes and the kids were all impatient. Ha! They had no idea how good they had it! DS wants to ride with me and DD wants to ride with DH. Perfect. We all enjoy it and then head over to Soarin’.

As soon as we tap into Soarin’, I look for more FPs to use after dinner, but there isn’t much. There are late TT FPs, but TT is down and we don’t have park tickets for the next day, so converted FPs don’t do much good. I take an FP for Illuminations on the off chance we stay and figure I might keep looking after dinner. We all really enjoyed Soarin’ the second time. I realize just how much I worry about the kids’ enjoyment during a ride and how that interferes with my own enjoyment!

We then do a quick stop at Club Cool for Beverly. DH likes it; the kids think its gross. Ha. DD likes some of the other options though. DS and I don’t really like any of them.

Then we head to Akershus. I thought our meal here was fantastic. Not sure how I’d feel paying out of pocket, but it is an excellent use of a TS credit. We all genuinely enjoyed our food. The buffet was wonderful. I really like the caramelized goat cheese there and DD likes EVERYTHING (she is a very adventurous eater). Then the princesses enter and DD is starstruck. So cute. DS seems to think the whole thing is silly, but he plays along, chatting with them and joining the processional. Aurora asks DS if he’s the dragonslayer of the family and he looks so confused! The kids also definitely enjoy getting signatures and ask DH and I sign their books too.

After dinner, DD asks if we can go meet Anna and Elsa. The line is listed as 25 minutes, but we don’t really have anything else planned, so I say sure. The line ended up moving pretty quickly, maybe we waited 15 minutes? The M&G was cute and we got some great pics of the kiddos in the house and with Anna and Elsa. The CM at the front of the M&G was absolutely amazing though. We came back around after and she chatted with the kids for 20 minutes at least about their adventures from the week while DH and I sit on a bench behind the kids and watch. It was so nice to give the kids their independence in such a safe way.

At this point, DH is completely zonked (he had woken up early to do work before this whole day), but DS is insistent we stay for Illuminations. So we do. We use the FPs I got and get in the special area for it. We end up right in front of the fence almost perfectly across from the USA pavilion. Great view and we enjoyed the show, but HEA was our favorite night time show, no question. We head out the moment the show is over and end up on the second bus back to Pop. Still, we weren’t in bed until 11PM. Yikes! It was a really good day though.

While I was so happy to take our time in Epcot, I was bummed at how much we missed there. We barely saw the World Showcase, and DS had wanted to do Mission Space, which we skipped as well. For our kiddos who love museums as much as they love thrills, we probably should have budgeted more time in Epcot. We’ll have to do it next trip!

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Amazing trip report. Thanks so much for taking the time to write it and for all the details!! I’m usually the one in my group who’s on the app at the drop times, and modifying the whole time. I guess I do it because no one else cares as much, and also I’m a control freak and I’m afraid no one else will do it right. Reading your report makes me realize how much work it really is to stay on top of all those things, and how much it pays off. I just wish I could hand it over to someone else for a day. Want to come on our next trip and work your magic? It sounds like you are AMAZING with it!!! :grin:

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Aww, thanks! It was my pleasure to write up the trip. It totally helped me re-live the fun!

And whatever skills I have are from reading trip reports and suggestions here. I learned SO MUCH reading through in the months before our trip. I am totally the control freak, so I knew I’d want to tweak things to perfection, but I also got real joy out of reading people’s posts here. Everyone is so supportive and helpful; this is such a wonderful corner of the internet.

And, uh, yes, I will HAPPILY join you and work whatever magic I have!! You paying??? :wink:

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I love your report and your touring style! We love the afternoon breaks too! Good to hear about Akershus. I think we would definitely consider eating there sometime in the future.

Day 6: Typhoon Lagoon and 'Ohana, plus the search for the perfect souvenirs

We all slept past 8 AM, which NEVER happens. We were officially Disney tired. I woke up with absolutely zero interest in directing another day. Good thing all we had to do was enjoy Typhoon Lagoon and 'Ohana dinner.

We slowly made our way to the cafeteria for breakfast. DS proceeds to eat three bowls of cereal, DD has a danish and my meat, and DH and I get some breakfast platters. Then we slowly made our way to the busses for another long wait to the water parks. It seems like Disney has got it figured out when it comes to buses to the theme parks, but not to the water parks. This would have been another excellent time for a Lyft. Oh well.

