A Short but Sweet Trip to The World: June 17-21, 2011 Trip Report

[TeachLuvsDisney]

Hello everyone! I'm so excited to be a member of the Disboards community of Disney fans! I've already "met" some very nice folks. wave: to Lisa) I've been reading some of the really great trip reports that others have posted and it has made me want to share my most recent trip with everyone.

I did post a pre-trip report on another site (sorry if that seems disloyal....I wasn't really an active member of Disboards when I posted it). If you'd like to read it, click here.

You may have noticed from the pre-trip report that I changed the name for my trip report. Well, there was still a retiree, a teacher, and a princess visiting WDW, but this trip turned out to be about so much more than just the three of us! (More about that later.)

So, here’s our cast:

Me
This was my 5th trip to WDW. If I had my way, I would visit a Disney park every year and multiple times in a year. (Oh, to dream, to dream!)

DD (guess which one she is? )
This was her 3rd trip to WDW.

DM
This was her 3rd trip to WDW but we really don't count the first one because it was in the summer of '72 and she has very few memories of the trip and absolutely no pictures of the trip at all! Of course that was in the days way before digital cameras. I am so glad we have 'em now because I'm such a picture nut! I sure would love to see pictures of what WDW looked like when DM first visited.

DCousin (DC), DCousin’s Wife (DCW), DCousin’s Son (DCS)

They also have a daughter but she wasn't with us on this trip because she was visiting her grandparents and other family and friends in Ohio. (They also have another one on the way! )

They live about 2 hours southwest of WDW and they’ve been so many times that I’m not sure they can count all of them! They stayed at a Marriott off property for most of this trip.


I do feel the need to warn you that I have a tendency to go on a tangent about certain things and digress. Since I’m totally not in denial about this little issue, I’ll give you little warnings for these tirades like this: SN (meaning Side Note). Yes, that’s my disclaimer statement. Don’t say you weren’t warned!

(SN ABOUT DCW) I feel weird calling her this. We’re friends and scrapbooking buddies and calling her just my cousin’s wife seems so impersonal and so wrong! I feel like I should call her DFriend (DF) instead! Yeah, I like that much better, DF it is! Family by marriage, yes, but friends by choice! (END SN)



For those of you who don’t have time to go back and read my PTR, here’s the Reader’s Digest version:

Friday: Flight super early, Check in at Port Orleans Riverside, Go to Magic Kingdom, Meet DC, DF, and DCS around 8pm, DF and Me to spend late night just the two of us in MK;

Saturday: Epcot with lunch at Les Chefs de France;

Sunday: Hollywood Studios, DC, DF, & DCS leave;

Monday: Breakfast at O’hana, Animal Kingdom;

Tuesday: Visit a park that we didn’t see enough of or chill at the resort to take pictures, shop, or swim.

Of course, not everything went as planned and some of the unplanned stuff was totally better! I’ll point out those things as I go along.

Also, one last thing: Like many other Disney fans, I love trying to do as many new things as possible during every trip to WDW. So, I’m going to indicate our new experiences like this: (NEW). These will be a new experience for me or DM or DD. I think DC, DF, and DCS have pretty much done everything but there were a few new things for them, too.

OKAY, SO ON WITH IT!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TeachLuvsDisney]

Friday, June 17:

DM left her house (about an hour and fifteen minutes away) around 3:45 am. Did I mention that we had an early flight? Did I also mention that neither of us (me or DM) are morning people? (Yeah, I know, all teachers are supposed to be morning people, right? ) DM drove to DB’s apt to pick him up and then they came to pick up me and DD.

(SN about DB) He wasn’t able to go with us on this trip so that’s why I didn’t include him in our regular cast.
He and DS had supporting roles as they helped us get to and from the airport. Thank you so much, DB & DS!!! (END SN)


They arrived at my place around 5 am where they found me (of course) running around like a headless chicken! :hammer: By 5:20 am, we were in DM’s van and headed to the airport, which is literally 6 miles from my apt. (Really, I checked Google Maps, it’s really 6 miles away! )

We checked our bags at the curb for Southwest Airlines. When we booked our trip, I totally forgot to request two DME tags for each of us. I really, really tried to get everything into one bag for our trip since we only had one tag. (Surely I should be able to do that since it’s just 4 nights, 4 ½ days, right? NOT!) I talked with the guy tagging our bags and he explained that it would be no problem. They printed out a white DME tag and attached it to my second bag (DM had two checked bags too). I wondered if I’d ever see it again!

