A Girl's Trip Becomes So Much More! My Trip Report is Posted!! 6.8.11

[TinksThree]

I am enjoying your walk down memory lane.

This line:

had me . I can just imagine.

I love the "picture" of Keith at the Tree of Life.

You were just made to be a DISer - taking pictures of your lunch.

Nice giraffe picture. It must have been pretty close to the vehicle.

I just wish I had been forwarned about the cheerleaders and all...I now know it is common knowledge but I didn't know that then! Chris got quite an eyeful at the pool!

I am glad you are enjoying it! I am having problems picking pictures and not overloading my readers! I took so many!! I commented above on the food pics! It definitely is a DISer "thing"!!

Keith did not know I was doing that so I took a picture and text it to him to show him he was "having a blast"!

I love giraffes!! It was very, very close and I was very excited!!

 

[pinkxray]

I would have never guessed Aurora was from France. I'm not really sure where I thought she was from though.

Your dinner looks interesting. A little too different for us, but it does look like a cool place to have dinner. The belly dancer would have made me eat a bit lighter too.

I love all of your EPCOT pictures I can't wait to spend some time in WS this trip. We kind of rushed through last time and missed so much.

The Boardwalk looks so pretty. I have never seen it in person yet, but from the pictures I see it is on my short list of places to stay someday.

 

[creativeamanda]

You are really getting me excited for June now--I can't wait to be at the Beach Club and at Epcot's back door! I love it!

 

[shera]

wow,love the pre trip report.My dh has never been and my parents have been going with us the past trips too.It works out great.My girls are older too,16,14,10.They love Disney too,just not as much as me,lol.Can't wait til May,maybe we will bump into you guys!

 

[TinksThree]

I would have never guessed Aurora was from France. I'm not really sure where I thought she was from though.

Your dinner looks interesting. A little too different for us, but it does look like a cool place to have dinner. The belly dancer would have made me eat a bit lighter too.

I love all of your EPCOT pictures I can't wait to spend some time in WS this trip. We kind of rushed through last time and missed so much.

The Boardwalk looks so pretty. I have never seen it in person yet, but from the pictures I see it is on my short list of places to stay someday.

Marrakesh was a little different...Madison hardly touched her food. That was unusual since Madison wasn't the picky eater and Chris was but Chris loved this restaurant! They totally traded places for this trip as far as food tastes went!

I love WS! I do think to appreciate WS, though, you have to be willing to explore! I hope that you get the opportunity!!

One reason I am excited about Kouzzina is an excuse to return to visit Boardwalk!

You are really getting me excited for June now--I can't wait to be at the Beach Club and at Epcot's back door! I love it!

I would be beyond excited if I was staying at Beach Club!!! I am glad to fuel that excitement!!

wow,love the pre trip report.My dh has never been and my parents have been going with us the past trips too.It works out great.My girls are older too,16,14,10.They love Disney too,just not as much as me,lol.Can't wait til May,maybe we will bump into you guys!

Thanks and glad you are joining in! Maybe we will bump into you! It seems that the Meet and Greets people have been planning were in parks that we are not going to on the planned day. I haven't been back to those threads lately to see if any new plans have been made.

 

[ksl5f123]

You have the best "stuble upon a princess" experiences. I think "Belle" is the obvious answer to "Which princess is from France?"

I love couscous, but your chicken dish has a few too many olives for my liking. I want to like Marakesh, it just hasn't won me over yet.

The flowers in England were VERY pretty!

The picture of Chris in the hat store made me laugh. I think you wore him out!

 

[TinksThree]

You have the best "stuble upon a princess" experiences. I think "Belle" is the obvious answer to "Which princess is from France?"

I love couscous, but your chicken dish has a few too many olives for my liking. I want to like Marakesh, it just hasn't won me over yet.

The flowers in England were VERY pretty!

The picture of Chris in the hat store made me laugh. I think you wore him out!

The Princesses...Oh yeah...you know all about my Snow White story....

I think I didn't really know where Sleeping Beauty was from...I did know about Belle though!

Marrakkesh isn't necessarily one of my favorites but we did enjoy eating there and we will return one day. My food tastes can be a little eclectic and I like to try knew things. There are some things I don't like though...like liver!!

