*Mickey's Very Merry Bankruptcy Bash* LOTS OF PICS UPDATED!!!

[serendipity]

Hello everyone. Some of you might remember me from my pre-trip report. I've decided to start with a clean slate so I'll be starting fresh, well, with some background information from my last post.

Meet The Cast:

Me: full time student studying to become a teacher for early elementary education, currentely I'm working full time as well.........verrrrrrrrry hectic. Goof ball 1.

Jay: My fiancee, works in the financial institute dealing primarily with hedgefunds...errrr, and whatever that entails. Goof ball 2

Background:

I spent summers in Disneyworld with my grandmother who was the VIP babysitter for Disney for quite some time. The experience was wonderful and has led me to love disney with every bit of my heart. If there was a way that we could live in Disney, trust me, we would. Currentely, we're stuck in North Jersey, 5 minutes outside of Manhattan doing the commuter race. Let me tell you, this enough is reason to take a trip to the world. This trip was a somewhat spontaneous one. A few months ago I started suggesting another trip and Jay resisted until I kept feeding more and more...errr, slight hints . Finally he caved in. What started as a simple short vacation turned into a huge, bank shaking trip-e-grande. As Jay likes to put it, "you make my wallet cringe darling"...but, we had the trip of a lifetime and can't wait to share it with all of you.

Coming Up:

Universal and Islands of Adventure, several drunken round the worlds at EPCOT, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, Magic Kingdom, MGM, Animal Kingdom, a detailed stay at the All Star Sports, Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge and lots of restaurants with and without the dining plan.

One quick note: switching 3 hotels during a trip is definitely not worth the aggravation if can be avoided!

 

[mlill]

One quick note: switching 3 hotels during a trip is definately not worth the aggravation if can be avoided!

I hear you! @.@ We switched between 3 hotels once and only once! Never again! I can't wait to read about your WDW adventure!!!

-Michelle

 

[serendipity]

Our Adventures of Travel:

The first day started off pretty crazy. We weren't leaving until both of us had gone to work and school so after my classes I had to go home put the rest of the luggage in our car, and drive into Jersey City. Now for those of you in NJ, you know how confusing driving in this area can be, and how easy it can be to find yourself in the Holland Tunnel going straight into Manhattan. Not fun. Now, I usually trust Mapquest, which, I'm guessing some of you think is rather foolish. Well there's always the time where mapquest just gets one little thing wrong and you find yourself, you know, one turn away from
driving into 3 hours of traffic in midtown. Not fun. After almost getting in several accidents I made my way to financial town and we were on our way. Well, that is after long term parking, and hauling all 4 of our bags into the airport. Three of them were over weight and we had to take stuff with us onto the plane in order to not have to pay the $25 fee/bag. Check in went fast, and after a quick bite at Nathans (yum) we were off.

The plane ride was really nothing to speak of. We took Continental and they showed several comedy shows consisting of Simpsons, Yes Dear, Everybody Hates Chris and combined with a terrible margarita the flight went rather fast. After landing we made our way to the Magical Express and about an hour after landing there we were! Disney! Oh the feeling! Even at midnight you can still feel it.

We made our way into the lobby of the All Star Sports and BAM! Line out the door for check in! And I am NOT KIDDING. This is November people, what the in the worrrrrrrrrld is going on? Someone says something about a soap opera weekend, bah humbug! After an hour at check in around 1AM we checked into our room. We had the baseball building which was pretty cute right next to the goofy pool which was down right adorable. We took some pictures of the room and called it a night.

Our Real Day 1:

The alarm was set early this day. At 6 am Mickey and Stitch called. It was cute but Stitch seems to be taking over the world. I love Stitch but I don't understand why they keep incorporating him into the major Mickey and friends characters? Sorry about that sidetrack.

