Diary of a Disney Hostage: The Trip Report (Last Edited: 8/27)

[danceintherain]

Hey all!
This trip report is very late in coming as we returned from our Honeymoon almost 4 months ago, but things have been crazy.
I graduate next month, so I've been working on that, and we found out that DH can graduate at the end of the summer which means we might get to move away from here sooner.

Anyways, a little bit about myself and other important characters, especially for all non-Snowbirds and others who may have not read my poor excuse for a pre-trip report.

I'm Becca, and a few years ago I decided that when I got married I wanted to go to Disney World on my Honeymoon. My boyfriend at the time Logan, who is my DH now was a bit skeptical, but as with most things I told him I knew more about it than he did and he would LOVE IT!
This is us:

The planning began over a year before the wedding, and before I had done any wedding planning, or he had proposed. I was going to Disney.

I planned on getting married in January, which happens to be one of the best crowd times at Disney.
A wedding in January - in Kansas - had a few requirements for me.
1. A cape and boots
2. Hot chocolate at the reception

Both of which I got, and became basically obselete because it was beautiful the whole week around my wedding.
We got snow less than a month ago, but clear skies and warmth the first week of January. Go figure!

I loved my cape, boots, and hot chocolate though, so it was ok.

Our trip was 10 days staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in a Pool View Room. My dream was a Savannah View room, but it was a little too pricey, so it was either Pool View or downgrade to a Moderate. I'm reasonable when I have to be.

Arrival and Settling In
Under the Sea and Riders in the Sky (page 1)
When I See an Elephant Fly (page 2)
We're Gonna Make You a Star (page 2)
The Studios & EPCOT (page 3)
A Whole New World (page 3)

 

[danceintherain]

I scheduled our plane flight for as early in the day as possible, but it still didn't have us getting in until 3pm. However, our departing flight was at 9am, which meant getting to the airport by 7:30. The Kansas City airport usually doesn't have long lines, otherwise we would have had to get there even earlier.

We got on our plane, and were excited to begin our Disney adventure.

When we arrived at the Orlando airport and headed straight to the food court for a bit to eat. We hadn't eaten anything since breakfast that morning and it was already very late in the afternoon. We didn't have much time during our layover in Atlanta, so we didn't get a chance to grab something there.
We then stopped in the Earport to see about getting me an Annual Pass voucher. They said they didn't sell them...oh well.

We headed downstairs to check-in for Magical Express. The line was very short and we were on our bus in a matter of minutes. I was thrilled!

We stopped at Pop Century first, and I was interested to see the outside of the resort. Then, we were off to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. However, we didn't enter and check in immediately.
We were staying at the Lodge on an Annual Passholder discount and I had yet to obtain an Annual Pass.
We first tried the bus to the Animal Kingdom. The driver said the park was closing, so we'd have better luck going somewhere else. He didn't know why we were going to a park, and I didn't clarify. I probably should have considering later on we found out that the bus to the Animal Kingdom to maybe 5 minutes. Also, the hours I had for the parks said the Animal Kingdom was open until 6 that night, and it was only 5.

We instead took the bus to EPCOT and bought our tickets from a very pleasant and helpful CM. She was thrilled that we were on our Honeymoon and that it was Logan's first trip, and hooked us up with all the appropriate buttons.
Logan ended up with 4 buttons by the end of the week as they gave us the 2008 ones at first, then gave us the 2009 style. He LOVED his buttons.

We then hopped right back on the bus back to the Lodge. We could have wandered in to EPCOT for a little while, but we both had packed waaay too much in our carryons and didn't feel like lugging them around anymore.

We checked in and were given all our documents. They didn't even ask for my Annual Pass. Oh well!
We were in room 4430 which was down the Zebra Trail. It was very convenient to the elevator. We only used it when going down to the Pool Level. Otherwise, it was faster to walk down the Hall toward the Lobby and take the stairs.
I just now realized that a Savannah View room would have been less convenient, because there would have been the possibility of being really far down one of the trails.
I had been hoping for a complimentary upgrade, but I knew it was unlikely since we were staying so long, and no Savannah View availability came up when I searched our dates.
I was perfectly satisfied with our view though. The animals would have been nice, but we still saw a few in the viewing areas.