We were all dragging by this time. It was around 8:30pm and we had started the day by getting to AK at 8:15 am for rope drop. And no mid-day break We were definitely COMMANDO!!! But I "think"- from my memory-Chris was also acting like the Grumpy on top of his head.

 

[TinksThree]

So moving on to our 2nd full day...MAGIC KINGDOM!!!!

Magic Kingdom—Monday, March 16, 2009

On Monday morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel and headed to the bus stop. The gates were supposed to open at 9am and we wanted a good place in line. When we got to the Magic Kingdom, we snapped a few shots of the train station

and then we went to wait in line. We were on the front lines.

This was our view...

We got there at 8am and watched as the crowd built behind us.

By day’s end, there would be a record high set in the weather (92 degrees~~whew!) and over 40,000 people entered the Kingdom! Thankfully, while it was crowded, we somehow managed to accomplish so much this day (pretty much everything we wanted to see)!! So back to the front gates pre-opening. Since we were so early, there was a Cast Member standing at the gate and she “entertained” us with songs and bringing people up to play games. Then the open ceremony began to welcome everyone to the Magic Kingdom. Once that was over, they let us onto Main Street. We made our way down Main Street very quickly but first a quick picture of the castle:

Then we took a left by the Crystal Palace and came to a STOP! This is where the REAL rope drop is!! So we had to wait at the entrance to Adventureland and then walk behind the Cast Members (who strictly enforce the walking rule!!) over the bridge. Then it was another mad dash to the mountains! We got Fast Passes for Splash Mountain and then got in stand-by for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. What a wild ride!!! After we finished riding BTMR, we headed to Adventureland since the FP wasn’t ready for Splash Mountain.
Emptiness on our way back to Adventureland:

Our first adventure was Pirates of the Caribbean! We loaded up in our boat and headed off in search of unruly scoundrels and Jack Sparrow!!

I have always liked this ride! So much fun!! Then we set off on the Jungle Cruise adventure taking in the sights and sounds of the Nile and Amazon Rivers and hearing corny jokes by our guide.

Especially this one...

Finally we made the trek up the Swiss Family Robinson’s Tree house. I remember the first time ever going up the ladders and I was so scared! Nothing to it now!! The Tree House tops have some great views of the park and probably one of my favorites is looking over towards Tomorrowland!!

Chris and Madison on the way up:

Then it was time to cash in our FP for Splash Mountain!! Off to find Bre’r Rabbit and our “laughing place”!!

Splash Mountain is fun and warns that you may get wet! Which we did!!

We had fun tracking Bre’r Rabbit and following the antics of all of the characters. After going down the plunge with Bre’r Rabbit, singing Zip-Dee-Do-Dah and having a great time, we headed towards Libertyland and Columbia Harbour House for lunch. We went upstairs to eat which was nice and quiet and we were able to observe all the happenings on the streets below. We made our way back to the Train Station in Frontierland and rode to Toontown. We knew this would be closing since the new Fatasyland plans had just been announced. Luckily we did get one more chance to return in 2010. Then it was off to “It’s A Small World” (Madison’s favorite…well maybe not) and Mickey’s Philharmonic in Fantasyland. Then we decided to work our way down Main Street.

A few pictures of the mid-afternoon:

If you go back to the 1999 trip you will notice I have this same picture (as above) when Madison was 4....several of the Toontown pics this day were to do "then and Now".

Getting a little busier:

We went into the Emporium to do some shopping and while we were looking, the parade came down Main Street. I got to see most of this parade but Madison and Chris (I believe) were not able to see any of it.

We hung out a little longer on Main Street soaking up the ambience.

A couple of character Meet and Greets:

Then we looked at some of the other stores, got a snack and headed back to the resort to relax before coming back to the Contemporary Resort and Chef Mickey’s!

 

[TinksThree]

hmmm...really thought all of these picture sizes had been adjusted....sorry!!

This was our one day to try the pool with a hundred dozen girls in barely there bikinis...I think we swam maybe 30 minutes. After resting and on our way to the bus stop we walked around the resort a bit:

Chef Mickey’s
Chef Mickey’s is located in the Contemporary Resort. After a little rest, we rode our bus back to Magic Kingdom and hopped on the monorail to the Contemporary.

