Fall 2009 Trip

[disneyfav4ever]

I realize that I never wrote a trip report for my trip last September. As I’m going through a serious case of Disney withdrawal right now, I think it’s a good time to write one.

What - My ninth trip to Disney World, my sixth solo trip.
Where - All Star Movies
Who - Just me!
When - September 2009
Why - I needed a Disney fix, and it was free dining and Food and Wine

I had not planned on going to Disney again after my birthday trip last February until fall 2010, but I realized over the summer that I had enough money in my Disney fund to be able to go this year, so why wait a whole year to go?

I booked the trip at the end of July, and then made my ADR’s right away. I won’t bore you with the details about that since I ended up changing all the reservations I originally made. I did book two special events though that I ended up keeping; Party for the Senses, and the Wishes dessert buffet.

Day One

I had an early 7:00 AM flight out of Philadelphia. Philly isn’t my first choice to fly out of, I really don’t care for the airport that much in general, but they do have a lot of flight options, and I was able to get a really good fare at the time I wanted.

I got to the airport much earlier then I needed to be. I’m always worried about traffic on the way to the airport, being held up at security, or something going wrong that I give myself several hours. Still arriving at 4:00 AM was a bit extreme, as I was one of only a few people at security, and the only one at the gate for quite awhile.

I did end up having breakfast around 5:30, at Burger King. I had a sandwich, it was a little too greasy, but I was hungry, (I’d been up since 2:00 and hadn’t eaten before leaving the house,) and it was fast food, so I couldn’t be too picky. I actually think the last time I had a fast food breakfast was when I flew to Orlando in February. Seems to be a tradition; don’t eat because I’m too excited, arrive at airport way too early, then eat fast food because otherwise I’ll starve before getting to Disney.

I think I slept a little on the plane, the three hours of sleep I got the night before had me pretty exhausted. Between sleeping I read a book, I think I had taken Summer Desserts to read, which is a nice little romance novel that I’d read before, and I didn’t want to read anything too serious on vacation. And I knew I wouldn’t be reading once I got to Disney anyway.

After arriving in Orlando, and arriving early I might add, around 9:30, I headed for Disney’s Magical Express. It’s much easier now that I can just head right for the line for the bus then actually having to check in, and after seven trips, it’s just routine.

Checking into the resort the CM argued with me that I could not have my park ticket separated from my room key, since it was designed to be used only from me. Even after explaining that I only wanted to upgrade my MYW ticket to a different pass, and I would still be the only one using the ticket, he still wouldn’t fix it. Not wanting to mess with the pass, since it had my precious dining credits on it, I gave up, and still just have it saved in my wallet for the next time I need to buy a ticket.

I was in my room by 11:00, which I considered good timing, and ahead of schedule, since according to my master plan, (which I don’t know why I even bother coming up with, since I always stray from it,) had me be in Epcot by 1:00. Needless to say I was at Epcot well before 1:00.

I had ended up in the Mighty Ducks building, which, if you aren’t familiar with the All Stars setup, is on the far right of the resort, and it ended up being a much shorter walk to Music’s bus stop, so that’s what I used for the duration of my trip, only using Movie’s actual bus stop twice, once when I needed to pick up packages, and the day I checked out.

At Epcot the first thing I had to do was get my annual pass, then my Tables in Wonderland Card, and while I was at it, a $100 Food and Wine Festival gift card. I think that’s the fastest I’ve ever spent that much money and being so terribly excited and happy at the same time.

After entering the park I headed straight for the Land, where I picked up a Fast Pass for Soarin, and then had lunch at Sunshine Seasons, which was somewhat disappointing. (If you want to read my full dining reviews, the link’s in my signature.)

I checked out the Food and Wine Festival center, but there wasn’t much going on there, on a Tuesday afternoon, so I headed to World Showcase, where I sampled my first Food and Wine festival treat: the grand marnier parfait.

I went to Mexico, where I saw my first example of an ignorant guest. I over-heard someone say as they walked by, “this is Mexico,” and not realizing they could actually go inside the pyramid. I think a lot of people just walk through the “front” of the countries, and don’t realize that there’s a lot of stuff in each country if you take the time to look. And you really don’t even have to look that hard. If those people had even stopped to look at their guide maps, they would’ve seen there’s a boat ride, and I bet a lot of people don’t look at their maps, or their times guides, and miss a lot of the entertainment as well.

I rode the boat ride. I don’t like it since they added Donald and friends to it, I think it’s just extremely tacky, and what was once a nice calm boat ride, now gives me a headache. Yes, it’s Disney, but that doesn’t mean every single thing needs characters. I think if they really want to add a little something, maybe they could add a Donald piñata or something to one of the scenes, sort of like a hidden Mickey, and do something like that to each attraction, and see how many you can find.