Getting through security and getting the gate was quick and uneventful. However, if you have any question how early it was, does this give you an idea?

Yes, that's right...we watched the sun come up while we waited to board! I probably would've thought it was beautiful at the time if I wasn't still half asleep! But, I didn't stay sleepy long because guess what? WE WERE FINALLY ON OUR WAY TO DISNEY WORLD!!!

 

[TeachLuvsDisney]

By the time we all went to the restroom (Don’t you just hate airplane bathrooms?) and I took a few pics, it was time to board our flight.

It was a very smooth flight and we touched down almost exactly 7:50 am.
At least that was the time stamp on this picture.

She was super excited to be back in Florida!

I just love the way this picture of DM came out!

Hello again, MCO!

By 8:15, we were saying hello to Earport Mickey.

 

[TeachLuvsDisney]

Now, please don’t laugh at me for this question, but does anyone else find that you get totally turned around in MCO while trying to find DME? I guided us to the Terminal B after taking the tram over and we were supposed to be in Terminal A! Ummmm, I mean, oops, we were in terminal A and should’ve been in terminal B. See, I’m still lost! DUHHHHH….I mean it hadn’t been that long since I was there! To make it even worse (okay, double promise you won’t laugh at me) but this is the picture I took as we got off the plane.

I suppose I need to start actually LOOKING at the pictures I take!

We finally found DME, checked in with the cast member at the little desk, were directed to our bus by different very friendly cast member

Staying at Port Orleans Riverside: (NEW)

and then on to our bus…..

Well, no, that wasn’t our bus but this one was beside us. Cool, huh?


and then on to our bus...

Nope, that wasn't our bus either! We had a Mears bus. Okay, are you really on the Magical Express if it's a Mears bus? (Yes, I know, Mears handles all of 'em but still.......)

At 9:21 am, this is what we saw

We're HERE!

We had one other stop at Saratoga Springs before arriving at our resort and we rode by the entrance to the Treehouse Villas. It was nice to ride by our old "home" from 2009.


By 9:37, this is what we saw:

I wish I had taken the time to snap another pic of the front doors so you could see the entrance more clearly. Oh well! (I’m glad to see that my estimate of arrival was pretty accurate based on what I put in my pretrip report!)

After a short wait at the counter, we were finally checking into our fabulous home away from home. I cannot believe that I did not get a picture of the check in area when I usually take pictures of literally EVERYTHING!
Again:

The check-in process was very smooth and uneventful. We couldn’t use the online check-in because we booked our room as part of a group (see my pre-trip report for the details about this). The cast member was very friendly and super helpful with details of our room and details about the resort. The only thing I can say that I didn’t like is the location of our room from the resort amenities.

We were in building 24. I'm not sure if you can see how far away that is from everything in the map above but it wasn't close. Now I know for some people that might not be a big deal. If you’re a park-from-sun-up-to-sun-down kinda person, then our room would’ve been perfect for you. We’re the kinda people who like to stroll down to the food court, have breakfast at the resort (of course, unless we have breakfast ADR’s) or stroll down to the pool or stroll down to do some shopping and then stroll back to our room. This was more like a hike, which is difficult for me (more about that later). I really hate to complain about this, since after all, WE WERE IN DISNEY WORLD! And, you know, at least the hike to our room there and back was very beautiful! (Pics later!)


As the cast member was finishing up our check-in process, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that our room was ready. Room ready by 10 in the morning?!?!

By 10:05, we were taking pics of our Keys to the World, and theme park tickets (we always do this for security and replacement purposes).

I never imagined that our rooms would be ready when we checked in so we had planned to leave our carry-on bags with bell services. Since we were famished, we decided to leave our bags as planned and eat breakfast at Riverside Mill. (We hadn’t eaten all day which wouldn’t have been a big deal at 10 am if we hadn’t been up since 3:45 am! ) Another pleasant surprise (I feel like I should’ve known this already): bell services told us that if we would like, we could be escorted to our room via golf cart with our bags whenever we were ready. Ummmm, yes, we would like that very much!

Well, I'm finally getting sleepy now (couldn't sleep tonight) so I guess I'll post more about our trip tomorrow. Nighty night!

 

[natebenma]

Great start! I'm in! Dee

 

[elder]

Followed you over from Lisa's report!! great job! Can't wait to read more!!

BTW - I am a teacher too!!!

 

[PhoenixStrength]

Hi! I'm following you here from Lisa's TR too

Can't wait to read more about your trip!

 

[TeachLuvsDisney]

Great start! I'm in! Dee

Hey Dee! Thanks for reading! I love sharing my Disney adventures!