I snapped a few pictures of on our way from MK to CR:

Our reservations were for 8:25pm and we had gotten here a little early so we decided to look around the resort some before checking in. This is a nice resort but its name fits the style!

Waiting for a table:

Dinner was delicious. It is a buffet and there are many options including prime rib and pastas. There were also a lot of deserts to choose from!!! There were even little Mickey Mouse head desserts! Plus we got to see Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy and Donald Duck!! We hit the jack pot!! After supper, we walked back to the bus stop area at Magic Kingdom and headed back to the resort. Tuesday was going to be an early start since Epcot had Early Entry Hours and we planned to be there before 7:30am!!

I will leave you with our Chef Mickey photos!!

I almost forgot...we walked back to the bus stop at MK from CR so a few nighttime shots:

 

[creativeamanda]

Gosh, your pictures make me miss Magic Kingdom. And I think I need some Chef Mickey's reservations. We had dinner there last year. I wonder if we can get an ADR at this late date.

Great update!

 

[ksl5f123]

You have lots of great pictures again. You met a lot of characters.

The ones of the crowd at rope drop has me . I sure hope it doesn't look like that when we are there! It looks like you had a great touring plan, though. Adventureland seemed pretty empty. Too bad I have little ones who demand Fantasyland. The crowd around the carousel was .

Your food at Chef Mickey looked pretty good. The reviews always seem pretty bad. Maybe it is just a hit or miss kind of place.

 

[TinksThree]

Gosh, your pictures make me miss Magic Kingdom. And I think I need some Chef Mickey's reservations. We had dinner there last year. I wonder if we can get an ADR at this late date.

Great update!

Thanks!! I would definitely give it a shot on trying for Chef Mickey ADRs!! You never know!!

You have lots of great pictures again. You met a lot of characters.

The ones of the crowd at rope drop has me . I sure hope it doesn't look like that when we are there! It looks like you had a great touring plan, though. Adventureland seemed pretty empty. Too bad I have little ones who demand Fantasyland. The crowd around the carousel was .

Your food at Chef Mickey looked pretty good. The reviews always seem pretty bad. Maybe it is just a hit or miss kind of place.

We really saw a lot of characters on this particular trip! I think we had a total of 35 autographs...but some were duplicates like Mickey and Donald.

That crowd was probably the worst I saw. We did go straight for Adventureland/Frontierland and probably beat a lot of people that were hitting Dumbo first. However, I think that of the whole week, that was the most crowded day-except for DHS but it was a PM EMH and Fantasmic night which I think added to the crowds. The Fantasyland picture is around 2:30pm so lots of people had crowded into the area by the time I took this picture. Also I use the Unofficial Guide to WDW Touring Plans. I haven't tried any of the others out there but so far theirs are dead on and we make great touring progress!!

And (finally) a quick view on Chef Mickey's: We had dinner in '09 and it was good. Not over the top but the offerings were really decent. Some things were really good and others so-so. In 2010, we had breakfast here and i will nto do that again. Very standard breakfast with disgusting eggs and bacon. I am picky on my eggs so that may be a little harsh but they were not seasoned so very bland and slighty runny. The bacon is made from some product yet to be determined. I think the Imagineers have been experimenting with more than just park upgrades! However, the character interaction both times was awesome and we would definitely return for DINNER for that alone! Not standing in the lines for Meet and Greets is one of our major goals each trip!

Speaking of character Meet and Greets...has anyone seen the new talking Mickey? And that fast Passes will be offered at MK? Just thought that was interesting!!

 

[TinksThree]

Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Epcot and Early Entry Hours

We made it to Epcot and got in line around 7:15 am for the 8am rope drop.

We watched as a black cloud quickly approached and then blew over! Whew!! Dodged that rain bullet!! Once the rope dropped, we made a brisk walk to The Land Pavilion and got Fast Passes for Soarin’. After getting our Fast Passes, we rode Living with the Land
Am I a total geek for liking LWTL??

and then headed out and crossed Future World to Mission: Space. We chose to ride the green side since it was less intense. After our trip to Mars, we then made our way into Innovations and learned about weather. Then it was time to head back to cash in our Fast Passes at Soarin’. Our trip over California was beautiful. After Soarin’, we saw the film “Circle of Life” and then it was time to make our way to Mexico for lunch at San Angel Inn.

