More Adventures in WDW: June, November and December Trip Reports

[meeko_33785]

I'm most excited about the Little Mermaid ride as well, though the new Beauty & the Beast area and dining establishment makes me excited too. I can't wait to see how everything turns out.

Very cute pictures of Mickey & Minnie.

I really want to try the Beauty and the Beast restaurant. If it's anything like the concept art, it will be a must-see for me as well.

The pictures of Mickey and Minnie are adorable! You really scored by getting pics of all the couples!

I can't wait for the Fantasyland expansion! The Little Mermaid is my favorite movie so I'm really looking forward to that ride!

Mickey and Minnie really were so cute together. Their poses were great too. There was an audible "Awww!" throught all the guests in the room whenever they did one. I really thought it was cool that Disney seemed to be putting out more of the couples together on this trip. I think it would be great if that would continue.

Love the Toontown update. It still bums me out a little that they're taking it away for the Fantasyland stuff. My sister was saying they are already planning to scale back some of it though...guess they were dreaming too big?

Awesome picture of Mickey and Minnie! I didn't know Minnie was in the judge's tent too. Whenever we've gone it's only been Mickey.

Yeah, I'll miss Toontown too. From what I've read they're getting cold feet about Pixie Hollow and have possibly cancelled it, which doesn't surprise me. Beyond Tinker Bell, I don't see the Fairies having a long-lasting appeal. Now it seems like even Cinderella and Aurora's cottages might get axed. It should be interesting to see what finally makes it to reality.

The CMs at the Judge's Tent were telling everyone that Minnie was making a surprise appearence, but from what I've heard she's usually there these days.

Rumor has it they may now leave toon town ...and/or retheme it to a circus theme. All rumors of course.

I hadn't heard that rumor, but I've been expecting it. I really wouldn't mind Toontown staying, but I'm really hoping that we're finally going to lose those tents and put something else there- maybe a Toontown more like they have at Disneyland.

 

[Dr_Finkelstein]

That would be great if Prince Charming did greets in front of the Carousel. Either that or if they really wanted to change the name, switch it to Mary Poppins since she and Bert are already there and she already has a connection to Carousels from the movie.

That would make more sense since they already appear there.

Enjoyed the update - hadn't heard the rumours about them scaling back the expansion - will be interesting to see what they actually finish with.

Really looking forward to the Ariel ride!

Di x

 

[meeko_33785]

That would make more sense since they already appear there.

Enjoyed the update - hadn't heard the rumours about them scaling back the expansion - will be interesting to see what they actually finish with.

Really looking forward to the Ariel ride!

Di x

Thanks. Yeah, there are plenty of rumors going around, but there's no way to know how much of them are true. Even if it turned out to just be the Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast additions, I think that I'd be happy, though I hope there will be more.

 

[Jennifer48]

That pic of Minnie & Mickey is adorable!

I can't wait for the expansion. Each area sounds so great the more I read up on it.

 

[meeko_33785]

That pic of Minnie & Mickey is adorable!

I can't wait for the expansion. Each area sounds so great the more I read up on it.

I think that Mickey and Minnie did some of the best poses of the trip. They were great.

The Fantasyland expansion sound nice so far. I'm hoping that they have even more surprises up their sleeves too. I certianly wouldn't mind another ride or something added to the plans.

 

[meeko_33785]

After a pleasant train ride, Buzz and I pulled into Main Street Station.

I had already mentioned this as my favorite inside joke at the park in my Pre-Trip, but I thought I’d include it in the report as well. I think it’s such a nice little touch to have many of the locations on the Train Bulletin to be places from Disney films of the 1960s and 70s like Medfield (from The Absent Minded Professor among others) and Harrington (from Pollyanna).


While on Main Street, I was hoping to find Pinocchio, and when we arrived, I spotted him in Town Square near Tony’s. Even though Pinocchio had to leave for a break while I was in line, the wait to see him was still less than 10 minutes.

