A Veritable Explosion of Pixie Dust:Our Land and Sea Extravaganza--Update(6/12)

[fnrsgrl]

Welcome to my very first trip report!​

I know I'm getting started a little late, but I'm so excited to tell you all about our wonderful trip. This was my fifth trip to the World, personally, and it may have been my best ever! We took the trip to celebrate my sister-in-law's college graduation, so we had been looking forward to it for four years. It really felt like we had a lot of pixie dust on this trip, just a lot of little things that made the trip that much better. So, enough of my rambling, on to the details.
We visited Disney World, staying at Port Orleans Riverside from May 13-20, 2012 and then took a four-night cruise on the Dream before returning home on May 24.
Our traveling party included:

My husband's parents, Eric and Debbie, who were very generous in planning the trip and inviting us to come along:

The graduate, Beth:

My husband, Josh and me, Brandy:

And for part of the trip, Josh's uncle, Brad:

Here we are together:

As I said, this trip was for Beth's college graduation, but it was also my husband's and my fifth anniversary, so we had a lot to celebrate. I'm so excited to get started!

If you want more details about our trip plans or our family, my PTR can be found here:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=43716434&posted=1#post43716434

​

 

[fnrsgrl]

Before Disney:​

After All, There's Only One More Sleep 'Til Disney Day

Day One:Sunday, May 13​

That Is a LOT of Luggage
A Relaxing Resort, A Beautiful Boat Ride and Dinner in Dublin
A Relaxing Resort, A Beautiful Boat Ride and Dinner in Dublin, Cont.
We're Finally Here
My Siestas Are Getting Shorter and Shorter
Oooo. . . Sparkly!
Winnie the Pooh and Tomorrowland, Too!
Winnie the Pooh and Tomorrowland, Too!, Continued

Day Two:Monday, May 14​

Topiaries, Dragons and The Holy Grail(Grail,Grail,Grail!)
Topiaries, Dragons and The Holy Grail(Grail,Grail,Grail!)--Continued
Topiaries, Dragons and The Holy Grail(Grail,Grail,Grail!)--Continued(Again)
Lunch at a DIS Favorite
I'm Just a Little Black Rain Cloud
I'm Just a Little Black Rain Cloud, Continued
I'm Just a Little Black Rain Cloud, Continued(Again)
Hooray for Hollywood
Hooray for Hollywood, Continued
A Very Special Photograph
A Very Special Photograph, Continued
A Magical Interlude

Day Three:Tuesday, May 15​

A Mythical Monster, A Brave Little Clownfish and Some Very Silly Monkeys
A Mythical Monster, A Brave Little Clownfish and Some Very Silly Monkeysart Two
A Mythical Monster, A Brave Little Clownfish and Some Very Silly Monkeysart Three
A Mythical Monster, A Brave Little Clownfish and Some Very Silly Monkeysart Four
A Mythical Monster, A Brave Little Clownfish and Some Very Silly Monkeysart Five
A Mythical Monster, A Brave Little Clownfish and Some Very Silly Monkeysart Six
A Hidden WDW Gem
A Hidden WDW Gem, Cont.
A Disney Rainbow
The Magic, The Memories and More Pixie Dust

Day Four: Wednesday, May 16​

The Famous Toast
It's Raining--I'm Getting Wet--This Sucks!
It's Raining--I'm Getting Wet--This Sucks!, Cont.
My Favorite Way to Watch Wishes

Day Five: Thursday, May 17​

The Tomorrow That Never Was and Always Will Be
The Tomorrow That Never Was and Always Will Be, Part Two
The Tomorrow That Never Was and Always Will Be, Part Three
The White Rabbit, Gooey Butter Cake and My First Daytime Parade
The White Rabbit, Gooey Butter Cake and My First Daytime Parade, Part Two
The White Rabbit, Gooey Butter Cake and My First Daytime Parade, Part Three
The White Rabbit, Gooey Butter Cake and My First Daytime Parade, Part Four
The White Rabbit, Gooey Butter Cake and My First Daytime Parade, Part Five
Magic Kingdom Mayhem
My Cousin and Her Maracas

