Hoppy Easter and Crazy Crowds… The GDF Family Returns for Spring Break

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Excellent question. I was planning on asking when is the earliest ADR to get to experience raglan road the best.

We always get there early to just sit up at the bar and enjoy the atmosphere. I don't know if you caught this but Kelly asked to be seated in the main dining room (the room with the stage). Which is the place place to enjoy the show. This can add a wait to your rezzie. But if you get there early it usually isn't an issue. The band is great but if you go early you'll still see some dancing.

[Family of Bears 98]

Dancing starts at 5. Band starts at 7. Once dancing starts, it's pretty frequent. Every 15 mins maybe? Best early adr time in my opinion is 645. I prefer the live music.

[dvccamper 32]

We had reservations at Raglan Road last trip and cancelled because of the traffic/construction there. HUGE regret now! Your pictures have convinced me we must now go.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Let me clarify my remarks.

If you get there early, before the band starts, you still get to see dancing.

Also on saturdays and Sundays the entertainment begins at noon. IIRC.

[okgirlie...Brandy 6]

Because of all this Raglan Road talk I just went on the Disney site and got us a reservation for 5:30 on the day we arrive.  Our 15th anniversary is actually 2 days before that but since we'll be on the road driving we'll celebrate at Raglan Road. 

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Because of all this Raglan Road talk I just went on the Disney site and got us a reservation for 5:30 on the day we arrive. Our 15th anniversary is actually 2 days before that but since we'll be on the road driving we'll celebrate at Raglan Road.

Your driving from oklahoma to orlando?

I've tried to talk DW and DD to drive but they're not having anything to do with driving almost 24 hours. Each way. I'd. Be interested to hear how it goes.

Happy anniversary!!!

You won't be disappointed by RR.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Raglan Road looks good. 

 

We have never been there. 

 

I bet DD would love the dancing.  I remember Brandy telling us how much her DD loves it.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

I've tried to talk DW and DD to drive but they're not having anything to do with driving almost 24 hours. Each way. I'd. Be interested to hear how it goes.

 

Road trips are fun!!

 

We do the 24 hour drive every fall with a camper and 3 dogs! Everyone has fun except DH who sits silently and wishes someone would hurry up and invent a transporter. 

 

And hey... Nuck and Futz drove 20 hours last May to stay for 36 and drive home. We had so much fun we're driving down again in about a week and a half! 

 

Except this time we're staying 5 days with the Wild Womenz.  :parrot:

[LONE-STAR 370]

Drive 24 hours while you still can. We have made the drive 3 times in less then a year it's fun.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Okay, you're right.  I went over the Raglan Road menu again, and there a couple of things I could eat there.  May have to try it.

 

You should! It's a good time. 

 

LOL is right. Oh my goodness what a typo that is!!! I think I need keeper. 

 

I am quite comfortable thinking we are leading 'parallel' lives, we are just the Northern version of a GaDawg family.  Our blood runs scarlet and gray though. Go Bucks!

 

Ha ha ha

 

Y'all think I've been kidding about this stuff all these years? 

 

It's sooooooo worth braving the traffic, construction and the hike from either the bus stop or the parking lot any day of the week!

 

Very true! You are wise. Thank you for leading me in the right direction. 

 

Preach it sister. Now we need to convince TCD to go and try it.

Construction. Big deal. We pulled right in to the parking garage and were in Ragland road in a matter of minutes.

I don't know why these people doubt us.

 

I can't believe that TCD has never been. 

 

What time is the dancing? I think I need to make a ADR for RR. I had a ADR for it on a past trip but we didn't make it.

 

Glad you got your answer because I'm not sure. 

 

Dancing starts at 5

 

Thanks!

 

once it starts how often is it?

 

Pretty often... I think we saw 3-4 rounds

 

Excellent question. I was planning on asking when is the earliest ADR to get to experience raglan road the best.

 

We should have come a little later, but we had a great time. 

 

We may have to try this (restaurant) one at some point... sounds like a lot of fun! :)

 

You need to. Really! 

 

We always get there early to just sit up at the bar and enjoy the atmosphere. I don't know if you caught this but Kelly asked to be seated in the main dining room (the room with the stage). Which is the place place to enjoy the show. This can add a wait to your rezzie. But if you get there early it usually isn't an issue. The band is great but if you go early you'll still see some dancing.