Followed you over from Lisa's report!! great job! Can't wait to read more!!

BTW - I am a teacher too!!!

Thanks so much! Thanks for reading! I'm a 4th grade teacher. What do you teach?

Hi! I'm following you here from Lisa's TR too

Hi! Welcome to my trip report & thanks for reading!
Can't wait to read more about your trip!

 

[TeachLuvsDisney]

At this point, I feel like I need to update the information about the rest of our cast: DC, DF, and DCS. A few days before we left, DF texted me to let me know that she and DCS would be able to join us early instead of later today. We were simply thrilled that they would be able to join us early. The more the merrier! DF and I were keeping in contact via text messages this morning in order to try to synchronize our arrivals.

(SN ABOUT DC, DF, DCS) I also should include that I wasn’t sure if our visiting styles would match. We hadn't been anywhere like this with them so I didn’t know how it would go. I wasn’t worried, mind you. But you know what I mean…some people are crack-of-dawn, do parks all day, must do everything type of visitors. Some people are not. (We fall in the NOT category!) You know what I mean….what’s your Disney vacation style? (END SN)

So, after dropping our bags off at bell services, we went to Riverside Mill to eat breakfast.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the part of the trip report where I explain to you where and when I fell in love with Port Orleans Riverside resort.

Yes, that’s right folks, they have GRITS! They may not look so good in the picture, but let me tell you, they were YUMMY! Now, some of you out there are totally laughing at how sad that is of me, that I love this resort because of a food item. However, let me just tell you that I’m a true 100% Southern girl and when I travel outside of the South I always have it in the back of my mind that I’ll never have grits for breakfast. Yes, I am aware that geographically Florida is in the South. However, culturally, Florida is far from the south. Oh, I’m sure there are places in Florida that serve grits but this was the first time I had ever encountered it outside of the cultural South and at WDW. And then, of course, what in the world was I thinking???? THIS IS PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE! DUH! It’s Disney-themed to highlight the best parts of living near the water in New Orleans! New Orleans is in the South! DUH AGAIN! I mean, of course they would have grits! Silly me!

So, we got breakfast and our new resort mugs.

DM and I had the Bounty Platter, DD had the kids Mickey waffles with bacon platter. Why in the world would they put a biscuit AND Mickey waffles on the bounty platter? That's just too much bounty! DM nor I either one could eat the biscuit and I left part of my Mickey waffles.

Needless to say, this first breakfast of our trip was great! The only way it could’ve been better was if Mickey and his friends were to walk up and join us!

(SN about food on this trip) This was the first time we got the Quick Service Dining Plan instead of the regular DP. (NEW) More about that later in the TR. (END SN)

Sometime during our breakfast, I texted my team mate from school to see if they had arrived. They were coming in on a bus that her family had chartered. They were almost there. I was hoping I would see her and her family.

DF and DCS arrived around 11:00 am or so and met us at the Mill.

I can't remember exactly what the issue with the dollar was about...something to do with DM giving DCS a dollar and he said he didn't want it so DF said, "Good, I'll take it." I think that was it. I thought it made for a cute picture!


After breakfast, we went back to bell services to hitch a ride to our room. As we were walking out I saw my team mate at the main entrance near their bus. She was having some problems with check-in and I felt so bad. This was her first trip to WDW and I was hoping that she wouldn’t have any issues since they would only be there for two days. She told me later that it all worked out just fine. I didn’t see her again during this trip. We had different itineraries for the parks and even though we were at the same resort, did I mention that POR is humongous?

So, bell services loaded our bags on a golf cart and we were off to our room. I was surprised that DCS agreed to sit with my mom because he hasn’t really spent a lot of time with her. Of course, she did give him a dollar earlier. Now that I think about it, smart kid...suck up to the lady who gives you money!

I thought this was the sweetest picture (had a difficult time getting their heads AND hands in the picture since I was sitting in the seat in front of them).

DM was holding DCS's hand so he wouldn't fall out of the golf cart. Too cute, huh?

Isn’t this place just beautiful?

I continued to fall in love with this resort the longer we stayed. It’s just simply gorgeous!

We got to our room just a little before noon to find that our bags had arrived from DME.

Well, most of our bags. We were missing the two bags that they had tagged with the white DME tags! Just what I thought! Would I ever see my bag again?

Stay tuned...

