It is! We’re just exhausted, ha! I’m typing my reports up in Word and will edit them and add pictures as I have time. Having new in-laws here presents different dynamics but all is well and we’re ready to pack up tomorrow and head home on Friday! Maybe I can get the next installment up tomorrow but no promises. 
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Day 9: Monday December 9. Epcot. Predicted CL: 5. Actual CL: 4
After discussing things with DH he really, really did not want to leave a park for a mid-afternoon break. He wanted to just go and stay and leave early if needed. My in-laws decided not to come until after the rain let up. So, we decided to head to Epcot and just see how the day went. We arrived at Epcot around 9:30 and it was drizzling. We “ponchoed up and cracked on" @missoverexcited. It took a full 30 minutes to get through bag check which was very annoying. So many ponchos and strollers and bags, and I got stuck behind a lady who was being extra thorough. DH took the girls through alone and got under some cover, used the bathroom, and so on, while waiting for me.
First up: FEA. The girls wanted to ride again and wanted to meet Elsa and Anna so we went there first since I knew I couldn’t get 5 SDFP. Actually, DH took them that way and I went to tap into LWTL and Nemo and then caught up to them. Man, it was yuck and wet out there. By the time I caught up DD6 was about losing it, crying “I wanna go home!” She was not having this “poncho up and crack on” attitude. I finally got her calmed down and dried off (note to Liners: a small microfiber towel in your backpack is a really nice addition to your park bag!) right in time for FEA. We waited about 30 minutes but it was fine since it was raining outside! I enjoyed it more the second time and it was fun to watch the kids, too. Afterwards we put the ponchos back on and headed to Elsa and Anna. Once again, about a 30 minute wait. The sisters were very sweet and this was a nice M&G. Ponchos on and to the bathrooms, then we headed to Mexico for the Donald Duck ride again. It was a total walk on and a nice break from the rain.
We ponchoed up for the last time (yay!) and headed to the Land pavilion where we grabbed lunch at Sunshine Seasons. Two half chickens and a Mongolian beef bowl was enough for the five of us. The girls all took off their sandals and dried their feet with paper towels and let their shoes dry some while we ate. I grabbed a Minnie cupcake for dessert (it wasn’t that good…there’s so much red food coloring in the frosting that it tastes weird) and then we used the bathrooms and went to wait standby for Soarin’. We had TT FPP that had converted because of the rain but we wanted to save them to ride with the in-laws later, so we did standby. I think it was around 30 minutes. Once again we waited on B1 and once again it was awesome. After Soarin’ we headed to France to go see if we could meet Belle but we were misdirected and the line was too long by the time we found the correct spot. I really hope she’s at CRT on Tuesday!
So, we headed back to FW to meet the in-laws at Figment. And we waited, and we waited. DH had been hurrying us back from France because “they’re going to be waiting on us.” Nope. We’ve learned now that they’ll be running about 30 minutes later than they say, at least in WDW. I changed our FPP to a little later time in order to overlap theirs since our time was about to expire and I didn’t want to risk tapping in past 15 minutes late and I certainly didn’t want to wait stand-by for Figment. They finally showed up and we all tapped in and went in to the ride. It was cute but nothing special. My girls liked it, though.
After Figment we headed to TT to use our anytime FPP. The rain had stopped and I figured this was a good chance, and the Soarin’ lines hadn’t been bad all day. Off to TT where we DH and my BIL went to do SR line and the rest of us had a few problems tapping in. Turns out that since we had tapped in like 2 minutes early for Figment it had already used some of our anytime FPP. The CM was really nice, though, and let us through anyways. While waiting I canceled those Figment FPP. And then TT went down b/c of weather. We called my MIL who was waiting outside. She said it had been sprinkling but had passed so we decided to wait it out. I got on the Lines app to report TT as being down and saw that Figment was also down. Snagged a couple FPP for it and they converted to anytime ones, yay! Now we had enough for all of us to do Soarin’ later (I had also snagged some of us FPP during one of the drops).
