Oh It's A Jolly Holiday With Katie! - Beach Club / Grand Floridian

[TheLittleKatie]

Day 13
(September 14th 2014)
Three parks, one day.
Part 2 – Start pumpin’ up the party now!

We left Crystal Palace just after 10am, and we headed over to Dumbo!
I couldn’t believe we hadn’t been on it yet.
It’s such a classic attraction!

I took a couple of photos on the way over to Storybook Circus.
I didn’t want to forget Columbia Harbour House, aka Broccoliville, aka our favourite quick service restaurant of the year.

The sky looked really pretty behind Peter Pan too.

Dumbo!

“Let’s fly high buddy!!”

I loved the view from the top of Dumbo!
I tried to get a couple of pictures but of course they came out blurry.
This one of Astro Orbiter in the distance was the only one that was ok.

We disembarked from Dumbo and noticed a lonely photographer!
This picture is so funny to me, Jamie is way too cool for school while I’m loving my Disney life

Jamie had some more football to watch at 11am, so we went over to ride Buzz before he left.

This photo also cracks me up, because our “concentration faces” are total opposites.
Jamie’s face is really animated, while I’m super gormless.
No wonder I’m a Hufflepuff.

Neither of us were crowned Galactic Hero, so we had to ride again, obviously.

And this time Jamie made it!
Here he’s quietly cocky, while I’m still Hufflepuffing it up.

And we rode one last time before Jamie had to go, and this time we BOTH got Galactic Hero!

Yay!

Although Jamie gave Eeyore the victory this time.

It was now 10:55am, so we walked back to Main Street and I said goodbye to Jamie.
I was not done having fun yet!
TOMORROW IS OUR LAST FULL DAY PEOPLE.
We’re making the most of this!

I stood on the pavement because Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It was on its way down any minute!

I was amused because while everyone else was parting for the parade route, Jamie just casually strolled down the middle of Main Street, completely oblivious to the fact that he was about to get mowed down by Disney characters…

Thankfully he made it

It must’ve been close though, because the parade came down literally less than a minute later!

I’m SO glad I stopped to watch this.
I cannot believe they’ve replaced it.
I’ve listened to the new Move It, Shake It, “Dance and Play” It on YouTube, and the song just isn’t catchy at all.
It just makes zero sense to me.

(As I said in the previous update, I am not very receptive to Disney’s replacements… It’s something I should work on. But not right now.)

LONG LIVE MOVE IT, SHAKE IT, CELEBRATE IT.

“Heyyyy, get upppp, get looouuud,
Start pumpin’ up the party now!”

RIP MISICI!
I’LL MISS YOU!
Maybe even more than the Backlot Tour.

​

I watched the parade until all the floats reached the hub, then I decided to mosey on.
I didn’t even want to do much, I just wanted to take in the Magic Kingdom and enjoy the atmosphere before we had to head home in a couple of days.

I went down the side of Crystal Palace.

And ended up back at Sleepy Hollow.

It took a lot of will power to not get a Nutella fruit waffle!
But I was still super full from our breakfast and I didn’t want to make myself ill.
Plus I didn’t have my thanksgiving pants on.

Then I walked around the side of the castle and into Fantasyland.

Click for Day 13, Part 3!
​

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Day 13
(September 14th 2014)
Three parks, one day.
Part 3 – Put on your new fall hat, we’re taking a stroll!

When I arrived in Fantasyland I went to Sir Mickey’s, to find the giant!
It actually baffles me how long I missed this for.

What the heck!!!!!
How was I missing him?!?!
Now that I know he’s there, I really love his existence.

Next I went to have a look in Bonjour! Village gifts.
I thought this area was particularly quiet today, but then I noticed that everyone was congregated around the big man himself.

Yes, yes they do.

This shop is adorable. I love the more specific merchandise, rather than all the general Walt Disney World stuff.
I didn’t buy anything, but I scoped out something I was pretty sure I’d be purchasing in the next couple of days

I realised I was starting to melt, so I headed out of Fantasyland and towards the TTA! It was really warm, and I needed to experience that sweet sweet breeze.

I was in love with the walk over to Tomorrowland. The blue skies made everything look so beaut.

Soon enough I was able to enjoy the views and the breeze from the People Mover.

After a pleasant ride I stopped to take some a couple of photos while I decided what I wanted to do next.

I decided to head to Epcot, but there was one more attraction I wanted to do before I left.

Yo ho!

I walked straight onto Pirates, yay.

I sat next to a woman who told me her side of the row was really wet so maybe we should both scooch up and sit on my side.

So we did just that, but when we went down the hill, the water came up over my side of the boat, and we both got SOAKED.

It was pretty funny, we laughed and bonded about it.

The ride ended and I grabbed some water from the Pirates store, then headed towards the exit.

And of course this guy spat at me.
As he does EVERY time I walk past him.

On the way down Main Street I ran into the citizens and their Fall Trolley Show!

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH, I listen to it on my iPod all the time.

“Put on your new fall hat we’re taking a stroll,
The weather sure is fine in autumn!”

OK, it’ finally time to head to Epcot!

Off to the monorails I go.

Epcot seemed busier than usual. There was a CRAZY 10 minute wait at Spaceship Earth…!
WHAT.
Where have all these people come from?!

I was so used to Spaceship Earth having literally zero people in line this trip. I was being such a crowd-brat.

I stopped to briefly admire the Fountain of Nations. I really like these two photos.

Then I went straight through to World Showcase.
I needed to buy another pickle ornament!
This one was for my family.

I got them the same ornament I bought for myself earlier in the trip.
I thought they would find it funny (they did!)

The girl at the register was so nice. I loved her.
She called me “princess” about 20 times

SHE KNOWS.

After I made my purchase I went to admire this shirt again. I was REALLY indecisive about it.
Like I said before, I love the design, but purple just isn’t my colour.
(The grey men’s version looked too big for me.)

I didn’t end up buying it, but I hope Disney comes out with something similar in a different colour soon!

