The Good, the (Very, Very) Bad, and the Adorable - Day One

[BrerSchultzy]

Howdy all!
As some of you probably already know from my FastPass Plus thread, the BrerSchultzy clan made their way back to WDW this past week. Last year we had what turned out to be the best trip anyone has ever had ever...or at least we thought it was. It was so improbably awesome, that we decided to give it a go again this year. Here's the cast:

Me - 37 - Professionally Amateur Disney Fanatic
DW - Erin - Ageless Beauty - My loving wife, who admitted on this trip that she never thought she'd be this big a Disney Dork.
DS - Almost 6 - The smartest, funniest, cleverest, stubbornest kid anyone has ever seen...has Duffy with him wherever he goes.
DD - Will turn 2 on our last day in WDW - Princess. Not "princess in training". Just Princess.

So, here's the set-up. My family has moved to Eastern Tennessee to be with my wife's extended family. My job sends me all over the country, and we needed to be somewhere my wife would have help with the kids. It meant being farther away from my home-base and my absolutely amazing parents, but it really is what is best for us.
Four weeks before our trip I was in Canada for a week. Three weeks before our trip, I was in Indiana for a week, and my wife was about to start a run of "The Rocky Horror Show" as Columbia. Then one of the cast members dropped out, and the night before it opened, I jumped in as Riff-Raff. Then I went back to Canada.
We had scheduled our trip during Free Dining, so we were to arrive on Sunday, November 17th. Our last show was on Saturday the 16th. So after the show, we packed up the kids and headed out for an overnight drive.
We left at 12:45 AM. We got to Pop Century at 1 PM. Our kids are GREAT travelers, and we have a very uneventful trip. Except DW and I are tired. But the famed Disney Adrenaline had kicked in, so we were ready.
And so were our Magic Bands. See, Pop Century no longer uses key cards. EVERYTHING is on Magic Band, including your room key, FP+, Dining Plan...everything. Kinda neat. More on that later.
We check in, and we have a lake view. Wonderful. And none of the other rooms around us are taken. We literally have the entire corner of the building to ourselves. The entire time we were there, we never heard anyone above us. Granted, we picked one of the quietest weeks to visit. The last full week before Thanksgiving should be very quiet. Right? Well, mostly right.
On to the Magic Kingdom....which is only open until 7 PM because of the MVMCP, but we could use the early night, and we have to go to MK first.
I had booked FP+ for POTC, Buzz, and IASW...not because we'd need them, but because they are Sam's (DS5) favorites, and I figured he'd think it was cool. We definitely didn't need them. Everything was a walk-on. POTC first (because that's Sam's favorite). We noticed the FP+ line goes through some of our favorite queue scenes, so we figure we should go through that line next with the pre-arranged FP+. As would be a theme, however, our plans had to change...because we have children. Something Disney seems to have forgotten about when planning FP+. More on that later. Lots more.
We have a late lunch at Tortuga Tavern, mostly because it was open, and it had been a long time since we'd eaten there. I have recently discovered that I have a gluten intolerance...it's not deadly, but bread makes me feel really sick. At Tortuga Tavern, my wife got a burrito the size of her head, which she quickly proclaimed her favorite Disney food ever (that mark would be beaten several times this week). I had the nachos which had beef, corn, salsa, guacamole...soooooo very very good. Sam had the kids quesadilla, which he shared with his sister. It looked microwaved. but overall, it was a very good meal.
Then to Buzz...just as good as always. First DW got to ride with Sam, then it was my turn. I got over 400,000. Sam was most impressed. I tried to tell him about the target below Zurg in the battery room...he didn't care. He mostly just likes to ride. And he told me after the ride "You'll do all the shooting we need". Fair enough.
Now, the last time we were here, the Young Princess Zetta was 10 months old. So Sam was very excited about showing his sister all that Disney World had to offer (after he got to his rides, of course). So we quickly hit PeopleMover, Dumbo, and IASW, all of which are huge hits with Zetta. Also, the playground in the Dumbo line was a GREAT way for our kids to stretch our their legs after a long car ride. We stayed in there for almost an hour. This trip was for them anyway, and DW and I had no desire to rush them.
By now, it was close to 7, so we head out. We make the long walk to the Pop Century bus stop (you'd think they'd put our bus stop closer, since they were using us as guinea pigs this week, but we were the furthest away at EVERY park).
We have dinner at Pop Century, which has gotten MUCH better with the food since we were last there. I had the Rotisserie Chicken with potatoes and green beans. It was fantastic. DW had the pizza bread, and both kids shared a hot dog. Everyone was pleased. Time to watch the Duffy bedtime story and sleep. They are out by 8 PM. I try to get FP+ taken care of for tomorrow, but with the really slow internet at the hotel, it's over an hour by the time I can get it all done. Seriously. Bleh. And, as it so happens, it was all for naught.

Tomorrow is supposed to be Magic Kingdom.
It ends up being Epcot.

[faline]

Your arrival day sounds pretty awesome!! Even with a late arrival at the parks, you got in quite a few rides and still had time to hang out and enjoy the play area at Dumbo!!

[yjgirl32]

Wow got a lot done on your first day. Thanks for sharing.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

What a super first day! Can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Sounds like a decent first day

[vizsla]

Thanks for the report.