Pins! I need more pins! A Fall Time Trip Report. New 11/6 Admitting Defeat!

[DisneyCrafter]

Hello and welcome to my trip report!

My husband (Greg) and I (Rachael), both 20-somethings who love Disney World (weve been 6 times together since we got married in 2009), spent 6 nights and 5.5 days in Disney World; November 1-7. We stayed at Pop Century (our king room request was fulfilled but we were sooooo far from the bus stop) and took advantage of the free dining offer, upgrading to the standard DDP.

We enjoy long trips best, so planning this trip was a challenge. In fact, those of you who followed my PTR will know, I ended up not going with ANY plan and only 1 ADR! Ill let you know now that it was still a challenge to plan out our days when we were there.

I dont want to give too much away before I even start my report, but I will say that we accomplished more than I thought we could. We got to see the Magic Kingdom transform from fall décor to an explosion of Christmas, got to go to every park at least twice, and got to tour the New Fantasyland!

Sit back, relax, and enjoy!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Friday, November 2:
Firsts! First bus ride, first park, first attraction, first meal. You get the point!
We spend more time at the MK with Grumpy making an appearance.
'Twas the Evening of November 2nd

Saturday, November 3:
We get up early, so early it was still dark!
Christmas is all around in DTD!

Sunday, November 4:
Soaking up the Disney atmosphere!
A hitchhiking giraffe and a lackluster performance.
New Fantasyland!
More New Fantasyland!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

(Bonus Arrival Day: Thursday, November 1)

I’m not going to do a separate post about our first night because we didn’t land in Orlando until 930 and didn’t make it to Pop until 11 PM. They were very slow to unload the luggage at the baggage claim, in fact, the belt actually stopped moving TWICE. However, we had practically no wait to board our ME bus (it was pretty full when we got on) and we were on our way very quickly!

We’re so happy to have many days of fun ahead of us! (And maybe just a little bit tired after working all day and then traveling.)

There was barely any cheering as we passed under the Disney World sign and we were too far back to get a decent picture. Oh, well! I still got that warm, fuzzy feeling inside as we drove underneath.

Check-in, aside from waiting in line for 20 minutes (yes, at 11 PM), went smoothly and before we knew it we were in our room settling in. (I may have tried to enter the wrong room at first…) I did a little bit of unpacking (we keep most of our things in our suitcases) and then we went to bed. The End.

Now, onto the good stuff!

Friday, November 2

Our first full-day in Disney started off without an alarm. We woke up at 9 AM and by 945ish we were at the bus stop to head to our first park of the trip:

Our first Disney bus experience wasn’t great but it wasn’t horrible. The line was pretty long to get on the bus, as expected at that time in the morning, so we weren’t able to fit on the first bus that came along. The family in front of us actually cut in front of 2 other families to ask the bus driver if they could fit on after he said no more people because they said they were late for a reservation. He complied and the families in front of us just shrugged it off. I had never seen that before but if you’re late, I’m sure it’s stressful! Anyway, we got seats on the second bus that came along shortly after and we were on our way for real!

We walked right onto Main Street USA as the performers were singing a song about how beautiful fall is, I believe. Their cherry faces were a magical way to experience the Magic Kingdom for the first time on our trip!

After soaking up the beautiful view of the castle, we were headed towards Tomorrowland.

My Disney Parks app was telling me that there was currently only a 10 minute wait for Space Mountain! We actually ended up waiting less than 10 minutes before we blasted off into space. I love the drops on that roller coaster!

After getting a healthy dose of adrenaline running through our bodies, we headed over to Liberty Square as it was nearly 11 AM and I wanted to see if we could walk-up to Liberty Tree Tavern. I tried to make us a reservation the night before but it said that nothing was available. However, we were told by the CMs that they didn’t open until 1130 AM (oops) and to come back at 1120 to put our name on the list. No problem at all to be seated!

While we waited, we went to the Haunted Mansion as the wait was only 10 minutes. We skipped the cemetery and were the first ones leading the herd into the doom buggies. I love the ballroom scene so much. I remember watching a Disney World sing-a-long movie when I was younger and seeing that scene over and over made me want to go to Disney World so bad! Greg was able to spot one of the Hidden Mickey’s on his list in the ballroom scene (look at the plates on the dining table), too. I will say that I do NOT like the goblin/monster type creatures that pop up in the graveyard scene. (Yes, I am a scaredy cat!)

