Boo To You - Sept 2015 Solo TR! - updated 19/05

[godders]

Hi everyone ​

First of all I'd like to apologise for 2 things:

1) My uncompleted pre-trip report - attempting to write it while combining writing a 20,000 word dissertation and preparing for an interview with the MouseHouse itself is not recommended

2) How late I am in starting my TR!!!

I'm soooooorrrrrryyyyyyy!!

Anyway, welcome one and all to my latest TR, "Boo To You" sponsored by MNSSHP! I wish!

I'm Vicky, your hostess for this journey through the ups and downs of my 2nd solo trip to WDW (I'm sorry the picture isn't Disney themed) from the 12th-29th September 2015



My trip was an epic tale of split stays, MNSSHP, unexpected crowds and some truly wonderful moments that make me smile every time I think about them

So before we get started allow me to set the scene:

I enjoyed my first amazing solo trip in 2014 after a WDW absence of 4 years and I loved it so much I decided to go back again and booked my 2015 trip in Jan 2015 while I was off hugging these guys



I returned back to good ole Britannia in April 2015 and was deep into slogging away for my studies when the opportunity to apply for the Cultural Representative Program (CRP) at Disney arose in early summer. For those who don't know, the CRP is basically how Disney gets all those lovely CMs in all the world pavilions in Epcot. Anyway, so I got through to the first round of interviews
Only problem was, they were while I was supposed to be in Florida......

So I had to move my trip back by a week to attend the interview and arranged to fly out the day after.......



Contents

Day 1 Part 1 - Travel Day
Day 1 Part 2 - Home Sweet Home
Day 1 Part 3 - E.P.C.O.T

Day 2 Part 1 - "Welcome to the Magic Kingdom"
Day 2 Part 2 - An Early Morning Explore
Day 2 Part 3 - "Oooo Let's Take a Shellfie!"
Day 2 Part 4 - Rides, Rides and more.....rain
Day 2 Part 5 - My First Daytime Parade!
Day 2 Part 6 - The Parade Continues....
Day 2 Part 7 - It's Still Going.....
Day 2 Part 8 - Passing the Time
Day 2 Part 9 - Grey Stuff? Oh it's delicious!
Day 2 Part 10 - It's Nearly Over I Promise!

Day 3 Part 1 - Sunrise at the Magic Kingdom
Day 3 Part 2 - A BOG Breakfast
Day 3 Part 3 - Oh Dear Lord The Crowds

Day 4 Part 1 - Epcot Extra Magic Hour
Day 4 Part 2 - Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
Day 4 Part 3 - The Land and Sea
Day 4 Part 4 - The Pre-party Party
Day 4 Part 5 - MNSSHP - The Beginning
Day 4 Part 6 - Boo...To....You 1
Day 4 Part 7 - Boo To You 2 (It's Good To Be Bad)
Day 4 Part 8 - Wait Time? What Wait Time?
Day 4 Part 9 - Well That's Just Creepy

Day 5 - If you like Candy...

Day 6 Part 1 - Running of the Hollywood Studios Bulls
Day 6 Part 2 - Rides and Stuff
Day 6 Part 3 - "Little town, it's a quiet village"
Day 6 Part 4 - Easily Pleased
Day 6 Part 5 - "IIIINNNNDDDDYYYY"
Day 6 Part 6 - Fantasmic!

Day 7 Part 1 - Another character breakfast
Day 7 Part 2 - MNSSHP Take Two
Day 7 Part 3 - An Accidentally Long Time Out

Day 8 - Another day, another Character Meal

Day 9 Part 1 - Downtown Disney and Room Hopping
Day 9 Part 2 - A Final MNSSHP

Day 10 Part 1 - A Tour Around All-Star Movies
Day 10 Part 2 - A Lovely Lunch
Day 10 Part 3 - Forgotten but not Lost

Day 11 Part 1 - 1900 Park Fare
Day 11 Part 2 - A Little Bit of Magic (Kingdom)
Day 11 Part 3 - Art of Animation and California Grill

Day 12 Part 1 - A Walk on the Wildside
Day 12 Part 2 - Nom, nom, nom, nom
Day 12 Part 3 - Tours and Tumble Monkeys

Day 13 - So long, farewell, auf weidersen, goodbye....Lights, Motors Action!