TT finally came back up and we designed our vehicles and rode. It was fun but a one-and-done for me. The curves at the end, yuck for me. The girls loved it. They wanted to explore the stuff after the ride so they did that for a bit and then we headed for the Pixar Shorts. We had to wait awhile for the next show but it was alright, the girls played around the jumping fountains. We watched the shorts and they were super cute. I know people say they can watch movies at home but if you’re traveling with little kids or old people who need a break, well, they’re really cute. Then we headed to Soarin’ where we used our FPP and my MIL went to ride LWTL. They all loved Soarin’. Then we went up to Garden Grill to check in for our dinner reservations. At first they told us we couldn’t all sit together no matter what (I had two reservations, one for 5 and one for 3) but eventually they said we could if we’d be willing to wait, which we were.
While we waited DH and my BIL went to do a little shopping. They came back and our table was ready shortly thereafter (so about 30-45 minutes late). This meal was very good. The food was all good and there were lots of good options for people with dairy or gluten sensitivities. The characters were cute and stopped for a hug every time they walked around, even after the initial autographs and such. This is definitely a meal I’d recommend.
After dinner we had to make like sixteen bathroom stops. We used the bathrooms in the Land pavilion, then DD4 had to go so used the ones near character spot, then DD8 had to go (she’d just been!) so back to those bathrooms and I made DD6 go, too, even though she insisted she didn’t need to go! The guys met us there and we headed to the lake to wait for Illuminations. Some kind people let my girls stand in front of them near the railing so they could see well and we adults stood back a little bit and kept an eye on the girls.
Illuminations was great. I haven’t seen it in 18-20 years and don’t remember it well but the ending was absolutely awesome. We had started to walk toward the exit when they started to say “Peace on Earth” in all the languages but had to stop for the very end, it was so cool! I’m glad we had started walking, though, because we were ahead of a lot of the crowd, which was nice. We walked to the car and headed home and got the girls in bed by 10:30 or so. No alarms set for tomorrow, we’re taking the day off!
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Day 10: Monday December 10
Today we slept in a bit, 7:45 or so for the youngest two, 8:30 or so for DD8. We let them watch television until around 9:30 and then got going with baths (it was too cold to swim today, max 60 degrees), breakfast, etc. My BIL and I ran to Publix for a few things and when we got back I made spaghetti noodles and put the sauce in the crock-pot and cooked some carrots. DH and I had plans for a date night so I wanted to make sure everything was cooked because this MIL gets pretty stressed out in the kitchen. I knew that if everything was cooked it would make things less stressful for her.
We made a rough plan to head out around 1:30 for Disney Springs to do some shopping. We thought about mini golf again but it was windy and just plain chilly. As soon as we arrived in DS my MIL and FIL declare that they haven’t eaten lunch yet so are going to go find someplace to eat. 
So the rest of us just did some shopping/browsing. DD8 bought a birthstone necklace and we bought her some earrings (she’s going to get her ears pierced for her birthday in January). DD4 bought a Rubiks cube. DD6 declared World of Disney “boring” and hated all things inside it. When we left I took her by T-REX (where we’re having her birthday dinner on Wednesday) and she’s very excited to spend her souvenir money there, ha! That girl loves dinosaurs!
We got everyone back to our resort around 4:30 and then DH and I left soon after for our dinner reservation at Raglan Road. DH had the braised beef and it was wonderful. I got the cod and it was fine, just nothing spectacular. We got the chocolate dessert to share which was also nothing spectacular. But the environment was awesome, live Irish music and clogging. Considering Riverdance is the only “show” DH has ever liked this was a good fit for us. After dinner we just wandered around DS for a bit before we decided we were tired (and old, maybe?) and headed back to the resort to get ready for tomorrow.
My MIL and FIL are not so keen on us RDing MK tomorrow. They think we’re crazy and that there’s no possible way we need to be there that early. But they’ve agreed to come along and to come early! We’ll see if they’re actually ready in time or if we leave them behind. 
Highlights to come tomorrow: RDing BTMRR and Splash (if the water level is lowered), WTP, meeting Tinkerbell, and CRT for my three princesses. 