 

[TeachLuvsDisney]

My first thought was, “Oh no, here’s our first disaster of the trip: our bags are lost!” My second thought was, “Okay, settle down and just call ‘em!” So, I did. I called bell services and explained the situation. Before I could even finish explaining about the white tags at the airport, the cast member said, “Are you missing a gray bag with a Mickey head on it and a navy blue bag with a strap?” He said, “I’m looking right at them. I’m on my way with them!” Crisis averted!

After the bag mini-crisis (wasn't really a crisis) was all squared away, it was time for Magic Kingdom! DF decided she would leave her car parked at POR and ride the bus with us. It was a very short walk to the bus stop (can you believe that I didn’t take any pics of it???) While we’re waiting for the next bus to MK, DD says, “I need to go to the bathroom.” Now, please don't get me wrong, I love my daughter with all of my heart. I would lay down my life for her if it came to that, BUT, SERIOUSLY, WHY DIDN'T YOU GO WHILE WE WERE IN THE ROOM WAITING FOR OUR BAGS TO ARRIVE????? All you parents out there, you understand me perfectly, don't you?

By this time it was almost 1:00 pm and getting to MK this late was NOT in the original plans! I’m going to have to withhold the rest of this story because I’m afraid it would terribly embarrass DD, but let’s just say that this was the second mini-crisis of our trip and we ended up going back to the room (glad it was a short walk), while DM, DF, and DCS waited for us at the bus stop. The temperature was super hot and as I was walking back to the bus stop I remember thinking that I hoped the heat wouldn’t ruin our whole trip.

The bus came pretty quickly and there were three more bus stops just for POR. Yikes, this place is big! This is also the first time I remember thinking that if we needed to get to the lobby, restaurant, ‘Ol Man Island pool (the main one, the non-quiet pool), we could just take the bus and after three stops, voila, we’re there!

At 1:30, this was the site:

Notice the Mickey head hanging from the tree? I think it was probably part of a kid's balloon but i thought it made a cute picture with the GF in the background! (I'm always looking for something unique!)

Then it was this:

Then came our third crisis of the trip: they were out of ECVs!

(SN ABOUT ECVS) For those of you who don’t already know, I was in a car accident in 1990 which left me with a crushed right foot and a broken left ankle. I was in the hospital for 3 weeks, in a wheelchair for 3 months, and I have a permanent limp which I try to hide by never wearing flat shoes. Yes, I know it’s weird but if I wear about a 2-inch heel, usually a wedge, I don’t limp and you’d think I was just as normal as the next Disney nut! So, anyway, in 2008, I tried my very best to just walk every day in the parks and suck it up. The pain was too much and by the end of the 3rd day of walking all day, I literally had to crawl to the bathroom that evening in our room because the pain was just too much to walk! (Do you see why I was little worried about the room being so far away from the resort amenities now? I promise, I'm really not lazy!) So, I resolved myself to the fact that I have to rent an ECV in order to really enjoy my time in WDW. This being said, I have to say that it really bothers me when I read people complaining about ECVs in the parks. I mean, I know that some people are rude with them and I know that when it gets crowded, that they can be a pain and I’m sure that one running over your foot is quite painful but for some of us, it’s the only way we get to enjoy Disney. I promise that I try my best not to run over toes or block pathways! (END SN)

With no ECVs left, I was really worried that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy MK the way I wanted. But, you know, what ya gonna do? Whine about it or suck it up and move on? Okay, so I whined about it a bit and THEN moved on. I gave them my name and cell number and they said they would call me when one became available.

Oh well......onward and upward....

Then we were on our way down Main Street USA.

Boy, I certainly could've timed that picture above a little better to perhaps get a few people out of my shot. Or maybe gotten closer to The Castle????

 

[TeachLuvsDisney]

These guys helped me get over my whininess and put a back on my face!

My regret here: we didn’t stop and get pics in front of the Castle! I know, I know!

My other regret: we didn't buy a Photopass for this trip. Won't do that again!

Since we usually go right, starting in Tomorrowland, this time I wanted to go left, starting in

First we saw Ariel and her Prince Eric.

I would’ve loved to stop to get pics and autographs but the line was just redonkulous so no pics with the Little Mermaid!

The first attraction we got to was the Swiss Family Treehouse and I wasn’t planning to go up in it this time, but DM wanted to do it, so we did. (NEW)

I can't remember why DCS was grumpy. Maybe the heat?