Day 14 - A Food and Wine Taster

Day 15 - "This is not the ride you are looking for" ​

Day 16 Part 1 - Universal Studios *new
Day 16 Part 2 - Animals in Action *new​

 

[godders]

Day 1 Part 1 –Travel Day

Normally my alarm going off at 6am on Disney Day would have my jumping straight out of bed and running around all excited but I just didn't have that feeling as I was still stressed from the week. Not only had I been doing all-nighters to get my dissertation done for my MA but I'd also had an interview for an actual job at Disney the afternoon before. Seriously my shoulders were heading past my ears!

Luckily, my lovely Auntie Karen was house sitting while I was away so she got up with me and really helped me to take my first steps towards chilling out (amazing considering I was running around like a mad thing!). I got finished of filling my bag and the cats were being helpful as always



I'd somehow found time to get some new funky flip flops for the trip. Last year I'd bought Micky Mouse ones so this year just to be fair I went with the Minions



Eventually though I was all packed and ready for my very prompt taxi arrival at 8.30



I had a very nice taxi driver who I chatted to all the way to Gatwick (which is very unusual for me) and we spent most of the time discussing universities. It turned out his kids were a DR and an Aeronautical Engineer so obviously some very smart cookies!

We got to the airport at 9am and it wasn't half as crowded as the year before when I'd arrived but it wouldn't have mattered because I am a BA Silver Card member in my own right

So I got to skip the queue at check in AND security HUZZAH!

I was literally in the departure lounge by 9.15am!

My stomach had finally woken up so I headed to WHSmiths to grab a snack, a new puzzle book and a new notebook, you know the essentials...and my gate came up soon after that so I headed on over



We started to board a little early and I had chosen a seat as far forward in Economy as possible so that in theory it would mean a smaller queue at Customs when we landed. Unfortunately I was sat next to a couple who were constantly taking selfies and pictures of each other I get being excited but seriously one photo would've been sufficient! To make matters worse I also realised my TV wasn't working as it should. Instead of the lovely interactive screen mine was going old school with films playing in a loop on different channels I asked the stewardess but she said there was nothing they could do so I ended up reading my entire book that I'd brought for the trip.

Eventually however, I managed to time it well and got to watch Inside Out and Tomorrowland (well I was going to Disney). I did enjoy Inside Out but I found it weird that the little girl had multi-sex emotions in her head while all the adults had same-sex so I was constantly pondering what that meant (was she pan-gendered, were Anger and Fear just really masculine, were Anger and Fear going to be killed off?) Tomorrowland was just meh. I love the actors but it definitely didn't wow me like other Disney films.

The food was actually pretty good, I had Cottage Pie and then a very tasty Chocolate and Butterscotch Mousse. I do apologise for not having a picture but when you're travelling alone you're pretty much stuck in your seat once the food comes round unless someone is feeling neighbourly

Finally though we were on our decent to Orlando

​

 

[godders]

Day 1 Part 2 - Home Sweet Home

Finally! I had arrived back in my happy place! I could feel the magic of Disney relaxing me with every step I took haha!

I managed to get off the plane quickly and we were at the gate next to Customs so the pixie dust was clearly working in my favour! I was through in about 15 mins and unlike 2014, the guy checking me out (you know what I mean!) was very friendly and chatty. Then I had to wait about 20 minutes for my bag which turned out to be one of the last ones to appear (so much for being a Silver Card member now!). I grabbed it and managed to get to the Fake-O-Rail just as one was pulling in and just like 2014 the afternoon storm was just about to roll in.

But finally I was on my way to experience the Magic Express for the first time. Now first impressions are key and all I could think was OMG it's so far away! I mean yes I was probably tainted slightly by the 15kg bag I had on my back (not to mention my 10kg camera bag I was wheeling) but still, it's miles away! And of course it was just as I pulled up to the desk that I remembered I hadn't gotten my MB (from last year's trip) out of my hand luggage

I struggled to get it out but soon I was checked in and in line for my bus to the first resort on my trip: Caribbean Beach.

