Day 2 - Back once again like a Floriday Master - MK/CP/AP

[Man v Disney]

Welcome to another day of fun and our first onsite day. I don’t know if you are the same, but the first day in the parks has to be Magic Kingdom!

We woke up early again (Eliana was the last one to wake at 5am!), ready and raring to go. I was hoping our body clocks would have started to adjust, but apparently not. At least we knew that we would be ready to get out early.

After uploading yesterday’s report while the others got ready we got our suncream on (SPOILER – not needed today) and after a short discussion decided to leave the ponchos in the room. Then we opened our door and looked out.

It was pouring and a quick check of the weather app showed that this would be a theme for the morning. There was a weather system bringing moisture in from the Gulf of Mexico which was resulting in most of Florida getting a good soaking. At least it was still warm! I quickly got my bag and we put the poncho’s in there and headed out by about 6.45am.

We went under the Magic Kingdom sign before 7am, just as the rain stopped and the sky brightened and were only the second people to park up in the parking lot. We were so early that the tram wasn’t running so we walked over to the transportation centre and after going through security were directed to the monorail.

Once we got off the monorail we had a quick picture at the front of the park and after being allowed to queue, once they had checked us off and confirmed our breakfast reservation, we were let into the MK at 7.50. The only people let in at that point were those with a tour booking and those with dining or BBB reservations.

We started by having our picture taken with Walt and Minnie Mouse near the entrance, looking up Main Street, something we hadn’t done before.

Our next stop was City Hall to register for Josiah’s DAS pass, something we mentioned in the pre-trippie that we really hoped would help Josiah get the most from the holiday without nervous anxiety kicking in. They were so professional and we were in and out in around 3 minutes!

Our stomachs were starting to rumble, so we headed over to Crystal Palace (stopping for another photopass picture first) to continue our ‘tradition’ of our first in park meal being there. After checking in we were quickly called through by our server, who also had another cast member with him who was ‘earning his ears’.

Before any characters made it round we went and got a first plate of food. Bacon, sausage, fresh fruit, breakfast lasagne, fresh omelets, eggs, salmon. We went up many times and filled our plates. After yesterdays poor breakfast showing I put in a much better effort and had loads – yes, I ate more than Josiah & Eliana which had to be done to save face. Wasn’t hard to beat Eliana though as at one point she was so busy looking at the characters going round, she tried to cut her meal with 2 forks!

We got to meet Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore and Winnie as they came round the table. Piglet especially was very taken with Eliana once we told him (her?) she had worn pink especially. Winnie was devastated as he started his autograph over Eeyore’s so we reassured him and his cast member it didn’t matter (I hope he didn’t get chastised for it later! ). A good haul, and Eliana was pleased to get all four signatures.

I even treated myself to a breakfast beer, not something I would usually do, but as it was included in the dining plan it seemed rude not to (although I ended up asking for a water too to help it go down).

Scoring for Crystal Palace:
Food: 7.5
Service: 9.5
Ambience: 8.5
Total: 25.5

The total cost would have been$170.67 and we gave a tip of $32.05 which we put on our gift card we got yesterday.

Next up was rides – the moment Josiah & Eliana had been waiting for!
Because we knew we hadn’t managed to get a fastpass for 7 Dwarves Mine Train and the wait was already crazy, we stopped off to scan the DAS pass and was given a return time in 50 minutes time which suited us fine.
Heading over to Big Thunder which was our first fastpass we passed a zero wait time for It’s a Small World, so, much to Eliana’s disgust that was our first Disney ride this holiday (Chris & Rosemary, just for you).
On our way round to Big Thunder it started spitting with rain. Han decided this wasn’t for her as the jolting last time twinged her back, so we scanned in and headed up the fastpass lane. By the time we were on the ride, Han was waiting to take our picture outside and had her fetching (and noticeable) pink poncho on…and it didn’t come off until we reached the car to leave!

We then headed back to 7 Dwarves and to our surprise, Han said she would join us – maybe it was just to get out of standing in the rain waiting but we acted fast and got her in the queue and on the ride before she could change her mind. You can see from the photo that she ‘loved’ it!