We still get to Typhoon lagoon by 10ish and find a spot in the shade for our stuff. We do Miss Adventure falls twice then crush gusher multiple times in different configurations (DD with me, DS with me, each kid with DH, you get the picture). The rides are fun, but we are pooped and walking up stairs with rafts is exhausting. Then we do gangplank, keelhaul, and mayday falls in that order. They are all fun, but not worth the considerable effort at this point, just to haul our bodies up stairs.

The boys go and do Humunga Kowabunga and DD and I do Miss Adventure Falls again.

We eat lunch at Leaning Palms. Pizza and shakes for the kids, beyond sandwich for me, chicken sandwich for DH, both grownups get Pina Colada shakes. The food was great. For what it’s worth, we thought the best QS by far was at the water parks, but in terms of quantity and quality. While we were eating though, we saw lots and lots of animals. Like wild hoping for a snack type animals. It was more than a bit creepy watching what appeared to be a stray cat stalking someone’s left behind french fries.

We went to the wave pool last. We go to the Jersey shore every summer, so we thought we knew from waves, but these are WAVES. Totally crazy. After about 10 waves, we head back to the hotel with little wait for a bus. We all get yummy snacks at pop, including a crazy brownie sundae that DH wanted. We try to do a little souvenir shopping, but the kids can’t figure out what they want.

Everyone but DS showers and we get ready for 'Ohana dinner.

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Thanks! Yeah, afternoon breaks for the win for sure!

And if you’re on the dining plan I think Akershus is totally worth it in terms of food and characters. The food is a little adventurous, but we all thought it was really delicious.

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The steps at water parks are a killer!!

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We order a Lyft to take us to 'Ohana. I accidentally get in the wrong Lyft. Oops! Good reminder to always check the license plate! (the cab I got was also looking for someone with my name)

We get to the Poly without further incident, but it is a ZOO in there. We make our way to the desk to check in and there are hordes of people like we haven’t seen yet. I don’t know if the Poly is always like this, but it’s too much for my taste.

While we wait for our table, DS goes into the gift shop there and finds a lightsaber with mickeys that makes noise. He has officially found his souvenir. DD still isn’t sure what she wants, but she sure liked the stuffed Stitch that was almost as big as her (and something like $100). We quickly get the text that our table is ready so we head back to the restaurant.

Dinner is fun and we have a great table with a view of Space Mountain and the Castle. Because of his allergies, DS gets a specially cooked steak (which he says is almost as good as Dad’s burgers, so that’s high praise). The food is good for sure. And they sure keep bringing it around! It almost felt like we were disappointing them by not eating more. And the vibe of the place is really fun. We’ve spent a lot of time in Hawaii, and the restaurant gave me a bit of nostalgia for our trips there. We played 20 questions during dinner and our kids pick things like “atoms”, “d/Daisy” (both the flower and the character) and “Gritty” (our beloved Flyers’ mascot). It is a really fun family dinner and a wonderful final meal at Disney. I had hoped to watch the fireworks from our table, but we just don’t make it.

We head back to Pop around 8:45. DS and DH head straight to bed. DD and I spend a while in the store at Pop and DD finally decides on two small plushes: a mickey ice cream and a flounder. They are adorable and perfect for her. When DD and I get back to the room, I realize I haven’t packed a thing yet and we have DME coming at 8 am. AAAAAH!!!

I wake up at 5:45 and do a whirlwind of packing, eating a final Pop breakfast and using our final snack credits for plane snacks and a few gifts for our friends who encouraged us to go on this trip. The kids each pick out a Pez as the final two snack credits (Elsa and Jack-Jack).

Getting on the bus is easy-peasy. I start to cry when they play the HEA music. Security goes quickly and then we are sitting at the gate, looking at a two hour wait until we get to board. So, I bust out my printed daily plans and start writing down everything that actually happened so I can report back!

We board the plane no problem and at the last minute, the kids ask if they can sit together. We have window and middle on either side of the aisle (A and B, then E and F) so the kids would be two people away from us. We decide to say yes anyway and the kids are fantastic during the flight.

Thanks so much for following along on our adventures. I’ll put something together on overall thoughts and tips.

And an ENORMOUS thank you to all of you who offered advice and shared what had worked for them and their families. This forum is such a fantastic source of information, offered in a such a kind and helpful way. So from the bottom of our hearts, thank you from our entire family.

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