Some pictures between Mission Space and our lunch ADRs:

We got to San Angel Inn a little early so we looked around and did some shopping in Mexico. Then we ate under the twilight skies of Mexico and in the shadows of a Mayan temple.

This is a repeat for our upcoming trip!!!

After a delicious lunch, we took the boat ride, The Three Cabarellos, through Mexico in search of Donald Duck.

Poor Donald!!

We then made our way to Norway where we spent a brief period looking in the stores before going to China. In China, we spent a while looking in the stores and around the garden areas and inside the temple. We did not wait to watch the movie though. We also saw some people doing “Kim Possible” and thought that looked real cool and put it on our to do list for Friday.

I find it hard to decide which country is my favorite. Each time I think of one I can then think of numerous reasons why another country is great. I just love looking around China...I think it is so lovely!Then we crossed through The Outpost and into Germany. There is not much here if you aren’t looking for beer and pretzels. We did see the miniature train and had fun looking for all of the little things in the town and countryside. We even spotted Donald as he waved at a passing train!!

We had Fast Passes for Test Track so we left Germany and made our way back into Future World. As luck would have it, Test Track was shut down due to mechanical issues so we could not ride. We left and went in search of something else to do. We wound up at “Honey, I Shrunk the Audience!” After being shrunk and then reinstated to our correct size (plus being sniffed by a gigantic dog!!) we left the building to find really cool fountains. Epcot has fountains everywhere, but this one was a series of 4-5 separate fountains that were timed so that the water “jumped” from one fountain to the next. Chris decided to try and “catch” one of the jumping streams. He was successful but also got soaked in the process. I don’t think he was complaining any, though, since it was a warm day and he had lots of fun in the process!!

Continued in Next Post.....

 

[TinksThree]

Then we headed back across Future World and I saw Club Cool…how could I almost forget about this place?! This was one of the places I had in my notes that I really wanted to “treat” Madison and Chris too!! So we entered Club Cool and headed to one of the soda fountains. Club Cool is sponsored by Coke and they have various fountains where you can try sodas from around the world…FOR FREE!! Once we get to the fountain everyone gets a cup and chooses one to try. I chose the Beverly from Italy for Madison and Chris. Then I got my camera ready. I was not disappointed!! Chris was first. He tried it

and then immediately made a “yuck!!!” face!

Since Madison missed this, she was set-up as well.

It took a little longer for the taste to register for her.

After trying the gross one, we tried some good ones and some so-so ones before checking out the Coca-Cola store.

We decided to go to the hotel and swim before going back to Magic Kingdom. Originally the plan was to either go to Wilderness Lodge and rent a SEARAY or go straight to Magic Kingdom and knock out a few rides before night fell. But after a day of walking in the heat, we decided a rest sounded best. First though, the decision was made to see if we could cash in those Test Track Fast Passes. It was operating so off we went to do a test drive! After going through the rigorous tests, we made our way back to the bus stop and headed to the resort for a rest. A few pictures of the Flower and Garden Topiaries on the way out:

After resting for an hour or so, we headed to Magic Kingdom and the Haunted Mansion! The wait was about 30 minutes so we jumped in line and waited to be spooked.

I love the tombstones!!

After leaving Haunted Mansion we headed to Pecos Bills for some supper and to line up for Spectromagic. I started to realize we might not be in the best spot if we wanted to see Wishes afterwards, so we began walking towards LibertyLand. We climbed onto a planter next to the Christmas Shoppe and watched the parade over people’s heads. It was an okay spot…not great, but okay.

As soon as the parade ended we headed behind the Christmas Shoppe, over a little bridge and wound up in the area in front of the castle. We planted ourselves here and waited for the fireworks to begin! Wishes began with Tinkerbell flying from the castle. Then the music and fireworks begin. It is about 15-20 minutes of awesomeness!!!

