7 AM Extra Magic Hours? We're in!...NEW 12/27 p. 31

[PlutosRHM55]

Yay! All caught up! Sorry I haven't commented in awhile. RL needs to start letting me have room for all the DIS stuff that needs attention. But anyways, looks like this trip is ending off nicely. So jealous you got to do Characters in Flight, really want to do that on my next trip!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Great updates! Wow you guys are brave for going in the Characters in Flight balloon! I'm not afraid of heights or anything but something about that balloon freaks me out! It looks like the views up there were really nice!

I keep forgetting that I'm staying in BLT in February and you are staying there in April! I can't wait!

Isn't Fort Wilderness cool? It is huge! I'd like to stay in one of those cabins someday around Christmastime, I'd bring so many lights and decorate it like it was my own home!

Discovery Island is creepy! I don't like taking the boat over there at night, it just looks spooky!

Yay for MK and watching the parade! How did you get such close up pictures of the characters? Your camera must be amazing!

LOL, the balloon is so much fun! The views make any fear you might have worth it.

I can't wait to hear what you have to say about BLT. I am so glad we're finally in double digits.

haha, there was a Christmas show on the Travel Channel one year where they talked about people decorating their cabins/campgrounds for Christmas. It would be fun to see that!

Discovery Island was kind of creepy even when it was open. Yet I still sort of wish it was open. Must be nostalgia or something (even though we only went once).

My camera does have a pretty decent zoom on it and when the floats were right in front of us it was easy to get close-up shots. I do think it's funny though how you say my camera must be amazing. It is an OK camera but I've had it now for about 5 years...I'm actually hoping to get a new one before our trip in April!

Characters in Flight, how awesome! I really want to do that someday! I'm glad they still have it!

Your parade pictures are awesome! That one of Tiana and Naveen is definitely adorable.

Me too! When it was closed for a while I was really glad we got to do it in April.

I know, I love Tiana and Naveen so much.

I agree, writing about the final day is always the worst one. They are a bummer!

I love walking over to DHS from the Boardwalk. Such a perfect location.

I absolutely have to get to Animation Academy in July. It's been on my list forever and ever to do again, and I just keep missing it.

Yay, you did Characters in Flight? That's awesome.

You got some great pictures up there. I'm so jealous.

Yes, I did go to Discovery Island back in the day. I used to love it!

Yes they are. The end of a TR is almost as bad as the end of the trip itself.

I agree. Love the Boardwalk.

YES! Do the Animation Academy! Once you do it you'll want to keep going back!

The Characters in Flight ride was awesome. You should do that too.

I just love that perspective of the parade! I might have to try that sometime. I honestly don't think we have EVER watched the 3 PM parade though...

How fun to do Characters in Flight too! That hasn't been on my radar, due to the price, but someday - perhaps on a solo trip. I'm scared of heights though and it does freak me out a bit. Is the platform you are standing on enclosed somehow?

WHAT?!?! For as often as you guys go you've never done the parade?! I think that should be on your list for February.

Aww, it's really not that bad. Yeah, the platform is almost like a cage that you are standing in. Hopefully you'll get to do it one of these days.

I subbed your new PTR. Thanks for sharing.

After reading all of these PTR, I have decided to write one as well. PTR: Congratulations!! Start planning your vacation!! Surprise you are going to WDW!!

Glad you joined in!

Yay for starting your own PTR! I will have to go check it out.

Great update. Love that you explored so much and had a nice relaxing day. I have never been over to the Fort Wilderness area. There's just so much to see and do at WDW it's amazing.

Yeah, Dad was just saying the other day how he really enjoyed the last day and getting to see some of those new places. I totally agree...that's partly why we did that on our last day!

Sarah, what great pictures from the balloon. I do hope to do it someday too. Looks like the train station would be an interesting place to watch the parade, with a different view of the characters from up there. Earl of Sandwich is my favorite, we ate there twice on our last trip. I really love the Holiday sandwich and the Caprese. The line is always so long, but the staff really works hard to keep things moving.

Thank you! I hope you get to do the balloon. It is a lot of fun and worth the extra money. Yeah, when we went the line was pretty long too but it went really fast.

Wow! So cool that you got to experience Characters in Flight balloon ride! You got some amazing pictures!

Love your pictures of the MK parade from the train station! I love seeing it from that perspective!

