Our Magical WDW Adventure -24 Days of Food and Fun-Updated 3/8 -Come Join Us

[ariel2007]

Day 22 ~ The One With So Much To Do And So Little Time

We got up at 6am and we were very sad as it was our last full day in Orlando, it was all over far to quickly. We got ready and left at 6.45am driving to the Grand Floridian for our breakfast ADR. When we got there we thought it was rather quiet but went to check in for our 7.15am ADR at 1900 Park Fayre only to find out they didn’t open until 8am. I was so annoyed as I had asked the lady on the phone when I booked our ADRs what time it opened and she told me 7am and even Nick had heard this. We booked it early so we could have breakfast and then get across to MK for opening. It was annoying because we had got up early for no reason at all and it meant that we would miss MK’s opening. Anyway we went back to our car which was parked in Grand Floridian’s car park and moved it over to the Magic Kingdom parking lot and caught monorail back round to Grand Floridian. It seemed quite busy this morning, there seemed like lots of business people around and when we were getting on the monorail at MK they were setting up some kind of special queuing system, we just kept our fingers crossed it wouldn’t be that busy.
When we got to the Grand Floridian we waited in the lobby for a bit and then just before 8am we checked in. We were seated soon after, although we waited about 10 minutes for our server to come over whilst everyone else had been served and had been to the buffet. We always seem to get ignored this holiday, it was beginning to become frustrating but I was determined to enjoy our last day. Eventually our waitress came so we went and got some food before the characters came over. The food was really good and there is lots of choice, I found the omelette's were especially good. Throughout breakfast we were visited by Pooh first who was really cuddly and gave me kisses. Then Tigger came around, he didn’t stay for long as he was up to mischief like usual and was sitting playing with a little baby for a while, it was so sweet he was stroking its head and playing bee boo with it.

We then went up and got some Mickey waffles which were delicious and it was still a while before the rest of the characters came round. Next to come around was Mary Poppins who asked us where we were from and how we got to America, telling us she liked to travel by Umbrella best. Then Alice came around who talked about jam and how it is the only thing that calms the dormouse down when he sees a (she whispered this bit) ‘C.A.T’.

We waited ages for Mad Hatter to come over as he was really funny last time we came here but he went straight by us and missed us out, like I said we always seemed to get ignored.

After paying the bill we left, had a quick look in the Grand Floridian’s shops for the villain towel I wanted for Mum but with no luck we jumped back on the monorail to Magic Kingdom. When we got to Magic Kingdom it wasn’t actually that busy. We caught the train over to Frontierland, Piggle's loved the journey, and Nick first ride on a Disney train, despite this being his 4th visit.

We went straight over to Splash Mountain which had a 20 minute wait. We grabbed some fastpasses and went over to watch Philharmagic for the last time. It was so sad leaving the Philharmagic theatre, we had been looking forward to seeing it again for so long and now we had watched it for the final time it felt really real that our amazing holiday was nearly over.

Where's Piggles?

We went back to Splash Mountain for our last ride of that, again very sad. We took Piggles on so we could get a picture with him going down the big drop. So we went along the ride managing to keep Piggles dry despite the first few drops which got us pretty wet and also the fact it was raining, then we get to the big drop, and down we go with our arms raised high and Piggles up in the air smiling for the camera, wahoo. After waving goodbye to Brer Rabbit for the last time we went to get our picture but it never came up on the screen, so we went to ask the man at the desk about it. Unfortunately we had a group of girls in our boat who made some rude gesture as we went down the big drop and the photo got edited out, Piggles was not happy and neither were we.

We grabbed some fastpasses for Thunder Mountain and had a look around a few shops whilst we waited. We then made Thunder Mountain our final ride of the holiday as it was one of my first ever rides and always gives me great memories. It was great as usual, a very good last ride and lots of fun, I even got into the spirit and screamed a little, it was so much fun.

After our final ride we had a look in the shops, getting a last few souvenirs and gifts and still hunting for the villain towel, but still no luck. So I decided to ask in guest services about it as I was determined to get it. The girl tried to phone MGM where I know I had seen it but she couldn’t get through, so she told me to try the main store at Downtown Disney as they have pretty much everything from around the parks so off to Downtown Disney we went.

We made Downtown Disney a brief visit heading to Virgin Megastores first. We got some DVD’s that we couldn’t get in the UK and then headed to the Wonderful World of Disney Store to find the towel. Again we had no luck so we asked at the information desk there. He Checked on his system for us which took a matter of seconds and found they only sold it in 3 places, 2 in MGM and 1 in, guess where... Magic Kingdom, yes the park we had just left. I was so annoyed with the girl, we had come all the way here to find it on her advice when it was in the park we were in, and I don’t understand why she couldn’t of found this out for us or told us where we could go to find it out before we left the park, after all that is what guest services is for isn’t it?

