I Can Spot Frozen Fireworks Anywhere! Aug. '14 TR Updated 7/12

[MagicalMerida]

Wooo! I'm reading! Followed this trip along on Facebook and twitter, I'm looking forward to reading about it in more detail! Great report so far! The Grand is beautiful!

 

[ribollita]

Loving your report and photos! Wow, the villa is gorgeous.

 

[katt789]

So glad ya'll were able to make the most of villains night depsite having a less than stellar evening!

Great shots of oogie boogie's show! I HATED the sword guy, steven hated the archery couple, and we both LOVED the girl from the fire couple, she was INSANELY talented, seriously, way more than him! Though the show was NOTHING like we expected it to be!!

 

[PeanutButterMom]

I broke my DIS hiatus so that I could read your Trip Reports - didn't disappoint! VGF is breathtaking!



Can't wait til

 

[khertz]

Got dates yet for next October? I think we'll be there Oct. 17-25. We really loved VGF and cannot wait to stay there again. 50 years of trips there sounds alright to me.​

Sorry, I totally forgot to subscribe to this one after commenting last time and missed this!! We don't have hard & fast dates yet, only because it depends on a lot of different factors since Paxton will be starting school. If all goes as I want it to, we should overlap at least a couple of days since that is the time of October we like to go! As it stands, we are planning on Disneyland the first week of March, hopefully a trip in late October to WDW, and then WDW for Mardi Gras week 2016.

On to all of the updates I missed...

Good for you for being calm and rational when explaining to Disney why the party didn't work. I hope they take suggestions like yours and improve the party for next year instead of just getting rid of it or doing the exact same thing over again.

It really is a shame that they totally botched the character meets. 2 hours for one character is such a waste of valuable party time! I'm glad you enjoyed it though. And really, they ran out of merchandise and special snacks early on? Didn't they learn anything from the 40th anniversary at MK??

Katt & Steven's costumes are pretty amazing! I'm sure, if nothing else, it was a really fun atmosphere with people dressed up as villains.

That show looks...interesting?? It's hard to imagine a show in DISNEY WORLD having a sign that it isn't for small kids!!

 

[Missyrose]

Even if things at the party weren't perfect it still looks like an awesome time.

My all time favorite villain meet and greet was when my brother and I met Jafar in 1994. I was 9 1/2 and my brother was 6. We went up and gave him our books to sign, and after he signed them he threw the pen off to the side. My brother went and got it and we posed for the picture. Jafar used his hands and smushed our heads into the sides of his robe, and after the picture when he let us go he looked at the hand that had been on my head and wiped it down the side of his robe. You could FEEL the disgust rolling off of him. It was fantasic! And even 20 years later it is one of my most vividly remembered meet and greets.

What a fantastic M&G!!!

Sounds like you guys had the perfect attitude to enjoy it! I thought last year's Villain's party was also over crowded. Thought things would have changed. Maybe next year!

That Ooegy Boogey show...wow, maybe they got lost on the way to Universal!

That show would be perfect for City Walk!

Glad you were able to find some fun moments that night, even with the disappointing meet n' greets and merchandise lines! Attitude certainly does make a difference!

As always, your fireworks photos are spectacular!!

Thanks Julie!

I bought four cover bands from them, all before they stopped selling the Disney ones. I have a Frozen, a Belle, a Cinderella, and something called Lotus Blossom. I painted one of the MB's to match the Belle cover bands and it looks really nice. The other three just have the Mickey heads painted. I wish they were still selling Disney bands. It is so easy to decorate the MB's with them, but none of their current ones appeal to me.

Ooooooh, the lotus blossom one is Mulan and it's so pretty! Post a picture of the painted Belle band, I'd love to see it!

While the dance parties look great, it is evident that disney just cobbled this event together and hadnt thought through the finer details. Sad folks had to pay for what surely looks like a learning experience for the ole house of the mouse. Unless of course the fire act was any indication of pleasure island 2.0, disney goes wild ; )

It did have that "cobbled together" feeling.

