Surprise October Trip (Oct. 25-31) - 300 photos! - TRIP REPORT COMPLETED

[themilesfamily]

After meeting Ariel we went on a few rides. It was a busy day at the MK, (the UG rated it a 6 and recommended avoiding the MK), but we didn't wait for anything thanks to the consistent use of Fastpasses.

We rode Peter Pan's Flight:

It's a Small World:

Welcome to the Happiest Cruise that Ever Was!:

And the Haunted Mansion.

I love these three!:

The hearse outside the mansion:

Flowers inside the hearse:

At this point we decided to get some lunch. We headed over to Adventureland and then Frontierland:

We ran into many pirates along the way!:

We originally intended to eat at El Pirata Y el Perico Restaurante, but it was closed. So we kept going until we hit Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe. DH and DD went and got a table and I got the food. It was very busy and I waited a good 15 minutes to get to the counter.

When I got back to our table, (which was at the very end of a long corridor), I think we were actually sitting in the El Pirata dining area as the theme was much more Pirates than Pecos. It was nice -- quiet, relaxing, away from the crowds. Here are some pics of the decor.

My DD sat at the table and played with a little Ariel activity set.:

We had some great burgers. It was a nice lunch.

At this point, we decided to head over to the Wilderness Lodge and get checked in. On the way out of the MK, we ran into a few of the Kingdom-folk.

Goodbye Magic Kingdom, we'll see you tomorrow!

 

[themilesfamily]

We left the MK and walked out to the boat launch. Here are some photos of our boat ride over to the Wilderness Lodge. The boat system was very quick and convenient. The only negative was, when we got cold weather it was COLD out on the boat. Fortunately the Wilderness Lodge is serviced by the bus system, as well.

When we got to the WL, it was too early to check into our villa. We spent a little time hanging out in the lobby and then we read the recreation schedule to see what was going on. There were free crafts in the Cub's Den, so we headed over there.

The Cub's Den is so cute! They were doing color-your-own-puzzles. My DD had a great time.:

Check out these cute toys:

If you're wondering what a typical day of Recreation looks like at the Wilderness Lodge, here is a day from their schedule:

Monday - October 27

1-2 p.m. Pool Games @ Silver Springs Pool. Games include Finding Nemo, relay races, fish wars, and much more. All ages.

2-3 p.m. Magic Cookie Hour @ Roaring Forks. Decorate your own cookie with sprinkles, icing and a touch of magic. All ages.

2:30-4 p.m. Open Crafts & Games @ the Cub's Den

3-4 p.m. Dodgeball @ the beach

5-6 p.m. Crab Soccer @ the beach

9:35 p.m. Electrical Water Pageant on Bay Lake

 

[themilesfamily]

After the Cub's Den, we checked into our 2-bedroom Villa -- Room 2556. Here was the view:

Here are some photos of the master bedroom suite:

And we had many darling towel animals:

The room was wonderful. It was at the end of a very long hall. We didn't mind, but I can see how the long walk back to the room would irritate some.

When we got checked into the room, Marge Peck from We Go Shop showed up with our groceries. I HIGHLY recommend We Go Shop!!! It was SOOOOO easy. You get online, send them your grocery list, and tell them when you're going to be checking in. They buy the groceries, bring them to your room and you pay with a check or cash. (You can also pay with a credit card, but there is an extra charge for that, I believe.)

I bought enough food for breakfasts, snacks, and the occasional lunch and supper. We had more than enough food for 5 days and then some. And the bill was app. $140. A lot less than if we had eaten every meal at the parks or at restaurants!!!

At this point, my sister-in-law brought over Ashley and Bryanna, who would be staying at the Villa with us. Ashley, Bryanna, DD and I hopped on a boat over to Ft. Wilderness to do the Haunted Carriage Ride. My DH planned to a find a place to watch the World Series. We would all meet back at the room later that night.

