Even though we had a wonderful trip to Disney last week, the one thing little man really wanted to do was visit Hollywood Studios with his cousins. I felt awful that we were rained out, and even though we did manage to stay an extra night due to bad storms back home, we needed to leave to pick up our oldest pug from the vet before they closed for the weekend.
Being the awesome mommy that I am, I told my sister in law that we would make the trip back down on Tuesday to spend the day. It’s not an insanely long drive, but we brought an overnight bag, just in case we had to crash and head home the next day.
We were in the car and out the door at 6 AM. With stops for breakfast and rush hour Orlando traffic, we made it to the turnstiles of Hollywood Studios at 9 AM. Not quite rope drop but close enough.
We were able to snag late morning fast passes for Toy Story Midway Mania, while little man’s cousins were getting fast passes for Rock N Roller Coaster. They even grabbed one for me, which was super exciting, since I never get the chance to ride serious coasters anymore. We headed up towards the serious thrill rides and little man waited with his aunt (and got the coolest Buzz Lightyear tattoo on his arm). It was incredible. I may not do well on simulator type rides, but real roller coasters are my favorite.
At that point, we split up. The older kids wanted to ride Tower of Terror, and little man wanted to see the new Disney Junior Live show with Doc McStuffins, Princess Sofia and Jake. He was absolutely riveted by the performance and as we were leaving the small theater, we happened to see Jake doing a meet and greet, with a super short line.
After that, we did the Great Movie Ride, returned for our Toy Story fast passes, and headed over to meet Mike and Sully from Monsters University.
After that, it was just go-go-go. We did Star Tours twice, the Muppets 3D Show, and some more meet and greets.
Thankfully, we were armed with ponchos because we got stuck in a torrential downpour on our way into a late lunch at Sci Fi Drive-In Theater, and were able to wait out most of the rain while enjoying some much-needed food. And then we were back at it.
We ended up staying at the park until 8 PM. I don’t think I’ve ever done that full of a day in Hollywood Studios, and I think it’s safe to say we were all exhausted. Which is why I pulled the stellar parenting technique of ice cream for dinner when we returned to the Boardwalk Inn.
It happens. And he was happy. I think he was asleep about five minutes after I put him to bed.
The kids all slept late in the morning, so my sister-in-law, brother-in-law and I headed down to the Boardwalk Bakery for breakfast (leaving the slumbering younger ones in the care of my 18 year old nephew). We enjoyed some pastries (I got the New Jersey crumb cake) and brought back Mickey Mouse shaped chocolate chip muffins for the kids. Rather than head right out, we planned to go to Magic Kingdom for the morning.
My plan was to hit the Buzz Lightyear Space Command and do the quick service lunch at Be Our Guest, per little man’s request. I gathered up my nieces and one of my nephews, and we headed over.
It. Was. Packed. And hot. Oh, so hot. A lot of rides were down, including Buzz Lightyear. We waited in line for the Barnstormer, met up with the rest of the family and headed over to It’s A Small World (which had a 30 minute wait!!!!) No sooner did we leave the ride and I had retrieved the rental stroller, did the heavens open. We poncho’d up and made the move for lunch.
Little man asked about the Beast’s castle again, and since it was 1:30 (still enough time to hop in the lunch line), I pulled up my hood and headed over to New Fantasyland. The cousins planned to eat at another establishment (the menu didn’t appeal to them) and then catch Space Mountain or something else in Tomorrowland. Fortunately, the rain eased up and we stayed pretty dry. We got in the queue right at the end of the drawbridge, and got inside within 10-15 minutes.
Be prepared. Lots of pictures to come. I couldn’t help myself. Everything was so gorgeous and the food was lovely.
The waiting area leading up to the self-ordering kiosks was decorated beautifully. The enchanted knights rattled and muttered and little man was so intrigued.
Within minutes, we were at the hostess stand, and we were given our red rose. And shortly after that, we were at the touchscreen ordering system. It was pretty simple. Everything was customizable (dressing on the side or tossed with the salad, choice of sides, etc), and so I activated the electronic rose, made the selections and paid.
