A Disney Veteran and a Disney Newbie take on WDW- Updated (5/7)

[ememtingle]

Hey y'all, and welcome to my first ever TR!
I can't wait to share with you all about this fantastic trip I took!

Who: Me and my boyfriend Eli
What: Week long Disney World trip
When: October 13th-October 20th, 2013
Where: Staying at Pop Century
Why: Celebrating my 20th birthday and celebrating Eli's very first trip to WDW (actually, any Disney related trip, ever!) Also, our school was out for fall break, AND it was our first ever F&W festival!

Cast of Characters:

Me!


I'm Emily, I'm 20 years old and I'm a junior in college. I'm from NC and I've been to WDW about 25 times and I've been on several Disney Cruises. My family are huge Disney people, we absolutely love it.
It was my idea to go on this trip to WDW and it was the first trip I took without my parents.

Favorite Hotels: Yacht Club, Grand Floridian and Contemporary (love Pop Century too)
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Rides: Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Expedition Everest, Pirates of the Caribbean
Favorite Disney Movies: Pocahontas, Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Cinderella, Lilo & Stich, Beauty and the Beast
Favorite Princess: Cinderella and Belle
Favorite Disney Characters: Pooh, Stitch, Peter Pan, Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse
How Many Times Visited Disney World: around 25 times
Favorite Land in Magic Kingdom: Fantasyland
Favorite World Showcase Pavilion: France
Favorite Food From Hotels: Mickey waffles and Tonga toast
Favorite Sit Down Restaurant: California Grill, Monsieur Pauls, Sanaa & 1900 Park Fare
Favorite Quick Service Place: Columbia Harbor House, Contempo Cafe, Be Our Guest, & Katsura Grill
Favorite Store: Everything Pop & World of Disney

Eli!


Eli's my boyfriend, he's 23 and he's also a junior in college. We've been together for about a year and a half. He's from TN and has NEVER been to WDW! After this trip though, it is not his last Disney trip (hehe).

Favorite Hotels: Contemporary & Grand Floridian
Favorite Park: Hollywood Studios
Favorite Rides: Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, & Tower of Terror
Favorite Disney Movies: Beauty and the Beast, Monsters University, & Toy Story
Favorite Princess: Belle
Favorite Disney Characters: Mike Wazowski and Buzz Lightyear
How Many Times Visited Disney World: Once
Favorite Land in Magic Kingdom: New Fantasyland
Favorite World Showcase Pavilion: France
Favorite Food From Hotels: Tonga toast
Favorite Sit Down Restaurant: Monsieur Paulss
Favorite Quick Service Place: Contempo Cafe & Be Our Guest
Favorite Store: World of Disney

We got so much accomplished in this week than I have ever accomplished on a Disney World trip. I guess it was because we did not have kids and grandparents with us. So I really hope you guys follow me along as I recap this amazing trip!​

 

[ememtingle]

Table of Contents

Introduction

Day 1: October 13th:
Getting there & DTD

Day 2: October 14th:
Pt. 1: Poop Century (I mean POP)
Pt. 2: I rode Mission Space twice and hated it
Pt. 3: Feeling Very Adult at Dinner

Day 3: October 15th:
Pt. 1: Back in the Kingdom
Pt 2: Do NOT enter the West Wing
Pt. 3: Dole Whips, 3D, Pirates, oh my!
Pt. 4: Did We Just Eat 2 Baskets of Bread for Dinner?
Pt. 5: How many times can we ride Splash in a row

Day 4: October 16th
Pt. 1: Power Walking to a Safari
Pt. 2: Time to meet the Yeti and a Dinosaur
Pt. 3: Third Times a Charm
Pt. 4: A Jam Packed Afternoon
Pt. 5: Finishing up the Night
Day 5: October 17th
Pt. 1: Pretending to be Grownups at DVC
Day 6: October 18th
Day 7: October 19th
Day 8: October 20th


​

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[Credit Man]

Great start!!! Following along.

 

[ememtingle]

October 11th-13th


(All of our stuff)

We drove the whole 10 hours to WDW, but we did it over the course of a few days. We had to be out of our dorm rooms by Friday (Oct. 11th), so we packed the car up and drove about 2 hours to stay at my Nana's house.

Yumm, honeybun cake.

The next day, we drove 3 hours down to my dad's house to stay the night with him. Eli and I continued to plan exactly what we were going to do the next day when we checked into the Hilton.

We had our magicbands ready and our fastpass+ reservations were made as well. Disney was still testing when we had out visit, and we did not have any issues with the 'My Disney Experience' app or with the magicbands. We actually found them very helpful instead of running all around the park to get the fastpasses we wanted.

Fastpass box we got in the mail a few weeks before our trip

On Sunday (Oct. 13th) we woke up really early, and we were at Starbucks getting coffee right at 7am. Eli drove most of the way (thank goodness). I had made a Disney music CD and of course we had to listen to it. I told Eli that he had to get in the mood for the rest of the week. He didn't seem to mind

Arriving in Florida

We finally arrived at the Lake Buena Vista Hilton around 4. We were both so excited to be there! I had stayed at this Hilton before, but I didn't really remember it. I thought it was a really pretty resort.

The view from our room

After checking in and unloading what we needed for the night, we decided to figure out what we wanted to do the rest of the day.
We named and looked up a bunch of places to eat at Downtown Disney, we weren't really in the mood for any of them. So, we decided to walk over to Downtown Disney, catch the bus to the Contemporary and eat dinner there at the Contempo Cafe.
The Contemporary is one of my favorite resorts, so it was fitting to eat there.