I went back outside and oh my gosh, it was SO warm. These last couple of days had been crazy hot! My face was melting.
Since I’d got what I came for, I decided to head straight back to the hotel. I needed to take a dip in our glorious pool!

So I went back to the monorail.

Click for Day 13, Part 4!​

​

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Day 13
(September 14th 2014)
Three parks, one day.
Part 4 – MAYO BOMB.

I arrived back at the Grand at about 1:40pm, and Jamie was keen for a swim too!

I got changed and put on this cute Pinocchio top.
(For any Brits reading, it’s Primarni’s finest

We went down to the pool and had a nice relaxing time.
Thankfully it didn’t rain today!
After a little while we both felt like we were burning, even after topping up our sunscreen, so we went back inside and napped for 2 hours!
We had only slept 5 hours the night before!

We woke up just before 6pm, and got ready to get some food from Gasparilla.

I got my fave turkey sandwich, and Jamie got pastrami.
(By the end of the meal, he realised he didn’t like pastrami )

I got some mayo, however, there were no caps for the little tubs...
We went outside to eat by the marina.
I had to open the door with one hand, and hold my sandwich (and mayo balanced on top) with the other hand…
You can probably see where this is going…
Of course, as I was walking out of the door, the mayo fell off the sandwich box and EXPLODED on the ground..

MAYO BOMB!

It mostly went on my foot, although some went on the floor / doormat, and a little got on Jamie’s leg.

Thankfully I managed to clean it all up without causing a scene.

But still… How embarrassing. Gordon Ramsey should’ve been there to sort my life out for me.

​

A Cast Member brought out Jamie’s sandwich, and she LOVED my Eeyore bag!
She asked if I got it from the parks, and she was amazed when I told her it was £2 from eBay

After our sandwiches, we decided to go straight to Hollywood Studios!
We got on a bus at 7:45pm and had arrived by 8pm.

We wanted to go straight to Toy Story Mania but the area was closed due to the Frozen Fireworks, so we went to Tower of Terror instead.

We had missed our first two FPs, but thankfully we had one to use at Tower, you know, because it was soooo busy.. (note: sarcasm)

I really enjoy the Disneybounding girls in front of us in this picture!
How cute!

We exited through the shop, and Jamie decided to buy this shirt!

He also bought me some Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups at the register.
He’s so dreamy.

We left the store and the Frozen fireworks were starting!
So we grabbed a drink nearby and sat on the wall opposite Rock n Roller Coaster to watch!

Jamie got a water, and I got a mango slush-type drink, it was lovely.
Mango always reminds me of Florida now.

Fantasmic also let out at some point, so the area got pretty crowded. We were glad we snagged a seat on our wall.
I love this spot.

During the fireworks, a kid ran up to me and grabbed my straw with his grubby little hands!!!
Luckily Mom was nearby, and she was so apologetic! It was funny. She ran to find me a new straw, bless her heart.

After the fireworks, I took my slush and we went in search of something to buy for my Mother.

(Passing through some SNOAP! Of course.)

Mother loves the Muppets so I wanted to look in the Muppet store for her gift, obviously.

Sadly it was closed, but I saw a cute Kermit mug in the window that I wanted to get her.

Then we went next door to ride Star Tours!
WE STILL WEREN’T THE REBEL SPY.
However this was our first trip to Wookie Island, so that was exciting.

As we were heading to our next destination, we saw some kids chasing a family of three ducks near the Hall of Fame Plaza
Two of the ducks ran into Echo Lake, and the other ran into the plaza square. It looked so lost, it was a sad sight! The duck was craning its neck as if it was looking for / listening for it’s friends. Waaa.
We stayed with it for a while and tried to gently direct it to the lake, and it eventually made it, yay!

We went to Toy Story Mania but the line was still 45 minutes! At 9:45pm!

So we went here instead.

It was very boring, as you can see.

(We were in the very back, so it was actually very fun.)

Next, we were really in the mood to play Toy Story Mania, so we decided to just face the 45-minute line.

We actually got through it in about 20 minutes!

And as an added bonus, I won

(I am not a humble winner, and Jamie is not a gracious loser, so these situations can get a little obnoxious. I'm not sure how we ended up together )

It was about 10:45pm when we exited, so we started to head out of the park.

We went in a couple of stores and I found the Kermit mug from the Muppet shop, so I bought it for Mother

Jamie was also tempted to make a purchase…

We exited the park and went to bus stop 4, but the wait for our bus was slightly disastrous.

We saw multiple buses for all of the All Star resorts, two for Animal Kingdom Lodge, and one for what seemed like every other resort…

By the time ours arrived, there were SO many people waiting in line, and it turned out we had to share a bus between the Contemporary, the Polynesian AND the Grand Floridian.

It seems pretty dumb… We were really cramped in.

It’s not a huge deal to me really, but sometimes I think Disney makes dumb decisions. Like if you’re going to make us share buses between three resorts, at least send them a little more frequently?!

Anyway, we made it back to the Grand and went straight to Gasparilla to get some water, and finally made it back to the room by 11:45pm.

Then we just relaxed and watched some Breaking Bad before falling asleep.

I was very content with our great evening at Hollywood Studios, but I was also very sad…

TOMORROW IS OUR LAST FULL DAY!!!

*End of Day 13*

Click for Day 14, Part 1!​

​

 

[TheLittleKatie]

Day 14
(September 15th 2014)
Last day!
Part 1 - World Showcase

IT’S OUR LAST DAY!



Sadness.

It was about 10am before I started to get up and ready.
We have to leave this view soon!
Pictures must be taken.

Today Jamie fancied relaxing in the sun, but I was ready to hit the parks! Today was supposed to be packing day, but packing can wait!! Duh!

We went to get food from Gasparilla together first, and even more last day sadness hit us when we found THIS monstrosity.

Booooo.

We got our beloved turkey sandwich from Gasparilla and sat at the marina looking over the castle, how perfect.

