Disney Loving Peas / Universal Loving Peas

Ma'am, we're back. Rolled into the house right before 9PM last night - after almost 19 hours of driving. We are all pooped and will use this week to recover, but we had a lot of fun. Thanks for all the Pixie Dust, we had a healthy trip!!! Skellinton I'm going to do another post for you because I'm not sure everyone wants the full trip report. I just definitely wanted to say "thank you" and not have it lost in my post.

Topolino's! We did it the day we checked out of the Dolphin and swapped to Universal. Their food was excellent! It ran extra long though because the characters (4) take their time at every table, but they're on a timer, so they have to "go eat breakfast" and then come back out and start rotating tables again. Our reservation was 8:45, seated at 8:50 and didn't leave until almost 11 because we had to wait on Minnie. We all had a great time and Donald Duck was fabulous!

Like you, I won't turn down a chicken strip from the kid's menu. EPCOT's Lotus Blossom Cafe and that Orange Chicken were a fav at EPCOT. The combo came with orange chicken, plain white rice, and then some veg that had zucchini, squash, and green beans in it.

DHS had a teriyaki chicken plate we got at Backlot Express that came in Vegan with tofu, but it has edamame in it with the veg.

I know you Rope Drop & Close the parks, but if you find yourself with spare time (hah!), my favorite food was at The Boardwalk. You can Skyliner to the International Gateway entrance and then Friendship Boat to the Boardwalk pier or you can walk, but I know you have your friends with you.

There, I had a QS cheese pizza. It was huge. But, my absolute favorite was the Roasted Chicken Sandwich from the Boardwalk Deli and then there's another stand right across called "The To-Go Cart" and they had Garlic Parmesan fries. Good God. I'm not big on cheese, but I love garlic. DD & I split them and a sandwich, and we still could not finish the fries. My other 2 kids aren't fans of garlic, so they just ate the regular ones. DH tried the Carne Asada Fries and loved them. Just that alone was almost too much for him and he usually finishes all of his meal and then ours.

My highlight at AK was the Blueberry Cream Cheese Mousse from Pandora. The kids had the chocolate version, but I didn't waste precious belly space to try it. ^.^ I can't have a lot of dairy, but I cleared the day for that.

Again, I can't say it enough to play in the DW app with ordering as if you're in the park. If you just click the restaurant in the app and then "menu", it won't show what they currently have. This was definitely the case with my beloved turkey sandwich at Woody's in DHS.

OH! The Vegan Tots from there! I don't know what's in the chili, so you'll have to double check for your allergies, but if you can eat it. Man, it was good. I don't like the taste of meat, so while I can eat some of the "Impossible" stuff, I don't always like it. This was not that at all. Even my carnivore DH enjoyed them. The kids had the seasonal Hot Cocoa Pop Tart things.

Have a great day! I know they'll help me keep things in order when I finally get my prints ordered, so it's helpful to me, too.

If your Mom is hesitant, tell her the sheet of paper they provide has some guidelines on it. DH was worried because he didn't have an eraser. Just go with it! They're currently flattening from being rolled for the drive home, but they are phenomenal and not because we are super artistic. I believe blemon had posted before about doing the drawings and wasn't sure how to display them. I'm going to photograph them and then include that in my album. I'm not sure what I'll do with the originals, other than the one my DD did and has claimed for her bedroom.



So, back over 13 years ago when I first got my dSLR, I bought one of those gorgeous fake leather camera bags that all the Mom-arazzi had. It's turquoise and lime green inside and has lots of pockets. Unfortunately, it was never good for carrying. At least not when I was already carrying my camera, the baby, and diaper bag. That bag has basically sat in my closet holding my other camera lenses or extra batteries and the turquoise decided to start flaking off about a year ago, so I guess it's a good thing it didn't get any heavy use. Anyway. I do not have a camera bag and as much as I'd like to try one of those sling type things, they're always just black. I need color. It's bad enough my dSLR is black. Although, I do have a colorful strap for it, so there's that. I keep it long enough to where I can walk with it on my hip and shoulder for quick shooting or, if I'm Rope Dropping, I can reach behind my back with my left hand to hold it against my body and still have my right arm free to hold a child's hand.

There were very, very few other people in any park while we were there that had a camera that was not a phone. That's not shocking, but I do notice when someone has a "real" camera. Also, I actually have a special water bag for my camera that I usually bring to the beach, but I forgot it, so I just kept it under the bottom of my shirt or the poncho. Dear God, those ponchos can get hot though. I hope you don't deal with much rain though.

We're winding down the Disney portion of our trip now. After AK, we only had 2 more park days and then our check out day.