(Eli's first Disney transportation experience)

It didn't take long to walk over to Downtown Disney and catch the bus. We arrived at the Contempo Cafe. They had the touch screen order systems, instead of walking up to the cashier and ordering. I thought it was neat. After paying, we waiting for our food.
We found a seat and as soon as we sat down, the monorail passed. Eli was in love.

Eli's Dinner


And mine

Eli (first picture) got the Spice-crusted Mahi Sandwich. It was served on a Focaccia Roll. It also had coleslaw and a spicy tartar sauce. And he got fries as his side. He absolutely loved it!
I got the hot smoked turkey sandwich. It was served with turkey, brie, arugula, green apple slices, apple butter, and honey mustard and I got chips as my side. It was to die for! I recommend it to anyone! The sandwich was served hot so the cheese was melted, yumm!!

After dinner, we walked around the Contemporary for a little bit. We looked in the gift shops and then we got on the monorail to go to the Grand Floridian.
The sun was setting whenever we got on the monorail, it was perfect!

(Not the best quality, but you catch my drift)

As soon as the doors opened, it just took my breath away like it always does. I love coming to the Grand just to listen to the music and walk around.
And of course, we had to take pictures!

I love this lobby!


I sent this one to my parents to make them jealous (hehe)


Panoramic of the lobby

We walked around the gift shops and all around the upstairs. When we left the shops, the band started playing classic Disney songs.

My favorite shirt!


The band

After walking around the Grand, we hopped back on the bus to head back to Downtown Disney. When we arrived, we walked around everywhere. We, of course, had to go to World of Disney which is my favorite store at Disney World.

Stitch and World of Disney my two favs

Eli even got his very first pair of monogrammed Mickey ears! And I got a pair of sparkly Minnie ears.
We finished the night with watching the preformers, Eli had a margarita from Bongos and I had a Mickey rice krispy.

Eli with his marg

We were both exhausted, so we walked back to the Hilton. We rented a movie, and passed out. Our alarms were set for 6:30, so we could check in early and head right into Epcot!

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[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

joining!

Sounds like a pretty full first day! I love your panoramic shot of the Grand Floridian Lobby!

Nothing like ending a day with a marg

 

[ememtingle]

Day 2 pt. 1: Monday October 14th

Eli and I woke up around 7am. Our plan was to pack the car up, drive to Pop Century, get our Magicbands activated and then head right into the park.
We rushed to pack everything up and run down to the car because I wanted to be at Epcot no later than 10. Since it was our first full day at the park, I didn’t want to miss anything (duh).
Eli pulled up Google maps on his phone and we drove to Pop Century. Disney busses were already out and about when we drove around trying to find our way.
I had stayed at the All Star Music resort one of the last times I went to Disney World, which was probably 6 or 7 years ago. I knew that they were great quality, and I knew what to expect when I got there. We were both totally fine with not staying in a moderate because we both knew that we would be spending most of our time in the parks anyways.
When I first booked this vacation, I had booked the ASM resort since I had stayed there before. But a few weeks later and reading several great things about PC I thought I'd change it and spend a little extra to stay in a newer place. I was SO happy that I did this. We had a great experience at PC! The rooms were clean and the whole theming was fun and vibrant. But I will get to more of that later.
When we pulled up to the resort, we ran right in to check in. It was probably 8am by the time we got in line. Perfect timing. There was hardly anyone in line to check in. The cast member checking us in gave us two pins, one for Eli that said “my first visit” and one for me that said “happy birthday”. He then told us that our room was ready, which I was quit surprised.
We had done online check in a few weeks before our actual check in date, which saved a ton of time! They had all of our information, and payment. What was really great was that we got to pick what floor we wanted to be on, and what time we were going to be arriving.
We parked the car, and carried all of our stuff to the room, which was on the fourth floor. We booked a preferred room, which was very helpful because it would have been a pain to lug all of our stuff across the resort. We were in the first building on the left. And since we were on the fourth floor, it wasn’t noisy at all! I definitely recommend that.

View from the 4th floor
I loved the theming of the resort. The hippie dippie pool was so cute and funky and I loved the different colors throughout. The room was a standard room with 2 full beds, table and chairs, a mini fridge, and a bathroom. I had read people saying that the rooms are small for a family of 4, but it was the perfect size for 2 people and all of my stuff.
After we brought everything up to the room and packed up our day bags, we went down to Everything Pop food court to grab something quick to eat. We picked up our reusable mugs that we got with our dining plan, and we each got a cup of coffee and a bagel. We ate, drank, and walked over to the bus stop. We had just missed the Epcot bus when we walked outside, but that was fine and it gave us time to finish our breakfast on the go. We probably waited 10 minutes for the next bus to arrive. We were both so excited to go into the park.
We had made fastpass+ reservations in advance for Mission Space, Test Track, and Soarin’. And with our My Disney Experience app, we were able to change them if we wanted to, which I thought was very convenient.

Part 2


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[ememtingle]

Day 2 pt. 2: Monday October 14th

It was about 9:30 when we got into the park, and since it was Columbus Day, the crowds were pretty heavy.

Eli's first Disney park!

We went through bag check and then went over to use the new ticket system.
It was weird going to DW without using your ticket and sliding it through the dispenser. But I thought the new system was cool. It was a little slow sometimes which always made me nervous that it wasn't working or my ticket magically ended or something. That would have been HORRIBLE!!

The first ride we got on was Spaceship Earth. There was even a wait for that, which I had never seen before. It moved very very quickly though, we probably waited for 10 minutes. We went over to Test Track to make it in time for our fastpass. The wait was already up to 90 minutes, and it was like 11! I couldn’t believe it. I had not been on the updated Test Track. I liked it, but I liked the old one better. It just didn’t have the same appeal to me as the other one.
Next, we went over to World Showcase, my favorite part of Epcot.