Pinocchio is one of those characters that I really don’t meet very often. The last time I had met him before this was 2003. For the past few years I’ve been meaning to meet him again and get some new pictures of him for a while now but never managed to do so until this trip.

While I was meeting Pinoccho, Buzz was over in the Main Street Cinema pretending to look at the shop’s merchandise while really just watching the cartoons they play on the screen in the back. It’s too bad the theater in the Expo Hall was closed. Now there doesn’t seem to be anywhere to sit and enjoy some cartoons. Once I had finished meeting Pinocchio, Buzz and I headed up Main Street towards Casey’s Corner for some lunch.

Along the way, I checked out the animated windows at the Emporium. In the past, I don't usually take many pictures of some fo the periphery characters in the displays like Grumpy here, so I thought I’d get some this time around.

I think the window displays have had some improvements done on them since the last time I saw them. All the sets and figures seemed refreshed, and I noticed that some of the costumes had been replaced. Compare the shot above with this shot of Cinderella and Prince Charming from 2008 and you’ll see what I mean:

Cinderella had a new blue gown (I suppose since no one remembers that it actually did look silver in the film) and Prince Charming's costume and hair look much better now than when this shot was taken.

More photos of the Empoium windows from 2010.

Meeko!

A look back at the Emporium.

To our memory, Buzz and I had never eaten at Casey’s Corner before. We usually just stick to Columbia Harbor House for counter service meals at the Magic Kingdom. Still, in the spirit of trying new things, we decided to have lunch there. I was surprised that there wasn’t any line at the counter and we were helped pretty much as soon as we walked in the door. We got the Corn Dog Nuggets and split an order of fries.

There isn’t very much seating inside the restaurant, but we managed to get there while there was one empty table. It was nice to be able to have lunch in the air conditioning instead of outside. I think we both enjoyed our first meal at Casey’s. The Corn Dog Nuggets were very good, and the baseball theme of the restaurant was a lot of fun. The stadium seating (complete with “Casey at the Bat”- themed score board behind it) and having your food come out in the little concession trays like you would get at a baseball game were cute touches.

After lunch, we noticed the Main Street Trolley Parade coming down the street, so we stuck around to watch the show.

“We’re walkin’ right down the Middle of Main Street USA…”

“Clang Clang Clang went the trolley… Ding Ding Ding went the bell…”

“Clang! Clang!”


Before leaving Main Street, we decided to check the tip board and see if anything had some reasonable wait times. We were a bit intrigued at the possibility of trying Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion back to back since we had never done that before and could be an interesting experience, but Pirates was down at the moment so that wasn’t a possibility. We still wanted to do the Haunted Mansion though, so we headed in that direction.

We cut through Fantasyland in order to grab some Fastpasses for Peter Pan’s Flight on the way. Of course, we had to pause on the way for more Castle photos. We didn’t have any from this angle yet today! Nearby, we saw the Main Street Philharmonic who seemed a little out-of-place in Liberty Square until they started playing songs from The Princess and the Frog right across the way from Tiana and Naveen’s gazebo.

After grabbing out Fastpasses for Peter Pan, we paused again to get some pictures of the old Skyway station.

I think that this is one of my favorite pictures of the trip. I love the colors and the composition. However, Buzz and I were about to leave the colorful fairy tale realm of Fantasyland and visit someplace a lttle more macabre.



Next chapter: Discovering Howling Dog Bend

 

[Lady Lallie]

I will admit, I was a little worried you weren't going to like the Corn Dog Nuggets. Phew. I love the theming in Casey's, it puts me right into the cartoon.

Great pictures of the Main Street Trolley and the dancers. It looks like you were there on a beautiful day.

Love your last picture, very pretty.

 

[dawnbu40]

You have such a great eye for detail! I never would have realized the costumes in the window changed!

Your pictures are all beautiful but I love the one of the flower!

 

[tspooh]

I love your trip reports and all of the pictures. I especially love the last one of the flower. I'll be checking for the next installment

Teresa

 

[jenseib]

Gorgeous pictures!