Day Six: Friday, May 18​

The One in Which We Spend an Eternity in Line
The One in Which We Spend an Eternity in Line, Part Two
Around the World in One Afternoon
Around the World in One Afternoon, Part Two
Around the World in One Afternoon, Part Three
Around the World in One Afternoon, Part Four
In the Big Blue World
In the Big Blue World, Part Two
Caramel and Mickey Bars, Dude!
Caramel and Mickey Bars, Dude!, Part Two

Day Seven: Saturday, May 19​

The Crazy World of Star Wars Weekends
The Crazy World of Star Wars Weekends, Part Two
The Crazy World of Star Wars Weekends, Part Three
Yetis and Hippos and Dinos, Oh My!
Yetis and Hippos and Dinos, Oh My!, Part Two
Yetis and Hippos and Dinos, Oh My!, Part Three
Yetis and Hippos and Dinos, Oh My!, Part Four
Graceful Creatures, Flexible People and Yummy Food
Graceful Creatures, Flexible People and Yummy Food, Part Two
Graceful Creatures, Flexible People and Yummy Food, Part Three
Four Parks, One World

Day Eight: Sunday, May 20​

A Perfect Pre-Cruise Breakfast
We're Almost There!
The Realization of a Dream
The Realization of a Dream, Part Two
The Realization of a Dream, Part Three
We're On Our Way
We're On Our Way, Part Two
An Enchanted Dinner at Sea
An Enchanted Dinner at Sea: Part Two

Day Nine: Monday, May 21​

Next Time We'll Just Take a Taxi
Next Time We'll Just Take a Taxi, Part Two
Next Time We'll Just Take a Taxi, Part Three
Round and Round and Round We Go
Round and Round and Round We Go, Part Two
Round and Round and Round We Go, Part Three
Round and Round and Round We Go, Part Four
Round and Round and Round We Go, Part Five
A Beautiful Sunset at Sea
A Beautiful Sunset at Sea, Part Two
A Beautiful Sunset at Sea, Part Three
A Magnificent Meal and a "Marvel"-ous Movie
A Magnificent Meal and a "Marvel"-ous Movie, Part Two

Day Ten: Tuesday, May 22​

So Many Choices!
Yo Ho, Yo Ho, An Afternoon at Sea
Yo Ho, Yo Ho, An Afternoon at Sea, Part Two
Yo Ho, Yo Ho, An Afternoon at Sea, Part Three
Yo Ho, Yo Ho, An Afternoon at Sea, Part Four
The Only Fireworks at Sea
The Only Fireworks at Sea, Part Two

 

[fnrsgrl]

After All, There's Only One More Sleep 'Til Disney Day
Friday, May 11 and Saturday, May 12​

When I got up on Friday, May 11, I was both excited and apprehensive. It was only two more sleeps until Disney and it was Beth's graduation day, but Josh and I had made the somewhat insane decision to go to the graduation service without an overnight so that we would have more time at home to pack for Disney. We got up early, dressed in casual clothes and made the six-hour drive to Kentucky in his parents' car. The service was at seven, and we arrived around four-thirty. We stopped at a Wendy's for a quick(and rather late) lunch, before continuing on to his parents' hotel room, which they had generously offered the use of to change and freshen up.
We made it to the ceremony just in time to snag a good seat about halfway back in the auditorium. It was a lovely service, and, at the end, Beth graduated! With honors!

