We were in the world October 20-25. Me- Chrystal, my boyfriend Matt, both 40, our son Harrison, 2, and stepdaughter’s friend, Kayla, 20. I did a pre-trip report here:
We arrived on the 20th to Kidani Village around 11:30. Left our bags with bell services, picked up stroller and got ready to head to bus stop for MK. Got the room is ready text as we were walking out the door, oh well. We got into the park around 12:45. Rode magic carpets and then started a round of A Pirate’s Adventure. We only played one round so no fastpass, but we enjoyed it. I was looking hard for the egg roll wagon and couldn’t find it, so we ended up eating at Peco Bill’s. I’d planned on watching the parade from nearby but the restaurant was PACKED. We were able to find a table outside and watched the parade kinda through/over the fence.
Next Kayla and Matt rode BTMR with FPP. I know people love it, but I just don’t care that much about it so I just skipped it to not have Harrison waiting twice since. It was getting brutally hot and we found a little relief while we waited on the boat dock. Next we used FPP and rider switch for SM. Kayla and I rode first and Matt was grumbling “that’s not rider switch, that’s just waiting in line twice.” At our local park you wait in line with the non rider, and then an adult and the non rider wait on the platform and then switch. We had practically zero wait with the FPP though. After we rode he said he didn’t want to ride and again started complaining about it, but we talked him into it. Harrison and I went to the little play area while they rode. We still had time until our next FPP, so we all hung out there for a while before heading to HM. We probably waited about 10 minutes with FPP here, and we all rode. Harrison was a champ! Next we did Pirates standby and after that even though we had more time before the park closed a 6, we were just done with the now heavy crowds and the heat.
We took the monorail to the Poly for our Ohana 7:20 ADR. We got there early and they said we could check in 15 minutes early, so we just had to wait 5 minutes to check in. After checking in we were seated within 10 minutes or so. I was so shocked, I’m used to waiting quite a long time for Ohana and even Kona. Dinner was much better than I remembered. The noodles, potstickers, and bread pudding were favorites for everyone. Of course the meat was a favortie for Matt. Afterwards we headed out back and watched a movie on the lawn before heading to the beach to watch fireworks. I’d thought fireworks were at 10, but they were at 10:15. After waiting for so long, you would think that extra 15 minutes wouldn’t matter, but we were all yawning so we decided we could watch from the boat and from outside the MK before getting on the bus. That turned out to be a good plan because even though the view wasn’t as nice and we didn’t have music piped in, we beat the crowds to the bus stop. We got back around 10:45 and still had to get our bags and shower before getting up at 5 for HS! That is, after I had to go to the front desk because my phone had died and I’d forgotten our room number.
But the second rider goes in the FPP line. And while waiting you can do whatever you like, such as take the kid on another ride. And you can go back later rather than riding right after. I misunderstood how to use it on our first trip and felt similarly, but once I understood that I didn’t have to stay right there with the nonriders it made a lot more sense.
I understood, he just needed some convincing. We actually argued about it the next day, but after using it again (and making an ass of himself) he got it. And we didn’t always wait, I just didn’t have anything else I wanted to do with Harrison right then and wasn’t quite comfortable splitting up on our first day.
Day 2- rope drop HS and Star Wars dessert party
After today I learned to say we needed to leave before we really did. We drove to HS and parked about 6:30. Maybe this was really better though, as we just walked straight back to GE with no waits or crowds. It was so cool to see in the still dark morning, much different than at night I’m sure. I waited with Harrison while Kayla and Matt rode MF. I didn’t pay attention to the time but it didn’t take too long. Then Matt and I used rider switch to ride, and as we were walking in, he started again “Rider switch doesn’t work how you think it does, as I tried to explain to you yesterday…” but after we walked straight through the empty fpp line (which I know was even faster since fpp isn’t open yet) to the front I had to ask if it did indeed work how I thought! Then we went into Olga’s which was pretty cool. Here, Matt turned to me and said, “Ok, NOW I’m excited.”
Next we went to Toy Story Land. We rode ASS and TSM. I think Harrison just tolerated the rides. He did love the glasses at TSM and as I was trying to pry them from his hands while he cried, a cast member said he could keep them. It was also here that he got his first ever toy from crying and refusing to leave it. We rewarded that bad behavior 3 times this day (including the glasses) but no more the rest of the trip. He really enjoyed looking at Woody, Buzz, and the “green rawr” statues. SDD had a 30 min wait and we had FPP the next evening, so we moved along.
Day 2 continued
We had Star Tours in our plans but we spent more time poking around in GE than I’d allotted, so I skipped it. Rode RnR 2x with rider switch. I rode twice on this one, something I usually let someone else do. The whole ride I was just thinking, “I’m so glad I get to ride this twice!” Both Kayla and Matt loved it. Here’s me and Matt:
Kayla watched Harrison and was supposed to take him to the racing academy, but once again he passed a booth he refused to leave and she bought him Mater. I felt so bad, but she said she’d planned to buy him a gift anyway and he carried Mater around the rest of the trip. Next we did Tot with FPP and rider switch. Kayla was going to ride twice to avoid watching the boy again but she was terrified! That’s her with the R2D2 ears.