Man we didn't do the dance party OR the Oogie Boogie show! They both look like a riot!!!

Your fireworks photos are breath taking They're making me incredibly homesick today!

The dance parties were highlights of the night for us, so much fun! I'm with you on being homesick. We leave for Disney in 11 days and it's taking FOREVER.

God bless you for being able to keep up two reports at once! I'm STILL writing my report for my four day trip back in February!

Those villas are gorgeous! Way too fancy for me. Haha.

Chelsea's sparkly mouse ears match the theme of the Mine Train ride perfectly!

That Maleficent is fantastic!! WOW. I'm also impressed with the Guardians of the Galaxy stuff. I was very proud of myself when I saw the movie and already had several of the songs from the Mix Tape on my Ipod! Haha.

Kudos to Disney for being so welcoming of your feedback! Especially since it sounds like you had a good time, even with the hiccups.

As much as I wanted to meet Elsa when I was there in February, I couldn't bring myself to wait in those lines. But depending on how much time I had, I think I would be willing to wait two hours to see Prince John. And Captain Jack Sparrow, if his friend was Johnny Depp

I just finished the May TR because I refuse to have three TRs going at once ever again. Did it once and it was way too hard. Down to just this one for a couple of weeks and then we'll start December's!

Can you even imagine what the wait would be for Captain Jack if it were Johnny Depp, people would line up for days!

<like button>

And I HAVE to share this story... a former coworker of mine DESPERATELY wanted to name her daughter "Echo Echo". She was blessedly vetoed, but I think of it anytime the word "echo" comes up in conversation. I think it is absolutely hysterical and wildly cruel.

OMG, thank goodness someone stopped her!

Wooo! I'm reading! Followed this trip along on Facebook and twitter, I'm looking forward to reading about it in more detail! Great report so far! The Grand is beautiful!

Thanks for following along (on all our many platforms )

Loving your report and photos! Wow, the villa is gorgeous.

Thanks! The villa was truly spectacular. Very worth the wait.

So glad ya'll were able to make the most of villains night depsite having a less than stellar evening!

Great shots of oogie boogie's show! I HATED the sword guy, steven hated the archery couple, and we both LOVED the girl from the fire couple, she was INSANELY talented, seriously, way more than him! Though the show was NOTHING like we expected it to be!!

TOTALLY agree on the woman fire dancer, she was ridiculously talented. He, on the other hand, was just creepy.

I broke my DIS hiatus so that I could read your Trip Reports - didn't disappoint! VGF is breathtaking!



Can't wait til

Thanks for venturing back to the Dis for us!

Sorry, I totally forgot to subscribe to this one after commenting last time and missed this!! We don't have hard & fast dates yet, only because it depends on a lot of different factors since Paxton will be starting school. If all goes as I want it to, we should overlap at least a couple of days since that is the time of October we like to go! As it stands, we are planning on Disneyland the first week of March, hopefully a trip in late October to WDW, and then WDW for Mardi Gras week 2016.

On to all of the updates I missed...

Good for you for being calm and rational when explaining to Disney why the party didn't work. I hope they take suggestions like yours and improve the party for next year instead of just getting rid of it or doing the exact same thing over again.

It really is a shame that they totally botched the character meets. 2 hours for one character is such a waste of valuable party time! I'm glad you enjoyed it though. And really, they ran out of merchandise and special snacks early on? Didn't they learn anything from the 40th anniversary at MK??

Katt & Steven's costumes are pretty amazing! I'm sure, if nothing else, it was a really fun atmosphere with people dressed up as villains.

That show looks...interesting?? It's hard to imagine a show in DISNEY WORLD having a sign that it isn't for small kids!!

That would be so awesome if our October trips overlapped! Love the Disney year you guys have mapped out for yourselves.

The atmosphere of the party was really fun. Everyone really did it up with their costumes and the CMs were all pretty great! ​

 

[Missyrose]

Welcome back, friends. We last left off with spectacular villains-themed fireworks at DHS. It was a very late night -- we didn’t get back to Grand Floridian until after 2 a.m.! So the next day we wanted to get to Epcot early, but rope drop just wasn’t going to happen.