 

Yes, being in the dancing room is important. They were dancing in the other room too a little, but no stage makes it different. 

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Dancing starts at 5. Band starts at 7. Once dancing starts, it's pretty frequent. Every 15 mins maybe? Best early adr time in my opinion is 645. I prefer the live music.

 

I think the sets are about 30 minutes apart. That's just a guess though. 

 

We had reservations at Raglan Road last trip and cancelled because of the traffic/construction there. HUGE regret now! Your pictures have convinced me we must now go.

 

You need to go next trip. You won't be sorry. The traffic wasn't really an issue, maybe because it was earlier? 

 

Let me clarify my remarks.

If you get there early, before the band starts, you still get to see dancing.

Also on saturdays and Sundays the entertainment begins at noon. IIRC.

 

Good to know about day dancing on the weekends!

 

Because of all this Raglan Road talk I just went on the Disney site and got us a reservation for 5:30 on the day we arrive.  Our 15th anniversary is actually 2 days before that but since we'll be on the road driving we'll celebrate at Raglan Road. 

 

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Your driving from oklahoma to orlando?

I've tried to talk DW and DD to drive but they're not having anything to do with driving almost 24 hours. Each way. I'd. Be interested to hear how it goes.

Happy anniversary!!!

You won't be disappointed by RR.

 

We're starting a Fiend movement... Raglan Road for all! 

 

Raglan Road looks good. 

 

We have never been there. 

 

I bet DD would love the dancing.  I remember Brandy telling us how much her DD loves it.

 

You need to change that! I was kind of skeptical, but it's a really cool place. Your son might not mind the scenery either. 

 

Road trips are fun!!

 

We do the 24 hour drive every fall with a camper and 3 dogs! Everyone has fun except DH who sits silently and wishes someone would hurry up and invent a transporter. 

 

And hey... Nuck and Futz drove 20 hours last May to stay for 36 and drive home. We had so much fun we're driving down again in about a week and a half! 

 

Except this time we're staying 5 days with the Wild Womenz.  :parrot:

 

You are your own level of crazy. 

 

Drive 24 hours while you still can. We have made the drive 3 times in less then a year it's fun.

 

Ack! 

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

I’m glad we’re starting a Raglan Road club among Fiends. Really, all Fiends should be required to go. It’s an awesome time.

 

OK, you’re going to get a really short update. Sorry, but I’m off to church group in a few minutes. We decided to sleep in a bit instead of doing RD at Epcot. We had a Mission Space FP to use before 10:00AM, so our goal was to arrive by 10. This is one of the nice things about FP+… no running to Soarin and then back across.

 

We hopped on the cart and headed to the Outpost.

 

 

It was a pretty day!

 

There was a large crowd at the bus stop, and people were grumbling because there were no Epcot buses coming.

 

 

All these people wanted to go to Epcot.

 

 

Finally a bus came. We waited about 15 minutes, but apparently people had been waiting 45. The bus driver got off the bus to go somewhere and tell them about the issue once we got to Epcot. I’ve never had that happen before.

 

There was a pretty good crowd at bag check, but it moved quickly.

 

 

Topiaries

 

 

 

I love the Flower and Garden topiaries, even though they reuse them a lot.

 

We headed to Mission Space for Z’s first ride!

 

 

 

We made it just in time… around 10:10 and used the 15 minute grace period. Yay!

 

There was actually a bit of a wait without FP.

 

 

Don’t worry people; we’re riding the green side.

 

But darn it… I’m already out of time. More coming later. 

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Wondering how Z liked MS.....we'll see if he has that in common with DD too.

[LONE-STAR 370]

It's funny I read it fast after reading you were in a hurry.

[okgirlie...Brandy 6]

Your driving from oklahoma to orlando?

I've tried to talk DW and DD to drive but they're not having anything to do with driving almost 24 hours. Each way. I'd. Be interested to hear how it goes.

 

 

We love road trips!

 

We drove to Disney last time and pulled our popup trailer, too!  We are taking the same route there as we did last time.  Going to Memphis-staying the night there, then drive southeast and stay the night in Valdosta, GA and then head in the rest of the way the next morning.  