We decided to go to Earl of Sandwich to get some lunch which we took back to our room to eat. We shared a Hawaiian BBQ sandwich, a BLT sandwich and some jalapeno crisps, Nick had a frozen latte and I had an Earls Grey lemonade. The food was all really good, we love the Hawaiian BBQ, its so tasty but the lemonade was horrible, not to my taste at all. Luckily though this was the only horrible thing of the holiday so it wasn’t bad going.

After lunch we started sorting out the pins and then paid a quick final visit to our shop and Rix’s to refill our mugs. We then started sorting all the stuff out to pack, it took so long just putting everything into piles of breakables, flat stuff, cuddly’s etc so we could pack it safely and well.

Um I think we have a bit of stuff... thank godness for the extra case!

We managed to pack most of the stuff and then headed down for a quick swim in the quiet pool. We didn’t stay long as it was pretty cold and the sun had gone in but it was a nice break from packing and really refreshing. We then went back to the room and got ready for our final dinner.

We had to leave early at 6pm so we could go to the Magic Kingdom first to get the towel thanks to the silly Guest services CM. We parked at the Polynesian and caught the monorail over to Magic Kingdom. We got a few photopass pictures as we walked up Main Street and then went to the stall near Haunted Mansion to find the towel. Luckily they had it so we got it and then headed back to the monorail to the Polynesian. By this time I was so hot, I wasn’t in the best mood. But then I realized what a lovely last evening it was for us and how we were eating in one of our favorite places so got over it.

Back at the Polynesian we had a look in the shops and then headed up to Ohana. We checked in about 25 minutes early but they were really busy so we waited at the bar. Nick had a mojito and I had the Pama Rita again which was so good. Just as I got a second cocktail, a Pina Colada (which was good too), our buzzer went off. We were seated in the bit around the corner where the tables were quite squashed in but also really long so Nick and I were miles from each other. It wasn’t very nice as it made it hard to talk to each other, especially with the loud family next to us and we were hoping for a nice romantic last meal. The service was also very slow tonight and when our server did serve us he served both tables at the same time. We got our bread when we were seated but waited ages for him to come back round with the dips and to get drinks. We got the dumplings and chicken wings, then the skewers started coming round almost straight after but we didn’t have the noodles or vegetables. It took a while to get that but it was all really good, its just the service needs to be worked on, especially as it wasn’t as busy as last time.

We had planned to watch wishes after our dinner but it was only 8.20pm and we were tired and full so we went back to Coronado Springs instead. We still had quite a bit to pack so finished off that and sorted our hand luggage. We then watched some Shark before our final sleep in the US, it had been a great last day but we really weren’t ready to leave yet, it felt so soon

 

[ariel2007]

Day 23 ~ The One With The Worst Day Of The Year

Well today was the day we had been dreading, the day we were finally leaving Disney World and Florida and going home to our boring everyday lives again. We were up at 8.30am, I got showered and ready as soon as I could so I could pack my straighteners and then finished the final bits of packing. We took our suitcases down to the car and then sat on the bed and ate some of the white chocolate Mickey whilst we watched some film about a woman set up for a murder and on death row and then The Watch which we never know how it ended. We then did some final checks of the room to make sure we had everything and that Piggles hadn’t hidden somewhere so he could stay longer (something Sophie and I tried on our first trip together ). We then said goodbye to our lovely room and headed down to the car.

We drove round to the shop where we exchanged a couple of things and then left Coronado Springs for the final time, it was very, very sad . We headed to Downtown Disney for the Virgin check-in. Nick stopped outside La Nouba, we quickly unloaded and then I got the bags weighed whilst he parked. It was all relatively simple, they weighed the bags, we paid $10 each, we went and they gave us boarding cards (they had to hand write them as there system was down) and then our luggage was taken and we were done. I think its definitely worth the $10 as it made everything so much easier, both now as we were luggage free and at the airport as we didn’t have to queue to check in.