We were going to Magic Kingdom tonight since we had fastpasses booked, so I decided to go to Epcot during the day!
Jamie said he’d come if I wanted, but I didn’t want to drag him around. I know his limits and I think he probably hit them after day 3!!

I nipped back to the room, and took a quick peek out the back of our building. Gahh I don’t want to forget any part of this resort!

Ok, time to catch the monorail to Epcot!

There was a family in our carriage who hadn’t been to Disney World since the parents were kids! They were asking the rest of us for advice on what to do. The Mom got sick for 3 hours after riding Everest, so we strongly advised her against Mission Space orange team! Ugh I hate that ride so much.

I arrived at Epcot at around 12:30pm, and they were starting to set up for Food and Wine! Unfortunately we left just before opening day, but it was still cool to see the decorations.

I headed to the Canada pavilion, it’s so beautiful!

And OMG, I have so much love for the Canada store.
These soaps are awesome!
There’s bear breath, sasquatch sweat, beaver butt and moose spit (among others), but they all smell really good!!

I bought myself a beaver butt flavoured lip balm! It smells of cherries and marzipan.

I also fell in love with these pajama shorts, I went back and bought them the next day!

Next I moved along to the UK pavilion and had a look around.
It was a little depressing since we were leaving tomorrow!!
But I also found it quite amusing, because they sell such mundane stuff.
I can get all of these items at the supermarket 5 minutes from my house, and it’s being sold in Epcot’s World Showcase..?!?!
I find it funny that this is the stuff that we’re showcasing.
They’re not exactly national treasures
Like, "Hello world, I’m British and I’m so proud of our Jacob’s Cream Crackers and Branston Pickle.."

I left and walked past this little wedding area..
Swoon.
A girl can dream..

I headed over to France, their ice cream store is cuuuute.

In fact, the entire pavilion is adorable.

After moseying through France I headed next door to Morocco.

This pavilion is SO cool.
As you go through those back streets you can actually kid yourself that you’re in Morocco for real.
It’s extremely well done.
The stores here sell really pretty jewellery and wind charms and stuff.
Plus, Aladdin and Jasmine meet there, so it’s just a great place to be.

Click for Day 14, Part 2!​

​

 

[NJlauren]

I am in love with the pickle ornament! My daughters name is Dillon and they call be Dill Pickle or The Pickle as a nick name so ever since I read way back in this trip report about that ornament I am determined to get one!!! 28 days and counting!!

I love the story about Eeyore I mean the poor guy is always so sad it must have been so funny to see him acting to happy!!!

Always so hot that time of the year but totally considering a trip that time of year anyway the other benefits look so good!

 

[dancingtodisney]

YAY. And 2 months later, I'm FINALLY about to post my last few updates!

I am just as bad as you!! Although I see you got a good few updates on this morning, I'm still updating mine too from last year I'm going to try and power through over the next few days!

Haha, this is me whenever I'm reading trip reports. If I see some good looking food, I MUST have it

We decided to go with narcoossee's instead of citricos in the end but it's totally your fault that we added another signature haha

I would be SO disappointed to queue up for 40 mins to ride the Barnstormer! We've just discovered a Universal equivalent in the Wizarding World called Flight of the Hippogriff... Don't be fooled by the elaborate theming!!!

YES I totally agree!! Stupid Hippogriff!!!!

You should totally get the Dopey one, how appropriate for your Dopey Challenge! I think it's January right? That seems so soon! I hope training is going well

I think I will, I went a little bit crazy on the DisneyUK site last week and got myself some Christmas decorations including this adorable Dopey

And yes it's January!! AAAAH! It is so close! We just ran our first ever marathon on Monday in Dublin, I had the take steps sideways for a few days and MAN does London have a LOT of steps!

I'm so looking forward to your new trip report, now that I'm living in London I want to get the train to Disneyland Paris at some point next early next year when I'm suffering major Disney blues so I'm interested to read about your trip there....

 

[stitchfan75]

My youngest bought that giant Stitch when we went last month! She also bought a ton of Jammie Dodgers and Twinings tea, both of which I can buy here at our British Emporium store but she had to have Epcot biscuits!

 

[mlegerto]

So glad that you are back.

HAHA...the photopass photos where they centered Jamie is hilarious! You'd think they would know that people want the castle in their photos....oh well.

You have some amazing photos. Love them all!

I love that you and Jamie can go your separate ways so easily - I always think that I would feel weird walking around by myself....I should get over that!

So sad that this trip report is almost over and you are working on your last full day! BUT I'm sure there will be a new TR starting soon on your 2015 trip?

 

[FantasiaMagic]

Hey Alison!! Sorry I've been absent for a while, but I'm looking forward to getting back over to your TR once everything's updated here

Hey Katie! Glad to have you back! And great, thanks!!!

They still had them when we were there recently! I can't find the WDW set online, but they sell the Disneyland version

http://www.disneystore.com/posters-...ttraction-poster-art-pack/mp/1370891/1011901/

Thank you for this! I will definitely look into it

This first photographer has kind of bugged me though.
Well, at the time he was nice and he made me laugh, hence my ridiculous mid-laugh face in the first picture.
But he was moving us into position, and he was telling us to shuffle to the right, and he ended up completely centralising Jamie (who is over 6ft tall), and consequentially blocked off pretty much the entire castle?

Hm yeah that is kind of strange. maybe he was a newer photographer and didn't know it would turn out like that?! You and Jamie still look great in the pictures though!

I got some more OK castle shots of my own, so it ain’t no thaaang.

Beautiful. It's kind of refreshing sometimes to see the castle with no people in it!

After leaving the Magic Kingdom at 1:30am last night, we felt like we were pretty much the last ones out, and the first ones back in!
It was quite the accomplishment.

That is such a cool accomplishment!

Aww, aren’t we presh.

My heart just melted. You guys are too cute!