(I apologize for the general lack of pictures in this update and promise there will be more than enough starting in the next one.)
After the graduation, we went to Cheddar's, which we love and don't have at home, for a celebratory dinner. If you live near one and haven't been, you must visit and try the fabulous spinach dip. It is awesome! We left around eleven to begin the six hour drive back home. Therefore, we didn't get home until around four in the morning(there's a time difference). Yeah, um, we totally collapsed, and I didn't get up until noon. Josh, however, had to work a bit, so he got up around ten and went out to do that.
Our Saturday was uneventful. We had gotten home to find a package at the door. Our Fish Extender had arrived! We were so excited. We ordered it from Stitchesaplenty on Etsy, and we were very, very happy. It was relatively inexpensive, totally customized and absolutely beautiful. I would definitely recommend her to anyone who needs an FE made.

We basically spent the whole day packing, as we are definitely the type to wait until the last minute! When we had finished and eaten dinner, we set the suitcases in the foyer and covered them with a blanket so that our cats wouldn't sleep on them and get them covered in hair. Apparently, Carbon didn't get the memo:

After that, we showered and tried to go to bed. Tried being the operative word here, because we were so excited and I was so nervous(I'm afraid of flying), that we couldn't sleep a wink! Around midnight, we remembered that we had forgotten batteries and a Mother's Day card, so we got up and went to Walmart, which is basically across the street from where we live. I was in my jammies and didn't have my contacts in, so I stayed in the car and Josh ran in for the items. We went back home and tried to get some sleep, but it still didn't work, and we were awake until our alarm went off around 4:30 am.

Next up, it's Disney Day!

 

[fnrsgrl]

That Is a LOT of Luggage
Sunday, May 13: Part One​

Having slept not a bit the previous night, Josh and I were up to the sound of our alarm around 4:00 Sunday morning. We were so incredibly excited. . .today was Disney day!!(I was also very apprehensive, but more on that later!) Our flight wasn't super-early, but the car Eric and Debbie(hereafter known as "Dad" and "Mom") had rented for the graduation had to be returned by six, so they were picking us up at five. We got dressed as quickly as possible, but I'm the full hair and makeup type, so it takes me a while. Once we were dressed we cut down the very last bag in our Countdown Calendar:

(For more on our Countdown, see my PTR)
We then said goodbye to my sweet puggy, James Bond, and piled all of our suitcases out on the curb. Mom and Dad arrived quickly, and we proceeded to the airport, giving Mom her card on the way. Sometime during the drive, I morphed from "a little bit of butterflies" to "two bits shy of a panic attack" about the upcoming flight. I love Disney World so, so much, but I am absolutely terrified of flying. It doesn't seem to matter how many facts and statistics I know, or how ridiculous I know I'm being--every time I get on an airplane, I am 100% convinced that we are going to crash and I am not going to survive. I had managed to keep things mostly under control until we were actually on the way to the airport, but now I was freaking out. I didn't want to ruin things for others, though, so I was trying really hard to pretend I was fine.
We arrived at the airport a little before six, and Dad returned the car while the rest of us headed in. We flew Southwest, so we flew out of our airport's smaller, secondary terminal. Having signed in 24 hours in advance, we were able to quickly turn our luggage in with the skycap and head straight to security. The advantage of the smaller terminal is that security lines are much shorter than in the main terminal, and we got through very quickly--I would say ten minutes or so. They had the new scanners, and that line was even shorter, so we went that way. Once inside, we found our gate(which just happened to be right inside security) and went to get some breakfast. Mom, Josh and Beth scattered between Dunkin Donuts and Burger King, and I headed for Starbucks, thinking they might have a pastry I would like. Unfortunately, due to my nervousness, everything I looked at turned my stomach, so I just went with a banana. Eventually, Dad showed up and we settled in at the gate for our very long wait. Dad slept and returned phone calls, I was reading my Fear of Flying course(from here--it really has helped a little), and Mom, Josh and Beth played Draw Something with each other.