After we finished and we had a ghost following us home, we headed back over to Liberty Tree Tavern and we were sat almost immediately upon opening. (I love that the bathrooms are upstairs and that the walkway overlooks the entryway to the restaurant.)

Service here was QUICK! We didn’t even have a chance to look over the menus before our server was asking us what we’d like to drink. We both ordered water and pomegranate lemonade. Since we were on the DDP, we skipped an appetizer (I had always wanted to try the fried cheese but when I read that they don’t give you the fried cheese balls, I decided it wasn’t worth it). I ordered the Pilgrim’s Feast and Greg ordered the burger. Our food came out with super speed. I have a feeling they had several Pilgrim’s Feasts plated and waiting to be served because my food was barely warm. It was still delicious, though! Greg’s burger was really good and I love the thick cut French fries. I ate almost everything on my plate before I admitted defeat in hopes of saving room for dessert.

If you’re thinking that I ordered the Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake, you would be correct. Oh. My. Word! Words cannot describe how tasty this dessert is! The toffee bits on the top, paired with the ice cream that’s melting over the warm cake was so good. My cheeks are smiling just thinking about its sweetness now!

Greg wanted to switch with me (he got the chocolate cake) but I obviously said NO! I did share a few bites with him, though. His cake was decent, it had a good flavor but could have been more moist.

We settled the bill and were on our way back out into the Magic Kingdom.

Coming up next: We spend some more time in the Magic Kingdom and $5 for an iced coffee?! Stay tuned.

 

[DisMomAmy]

I'm here!! Sorry... I haven't been on the DIS for a couple weeks but this was my first stop this morning!

We've never been to LTT. We'll have to check it out sometime.

 

[xkaittloveex]

Joining in!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

I'm here!! Sorry... I haven't been on the DIS for a couple weeks but this was my first stop this morning!

We've never been to LTT. We'll have to check it out sometime.

I'm here, too. The holiday time is always a busy time! I'm working on getting an update ready this evening.

Joining in!

Welcome!

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Joining in!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Friday, Nov. 2 (cont.)

Since we had just eaten lunch, we didn’t think it was a good idea to go on any thrill rides (we were feeling pretty full), so we headed to one of our favorites; Philhar Magic! There’s just something about that show that puts me in the Disney frame of mind. Those movies and music that make up Philhar Magic are my childhood. They’re the movies I remember watching over and over again. I had a Little Mermaid themed birthday party. I remember being surprised by my dad on my birthday and going to see Beauty and the Beast on Ice. For Christmas one year, I got a Beauty and the Beast tent and sleeping bag. In second grade, a few friends and I danced to one of the songs from the Lion King for the talent show and I had a pretend Lion King club that I charged everyone in my family 10 cents to join.

After experiencing the Magic, we decided to head toward Splash. The wait time was somewhere around 25 min., so we grabbed some FPs since they were for just 40 min. later. Score!

We walked toward Adventureland and saw that the wait time for Pirates was 20 min. and we decided not to wait. We should have just waited because what we did while waiting for our Splash FPs to become available instead was nonsense!

What was nonsense you ask? I was dragging and I needed a pick me up, and I think it was clouding my judgment. (There’s my excuse! Haha!) We headed towards the hub and down Main Street to the bakery. They wanted $5 for an iced coffee! Now, I love me some Starbucks (in fact I’m drinking a skinny peppermint mocha right now) and I know they’re pricey, too, but for some reason that price was too ridiculous for me to pay then. Instead, I purchased a bottle of water and we headed to one of the benches in the hub and rested for a bit and I rehydrated in hopes that it would take my drowsiness away. We watched a bit of the show at the castle, too.

We headed towards Splash once it got closer to our window and ended up being those people that wait for the exact strike of the moment our passes become available and then storm the entrance. (We didn’t block the entrance, though, so no worries!) I did notice that they combined the stand-by and FP lines further back (near the entrance into the tunnel area instead of at the end). It didn’t matter because we were soon singing along to the music!
After Splash we saw that the wait time for BTMRR was just 20 min., but I reallllly dislike the stand-by for that ride, so we decided to skip it and hopped on the train instead for a ride to the new Storybook Circus! (That’s 2 attractions with less than a 30 min. wait that we decided to skip that day, in case you were counting.)

I took a few pictures but we didn’t go into the shop or on any attractions.