 

[meeko_33785]

I will admit, I was a little worried you weren't going to like the Corn Dog Nuggets. Phew. I love the theming in Casey's, it puts me right into the cartoon.

Great pictures of the Main Street Trolley and the dancers. It looks like you were there on a beautiful day.

Love your last picture, very pretty.

Thanks LL. Corn Dog Nuggets were a hit. I certainly wouldn't mind coming back to Casey's for more.

It was a beautiful day thus far, but being June in Florida, you never know when a beautiful day will become inevitably rainy.

You have such a great eye for detail! I never would have realized the costumes in the window changed!

Your pictures are all beautiful but I love the one of the flower!

Thanks Dawn. I doubt that I would have noticed the costume change either if I hadn't taken a photo of the window before. I think is also stuck out in my mind since it was one of the few places in WDW where Cinderella was depicted wearing a silver dress more like in the film than the blue dress you see most places.

I love your trip reports and all of the pictures. I especially love the last one of the flower. I'll be checking for the next installment

Teresa

Thanks so much Teresa. I'm glad you're enjoying them.

Gorgeous pictures!

Thank you.

 

[Jennifer48]

I tried the corn dog nuggets in June and didn't care for them. They were too crispy though so I think I had the bottom of the barrel. Maybe I'll try them again.

That flower picture is superb Do you ever print your photos and hang them at home?

 

[meeko_33785]

I tried the corn dog nuggets in June and didn't care for them. They were too crispy though so I think I had the bottom of the barrel. Maybe I'll try them again.

That flower picture is superb Do you ever print your photos and hang them at home?

I didn't find out nuggets too crispy at all. Maybe they were from the last of the batch.

I'm glad you like the flower picture. I actually mean to put up some of my photos, but never get around to it for one reason or another. I even have some empty frames in my closet that I've had for almost a year waiting to have pictures printed out for them. Someday I'm sure I'll have some in the frames and up on the wall though.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Hey Meeko, we're back...time to catch up.

I can't believe you had never eaten at Casey's before! That is usually one place we don't miss. Funny because we had never eaten at Columbia Harbour House until our April trip.

Ahh, I love the Main Street performers. That is one of the best songs in the parks.

 

[meeko_33785]

Hey Meeko, we're back...time to catch up.

I can't believe you had never eaten at Casey's before! That is usually one place we don't miss. Funny because we had never eaten at Columbia Harbour House until our April trip.

Ahh, I love the Main Street performers. That is one of the best songs in the parks.

For some reason, Casey's just never seemed really appealing. I don't dislike hot dogs, but it's not a food I really seek out very often. Plus, the lack of indoor seating didn't seem ideal though. I really enjoyed it though and would more than likely come back.

Getting to see the Trolley Parade was a pleasant surprise. I didn't think that we would see it on this trip, but when we walked out of Casey's, there they were!

 

[coneygoil]

Great shots! I like the angles in some of the shots. I can't wait to meet Ariel (and hopefully Eric) on my next trip! Me and my friend met Tiana and Naveen on the last trip. The Naveen we met was so incredibly in-character. Him and my friend kept posing with each other. It was hilarious!

When are you going in December? Our next trip is Nov. 28-Dec. 3rd.

 

[meeko_33785]

Great shots! I like the angles in some of the shots. I can't wait to meet Ariel (and hopefully Eric) on my next trip! Me and my friend met Tiana and Naveen on the last trip. The Naveen we met was so incredibly in-character. Him and my friend kept posing with each other. It was hilarious!

When are you going in December? Our next trip is Nov. 28-Dec. 3rd.

Thanks. Glad you're enjoying the photos. Hopefully Eric will still be around for your trip, though current rumors seem to be indicating that he wil stop doing greets in early October. Sounds like you had fun with Tiana and Naveen. I thought both of them were wonderful. I could just see Naveen doing that.

I am still planning on going in December, but there aren't any set plans yet. Typically we don't start planning for trips more than two or so months in advance once we know everybody's schedules and such. Once I have the info on the other trips (we're still hoping to go for Food and Wine as well), I'll post it here.