View of the lagoon


Eli in Mexico



We did not really explore all of the pavilions this day, but we did walk around and enjoy some of the stuff they had at the Food and Wine festival. We decided to over to Maelstrom since there was hardly a wait.

5 minute wait for Maelstrom


On the back of the boat

I always loved Maelstrom, and I especially love it when there’s a five minute wait (woohoo!)
We then looked around the Norway gift shops and then continued walking around the pavilions.




After Norway, we walked over to China. We did not really walk around, but we did get our picture taken!

China pavilion

The photographer was hilarious! I really enjoyed him and you could tell that he loved his job. I love when cast members are like that.
Eli wanted to find a place to get beer, so we walked until we found the Brewers Collection so he could get something.

Food and Wine festival Brewers Collection menu

He got the Alternmünster Oktoberfest, he seemed to enjoy it, I don’t drink beer so I’m clueless.

Eli in the Germany pavilion


Spaceship Earth from World Showcase


Italy Pavilion

Eli suggested that we get a quick service lunch at Katsura Grill in Japan. I loved this place! It was great quality and a gorgeous location. It’s kind of tucked away the Japanese pavilion, and it also offers indoor seating. It’s kind of a tight squeeze sometimes, especially people who have strollers. It has a pretty view of the gardens that surround the outside of the restaurant.

Salmon Teriyaki
I had the teriyaki salmon and it came with rice and vegetables and a cookie for my dessert. The salmon was amazing, it was well cooked and the teriyaki sauce was delicious.
Eli got the Japanese curry rice, which is served in a bowl with rice and curry sauce. I didn’t get a picture of it, but he really enjoyed it. We relaxed after lunch and planned out what we wanted to do the rest of the day. We had fastpass for Mission Space, and a fastpass for Soarin’.

Inside Mitsukoshi department store


Different snacks at the Japanese pavilion





After lunch, we continued walking around World Showcase. We stopped in Morocco to look in the shops and to get inside from the heat.
As we made our way towards France, we saw a long line of little girls. Of course, I knew exactly what it was for. So I begged Eli to wait in line with me. We waited only about 10 minutes to see Belle, which was so great, she definitely one of my favorite princesses, besides my girl Cinderella.

Us with Belle

We went over to L’Artisan des Glaces to get some ice cream. This place had just opened a few weeks before our trip, and I had read some great reviews about it so I wanted to check it out. We each used our DDP snack credit for one scoop of heavenly ice cream. When you walk in, it smells like fresh waffle cones and it wasn’t busy at all for being 1 in the afternoon. I got the mango sorbet and Eli got the cocoa-white chocolate ice cream. They were both so delicious and a great cool down.

All the ice cream and sorbet different flavors


Mango sorbet

I love the French pavilion, I think it’s my favorite, and I was really excited to be eating dinner there (more on that later).

When we finished walking around World Showcase, we went over and rode the Land because there was no wait (when is there ever) and to kill some time before out Soarin’ fastpass. Eli loved it; he thought it was so interesting. I like it because it is interesting, but also a way to cool off from the heat.

Nine pound lemons


Hidden Mickey

By the time we got off The Land, it was time for our fastpass. I had never been on Soarin’, and I was really excited to see what all the hype was about. The standby wait was 100+. We were placed in the first row, in the middle viewing section. We were both really excited because we were going to have such a great view of the whole thing. I was actually kind of nervous even going on this because I’m not terrified of heights, but I’m not a huge fan of them. Take off was really exciting, and I loved the scenery and the music. Eli still loves the smell of the orange groves. After riding, and loving, Soarin’ we went over to Ellen’s Energy Adventure. There were huge waits on all of the rides, and it was getting pretty hot out so we decided to be lazy and go on the 45 minute ride, I have a soft spot for this ride, I absolutely love Ellen.
After our ride/nap we went over to Mission Space. I had never been on this ride before, because I am a huge baby and only like some thrill rides. Eli is a huge thrill seeker and loves rollercoasters. So I told him that we could go on the green side first and see how I liked it. I was so nervous to ride it, because I had no idea what to expect.

Mission Space

I honestly think I almost peed my pants on this ride. And that was just the green side! I was just so nervous and had no idea what to expect.

Quick picture before getting on the monorail

We decided to jump on the monorail and ride over to the Transportation and Ticket Center, just because the monorail is totally a ride. We just rode to the TTC, and then back into Epcot. On the monorail, Eli mentioned that he really wanted to go on the orange side of Mission Space. And after about 5 minutes of him begging, I gave in. We walked back through the entrance of Epcot, checked our bags and walked over to Mission Space. As soon as we passed Innoventions, I knew I had made a huge mistake. As we got in line for the orange side, I was freaking out (internally of course). I knew what to expect, but I had no idea what was going to happen next.
As we boarded, I realized, well can’t go back now. The ride starts, and I am like okay this isn’t bad…A few seconds later, it starts to spin! I had no idea that’s how they got the 0 gravity feeling. It felt like my heart was in the back of my chest. It was an insane feeling! I couldn’t tell if I was enjoying myself, or if I was having a minor heart attack. I didn’t speak, scream, or do anything during the ride. I was completely focused on the simulation movie and Gary Sinise’s voice. When we got off, Eli was dying laughing and I was like never ever again (I did ride it again later in the week…)

Part 3



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[ememtingle]

Day 2 pt. 3: Monday October 14th

After we got off Mission Space, we ran into the bathrooms near Test Track to change into more dinner fitting clothes, since I was wearing athletic shorts and sneakers. Eli brought a polo to change into, and I brought a dress and different shoes.
We walked over to the right side of World Showcase so we could have a quick trip to France.