Now if anyone actually read my PTR then you may remember that originally I was staying at All-Star Movies....and I was still staying at ASMvs but when I'd changed my hotel booking I'd got the date mixed up so my booking didn't start till the Sunday *face palm* so I needed to book an extra night somewhere and decided to treat myself to a moderate....so in came CBR as it came out the cheapest....thing was, it was going to be a Pirate Room

But I digress! I waited about 10 mins before we were boarded but it gave me plenty of time to really embrace the Florida smell with the rain and the humidity and I really did feel like I was home. Once we boarded, we didn't have to wait too long before we set off but I really did enjoy the cartoons and little quiz that was keeping us entertained



We were soon on our way and before long we were at the all-famous sign



And then pixie dust struck again and CBR was the first stop



I got off the coach and handed my luggage straight to Bell Services because I knew all the Pirate rooms were in Trinidad South so pretty much the furthest village from Custom House. As soon as I walked in I was directed over to a Concierge desk to pick up my Magic Band. This time I'd gone for the Blue so I'd be able to match it to my outfit hehe. It was all sorted out nice and quick and it wasn't long till I was in the transport round to my room.

O....M.....G It was AMAZING! Seriously, if only I was an 8-year old!



My room was on the 2nd floor and right next to the bus stop AND it was only 5.30pm so I'd made it from landing to hotel in 2hours! Unfortunately that's when things took a bit of a turn... I tried to top up my multi-currency card before heading out only it wasn't playing ball at all. I rang the company (oh the phone bill) and it turned out that you couldn't have more than 2 cards registered to an address and unfortunately both my brother & dad had also got one . The nice man on the phone couldn't even do anything because it was an internal system glitch so basically my cash card was useless to me. I eventually gave up and decided to figure it out in the morning so it was off to my first park......Epcot!

​

 

[godders]

Day 1 Part 3 - E.P.C.O.T

I'd finally given up on sorting out my cash card about 6.30pm and decided to head out after grabbing a little hand bag and some cash. I walked down the stairs and as I got to the bus stop an Epcot bus was just arriving. PERFECT! My pixie dust had returned

There weren't any seats left on the bus so I was the only person standing but it was all good because we were the last stop and immediately headed out to the park. It was starting to get dark and not just because the sun was going down.....there were some seriously nasty looking clouds over Epcot! And of course, me being me, I had forgotten to bring my waterproof coat with me *face palm* *face palm* But on the bright side, the crowds were pouring out of the park.

The first claps of thunder were heard juuuust as I was getting to bag check and I was ever hopeful that it would just be a quick storm. So naturally, I did what many others did....and dived straight into the Spaceship Earth queue



It had a posted wait time and with the extras diving it, it probably went up to 20. And that's when it started, not just your usual summer downpour but a high winds, sideways rain kind of a downpour. And of course it was accompanied by some spectacular lightning!

Luckily the line only took about 10 mins and soon I was drifting through time. I really love SE!!! It is one of my all-time favourites and it really set my mind to chill out after such a stressful week. Totally put me in the holiday zone! Unfortunately it seemed to have sprung a bit of leak on the slope at the end and I could see why when I got out of the exit because it was still throwing down (but at least now it was in it's naturally straight to the ground state).

I waited a few minutes while it seemed to be lessening but then I realised that all this running water had made me need to visit the little girl's room

I decided it was too urgent to wait and dashed over to the bathroom and I was pretty damp by the time I got there. I'd also managed to hit a massive puddle so my feet were particularly drowned.

By then I was definitely feeling a little peckish so I decided to head on over to the World Showcase and see what culinary delights awaited me!

I grabbed a quick cigarette by some of the F&W booths and I was definitely excited to try some of them out later on in my trip! I realised then that my travel fatigue was setting in and knew I wouldn't have the patience to wander around and find something to eat so I checked the MDE app (thank you Disney for free wifi in the parks!!!!) and found an opening at Biergarten in 25 mins. Perfect! Booked in 2 secs with just enough time to explore!

I wandered slowly and realised just how busy it was but I put it down down to being a Saturday night at Epcot...Anyway, it was a little difficult to negotiate the crowds but I did manage to get a picture or two as I made my way round to Germany



I finally got round to Germany (I'd been on the UK Pavilion side) and made my way to:



I stood in the line to check in and several people tried to push past me to get to the booth but the lady behind me was not having any of it! The family in front of me were having real trouble understanding that there wasn't any space left and they'd have to find somewhere else to eat with their party of 10. It was taking a while but luckily a 2nd CM came up and checked me in. On the one hand I was seriously bummed when she told me there was about a 20 minute delay (it was closer to 40!) but then it did provide some great people watch opportunities. Let's just say many guests and several CMs were not having a magical day!