It seemed like forever, but we finally boarded at around 8:00. We had gotten B Boarding group, which was making me even more nervous because I do much better if I sit in certain seats, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to get one of them. The plane was pretty full already, and it was hard to find two seats together because everyone wanted the middle seat. I need a window seat over the wing, so we looked until we found something that would work. We ended up further forward than I would have preferred. I like to be able to see the engine, and we were sitting over the front of the wing. I got even more freaked out. Usually, I look at the in-flight magazine at this point, but I was too nervous even to do that, so I just sat there, squeezing my beanbag guinea pig, Rosa. The takeoff was the worst few minutes of my life. I'm pretty sure I had a full-on panic attack then. I was crying and couldn't breathe and just wanted to go home. Eventually, though, they announced that we could turn on our electronic devices, and I felt a little better knowing that we were in the air safely. It was a pretty turbulent flight, though, so they never really turned off the seatbelt light. I had a ginger ale, and we watched almost two episodes of Castle before they had us turn the electronics back off. Toward the end of the flight, when I was starting to calm down, I took a couple of pictures out the window.

I actually love landings, so I started to get relieved and excited at that point. The landing was fairly smooth, and before I knew we were on the ground in Orlando! We were all so excited! We were almost there(and alive!). We made our way into the airport and headed for the bathrooms.

After that we rode the mini monorail over to the main terminal. . .

. . . and headed for the Magical Express desk with our huge mountain of luggage!

Our first Hidden Mickey of the trip!

There was no line whatsoever, and we headed straight down lane five to an already waiting and fairly empty bus.

We got settled in, finished our Castle episode, and began an uneventful trip to our favorite place in the world!

Soon, we saw this:

And then, our first glimpse of our home away from home for the next week!

Up next: Our beautiful resort room and our first dinner of the trip.

 

[fnrsgrl]

A Relaxing Resort, a Beautiful Boat Ride and Dinner in Dublin
Sunday, May 13art Two​

Once the ME bus pulled up to Port Orleans Riverside, we all exited, collected that mountain of luggage and stood on the curb, discussing what to do next. It was decided that Dad, Josh and Beth would stay with the luggage, while Mom and I went inside to check-in. She had done on-line check-in and I hadn't so we go in separate lines, and I took some pics of the lobby, only one of which really turned out.

I waited about five minutes, and then began the check-in process with a nice CM who was from India(let me just apologize here for not really writing down any names, so you will only get them if I happen to remember). He was really great. I had wanted to be in Acadian House like I had been previously, because I loved how convenient it was to a bus stop. He convinced me that I would like this room in Oak Manor with a garden view just as much.(PS. He was right!) He explained the new features of the DDP(refillable mugs--yay!), and even talked about my flight with me. Overall, my check-in experience was great! Helpful and very efficient.
Meanwhile, outside, the guys had our luggage loaded up by a cast member with a cart. When we came out, we explained that both rooms were already ready. There was some confusion with the separate rooms issue, and I guess the CM started to get irritated because he was really, really rude and very rough with our luggage. He was literally slamming it face down onto the carts. He said we would get it in a few hours, and that was problem for us because we wanted to nap and freshen up before dinner, so could we just take it to our room ourselves? He got really unpleasant and said that we couldn't take it back after it was on the cart. So Josh talked to the CM at the luggage window, and she said just call when we got to the room and they would bring it right up--it should be about twenty minutes or so. I'm not really sure what the other guy's problem was, but it was NOT a magical way to start our trip!
Having sorted out the luggage, we headed for our rooms, enjoying the beautiful ambience along the way.

Our room was in Oak Manor and had been newly renovated. (We actually had a little bit of a hard time finding it and walked all the way around that huge building only to find we had turned the wrong way at the beginning)
Mom, Dad and Beth had one of the new Royal Rooms in Magnolia Terrace, which I will have pics of later in the report. Our room was just beautiful, and we loved it!

Bed with towel Mickey:

Table and Chairs:

Entertainment Center/Dresser with flat-screen TV:

Refrigerator under the TV:

Sink area:

My picture of the actual bathroom came out really blurry, so I haven't included it.