Friday, November 11 we were back at DHS, not because I had yet to ride ToT, but because when trying to schedule my husband's Savi's appointment, the site glitched and the chat person was only able to get me this date and not the 9th that I originally had. It turned out fine though! A day in a Disney park is still a day in Disney!

We walked from our hotel again, but were beat by the Skyliner and bus peeps! I swear we are early birds, but not early enough. We specifically waited to walk until our LL was booked, so clearly we should've been walking and scheduling. We booked Smuggler's again since we weren't sure if ToT (et al) would be open this time. Our plan was to Rope Drop ToT + RnR and then wing it, other than our LL because DH had given my girls so much crap for their lack of flying skills, they were ready to redeem themselves. Or crash hard. Either way!

It was super humid for even FL that morning. Definitely pop your lens cap off as soon as you exit the hotel so it can fog up and clear for when you want to take photos. I've got some good ones with the cap fogged up though.

Between it being a holiday and 3 day weekend, it was packed, but we were about even for where we had been a couple mornings prior. Not too bad for line location. Although, please for the love of God, don't bring bacon and stand in line. UGH. I understand people need to eat and want to get in line, but bacon? Ick. Sorry.

They let us in before early entry (obviously a trend, confirmed by Disboards), but this time ToT and RnR were open!!! They don't let you into the ride queues, so the lines seem a lot longer than they actually are. When we joined the ToT line, we were across from Rosie's Diner-ish. As soon as they opened the ride (not that long), we basically walked on. This would be the first time all 5 of us would ride ToT. In 2020, my son did the library with the movie and bailed with DH. The last time DH rode ToT was on our honeymoon at DL in 2007 and he did NOT do well.

They both did just fine. Spoiler alert: We ended up getting like 7 drops. So, they did really well. When I wanted to go back on later, DS was the only one who joined me!

Just us 3 girls went straight onto RnR while the boys waited in line for Toy Story Mania. We actually got out of RnR, walked to Toy Story Land, used the restroom and still had time for photo ops before they were out. We hopped straight onto Alien Saucers (Christmas tune again) and then went to our Smuggler's LL.

The girls did better flying, but we still crashed a lot. Honestly, this ride just isn't my favorite either. I told them they could go again but I'd stay out. They decided they'd had enough, too. We went to Woody's for a late breakfast of Vegan Totchos and the Hot Cocoa Pop-tarts (kids). So good.

We walked back to the front so the kids could shop (they'd been saving since Christmas 2020) and ran into Chip + Dale in their holiday attire! They were in one of those decorative areas with the bushes that are fenced off, but you could get photos by standing nearby or they'd pose behind you for a selfie. We did both. Obviously. My kids taking selfies is still a source of amusement for me.

DH's appointment wasn't until after 1pm, so we went back to the room to drop off bags and then hit the pizza window at the BoardWalk for lunch. There's also a margarita stand that sells Dole Whip! Snagged those after we ate and took the bus from the dock right there back to DHS. Fun fact, the boat docks super close to the entrance of DHS.

Savi's only allows one guest with the person building, so the boys did that while the girls wandered. DD also had her heart set on a Santa cupcake from Rosie's, so we headed that way and I mobile ordered it while we walked and took photos. Some of my favorite PhotoPass photos were taken right between Toy Story and Star Wars along the rock wall. If a photographer is there, get in the line. Luckily, our line was super short.

DD loved the cupcake, but it looked like a whole lot of frosting and not enough cake for me. The boys met up with us almost an hour later. DH LOVED his ceremony. He went on and on. If you or someone else is building a lightsaber, go ahead and buy the crystals that change the color of the blade while you build. DH did purple but then ended up going back to DHS by himself for the yellow crystal. He lucked out because only 2 were left and the CM told him they don't restock daily, so if they sell out, they're out.

This was about the time DS and I went back on ToT using LL. Oldest DD was looking for a fancy dress, so DH and her sister were helping her in the shops on Sunset Blvd. DS & I had a little bit of a wait, but it wasn't too bad. We basically walked into the lobby, then int the library, then waited a bit to board the elevator. It was a good one, too. When we came out of ToT, guess who was on the balcony above us? Goofy!

We did some more walking and then decided to try The Boardwalk Deli for dinner (already raved about this!!!). The kids had done all they wanted at the park and had zero interest in Fantasmic since we'd seen it in 2020. After we ate, DH decided to go back for his crystal and I took the kids to the Dolphin. It ended up taking him an hour because he decided to use the boats and Skyliners instead of walking. He's one of those people who likes to talk to strangers and will chat anybody up. (Not for me, thanks.) He had a grand time on the Skyliner and boat. He did take some photos for me since I missed out on DHS lit up.

Saturday would be our final park day...