 

[themilesfamily]

Our Haunted Carriage Ride was scheduled for 7 p.m. After getting off the boat at Ft. Wilderness, we followed the signs over to the petting farm/pony stables behind Pioneer Hall. This was our Haunted carriage:

This was our horse, Prince Charming:

We hopped in our carriage and our driver started down a path into the woods. There was a speaker system in the carriage and a voice told the tale of Ichabod Crane and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Here are some sights we saw along the way:

I'm pretty sure we took the wrong way!:

The Sleepy Hollow Cemetery:

Bryanna & Ashley - we're scared!:

Some old, moss-covered trees:

We also went past the old schoolhouse where Ichabod Crane was the schoolmaster.

As we headed back, we rounded a dark bend and saw the bridge to town just ahead. We knew we had to get over the bridge to avoid the Headless Horseman. At that moment, out came the Headless Horseman himself!:

He was on the side of our carriage and came behind us and followed us to the bridge.

My 4-year old was definitely spooked! When the Headless Horseman came out of the brush she said, "Mama, I'm scared." and crawled into my lap. But as soon as he left and we made it over the bridge it was ALL she could talk about. (And notice she has it listed as her NUMBER ONE favorite thing she did at Disney!) It wasn't scary for the rest of us. Just a fun carriage ride and kind of cool to see the Headless Horseman.

It was $60 for a carriage and I thought it was worth it. I enjoyed it because I'd never ridden in a horse-drawn carriage before. And my 4-year old just loved the whole experience. For older kids looking for something REALLY scary, this might not fit the bill.

By the way, for anyone who loves the old Disney Headless Horseman cartoon, the video is called "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)."

After the carriage ride, Ashley and Bryanna wanted to do the EMH hours at Magic Kingdom, so we took them there by boat. We did get to see the MK fireworks from the boat, which was fun. We walked into the park just as the fireworks were ending and it was a MADHOUSE of people trying to get out. We walked the girls over to Tomorrowland, waited a bit, and then DD and I headed for the exit. We got on a boat surprisingly fast and went back to the Wilderness Lodge.

The whole way home, my DD talked about the Headless Horseman -- whether he would be at our hotel or whether he would show up in our city. One of the walkways at the Wilderness Lodge has horseshoe prints embedded in the cement -- my DD was SURE this was a sign that the Headless Horseman had been there!

We got back to our room and shortly thereafter, my DH arrived back. He had watched the World Series at Disney's Wide World of Sports -- I think he said at the All-Star Cafe? (I'll have to doublecheck that with him.) He had a great time.

And then Ashley and Bryanna arrived back. They didn't stay at EMH that long. We threw a pizza in the oven and I made some macaroni & cheese and we ate and relaxed and headed to bed.

 

[themilesfamily]

We got up the next morning and took the boat over to the MK. We arrived at about 9:45 a.m. to very low crowds. This was one of the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party dates and therefore low crowds because the park was closing early. It was also windy and chilly first thing in the morning!

At MK:

The Haunted Mansion:

Madame Leota's headstone:

Master Gracey's headstone with a red rose!:

Next we hit Philharmagic:

We ran into a very interesting gentleman in line. He and his wife live in China and work for Kodak. They spend two months a year at Disney World at a Disney resort. My DD took Chinese lessons through her preschool, so we gave a little demo of the Chinese we've learned. He thought it was pretty cool that they're teaching Chinese in the preschools now. This gentleman made an excellent point -- if you know English and Chinese, you can communicate with literally half the world! I love that.

Here we are in the Philharmagic line:

My DH wanted me to mention that his favorite moment at Disney was when we were watching Philharmagic (a 3-D show) and Tinker Bell flew out. My DD held out her hand and said, "Tinker Bell, come here!" He thought that was so sweet.

Next we went onto "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh." A. A. Milne is so wonderful.:

Peter Pan's Flight. Always a favorite:

I also wanted to mention one of the castmembers, Grova, who works in Fantasyland. We chatted with her for a while and she was lovely! (I told her I'd mention her in my trip report.)