Eventually I was called over and was taken inside. My table mates were a girl with her Grandmother visiting from Jacksonville and then two friends with their kids who were cattle ranchers from Colorado. They were all really friendly and it was great chatting to so many new people especially the cattle ranchers because we don't have anything like that here in the UK. We were having so much fun chatting we actually ended up closing out the restaurant I swear one minute it was full and the next completely empty.

Anyway, I hadn't actually realised that Biergarten was a buffet and I'd only really wanted something light so I just ended up with a bowl of tomato soup and then several samples of their lovely desserts! (I know I know, most expensive soup ever!) But the food was tasty and the kids at the table were really polite and were amazed how far I'd flown just to come to Disney!

We finally left Biergarten just after 10pm and although the World Showcase wasn't completely empty it was pretty cool to see it nearly there



As we made our way to the exit I said goodbye to my dinner buddies and snapped one last pic on my way out



ok, two last pics



The CBR bus was just pulling in as I got to the stop and there was only 15 or so people on it. The bus driver was really good and asked which villages people were staying at meaning we got to miss a few out which felt amazing at the time (I'm sure everyone can appreciate only stopping 4 times rather than 8). I finally dragged myself up the stairs to my room at about 10.30pm and since it was now 3.30am UK I'd been going for 21 hours now so it was definitely time for bed!!
​

 

[abarriger]

I'm following along! I LOVE the pirate room-- reminds me of the theming at AOA (my favorite resort!) You must have been absolutely beat at the end of this evening... exciting to see what comes next!

 

[JoAnnPan]

Thanks for sharing - love a good storm in Disney! - as long as it doesn't stay too long.

 

[ariane37]

Following! Ugh, rain as soon as you got to your first park! But it didn't seem to have put too much of a damper on your excitement Glad you had good tablemates at Biergarten, that can really make or break your meal there being communal seating.
I LOVE walking out of Epcot right at closing when the majority of guests have already headed to the busses. We've stayed at BWV 4x and it's the best when we hang back a bit before leaving Epcot, then walk slowly around WS before leaving through the IG. There will be a few people doing what we're doing and a bunch of very friendly CM's beginning to clean/close up. Beautiful way to end a night

 

[godders]

I'm following along! I LOVE the pirate room-- reminds me of the theming at AOA (my favorite resort!) You must have been absolutely beat at the end of this evening... exciting to see what comes next!

Welcome! Welcome! Yep I was knackered! Think it took me about 3 days to get sorted haha!

Thanks for sharing - love a good storm in Disney! - as long as it doesn't stay too long.

Yeh it was funny because I seemed to miss every single storm the year before because of my power naps

Following! Ugh, rain as soon as you got to your first park! But it didn't seem to have put too much of a damper on your excitement Glad you had good tablemates at Biergarten, that can really make or break your meal there being communal seating.
I LOVE walking out of Epcot right at closing when the majority of guests have already headed to the busses. We've stayed at BWV 4x and it's the best when we hang back a bit before leaving Epcot, then walk slowly around WS before leaving through the IG. There will be a few people doing what we're doing and a bunch of very friendly CM's beginning to clean/close up. Beautiful way to end a night

I would absolutely LOVE to stay at BW, BC, YC one day. Think it is the only way to REALLY appreciate WS

 

[godders]

Day 2 Part 1 - "Welcome to the Magic Kingdom!"

So like 2014, I dinged awake VERY early after not very much sleep only this time it was because of a stupid Zombie apocalypse nightmare gah! Annoyingly I couldn't get back to sleep after that so I got up at 5.30am and tried again to sort out the problem with my cash card but they were still unable to solve it. Then I got a message from both my brother AND my Dad saying theirs had also stopped working....oops
I gave up about 6am and started to resort my rucksack as it seemed to have exploded while I had been trying to retrieve my pajamas the night before. I just about managed to jam everything in and then rang Bell Services to pick up my bags and transport them over to resort No 2. All-Star Movies!