Thank you. I loved finally getting to do the balloon ride.

It was definitely different. I'm glad I suggested doing that. haha

On my way!

Yay, glad you joined in!

Yay! All caught up! Sorry I haven't commented in awhile. RL needs to start letting me have room for all the DIS stuff that needs attention. But anyways, looks like this trip is ending off nicely. So jealous you got to do Characters in Flight, really want to do that on my next trip!

Can't wait to read more!

Hi Timmy. That's alright...it's taking me forever to finish this report so you haven't missed too much. My goal is to finish over winter break!

You should definitely do the Characters in Flight. It was such a unique experience. Loved it!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Well, it's been a month since I last posted an update. I'd say it's finally time to wrap up this trip report so I can focus on the new PTR (link is in my signature if you haven't already joined in...it's kind of quiet over there so I'd love to have some more readers/followers! ).

Friday, April 13, 2012 cont'd (part 4)

After our random visits to Fort Wilderness and the Magic Kingdom for the afternoon parade, we headed back to the Boardwalk again for another short break. Just like most of the day, we really had no plans for the evening. But, since we were at the Boardwalk, we decided to go play some mini golf over at Fantasia Gardens. It is a pretty easy walk from any of the Epcot resorts. You just go up past the Swan and Dolphin, cross the street and you're there. I am pretty sure we got some sort of discount for the round, either from our APs or for being DVC members. Usually Dad will ask if there are any discounts for passholders/DVC/Visa card members.

If you've never been to Fantasia Gardens, there are two courses: Fantasia Gardens (the more Disney-themed, family-friendly course) and Fantasia Fairways (which is more difficult, even though I've never played it...but it looks a lot harder). We ended up choosing Fantasia Gardens.

We don't keep score when we play, but it's always exciting when we get a hole-in-one. I had to take a picture of my hole-in-one.

Some random flower that I thought was pretty...this is what I do sometimes when Dad is playing.

Just like at Winter Summerland, each hole begins with a little poem telling you about the hole.

After our round we returned our clubs (the last hole is kind of like a ball collector). I was hoping we'd get another free souvenir golf ball but it seems like they stopped doing that which is kind of a bummer.

From there we walked back over to the Boardwalk and spent some time strolling around the Epcot resorts. I had been talking about wanting to get dinner at Beaches and Cream so we walked over there. Unfortunately there was a pretty long wait so we decided to skip it. I guess that just means I'll have to try again next April! I really want to get one of the sundaes from there. They all look so good.

While we were on that side of the lake, I got a picture of our home for the past week. Beautiful, isn't it?!

Since we weren't able to get dinner at Beaches and Cream we stopped in the Boardwalk Bakery instead. I also got a few more pictures of the Boardwalk. I just love it when the sun starts going down and the lights come on. Ahh I miss it there!

I think I also stopped in one of the shops to pick up a couple last minute souvenirs. I got a couple tins of those character mints (one for me and one for my mom) and a really cute polka dot scarf that has little Mickey heads scattered on it too. Since I'm too lazy to actually take a picture of it I found one on ebay.

Then we finished up our packing and got ready to go home the next day.

 

[dawnbu40]

Your last day was very similar to our last day in Sept. We played mini-golf at Fantasia and then went to Beaches and Cream. It's a fun way to end the trip!

Thanks for the update!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Saturday was the day that we all dread...departure day. Our flight was in the morning which meant we had to be up early for the Magical Express (or as many DISers say, the UNMagical Express). It's definitely not as much fun getting up early when you have to go home. So, we gathered up our things and said good-bye to our amazing Boardwalk view studio. It was still dark out so we couldn't even get one more look at our view. Though maybe that's a good thing because then I might've gotten more depressed.

I usually don't take pictures the day we leave but I did get one of the entrance to the lobby. Good-bye Boardwalk! We'll miss you!

The rest of the day was pretty unexciting. The ME bus came to pick us up, dropped us off at the airport, and we made it home safely.

It's always depressing coming home from any Disney trip but there's always a lot of great memories. Looking back on this trip, I am so thankful I finally got to experience the Boardwalk Resort. As you know it's been my mission to stay at each of the DVC resorts and while I honestly do love them all, the Boardwalk has to be one of my all-time favorites now. The convenience of being able to walk to two of the parks is hard to beat and having a Boardwalk view room made our stay all the more enjoyable. I would love to be able to stay there again some day...and if you've never stayed at the Boardwalk, DO IT! You will not regret it!