Sunset over France


Getting ready to go to dinner in France

We made an ADR for Monsieur Paul, which used 2 of our DDP table service credits. But let me tell you, it was worth it! Monsieur Paul is located right behind Chefs de France and right next to L’Artisan des Glaces. When you walk in, you are greeted by the hostess and she, or the maitre d' takes you upstairs where the main dining room is located. The staircase leading upstairs is gorgeous, it wraps around and the detail in the whole lobby area is so beautiful.

Staircase in Monsieur Paul

Once upstairs, the hostess took us to our table. We were very lucky and were seating right at a window seat overlooking the lagoon. The sun had just set, so the restaurant was dimly lit.
We had the best waiter, his name was Julien and he was so great! We had bottled water to start, and then Eli had sparkling French lemonade and I had a French sparkling water. We felt so adult dining here (hehe).
The restaurant was not busy at all, I guess because it was around 7:30. There were a few larger groups and then small families, but there were a lot of couples.
After our drinks, they brought over cheese biscuits for us to try. After we ordered, they brought over more bread. It was a baguette, and a pot of butter. The baguette was very soft and very delicious.
Since we were on the dining plan, we did not order appetizers. We could have if we wanted to, but we had an entrée and dessert coming.

Eli's duck

Eli ordered the Roasted duck breast. It had several different spices, turnip confit, and served on top of grated potatoes. He had never had duck before, so he thought he’d give it a chance.

My red snapper

I had the red snapper. It had in potato scales on top of the fish, braised fennel, and a heavenly rosemary sauce. Still to this day, I dream about that sauce. We both ate every single bite of our meal it was that amazing. And of course we had dessert.

Eli's dessert

For dessert, Eli had the triple chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream on the side.

My dessert

And I had the chocolate and almond cake, feuilletine, served with a side of praline ice cream. I loved the cake, it had I think a raspberry sauce in the middle.

View inside part of the dining room

We were absolutely stuffed when we left. It was by far one of the best meals I have ever had.
We were planning on walking straight to the Pop Century bus stop and missing fireworks, but when we got to Japan, the Illuminations music came on so we figured we’d just stay and watch.

Illuminations in Japan


Illuminations
After Illuminations finished, we power walked to the exit. Passing large groups, people with strollers, all of it. We just did not want to get caught in a mess.

Spaceship Earth at night

We made it right on time to our bus and we both had to stand, but we didn’t care at all we were just ready to be back in our room. Running around all day takes it out of you!

Trying on Halloween Mickey ears

We took a quick look around through Everything Pop gift shop, and filled up our reusable mugs and went right up to bed. We watched some old Disney cartoons and passed out. Tuesday was Magic Kingdom day, and we both so excited for a full day there!

Continue
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[ememtingle]

Day 3 Pt. 1: October 15th

We woke up around 7:30 to start our packed day at the Magic Kingdom. We got dressed, packed my day back and walked down to the food court. It was kind of dreary out, but it wasn’t cold. Grey clouds everywhere, but it was supposed to clear up later in the afternoon. I started my morning with traditional Mickey waffles and was the only person over the age of 9 ordering them. (Sorry, not sorry) They were so delicious, and how can you go wrong with Mickey waffles?!

Love Mickey waffles

After we finished up breakfast, we went out and waited for the bus. It was around 9 when we got into the park. We did miss the rope drop show, but that was okay! We took our time walking down Main Street so Eli could take it all in.
I loved all of the different fall decorations throughout Main Street. I can’t remember the last time I was at Disney in the fall, probably for one of my birthdays when I was younger.

MK entrance decorations


I absolutely LOVE these!!


Walking down Main Street


One of my favorite pictures from the trip

After taking a few pictures on Main Street, we ran over to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain. We looked on our My Disney Experience app and saw that there was a 5-minute wait, so we had to go ride it. That was Eli’s favorite ride of the trip, and one of mine too!


Tomorrowland entrance


Space Mountain

After Space, went back over to the Hub to snap some more pictures and then head into Fantasyland.


Different statues for Halloween


In front of Partners statue


In love with the castle


Can I have this in my house?

After walking through the castle, we went on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Mad Tea Party, Dumbo and then walked over to New Fantasyland to meet Ariel. Since it was still pretty early in the morning, there were very short waits for all of these rides, which was great!


On the Tea Cups

When we went over to Ariel’s Grotto, there was probably a 20-minute wait. I didn’t mind because we had already ridden a good amount of rides and we wanted to kill some time before we went over to Be Our Guest for lunch. We, of course, were the only adults in line without children and I did not care one bit, that’s the fun of Disney, embrace being a kid again.





After meeting Ariel, we went next door to ride Journey Under the Sea. I was so excited to see this ride because I seriously love dark rides like this (Winnie the Pooh, Snow Whites Adventure, Mr. Toads Wild Ride, etc.).


Prince Eric's Castle


I loved this section

I thought the queue was full of details and was so great! I loved the theming of the outside, and when you walked down and boarded your clamshell. I thought Scuttle added a nice touch too as he narrated the story, and even started narrating when you were in line.


Inside Journey Under the Sea

After Journey Under the Sea, we went over to Gaston’s to just look around before we got in line for Be Our Guest.


Eli portraying my favorite villian





Part 2


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[ememtingle]

Day 3 Pt. 2: October 15th


Beasts Castle


Be Our Guest entrance sign

Eli and I were so excited to go to Be Our Guest; we wanted to go to dinner there but could not get an ADR. Lunch was just fine, and we felt like we had such a great experience. We waited outside in line to enter the actual restaurant for about 30 minutes, then once inside we waited another 15 minutes to wait to order. The waiting gave us time to plan what we wanted to do the rest of the day and they also passed around menus so you could figure out what you wanted to order.