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I’m sorry DD6 wasn’t onboard with poncho-ing up and cracking on! Funnily enough we never use ponchos, we just get wet but I might not fancy that in December!
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The braised beef is my favourite at Raglan Road, it’s so good!!
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It was chilly enough that day that a poncho was a good thing. She was just mad that it kept “attacking” her!
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Oooh, we were in MK that rainy morning… it was BAD. We also tried to “poncho up and carry on”. I’m working on my notes to write my report today.
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Omg it was so rainy on Sunday we didn’t go anywhere. Finally had to run to Hollywood Studios to pick something up to bring home…and I ended up ponchoing the BAG
But overall it was miserable, I’m impressed y’all pressed on! Monday was FREEZING. I was quite happy to fly home. Of course it’s cold in Cali this morning now. 
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Day 11: Tuesday December 11. Magic Kingdom. Predicted CL: 2. Actual CL: 3
This morning we did manage to get everyone out the door by 7:45, so just a few minutes later than the 7:30 goal. We all got into the park around 8:45 and DH uses the bathrooms and my in-laws decide that this is a good time to shop for sunglasses. Le sigh. After DH comes out he decides we’re going on without them, so we head up Main Street and he calls them to tell them we’re watching the show. He’s finally, after six previous park days, caught the beauty of RD.
We watch the opening show and when my in-laws are still nowhere to be seen he calls them and tells them we’re heading to BTMRR and they can catch up. But they’re already nearly to the hub and make us wait for them. We all head towards BTMRR together and are almost to Splash when my MIL decides she needs to use the bathroom. Argh. This is why we just used the bathrooms! Even my DH is annoyed and my BIL, too. We finally made it to BTMRR at like 9:20. So frustrating. At any rate it was only a 10-minute or so wait, but it was running slower this morning I guess because it was chilly.
After BTMRR we headed to POTC but it was down, so we headed over to JC but the line was already horrendous, probably because everyone who had planned on POTC was going there instead. So we bailed on the Adventureland plan and headed back to Fantasyland for our WtP FPP. After WtP DH and my BIL and FIL took the girls to the Speedway and my MIL and I went to Main Street for coffee and hot chocolate. After the Speedway my BIL and FIL went to ride Space Mtn and the rest of us met at Pooh and Tigger’s M&G. That was so cute and possibly my favorite M&G of the trip.
My BIL and FIL met us right as we were finishing up the M&G and we all headed to the front of the castle to catch Mickey’s Friendship Faire. Of all the shows we saw this one was my least favorite. My girls loved it, but to me it was just meh. But whatever, they were happy. Then back down Main Street again to meet Tinkerbell with our second FPP. After Tinkerbell we went to the barber shop to see about getting pixie dusted but apparently this location has moved to Castle Couture. So, we headed up to the back of the castle. On the way we saw the stepsisters out so hopped in line to meet them. Oh my gosh they were hilarious. DD8 asked them where Cinderella was and they said something like, “Who cares?” Ha. So funny.
We headed over to Castle Couture for a bit of pixie dust and DD6 started to pout because she thought she’d be able to fly after being pixie dusted. Umm, no. I mean, I know WDW is magical and all but….? While we were meeting the stepsisters my FIL discovered that he didn’t have his car keys. So, he and my MIL started trying to figure out what they were going to do about that. They eventually decided they couldn’t do much besides stop by guest services and see if anyone had turned keys in, and they didn’t want to walk back down Main Street and then back up for our lunch, so they decided to wait until later in the day to ask.
Onto 7DMT for our third FPP. While in line I grabbed FPP for POTC, which was nice since DH was determined to do this ride and it had been down earlier. After 7DMT we headed back to Adventureland, rode POTC and then went back to JC. This right here was the downfall of our day. I, for one, did not care about doing this at all. I didn’t want to wait in line. I wanted to go do things we could get FPP for. But everyone else (well, the adults) insisted on doing it standby because “it” only said 35 minutes and after talking to someone manning the FPP line they were convinced it’d be 35 or less. Never mind the line curving out the building…
We hopped in line for the biggest waste of 41 minutes of our day. I was timing the wait for TP but we had to leave in order to make it to our CRT reservation before we ever got to ride. So, 41 minutes and there was at least 20 more minutes to go, possibly more. It seemed that they were only loading FPP people and none at all from stand-by for ten minutes or more at a time. Anyways, as we were leaving, I heard someone with kids who was looking at the posted wait time trying to decide how long it would actually be. I told them it would be at least an hour, and she thanked me for saving her the time, ha.