Here are a few pictures from our room (I thought I had taken one of the view, but apparently it didn't make it):

After we had spent a little time in our room, it was time for our ADR at Jikos...

 

[heaven2dc]

Congratulations on your wedding! Your cape is beautiful I haven't been to Kansas in years - I lived in Hays until I was 4 years old then went back a couple times to visit relatives.

How exciting to spend your honeymoon in WDW and stay at AKL! I wish they had automatically upgraded you. Can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip

 

[danceintherain]

Congratulations on your wedding! Your cape is beautiful I haven't been to Kansas in years - I lived in Hays until I was 4 years old then went back a couple times to visit relatives.

How exciting to spend your honeymoon in WDW and stay at AKL! I wish they had automatically upgraded you. Can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip

I wish they had too, but it occurred to me a few months before we got there that it was very unlikely (I know it's always unlikely) because of the length of our stay.
One day I'll get to stay in a Savannah view, but this trip was more about riding EVERYTHING, which we just about did.

 

[GBShorts]

I can't wait to read about your honeymoon at Disney! I wanted to do that but was too chicken to ask because my husband wasn't/isn't much of a Disney buff...Thanks for sharing your trip with us!

 

[danceintherain]

I can't wait to read about your honeymoon at Disney! I wanted to do that but was too chicken to ask because my husband wasn't/isn't much of a Disney buff...Thanks for sharing your trip with us!

I was a bit worried about my DH not being into it. He's more of the fishing and hunting type, but he loved our trip. I think I've succeeded in making a Disney lifer out of him. He wants to go back for a second honeymoon.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Wonderful trip report so far. Signin' on to read more!

 

[danceintherain]

I apologize for not taking any pictures at Jikos. I think the camera was just about dead after we got to the hotel.

Overall, the meal was good. However, this was the only place we had trouble with being on the DDP. When the hostess had asked when we checked in if we'd be using the DDP I just assumed that she would pass the information along to our server. Apparently she did not, or he didn't remember, because a few things happened at the end of our meal that were a bit confusing. But let's talk about things in order...

From looking at our receipts I can tell you our server's name was Ron. Before we ordered he brought us a selection of African breads and butters. They were all very tasty, and probably my favorite thing about this meal.

I ordered the Chermoula Tanglewood Chicken and Logan had the Oak Grilled Filet Mignon.

I enjoyed my meal, but it was a little spicy for my taste. Also, I ate through all the dark meat before I realized there was a whole portion of white meat, and by then I was at the point where I needed to leave room for dessert.

Logan enjoyed his meal as well. I think I remember trying it, and thinking I should have ordered what he did instead.

Now for our first DDP confusion...Ron brought us a complimentary Celebration Creme Brulee. It was VERY good. Logan was so impressed that he decided to order Creme Brulee during at least one other meal, though I believe the Jikos Creme Brulee was his favorite.
Well after we had eaten our Creme Brulee, we proceeded to order our DDP desserts, and we both chose what was most likely the richest dessert on the menu: The Chocolate Cheesecake.
We probably should have just gotten one and split it, but we both got our own, and since we were simply heading back to the hotel afterwards, I believe we both made significant progress on our Cheesecakes before giving up.

After that Ron gave us our check, so we gave him a room card for our credits. This is when the confusion occurred, he charged our room instead of redeeming credits. We explained this when he got back, and he made the necessary adjustments, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

We only had one other problem with Dining Plan credits at EPCOT later in our trip.

Afterwards, we headed back to our room as I had an early day planned in the morning.

 

[MiaBella05]

subbing, can't wait to read about it!!

 

[MEK]

Lovely start to your trip report. Congratulations on your wedding and disneymoon. Looking forward to reading more.