I was grumpy. I actually remember getting snippy with Greg. Can I remember what for? No! Somebody needs a break! So we decided to head out of the park. I’m a big advocate for taking a rest when you just aren’t feeling it. It usually helps to make me feel tons better!

When we got back to the room, Greg headed to the food court to fill our drinks and I laid down for a while. I didn’t end up sleeping but just resting for a bit definitely helped me to recharge. While I was resting, Greg took a look at his pins. He also printed out pictures of all of the sets that he was interested in collecting and was studying those.

I created a pin obsessed Disney World lover, I did!

We went back and forth on what to do for the evening. We really wanted to see Hallowishes but we also were feeling the Food & Wine Fest and we just weren’t sure that we could fit both in. Ultimately, we decided to NOT stress and just see where the evening took us.

Would that be a wise choice? Come back soon and find out!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Joining! Can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip.

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Joining! Can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip.

Thanks! I've been MIA lately. So much going on! I'm going to write an update right now!!!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Sorrrrrry I've been gone so long (is anyone still reading????). I, like many of us here on the DIS, have been busy lately! I work 6 days a week (I know, wah wah) and with the holidays upon us, there’s not much time for ME. I also start grad school next month (going for my Master’s in Library and Information Science), so my time isn’t going to get much more freed up. I will finish this TR, though!

‘Twas the evening of Friday, Nov. 2nd

As soon as I had a bit of rest, we were headed to my favorite park for some Food & Wine fun!

The first stop was for my hubby to get a beer from Craft Beers. If I remember correctly, he tried the Red Hook Pilsner. It didn’t end up being one of his favorites.

Our first stop for FOOD was Canada. Greg ordered the Chicken Chipotle Sausage with Sweet Corn Polenta and ‘Minus 8’ Onion Jam. It was one of our favorites from last year. I don’t know if it was the onion jam but something about it was different this year.

That’s just fine, though, because I was wowed by the ‘Le Cellier’ Wild Mushroom Beef Filet Mignon with Truffle Butter Sauce. Although the meat was cooked a little too well for my liking (I’m a medium rare kinda girl), it was still delicious. If I could ask for one thing to be different, it would be to have more sauce! Mmm!

The next stop was just for me! France!

I ordered the Coq au Vin sur Gratin de Macaroni (Red Wine Braised Chicken, Mushrooms, Pearl Onions and Macaroni Gratin). I wish the used beef instead of chicken. I’m not a fan of chicken in a red wine sauce. However, I liked the pasta part of it.

My favorite thing, though and the item that I had been waiting for…the Crème Brulee au Lait (Chocolate Milk Crème Brulee topped with Caramelized Sugar)!

Sure, the sugar was a little, well, burnt, but it was still A-MAZING! I was one happy girl.

Greg was apparently feeling adventurous when he took a list at the Food & Wine offerings this year, because he was up for trying mussels! (Bless his heart, he actually pronounced them MEW-SSELS. I got a good laugh, he didn’t. The end.) According to the brochure, they are Steamed Mussels in Hoegaarden Beer Broth with Baguette. The smell alone was not appealing to me, so although I’m branching out (had foie gras just a few month ago), I wasn’t up for those! He thought that they were okay, he really enjoyed the broth.

After Belgium, we stopped at Japan. Even though I was watching my intake of alcohol, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try a Sake Strawberry Mist. It was FROZEN, like a slushie. They even put a little umbrella in it. At that moment, I definitely felt like I was on vacation.
We both ordered a roll; I ordered the Karaage Hand Roll (Crispy Chicken Breast with Sushi Rice and Spicy Mayonnaise) and Greg ordered the Spicy Hand Roll (Tuna and Salmon with Chili Pepper, Soy Sauce & Sesame Oil topped with Kazan Volcano Sauce).

I did NOT like the hand roll. The flavor was just not there for me. I also didn’t like the way that the mayonnaise melted (yes!) after just a few minutes. Greg, on the other hand enjoyed both rolls. He’s my sushi man, I guess.

(a nice man offered to take our photo for us when he saw Greg taking a picture of just me)

Well, I was quite full after those booths (darn smaller appetite) but we stilled stopped in the caramel shop in Germany (how can you walk past that place without at least walking in there???).