Ironing board and extra pillows.

Hidden Mickeys on the bedspreads:

Tiana and Naveen on one of the headboards:

Tiana and Charlotte(I think):

Charlotte and her Daddy:

And a Kid in Mickey Ears:

We absolutely loved those headboards! There was so much on them to look at and discover. When we got to the room, we called for our bags, and were told it would be ten minutes. So we settled in and took pics and waited--for twenty minutes. So, we called again, and they said they had gotten confused between our room and his parents room, and they would send the bags right up. They arrived in five minutes or so, but there was a bit of a problem. For the Fish Extenders on the cruise, we had a made something involving bottles with glitter in them(no spoilers), and although most of the bottles were plastic, two had to be glass because we couldn't find any more plastic ones. We packed them very, very carefully, and everything had seemed fine when we handed the bag to the CM in front of the resort, but now the outside of the bag was covered in glitter. It was upsetting that the bag had made it through the flight and the bus trip without glitter all over it(so, presumably, the bottles were intact up until then), and now, after that CM had been so rude and rough, they were broken. We knew it was a possibility, though, that a glass bottle could break, so we decided not to make too big of a deal out of it, and Josh just called and asked the front desk if someone could be sent with a vacuum to help clean up the glitter.(More on this later--it turned out to be part of that pixie dust explosion). We had about two hours left before we had to leave for dinner, so we decided to try and get a nap. Yep, still too excited, and couldn't sleep again. As the Frumps would say, there really is "no sleeping in Disney!" Anyway, we got up, changed and headed down to the boat dock to go to Downtown Disney for dinner.

In ten minutes or so, a boat came, and we settled in for our trip down the Sassagoula.

Past the rest of our resort,

The French Quarter,

The Treehouse Villas,

And Saratoga Springs,

Before arriving at our destination.

Cont. in the next post.

 

[Disney_Fanatic25]

Great TR! I used to really hate flying. I still get nervous but its not so bad now. I look forward to reading more!

 

[fnrsgrl]

That boat ride is one of my favorite things about POR. It is sooooo relaxing, and it's a much more efficient way to get to DD than a bus would be. The whole resort is gorgeous and quiet, and I highly recommend it.
Anywho, we arrived at Downtown Disney,

and we were running a little late, so we walked very quickly, but did manage to snap a couple of pics of these guys

on our way to . . . .

Raglan Road! Mom and I ate there on our previous trip, and we loved it! We couldn't wait to share it with the rest of the family. We put our names in and only waited about ten minutes before we were called and led to a beautiful table right near the front. Our waitress was Alba, and she was really sweet and helpful. She offered to take a picture of us:

We got right to ordering, and our food came very quickly. Here is the delicious bread and dipping sauce:

The bread is very dry, and wouldn't be good without the sauce, but my goodness, is that oil ever delicious. It's very sweet and gives just the right amount of moisture to the bread.

As to our entrees, Josh ordered the It's Not Bleeding Chowder

He loved this and talked about it for the rest of the trip. It had a ton of seafood and just the right amount of sauce.

I had the Keen Eye for a Shepherd's Pie

I loved it just as much as I had the first time! One warning, though--it is much bigger than it looks! I can only eat about a third of it.

Beth decided to be adventurous(she usually eats a lot of chicken and pasta alfredo) and ordered the Pork Supreme.

She was very pleased with her decision. The pork was moist and tender and she loved the colcannon, which was potatoes with a bunch of junk in them. The only thing she did not care for was the "chutney".

Dad got the Mighty Mixed Grill

He really enjoyed his meal as well, only he wouldn't try the blood sausage, not that I blame him. Josh gave it a try, and said it was nasty.

Mom ordered the Pie in the Sky.

She has loved this both times she has had it, although, when I tasted it, I found it a little garlicky. So, I guess if you love a lot of garlic, you would love it!