We then headed to watch the Star Wars stage show, and Harrison was getting super cranky. He’d been pretty cranky all morning. Maybe because I woke him up at 5 something am? We were ahead of schedule by an hour somehow. We had Indiana Jones FPP for the noon (1st) show, but I told Matt that Harrison wasn’t going to make it to that. We grabbed not very good food at Dockside Diner out of desperation because it was close by, and after telling them they don’t HAVE to take a break but insisting that they should while they insisted they didn’t need to, Harrison and I left, taking the car so I didn’t have to finagle the bus and stroller alone. They were supposed to see IJ and explore more GE. After I got to the hotel parking lot around noon, I got them RnR fpp for 1ish and called to tell them…they were outside waiting on the bus! Meanwhile Harrison was out before we ever got to the car and in bed by 12:30.
I made our grocery order via Amazon Prime and had a 2 hour delivery window. I thought they would meet me in lobby, so I didn’t try to nap during those 2 hours. Then at the end of the window got a text that it had been delivered. Bell services added a 10% tip (thankfully, was worried about that when I didn’t meet them) and charged me the $6. After putting groceries away I went to do the cultural tour at Sanna. It was nice to have some me time (away from the others) but I did wish I wasn’t the only one on the tour. The bread service was as good as everyone says. We left AKL by bus around 6:30 to head to the dessert party. I don’t have a lot to say about the party. I was SO excited about it. It was my first paid extra ever. It was a huge let down for me and I thought it was a total waste of money. My biggest issue was that our table was on the outside of the main room, and it felt like we weren’t part of the party. We saw one storm trooper walk by, but that was it. It was also hard to get to the non-alcoholic drinks because they were right where people line up for the bar. I wish they’d placed them differently. I will say all of the cast members working the party were exceptionally friendly. Also I know there have been conflicting reports- Harrison was asleep in his stroller when the party started and we were not allowed to take it in. Here is our table in the back against the wall, where Matt (glasses) is sitting alone. Around the corner from the woman in the red shirt is the main party area.
Day 3
This was our sleep in day! I slept until about 7 and woke everyone by 9 to get ready for breakfast. We had a great breakfast at Boma, we all ate regular breakfast food and tried the African foods as well. After breakfast we played in the arcade and community hall while I did laundry, then we went to the pool. The play area is awesome but I wish it wasn’t right by the pool. I never took Harrison because he would have just cried to go in the pool. I imagine that is the case for a lot of kids. I couldn’t get him to nap after we left the pool because he was just too mad that we’d left.
We drove over to HS about 4 for our 5 Hollywood & Vine. This was the Minnie’s seasonal dine with F! fpp. Harrison fell asleep on the walk to bag check, and slept ALL the way through dinner. Our waitress was so great! She asked if we wanted her to bring some food to take with us for him, and she brought I think some fruit, a yogurt tube, and apple juice, and apologized for not having more she could bring. We did the photo with Minnie after dinner and I woke him up for that.
Next we meandered around Echo Lake, looking in shops. Kayla and Matt got to do ST which we had skipped the day before. I don’t think we did much else before heading to F! for the 8pm show. F! has been my favorite show for years, and it was a big hit with the other adults, and Harrison liked parts of it. I mainly kept him occupied with snacks.
After F! we had SDD fpp for 825. We used rider switch and Harrison and I went to meet Buzz while we waited for my turn. Of course we all loved slinky. I wasn’t sure if Matt would because he likes the huge thrill coasters, but he thought it was awesome too. Kayla got Starbucks on the way out, and acted like that was the highlight of her week. Then we went back to the hotel and it was so easy getting out of the park while the fireworks we’d seen the night before were about to start.
Then at the end of the window got a text that it had been delivered. Bell services added a 10% tip (thankfully, was worried about that when I didn’t meet them) and charged me the $6. After putting groceries away I went to do the cultural tour at Sanna. It was nice to have some me time (away from the others) but I did wish I wasn’t the only one on the tour. The bread service was as good as everyone says. We left AKL by bus around 6:30 to head to the dessert party. I don’t have a lot to say about the party. I was SO excited about it. It was my first paid extra ever. It was a huge let down for me and I thought it was a total waste of money. My biggest issue was that our table was on the outside of the main room, and it felt like we weren’t part of the party. We saw one storm trooper walk by, but that was it. It was also hard to get to the non-alcoholic drinks because they were right where people line up for the bar. I wish they’d placed them differently. I will say all of the cast members working the party were exceptionally friendly. Also I know there have been conflicting reports- Harrison was asleep in his stroller when the party started and we were not allowed to take it in. Here is our table in the back against the wall, where Matt (glasses) is sitting alone. Around the corner from the woman in the red shirt is the main party area.