Getting in line, and Beasts Castle


Statues on the bridge


Mosaic on the front door of the story of the Beast


Eli in front of the entrance

We were both so excited to go inside and see what the restaurant looked like. Once inside, you are immediately in another line. On both sides of the hall are the talking guards, and they really do actually say stuff, which I thought, was so cool!


The talking guards


Eli in the Beast’s chair

We ordered our lunch with our DDP, and went to go find a seat. We decided to sit in the West Wing section, this section was very dark and felt so forbidden, it was great.

The Beast as a human in the West Wing


The enchanted rose

I had the tuna niçoise salad, which I thought was delicious. I love seared tuna, and this was the only salad I ate the whole trip (oops). And then I had a lemon meringue cupcake for dessert. Eli had the croquet monsieur, and I had a bit and thought it was really good too, and he had the triple chocolate cupcake for dessert. The food did not take very long to be brought out, and it was brought right to our table! Eli and I still are trying to figure out how they knew exactly what table we were sitting at, but it really added a touch of Disney magic.

tuna niçoise salad


lemon meringue cupcake


croquet monsieur and triple chocolate cupcake


the enchanted rose

I cannot wait to go back to Be Our Guest; we had such a relaxing and delicious lunch there. I really want to go for dinner too, has anyone been there?
After we finished up lunch, I wanted to explore the rest of the restaurant.

Inside the ballroom section










The final mosaic


I want this one too

Part 3

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[DizneyDizzy]

Subbed in and all caught up. Fun on Mission Space made me laugh!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[ememtingle]

Day 3 Pt. 3: October 15th

After lunch, we walked over to the new Tangled bathrooms area. I fell in love with this area, so much detail everywhere! We stopped here to take a bathroom break, and I was just blown away with the detail in the woman's restaurant. I love Disney details.

Best bathrooms at WDW


Rapunzel's tower

We continued walking along and making out way to the Haunted Mansion, one of my personal favorites. There was I think a 10 minute wait. I absolutely love everything about the Haunted Mansion.

Haunted Mansion

We had a FP+ for BTM and SM. We headed over to BTM and the wait was already up to 40 mins!
After BTM, we went over to SM. I love Splash, but it was still cloudy out and I was not looking forward to getting wet and then staying wet because the sun wasn't out to dry us off. There wasn't a very long wait, probably because people didn't want to get wet on a dreary day too.
Eli fell in love with splash, and all of the animals and songs.

After Splash, we went back over to Tomorrowland because we had a FP+ for Space. I was so excited to go ride it again!
After Space, we went on Buzz and I did absolutely horrible! I am embarrassed of my score, Eli creamed me in it! I was a bit rusty I guess.
It was getting to the point in the afternoon where the crowds were very heavy and we just wanted to ride a few more rides before we went back to PC. We decided to ride COP and the People Mover. It was a perfect way to relax.

Everyone and their mother going to Space

I had been telling Eli that we had to go to Mickey's Philharmagic before we left because it's one of my favorites.
There was about a 20 minute wait, but I assured him that it was well worth it. We got our 3D glasses and made our way into the theater.

Whoo, 3D

Eli LOVED it as I thought he would! He loved the music and the smells. He still talks about the Beauty and the Beast part and the smell of champagne.
When we left, the sun finally came out! We had missed the 3 o'clock parade, which I was kind of bummed about so we went over and got Dole Whips instead! That I knew would cheer me up.
We waited for at least 20 mins, but I didn't mind because again SO WORTH IT.

Dole Whip in Adventureland

We decided it was time to head back to PC so that we could take a little nap and then get ready for dinner. Dole whips in hand, we walked down Main Street and decided to check out some of the shops.

I love these guys, they're so good!


Oh the Grand


So glad it's finally sunny out



On the bus back to PC, I made friends with a little boy who was probably 5 or 6. He told me all about his day, and how he rode Space and loved it, and how he met Mickey. It was so sticking cute! Just making friends on the Disney bus.
We got back to PC, and I passed out! I think Eli took the time to clean up the room and unpack. I was just happy to be in A/C and sleep. Hehe.

Update!
I totally forgot to add in our Adventureland part! haha!
Well, before we got Dole Whips, we went over and rode Jungle Cruise and Pirates. I couldn't go into MK without riding Pirates

Part 4

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[ememtingle]

Day 3 Pt. 4: October 15th

I was refreshed and so excited to head to dinner. Eli had suggested a few months before that he had read some great reviews about The Wave at the Contemporary. I think he really wanted to go there for the beer flight.
Our ADR was for 7:20, and we definitely did get a slow start. We we were down at the bus stop for MK at 6:45 (whoops).
After running from the PC bus stop to the resort monorail, we figured we'd end up being about 5 minutes late which wasn't the end of the world...but me and Eli don't like being late and we did not realize how long it was going to take us to get from Pop to MK to the Contemporary.
When we got to The Wave, we were greeted and we told them we had a 7:20 ADR (it was almost 7:30 when we got there). The hostess told us no problem and we waited in the waiting area for not even 5 minutes before out buzzer went off.

In the very blue waiting area

We were seated at a four top table which was nice because we were used to sitting at small two tops.
When our waiter came, Eli ordered the beer flight as I predicted and I just had a water or something since I can't drink.