Luggage free we headed in to Downtown Disney. We had planned to have a quick counter service lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express but Nick wanted to try the cafe. We were seated straight away and were brought some nice sun-dried tomato and some garlic bread with olive oil which was all really good. We ordered the vegetarian spring rolls with hoi sin and mustard sauce to start and they were good. For drinks Nick had a sprite and I tried a Crazy Good which was all kinds of juices, it was yummy but expensive at $6 for a virgin cocktail. For mains Nick had the Hoi sin ribs with fries which were really tasty and tender, he loved them. I had the chicken sandwich with provolone cheese and aioli which was nice but had a slightly burnt taste and slightly bitter. I ordered fries but got kettle chips and when the server saw she said she had put fries on the order and the kitchen had messed up. I said not to worry but she went off and 10 minutes later came back with fries. I really couldn’t eat them, I had been sharing Nicks and eating the crisps and really couldn’t fit anymore in but felt a little bad. We then paid the bill and headed over to DisneyQuest.

Nick had never been to DisneyQuest and I had only been once and had a bad experience with the Aladdin ride but thought it would be a good way to pass some time. We started with a racing car game which I quickly got bored of so we had a game of air hockey which was fun. We then went on the virtual river cruise thing but Nick sat in the back so I kept getting tossed to the side and it really hurt as you have to keep your feet in the black straps the whole time and can’t save yourself from getting thrown over. I also got quite wet which I wasn’t happy about as this was what I had to wear on the plane too. We then had a go at the Create a Scene things, they get frustrating as there so hard to use though but I did create a few good pictures, he he . We went on the Buzz Lightyear shooter ride thing next. For the ride you sit in little two player enclosed carts, one person in the car drives and the other shots. You have to drive over balls to pick them up and try and hit the targets on the side of other people’s carts which makes them spin around. It was a lot of fun but quite rough too and quite short. After that we had a go on Mario cars and Nick had a go on the Star Wars thing and then we went up to Wonderland Cafe for a coffee and a browse on the internet.

We then decided to leave DQ, its quite good but personally we do not think its worth the admission alone, although people with children probably will disagree as there is so much to do for children and loads of computer games.
We were still quite full from lunch but had to try Coldstone Creamery before we left the US so headed for I-Drive. We finally left WDW for good, I instantly felt so sad and quite empty, not knowing when we would be back. We drove to the Coldstone Creamery on Sand Lake Road which was on the way to the airport. I had read about this place years ago in a California trip report when the people visited a Coldstone Creamery in San Diego and instantly I told everyone we would be going there when we visited CA in a few years. Well then I found they had a few in Florida, I was so excited. They had so many different choices, loads of different flavour icecreams and toppings, everything from chocolate bars and sweets to fruits and sauces, it was so hard to chose. Nick decided on a ‘Love It’ size cup with coffee and cheesecake ice-creams and snickers bar. I had a ‘Like It’ size cup with peanut butter icecream and snickers and M&M’s in. The way they do it is so cool, they put your chosen icecream on a slab, flatten it out a bit and then fold the toppings in. The ice-cream was so good too, I definitely need more next time I go, its a shame it was our last day and we couldn’t go everyday of our holiday. Once we had finished our icecream we carried on to the airport with a quick stop for a bit of fuel and a drink.

We got to the airport pretty quickly and dropping off the car was easy, we just parked, got our stuff out and left it there. We headed for departures, but not before doing a final bit of shopping in the airport Disney Store, of course.
Then we went through security which took a while and then on to our gate. I got some duty free makeup, a Lychee Lancome Juicy Tube lip gloss and some YSL Radiant Touch foundation. It got sent down to the plane which was a first for us. We got some seats by our gate at about 5.40pm. When we were waiting the boarding people kept announcing over the tanoy for about 4 groups of people for the 5.50 flight. At 5.40pm 2 of them walked up, casually after they had been called for about 10 times. They didn’t rush, I had actually seen them in duty free about 15 minutes before and then saw them outside just before they came down just standing there having a chat, unbelievable, some people really baffle me. Another guy turned up at 5.53pm and wanted them to still let him on. He got really funny about it, trying to blame someone else, and then moaning when she said he may not get PE on the later flight.