We sleepily made it through the motions of shower, dress and go. We walked out the resort around 7:30 and walked our way over to the cab section where we found a nice driver to take us to Universal Studios. He was a really nice guy and had a few corny, but cute jokes. We arrived at Universal around 8:30 and got a quick breakfast of a chocolate croissant and we were on our way. We made it into Universal just at opening and waited for them to rope down the park. The park was so empty. I mean really, look.

when can you ever get that shot without 239283 people in it?

not a single person in the street


We were the first to ride ET which was really cool. I love the ET ride. I know I sound like a blasphemer so please no flames, but to me it seems like a more advanced Peter Pan. The detail is amazing. I could ride this ride constantly. I'll be very sad if they ever get rid of it. After ET we made it over to Men in Black and explored the park. It was already decorated for Christmas and it looked really pretty.

Jay likes to be flamboyant at times.




After a bunch of exploring we made our way to Islands of Adventure. I personally love Islands of Adventure, it's a really great park with several themed lands including Seuss Island, Toon Lagoon, Super Hero Island, Jurassic Park and something with magical creatures. It's very cool. If you haven't been there yet you really must go.

We decided to start over at Seuss Island and we rode Seuss. We love this ride, although it makes us a little dizzy.

After Seuss we made our way to Jurassic Park when it happened. Hell broke loose. Children and adults alike ran screaming in horror. Okay, not really. But, I had you there for a moment huh? No, what really happened was I got sick. I have endometriosis which for those of you who don't know, is a female problem in which the uterus grows excessive lining. It can cause complications with child birth which is something I'll have to worry about later in life, but for now it just causes EXTREMELY painful periods. It's bad. Unbearable even. Usually I just stay in bed the first day. I tried to make the best of it, taking a pain killer and getting a drink but it was no use. After making it on Jurassic Park (great ride) and wandering around Toon Lagoon we had to go back to the hotel.

I was really disappointed about it but Jay was great and when we got back o the hotel I took more medication and after about an hour I was ready to go relax by the pool.

The pool at All Star Sports that we liked to use was the Goofy pool. It really is adorable. While we layed out we talked about what we were excited for on the upcoming trip and we made our way over to the bar at the main pool. Jay had the orange creamsicle drink and I had some sort of rasberry daiquiri. Both were very good and relaxed us in a way only a good drink in front of a nice pool can. We went in the water for awhile and layed back out. It was actually one of the more memorable times of the trip for whatever reason. Sometimes it's just the simple things that our the best times.

After we had our fill of the pool we decided to check out the All Star Music because it was just across the way. We had stayed at All Star Movies before but had never seen the Music Resort. It was very cute and I liked it more then Sports, but I'm not really a sports person so that doesn't suprise me. We came with the conclusion that we liked the Movies the best, but only if you have a rental car, then music, then sports. We had a nice time just wandering around. We went into the gift shop and were silly trying on all the ridiculous hats. They had a bunch of Christmas themed ones that we hadn't seen before and we tried to find one that we might like to wear to the Christmas party we had planned later for the week.

I had to go to the bathroom and when I came out I was unable to find Jay. Checked the lobby, no Jay. Checked the gift shop, still no Jay. I waited around thinking maybe he had used the restroom as well. Still no Jay. At this point I started to get a little nervous...where was he?? I checked my phone, turned it on and tried calling his cell. Straight to voicemail. Now I was getting really nervous. Then almost like an epiphony it hit me. ARCADE. Well, look what we've got here....

and he doesn't even look the slightest bit sheepish!