I headed straight down to the bus stop (oh the joys of express check out) and unfortunately missed the first bus to Magic Kingdom as I was faffing around with my camera



Luckily I only had to wait 15 mins until the next one came so it was about 7.30am by the time I actually boarded a bus. There were still seats left when I got on and after wizzing around another couple of villages, we were on our way.

Even though it had been quiet at CBR, at MK it was looking busier with people already lining up at the turnstiles for the 9am opening.



I took a couple of piccies







I decided to take a chance and ask at the Pre-Opening ADR line if I could head on in (my ressie wasn't until 9.05am) and the CM said yes! Huzzah! Thank you DISboards for that little tidbit!

I headed on in and bee-lined for the PP Photographers by the scarecrows to crack on with getting my money's worth out of the Memory Maker



I took some pictures of the scarecrows who looked awesome











It was then that I noticed that the crane - which was a feature of all my 2014 castle photos - was no where to be seen!!!



I wandered around Town Square and took some photos and saw this really cool window display I'd never noticed before







I headed up Main Street just really taking in the moment and embracing being back in my happy place!

I stopped off for another PP photo (why not!!)



and then headed on into the newly completed Hub!

​

​

 

[johnaalexis]

Love it so far!!!! Can't wait for an update!! You take amazing pictures!!!

 

[godders]

Love it so far!!!! Can't wait for an update!! You take amazing pictures!!!

Oh good glad you're enjoying it! Thanks. Taking pictures at Disney is one of my favourite things to do!

 

[godders]

Day 2 Part 2 - An Early Morning Exploration

Wow! The Hub looks so much better now that the walls were down! The first thing I noticed (other than the wide open space compared to last year) were these little statues in the gardens





They were so cute and it was really cool that they'd kept the idea from the previous Hub but I was a bit sad they weren't Halloween themed like this guy



But of course they kept the most famous one of all



There was still some construction going on....





But it was seemed to be mostly extra turrets so it looked like most of the work was completed



It was getting closer to my ADR so I headed further into the park to Fantasyland. I pulled out my phone to get a picture of the castle to show off to my friends and it fogged up straight away



It was just a little bit humid!!!





I had literally just taken this photo and turned around and spotted some people heading into the queue for 7DMT so I thought why not!



Omg! This ride was so much more enjoyable than last year! That extra 40lbs I lost had really helped I think. Not sure I would spend 40 minutes waiting for it but it will definitely always be a ride I FP.

I came out of Mine Train just as all the people from Rope Drop were hitting Fantasyland. There was definitely a sense of panic from all the guests as they rushed to get in line for 7DMT, Peter Pan and A&E! I was soooo glad that was not me (at least not this morning )

Anyway, I really should've timed heading to the castle better because dodging all those strollers and agitated parents was not so fun!​

 

[godders]

Day 2 Part 3 - "oooo let's take a shellfie"

That's right I was heading for the castle for my first visit to Cinderella's Royal Table! So excited! I love me some princesses!

I checked in at the kiosk and was immediately put in line to have a photo taken with Cinderella. There were a good 3 or 4 families in front of me but Cinders was on a little break anyway so it gave me time to take a couple of photos







While I was waiting they called out for "Princess Vicky" to say my table was ready meaning that as soon as I had my photo taken I could head on upstairs. I had butterflies because I had heard great things about CRT. Eventually Cinderella reappeared and the photographs were starting again. They had 2 photopass photographers alternating taking pictures which definitely helped speed things along.

Eventually I was at the front of the line and it was time to meet my first princess of the trip.



Cinderella was very friendly and asked if I had a dress like hers (which of course I don't) so she said I should ask my fairy godmother for one. If only I had one of those! She then said I should ask my dad haha! Definitely think that might be the best bet!



Once I'd had my photo taken, it was time to head up the stairs to the restaurant itself. I was greeted at the door and taken straight to me seat which was right in the middle of the big windows. Best seat in the house apparently!


The view out of the window


Looking back into CRT

My server came over straight away and called me Princess the entire time I was there. He was seriously one of the best servers I had all trip! I had a quick look at the menu but I'd pretty much already decided what I wanted but I loved the menu itself so naturally I took a couple of pics of it





While I was looking, the CM brought me over a plate of pastries and an orange juice



I decided to go for the cinnamon one and it was delicious!