Walking through the rest of World Showcase I tried the green papaya and shrimp salad, (really good shrimp,) before ending up in Japan where I saw the drummers, and watched the candy lady make amazing treats. I really love watching her, and she does amazing work. A kid did shove in front of me though, after I had been waiting there for twenty minutes to watch, and he just came up and shoved his way to the front, and not only in front of me, but pushing through other kids too. I think Myuki (sp?) saw that though, cause he didn’t get picked for a piece of candy.

Then I headed back to Mexico, and tried out the new tequila bar. (Why I didn’t get one when I had already been there I have no idea.) In short, the new tequila bar is fabulous, and I can’t wait until I get to try some more drinks there this fall. I had the blood orange margarita, and it was super yummy.

I went back into Future World then to use my Soarin Fast Pass, which was great as always, and I got a seat in the front row, which is the best IMO. I also rode Journey Into Imagination with Figment, which I know if kind of lame, but I like it.

I started to walk to the International Gateway then, since I had dinner reservations at the Boardwalk, but stopped on the way to try the fisherman’s pie and the chocolate lava cake from the Ireland booth, and the best booth of the Festival this year IMO.

I walked to the Boardwalk instead of taking the boat, I really think it’s a nice walk, and I even walk to and from the Studios as well. I was early for my dinner reservation, but I didn’t mind waiting, I really just wanted to be in the air conditioning at that point.

Dinner that night was at Kouzzina, which is the new restaurant by Cat Cora. The food was good, nothing exceptional, but I wouldn’t mind having dinner there again, not a must-do though.

After dinner I went back to Epcot, where I rode Spaceship Earth and Mission Space, both of which I like to take in if I have time, but neither of them are must-dos for me. Both of them were walk-ons that night, and that’s always nice. I went back to the Festival center, and bought two bottles of wine before heading back to All Stars.

The bus ride back was kind of yucky, some kid got sick, and I’m really glad I was sitting where I was since I was far enough away to not have anything touch me. I felt so bad for the kid though, and it was clear she and her parents were embarrassed. People were really super on the bus though, pulling out tissues, and anything else they had to help people wipe off, hand sanitizer for people to use, and giving the girl bags in case she had to throw up again.

I was back in my room by 8:30, but had to go back down to the gift shop for some toiletries I had forgotten, (I always forget something,) and for some aloe, because I managed to get a sunburn, even though I had lathered on the sunscreen before going to Epcot.

 

[cmp1111]

Great - it's never too late to start a report!

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I woke up today at 6:30. I’m actually surprised I was able to wake up so easily, since at home I usually sleep till noon, but that’s what Disney does to me. I was out of my room by 7:00, and just missed a bus, but that turned out for the best since the next bus that came had the most awesome bus driver.

Aside from me there were two other families on board, and he asked us where we were having breakfast, I was eating at Kona, the other two were eating at Chef Mickey’s and Crystal Palace. Instead of taking us all to the Magic Kingdom, he dropped the Chef Mickey’s eaters off at the Contemporary, and dropped me off right at the Polynesian. I would have been appreciative of that any day, but especially that morning since I wanted to eat, and make rope drop.

I was a little worried about not being seated, because I didn’t have a reservation, and the online ADR system kept on telling me nothing was available but I figured worst case scenario I could just grab something at Captain Cook’s if they were actually really full.

They weren’t, it was almost completely empty. They had just opened, but I really don’t think a lot of people rush to eat there first thing in the morning. It was a good breakfast, I had the Kahuna platter, so got to try a little bit of everything.

I was done eating and on the monorail by 8:20, so knew I’d be making rope drop. I got through the bag check quickly, and it wasn’t very crowded at all by the train station. I’d picked a good day for the Magic Kingdom.

I saw the welcome show, which always puts me in a good mood, and really lets me know I’m in Disney. (Yes, I know I’m a geek.)

As soon as the park opened I followed the small mob to Frontierland, got a Fast Pass for Splash Mountain, and then rode Big Thunder Mt. Railroad stand-by with no wait. (This is why I love rope drop, no lines for anything.)

Next I went to Fantasyland, where I rode It’s A Small World and saw Mickey’s Phillarmagic, (where I ended up sitting next to a rude guest, who said quite loudly as soon as the show started, that it was “just a cartoon,“) then the Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square, since it’s right there, before I was able to get another Fast Pass, this time for Peter Pan’s Flight.

I then saw the ending of Dream Along with Mickey, and stayed on Main Street to see the Move It Shake It Celebrate It parade before my lunch reservation at the Plaza.

The Plaza was much smaller then I thought it would be, and even though the restaurant wasn’t exceptionally busy they must have been out of four-top tables since there was a family of four seated at the two-top next to me. The food was all right, but I had a cheese steak, and I really should have gotten something else since, cheese steaks outside of Philly never really compare to the real deal.