*Droooooool!*

We took a ride on the Gran Fiesta Tour and I longed for a margarita. I’m not a big drinker, in fact, I don’t drink much at all but when you are advised against doing something, doesn’t it make you want it that much more? I already had one, though and I wasn’t about to press my luck and risk getting sick.

It was about 730 and we decided to head out of Epcot via monorail. We were headed to the Poly.

Here’s another shot of Greg oogling over his pins:

One of the things on our wish list to see was Hallowishes and that wish was about to come true! Since we were about an hour and a half early, we even snagged one of the hammocks. The entire scenario sounds romantic doesn’t it? Here let me set the scene: You’re in Disney World with your significant other, swinging in a hammock on the beach at the Polynesian Resort watching a fireworks show over the Cinderella Castle. See?! Okay, only one problem. It was COLD! We both were wearing sweaters but with SANDALS. Oh, how I wish I had socks at that moment. It would’ve made the evening that much more perfect!

The pictures didn’t turn out great but here’s one of the electrical parade:

And one from Hallowishes:

It was a great ending to a great day!

Up next: Is it still the middle of the night?! In other words, we get up realllllllly early.

 

[DisMomAmy]

I'm here!! I hope you had a nice Christmas! I've been busy with the holidays and just found time to get back on the boards this week. Seems to be a pattern for me this time of year! I hope things settle down for you & you have some more time to update. I'll keep reading...

Those yummy Food & Wine pictures are bringing back memories from my October trip! Yum yum!!

I just want to stay again that you two look so great in your trip pictures!!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

I'm here!! I hope you had a nice Christmas! I've been busy with the holidays and just found time to get back on the boards this week. Seems to be a pattern for me this time of year! I hope things settle down for you & you have some more time to update. I'll keep reading...

Those yummy Food & Wine pictures are bringing back memories from my October trip! Yum yum!!

I just want to stay again that you two look so great in your trip pictures!!

I'm here, too! Just taking a while to get back to 'normal' (although I'm starting to believe no such thing exists).

 

[DisneyCrafter]

I hope everyone’s holiday was splendiferous!

I have to be honest, I thought about not finishing this TR since it doesn't seem like I have very many readers but I hate leaving things unfinished. We'll see, if traffic doesn't pick up, I may just nix it!

Saturday, November 3

*BEEP! BEEP!* (That’s the sound of the alarm going off at 6 a.m.)

We were sloooooooooow to get moving this morning but we made it to the bus stop about 7 a.m. Did I mention that it was early AND dark? Well, it was!

Told you! We were the second family waiting at the bus stop and I believe we waited about 10-15 minutes for a bus to arrive. Our spirits were quite high for it being so early!

DHS is such a short ride from Pop, I love it! Rope Drop was at 8 a.m. (EMH) and we were the 2nd family at the turnstiles. I got SO excited because I saw my first bit of Disney Christmas decorations! Look!!!

YAY! Anyway, as soon as we were allowed in, we high-tailed it over to TSM and since there wasn’t anybody in line for FPs, we grabbed some and entered the stand-by line. We walked right on.

I won! (No surprises there. LOL!)

We strolled (okay, maybe it was more of a brisk pace) over to RNRC and requested the front row. I love riding in the front row on this coaster, it’s so exhilarating! After our limo ride, we grabbed FPs for later.

We rode Tower of Terror and then decided we should listen to our tummies and have something to eat. Apparently everybody else in DHS was hungry, too. They all wanted Starring Rolls as well. I joked with Greg that it was the longest line we’ve waited in all morning! It was true, too.

(We went halfsies on both the muffin and the cinnamon roll, BTW. The muffin was delicious, the cinnamon roll was nothing special.)

Somewhere between selecting our food and us sitting down and eating, I sent Greg to TOT to grab FPs since our 930 window was opening momentarily and we had until just 940 to make it to TSM before those FPs were void. We quickly inhaled our food and downed our iced coffee (soooo good, BTW) and made it to TSM with less than 3 minutes to spare. Phew!

(Somehow we had enough time to take this picture of me holding all of our FPs.)

I won, again! (Greg is quite the video game player so he’s not too happy that I am more skilled than him on TSM.)

I can’t go to DHS and NOT do a drawing class, so we headed over there and were able to sneak in and snag a lap board. We got to draw Minnie! Greg always leaves a little grumpy because he’s not much of an artist but he must enjoy the classes as well because he never complains when we’re there.