As we wandered around Main Street, I took the following photo purely because (as you may have guessed) I am obsessed with my dog, who is called Stanley, and it made me smile to see his name right below Walt Disney’s name on these official Magic Kingdom construction signs

Aw that is so sweet! I totally get it. Leaving my dog is the hardest thing when I go away anywhere on vacation - even Disney.

So sweet!

Next up was Piglet!
How super adorable is this little hold we have on each other

Piglet looks so happy you came!

Eventually, Eeyore found our table.
I got up to say hello, but he’d spotted my bag! So he waddled over to it, and started clapping and bouncing up and down!!!!!

Oh my God, I nearly died.
It was SO cute.
I’m going to start pointing and clapping at things that I like.

This picture just made my day. My goodness how cute! Eeyore looks like he has a smile on his face after seeing himself in bag form

What a hard life I lead.

YUM

It took about 25 minutes between meeting Eeyore and Pooh, but it was so worth it.
Look how adorable we are!
I love cuddles with this chubby little cubby.

Yes, I would wait for Pooh too!

We love breakfast at Crystal Palace!

I really have to go there. My mission is the next time I'm in Disney to go there!

The sky looked really pretty behind Peter Pan too.

Gorgeous shot, looks professional

I was amused because while everyone else was parting for the parade route, Jamie just casually strolled down the middle of Main Street, completely oblivious to the fact that he was about to get mowed down by Disney characters…

Thankfully he made it

I'm glad he made it! That could have ended badly

Soon enough I was able to enjoy the views and the breeze from the People Mover.

Gorgeous. People Mover is always a lovely treat.

I walked straight onto Pirates, yay.

GO KATIE

So we did just that, but when we went down the hill, the water came up over my side of the boat, and we both got SOAKED.

There was a thread I was reading on the DIS the other day where everyone was saying how they feel they are getting more wet then ever on Pirates after the recent referb. People did not sounds happy... I think there is always a chance you can get wet! The ride does have water in it lol

“Put on your new fall hat we’re taking a stroll,
The weather sure is fine in autumn!”

I love them! They are adorable - and so much fun to watch!

I stopped to briefly admire the Fountain of Nations. I really like these two photos.

I love these. You take amazing pictures.

The girl at the register was so nice. I loved her.
She called me “princess” about 20 times
SHE KNOWS.

I LOVE WHEN THEY DO THAT! It makes Disney that much more magical

I got changed and put on this cute Pinocchio top.
(For any Brits reading, it’s Primarni’s finest

I love the shirt! Where did you buy it from?!

Of course, as I was walking out of the door, the mayo fell off the sandwich box and EXPLODED on the ground..

MAYO BOMB!

OH NO!

We exited through the shop, and Jamie decided to buy this shirt!

Awesome shirt!

Mother loves the Muppets so I wanted to look in the Muppet store for her gift, obviously.

Another great picture. I love Kermy! Especially in hot air balloon form!

We went to Toy Story Mania but the line was still 45 minutes! At 9:45pm!

Everyone loves Toy Story!

We went in a couple of stores and I found the Kermit mug from the Muppet shop, so I bought it for Mother

What a great mug.

We went to get food from Gasparilla together first, and even more last day sadness hit us when we found THIS monstrosity.

No one ever wants to see that...

I also fell in love with these pajama shorts, I went back and bought them the next day!

LOVE! There are too many cute things to buy in Disney - I always go bankrupt when I'm there!

I'm looking forward to reading the end on your TR, and then I can't wait to hear about your most recent one!

 

[purplelover88]

I'm so glad you're back. Oh no the trip is coming to an end! I understand the feeling about the grand floridian. I too recently stayed there and completely get not wanting to leave!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Holy cow, you're an updating machine! You must be very excited about moving on to your new TR (although probably not as excited as we are!).

There was no one else waiting at the dock, so we had a nice, private cruise.

First, I have to say that your pictures are stunning today - it appears that was an absolutely gorgeous day! The sky is SO BLUE!

Second, a private cruise to start your day? WIN!

But he was moving us into position, and he was telling us to shuffle to the right, and he ended up completely centralising Jamie (who is over 6ft tall), and consequentially blocked off pretty much the entire castle?

I have a friend in college whose high school track coach would always say "-2" (as in, minus two) whenever someone did something wrong or ridiculous or stupid.

-2, Photopass photographer, -2.



However, this picture is great:

Eventually, Eeyore found our table.
I got up to say hello, but he’d spotted my bag! So he waddled over to it, and started clapping and bouncing up and down!!!!!

Oh my goodness, I adore Eeyore! I've excited when he doesn't seem completely downtrodden, so major props to you for making him EXCITED!

We love breakfast at Crystal Palace!

Me, too! Crystal Palace is my favorite pre-park opening breakfast. I love the food (Pooh's Puffed French Toast! Customized omelets!) plus I love the characters. It's definitely a must-do!

Here he’s quietly cocky, while I’m still Hufflepuffing it up

Your Buzz Lightyear pictures are hilarious. I think my favorite part is that you have almost exactly the same face in the first two pictures!

Plus I didn’t have my thanksgiving pants on.

Now that's something we all need at Disney! Thanksgiving pants! (Thank you, Joey!)

Now that I know he’s there, I really love his existence.

What?! I never knew about this! I'll have to look for the giant the next time I'm there!

We went down to the pool and had a nice relaxing time.
Thankfully it didn’t rain today!
After a little while we both felt like we were burning, even after topping up our sunscreen, so we went back inside and napped for 2 hours!
We had only slept 5 hours the night before!

That sounds like a wonderful afternoon - lounging at the pool by a nap. I don't think many of us do this often enough at Disney World - I know I don't!

We actually got through it in about 20 minutes!

They definitely over-inflate the wait times at the end of the day, especially on popular rides like TSMM. Anika and I waited one-quarter of the wait time for TSMM when we were within ten minutes of closing.

It’s not a huge deal to me really, but sometimes I think Disney makes dumb decisions. Like if you’re going to make us share buses between three resorts, at least send them a little more frequently?!