We didn’t get to the park until after 10! And the wait times definitely had started to rise.

We had Test Track FP+ reservations for a little later, so we started with something a little more interplanetary.

My dad’s last trip to Disney had been in 1998, so Epcot had become a very different park since then. He was excited to try a new attraction! Michelle and Chelsea aren’t huge thrill-ride fans, so they sat this one out.

Mission Space was a huge hit with Dad, he’d never experienced anything like that! It was time to use our Test Track FP+ reservations next. And everyone was riding, this time.

We tried to reassure Chelsea and Michelle that it wasn’t a very scary ride. But they didn’t seem to believe us.

My weird little teal car wins!

Did everyone enjoy the ride?

Franklin and I were asleep (kidding!), Dad couldn’t stop laughing, and Chelsea and Michelle spent the whole outdoor part screaming their heads off!

It took a while to pry the boys out of the car showroom.

​

 

[Missyrose]

Since we had some time before lunch, we decided to head for the World Showcase.

And since we were coming through the Odyssey building cut-through, how could we NOT stop at Mexico first? Time for La Cava!

The group ordered chips and guacamole (though, truth be told, it took us three baskets of chips to get through that bowl of guac).

Franklin got a jalapeno margarita and I got a cucumber one.

La Cava is such a perfect spot for a break in Epcot. It was so lovely dark and cool on this very warm August day.

And even though the World Show case had just opened, the bar was busy!

Clearly, we enjoyed all our snacks.

We paid the bill and headed back out into the Showcase.

The boys wanted to stop in Germany for a beer.

Michelle and Chelsea found new accessories along the way. Yes, those are wine-glass sunglasses.

At last, we made it to our destination, Italy!

Via Napoli to be exact.

I went to the desk to check in and I recognized one of the managers there. He and I had a lovely chat during my solo trip in May. He grew up near the D.C. area and had been thinking about moving back. It was so nice to see him again (and he remembered me!). We got to chat a bit before our table was ready.

As we sat down, Franklin and I reminded everyone that we had a BIG dinner that night at ‘Ohana, so we needed everyone to pace themselves at lunch. As we started looking at appetizers to figure out what we’d split, the manager came over with a huge platter for our table. I mentioned that we hadn’t ordered yet. He replied, “I know, this is on the house.” So sweet!

The platter had a little bit of everything: Calamari, fried risotto balls (my favorite!), fried mozzarella and fried veggies. Everything was delicious.

Chelsea had a strawberry cooler that was perfect for this hot day.

Franklin and I split a four-cheese pizza with spicy Italian sausage.

My dad had a mushroom pizza.

Michelle and Chelsea split an artichoke pizza.

Remember how Franklin and I tried to warn everyone to not stuff themselves at lunch? Yeah, well, Franklin and I were the only ones who had leftovers to take home. Remember this, it’ll be important later.

We decided to wander through the World Showcase a bit more. We started with Morocco.

Chelsea bought a few bracelets for her friends back at school (they were watching her dog).

​

 

[Missyrose]

We stopped for slushies and to watch the performers in France for a bit.

We pressed on, the International Gateway was looking particularly lovely that day.

My dad was so excited when he saw the mailbox in England. You see, he used to be in the overseas mail business. His company’s first big partnership (many years ago) was with Royal Mail in England, so he had to get a photo.

As we moved onto Canada, Michelle and Chelsea wanted to take a few photos. Problem was, it was SUPER sunny and they couldn’t see where to look for the camera.

Got it, finally!

It was getting late and really hot. So if we were going to have any down time at our resorts before dinner, it was time for us to skidaddle. But we stopped for Future World photos first!

We made our way back to the car.

It was a billion degrees outside, we couldn’t get the air conditioning cranked fast enough in the car!

Soon, we were back in the Magic Kingdom area.

And back at VGF.