For my actual breakfast I chose the Baked Quiche which was Goat's Cheese, Spinach and Mushroom Quiche with a dollop of Goat's Cheese served with Arugula and Roasted Bell Peppers! Nom! Nom! Nom! It was so good! I would definitely recommend it.



While I was waiting for my food to arrive though one of the other CMs came round and gave out stars and wands to everyone including me which are great little mementos!





And by some miracle the wand was just the right size to fit in my rucksack, unlike my Olaf fan from the year before.

Just after my food arrived so too did the princesses AND they headed straight for the section I was sat in. First up was Snow White



Then came Aurora



Next up came Ariel and we had a "shellfie"



and last but certainly not least came Jasmine!



The interactions were a little awkward but I'm going to put that down to it being first thing in the morning. Another problem with the princesses is that they are all so tiny, I definitely felt very Pooh like

I also realised that I am AWFUL at taking selfies. I'm not sure if it's just because my phone is so big or because I have the world's unsteadiest hands but I apologise for the quality of my shots.

I finished my breakfast and could see that Fantasyland was getting busier and busier so I decided it was time to head out and hit some rides!

​

 

[ariane37]

First of all, you look adorable in your selfies! You should see how I look in EVERY SINGLE picture I've ever had taken of myself with a Princess - horrible lol! Like utterly ridiculous! My excitement gets the best of me and my face gets all weird......so I can never show them to anyone
I'm glad you enjoyed the food at CRT. We ate there for the first time last Nov. and also had breakfast. Myself and younger DS liked our food; DH and older DS felt theirs was just ok. Being the only female in a house full of males I needed to have my chance I the castle and I'm glad I finally did Not sure if your character interaction was due to the early hour or just the particular "friends" of the Princesses you met that day, we had a couple not particularly great interactions when we went and it was later in the morning. The cool thing was that Merida was there that day in place of Aurora, and you never see Merida at a character meal so I was doubly excited!!

If I haven't said this already, your pictures are fantastic

 

[godders]

First of all, you look adorable in your selfies! You should see how I look in EVERY SINGLE picture I've ever had taken of myself with a Princess - horrible lol! Like utterly ridiculous! My excitement gets the best of me and my face gets all weird......so I can never show them to anyone
I'm glad you enjoyed the food at CRT. We ate there for the first time last Nov. and also had breakfast. Myself and younger DS liked our food; DH and older DS felt theirs was just ok. Being the only female in a house full of males I needed to have my chance I the castle and I'm glad I finally did Not sure if your character interaction was due to the early hour or just the particular "friends" of the Princesses you met that day, we had a couple not particularly great interactions when we went and it was later in the morning. The cool thing was that Merida was there that day in place of Aurora, and you never see Merida at a character meal so I was doubly excited!!

If I haven't said this already, your pictures are fantastic

I am so jealous! Merida has been on my list of characters to meet since I started doing my solo trips! She is my Mum's favourite (I think because she reminds her of me and my independent ways hahaha)

I completely know what you mean about the "friends." I met a bunch of different ones and you could definitely see the difference.

I'm going to try to get CRT for dinner next time I think. The menu is right up my ally although I doubt I'd get the same table which would give excellent Wishes views.

Thanks so much about the photos. I took about 8000 so you'll be seeing a lot of them

 

[godders]

Just a little toe off topic.....

Hi everyone! Hope you've been enjoying my TR so far. Just thought I would update you all on a little news.....

So here in the UK, Disney releases it's 2017 Free Dining packages in April (ish) and included are 14 days ultimate tickets (Park hoppers + water parks/mini golf) for the price of 7 days, free memory maker and $200 dollar gift card...

..and it seemed like too good of an opportunity to miss so I booked 2 weeks, Nov/Dec 2017 at Caribbean Beach Resort...

...only I'm attempting to make my way around all the resorts so I thought I'd switch to stay at Coronado Springs Resort as I've never been...

....only then someone mentioned Zebra Domes.........

Now if you don't know what Zebra Domes are then seriously look them up!

Zebra Domes are somewhat famous in some circles and can be found in large supply at AKL.......

Yep you guessed it, I upgraded to Animal Kingdom Lodge (in my defense I went with a standard view). I AM SO EXCITED!