 

[themilesfamily]

It was time for our 1:10 p.m. reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table. We stopped at a shop, (it may have been Tinker Bell's Treasures?), to get Bryanna's princess outfit. She picked out Belle's yellow dress and she looked beautiful! We also got some Jasmine shoes for my DD, to go with her Jasmine costume.

We checked in at the podium in the walkway of the castle. We then went into the castle and the girls had their pictures taken with Cinderella.

After the photos, our name was called and we were taken up a spiral staircase to the dining area. (There was the option of an elevator.) We saw this beautiful window along the way:

We were seated. I loved the centerpieces -- a little pumpkin coach with a candle in the center.:

Our waiter was very charming!:

I love CRT. I think it is the most beautiful place for a princess meal.:

We met many princesses!

Snow White:

Belle in her blue dress:

Jasmine:

Sleeping Beauty:

Here is my DD's kids meal on a cute Mickey Mouse plate:

After lunch, they do a wishing ceremony. All of the little girls get magic wands and I believe the boys get pirate swords? They turn down the lights, ask the children to make a wish and wave their magic wands and swords, and suddenly the room sparkles and shimmers with lights. It's pretty!

After the wishing ceremony, we got our complimentary photos of the girls with Cinderella. Here is what my DD's package looked like. Very nice!:

The front. (It says in silver writing, "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes."):

The inside. Beautiful!

There were additional 4x6's tucked inside. This all comes with the price of your meal.

On our way out, I took a picture over the balcony. This is where your photos are taken with Cinderella.:

And we headed back out into the park.:

 

[aggie98]

Great pictures!! CRT looks amazing!

 

[themilesfamily]

Great pictures!! CRT looks amazing!

Thank you so much! We've done many princess meals -- CRT, Akershus and 1900 Park Fare. The character interaction at all three is fantastic. But I think the castle setting is by far the most magical place to have a meal. That and the wonderful photo package make it well worth the price.

 

[themilesfamily]

After our CRT lunch, we walked around the castle a little bit. I had never taken a good look at the Wishing Well before, so we spent some time there and took some photos.

We also stopped in a shop and bought some souvenirs. This beautiful princess Minnie was in the corner waving.:

At this point, my DD and I left the park to head back to our hotel. She was in love with the cartoon channel on the resort TV -- she especially liked the Disney Sing-A-Long show -- and wanted to watch some TV and play with her new Disney toys. So we had lunch back at the hotel and supper, too. We also did some swimming that night and just relaxed.

 

[aggie98]

Yay - an update!

Where is the wishing well exactly?

 

[themilesfamily]

Wednesday morning was supposed to be the Albatross Treasure Cruise for Bryanna (10), Logan (6) and Honey (4). It was EXTREMELY cold that morning and I was concerned about Honey coming down with something, as I had lost my voice on Tuesday. Between being exposed to my illness and the cold weather, I thought she was at a pretty high-risk for getting sick.

So we kept her at the resort and let her sleep in. My DH took Bryanna in a cab over to the Yacht & Beach Club and met Logan and his parents at the dock where the cruise was to depart. I told DH that I would join them later in the day with our DD. The plan was for the adults to head over to DHS while the kids did the pirate cruise -- and then all of them would head back to DHS when the cruise was over.

From what I heard, despite the cold weather, the cruise was fun. DH said that Bryanna, at age 10, was BY FAR the oldest one there and there were about nine or ten kids total on the cruise. Bryanna said that they were in a closed boat and they had blankets for all the kids. She said they found the treasure by the shipwreck slide at the Beach Club and they got little treasure chests filled with trinkets.