We were due to board at 6.35pm so not long to wait, we read our magazines, and then at 6.30pm came the dreaded news, our flight was delayed by approximately 90 minutes :angry:. So we had to sit around and wait for ages (well it wasn’t ages but it felt like it to us), Nick got us a Starbucks and we used the free wireless internet on my computer to pass the time. Luckily we were called to board at 7.35pm, only an hour late. We were called near the beginning as we were flying Premium Economy and it was so cool going upstairs. Our seats were right at the back and had lots of legroom and storage compartments down the side, also good place to put things. Luckily there was plenty of room on the floor for the Classic Collection too, I was so worried as the box was so huge, it was far too big for either of our hand luggage which was where it was suppose to go. The flight left just after 8pm, only about 30 minutes late, some passengers didn’t turn up though so they had to off load their bags. We got comfy, we had bottled water and headsets already there and plenty of space to put the spare pillows and blankets. The take-off was pretty smooth and it was good looking out over the coast as we went although sad to be saying goodbye. Once we were in the air properly I settled down to watch a film, I watched Juno first which was really good. Our dinner was served quite soon into the flight too which was good as I was quite tired. Nick and I were given special low cholesterol meals to begin, I luckily realized and we got them swapped. We had the usual tray but this time we had all china wear and proper metal cutlery, we felt privileged. We both had beef in a mustard sauce with mash and vegetables which was good, probably one of the best aeroplane meals I have had. We also got cheese and crackers, a cheese bread roll, water, wine, coke, and a really nice crumble dessert. The stewardesses were also really friendly and helpful which was good. We got brought coffee after dinner and not long after that some baileys (or Brandy). After that the stewardesses took away all our cups, plates, glasses etc and the lights got turned down. A tray of fruit and orange juice and water was laid out on the side for people to help themselves too in the night which I thought was a really nice touch. I wrote my diary for the day and then tried to get some sleep.

Surprisingly I slept pretty well, on and off all night but much better than I normally do on a plane. In the morning we were served some cheese and egg croissant things which weren’t that good, I had read they had changed the old breakfasts but was still disappointed, I don’t think its a great thing to serve on a plane, it kind of made me feel a bit sick. We were also given some coffee and juice and offered some fruit and after that it was ony about 1 hour before we landed. We therefore got our things together, went and had a bit of a wash, freshened up and then watched some TV till it was time to land.

Landing was pretty painless and we were quickly off thanks to our PE status. It was a bit of a trek to luggage reclaim, which then took ages and then it was off to get our car. We were soon on our way back to our house, we were excited about seeing Tigger and Scamp but were so sad to be back in gloomy old England. This was officially the end of our Magical WDW Adventure, now the Disney depression can start all over again .

 

[ariel2007]

After The Holiday ~ The One Where It All Comes To An End

Well now my trip report is finally finished, Our Magical WDW Adventure is nearly finished too. But before it is there is a few things to finish up first. First of all some pictures of some of our souvenirs and gifts to show some of the extent of my Disney obsession:

All the cuddly's we brought back, including for gifts

And these our just ours (term used loosely)

Non-Disney pins

And Disney pins

Fridge magnets (quite a new thing I collect, as you can see)

My new Classic Collection piece

Sophie's gifts

And how I gave it to her (the ballerina Minnie stuff was for her passing her first ballet exam)

Mum and Dad's gifts

And how I gave it to her

And the cats gifts

--------------------------

Secondly did we complete our Quests and how did we do?

Will we ride all our top rides?
Luckily we managed to ride all our favorites at least once . The only one we didn't manage to do was see Sea Lion's Tonight, Nick's favorite show at Seaworld. But then we knew that before we went so he was prepared, although he did still moan quite a bit



Who will win Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin?
I would love to say me... but I think in all honesty it was probably Piggle's

Will we try all our 'Must try' snacks and what will we think of them?
TRIED:
- Cheddar Cheese Soup (Le Cellier) ~ Very good, will definitely have it again
- Tonga Toast (Kona Cafe) ~ Good but very filling
- Mickey Ice-cream bar ~ Nice but not my favorite
- Pecanbon (IOA) ~ Very good, and very sweet
- The Kitchen Sink (Beaches and Cream) ~ Nice but far too much for me
- Key lime pie ~ Very nice

NOT TRIED:
- Ice-cream cookie sandwich - Main Street Bakery
- Norwegian School Bread - Norway, WS
- Chocolate covered apple - Goofy's Candy Company
- Kungaloosh - Adventurers Club :cocktail:



Will we complete Drink Around the World at Epcot? And will we both still be standing?
Unfortunately we didn't, but we gave it a damn good try and got to try some tasty drinks along the way

How much Donald merchandise will we end up with?
Well we came back with a shot glass, magnet, towel and beanie


Will Nick ride the 'dreaded' Sheikra?
Yes, he was a brave boy, overcame his fear, and rode the 'dreaded' Sheikra. Will he do it next time? You will have to wait and see

Will we have enough room in our suitcases to bring back everything we buy?
Well we did after we brought another suitcases, which meant we brought back 4.