 

[danceintherain]

In all my Disney planning I chose EPCOT as our first park. As a little overview, I planned two days in every park with one as a "Rope Drop" day and one as a "Sleep-in" day. It was also convenient because we got to split the major attractions between two days, and didn't have to hurry to get to the attractions we had planned.

Today was a "Sleep In" day, mostly because I didn't want to upset my husband by dragging him out of bed at the crack of dawn for our first Disney day, especially since we had gotten up super early the morning before to make our flight.
Even though this was a sleep in day, I was ready to go relatively early, and after I gave Logan a minute I dragged him down to the buses.
Here's us on the bus:

and Logan sporting his very first Disney park map

My guess is that we arrived between 10 and 11, though I'm not quite sure.
My major goal for today was Soarin', so as soon as we entered the park we headed towards the Land complex to obtain FastPasses. I'm not sure what the wait was, but it was long enough that we didn't have time wait in line for it.
We did, however, have time for the Circle of Life presentation.
It was a little preachy for my taste, especially since I had just spent a semester in an Environmental Sociology class. It was cute though, and I love me some Timon and Pumbaa.

After that we headed over to The Living Seas, and rode the Nemo rode. This was a first for me, as we skipped it during our last Disney trip. It was fun...I love the "Clammobiles", they were cozy.

Then came Turtle Talk with Crush... this was one of my favorite things from my last trip. It was still highly amusing.
Then we had to ask a CM where the Coral Reef restaurant was, because I had no idea. She gave us instructions, and we headed over. It was a little early, but we were both extra hungry, because we had skipped breakfast since we had slept in a little, and I didn't want us to be full for our lunch.

They gave us our beeper and we went to sit out in the sun while we waited.
We didn't get seated near the tank, which was slightly disappointing, but we still had a decent view.

Our server was nice. She seemed much more well versed in the Dining Plan than our Jikos server, and proceeded to tell us all the things our meal included.
Logan ordered the Blackened Catfish, and I had the New York Strip steak. For drinks I had the Sour Apple Freeze and we can't seem to remember what Logan had. My Sour Apple Freeze was good, but didn't go very well with my steak.
Logan really liked his fish... my steak was fine. Not the best I had ever had, but not the worst either.

Then for dessert....
Logan was so impressed by his Creme Brulee that he ordered another one for dessert. I had the Tropical Fruit Mango Sorbet, and hey, I remembered to take a picture

I thought the Sea Horse cracker was a nice touch, but it didn't taste very good.
We both enjoyed our desserts, but I remember mine was really cold which made it more difficult to consume rapidly. The fruit was really good though.

NEXT: Figment and Botan Rice Candies

 

[MICKEY4EVER!]

Hi, there! Congratulations on being a new bride! Your wedding photo was lovely. And congrats on converting your new DH to being a Disneylover. Not an easy task as my DH has been twice and even opted out on our recent March trip. Bummer. I haven't given up all hope yet, tho.

Love your TR so far. And taking pics of the curtains was a great idea! I'd have never thought to do that. Gotta love those Disney "touches". They make the trip so magical, don't they?

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[danceintherain]

After we filled our bellies and exited the Coral Reef it was off to Imagination!

To start off... I am not a huge fan of most of Disney's 3D shows... I don't like the smells, or the fact that they like to blow stuff on you (with the exception of Philharmagic) but since it was Logan's first trip I wanted to give him the opportunity to do and see everything, so we did Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, and I promptly covered my face during the dog part.

Then, on to Figment...as much as I dislike the 3D shows, Logan disliked Figment. I think it had something to do with the bright colors and crazy music.
I enjoyed it, and held my breath during the "smell" part. I probably was nice and warned Logan about it as well...

Then, we had Fast Passes to use, so back to The Land Pavillion to complete the attractions there.
We hopped on Living with the Land, which we both liked so much we went on it again later. I just love the fresh smell of the garden area.

Then Soarin'...Logan was a little nervous about this ride, because he has a small fear of heights, but he thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Me a little less so, mostly because we ended up at the top, and on the end, so I could see the black screen around the edges. I tried to ignore it, but was unsuccessful.