We went back to the room and started to get ready for dinner. We had an 8:00PM reservation at Raglan Road. I was a little nervous about this dining reservation but was overall confident. We made our way over to the bus area and waited, and waited. Finally the bus came and we made it to our destination at downtown Disney. I love downtown disney. I really could spend a fortune there, but Jay keeps me in check. We wandered around the shops and really had a nice time. My throat was a little sore so I went to go get tea at the Earl of Sandwich. There was an EXTREMELY long line but a sweet CM told me I could cut the line since I was only getting a tea. Score! . After a little more wandering we made our way over to Raglan Road. I have to say, it was NOTHING like what I was expecting. I had a vision of a cute, cozy pub for whatever reason. Not at all. This place was HUGE and LOUDDDDDDDDDD. I cannot stress this enough. There was a wait so we decided to go to the bar. Jay ordered his standard Jack and Coke, while I ordered my always Bacardi and diet. My head started hurting and I started feeling woozy and then I remembered- the pain killers! What was I thinking. Quickly I got a water but I still felt ill. This just was not my day! When we were seated we immediately ordered bread which I thought might soak up the drink and it worked pretty well. The service at Raglan Road was pretty bad. It was packed, but still. We waited 5 minutes to get our appetizer, and then 50 minutes to get our entree. Um? Our entres were also very bad. We were very disappointed. We wouldn't return. I'd go into it more but I'll be doing a seperate dining report so there's no need really.

I love this area, but the pictures always come out so dark!

The Christmas Store

The bar at Raglan Road.

After dinner we made our way back to the area where our bus was to pick us up. There was a very long line so we decided to walk around some more. When we came back to the bus area we met a nice couple. The man was in a wheelchair and we were horrified to find out that the people in the last bus would not move for him to put his wheelchair in. What kind of people would do that? That seriously makes me ill. After our bus ride back we made our way back to the room and called it a night. We were waking up EXTREMELY the next morning at 5AM to check into our next resort.

Up Next: check in at the Wilderness Lodge, and what happens when Disney loses your luggage.

 

[Bee]

Nice start..

 

[Lan]

Waiting for more..

 

[Einetius]

Enjoying your report!

 

[NMAmy]

I'm enjoying your report. I just love reports with lots of pictures. Thanks so much for the Universal pictures. Now that dd is 16, I'm thinking she might enjoy branching out a bit. Do you remember approximately how much the taxi was to Universal? Neither dh nor I like to drive on vacation.

 

[serendipity]

I'm enjoying your report. I just love reports with lots of pictures. Thanks so much for the Universal pictures. Now that dd is 16, I'm thinking she might enjoy branching out a bit. Do you remember approximately how much the taxi was to Universal? Neither dh nor I like to drive on vacation.

Thank you so much for reading and for all of your responses.

The taxi was 35 each way. I definately think that you would love Universal, it's really fun.

 

[NMAmy]

.
The taxi was 35 each way. I definately think that you would love Universal, it's really fun.

Thanks so much, serendipity! I think she'd like it, too. I've been to the one in LA (when dd was little--she spent the day with her auntie) and I'm thinking she's old enough to enjoy it now. I just have to figure out a way to convince her to leave WDW.

 

[scrap4u]

Great start! Can't wait to hear more. Especially about MVMCP!

 

[serendipity]

thanks so much for your responses again!

as for Universal the one in Orlando is much more fun. I went to the one in LA and it was much smaller with much less attractions. There's so much to do and see. I really highly recommend it. We usually spend two days there we like it so much, but we couldn't this trip!

 

[serendipity]

DAY 2:

5AM I hear the lovely sound...beep....Beep...BEEP...BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP.

Ugh. Why did I take that pain killer again yesterday?

Groggily we made it out of our bed and started to pack for our next resort. Last trip we switched resorts and we didn't know that Disney will transport your bags for you. This time we were happily anticipating them having to do the work!

We wanted to be at the Wilderness Lodge at 7 so that we'd be able to pick the room we wanted and hopefully get the room we requested. We had followed all the appropriate steps as known on the dis, telling them our requests when we booked, and faxing them over again 4 days before.

I have to say, getting out of the resort that early was really nice. It was so empty, it was although we had all of the world to ourselves....

You can kind of see that the sun is still coming up.