Beer flight


Organic Beer Flight

Eli said that he liked all the beers except the really light colored one. He likes very bitter dark beers. Again, I don't like beer or know anything about it so I'm clueless.
They brought out bread, and let me tell you that was so delicious!! I loved their salted butter and the wheat bread. It was very soft and we got an extra basket before our meal was brought out.
The service was okay, we had a very very nice waiter from Spain. There was a very large group in our section and then halfway through our meal, a Spanish family sat near us and he was paying them very close attention because they could not speak English and communicate with the other waiters. We didn't care though, he understood that he was busy and had to take care of an extra table.

Our entrees came out and I was so excited to eat!

My entree

I had the beef tenderloin, and the potatoes were very fluffy and I loved the veggies with it.


Eli entree

Eli had I think some type of chicken, I can't remember and since they change their menu seasonly I couldn't figure it out. Oh well, he said he liked it. He's not a picky eater.

For dessert, they offer dessert trios which I thought was cool! I have such a huge sweet tooth I can never decide on what exactly to get so it was perfect!


Eli's trio


My trio

So Eli got the I think American Flavors Trio. And I got the Creamy Indulgence Trio. I don't like creme brulee, so I gave my little cup to Eli.

Overall, we liked the Wave and we both agreed that we want to go back on our next trip.
After we finished up dinner, we walked around the Contemporary and hopped on the monorail to head back into the Magic Kingdom since it was open until 11 that night.

Pt. 5
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[ememtingle]

Day 3 Pt. 5: October 15th

Ahh, I love the Magic Kingdom at night. It is my absolute favorite thing ever. I love seeing all of the colors and the lights and it just feels so much more magical to me at night.
So after dinner we hopped on the monorail and went back over to MK since it was open a little later. We didn't really have a plan on what we wanted to do, so we just played everything by ear which was nice.
We had already missed to Main Street Electrical Parade, so we figured we'd just go jump on some rides instead. We had about 40 minutes until Wishes, so we decided to walk around a little bit and then go back to Philharmagic. Philharmagic ended about 10 minutes before Wishes started, and we raced back to Main Street to find a spot. It was packed so we ended up standing behind some tree near the Main Street Bakery.
It was so packed that we just couldn't stand anywhere else, which sucked but we had another MK day later on in the week. We left a few minutes into Wishes because we just couldn't see anything. So we went over to Splash, there was absolutely no wait! I guess people were still at Wishes. We rode it 3 times in a row, and the last time we got completely soaked because we were in the front row. The last time we did have to wait in line for about 20 minutes, but it was worth it of course.
After Splash, we went on Haunted Mansion, I told Eli you get a completely different feel for it at night. Again, there was probably a 10 minute wait for this and it probably didn't even take that long. I love HM and I ride it as much as possible when i'm in MK.

I love the tower at night

After Haunted Mansion, we went back over to Fantasyland to see what we had not ridden and that was the classic, IASW. We just had to do it, and there was not wait so it made it even better. We got the whole boat to ourself.

I'm singing the song while I'm posting these


I love the jungle area


My favorite part

The part had really died down by the time we got off IASW so we decided it was time to start heading out.

Cinderella's fountain


Backside of the castle


Still soaked from Splash

We did stop in all of the shops on Main Street though as we walked out.

Goodbye!

Our bus back to Pop was packed! We had to stand again, and I honestly felt like my feet were going to fall off.
Again, just like the night before we fell right to sleep after watching Stacey and some Disney cartoons.

Continue

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[ememtingle]

Day 4 Pt. 1: October 16th

I know, I know, I know, I have been so behind on my TR. I have been so busy with school and everything, I just haven’t had time to sit down and type them up!
Okay so here we go! I don’t have anything going on today, so I’m just going to type, type, type away.
Jambo! For day 4 we went to Animal Kingdom.
Eli and I woke up pretty early because we wanted to make it in time for rope drop. We were only spending one day in Animal Kingdom, so we wanted to get as much done as possible.
It’s so funny; I am such a morning person while I’m at Disney. But at home, oh no… Don’t come near me until I’ve had two cups of coffee. But at Disney, I’m up, running around, getting day bag packed and ready to go go go. If only I was like that at school…
We went down to Everything Pop to grab a quick breakfast before catching the bus. Eli had I think an omelet or something and I had fruit and some kind of pastry. I am not a big eater in the morning, especially early in the morning. I’ve never been a fan. My family would take us to WDW when I was growing up and we’d go to buffets and I’d eat like one thing.
We didn’t use our DP for breakfast any of the mornings because it was just easier to just pay the $10-$15 each day instead of using a whole quick service or snack credit.

After breakfast, we hurried to the bus. We didn’t wait long, and finally we were off! (Sorry for lack of pictures during this part) The bus was pretty busy and of course I made friends with some random kids that were sitting near us.
We made our way to the gates to get in line.
But first, pictures!



As you can see to the left, there is massive crowd of people waiting to get into the park.



And a quick PP picture with Eli’s crazy bedhead. Oh and a side note, yes my shorts are alligator print. They’re Lilly Pulitzer print called Chomp Chomp, and I just thought they were so fitting for going to AK.



Here’s a close up of the print, too cute!
Okay so we went to get in line for rope drop. There was a massive amount of people standing around. I guess it was because that waiting area is so small and there wasn’t a lot of room for people to stand around, I have no idea. But when they started letting people in, it was just a completely mess.
But as soon as everyone got through the ticket line, the mess thinned out which I was very thankful for. But everyone seemed to be going in the same direction as we were going.
So it was a race…Race of strollers and big groups VS Eli and me. We definitely power walked to Kilimanjaro Safaris. We did bypass all of the families and large grounds. Yay for not having children with little legs with us.



The line for Kilimanjaro was walk on.
When we boarded our car, we got the whole row to ourselves, oh the little thing. Eli and I took turns on taking pictures with my camera and he got a couple on his phone. It was kind of gloomy outside like it was the day before at MK.