 

[meeko_33785]

After leaving Fantasyland, our first stop was the Haunted Mansion. As you may have noticed, it was now afternoon and I had only done two rides so far that day- Space Mountain and the Railroad. As awesome as all the character meet-and-greets, Toontown, and lunch were, I was ready to go on some more rides! There was a line at the Haunted Mansion, but it was extremely fast moving. We were inside the stretching room within 5 minutes of entering the queue.

Under normal circumstances, having a hearse parked in front of the house would seem like a bad thing.

I assume that this is the mansion’s front door.

Master Gracy’s tombstone, not to mention that of dear departed brother Dave.

The queue moved so quickly that we didn’t get to see Leota’s eyes open on her tombstone.


As usual, the whole Haunted Mansion experience was great. It’s amazing that even now I’m still discovering new things inside the attraction. This time around it was the dueling ghost portraits in the Ballroom. I’m not sure if I had just forgotten them or had never noticed them before, but it was a neat surprise.


While trying to decide what to do next, we noticed that the Liberty Belle Riverboat going to leave for a cruise around the Rivers of America, We hadn’t taken the river cruise on the our last few Magic Kingdom trips, so we decided to make this our next attraction for the afternoon.

Before taking off towards Frontierland, we checked out some of the sights from where we were docked. Looking towards Tom Sawyer’s Island was Aunt Polly’s.

Looking towards Liberty Square, we could see a lovely view of Cinderella Castle and the top of the Hall of Presidents.

One last look at Aunt Polly’s before heading downriver.

Look who was making his way through the crowds as we passed by the Liberty Square/ Frontierland border.

A view of Frontierland looking towards Grizzly Hall.

Across the river was one of my favorite spots on Tom Sawyer’s Island, Harper’s Mill. I always thought the dioramas on the inside based on the Silly Symphony The Old Mill, complete with owl and birds similar to the ones in the short, were such a cool touch.

Pecos Bill’s, one last glimpse of the Frontierland boom town before heading towards some of the more wilderness areas.

Big Thunder Mountain rises above all the foliage along the river.

We never did get to ride the Mike Fink Keel Boats before they disappeared from the river, but this sign on the old Keel Boat dock still serves as a reminder of what use to be.

A closer look at Big Thunder Mountain.

Two mountains in one shot!

A cool little mining tableau on the back of Big Thunder.

Beacon Joe relaxes in his rocking chair was we pass his home.

Further down river, we happen on some Native American villages.

The River Pirates’ lair in Wilson’s Cave.

I don’t recall paying much attention to these signs with the location names on them. I thought this one in particular was great.

Naturally, Howling Dog Bend is the location of the Haunted Mansion itself. If you can’t guess why, take a listen when you’re around the Mansion and you’ll figure it out quickly.

With our journey almost over, we pass some of Liberty Square’s charming establishments.

It’s amazing just how many themed weather vanes there are at Disney.


Buzz and I enjoyed the Riverboat ride. It’s fun to check out all the sights around Frontierland and Liberty Square, and just has the feel of a classic Disney experience. After the ride, we still had a little time before out Fastpass window for Peter Pan’s Flight began, but we decided to head back to Fantasyland and do a few things over there while we wait.



Next chapter: A random character sighting and other pleasant surprises
 

 

[Lady Lallie]

Great pictures from your Riverboat ride, I especially like the one of the Liberty Square buildings.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Thanks. Glad you're enjoying the photos. Hopefully Eric will still be around for your trip, though current rumors seem to be indicating that he wil stop doing greets in early October.

Oh really?! I'm so glad we were able to meet both of them then! Too many times I've missed out on meeting the rare characters.

As usual, great pictures. I particularly like the one of Cinderella Castle and HOP and the one of Splash/BTMRR.

It really is cool how you can go on these rides how many times and still notice something new. I find myself discovering new things too. Like on Winnie the Pooh in the heffalumps and woozles scene I noticed there is one that has a cannon as a nose and it shoots out a little bit of smoke.