I've fallen in love with the VGF - TR (pics from Jan. trip, 2/23, p.22)

[hstrickland]

I'm going to leave you here for a week, I'm heading down to WDW for an impromptu trip. This was the week I'd be going on a cruise and I just had to do something instead of just staying home. I'll be at OKW for 2 nights and AKV for 2 nights, and back Friday. My plane leaves in 2 1/2 hours. I hope everyone is doing well

WHAT??!! An impromptu trip!! No kidding?! I'm hoping you got lots of good picks from OKW. Sounds like an adventure. Has it been cold?? Looking forward to seeing more pictures

By the way....love the H2O products at the GF Looks like you had plenty!! My supply is running short! I need to get back fast

 

[Pinkocto]

Good for you!

I wasn't going to give back my vacation time so figured why not. It was great!

Great update. I miss BTMRR. It was closed at MK during our October 2013 trip and for all of our DL trips last year. How was it?

I always think it's too jerky, but mom loves it. I thought they were putting in an interactive queue but it wasn't there so maybe that was at DL?

Mmmmmmm Mickey Ice Cream Bar. Can't wait for a few of those on our cruise!

I say a boat to anywhere is awesome but especially to MK. It's the best of both worlds; water and Disney.

I agree

 

[MEK]

Welcome back Pam. I hope you had a nice little mini-vacay! The weather stunk here so you didn't miss much.

 

[Pinkocto]

WHAT??!! An impromptu trip!! No kidding?! I'm hoping you got lots of good picks from OKW. Sounds like an adventure. Has it been cold?? Looking forward to seeing more pictures

It was COLD!!!! I got lots of photos, will tag them on the end of this one.

By the way....love the H2O products at the GF Looks like you had plenty!! My supply is running short! I need to get back fast

I couldn't believe how generous they were. Absolutely, that's as good a reason to get back as any!

 

[Pinkocto]

Welcome back Pam. I hope you had a nice little mini-vacay! The weather stunk here so you didn't miss much.

Thank you! it was a wonderful getaway. The weather down there stunk too but it was great.

 

[Pinkocto]

Hi everybody I'm back from my mini trip and had a wonderful time. A friend of mine came down from Jacksonville and joined me for a few days. She'd never been to Disney so I had the joy of seeing Disney from her point of view. The weather was quite chilly which kept me in a little more than usual. OKW was lovely but it was so nice to get back to Jambo House. I got tons of great animal pictures. I was graced by the presence of my favorite red river hogs many times.

I have to say I love FP+ even more, it really made things super easy.

I hope everybody has been doing well and the weather hasn't been treating you too badly.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Welcome back! So glad you enjoyed your spilt stay with your friend. The animals are such a wonderful sight in the morning it takes a time to adjust from zebra to woman with spaniel walking past the window in the morning!

Sorry to hear it's chilly but probably warmer than home and in the land of the mouse the heat just radiates from that love!

Looking forward to FP+ in May

 

[Pinkocto]

Welcome back! So glad you enjoyed your spilt stay with your friend. The animals are such a wonderful sight in the morning it takes a time to adjust from zebra to woman with spaniel walking past the window in the morning!

It's definitely hard to adjust back to the ordinary

Sorry to hear it's chilly but probably warmer than home and in the land of the mouse the heat just radiates from that love!

Looking forward to FP+ in May

One night I was only at a park for 2 hours, it was so cold every step was torture.

 

[Linda67]

Joining in very late but have just spent a rainy afternoon in England enjoying reading your TR
Wonderful photos
I've never really been a fan of the GF but I have to say, the villas look stunning and are making me think we should use some of our DVC points and try and bag a room, at least for a night

 

[Pinkocto]

Joining in very late but have just spent a rainy afternoon in England enjoying reading your TR
Wonderful photos
I've never really been a fan of the GF but I have to say, the villas look stunning and are making me think we should use some of our DVC points and try and bag a room, at least for a night

Welcome Linda!

The villas actually had a totally different feel than the rest of the resort, they were gorgeous and relaxed at the same time. I'd definitely give them a chance one of your trips

 

[Pinkocto]

After mom unsuccessfully battled with the sword in the stone we rode the carousel. Always a nice and calm ride, then we headed over to Dumbo.

I couldn’t help but take a picture of this horse, it looked a bit grisly to me.





The progress on the Mine Ride





I really like this on the construction wall




Our destination







But when we swiped our MBs the CM said our FP+ wasn’t until 4:25 not 3:25. Oops! I was able to change it to 3:35 and we did a standby ride while waiting.



While waiting I tried to get a picture of baby Dumbo





Look at those cute little feet!





I think the water is so pretty!



We enjoyed a wonderful ride and went over to the FP line where we enjoyed a second ride.





After Dumbo we headed out of the park via the train. We had a sleigh ride to get to at Fort Wildnerness at 6:00.

We took the boat which was very nice



It took about 30 minutes to get here. I think it stopped at WL first.



We were a half hour early but they must have had an empty spot because they didn’t make us wait.