And we were off to go on a safari! Eli thought it was so cool that you are literally driving through where these animals live.





I liked this little guy, he looked so sad and lonely…Where were his friends?
Oh, sorry if some of these pictures are out of order!



Oh hey! We match!





Little baby giraffe and his mommy, too adorable, and we had a nice run in with him when we go on another safari later in the day.











Oh you can see a AK researcher taking notes and watching the flamingos.



Oh this guy literally stood right next to our jeep and just stared at us. It was really really creepy. I do not like birds, especially ones that are taller than me…


These guys were behind the mean looking creepy ostrich.



And these cuties wrapped up our safari.
I had not been on Kilimanjaro since they had updated it and took out the whole Little Red part. I was kind of bummed because that was my favorite part! Oh well, we still had fun.

Pt. 2

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[ememtingle]

Day 4 Pt. 2: October 16

Okay, so up until this day, I had never been on Expedition Everest. The last time I went to Disney they were either half way finished with it or almost finished with it. I don’t remember. But yeah, never been on it. I remember always looking forward and going back just so I could ride it.
Well, I did not realize how huge it was! As we walked towards Asia, there it is…Just looking down at you like “yeah, you big chicken I know you’re afraid of heights but come on and ride it”. Let’s just say, I was a little nervous.





When we walked up to get in line, there was a 5-minute wait. We were both very excited. And I don’t even think it took that long to wait. We were both excited because neither one of us knew what to expect.
After making our way through the queue, we got onto the train. And I think we were somewhere in the middle of the train.

That ride surprised me! I had no idea what to expect from any of it. I loved it though. It is definitely one of my favorite rollercoasters at Disney. I didn’t take a picture of our ride photo, I think it was a bad one or something, I don’t remember.
After coming out of the gift shop, we saw that there was a 5-minute wait again, so we rode it again! Two in a row! And yes, we got the front row. That is a completely different experience! Going down the big drop, you feel like you’re going to fall out. It was so scary, but a lot of fun.

After double Expedition Everest, we had a FP+ for Dinosaur. I remember being little and going on this and crying because of the huge Carnotaurus that jumps out at you. So I didn’t tell Eli what the ride was or what it was about because I wanted him to scream like a little girl.
Oh my god! I wish my ride photo picture wasn’t blurry. It is hilarious!! Eli, did not scream like a little girl…He laughed. He thought the ride was fun! Even though I knew what to expect, I still screamed…No tears though!
Okay, well the run down of the picture is…half of the car looks scared to death and the other half is just looking blankly at it...It is so funny! Eli and I are both just blankly looking like “oh, that’s it?”

Pt. 3

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[ememtingle]

Day 4 Pt. 3: October 16

After Dinosaur we ran over to Dinoland to ride Primeval Whirl before heading over to lunch. We waited for a while actually, which kind of sucked. I forgot how jerky the ride was, but we still had fun.
We were both starving so we went over to Flame Tree Barbeque to grab some lunch. It was getting really really hot out so we were excited to sit, relax, and eat. I’ve always loved going to Flame Tree, I love their ribs and their outdoor seating.
Eli got the pork sandwich (I didn’t get a picture) and I got the ribs and chicken combo. He did help me eat that haha. Both meals came with cole slaw and mine came with a side of beans. Yumm. I could go for that right now.
We both got the Key Lime Mousse for dessert since we were using our DDP.

I posted this on Instagram while we were eating.
I loved the view of Expedition Everest from where we were sitting.





A baby alligator was chilling out in the water next to where we were eating.









And of course, we had to take some more pictures.

We saw that Russell and Dug were meeting and I was so excited because I had never met either one of them. And I love Russell. “The wilderness must be explored!”
The wait to meet them probably took 15 minutes. There was a really big group in front of us that had to get individual pictures with everyone in their group, but we didn’t care though, we were in no rush.



Oh I loved meeting them, we got lots of hugs and kisses from both of them, it made me so happy. And Dug and Russell were actually Eli’s very first non-face character!
After meeting Dug and Russell, we checked our Disney Experience app to see what the lines were like, and Expedition Everest had a 10-minute wait, so of course we had to go ride it.
After waiting in line, we were in the second car. We both had a blast, for a third time.
Here is finally a good ride photo from it.



I honestly look absolutely horrified…It’s not like I didn’t know what to expect!

After riding it for the third time, we checked out a couple of shops just looking at pins and what not. We had FP+ reservations for Expadision Everest later in the afternoon and then one for Kalli River Rapids. So we tried to figure out what we wanted to do next before our Fastpasses….

Pt. 4
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[ememtingle]

Day 4 Pt. 4 October 16th

So I had not seen Festival of the Lion King in I don’t even know how long. It’s always been one of my favorite shows at Disney, so since we had time to kill, we decided to head over to Camp Minnie Mickey.
We literally got there right on time. The show started as soon as we sat down.







Sorry these pictures aren’t the best quality, they were taken on my phone. Whoops.
I have always loved Festival of the Lion King. So of course, I began to tear up a little bit during “Can you feel the love tonight”. Eli loved the show too, he was so impressed with the gymnastics.

As we were walking out of Camp Minnie Mickey, Eli suggested we go see “It’s Tough to be a Bug”. I remember seeing this show when I was like 7 or 8, and being scared to death…But I was 20 now so I figured hey! It won’t be bad. We didn’t have any other plans except for our FP+ reservations later in the afternoon.
I thought It’s Tough to be a Bug was really cute; Eli wasn’t expecting any of it! Mwahaha. The part when things are stinging you still makes me squeal though. But there were several families that had to take their kids out of the theater.