Then, as we had saved the rides on the other side of the park for our second EPCOT day, we began to tour the World Showcase.
and hey look, we took some pictures!
Canada

I'm pretty sure Logan had never seen a Seagull before...

France

Morocco

Japan

Upon arrival in Japan I had a task ahead of me... We walked through every store in search of Botan Rice Candies!

These candies were one of the only things I remember from when we lived in Orlando, so I was very attached to them. The thing I remembered most about them was the fact that you eat the wrappers. (well the second wrapper)

When I mentioned them to my family a while back, none of them remembered them, and thought I was making them up, but upon perusal of these boards I found that they do exist, and that they were and are still sold in the Japan Pavilion

I found them and was satisfied. They were the only souvenir, other than my Bride ears that I bought while at Disney. They're not quite as citrusy as I remember them, but that's ok.

After I had secured my candies... we headed back towards the exit, because Logan was a bit tired out from his first Disney day.

I was trying to stall, because I was supposed to bump into Soleil that day, but alas my stalling didn't quite work well enough.
We did however, stop to watch the waiters do their show... I'm disappointed we didn't take any pictures, but Logan was worried about drawing any attention to ourselves...He was not anxious to be part of the show.

We exited the park, and headed back to the room, so Logan could get a nap.
We had been planning on going to MG --- Disney Studios for extra magic hours and maybe a showing of Fantasmic?, but after Logan had napped for a while, and we had gotten something to eat from the Mara it was already pushing 8 and we waited for the bus for probably 45 minutes, before we gave up and went back the room. The Disney Studios buses were the only ones we had problems with the whole trip.

However... I did find this lovely picture...

A night time picture of our lovely view...charming isn't it?

Then, off to bed, because we had our first early Disney day in the morning to the Magic Kingdom...

NEXT: Logan gets to take a ride with his favorite Disney character of all time
Any guesses?

 

[tink1957]

Nice pics, I like your view. Just found your TR today & can't wait to read more.

Congrats on your wedding. Hope you have many happy years visiting WDW together.

I'm guessing the Mad Hatter.

 

[Sleeping*Beauty]

I'm guessing Mickey Mouse.

 

[MICKEY4EVER!]

Buzz Lightyear?????

 

[stacikristine]

Hey!! I found your TR... Great job so far! I love the night time view from your room. It makes me even more excited to be at AKL! I can't wait to hear more!!

 

[Monny2AE]

Congrats on spending your honeymoon in Disney! That's where we went for ours too.

 

[danceintherain]

Ok...so maybe I was a bit misleading.

He didn't actually get to ride WITH a character. He got to ride ON his favorite character.

As a little background, when I went to Disney World with my parents a few years ago, about a year after Logan and I started dating, I wanted to get him a special present.

I asked him who his favorite character was and he said Dumbo and 'Mater.
Now, looking at Logan you could guess 'Mater... He's a tow truck all covered in rust, but lovable on the inside.
However, Dumbo...is a bit more of a stretch...
For example...here's a few pictures of Logan in his element...

I specifically picked pictures where he wasn't smiling, because he never smiled in pictures until he met me.

His attachment to Dumbo comes from much further back...

When Logan was little... his favorite Disney movie was Dumbo. I also think Dumbo was where he got his fear.... I mean "dislike" of clowns.

I did attempt to find a plush 'Mater, but I was unsuccessful. I did find a wind up one that would have been on, but less cuddly, and in my opinion less practical. My search for Dumbo wasn't doing so well either, until late one night at the Magic Kingdom.
My youngest brother collects things... and he had wanted to get a coin necklace from all four parks. He had successfully found suitable souvenirs at all the parks, except the Magic Kingdom. However, nobody wanted to take him to look anymore.
I, being the kind sister that I am, volunteered to take him to probably the last store he hadn't looked in... the County Bounty... in Mickey's Toontown Fair.
We were all the way over in Adventureland area, and I was not as familiar with Disney, so I didn't realize we could take the train, so I escorted him by foot all the way across Disney.
Now...this was Disney the week between Christmas and New Year's, so when we got to County Bounty the shelves were practically bear, but as we entered through the doors my eye was drawn to the back corner of a bottom shelf.
There was a suitably sized stuffed Dumbo. I snatched it up, and brought it home to my future husband.
He LOVED it!