 

Two summers ago we pulled our Popup to South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore and then to Colorado Springs and back home. 

 

Thankfully, my kids are great in the car-even the 2 year old.  :)

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Wondering how Z liked MS.....we'll see if he has that in common with DD too.

 

About to post that update! I bet they do.

 

It's funny I read it fast after reading you were in a hurry.

 

That is funny. Sorry for the mini update. 

 

We love road trips!

 

We drove to Disney last time and pulled our popup trailer, too!  We are taking the same route there as we did last time.  Going to Memphis-staying the night there, then drive southeast and stay the night in Valdosta, GA and then head in the rest of the way the next morning.  

 

Two summers ago we pulled our Popup to South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore and then to Colorado Springs and back home. 

 

Thankfully, my kids are great in the car-even the 2 year old.  :)

 

Ohhhh... I want to travel West with the RV some day. 

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Alright, we left off with us about to ride Mission Space. It was Z’s first time. He was a little nervous, probably because of all the warnings which aren’t really applicable to the green side.

 

Yes, he barely meets the height requirement, so he looks tiny here.

 

 

He loved it! He could barely reach the buttons, but he thought having a job on our mission was a lot of fun.

 

Of course, Disney exits you through a gift shop, so we had to take a funny picture.

 

 

Two thumbs up from this kid!

 

 

Jason told me that next time I have to ride the orange side. I let him know there’s no way that’s happening. My favorite part of Epcot is the eating and drinking, so I’m not doing anything that will make me too nauseous to enjoy the food.

 

Overall, I think Mission Space gets a bad wrap. The ride isn't terrible. I think it's at least as good as Star Tours. Still, I know that Disney was expecting a blockbuster ride, and that didn't happen. 

 

From there, we headed to the Land Pavilion for Z’s favorite ride at Epcot (although it’s possible that MS has replaced that).

 

 

People were chowing down on Sunshine Seasons.

 

 

30 minute wait for Living with the Land at 10:39.

 

 

Anyone want to guess the wait for Soarin?

 

This was the FP return line. We saw very few FP return lines that long at Christmas. Make note of how things have changed.

 

 

The good news is that those lines still move quickly, for the most part.

 

Standby wait…

 

 

150 minutes! Are people crazy? I don’t understand waiting 2 ½ hours for anything. There are too many other things to do.

 

These people don’t think so though.

 

 

We rode Soarin. It was Soarin. I still like the ride, but I’m really excited to see the new and improved video. It’s past time for that.

 

About 35 minutes later, it was time for Nemo and another weirdly long FP return line.

 

 

I tried to take a picture of the standby wait.

 

 

Fail. I think it was 30 minutes.

 

After the ride, Z wanted to take a picture in the big shark mouth, but a family was taking a million pictures, and there was a line, so he settled for this.

 

 

Back outside, we enjoyed more topiaries.

 

 

And saw a few butterflies in the butterfly house

 

 

 

 

Have I mentioned how beautiful Flower and Garden is?

 

 

Phineas and Ferb and some random girl

 

 

The Frozen sisters

 

 

 

Hmmm… this reminds me that Jason had the good camera with him this day. I need to get those pictures. And we’re going to stop here for now.

 

Folks that read GDF trip reports should know where we’re heading next! 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

FP return lines SMB.

 

Did you get the free applesauce at the butterfly garden?

 

I'm guessing y'all made a left turn at the Frozen sisters.  Next stop Tequila bar!

 

TCD

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

More great pics to get me even more excited to see F&G next week!!!

 

Love the Z pics and that he loved MS.

 

:SmileyMargarita1:

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

I believe I have now officially seen the the sorceror mickey topiary and brooms at:

 

Downtown Disney

DHS

Animal Kingdom

Epcot--not in person but in your TR

 

that one must be in heavy rotation.

 

I think it was located outside the AK gates when we were there in Jan/Feb

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

MS Green?  You have to ride the Orange side some time.  If David and I can survive it, you can too!

 

But that doesn't mean we will ever ride it again.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

FP return lines SMB.

 

Did you get the free applesauce at the butterfly garden?