After Wishes ended, we walked to FrontierLand and lined up for Big Thunder Mountain. This was probably one of our longest waits all week! We stood in line for about one hour, but riding this wild, runaway train at night was unbelievable!! Once we finished here, we began to make our way to the exit. Just as we got to Main Street, Spectromagic was making its 2nd run. We got lucky and got a front row view this time!!

After this, we decided to call it a night!!!

The next day is scheduled to be Hollywood Studios...and we learn a lesson about the importance of Rope Drop and Toy Story Mania!

 

[Moira222]

Wow I just LOVE your story! I resisted my usual chatter and read through all of your posts. I love your memories of your first view of the castle and your visits. they are great

I've subbed for now, can't wait to hear what you've learned about rope drop at DHS bcuz we are going for this in May as well (we will miss you by about a week)

 

[pinkxray]

I love your Mk and EPCOT updates! Your family always seems to pick TS places that DH and DD would hate if I booked so I love seeing the pictures. San Angel looks like it would be a great place to have dinner.

The MK picture that you took of the kids in the empty Adventureland is awesome. Last time we were there it was swamped with people I barely even noticed the surroundings.

Ah... the Beverly picutres. We didn't do Cool Club last trip b/c I felt I would be a horrible person if I had my sweet little 5 year old try beverly. Now, that she is a year older and has had another year to work on her attitude I might not feel so bad this year.

I can't wait to hear about your DHS morning. Last year we had the fastpasses from the give a day program so we got right on TSM. This year we will be hitting DHS on SWW mornings. I wonder if we will get to ride TSM at all

 

[TinksThree]

I have added a Table of Contents....or made a crude attempt to on the bottom of Post #1. I do have a question though...How do I get just a title to post and not the hyperlink in full? Even my TR links in my signature are like this. I know there is a way becasue a lot of people do it but I have not gotten it to work!

Wow I just LOVE your story! I resisted my usual chatter and read through all of your posts. I love your memories of your first view of the castle and your visits. they are great

I've subbed for now, can't wait to hear what you've learned about rope drop at DHS bcuz we are going for this in May as well (we will miss you by about a week)

I am so glad you are joining in! We had such an awesome trip in '09 that it is hard to leave much out! Every one of our trips have been special in different ways!!

I hear May is a really nice time to go!

I love your Mk and EPCOT updates! Your family always seems to pick TS places that DH and DD would hate if I booked so I love seeing the pictures. San Angel looks like it would be a great place to have dinner.

The MK picture that you took of the kids in the empty Adventureland is awesome. Last time we were there it was swamped with people I barely even noticed the surroundings.

Ah... the Beverly picutres. We didn't do Cool Club last trip b/c I felt I would be a horrible person if I had my sweet little 5 year old try beverly. Now, that she is a year older and has had another year to work on her attitude I might not feel so bad this year.

I can't wait to hear about your DHS morning. Last year we had the fastpasses from the give a day program so we got right on TSM. This year we will be hitting DHS on SWW mornings. I wonder if we will get to ride TSM at all

We were very adventerous on this trip with our ADRs. I tried for lots of variety and it worked okay. I am thankful my family isn't super picky though! Adding the extra days caused my OCD planning go crazy on new ADRs. It was like a whole new window of opportunity opened up!TSM and Rope Drop is almost a necessity if you want to hit other headliners....but more to come on that one!!

 

[creativeamanda]

Someday, I want to see the flower and garden festival! They are so pretty!

 

[Cindy-rella]

Hi! New to your pre-trip report. We are going this June and I found your old trip report from last June. I am enjoying this very much! Love all the pictures!
We are doing San Angel's Inn for the first time this trip! Your pics make me excited!

 

[TinksThree]

Someday, I want to see the flower and garden festival! They are so pretty!

I loved the flower and garden festival! It was so pretty and totally amazing how they made everything!

Hi! New to your pre-trip report. We are going this June and I found your old trip report from last June. I am enjoying this very much! Love all the pictures!
We are doing San Angel's Inn for the first time this trip! Your pics make me excited!

So glad you have joined in and are enjoying the report--and last June's too!! I think you will really like San Angel Inn!! The atmosphere alone makes it great for us!