Now, earlier we had also decided to go left instead of right. I was thinking that the crowds might be smaller because I’ve read that most people have a tendency to go right first. Of course, that theory probably would’ve worked better if we were trying it out first thing in the morning and not at 2:00 pm! Thinking about this now, it might not have been my best idea. Check out these crowds

So, onward to

with Cap’n Jack giving a little show as we headed to the attraction. It was way too crowded to stay and watch or get close enough to hear what he was saying. The line for PotC wasn’t bad at all, about a 10 minute wait and it didn’t even feel like that because the line kept moving. I guess everyone was out listening to the ole Cap’n!


It was about 3:00 when we made our way into the pirates shop. DF went to get the stroller and we milled around a bit. I noticed that DM found a lost little girl and she was just bawling her eyes out, poor little thing! Mom is really good in these types of situations so she took her hand and tried to console her by explaining that we would stay with her until we found her mommy and daddy. After just a few minutes, her dad came over to get her and thanked my mom profusely. He was almost in tears and so relieved to have found her. It felt good (even though I didn’t do anything except stand there with DM and the little girl) that we were able to help her.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I'm so happy to see that you've started your trip report! Now I gotta go back and ready all the juicy details.

 

[TeachLuvsDisney]

I'm so happy to see that you've started your trip report! Now I gotta go back and ready all the juicy details.

All because of your and your great TR and your wonderful encouragement. Thanks for all of the above! It's so much fun to share!

Thanks for reading. Can you tell what an exciting life I have....updating my TR on New Year's Eve!

 

[mickeystoontown]

All because of your and your great TR and your wonderful encouragement. Thanks for all of the above! It's so much fun to share!

Thanks for reading. Can you tell what an exciting life I have....updating my TR on New Year's Eve!

I'm glad that I was an encouragement for you to start. I think you'll find that we are all a bunch of chatters here on the Disboards. Not that I'm putting down the other boards because I am not.

I'm all caught up now and I'm tired from just reading what all you've done since 3 something in the morning.

Oh wait, first, the kiddos are so super cute! You can tell from their smiles just how excited they are to be in Disney.

Ahhhh, grits. How I love them too. Load them up with lots of butter and even add in cheese and I am in Southern girl heaven.

I think you had every right in the world (WDW that is to whine about the park being out of ECVs. I am sure that it's hard to walk around for miles and miles in your condition. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will be the only time you encounter that situation.

 

[TeachLuvsDisney]

I'm glad that I was an encouragement for you to start. I think you'll find that we are all a bunch of chatters here on the Disboards. Not that I'm putting down the other boards because I am not.

I'm all caught up now and I'm tired from just reading what all you've done since 3 something in the morning.

Oh wait, first, the kiddos are so super cute! You can tell from their smiles just how excited they are to be in Disney.

Ahhhh, grits. How I love them too. Load them up with lots of butter and even add in cheese and I am in Southern girl heaven.

I think you had every right in the world (WDW that is to whine about the park being out of ECVs. I am sure that it's hard to walk around for miles and miles in your condition. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this will be the only time you encounter that situation.

Oh, I'm really looking forward to chatting away here. Hopefully, it'll help me with this serious Disney fever that I have right now!

Thanks for the compliments about the kiddos! They do love Disney as much as their mommies. My DD has already asked about going back to WDW this coming summer. That prospect isn't looking too good though. Guess I need to write my own letters to Disney but I'm sure I'll get a generic response just like you did.

Oh yeah, I LOVE cheese in grits! YUMMO! I guess you're not really Southern if you don't like grits, huh? (Although I do know some born-and-raised Southerners who don't like 'em! )

Honestly, I really REALLY hate that I have to use an ECV but you know, sometimes ya just gotta do what ya gotta do. Just makes me feel older than I am. At least I do have that option so I can still visit my favorite place without having to endure a lot of pain.

Thanks again for reading.

I hope to get some other installments up by the end of the weekend. (Back to school Monday!!! )

 

[PhoenixStrength]

I'm tired just reading about all you had done in those first 12 hours of the day! I will admit that I do not like getting bumped or runover by EVCs, but I never think that people are automatically lazy if they are using them. There are rude people that run people over just walking in the parks! My sister has leg issues from a car accident 2 years ago and uses a wheelchair for long distances, so I understand needing assistance to go far. WDW wouldn't be the Happiest place on Earth if you were in horrible pain and couldn't walk!

I can't wait for the next update! Happy New Year!

(Oh, and don't feel bad about updating on NYE, I just updated my PTR too! )

 

[Mommy2BnB]

Joining in. I followed you over from Lisa's report.

I have to say I'm a southern girl that really does not like grits. Sorry, but yuck!

Looking forward to reading more about your trip. My family was there in June. Wish we could go back in 2012, but it will probably be 2013 or 14 before we get back.