We made it to the lodge right at 7 and immediately went to check in...no line! . They had gotten our request and we were given the room with the best view, the helpful CM told us. Yay! It was still too early to go anywhere so we decided to grab breakfast. I still wasn't feeling my best so we decided something light was the way to go. We went over to the Roaring Forks and I got Raisin Bran. I guess you can't always eat unhealthy on vacation! Jay felt bad for me so he ate cereal too...one of the many reasons I love my man . After breakfast we explored the resort and it was still empty. This was the only morning we were up this early and I'm sad we didn't wake up this early again looking back. It was so peaceful.

Finally it was time to take the boat over to the Magic Kingdom and was I ever excited. To me nothing says Disney Magic more then opening ceremony at the Magic Kingdom. I get so excited it's just an overwhelming feeling. We were PUMPED by the time we walked through the front gates. It was already decorated for Christmas with the tree and that put us in an even better mood. I had read somewhere it wouldn't yet be up so I was excited!

We had a game plan this trip. Last two trips we missed Space Mountain. Jay had really wanted to go on and I felt terrible about missing them two times in a row so this was the first thing we were doing. We lined up at Tomorrowland and we were READY. Let me tell you when those ropes came down it was a race. It's amazing how frantically people try to go! It's almost scary! I can't imagine having kids and trying do this. I have to give my admiration to all the parents out there right now . Space was fun. I'm a little susceptible to motion sickness but it wasn't too bad. I would definately do it again. After Space we decided go over to Fantasyland. This is my favorite part of the park. It's so story book it brings me back to being little. I love that feeling. We rode Pooh and Peter Pan (one of Jay's favorites) and made our way over to thunder mountain which is another great ride. Be careful on it though if you're riding with another adult, last time Jay and I banged heads going around one of the turns! We strolled around a little after this. The park was still empty and it was a beautiful morning.

Hook and Smee were hanging out around Pirates so we decided to get a picture

We were getting a little hungry so we decided to go over to main street in hopes of getting into the Main Street Bakery. Nope, not happening. It was mobbed and quite honestly, that pastry just isn't worth a half hour wait. So we walked over to the confectionary and split a chocolate and peanut butter rice krispie treat. Yummmmmmmm, it was really good. I highly suggest getting one. We were able to use our snack credit which made my scrooge even happier.

We wanted to go to toon town since we missed it last trip . It's one of the places you tend to look over I think without kids. This time we were going to take it in. So we took the long walk from Main Street, explored Micky and Minnie's houses and got a picture with the big cheese. All of toontown was decorated even the houses. Very cute touches were everywhere.

We took the train back to Main street and were about to leave when I saw the Dream Along with Mickey show had started. It was cute and everything but really for those of you who saw Cinderellabration, it was really the same thing plus the Mickey and friends. Great for the kiddos, but if you're doing just an adult trip you can skip it IMHO.

We saw Phillharmagic which is my second favorite thing in all of the parks. I really enjoy this show. It really is Disney magic in it's finest. I try to see it at least twice every trip. If you haven't seen it, make a point to! It's really great!

part two coming right up for ya!

 

[serendipity]

We were ready for EPCOT at this point. EPCOT is our favorite of the parks with Magic Kingdom at a close second. I think this park is definately geared more towards adults. Especially adults who like to gorge themselves in food and liquor. We happen to be the perfect candidates. Both my fiance and I can drink, we're both in our 20s and I worked as a bartender and in a bar for awhile. As for food, Jay can definately eat his moneys worth and if sweets are involved, I'm all for it!

EPCOT was MOBBED. It was the last weekend of the Food and Wine Festival. I've never seen EPCOT like that and I've been there in July and August. It was intense. I was happy we wouldn't be waiting in line for rides!!!

The park was however, also decoareted and beautiful.

The lines were really long for all of the pavillions so we only tried one food, norweigen meatballs and they were definately good. The portion was about a thimble though. Oh well, we'd be gaining enough weight on this trip later on .

We invested in Margaritas in Mexico. I had the festival and Jay had the kiwi. I love these. In NJ i can never find a good margarita. While in Disney, do as the disers though!

see the mob behind me? Scary.