For Dessert we just ordered one of pretty much everything and shared them, at Alba's suggestion.
Some kind of raspberry pavlova:

Ger's Bread and Butter Pudding:

Strawberry and Apple Crumble:

Dunbrody's Kiss:

All of them were delicious, but the favorite seemed to be the bread pudding. My favorite was Dunbrody's Kiss because I don't care for bread pudding, but everyone else found it to be a bit too much chocolate(how is that even possible?).

All in all, this meal was our favorite from the land portion of our trip. The service was fantastic, the food was scrumptious and the atmosphere was lovely. I would highly recommend Raglan Road as long as you are willing to try different things.

Up next: Which park will we visit first?

 

[fnrsgrl]

Great TR! I used to really hate flying. I still get nervous but its not so bad now. I look forward to reading more!

Thank you! I'm glad to hear it got better for somebody. I really hope that someday, I will be able to enjoy flying. I feel like it should be fun!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Signing on! POR looks beautiful!

 

[Disney_Fanatic25]

I've never been to Reglan Road. I love shephards pie. Is it made with beef or Lamb?

 

[fnrsgrl]

Signing on! POR looks beautiful!

It is! It's such a huge upgrade from the All-Stars for a relatively small difference in price. And thanks for joining in!

I've never been to Reglan Road. I love shephards pie. Is it made with beef or Lamb?

I believe it was a mix of both, but don't quote me on that. It definitely had at least some lamb.

 

[fnrsgrl]

We're Finally Here!
Sunday, May 13art Three​

We left Raglan Road and headed for the Downtown Disney bus stop. Where would we go first? There was never really any question--we headed straight for the Magic Kingdom. I don't know about anyone else, but for us, it doesn't really feel real until we see the Castle! We decided the fastest way to get there would be to take whichever monorail resort's bus showed up first and take the monorail from there. We waited at the bus stop,

and the first bus to show up was headed for the Contemporary. We hopped on, and I don't remember much of that bus ride because I fell asleep! I must have been really tired because normally I can't sleep in a moving vehicle. That little nap really helped me get through the rest of the day, though, as there were Extra Magic Hours at the Magic Kingdom until the wee hours of the morning. Eventually, though, we arrived at the Contemporary

where a CM told us it would be faster to walk to the MK instead of taking the monorail. They said it would take about five minutes, but it ended up being more like ten. It was fine for the younger people in our party, but Mom has had a back injury recently and was using a scooter most of the trip and Dad has bad knees, so the walk was a little long for them, and I don't think they would do it again.

Soon, we arrived at the gates for the Magic Kingdom.

We got through security and the ticket gates quickly and headed into the first park of our trip!

We headed for the Town Hall to get graduation and anniversary buttons. Rapunzel was outside near the bathrooms, but her line was huge, so we moved on. After getting the buttons, we headed across the way to buy Photopass Plus, and get instructions on how to use it.

While we were there, I shopped for a new pin lanyard because mine was full, but I didn't find one I liked. At this point, I was getting a little frustrated because I just wanted to get going, but I'm glad I didn't complain about it because the buttons and PP+ were totally worth it! We finally started heading up Main Street toward the Castle.

And then, there it was!!

We also stopped several times along the way for some Photopass shots:

This was a long dreamed of and longed for trip, and this moment, seeing the Castle, made it all seem so real. I was personally determined to spend the whole trip living in and enjoying the moment, instead of thinking ahead to what we were going to do next, and this moment was one of the best ones. All the same, it was time to get this vacation started, and we were so excited!

Next up:Our evening in the Magic Kingdom

 

[fnrsgrl]

My Siestas Are Getting Shorter and Shorter
Sunday, May 13art Four​

After seeing the beautiful castle, we decided to try and get a few rides in before the evening parade. We started out by heading toward Pirates.

We passed a DIS favorite, but were still too full from dinner to have any.

Then, we got distracted by this:

We hadn't seen the new old Tiki Room yet, so we decided to give it a try.