We collected our drinks and flatware and headed off to find a seat. The ballroom was packed and little man thought the West Wing looked a little too dark, so we settled on a table in the Rose Gallery.
In less than 10 minutes, a server rolled up to us with a covered tea cart, and began to serve us.
Little man had the carved turkey sandwich, served on multigrain bread, with peach applesauce and french fries. I don’t have any pictures because the poor kid was starving and dug right in. It looked good, though.
I had accidentally managed to order a bowl of the French Onion Soup. I didn’t notice it on the receipt when I completed my order, but I’m glad for the mistake. This is one of the best onion soups I’ve ever eaten. The broth was flavorful (and I am led to believe that it is vegetable based, rather than beef), the onions perfectly cooked and the melted gruyere? Heavenly. Honestly I could have just eaten this and been happy.
I had also ordered the Vegetable Quiche. It was served with a salad of baby lettuces in champagne vinaigrette. This was also very good. The quiche was a slight bit more wet than I prefer, but it was full of delicious vegetables and herbs. The crust was light and flaky. My only regret was that I couldn’t eat more due to my throat issues.
Of course, you can’t dine in a castle without dessert. We are chocolate lovers, so I ordered the triple chocolate cupcake and the chocolate cream puff for us to split. Little man was so excited.
The cupcake was divine. Moist chocolate cake, filled with a chocolate cream and topped with a fudge-like frosting. I was lucky to get a bite (Although little man did kindly leave me the raspberry garnish. So sweet, that kid). The cream puff pastry was a little heavier than what I am used to (and make), and was at odds with the lightness of the chocolate mousse filling. I would stick with just cupcakes the next time.
With stuffed bellies, we took some time to explore the castle. I wish the ballroom had been a little less busy because it was hard to absorb all the details.
The West Wing was so cool. I hope the next time we visit, we can dine there, even if it is a little dark and spooky.
The star of this room is, of course, the Enchanted Rose. Simply amazing.
I think Be Our Guest is going to be our new lunch spot in the Magic Kingdom. We don’t making a lot of table service reservations and it’s nice to get something other than a burger or chicken nuggets. I would still love to try the dinner here, but I’m not sure when that will be.
By this point, it was close to 3 in the afternoon, and the rains weren’t letting up. We met up with our family again, but it was about time to head out. I think we were about Disney-ed out.
Little man was ecstatic. He got to spend more time with his cousins, going on his favorite rides with them, slept in a hotel again and got to visit the Beast’s castle. We are so lucky to have such great family, and I am so grateful for the time we shared over the last few weeks.
Have you visited Be Our Guest? If so, what was your favorite dish?
Do you enjoy taking trips with extended family?
No never visited 🙁 but would love to go visit with the kids, maybe one day.
The soup looks amazing. I haven’t had onion soup in like yonks.
And dessert, yummo.
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The onion soup was really the high point. All that gooey cheese… So good.
You scored major mommy points! So much fun!
My family and I went to dinner at Be Our Guest for my mom’s birthday last year, we loved it! My dad’s favorite part was when they announced the Beast would be coming out. He’s a little goofy and keeps joking that at our wedding he is going to have the DJ announce “your host for the evening….” :p
I have to be honest I wasn’t thrilled with their menu selections but I had the steak and it was yummy!
Hope to get back there again this year, maybe for lunch!
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Aw, so fun!
I have heard that the lunch is better than dinner, and the lunch menu options were more appealing to me than dinner. I think the only thing I would eat at dinner would be the salmon, while I would have more variety at lunch (not a huge meat fan). You can get the onion soup and the desserts at both meals, though, so that’s key.
I was really hoping that the Beast would be around, but I guess we’ll have to go back for dinner to get that experience.
I have not been to Disney since I was in elementary school I think.
Jeff and I were planning on taking the kids last year, but their mom surprised them with a trip right when he and I were planning one out. So we skipped that b/c the kids don’t need disney twice in a row. We were contemplating a day with Harry Potter over spring break next year though….