Franklin, Chelsea and I literally faceplanted onto our beds. If felt so good to lay down. We were going to take a quick nap and that is where we’ll leave off for now! But there is a ton of ‘Ohana fun coming up, so stay tuned!
​

 

[PrincessAmongPrinces]

Great update! I'm really looking forward to trying Via Napoli when we go in October! Looks delicious! Sounds like you guys had a fun (although, super hot!) Epcot adventure!

 

[goodmorningirl]

Loving your report so far. Your pictures are beautiful!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Glad your dad enjoyed Mission Space and everyone had fun on Test Track. I liked the picture of Franklin taking a picture of the ride photo camera

I just saw one of those new corvette's on the road the other day - very nice looking!

La Cava really is the best - though is rather small with how crowded it can get (though, it wouldn't feel the same if it was some big, huge space

How nice of that manager to bring you that appetizer plate! Knowing 'Ohana was coming up, I think just splitting that might have been enough

 

[khertz]

Cute Test Track photo! I'm glad everyone enjoyed themselves on the ride.

Not gonna lie, I don't think I could pace myself at a place like Via Napoli! I had fried risotto balls in Italy, and they were sooo good. Never thought to order them at VN, but we might have to try them on our next trip. Yum!

 

[Wood Nymph]

Ooooooh, the lotus blossom one is Mulan and it's so pretty! Post a picture of the painted Belle band, I'd love to see it!

That explains why I didn't know what the lotus blossom band was in the Disney princess collection. I've never seen Mulan.

I just painted the Mickey heads on the other bands.

Your afternoon in the World Showcase looks like fun. It also looks really hot!

The group ordered chips and guacamole (though, truth be told, it took us three baskets of chips to get through that bowl of guac).

I love guacamole. I think I would need three servings of guac to make it through one serving of chips.

 

[Joyciemc]

This update reallllllly made me miss Epcot, but mostly World Showcase!

 

[sue_88]

The GF suite looks lovely! So nice to have all that space on vacation.
As always, Franklin's photos are so good. The Mine Train pics are so pretty. I always like the glowing gems! It is so magical.
Your photos with Maleficent came out amazing! I really do enjoy character photos and I think there are quite a few I would stand in a 2 hour line for if I was in the mood. I think I would do it for Flaura, Fauna, and Merryweather. An probably the 7 dwarves too. And Maleficent is just such a classic, so I would want that photo too.
Thanks for always writing trip reports. I love reading them.

 

[Ceryssa]

Looks like a fabulous Epcot day! I just love World Showcase, I could spend a whole week there--especially during Food & Wine I can't believe we somehow failed to make it to La Cava! Must get there next trip. Same for Via Napoli--I passed on it for a couple other restaurants and I wish we'd eaten there!

 

[LMN]

Enjoying your TR! Especially your pictures/experience at VGF. We have sent our paperwork in to the title company on a VGF contract and are awaiting closing! Should happen by the 15th at the latest, but both we and the seller sent our paperwork in on 11/24, so we're hoping it happens sooner than that!
Hope to plan a trip for the 1st week of February and hoping for availability at VGF, although we wont be in Disney's reservation system for a few more weeks, so we'll probably be lucky to get anything at all.
I really enjoy seeing all of Franklin's terrific photography! My dh is an amateur photographer.

Excited to hear about the rest of this trip as well as your December trip!

 

[BridgetR3]

Stopping by to catch up....

Wow, that show was a little wild for Disney! I'm thoroughly enjoying your TR's!

Your pizza at Via Napoli looked great!

 

[kastoney]

What a great day at Epcot, despite the heat. Loved your pics of mission space. I'm prone to motion sickness so I've never done it, so this was my first time seeing the inside. Your TT ride pics are classic. Especially love the hitchhiker playing along with the group.

Mmmm la cava and via napolli on the same day. Epic in my mind. I'm stuck on the avocado margarita, but I'll have to try the jalapeño some day as I love a spicy drink. The pizza as usual looks awesome and how nice of them to comp an appetizer.

Can't wait to see how Ohana goes down. I'm thinking it sounds like it may just be dinner for 2.