After the drawing class, it was time to use our RNRC FPs. We didn’t request front row this time as we were cutting it close with time before we needed to leave for our lunch ADR.

This next decision was probably dumb but we walked back over to the animation building to see how long the line was to meet Wreck it Ralph. It was long (of course) but I snapped a few pictures and we were on our way.

On our way out we stopped to do two things. One to take some PP pictures:

And to hand our TOT FPs off to someone. Greg chose a honeymooning couple (good choice, babe!) and they were very appreciative.

Upon leaving DHS we hopped on board a Friendship Boat and got off at the YC/BC.

I was getting worried about making it to our ADR in time and I knew we could walk to IG from YC/BC faster than the boat could take us. I was right and we beat the boat! However, we encountered a ridiculously long time at the IG gate.

Of course all my worrying was for nothing. San Angel is very slow to seat people. I think it has something to do with the amount of servers they have for lunch. No matter, our food was delicious and we were even serenaded by another guest who was taking a ride on the boats. It was a funny moment, everyone in the restaurant clapped for him!

We were tired and in need of a rest so we headed back to Pop, changed into our suits, and spent some time relaxing by the pool. It was a beautiful day!

Up next: We wait a really long time for a bus!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Anyone out there? *Hears crickets*

 

[My sister's princess]

ME ME ME I AM OUT HERE

I am loving your trip report!!! Keep going girl!!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

ME ME ME I AM OUT HERE

I am loving your trip report!!! Keep going girl!!

Yay! I'm glad I have a reader! I'm just about to post another update, too!

 

[DisneyCrafter]

Saturday, November 3 Cont…

After spending a couple of hours near the pool (we didn’t go in for very long, the water was FREEZING), we freshened up and headed to the bus stop to go to Downtown Disney for the evening.

We JUST missed a bus heading to DTD. We ran over to the bus stop as we saw it there but the bus driver still pulled away. Ugh! We ended up waiting less than 20 minutes (16 to be exact and 8 other buses came for the parks) and although it doesn’t seem so bad now, my patience was short.

It all worked out, though. We ran to the theatre and bought tickets to see Wreck it Ralph in 3D. Greg was really looking forward to seeing this movie and I thought it was cute! I love seeing a movie at that theatre. The theatres by us are not that fancy but I suppose most things in Disney do it bigger and better.

After the movie we put our name in at Raglan Road.

They gave us an estimated wait time of 1.5 hours and because we had eaten popcorn, we were okay with it. We walked through Pleasure Island, stopped for a drink and to take in the atmosphere, and then parked it by Raglan Road. I made a note in my trip notes that P.I. looks like it would be a fun place to hang out with a group of friends.

(A nice couple offered to take this picture of us when they saw us taking a picture of each other. That’s the second time that happened this trip. Why didn’t people offer to us before? I like it because I’m always too shy to ask.)

(A band that was playing. Fun!)

In retrospect, I wasn’t that hungry but I was adamant about wanting a TS meal. We also ended up waiting close to 2 hours and I wasn’t happy by the time we sat down. It was VERY loud in there but the food was yummy. I think we’d like it better at lunch time.

After dinner, we did a little bit of shopping. I just love these t-shirts!

I got so excited when I saw the Christmas tree, the twinkling lights, and the wreaths around the Marketplace.

We ended up doing more pin trading than shopping, but that’s okay, pin trading is free and Greg really enjoys it. I think we were back to the room by 11 and we were dreaming Disney dreams shortly.

I know this update wasn’t very exciting, but DTD doesn’t usually come with much excitement. Up next: Brunch with family and Animal Kingdom!

 

[My sister's princess]

I have a wicked pin addiction, the first trip I went on was right after the now DH and I started dating, he was looking through the stuff I brought back and found my pins, oh these are a cute little keepsake he said, then I told him what they cost He now supports my habit and helps me find pins I love!!!


I always am offering to take other people's pictures in the park, kinda a what goes around comes around type of thing! Often they will offer back!

Those shirts are super cute, expect I hate hashtagging, I am not on Instragram, at least not yet....

Never been to RR, but your dinner looks yummy!!!!


and yes, I am talking alot because I can lol you asked for interaction, you are going to get it

 

[Lucys2200]

Nice trip report so far! I hope you show off what pins you got throughout the trip. I'm a total Disney pin addict. Last time I went to Disney I spent more money on pins than on food,lol Although I do love trading, I can't help but buy more and more each time