We went to China and watched Reflections of China. It was a great movie, very informative and enjoyable. Then it was over to Germany and we were hungryyyyy. We split a Bratwurst and Sauerkraut. Yum. EPCOT has the best sauerkraut. I really could eat a bowl of it by itself. In fact I asked if I could later in the trip but they said no! This was followed of course by a round of goldschlagger and some black forrest cake. See my dining review for more pics/details.

Then it was over to Italy for a Bellini but then we had to make our way back to our resort. We had ADR's at O'hana and I was psyched. I had read some awesome reviews.

On our way out we met Mary Poppins which was a good time.

We made it to our resort and up to our room which we were so excited to see. We raced through the room plowing through to the balcony and stopped. There was metal in front of our entire window. THEY WERE DOING CONSTRUCTION IN FRONT OF OUR BALCONY! I'm sorry, that's just unacceptable. Why would I pay for a view. I was too upset to notice what my fiancee did not miss. Our luggage was still not here. It was 7pm. We were told it would be delivered at 3 the latest. Calmly I call about our bags while Jay calls about our room. The person at luggage says "ummm, I don't know where they are, I guess they're lost...should I find them". Gee...I don't know...it took all I had not to snap. Deep breath, you're in Disney, I tell myself, there is no temper allowed. Jay went downstairs to try to get another room while I waited for baggage to call me back. When he returned they still hadn't called me back but we had been given a much nicer room on the 6th floor over looking the lake, minus the contrustction. We had dinner in an hour and were not able to do anything to get ready. We were hot and sweaty and needed a shower and new clothes. Where was our luggage? Two hours later they hunted it down. Apparentely all star sports put it in a "dead zone" and wilderness lodge hunted it down for us. Go wilderness . They more then made up for their mistake. Wilderness gave us a car service so that we'd be able to make our dinner reservation and All Star Sports gave us a $75 charge to our room key which we were able to use on anything we wanted. That helped get over things real quick! Just another instance of disney magic!

Once we made it over, let me assure you, O'hana did NOT disappoint. If you were considering it, go! I read so many critisisms from couples saying it wasn't romantic. I couldn't disagree more. Go during wishes like we did and you're bound to have a wonderful time. Watching the fireworks at the restaurant was truly one of those Disney Magic moments. Also, invest in a Lapu Lapu. NOT to be missed.

After dinner we made it back to our resort and called it a night. We were ready for bed!

Up next: the big suprise

 

[Goofster57]

We are enjoying reading your trip report and getting to check out your pictures, looking forward to the next installment.

Last August we transferred from the Boardwalk to Sarasota Springs and lost half of our luggage in the transfer, 3 hours later they located them at the Boardwalk, after they found them it still took another 1 and ½ hours to get them to Sarasota Springs.

If we resort hop again I think I will transfer our bags myself, it would be worth the cost of a cab to save the aggravation.

 

[tinawv]

Can hardly wait for your next report. I am loving the pictures. Did you use a digital camera?

 

[fynook12]

that's great about the Disney Magic with the room/luggage situation!!! I've eaten at Ohana's twice and both times it was fantastic!! As a matter of fact, the first time was so great that I decided to have my rehersal dinner there!!! I can't wait to read more of your TR!!! Keep the great installments coming!!

 

[serendipity]

thanks for all of your responses. That's awful about losing your luggage. We woudn't take a chance again! At least they made up for it though!

As for the pictures, we used a digital camera. It's an Olympus. It wasn't terribly expensive. If you wanted more info just PM me!

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[Cass]

The put you in a room covered wth scaffolding and plastic sheets? Unbelieveable!


Anyway, glad you sorted all that out and your Jay is a riot in the pics, looking forward to more of your report.

 

[Blaynexox]

I am absolutely IN LOVE with your trip report!! It is so difficult to find trip reports about young couples in disney world. Me and my boyfriend are going in February so its good to see someones point of view who is closer in age to us and doesnt have any kids. I love all the pictures and I cant wait for your dining report! Make sure to post a link to it so I can check it out! Great job so far