I was starting to get hungry, and of course I was craving something Mickey shaped so we went over to a food cart in Africa because they had Mickey pretzels. Yummmm!



I posted this on instagram too. Oh man, that pretzel was delicious! Eli got the jalapeño cheese one, and I had a bite or two and his was really tasty too.
Since we were in Africa, we thought why not go on another safari. There was a short wait, so we got in line.
We were seating this time in the front again and next to another couple. I didn’t take many pictures this trip, I don’t remember why…


Okay, this rhino was literally right next to our jeep. I could’ve touched him if I wanted to. No no, I wasn’t going to, I promise! He just hung out next to us for a while, not moving, not doing anything.
Oh and remember that baby giraffe I told y’all about, well he decided to stand right in the middle of the road and not move…for a good five-minutes. It was really funny because he mom was just looking at him like “umm, what are you doing”. It was very entertaining. The sun was out and it was so nice out that all of the animals were out and about.



Eli really wanted to go to the Pangani Forest trail, and I was totally fine to do that. I did have a headache from the heat, but I wanted to see the gorillas.

These gorillas were so funny!!


Yes, this one is eating something standing up…I was so entertained watching them. Ha ha!



This one would push the ball and then throw it, and then push it again.







And then he looked like he was pouting.



And then this one was just staring at us for a really long time.

Continuing the walk, we saw this guy hiding…



It took me a while to even notice he was there!





I love the Tree of Life; I think it is so beautiful. Especially on a beautiful day like this!

After our trek, it was time for Expedition Everest fastpass. We were put all the way in the back this time, which was COMPLETLEY different than being in the front.
But after the part when you go backwards, and the yeti breaks the tracks before the drop, we were stopped…for a while too. It was kind of freaky because it was kind of cold and dark and spooky. I did not like it at all! No one was talking and then all of a sudden, down we went.



You feel like you are being pulled down! It’s so crazy!!

I don’t have any more pictures from the rest of our afternoon…boohoo.
But here’s a rundown of what happened, after EE we went over to our Kali River Rapids FP. We set our stuff in a locker, and had our ponchos on ready to go. Looking like such typical Disney World tourist wimps. Hey! I didn’t want to be soaked before our dinner reservation…Anyways, our magicbands weren’t working for this FP and so we had to talk to 5 different people, okay maybe it was just 2, to try to fix it. Finally, they just gave up and let us go through. Who knows what the hiccup was. We didn’t get soaked on Kali, shocker, and we ripped our ponchos off and hurried to EE to get one last ride in.
The wait was short, again, and so fifth time it was! We sat in the back row again!

After EE, it was time to head out of the park and make our way towards our dinner reservation. Yumm..But where will it be? Guesses?
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[ememtingle]

Day 4 Pt. 5: Dreaming of Butter Chicken and Naan

We were heading over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for dinner! And I was so excited because I had only been here once. And I had never been to Kidani Village, which is where we were eating. Yepp, we were going to Sanaa and we were both so excited for this meal. Eli and I love exotic food, especially Indian food, naan bread has a very special place in my heart…and in my belly.
We had a pretty early dinner reservation; I think it was at 5:20 or 5:30. I wanted the reservation to be while it was still light out so we could see the animals outside the large windows, and also get a chance to walk around the grounds.
The bus pulled up and we made our way into the resort, drop, dead, gorgeous! There is so much detail around the lobby, in the lights and the thratched roof and the artwork. We didn’t have much time to explore the lobby before we ate dinner.
Eli thought it was crazy that there were animals walking around right outside of the building. There were zebras and a griaff right outside of the window when we were walking down stairs.




We went down stairs and entered the restaurant it was pretty busy. We were given a pager and waited in their waiting area. We ran to the bathrooms to freshen up before the pager went off. Those bathrooms were so nice!
Our pager still hadn’t gone out when I left the bathroom, but Eli said the sweetest thing happened when he was in there.
There was an 8 year old disabled boy in a wheelchair on the bus with us, and was also going to Sanna with his family the same time we were. Eli said while he was washing his hands, he heard the little boy singing to his dad, while he was helping him, the Mickey Mouse Club theme song. Eli said it was the absolutely sweetest thing ever. He said he started to tear up…We still talk about it to this day and it still makes me so happy to think about.



We were seating in the dining room, which was amazing! The ceilings were painted and large columns painted like beads were throughout the dining area. There were large lanterns hanging above. We were seating at a two top kind of near the large windows overlooking the savanna. The chairs were dark wood carved.

I was so thirsty and hungry so we ordered two waters and the Indian Style Bread Service, which I had been looking forward to all day. We chose the tradional naan, garlic naan, and papadum. And then the three sauces were mango chutney, garlic pickle, and I don’t remember what the other one was but I think it was spicy.
We honestly scarfed that down that I didn’t even get a picture. It was so amazing! Our waiter recommend all of the sauces, and he did a great job of picking them out.



Later on, our food came out and I was so excited.
Eli and I both got the slow-cooked in gravy, simple dinner. I picked the butter chicken and the fish with five-grain pilaf.



Eli got spicy chicken and the fish with Basmati Rice.
Oh my lord, it was so good! The fish was my favorite it was so good.



Here is our scarfed down bread service.



And now it was time for dessert! I ordered the Tanzanian Chocolate Mousse.



Eli got the dessert trio. I had a few bites of his, and his was really good. I thought it was cool that both desserts had some personal touches to it. It was different to see.

Sanaa was one of our top three places we ate dinner, we had excellent service and delicious food. I highly recommend it! I did like that we changed our later reservations to earlier in the night because it was cool seeing the animals roaming around outside.

Stay tuned for exploring the AKL after dinner!

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