The little pre-show was really cute.

Then it was on to the main show.

We thought this was cute and better than the previous incarnation(with Iago and Zazu), but nothing really special. It was nice and relaxing, though!

We headed over to do Pirates only to find that everyone else was streaming out. It was broken down, so we would have to come back later.

Mom and Dad were needing a little break, so they went to get us a spot on the parade route while the rest of us headed over to Splash Mountain(Big Thunder was closed during this trip or we would have done that, too).

We got a little wet! Yes, I asked her permission before I posted this.

We walked back and got settled for the parade.

We passed some cinnamon glazed nut stands along the way, and they smelled delicious, so Josh went back to get some. Unfortunately, all of the stands closed at official park close, and it was EMH then, so he couldn't get any. Our spot for the parade was great, though.

Up next:A first for me

 

[fnrsgrl]

OOOO. . .Sparkly!
Sunday, May 13art Five​

We were all set and ready, and the parade was about to start! This was my very first time seeing the Main Street Electrical Parade(it had always been SpectroMagic when I was ther previously), and I was so excited. The people selling light toys came through the music started, and there it was: the bright and sparkly evening parade!

What did I think? I loved it! I like SpectroMagic music a lot better and think it has more interesting floats in some ways, but the Electrical Parade was great, too. I loved how they had characters up on top of some of the floats talking to the crowd. Our favorite was Pete from Pete's Dragon. He was so funny! I would definitely love to see this parade again!

Here and here are the links to my husband's video of the parade.

Up next:the end of our first night at Disney!

 

[mrsswat]

great pics of parade. Mind sharing what kind of camera you were using>

 

[MissPrice]

Hi There I'm really enjoying you report so far!

Your meal in DTD looks delicious. Especially the Shepard's Pie and the Bread and butter pudding.

I know exactly what you mean about getting to the MK. It almost doesn't seem like a Disney vacation until you see the castle in all of its glory.

Your MSEP pictures are awesome!

Looking forward to the next update.

-Amanda

 

[fnrsgrl]

great pics of parade. Mind sharing what kind of camera you were using>

Thank you! It was just my Point & Shoot. It's a Nikon Coolpix S6200. I love it, though because it's tiny and I've been really happy with the quality of pictures it takes, as long as you don't need a ton of zoom.

 

[fnrsgrl]

Hi There I'm really enjoying you report so far!

Your meal in DTD looks delicious. Especially the Shepard's Pie and the Bread and butter pudding.

I know exactly what you mean about getting to the MK. It almost doesn't seem like a Disney vacation until you see the castle in all of its glory.

Your MSEP pictures are awesome!

Looking forward to the next update.

-Amanda

Thank you very much! I'm glad you're liking it so far!

 

[reyasmommy]

Great trip report! And I LOVE all your pictures! We'll be staying at PoR for the first time so I'm really loving your pictures of the resort. How long does it usually take to wait for a boat to take you back to the resort? I was thinking for dinner one night we would go to DtD and pick up some Earl of Sandwich to bring back to the room? We'll be staying in one of the Royal Rooms so I'm excited to see your pictures from your mom and dad's room.

I look forward to reading more.

 

[fnrsgrl]

Great trip report! And I LOVE all your pictures! We'll be staying at PoR for the first time so I'm really loving your pictures of the resort. How long does it usually take to wait for a boat to take you back to the resort? I was thinking for dinner one night we would go to DtD and pick up some Earl of Sandwich to bring back to the room? We'll be staying in one of the Royal Rooms so I'm excited to see your pictures from your mom and dad's room.

I look forward to reading more.

Thank you! I wouldn't say you really have to wait long for the boat, usually--maybe fifteen minutes? But the ride itself takes about twenty minutes or so, I think. Also, the one time we waited until closing to leave DD, there was quite a line, and it took half an hour or so to get everyone organized and onto boats.