While they were doing that, I waited for my DD to wake up. When she did, we got dressed, had breakfast, and headed out to start the day. Notice the little Tinkerbell baby that her cousin bought her. She loves that doll!:

We decided to take a boat over to Ft. Wilderness to do a pony ride. First we stopped down at the lobby to pick up our Hoop-Dee-Doo tickets for that night. (We had purchased the tickets WELL in advance, but they hold them for you at the concierge desk.) My DD watched cartoons while I did that.:

We then headed down the walkway to the boat dock:

And hopped on the ferry to Ft. Wilderness:

The pony ride was a HUGE success. My DD had never been on a horse, but I think she's a natural! She hopped right on and said she wanted to ride with one hand up in the air. Here she is on her pony, Butters.:

I really liked the pony ride set-up. The parents take the reins of the horse and walk the child & pony through a little fenced-off course. I like that instead of just going in a circle, it's actually a little path that winds around the stable. If I had to do it again, I would automatically pay for two trips around the path, so my DD would have even more time on the horse.

After the pony ride, we hopped on a bus over to MGM - oops, I mean DHS - where we met up with my DH.

Beautiful Ft. Wilderness flowers - photo taken out of the bus window:

And here we are at DHS:

 

[themilesfamily]

Yay - an update!

Where is the wishing well exactly?

Hi! I'm so glad folks are still following along!

The Wishing Well is on the side of Cinderella's Castle. There is a little walkway that winds around the castle and it's tucked back in an alcove.

I LOVE the little stone mice at the bottom and the stone cat creeping around the base. It's worth stopping to take a look at -- and make a wish! (I'm pretty sure everyone's wish, in my family, was to come back to Disney as soon as possible!)

 

[shoppgirl]

I just found your trip report and want to say what a wonderful trip you and your family are having so far! I am very interested in learning more about the pony rides at Ft Wilderness. My girls love pony rides. Would you mind if I asked you how much each ride is? Since a parent leads the horse, can you take as long as you want to make the circuit? Or are there riders behind you keeping the pace? Was it busy? We are going back next summer and I am looking for little interesting things/activities the girls can do other than the parks since they are not huge ride fans anyways. Especially dark ones!!
Thanks,

 

[themilesfamily]

I just found your trip report and want to say what a wonderful trip you and your family are having so far! I am very interested in learning more about the pony rides at Ft Wilderness. My girls love pony rides. Would you mind if I asked you how much each ride is? Since a parent leads the horse, can you take as long as you want to make the circuit? Or are there riders behind you keeping the pace? Was it busy? We are going back next summer and I am looking for little interesting things/activities the girls can do other than the parks since they are not huge ride fans anyways. Especially dark ones!!
Thanks,

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you're reading along! I would rate this vacation right up there with one of the best vacations of my life. It was THAT great. (A BIG thank-you to the DISboards, of course, for all of the great tips and help planning!)

I checked back in my notes about the pony rides and here's some info:

They are offered from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Children must be at least 2-years old, under 48" and under 80 lbs. The rides are $4 for each trip around the guided path. The pony rides are located at the "petting farm" which is a short walk from the boat dock and Pioneer Hall. (The horse stables that offer rides for older kids and adults are located at the Tri-Circle D Livery in another part Ft. Wilderness.)

The day we went, we were the ONLY people there, so we could have taken all the time we wanted. My DD could have ridden over and over if we were willing to keep paying. They had three ponies available, so even if two other groups had come along, she could have kept riding. Had there been other groups on the trail, yes, we probably would have had to keep pace somewhat, although I imagine they'd space you out pretty well so you're not right on top of each other. The pace that we walked was pretty much at a normal walking speed.

We did our pony ride in October, about 11 a.m., and on kind of a chilly day. On a nice day in peak season, there may be higher demand -- but maybe they have more ponies in the stable on days that like?? I don't know! If anyone else reads this and wants to comment on the demand for pony rides during peak season, feel free to weigh in! I'd like to know, too.

 

[Rora]

What a great TR!!! I love how you surprised your DD! So sweet.