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I am desperate to see Harry Potter. We just haven’t gone to Universal Studios because little man really hasn’t been tall enough for a lot of the rides and it didn’t seem fun to keep switching off so Mr PugRunner and I could go on the big roller coasters. Now that he’s a little taller, we’re starting to seriously consider it. You’re going to have a blast!
I love Be Our Guest – I have done lunch there twice. I had the quiche and like it quite bit, and I have had the quinoa which I loved!
Same thoughts on the cupcakes – I love the strawberry one!
I’m going to try the quinoa salad next time! It looked really good.
I need to go with more people so I an justify getting all the desserts to sample!
We did visit Be Our Guest for dinner after the Goofy Challenge in January. It was a wonderful dinner and I thoroughly enjoyed every course including the “special gray stuff”. It is so hard to get a reservation though….
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I know. I was pushing for a res for a while, but it will happen when it happens. In the meantime, the lunch is so good and I’m just happy we got in the castle at all.
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Looks like a great trip! Never been to be our guest! Looks really nice!
It definitely was!
runswithpugs recently posted…in which i win the best mommy award
What a timely post! We are leaving for Disney three weeks from Saturday and I am SO EXCITED. (We’ve never been before) Love the pics! Thanks for sharing.
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Oh, you guys are going to have the best time!!! I can’t wait to read all about it!
Love BOG! Going to have to try the onion soup next time. We have dinner ressies to celebrate the Dopey Challenge in January.
I’m not a fan of traveling with family or really anyone other than hubby and DD. We just have such different traveling styles.
Very fun! You’re going to love the soup!
Man, this post brought back so many memories for me. My family has been to Disney World twice, and I remember each visit with such fondness. I’m surprised by the 30 minute wait for Small World, though! And you definitely win best mom award for Be Our Guest. I had never heard of that before now, but it look INCREDIBLE! Man, now I want to go back. Time to start saving for one of the Disney Races!!
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I am so excited for my first Disney race. You have GOT to do one. There are several awesome bloggers who are local and semi-local who I’m sure you could convince to run with (or near) you, too!
Love the post – we missed Sully last time and can’t wait to go back. While our overall meal at BOG was not good the first time we went, the soup was the exception.
That’s so disappointing. I remember when you said that the meal wasn’t good and it’s just such a shame because for the price, the experience should be fantastic. I do think the food quality at the parks has taken a nosedive in recent years. There are some definite gems, but not as many as there could be.
Wow that really looks incredible! I have only been to Disney once and I don’t think I ever saw Beast’s castle. There is so much to see and do that I was really overwhelmed (and I was an adult!).
It looks like you guys covered a lot of ground and were really organized. I’m impressed!
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The Beast’s castle is about a year old.
Since we live so close, we get to go frequently and we have a system down. We usually just go where little man wants to go, which means we spend a lot of time on the Toy Story themed rides. I always try to sneak in something new, though. This last time, in the hotel, he watched the in-house channel, which loops a program called “Must-Do Disney.” It highlights the ten top things to do on the Disney property, and so little man is now obsessed with hitting all the hot spots, even if he is too short or not old enough for some of them.
runswithpugs recently posted…in which i win the best mommy award
I took the kids last year in July but I must have missed Be Out Guest. The skies opened up on us many, many times! You had some AWESOME shots, especially of the food! So cool! Loving Mickey in his fantasmic outfit. It is always a fun things to catch him in different outfits! Lucky you had a short line for Jake, we waited almost an hour in the HEAT and by the time we got to take the pics, I was a big sweaty mess, fun times!! LOL
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Rain is just a part of summer (and hurricane season) in Florida. Sometimes, it cools things down and thins out the crowds, so it’s worth putting on the poncho and riding it out.
Jake was pretty much brand new when you were there, which is probably why the wait was so long. When Princess Sofia and Doc McStuffins make it into the lineup, it’s going to be bedlam!
runswithpugs recently posted…in which i win the best mommy award
Awww, it sounds like your little man had so much fun! I’ve only been to Disney World twice, but we had a lot of fun both times.
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