We had a truly wonderful ride around the campgrounds, seeing the decorations guests put up. I tried to get photos but they all turned out blurry. Our horse’s name was Corbin, he was 6 years old. We chatted with our driver Ashlee most of the ride. They get most of their horses from the Pennsylvania area, a lot of them from the Amish. To be a driver you have to have been around horses for at least 10 years, and pass a riding and driving test with the horses. We saw quite a few decorations on our ride which was great fun. I had no idea where the ride would take place so I thought we’d have to wander the campgrounds ourselves after the ride to see them. Well that wasn’t an issue anymore so after our lovely ride we headed to Epcot, we had dinner at Via Napoli that evening.

Goodbye Corbin

 

[Pinkocto]

We stopped and watched these fountains for a little bit





We took a Friendship Boat over to Italy



I had us stop into Karamel Kuche before dinner because I wasn’t sure if it would be closed when we got out of dinner. Then mom found herself in a toy shop and took what seemed like ages picking the ‘perfect’ little bear.



Then off to dinner. I had heard several fabulous reviews of this place and knew we had to try it.



I thought these were so beautiful



And the chandelier was beautiful too





We got there right at our reservation time of 7:45, we had to wait a little bit for our table but not too long.



We had the fried vegetables for an appetizer. Mushrooms, zucchini, eggplant, and an artichoke. My goodness were these delicious!



I thought my lemons were rather cute with these swords decorating them.



We then shared a white pizza. Guys, this was out of this world delicious! Fontina, mozzarella cheese, artichokes, and truffle oil. Each bite was amazing!



Mom had been wanting a cannoli for dessert but they weren’t on the menu so we headed out. We will definitely be back to Via Napoli, it was even more delicious than we expected.


We enjoyed our caramel goodies as we walked back to the front of the park.



We took the very convenient monorail back to the resort and managed to get seats for both legs. Back at the room we finished the Haunted Mansion and went to sleep around midnight. It was another fabulous day!

 

[dolphingirl47]

How lucky that you were able to change your Fastpass to an earlier time and even better that you got to do the ride twice. I love the close ups of baby Dumbo. The sleigh ride sounds amazing.

I have yet to eat at Via Napoli, but it is the sister restaurant to Naples at Downtown Disney at Disneyland and the food there is amazing.

Corinna

 

[Leshaface]

Welcome home! So glad you had a marvelous time with your friend It's fun to go with first time visitors because you get to see the excitement on their face and it gets you excited too!

Eeek! You're so right about the carousel horse.

I think that is so great that the CM's have to be completely trained with horses for that long, in order to be a carriage driver. Makes me feel much safer knowing this if we ever take a ride!

LOVE Via Napoli!!! Every food item there is so delicious. You know, i'm a 'meat' girl, but your white pizza looks fantastic!

 

[Linda67]

Another lovely day
We did the sleigh ride during our December trip and loved it
Your dinner at Via Napoli looks delicious

 

[franandaj]

What a fun day! I would love to do one of those carriage rides sometime. I wonder if Fran could get into the carriage.

We loved Via Napoli too, but our pizza didn't have the artichokes, just the cheese. We still enjoyed it!

 

[MEK]

Love that you did a carriage ride. That looks like such a fun thing to do. I forget, do they have them all year round or just during the holidays?

Yummy dinner. I LOVE Via. That white pizza looks so delicious. YUM - O!!!!!

What a perfect day!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Welcome back!

What a great evening! That's the problem with going to WDW. There are so many fantastic experiences to enjoy that you could spend a month there and not get through half of it (assuming money was no issue, of course).

I loved the look of the sleigh ride.

Dinner at Via Napoli looked amazing. That 2 cheese pizza looks divine. And I love artichoke. So double divinity!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Oh what another wonderful update reflecting a day in the magic! Starting with the carousel , oh my re that horse maybe it was there to make the other horses look better lol...that one only a mother could love! Hello Mine train. We are waiting for you. We too really enjoyed the borders they have up and the art on them. I love the peep holes to see the progress!

How wonderful to ride Dumbo twice. Did you do the same Dumbo or do one on each? I just adore that ride and such a plus to now have two. Did you see the Dumbo popcorn bucket? I wanted one very badly but I can't eat popcorn and Jo said she couldn't eat the whole bucket. Spoil sport!

Love the baby Dumbo. Little feet! Too cute.

The sleigh ride sounds a must. Thank you Corbin what a fine specimen of a horse. Very interesting re the training the horse handlers require. Good to know! I bet seeing the lights and decorations from you cart was amazing around FW.

Now Via Napoli sounds like the perfect end to the day but what's this I am hearing about no cannoli's? I have never tried one they are not common here in Italian restaurants in the UK but I love the sound of them. I wonder is there anywhere in WDW that serves them?

That Chandelier is a master piece

Now that must be an English/American phrase lost in translation lol. You say Pam ' you got a seat for both legs' I cannot imagine a seat that only accommodates one of my legs...

great reading. Doesn't make May come any sooner though. This time I am def getting that popcorn bucket even if I have to throw away the popcorn! At Toni's in the MK they sell us the empty pirate and mermaid cups without a drink. We love those and bring those home to use i will see if I can talk CM into selling me a bucket without popcorn. Calling it a 'dietary requirement' Dumbo bucket lol.

 

[rentayenta]

Truffle oil? I must try that pizza. Italian always had great veggie head options.

You and your mom are just darling. The carriage ride sounds really fun.

Did you find that with FP+ you rode less than normal?

I like the topiary Stitch all lit up. So cute.