You took some great pictures! Thanks so much for sharing with us!

 

[themilesfamily]

What a great TR!!! I love how you surprised your DD! So sweet.

You took some great pictures! Thanks so much for sharing with us!

Thank you! My next update -- which will be coming soon -- will include some DHS pics and our Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue photos.

 

[themilesfamily]

We only did a few rides at DHS.

We went straight over to the Great Movie Ride which is a favorite of mine. Here are some movie props on display.

A carousel horse from Mary Poppins:

One of Susan's costumes from the Chronicles of Narnia:

Queen Elizabeth's costume from Shakespeare in Love:

We enjoyed the ride.

The highlight: The Wizard of Oz Room!! It's beautiful and really neat to see the Munchkins, the Wicked Witch of the West, etc.

The lowlight: The gunfight between the "gangster" and the person operating our vehicle. We were at the front of the vehicle so the "gunshots" were extra-loud. It was a little too real for my 4-year old. I think she'd have no problem doing the ride again, with a little reminder to plug her ears and some assurances that it's all pretend!

After that, we walked over to Muppet Vision 3-D. We ran into Walt Disney along the way.:

And Snow White & Dopey:

And, finally, Kermit & Friends:

My DD enjoyed the show thoroughly!:

Next we went over to the "Sounds Dangerous starring Drew Carey" ride.

Did there used to be an older version of this ride that had a haunted house theme -- I think Drew Carey was exploring a haunted house? -- and there was some audience participation where audience members got to do some of the sound effects? I just remember the attraction being different the last time I was on it.

After that, we headed back to the bus and back to the Wilderness Lodge to get ready for the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue!!

Hoop-Dee pics are coming next...

 

[themilesfamily]

We took a boat from the Wilderness Lodge to Ft. Wilderness to attend the 7:15 p.m. performance of Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue. There are three performances each night. I believe they are at 5 p.m., 7:15 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. We got to Pioneer Hall about 30 minutes early. They had a tripod set up outside the Hall and were taking photos of the guests. They offer a photo package to purchase, which they bring around during a break in the show. (We chose not to have our photo taken.) It was a little chilly, so we huddled up on a bench and tried to stay warm. There was a cute little gift shop near Pioneer Hall. We spent some time in there.

When it was showtime, they had everyone line up on either side of the porch and they chose a child to ring the dinner bell.

We filed in and took our seats. Our table was one row back from the stage. We were in Category 1 seating, on the main floor. We booked our tickets very early, through concierge, thus the great seats! Something to keep in mind -- the whole experience is LOUD, so if you want a quieter meal, shoot for a table farther away from the stage.

A view of the stage:

A view of the hall:

Our hostess, Betty, who was very sweet:

Here are some pics of the show, which ALL of us enjoyed. My 4-year old was laughing, the preteens were laughing, the adults were laughing. The premise is that there is a troupe of performers traveling by stagecoach and they're at Pioneer Hall to put on a show. About half of the show they do on stage and the other half they get out in the audience and interact with the guests. The performers are just wonderful!:

A guest, in facepaint, willing to play along!:

Playing the washboard:

The food was DELICIOUS! Everything was served family style in big cast iron pots. We had salad, ribs, chicken, cornbread, mashed potatoes, baked beans and strawberry shortcake. Hoop Dee Doo was one of my husband's favorite events of the trip. And he LOVED the food. We all did!

We will definitely do Hoop Dee again!

 

[aggie98]

Awesome pictures! Thanks for sharing!

We wanted to do Hoop Dee Doo but didn't get reservations in time. Next time, right?

 

[themilesfamily]

Awesome pictures! Thanks for sharing!

We wanted to do Hoop Dee Doo but didn't get reservations in time. Next time, right?

Yes, those ressies go fast! Hard to believe it books up THREE SHOWS EVERYDAY all year long. It's a crowd-pleaser, for sure!