Another highlight of this trip was doing the Keys to the Kingdom tour. Dad and I had both been wanting to do it for a long time and we were not disappointed. We learned a lot and our tour guide Robert was fantastic.

And let's not forget about those 7 AM EMH! I think we were at parks for 7 AM openings 3 out of the 6 days and it only reaffirmed why we love doing those early openings. We were able to accomplish so much. I think the EMH are what makes visits during the peak season tolerable for us.

So, I guess that's about it. Thanks to everyone who followed along. It's always fun sharing our trips with fellow Disney addicts. And remember, if you haven't already joined in, be sure to check out my new pre-trip report for April 2013! You can find it HERE. Until then...

 

[cstorm65]

I enjoyed reading your report, especially about the early mornings. We enjoy those as well. We are staying in a Boardwalk View Studio on our June trip so this TR gave us some good info on that as well. Thanks for sharing!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

Over already... It really is the worst thing ever when a trip ends and you are moving slowly and, in some ways, assuredly away from Disney. You want to stay, but you know you can't and you just want to get on with that though at the same time you don't (in simpler terms, it's complicated). Glad to hear this was another awesome trip for you! The BoardWalk does look like a beautiful resort and the convenience of being able to not have to take a bus to TWO out of the four parks. Always a plus! I'm so excited to read your next report since it is rounding off your stay at all DVC resorts so I'm interested now to see which one you think is the best. I'll be over at the PTR and eagerly following along as always.

 

[WDWaddictt]

I enjoyed reading your TR! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Nermel9]

Great updates! Brandon and I keep meaning to go to Fantasia Gardens, but we never make it over there! Whenever we have any free time, we use it to sleep, because we're always so exhausted from the parks! Someday we'll get there, it looks adorable!

Love the pics of the Boardwalk! I love walking around there, so I can only imagine how amazing it must be to stay there, it's such a fun atmosphere! If I go next year (with Brandon, I mean) I'm definitely either staying there or Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Hope you can go to Beaches and Cream in April! I've only eaten there once, and I think it was at like, 4:00 in the afternoon before it got really busy for dinner! Everything was really good, and for some reason, the chocolate ice cream was like, the best chocolate ice cream I've ever had in my life!

 

[marDgreen88]

Fantasia Gardens looks so cute! I always love putt putt!

I really enjoyed this TR, girl! I can't believe it's actually over, I feel like it's been going on for so long! Wahhhh. At least there's still your PTR! Hooray!

 

[Angies1274]

Fantasia Gardens looks like fun! As you know...we love mini-golf so we'll definitely have to look into next time!

Thanks for sharing your trip with us!! What a wonderful time you had!! I really enjoyed reading about it!

 

[PlutosRHM55]

To hoping 2013 is a wonderful year and brings many more magical moments (and Disney trips)!

 

[Pinkocto]

Great ending to the trip. Thanks for sharing the adventure! Mini golf is often on the list but I never get around to it. It's on the list for 2013.

Happy New Year!

 

[RachelNinja]

The views from the Characters in Flight balloon are amazing! I would like to one day do that, but I'm wondering if I'd suddenly be too afraid of heights to try.

I love the pictures you got of the parade from the train station. You can see the hooks and belts and such attached to the characters!

It's always sad coming to the end of a trip or the trip report, but I have to say that I don't get too sad with yours because I know there's another one coming up soon! YAYYYY!!!

 

[Bridora]

I knew I was behind on your trip report - and you've gone and finished it while I wasn't here!

I really enjoyed reading about your Keys to the Kingdom tour - We will definitely be doing this once the kids get old enough.

I loved your view at the Boardwalk. That was one of the things we really enjoyed about staying there.

Sounds like you had a nice last day, well, as nice of a day as last days can be!

I don't usually take pictures on the way out either, it's just too sad. I'm always busy trying to soak it all in so that I'll have enough Disney to last until "next time"!

I'm going over to join your PTR right now!

 

[wdwgirl03]

I enjoyed reading your report, especially about the early mornings. We enjoy those as well. We are staying in a Boardwalk View Studio on our June trip so this TR gave us some good info on that as well. Thanks for sharing!