I often have that thought about the Disney buses. I'm sure it's difficult to dispatch and coordinate so many buses, but aren't they used to managing crowds?

We went to get food from Gasparilla together first, and even more last day sadness hit us when we found THIS monstrosity.

I think it truly hits you that your vacation is nearly over when you receive your Magical Depress envelope.

We were going to Magic Kingdom tonight since we had fastpasses booked, so I decided to go to Epcot during the day!

How fun to wander through the countries! Although I love several of the attractions (Soarin', Test Track, Spaceship Earth...) I think the countries and their shops/restaurants/highlights are my favorite part of Epcot.

This pavilion is SO cool.
As you go through those back streets you can actually kid yourself that you’re in Morocco for real.
It’s extremely well done.

I agree! Morocco is one of my favorites because of all of the nooks and crannies of fun discoveries, along with the GORGEOUS architecture throughout the pavilion. I think I love it even better at night!

 

[DisneyKates]

We exited through the shop, and Jamie decided to buy this shirt!

OMG!!! I cannot believe they still make that shirt. My dad bought one about a million years ago. I really think he has had it since the 90s. We all fondly call it the "beach shirt" because he insists on wearing it every day we are out on the beach in the summer! When his wears out I think we all might cry. I love that shirt!

Oddly...I lived in the UK (Belfast,NI) for a year and I still miss Tesco's cheap baked beans - the US version is gross - Yop and cream crackers. Totally mundane stuff, but really hard to find in the states.

I can't wait to start reading your 2015 report. This one has been great!

 

[jandlinz]

Great update! I hope you had a great time on your vacation. I can't believe this trip report is coming to an end, but I look forward to a new report about your newest trip. Your pictures of the castle are beautiful. The sky looks so blue.

 

[AndaMinnie]

Jamie, the Oswald Sympathizer, he'll want you to change his icon on mydisney when Oswald becomes available!

 

[BibbitybobityLu]

HELLO SWEET FRIEND I have been completely MIA but I'm back and excited to catch up with you and your plans! I will get right on over there to your PTR once I'm done updating here

^^^^ With regards to your above comment... errrrm, maybe we should just marry each other? Thor and Loki can be our bit on the side.

I'm so glad you are back! Did you have a good time? I've been MIA too lately so I am way behind on everything!

As far as your proposal I totally accept! I'll let Loki and Thor know! I'm sure they will be down. Right boys?

Yep!

My birthday message from Tom Hiddles was just perfection by the way. Thank you for passing his message along!

He's such a sweetheart isn't he? We had so much fun making that for you!

This is EXACTLY what Jamie imagines is happening He just wishes they could all get along like they used to in middle school... He wishes they could make a cake made out of rainbows and smiles and they'd all eat it and be happy.

Errrrm, YES. Of course you can!!!! I welcome as many Tom Hiddleston gifs as a Dis post allows @BibbitybobityLu will always deliver for us

I think we officially just started our Tom Hiddleston Dis fan club!

Pepper!!!!

Ah!! So beautiful!!! Why cant I live there?!

HUH?!
Is it just me, or is that a weird thing to do?!
Surely it’s better to get the castle like, right between our heads?!

That is so random! Hey I know I'll make it look like this guy has a castle growing out of his head cause that is what all the cool kids are doing these days!

This is so perfect!

Aww, aren’t we presh.

Now I really hope Jamie isn't your brother!
Such a cute couple!

We actually had two rounds of the sausage, eggs and bacon!
CALORIES DON’T COUNT WHEN YOU’RE IN DISNEY.

Its true! Everyone knows that!

(I didn’t boost any saturation on this photo – Tigger really is radioactive orange.)

Did someone give Tigger some old skool Sunny D???

Oh my God, I nearly died.
It was SO cute.
I’m going to start pointing and clapping at things that I like.

Awww!! Eeyore is just my favourite sad donkey ever!

We weren’t sure about what is considered proper character buffet etiquette…
We didn’t want to just sit there waiting, so I grabbed a cinnamon bun and FORCED it down.

What a hard life I lead.

This photo also cracks me up, because our “concentration faces” are total opposites.
Jamie’s face is really animated, while I’m super gormless.
No wonder I’m a Hufflepuff.

This is just classic!

I was amused because while everyone else was parting for the parade route, Jamie just casually strolled down the middle of Main Street, completely oblivious to the fact that he was about to get mowed down by Disney characters…

OH MY GOD JAMIE LOOK OUT!!!!!

And that's how he died.

RIP MISICI!
I’LL MISS YOU!

Another great Disney thing bites the dust.

It took a lot of will power to not get a Nutella fruit waffle!
But I was still super full from our breakfast and I didn’t want to make myself ill.
Plus I didn’t have my thanksgiving pants on.

See this is why you always wear your Thanksgiving pants!

Yes, yes they do.

It's true Lefou!

I sat next to a woman who told me her side of the row was really wet so maybe we should both scooch up and sit on my side.

So we did just that, but when we went down the hill, the water came up over my side of the boat, and we both got SOAKED.

It was pretty funny, we laughed and bonded about it.

No one ever thinks they are going to get wet on POC then BAM!

And of course this guy spat at me.
As he does EVERY time I walk past him.

Uh! What a jerk!

I got changed and put on this cute Pinocchio top.
(For any Brits reading, it’s Primarni’s finest

I love me some Primarni! When I first saw this photo for some reason I thought you were wearing a shower cap! That would have been an interesting fashion choice!

It was very boring, as you can see.

Love it!

IT’S OUR LAST DAY!



Sadness.

We went to get food from Gasparilla together first, and even more last day sadness hit us when we found THIS monstrosity.

Booooo.

They try to make it seem all nice and smiley but really its just the bringer of sadness and doom.

Like, "Hello world, I’m British and I’m so proud of our Jacob’s Cream Crackers and Branston Pickle.."

Yep that pretty much sums us up as a nation! Pickled onions, HP and hobnobs!!

But where is the marmite?!?!