We headed back to Frontierland for our second Fastpass - Splash mountain. Again, Han shocked us by agreeing to go on it and so off we went. We scanned our magic bands and BLUE LIGHT! DENIED! The cast member tried to tell us we had already been on it and used it but when she told us the time, it was exactly when we used the DAS return for 7 Dwarves. For some reason it thought we were using the Splash fastpass but as we all could tell her our exact movements, she let us on anyway. We (almost) all loved this ride and love how it’s actually quite lengthy – you get your money’s worth!

Our next stop (and partly to get out of the rain – yep, still going) was something we had never done before – the Hall of Presidents. We spent a while looking through the lobby area at all the paintings then waited to go into the theatre. In the last year, we have all become big ‘Hamilton’ the musical fans and have watched it twice (West End and Broadway, lucky us) so we were all actually pretty interested in the history of it. You definitely get all the patriotic feels and we loved the animatronic bits at the end. Worth going to if you get a chance.

As we had walked past Peter Pan to get to Splash we had decided to utilise the DAS pass for it and so by the time we were off Splash, it was time to use that. Nice little ride although we wouldn’t have waited the 80 minutes that was the standby wait time!

As we headed towards our third fastpass we used the DAS pass again to book a slot for Tomorrowland Speedway then went on our way to Buzz Lightyear Spaceraider Spin. Josiah reckons he got a duff gun (which was his excuse last time) and even though she was with ‘twitchy hand’ Eliana who constantly kept moving the car around, Han won with a score of 104,800 compared to my 100,100 – we won’t mention the kids in their 20ks.

We went on to Tomorrow Speedway and got a good look at the Tron coaster coming along. The drivers were Josiah & Eliana and Han and I got whiplash!

It was nearing 12.15 by now and as the rain hadn’t really stopped all morning and we were a little wet we made the call to head back, after having a little food first to fill a gap before our evening meal tonight!
Eliana had a hotdog from Casey’s corner ($8.51), while Josiah had a Sticky Candied Bacon skewer($10.64) – neither were snack credits so we paid out of pocket. We also picked up 4 free iced waters and Han added some squirty squash we brought with us to flavour it a little.

After this we decided it was time to leave and headed out of the park and back to the car. The afternoon was mainly a chill out as well as a trip to the main hotel area for top ups of our resort mugs before we headed out to our tea at Artists Point.

We arrived at Wilderness Lodge and made sure we were in the correct place (unlike 2012 when we went to the wrong place for Hoop de Do revue – don’t get your wildernesses mixed up!). After a picture outside, we went in and Josiah in particular was very impressed with the interior. After a little look around which included a compliment for my Mickey BB8 t-shirt we found Artists Point and as we were early had a seat and wander round the shops.

Once our time arrived we headed over to check in and were directed into the restaurant where we were given a good table near the entry point for the characters. The decorations and styling in here is really good and we were impressed with everything from the light up table ornament for displaying the food through to the twinkling lights in the trees that change colour depending on which character is coming.

The dinner plan here is a fixed starter and dessert with a choice of mains, sorry entrée’s. We ordered our drinks, Sam Adams for me (not two pints, so not working on three – you know if you know), for Han, the ‘Thru the Forest’ Wilderberry and Lime mocktail, for Josiah the ‘In the Clouds’ mocktail which consisted of a glass full of cotton candy which dissolved when something was poured over it and a 'Transform Potion' for Eliana where her yellow lemonade drink turned purple when a blue mix was poured in – go figure that!

We selected our mains at this point too. I went for the Royal Prime Rib Roast which I had read about in advance and was recommended by those on the Dibb. Josiah chose the Sorceress Spell of Land and Sea, Hannah chose the Brother’s Grimm Roasted Chicken and Eliana went for Chicken Tenders.

The starters were great, these were Mushroom Bisque, Hunters Terrine and Wicked Shrimp Cocktail. Josiah loved the bisque, which surprised us as mushroom is not usually his favourite at all.

Then the mains arrived and we were all very impressed with our choices. The Rib just melted in your mouth and the Horseradish mash was fab. Hannah loved her Roast Chicken and devoured it. Josiah continued his love of the food and demolished his Pork and Clams. If I’m honest, as amazing as mine was (and it was brilliant), I think Josiah’s was the top dish. So much flavour and I can understand why he loved it so much.