Only my family already thinks I'm crazy so I'm not mentioning this trip to ANYONE until at least next year

So I booked my trip and couldn't believe how long it was until I was going to get to visit my happy place again and so that spurred me on to crack on with my TR (which you are now hopefully enjoying)........

....Only then I realised I couldn't actually wait that long until I got to go back.......so I may or may not have booked to go back in Nov/Dec this year......


​

 

[ariane37]

That's awesome!! DH and I stayed at AKL Jambo in January and fell in love. We'd previously stayed at OKW, SSR, and BWV, and after our 3 nights at AKL did 2 at the Poly, and of them all AKL is by far my favorite And also FYI, we had a standard view and ended up with a gorgeous pool view.

So when are you going in Nov?? We'll be there the 19th-26th.

 

[godders]

That's awesome!! DH and I stayed at AKL Jambo in January and fell in love. We'd previously stayed at OKW, SSR, and BWV, and after our 3 nights at AKL did 2 at the Poly, and of them all AKL is by far my favorite And also FYI, we had a standard view and ended up with a gorgeous pool view.

So when are you going in Nov?? We'll be there the 19th-26th.

I'd heard there are very few not so brilliant standard view rooms but with my luck that's what I'd get (I actually managed to fall down the stairs today in bare feet while carrying a full cat litter tray). I've spent quite a bit of time in Africa so I'm really looking forward to it. I know people complained about it being dark but that's pretty much what many more traditional buildings are like. Plus I'm on the dining plan so I'm pretty sure a good portion of my snack credits will be spent on Zebra Domes haha. What did you think of the Poly? It's on my hit list but it's not a resort I'm dying to stay at unlike GF which is my dream! .

Aw I fly in on the 27th. How do you find the Thanksgiving Crowds? I went to Disneyland CA in Feb and it was a 10 on the Saturday and I found it way too stressful with the large crowd. It was the first time I'd had people in my way for the fireworks lol

 

[godders]

Day 1 Part 4 - Ride, rides and more....rain

I got out of CRT and headed in the direction of Frontierland (which I have to say is probably my favourite area of MK). Luckily in this part of the park the crowds weren't looking too bad but they were definitely bigger than 2014 for 10.30am



I did however, notice some pretty large clouds developing overhead so the day's storm clearly wasn't going to wait till the afternoon. I decided to head straight for Splash Mountain as I know that's one of the first that gets shut when there is bad weather.

As I walked over to the ride I also took the time to jump on MDE to change one of my fastpasses. I'd originally got one for Wishes but I'd worked out with my dinner ADR I wouldn't get the chance to use it. I switched it to BTMRR instead which is another one of the reasons why I love Frontierland so much.

I got to Splash and the line was posted as 20 mins which wasn't bad so I jumped straight in and was actually through in about 10. Just as I got to the part of the queue which becomes the tunnel down to the loading dock they announced over the PA system that inclement weather was heading for Magic Kingdom but that they'd try to get as many riders through as possible before they had to shut. I really do think announcements like that help to shape how people experience the storms and rides shutting. Makes you feel like the CMs are going the extra mile to help guests out.

While I waited though I did manage to grab a couple of pictures





As you can see I thoroughly enjoyed my ride



and literally we hit the bottom of the big drop and it started to rain and of course it was one of those times when the logs were end to end from the water fall through to the unloading dock.

By the time we were able to get out of the log, it was throwing it down and as I got to the ride exit there were several CMs telling everyone that all the outside attractions were now closed. Luckily it had not quite reached the previous nights' level of storm so I threw on my waterproof coat and set off!

I did decide however not to travel too far and decided to dive into Country Bear Jamboree for possibly the first time since I was a little kid. They had just opened the theatre doors and I ended up in the middle of the row towards the back. Now what amazed me was the number of people who kept their wet ponchos on Seriously, other people have to sit there after you! Eugh! Anyway, I'd read some bad stuff about CBJ but I really enjoyed it especially "Every man who turns me on, turns me down" My only negative is that some of the music/vocals were a bit quiet so I couldn't always catch what the moose on the wall said but that was only a minor thing.