 

[beckykarstetter]

Then we went next door to ride Star Tours!
WE STILL WEREN’T THE REBEL SPY.

Um, first time on Star Tours, and my five year old was the rebel spy! I thought of you in that moment.

 

[dmlovullo]

HUH?!
Is it just me, or is that a weird thing to do?!
Surely it’s better to get the castle like, right between our heads?!

Aww! We had the same thing the night we went to MNSSHP this year! The PP was really tall and had a really tall tripod, so the angle completely had us blocking out the castle. I was a little sad when I noticed this.

Super adorbs!!

WE STILL WEREN’T THE REBEL SPY.

Ugh! I go through this all the time too! This year, on one ride I was 3 people away! Sooooooooo close!

TOMORROW IS OUR LAST FULL DAY!!!

We went to get food from Gasparilla together first, and even more last day sadness hit us when we found THIS monstrosity.

On the way home, we refer to it as the "Tragical Depressed"

I love Digestive Biscuits!!! My "second family" (They have been best friends and neighbors of our family for 20 years) is from Scotland so they had introduced them to me. When I went to Scotland with them I was introduced to the ones with the chocolate dipped side! HEAVEN! I love to dip them in coffee! We luckily can get them in a grocery store in our area that has international foods.

 

[HomeSweetDisney]

Hello lady!!! I've missed our Dis-interactions!

Me too!! I'm so glad you're back! Please don't leave that long again!

OMG that little dance/strut that Dale is doing!!! I can't stop watching it, I'm cracking up!

That's cause he's the best

This completely confirms that we are sisters.

Absolutely!

Waaah we didn't end up going to the laugh floor!!! I kept trying to convince Jamie but he always said "I'm just going to end up doing something stupid and you'll put it in your trip report!" ... Doh! He's onto me!!!

DANG IT JAMIE...we obviously weren't discreet enough

I've never noticed this before, but now I'm officially scared of him

That's because he has no soul

I wish you would tell me this more often. Being a beautiful, noble, poetic land mermaid is my life goal..!!!!

As it should be for everyone!

I wouldn't mind walking out to that view everyday!

Here’s our building! Our room is the one directly to the left of the big central balcony. Ie, the one right below the chimney

These views are just...perfection

his first photographer has kind of bugged me though.
Well, at the time he was nice and he made me laugh, hence my ridiculous mid-laugh face in the first picture.
But he was moving us into position, and he was telling us to shuffle to the right, and he ended up completely centralising Jamie (who is over 6ft tall), and consequentially blocked off pretty much the entire castle?

HUH?!
Is it just me, or is that a weird thing to do?!
Surely it’s better to get the castle like, right between our heads?!

WHAT THE WHAT...yes very cute pictures but obviously that PP wasn't paying attention in PP 101 class...like don't place your subjects in FRONT OF THE CASTLE. Jeez...

Aww, aren’t we presh.

Very presh! This is definitely frame worthy!

I LOVE BREAKFAST AT CRYSTAL PALACE.

Who doesn't??? IT'S THE BEST EVER

Jamie was going to just take pictures of me with the characters, but Tigger insisted he gave him a hug!

Tigger is a very friendly sort, isn't he?

Next up was Piglet!
How super adorable is this little hold we have on each other

When we first said hello he gave me a kiss on the cheek! He’s so adorbs.

Awww he's so cute! You both are! What sweet little guy

I’m going to start pointing and clapping at things that I like.

Oh do you not do that already? Is that not a thing? Cause I am pretty sure I do that on the regular

I took a couple of photos on the way over to Storybook Circus.
I didn’t want to forget Columbia Harbour House, aka Broccoliville, aka our favourite quick service restaurant of the year.

YAY FOR BROCCOLIVILLE!! I have a questions...was the broccoli seasoned at all? Or is it just plain, steamed broccoli? Inquiring minds would like to know for their next trip

The sky looked really pretty behind Peter Pan too.

I love this picture!! I love Peter Pan's Flight...such a simple but a classic!

We disembarked from Dumbo and noticed a lonely photographer!
This picture is so funny to me, Jamie is way too cool for school while I’m loving my Disney life

Look at Jamie all cool with his sunglasses. And you're just grinning away I love it! You're both adorable

Jamie’s face is really animated, while I’m super gormless.
No wonder I’m a Hufflepuff.

Eeyore for the win!

It was now 10:55am, so we walked back to Main Street and I said goodbye to Jamie.
I was not done having fun yet!
TOMORROW IS OUR LAST FULL DAY PEOPLE.
We’re making the most of this!

Noooooooooooo, the end is near!

When I arrived in Fantasyland I went to Sir Mickey’s, to find the giant!
It actually baffles me how long I missed this for.

HOLD THE PHONES. I didn't know that was there either!! Now I need to look for that when I am there next year!

Soon enough I was able to enjoy the views and the breeze from the People Mover.

Who wouldn't?? It's such a perfect ride with perfect views

I sat next to a woman who told me her side of the row was really wet so maybe we should both scooch up and sit on my side.

So we did just that, but when we went down the hill, the water came up over my side of the boat, and we both got SOAKED.

It was pretty funny, we laughed and bonded about it.

I have never gotten wet on POTC! That's so crazy! I didn't even know it splashed enough that you COULD get wet I must have just been very lucky all these years lol

And of course this guy spat at me.
As he does EVERY time I walk past him.

Rude! Security!

I was so used to Spaceship Earth having literally zero people in line this trip. I was being such a crowd-brat.

I'm interested to see how your recent trip was crowd wise! I have been reading stories of it being a lot more crowded than in years past

I got my fave turkey sandwich, and Jamie got pastrami.
(By the end of the meal, he realised he didn’t like pastrami )

Oh Jamie

Of course, as I was walking out of the door, the mayo fell off the sandwich box and EXPLODED on the ground..

MAYO BOMB!

That's a lot of Mayo!!!

But still… How embarrassing. Gordon Ramsey should’ve been there to sort my life out for me.