Eliana’s tenders came out and because of her age they had given her an adult sized chicken tenders – it was MASSIVE. The funny part was when she asked for some ketchup and our server told her that if he gave her some tomatoes she could make her own. She wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. However, she was distracted when he came back by a character and he put a bowl of tomatoes next to her and sneakily gave me some ketchup for her. Well, she really believed that she would have to squash the tomatoes, at which point I gave her the ketchup.

We all agreed that the main courses were top here. Not too much, enough to get you to the point of full without having any of the sweats or feeling over full and a bit sick.

Pudding at Artists Point is Grumpy’s Gooseberry Pie, Miners Treasure and the ‘Poison’ Apple. These were all so good and once we had tried them we asked for a box to take them home to finish for supper. Our server also brought out ‘The Hunter’s Gift to the Queen’ which was theatrical and a brilliant end to the meal.

At the end of the meal you are 'summoned' to the Evil Queen (with photopass photographer) and she was perfectly in character... her and Eliana bonded

The bill came to $258 with a tip of $48.45.

Food: 9.85
Service: 8.5
Ambience: 9.5
Total: 27.85

I’ll be honest, our scoring might just have been a little excitable for our first restaurants because, well, we love food so therefore there may be some re-scoring by the end now we can benchmark against a few places and meals.

Before we went to the car, Han chatted to her Mum and Dad on the phone while the kids stopped off for a massage - best $4 spent so far

On our way back we decided to pop into Walmart as we were low on water and I needed alternative footwear to my Toms and Canvas shoes – they didn’t do well with the wet weather today and Han was biting back saying ‘told you so’. It was busy in there, as always, and after a look around we ended up with the water and shoes. Two belts, some toothpicks, some trainer socks and a gift or two also appeared in the trolley as we went round. I’m not sure anyone who goes in ever comes out with only what they wanted.

By the time we got back to the room the kids decided that they wanted to go swimming, so Han popped to the beach area with them first and then they went to the pool nearest our room and I finished the trip report for today while they chilled in the pool.

Unfortunately on the way back it had started to rain again and Eliana slipped and fell and has hurt her arm a bit but she tells us it's fine so we shall see!

I have just checked our iPhone 'Health' app and today we did 18991 steps! I can tell you now, it feels like it!

Another fab day, tomorrow Hollywood Studios, Sci Fi Dine In and Hollywood Brown Derby! Not holding out much hope for Fantasmic though due to the weather forecast

[Moorlandman]

Great post. Hope you get some better weather today!

[Kat11]

Another great day (apart from the rain!) my dds friend is there at the moment and she said the rains been a bit of a pain.

I'm so pleased you enjoyed your storybook dinning ADR as we've got it booked and reports have been a bit hit and miss so that is reassuring.

Kat 😆

[Man v Disney]

Originally Posted by P_isforparrot

So you’re not John Lauren’s? 😃
Loving the report.

See more...

Nice to see someone who appreciates the link! I don't think I mentioned it but as we left the restaurant I had to compliment a lad on his Hamilton T shirt - I wore mine on Day 3.

[mrsdjh]

Shame about the weather but still sounds like a great day. Storybook Dining looks like a nice meal and experience.

[PixieBoot]

Meal looked/sounded better than I’ve heard to this point, plus (or even the main point)...you get to mingle with some of the dwarves. Brill! Thanks for sharing x

[kadypants]

That meal sounds amazing! I've added it to my list of food options for when we eventually go back :lol:

I really am loving your report so far.

[Man v Disney]

Originally Posted by kadypants

That meal sounds amazing! I've added it to my list of food options for when we eventually go back :lol:

I really am loving your report so far.

See more...

Thanks, it really was a good meal! Hope you'll love it too.

[Dolphin9511]

Did you need paperwork to get the DAS for your son ? My daughter is very similar and we are going next year, but don’t have any actual official medical diagnosis or paperwork

[OB1LukeLucas]

A great day even with the weather! Storybook looked really good.