 

I'm guessing y'all made a left turn at the Frozen sisters.  Next stop Tequila bar!

 

TCD

 

I think they're playing with increasing the number of FP+ they're giving out for each ride. Do you think so?

 

We missed the free apple sauce.

 

You know me well.....

 

But wait, what about Raglan Road? Did we get your comments on that? Have you decided to visit yet?

 

More great pics to get me even more excited to see F&G next week!!!

 

Love the Z pics and that he loved MS.

 

:SmileyMargarita1:

 

You win! 

 

And you've never seen F&G, right? It's awesome! 

 

I believe I have now officially seen the the sorceror mickey topiary and brooms at:

 

Downtown Disney

DHS

Animal Kingdom

Epcot--not in person but in your TR

 

that one must be in heavy rotation.

 

I think it was located outside the AK gates when we were there in Jan/Feb

 

It sounds like it is! I know I've seen it at DHS, but I'm not sure about the other places. 

 

MS Green?  You have to ride the Orange side some time.  If David and I can survive it, you can too!

 

But that doesn't mean we will ever ride it again.

 

I just don't want to feel sick afterwards. Most people I know who ride it do. 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

 

I just don't want to feel sick afterwards. Most people I know who ride it do. 

 

David and I survived it. But Matthew and Erica rode it on their honeymoon and said never again.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

David and I survived it. But Matthew and Erica rode it on their honeymoon and said never again.

 

Yeah, I'm too worried it would mess with my cheese dip and margarita experience. LOL!

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

TCD and Mo correctly guessed where we’re heading next… La Cava! Jason and I consider this an important rope drop. I like sitting at the tables, and they’re tough to get later in the day.

 

 

Almost ready!

 

 

We were seated a few minutes later.

 

 

And order cheese dip and salsa.

 

 

That’s usually pretty spicy, but it seemed to be toned down. I’m not sure if that’s a change or if our batch just didn’t have as many jalapeños.

 

We enjoyed a margarita and our snack. I actually went with San Angel Inn which is a more classic flavor this time. It was very good. Jason got the jalapeno. Goodness it was spicy!

 

Back outside in selfie land…

 

 

There was music

 

 

I wanted to try some of the food booths. I’d scoped out menus to help decide where to stop. The Lotus House looked like it has some good eats. I had really enjoyed the steam bun entrée at the F&W Festival, so I wanted to try this one too.

 

 

Z saw the candied strawberries and decided he needed some of those.

 

 

My steam bun had a TON of chicken in it which made it difficult to eat. It had a lot of flavor, but the bun wasn’t quite as fresh at the one at F&W. Even so, it was good, and I’d recommend it.

 

Z was also pleased.

 

 

I tried a bite of the strawberries and liked them more than I thought I would. It was fresher tasting than I expected, sweet but without artificial flavor.

 

Ummmm…. I’m not sure what to say about this picture.

 

 

More garden

 

 

We came to the next booth, Florida Fresh, but sadly, I was too full to order shrimp and grits. However, Z wanted the salad and Jason wanted a beer flight, so we stopped.

 

Here’s the Watermelon salad, and yes, I’m 35 and wearing a Mickey Mouse skirt.

 

 

We found a shady spot to enjoy it.

 

 

 

The salad got 2 thumbs up from Z, who might be the youngest lover of balsamic dressing I’ve ever met.

 

Jason enjoyed his beer flight. I’m not very adventurous with beer, but I tried one he thought I would think was OK, and it was.

 

 

We went into Germany, but I don’t really remember why. This is the only picture we have, and I know it wasn’t to eat or drink anything.

 

 

About this time, Z was getting out of hand and whiney. We debated what to do for a minute. I was meeting a friend from home for an early girls night in a bit, but we knew Z had reached his limit. It didn’t really make sense for me to ride the bus back to the Fort and then just turn around and come back to Epcot, so I told Jason I’d be fine alone for a bit. It was less than 2 hours, and I knew I could entertain myself.

 

I walked to the front with them, so I could start with a little shopping at Mouse Gears.

 

 

So up next…. Me, solo in Epcot (or any theme park) for the first time ever. What's a mom to do with time on her hands? Would I be bored?