Oh my god, I love him

You both look so content!! Just loving life in WDW

Then we went next door to ride Star Tours!
WE STILL WEREN’T THE REBEL SPY.

Poor guy! I hope he got to be the Rebel Spy on your last trip!!

TOMORROW IS OUR LAST FULL DAY!!!

Nooooooooooo

We went to get food from Gasparilla together first, and even more last day sadness hit us when we found THIS monstrosity.

Well that calls for some of this:

There’s bear breath, sasquatch sweat, beaver butt and moose spit (among others), but they all smell really good!!

I hope they still have these when I go

Ginger Nuts. GINGER NUTS?? Your country is being represented by GINGER. NUTS. I'd be upset too!

 

[Leshaface]

How could the photographer not realize that you're not even centered in between the pumpkins properly?! I know these aren't 'professional' photographers but COME ON!

Oh gaw, this is presh.

We actually had two rounds of the sausage, eggs and bacon!
CALORIES DON’T COUNT WHEN YOU’RE IN DISNEY.

That's right! And for me, they don't count everywhere else either! I'm such a fatty.

(I didn’t boost any saturation on this photo – Tigger really is radioactive orange.)

This one and the Piglet picture actually hurt my eyes for a sec. Blindingly bright!

I got up to say hello, but he’d spotted my bag! So he waddled over to it, and started clapping and bouncing up and down!!!!!

AGH ADORABLE! I can totally him doing this.

Three parks, one day.

Didn't notice your title until now. Woah!

This picture is so funny to me, Jamie is way too cool for school while I’m loving my Disney life

This photo also cracks me up, because our “concentration faces” are total opposites.
Jamie’s face is really animated, while I’m super gormless.
No wonder I’m a Hufflepuff.

And this time Jamie made it!
Here he’s quietly cocky, while I’m still Hufflepuffing it up.

I love you guys!

I've only seen this in pictures! I must see this in person ASAP!

The sky is super blue!

So we did just that, but when we went down the hill, the water came up over my side of the boat, and we both got SOAKED.

It was pretty funny, we laughed and bonded about it.

Guess that didn't work

The girl at the register was so nice. I loved her.
She called me “princess” about 20 times

SHE KNOWS.

LOVE!

(By the end of the meal, he realised he didn’t like pastrami )

Aw now that sucks

Oh yuck. Thank goodness it wasn't something that has a strong smell like BBQ sauce or something

During the fireworks, a kid ran up to me and grabbed my straw with his grubby little hands!!!
Luckily Mom was nearby, and she was so apologetic! It was funny. She ran to find me a new straw, bless her heart.

What the heck?! That is literally super random. It was just a regular clear straw right?!

As we were heading to our next destination, we saw some kids chasing a family of three ducks near the Hall of Fame Plaza
Two of the ducks ran into Echo Lake, and the other ran into the plaza square. It looked so lost, it was a sad sight! The duck was craning its neck as if it was looking for / listening for it’s friends. Waaa.
We stayed with it for a while and tried to gently direct it to the lake, and it eventually made it, yay!

You two are saints!

Brilliant! How hard is it though not to smile?

You won in both points and accuracy! Excellent.

(I am not a humble winner, and Jamie is not a gracious loser, so these situations can get a little obnoxious. I'm not sure how we ended up together )

OMGOSH, my next update I have photographic evidence to prove that this is EXACTLY us!

I need this. (as if I don't have enough at home ) But I don't have a Muppets one Sooo...

By the time ours arrived, there were SO many people waiting in line, and it turned out we had to share a bus between the Contemporary, the Polynesian AND the Grand Floridian.

I can't remember, is this how it always is at DHS? I thought each resort had its own stop?

We went to get food from Gasparilla together first, and even more last day sadness hit us when we found THIS monstrosity.

The most depressing paperwork on the planet. Next to bills I guess!

The Mom got sick for 3 hours after riding Everest

Oh geez that sucks.

I arrived at Epcot at around 12:30pm, and they were starting to set up for Food and Wine! Unfortunately we left just before opening day, but it was still cool to see the decorations.

How many days away was F&W from when you left?

sasquatch sweat

That just sounds nast

I have this too!

These look so comfy. Want. I may as well give DH your TR and tell him that everything on here, I want for Christmas.

But I also found it quite amusing, because they sell such mundane stuff.
I can get all of these items at the supermarket 5 minutes from my house, and it’s being sold in Epcot’s World Showcase..?!?!
I find it funny that this is the stuff that we’re showcasing.

And see, I think all that stuff is so cool, cause i've never seen it before!

 

[TheLittleKatie]

I am in love with the pickle ornament! My daughters name is Dillon and they call be Dill Pickle or The Pickle as a nick name so ever since I read way back in this trip report about that ornament I am determined to get one!!! 28 days and counting!!

I love the story about Eeyore I mean the poor guy is always so sad it must have been so funny to see him acting to happy!!!

Always so hot that time of the year but totally considering a trip that time of year anyway the other benefits look so good!

YES you need a pickle ornament dedicated to your daughter! That's so cute I got a plain one but there are glittery ones and jewelled ones too, they're all really nice fun little souvenirs

September is a great time to go, although we were there this September (22nd-6th) and it was MUCH busier than last year! Still, not unbearable, but we noticed a huge difference. Last year we were there Sept 2-16th, so maybe the first 2 weeks of Sept would be best, if you're actually thinking about it!!

I think I will, I went a little bit crazy on the DisneyUK site last week and got myself some Christmas decorations including this adorable Dopey

This is so cute! Great find, it will remind you of your achievements so nicely

And yes it's January!! AAAAH! It is so close! We just ran our first ever marathon on Monday in Dublin, I had the take steps sideways for a few days and MAN does London have a LOT of steps!

Woo congrats!!! You can run a hell of a lot better than I can, I'm still working on finishing a 10k without passing out

I'm so looking forward to your new trip report, now that I'm living in London I want to get the train to Disneyland Paris at some point next early next year when I'm suffering major Disney blues so I'm interested to read about your trip there....