How many shot glasses will I return with?
The grand total of 16

Will we finish the legendary 'Kitchen Sink'?
Nick made a real good try but we didn't finish it... we will have to try again next time when there is more of us, maybe we will have a better shot

Will this be the most Magical WDW Adventure EVER?
No this is a really hard one. Was this holiday magical? Oh yes, we did so many magical things, both new and old. And we have some of the most magical memories to last us a lifetime. We both had an amazing time, the weather was perfect, nothing really went wrong, we ate in great restaurants, saw great shows, brought lots and lots of new things, relaxed and at the same time did more than I would usually do in a year, had fun, and of course, didn't want to leave... Again. At the same time its hard to compare it to my other visits as they have all been great and have all had something that has made them extra special and created both amazing and magical memories. And I'm sure there will be another visit in the near future that will be filled with even more Magic and Adventure... But till then, thank you all so much for joining me on this Adventure, it has been great fun, I hope you all have enjoyed it too. Sadly though, this is the end of Our Magical WDW Adventure, so its Goodbye from me

 

[wdwgirl03]

Awww, I'm sad your TR is over. I've really enjoyed reading it...it sounds like you had an amazing time.

AHHH all your souvenirs, that is crazy!!!! I want to see your house all Disney-fied. I bet your family really enjoyed their gifts!

 

[BellaSwan]

I loved your trip report! The pics of your kittys enjoying their Disney souvineers are too cute! I am sad that it is over but I am looking forward to reading all about your other trips.

 

[caa1277]

Wonderful job on a tremendous trip! I'm so jealous of all the things you guys got to do. I wish I could do just half of them.

I'm so glad you had a wonderul time. And I can't wait to hear about your next trip.

 

[lmillercrew]

Man, it's done! I'm so happy I found your TR! I've enjoyed chatting and following alone with you. I love your Britishisms (i know that's not a word) Your kitties are so pretty! And another thing, can I be related to you???? Your are the best sister and daughter EVER! How thoughtful of you to bring all of those things back to your family. I have always wanted to fly on an airplane that has two stories. Even on our flight to Hawaii, we didn't have an airplane that big. So happy you made it home to continue on with your other TR and PTR. See you on your other thread

 

[disneydusted]

Ariel... I'm so sad it is finally over You and Nick had an incredible vacation, what an amazing time! I am glad you took all of us along... See you over on your new thread!

 

[retiredkid]

a fabulous TR of your fantastic trip. thanks for sharing.
I've said it before........I can't believe the stuff you bring back.

NOTHING TO DECLARE!! LOL

 

[ariel2007]

Awww, I'm sad your TR is over. I've really enjoyed reading it...it sounds like you had an amazing time.

AHHH all your souvenirs, that is crazy!!!! I want to see your house all Disney-fied. I bet your family really enjoyed their gifts!

Thanks, I've enjoyed it too. And as for all our stuff, I still haven't managed to put it all away now, and now I have loads more stuff from our recent holiday. At this rate I will have our DLP souvenirs before its all away

I loved your trip report! The pics of your kittys enjoying their Disney souvineers are too cute! I am sad that it is over but I am looking forward to reading all about your other trips.

Thanks for joining me on my Adventure, I'm so glad you joined me, it has been so fun. I'm glad your joining me on my other trippies so we can keep talking

Wonderful job on a tremendous trip! I'm so jealous of all the things you guys got to do. I wish I could do just half of them.

I'm so glad you had a wonderul time. And I can't wait to hear about your next trip.

Thanks, it means a lot . I have started the trip report for my Dollywood trip now if you wanna read.

Man, it's done! I'm so happy I found your TR! I've enjoyed chatting and following alone with you. I love your Britishisms (i know that's not a word) Your kitties are so pretty! And another thing, can I be related to you???? Your are the best sister and daughter EVER! How thoughtful of you to bring all of those things back to your family. I have always wanted to fly on an airplane that has two stories. Even on our flight to Hawaii, we didn't have an airplane that big. So happy you made it home to continue on with your other TR and PTR. See you on your other thread

Thank you so much for all your kind words. And thank you so much for joining me on my report, I know it took a while to complete, but I hope it was worth the wait. And I'm so glad your joining me on my other trippies, hopefully it will be a lot of fun too . Thank you again

Oh and my kitties say thank you

Ariel... I'm so sad it is finally over You and Nick had an incredible vacation, what an amazing time! I am glad you took all of us along... See you over on your new thread!

Thank you and thanks for joining me again, if you all didn't I would miss you all. See you on the new thread

a fabulous TR of your fantastic trip. thanks for sharing.
I've said it before........I can't believe the stuff you bring back.

NOTHING TO DECLARE!! LOL

Thanks so much, and I'm glad you joined me so I could share it with you all. It wouldn't have been half as fun without you lot, and all your lovely comments have really made it worth it. Hopefully I will see you on my other trippie