Then, while planning for our trip, I mentioned to Logan that we would probably skip the Dumbo ride, because the line was usually ridiculous for a minute long ride.
He was adamant that we ride it, so being the loving fiance that I was, I incorporated it into our plans.
Now, if I was going to appease this particular wish, I made it clear that we would have to get there before the park opened.

On this one day...we managed to make it in time for Rope Drop.
I immediately grabbed Logan's hand and ushered him through the crowd of people, and down Main Street towards Fantasyland.
We made it in time for the Fantasyland ropes to be dropping as we got there, and I directed Logan towards Dumbo.

I don't think we were first in line, but we were on the first rotation of the ride.
In further attempt to appease his wishes I let him choose what color Dumbo he wanted. He picked GREEN!

This is us on the ride...

You couldn't even tell from that picture what we were riding... so I took this one, just of Logan.

This was a very successful ride for Logan. It was even better when I showed him how to adjust the height by moving the lever.
You see... Logan had not only never been to Disney... he had rarely gotten to go to any kind of amusement park, so even the carnival type rides were new to him. No one he grew up to be so surly!
Here are a few more from after our ride...

After Dumbo, Logan was hungry, so we may have gone to get food before riding anything else. I think this was most likely considering our receipt from the Main Street Bakery says 9:17am, which means we may have ridden one ride, but probably not.
We used some snack credits for breakfast.
Logan got a Cinnamon Roll and I got a Croissant. Both were tasty, and filled us up enough to go on to other things.

I think this was when we returned to play in Fantasyland. However, we did stop to get our first PhotoPass pictures taken.

and again...

After we got some pictures taken... I'm pretty sure we went back to Fantasyland to finish the attractions (if not...this picture belongs after the Dumbo pictures)
Here's Logan waiting for Mickey's Philharmagic - Opery glasses on and ready to go...

This is the only 3D show at Disney that doesn't bother me. Actually... I love it. Logan did too, so much it was his favorite attraction for the rest of the day.
We also did Snow White, Peter Pan, Winnie-the-Pooh, and It's a Small World.
For It's a Small World, the CM even gave us our own boat. That was extra special fun.
Logan felt the same way about Winnie-the-Pooh as he did about Figment... they're a bit too trippy for him.

After this we headed over to Toontown. I decided that even though we'd have to wait in line... I wanted pictures with Mickey and Minnie in their classic attire. It was totally worth it.

We also got a few pictures around Toontown. I love cartoon like scenery; it looks great in pictures.

Someone even offered to take a picture of us together

After our fun in Toontown we took the train to Frontierland to Pecos Bill's for lunch. Don't ask me how we got all the way over there. I think I probably asked Logan want he wanted and he said Tacos. (this may have actually been before Toontown which would mean we didn't take the train...this may have been more likely since our receipt said 11:34am)

At Pecos Bill's I got the Chicken Wrap with Fries, Sprite, and Pudding for Dessert. Logan got the Taco Salad with Fries and Pudding for Dessert.
I particularly enjoyed the method Pecos Bill's uses for taking your order.
You get to input it yourself on a computer. It helped us to know what we got on the Dining Plan. I'm the type of person that would rather figure things out myself than ask somebody to help me, so this was right up my alley.

After wards we may have ridden a few other attractions, but I'm pretty sure we were out of the park by 1pm.
Logan, once again, needed a nap.

NEXT: Dinner in the Castle

 

[MICKEY4EVER!]

Hot Diggity Dog, an update!

Love the photos, too, so cute. Can't wait to hear more about the Castle Dinner.

Naps? Who naps at Disney? Oh yeah, your husband and mine! ARGGHH!