Oh you live in London now?! I don't think I knew that?! Cool! Is that recent? How are you finding it? a mini break to Disneyland Paris would certainly cure the Disney blues I think the Eurostar leaves from St. Pancras and goes all the way to the Disneyland train station! Super easy

My youngest bought that giant Stitch when we went last month! She also bought a ton of Jammie Dodgers and Twinings tea, both of which I can buy here at our British Emporium store but she had to have Epcot biscuits!

OMG! How did you get it home?! And it's good to hear that she bought Jammie Dodgers from Epcot! Everything tastes better when it's from Disney

So glad that you are back.

Yay thanks! I'm glad to be back

HAHA...the photopass photos where they centered Jamie is hilarious! You'd think they would know that people want the castle in their photos....oh well.

I know, so weird?!? It's not even just the castle, we're not even centralised within the pumpkins - we're totally squashed up to the right!!

You have some amazing photos. Love them all!

Thank you!

I love that you and Jamie can go your separate ways so easily - I always think that I would feel weird walking around by myself....I should get over that!

Nooo don't feel weird at all! I see loads of people walking around by themselves particularly walking around shopping and taking photos. Sometimes it's a little weird when you go on a ride and the CM says "how many in your party?!" ... "Errrm... Party of one.." I'm like yeah I'm a loner, thanks for noticing! But I don't really mind, it usually makes me grin.

So sad that this trip report is almost over and you are working on your last full day! BUT I'm sure there will be a new TR starting soon on your 2015 trip?

Yep very soon!! It's starting off with a few updates of my trip to Disneyland Paris the week before, but I'm going to try to get those out of the way relatively quickly because I know not everyone is interested in that stuff. But I've written out the first day so I'll get it started and all posted today or tomorrow

Hm yeah that is kind of strange. maybe he was a newer photographer and didn't know it would turn out like that?! You and Jamie still look great in the pictures though!

Haha thanks! I look ridiculous in the first shot though, the guy made me laugh. He was a nice CM so I can't be mad about the experience.. Just.. slightly peeved I guess

Beautiful. It's kind of refreshing sometimes to see the castle with no people in it!

Yeah it's great! Although this was like 8:30am and it was totally empty, but we were in MK for pre-rope breakfast at 8 this year, and it was like... busy?!?

Aw that is so sweet! I totally get it. Leaving my dog is the hardest thing when I go away anywhere on vacation - even Disney.

I know! My Mum and I used to take trips to New York every year, but then we got the dog, and now she won't leave the country because she can't bear the thought of leaving him alone!!!! Dogs really are a member of the family though right

I love the shirt! Where did you buy it from?!

Haha thanks! It's from a really cheap shop here in the UK called Primark, it's kinda like Forever 21

I'm looking forward to reading the end on your TR, and then I can't wait to hear about your most recent one!

Yay it's coming soon!! I'll post the last few updates here, then post a link to a new one!

I'm so glad you're back. Oh no the trip is coming to an end! I understand the feeling about the grand floridian. I too recently stayed there and completely get not wanting to leave!

It's so hard to leave this resort! I was thinking "oh.. I'm not posh anymore.." I hope you had a great time!

Holy cow, you're an updating machine! You must be very excited about moving on to your new TR (although probably not as excited as we are!).

I just need this report finished ASAP! Yessss I'll start it very soon! Like maybe tonight or tomorrow I'll post these last few updates then post a link to the new one

First, I have to say that your pictures are stunning today - it appears that was an absolutely gorgeous day! The sky is SO BLUE!

Thank you!! Whenever there are blue skies in Florida I have to take a million photos

Second, a private cruise to start your day? WIN!

I know! People pay big bucks for this treatment!!! Ok, maybe it's not quite the same thing, but still, it was exciting!

I have a friend in college whose high school track coach would always say "-2" (as in, minus two) whenever someone did something wrong or ridiculous or stupid.

-2, Photopass photographer, -2.

Haha I love this. -2 indeed

Me, too! Crystal Palace is my favorite pre-park opening breakfast. I love the food (Pooh's Puffed French Toast! Customized omelets!)

It's sooo tastey, I LOVE the banana bread/cake/ whatever it is

What?! I never knew about this! I'll have to look for the giant the next time I'm there!

I know! I didn't notice it for ages!

That sounds like a wonderful afternoon - lounging at the pool by a nap. I don't think many of us do this often enough at Disney World - I know I don't!

Jamie loves to lie in the sun so I always make sure we make a bit of time for it

They definitely over-inflate the wait times at the end of the day, especially on popular rides like TSMM. Anika and I waited one-quarter of the wait time for TSMM when we were within ten minutes of closing.

They do don't they! This is our theory. I'm sure they do it on purpose to stop people from entering the line

OMG!!! I cannot believe they still make that shirt. My dad bought one about a million years ago. I really think he has had it since the 90s. We all fondly call it the "beach shirt" because he insists on wearing it every day we are out on the beach in the summer! When his wears out I think we all might cry. I love that shirt!

Oddly...I lived in the UK (Belfast,NI) for a year and I still miss Tesco's cheap baked beans - the US version is gross - Yop and cream crackers. Totally mundane stuff, but really hard to find in the states.

I can't wait to start reading your 2015 report. This one has been great!

Wow that's crazy that it's been around for so long! It must be popular

That's funny that you miss baked beans I guess I take it all for granted! To be fair, cream crackers are delicious

Thanks so much I'm glad you've enjoyed it! I'll start posting the new one in the next couple of days

Great update! I hope you had a great time on your vacation. I can't believe this trip report is coming to an end, but I look forward to a new report about your newest trip. Your pictures of the castle are beautiful. The sky looks so blue.

Thank you! I'm excited to start posting the new one too, it should be started in the next couple of days thanks so much for reading along!

Jamie, the Oswald Sympathizer, he'll want you to change his icon on mydisney when Oswald becomes available!

Absolutely! Anything to make Oswald feel included