After lunch I went back to Fantasyland, and got a Fast Pass for the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh before heading into Tomorrowland, where I rode the Transit Authority, and then Carousel of Progress. Once seated in the theater someone asked me if I knew what this was. I know first-timers would not know exactly what to expect, but really, shouldn’t people at least do a bit of research and not just get in any line without knowing what they’re getting in line for?

Hall of Presidents was next, (I really got a lot done today,) and I encountered a really rude guest. There was a cast member giving the usual no smoking, eating, drinking spiel, who also said, it was not necessary to move all the way down, and ¾ of the way down would be fine. So going into the theater there was a couple in front of me moving down the row, and stopped half a dozen or so seats before the end. I sat down next to them. The lady coming in behind us told us there were still seats to fill, and didn’t we hear the announcement to move all the way down? And she said it in a rude tone too. We told her (nicely,) that is not what was said, as we were paying attention, and he clearly said moving all the way down was not necessary. She got aggravated saying that we were supposed to move all the way down, but then the spiel was repeated, and I guess she actually listened to it that time, and realized we were the ones who were right. She didn’t apologize or anything though, she just kind of rolled her eyes, but she did finally sit down and shut up.

After the Hall of Presidents I walked around the Christmas store, and admired all the pretty ornaments. I did end up buying a couple of things there, including a Tinker Bell ornament with a candy cane, which my dad somehow managed to drop while he was “just looking at it” less then a week after I came home. I swear he’s like a little kid sometimes.

I got a spot on Main Street at 2:15 for the Celebrate a Dream Come True parade, and was also able to see the 2:30 showing of Dream Along with Mickey from where I sat. I sat next to a pole, so no one would be able to shove in next to me on that side at least, or so I thought. The other family who arrived pretty early had a little girl, (two-years old maybe,) with them who decided she wanted to sit between me and the pole instead of with her family, which her mom apologized for, but I thought was adorable. She got bored with sitting next to me in like five minutes though.

Right about when the parade was about to start, maybe five minutes before, a couple came up and wanted to sit there too. They were rather large, (not judging, I’m rather pooh-sized myself,) but a two-year old could just squeeze in there, so there obviously wasn’t any way they were going to fit there. So they decided to sit in front of me, on the street. Luckily a cast member came along and told them they had to go and stand behind everyone that was sitting, (I guess she had noticed who had and hadn’t been there for awhile.) They moved, not sure if they stayed to watch the parade or not though.

After the parade I started to head out of the park. I had the Wishes dessert buffet at 8:00, but I knew I had to eat something before that, so I decided to do a little monorail drink-a-thon, and get something to eat along the way. Upon exiting the park I found out the monorail was not operating. Did I let that alter my plans? Nope!

I ended up walking to the Contemporary, (which really isn’t that far,) and using a counter service credit at the Contempo Café, then taking a bus from there to the Polynesian, where I got a drink at the Tambu Lounge, and then walking from the Polynesian to the Grand Floridian, (which is when I realized the music from Dream Along with Mickey is really loud, I could hear it perfectly coming from the Poly Beach,) and having another drink and an appetizer from Citrico’s menu at Mizner’s Lounge. It was fun, and a nice two-hour break from the park.

I took the boat from the Grand Floridian back to the Magic Kingdom, and sat near the door. A little girl kind of started to fall stepping into the boat, and grabbed my knee for support. Her mom apologized, and I said it was no problem and she thanked me, almost like she expected me to be mad?

I don’t get it. There are some people who think they should be entitled to anything they want, (like shoving their way to the front at the last minute for shows and parades,) and then there are other people who think that things that don’t make a difference, (like the little girl grabbing my knee,) will cause someone to flip out, and that they owe that person an apology. Some people are just self-entitled pigs, and others are much too considerate, and probably never think of themselves first, even when they should.

On the boat the driver announced that Magic Kingdom would be open an hour later then the schedule said. I was very happy to hear this, and glad he said something, because once in the park there was no sign of the park staying open late.

Back in the Magic Kingdom I went to Fantasyland again, and used the Fast Passes I had gotten earlier for the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and Peter Pan’s Flight.

I checked-in for the dessert party at 7:30, and was one of the first ones seated. Overall, the service and the view were excellent, the desserts were good, but nothing special, and some of the other guests were very obnoxious. I’d do it again if I went with a first-timer as a special treat, but probably not for just myself. I did also have a somewhat decent view of Spectro, the floats were somewhat blocked by trees, but I could see and hear well enough.

After Wishes, which like I said, was a great view, most people thought the park was closed, and left, but I knew better. I went to Fantasyland again and saw Mickey’s Phillarmagic one more time, then quickly made my way to Adventureland to my last must-do Pirates of the Caribbean. After Pirates I still had a few minutes before closing, so I was able to get on one of the last boats for Jungle Cruise of the day, with only five other people, (well six others if you include the skipper.)

All in all it was a great day, with a few small bumps in it by other guests, but nothing that ruined my trip. By the time I got back to All Stars, which was around 11:00 I was more then ready to fall fast asleep.