We headed up to the castle to check in for CRT. We had to wait an extra maybe 15 minutes to get two tables next to each other. My girls were over the moon about meeting Cinderella and she seemed to take extra time with them. When we got upstairs the girls were very excited about being in such a fancy dining room, about getting a wishing star and the wand, and just about the whole thing. And they were very surprised about there being more princesses…we hadn’t told them there would be anyone else there besides Cinderella. I was a little disappointed that we had already met all of them except Snow White…we had Snow White, Jasmine, Ariel, and Aurora. Kind of hard to plan which princesses to skip when your big princess meal is almost the last day of your trip. Oh, well.
Our food was very good. I’m not sure I’d say CRT is “worth” the price tag (are most things in WDW?), but I’m also not sure why people slam it as being so expensive. Yes, if you’re using dining credits then it’s 2 instead of 1, so that obviously decreases the value. But with tax and tip included it was almost the same price for our family to eat at CRT as it was for us to eat at Garden Grill. Keep that in mind when deciding if you want to eat there or not. Anyways, all of our food was good, the desserts were good, the girls loved the decorate-your-own-cupcake dessert, and it was just a good experience. One-and-done, most likely, but we decided to do this instead of a dessert party for our major special splurge.
After CRT we headed for IASW (5th FPP of the day) one more time. It was funny to me that this was one of the only things my girls absolutely wanted to do again. They loved it. And my MIL really wanted to do it, too, since she hadn’t been to MK in 30 or more years. IASW was also slow-going today. There were a ton of people in the handicap/wheelchair line, so maybe that was part of it? And I could tell the park was getting more crowded with people coming in for the party, as well. We decided to call it a day and headed for the front of the park. We watched the tree be lighted while my FIL went into guest services to ask about the car keys, which, of course, no one had turned in. We headed for the ferryboat and took that to the TTC and walked back to our cars where guess what? FIL found the keys in the console in the middle of the two front seats. Their rental is one of those keyless starts, so he had never locked the car and had left the keys in it all day. What a relief.
We headed back to our resort and got the girls in bed by around 7. DD8 stayed up a little later but the others were exhausted. We made a rough plan for the morning (BIL’s flight leaves out in the morning and my in-laws are taking him to the airport, it’s DD6’s birthday, etc.) and hit the sack. Tomorrow will be our last day in Disney!
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That’s so funny that you ponchoed the bag!
I’ve been reading your report…sounds like your kids and my kids had similar attitudes about the rain! 
My kids’ main complaint was wet feet (and I had at least made them wear their sandals and brought dry socks for later) and the “attacking” nature of the ponchos. I was just glad we were already in the park when the rain let up!
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Is that . . . edible??? 
It is!! And it was FILLED! I pulled off a panel to empty it and put it back together. They filled it with French Macarons, something I make and take with me when I travel to Orlando.
I’m a disneyland local, but seriously, no one does magical moments like the CMs in Florida!!!
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Well, now I understand! That’s amazing!
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Yeah, I wish we’d had the option of heading to the park later in the day, and then just staying. Since we had the party that evening, we HAD to leave, though and get dry. They were pretty good about wearing the ponchos, but it was just raining so hard that it didn’t help all that much. What a yucky day.
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Love the crocheted fox beanies (and/or headwraps?) that your girls are wearing!
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Thanks! My mom made them and they love them! DD7 runs hot so she never wears a full hat, just a headband. 
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My mom also knits/crochets and likes to make foxes; her granddaughter’s last name is Fox! Do you know where your mom got the pattern?
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She made it up! Found one online and modified it.
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