Soon though it was time to head back into the wet outdoors and the rain was coming down even harder than before. I was again impressed by the CMs who were being very active in enforcing that it was an exit so people had to move and not just stand there and wait for the weather to pass. Lucky for me though I was able to get my coat on by the time I reached the door so I was ready to head off for another indoor attraction. Next up:



Sorry this photo was actually taken earlier in the morning hence why there's no rain (and also why there aren't any pictures of this part of the day)

Now I must confess that I have literally never seen Mickey's PhilHarmagic. In 2014 it was closed for refurbishment my entire trip, in the 2010 family trip my family didn't want to do any of the "kiddie" stuff (other than IASW for my mother - we all have to make sacrifices ) and our trip before that Mickey's Philharmagic was Legend of the Lion King.

So I didn't really know what to expect but I was excited by all the posters in the queue (which of course was up to the door with the weather)









So I have to say, the actual content of the show was not what I was expecting

It was alright but I was sat to one side of the theatre so I found the 3D was quite hard to focus on meaning the action sequences were just blurry for me.
On the plus side by the time I got out it had stopped raining

I decided to head back over to see if BTMRR had reopened (which it had) and it only had a posted wait time of 10 minutes. I'd also recieved and email to say that because my FP for BTMRR had been cancelled (due to the rain) I had an any ride FP instead. EXCELLENT!

Unfortunately I was sat in the 2nd row right at the front so it was a less than thrilling ride. Seriously it is soooo much better at the back (and at night)

I decided after BTMRR to go and see how the Haunted Mansion line was doing (it had been coming out of the gate earlier) and it was up at 50 minutes so I decided to use my any ride FP and I got to walk straight into the Stretch Room.

Now if you haven't read my first trip report (you can find the the link to it in my signature below) I have had a major phobia of HM and not just Disney's but literally any haunted house ever since my parents first took me on it when I was 4. I was so petrified that when I tried to ride it when we were at DLR when I was 15 I actually had a panic attack. So fast forward 10 years and when I came back on my own in 2014 when I was 25 I decided now was the time to conquer that fear. And conquer it I did!

But even returning a year later, having ridden it many times the year before, I felt that same anxiety start to creep in but once I was sat in my doom buggy and whispering along with my ghost host I was golden again!

Next I decided it was time to hit up my favourite ride, possibly in all of Disney: Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid and the sign said SB 25 minutes....what the.....???? This ride was a walk on my entire 2014 trip! What was going on?!?

Luckily I was through and enjoying my sing-a-long in 15 minutes









After LM it was starting to rain a little bit again so I decided to head on round to Space Mountain hoping that the queue wasn't too outrageous. It was posted as 50 minutes which I didn't mind so much. My dinner ADR wasn't until 9pm so I definitely had time to kill! And the line only took 40 mins so that's something. I do find it irritating though that the whole right hand side of the track was only being used for FP riders. I mean seriously there were good 5 minute gaps between FP riders when some of the SB line could've been using that side too. Anyway, I do love Space Mountain and I always end up in a bit of a giggling mess by the end of it. I think it's the little drops that do it.



We had just come round the last corner and unfortunately there was a loud bang from under our car and all of a sudden all of the lights came on. I think we broke it

We got round to the unloading platform and no one came after us but hopefully they got it fixed pretty quickly.

By the time I got out of Buzz it was 2pm I was starting to feel like I was dying from my lack of sleep. I'd literally had 8 hours in 3 days. So I did the unthinkable....I headed for Starbucks.....
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[godders]

Day 2 Part 5 - My First Daytime Parade!

Before this dying moment in Magic Kingdom, I didn't drink coffee. I've never EVER liked the stuff but desperate times call for desperate measures!

I decided to go with the Caramel Frappuccino in the hopes that I wouldn't actually be able to taste the coffee. As I was waiting in line to order I noticed that people were starting to line Main Street for the Festival of Fantasy parade. Woo hoo! This was going to be perfect because I was it was definitely on my hit list for this year. When I came out of Starbucks (also known as the Main Street Bakery) I saw a single person spot across the street. We still have about 40 minutes until the parade was going to start but I had plenty to look at while I quickly slurped up my much needed caffeine fix

First came the Dapper Dans



Then the balloons





Next up: The Main Street Philharmonic







and the final part of the pre-parade entertainment....The Grand Marshals





and then finally it was time for the parade to start!



First up Belle and the Beast











Tiana and Prince Naveen



Cinderella and Prince Charming



Anna and Elsa



Tangled















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