Glad you enjoyed reading my report. You guys will love the Boardwalk! It is an amazing resort.

Over already... It really is the worst thing ever when a trip ends and you are moving slowly and, in some ways, assuredly away from Disney. You want to stay, but you know you can't and you just want to get on with that though at the same time you don't (in simpler terms, it's complicated). Glad to hear this was another awesome trip for you! The BoardWalk does look like a beautiful resort and the convenience of being able to not have to take a bus to TWO out of the four parks. Always a plus! I'm so excited to read your next report since it is rounding off your stay at all DVC resorts so I'm interested now to see which one you think is the best. I'll be over at the PTR and eagerly following along as always.

Yeah, no matter how many times I go it still is so depressing leaving the resort, leaving the grounds, and leaving Orlando. Sometimes I wish I could stay forever.

It definitely was another great trip and I can't wait for April to go back!

I enjoyed reading your TR! Thanks for sharing!

You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed it!

Great updates! Brandon and I keep meaning to go to Fantasia Gardens, but we never make it over there! Whenever we have any free time, we use it to sleep, because we're always so exhausted from the parks! Someday we'll get there, it looks adorable!

Love the pics of the Boardwalk! I love walking around there, so I can only imagine how amazing it must be to stay there, it's such a fun atmosphere! If I go next year (with Brandon, I mean) I'm definitely either staying there or Animal Kingdom Lodge.

Hope you can go to Beaches and Cream in April! I've only eaten there once, and I think it was at like, 4:00 in the afternoon before it got really busy for dinner! Everything was really good, and for some reason, the chocolate ice cream was like, the best chocolate ice cream I've ever had in my life!

LOL, you should try doing the mini golf sometime. It's usually not very crowded earlier in the day either.

Yes, I was not disappointed in our stay there. I really hope we can go back there some day. I just loved it.

The only time I went was a few years ago and we only went to the take-out counter. So we couldn't get any of the good sundaes. Hopefully we'll have better luck in April.

Fantasia Gardens looks so cute! I always love putt putt!

I really enjoyed this TR, girl! I can't believe it's actually over, I feel like it's been going on for so long! Wahhhh. At least there's still your PTR! Hooray!

Me too, it's so fun!

hahaha, it HAD been going on for so long! I used to be really good at updating my reports quickly. Oh well, atleast this time the end of the TR means I'm closer to my next trip.

Fantasia Gardens looks like fun! As you know...we love mini-golf so we'll definitely have to look into next time!

Thanks for sharing your trip with us!! What a wonderful time you had!! I really enjoyed reading about it!

Yes you should!

Glad you enjoyed reading, Angie!

To hoping 2013 is a wonderful year and brings many more magical moments (and Disney trips)!

Thanks Timmy! Hope 2013 is a great year for you, and that you get to go back to Disney!

Great ending to the trip. Thanks for sharing the adventure! Mini golf is often on the list but I never get around to it. It's on the list for 2013.

Happy New Year!

You're welcome. Hopefully you will make it to one of the mini golf courses this year. It is a lot of fun.

The views from the Characters in Flight balloon are amazing! I would like to one day do that, but I'm wondering if I'd suddenly be too afraid of heights to try.

I love the pictures you got of the parade from the train station. You can see the hooks and belts and such attached to the characters!

It's always sad coming to the end of a trip or the trip report, but I have to say that I don't get too sad with yours because I know there's another one coming up soon! YAYYYY!!!

The balloon really doesn't go that high. I think you should try it. Such a cool experience!

Thank you!

I agree. Thank goodness our next trip is coming up in a couple of months.

I knew I was behind on your trip report - and you've gone and finished it while I wasn't here!

I really enjoyed reading about your Keys to the Kingdom tour - We will definitely be doing this once the kids get old enough.

I loved your view at the Boardwalk. That was one of the things we really enjoyed about staying there.

Sounds like you had a nice last day, well, as nice of a day as last days can be!

I don't usually take pictures on the way out either, it's just too sad. I'm always busy trying to soak it all in so that I'll have enough Disney to last until "next time"!

I'm going over to join your PTR right now!

I highly recommend the KTTK tour. You guys will love it!

Yeah, we really couldn't complain about our view. It was amazing. I wish I was there right now.

That's how I am too!

YAY! Glad you're going to join in.