Our November Trip

[lindsey]

Background:
DH and I love Disney. We have been about 20 times before this trip starting in 1981 with MK only. I am 56yrs old and DH is 65 years old. We began planning this trip in January 2011 to celebrate our 30th Anniversary. Our Anniversary is actually March 26, but that was a busy time. Our youngest has finally graduated and moved about 200 miles away. We have spent six trips this year going back and forth from Greenville, SC to Charleston, SC to help get him settled, and to spend some time with him.
We were going to pull our pop-up camper and stay at Fort Wilderness. We have stayed before, but it’s been a long time. We decided the week before Thanksgiving would be a good time. Then just before I made the reservations, my mom said she could get us a 1 bedroom unit at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. We have stayed here twice and really liked it. So it was decided and then we could fly. I watched Allegiant Air and Southwest for
several weeks, and when Southwest had a sale of $49 each way, I booked. It was also a great deal because Southwest does not charge for bags. So by June we had a place to stay and airline tickets. We were debating whether to use a shuttle to hotel and back, or rent a car. I found a good deal with Budget (thanks to the DisBoards). Then about a month before we left, my mom told me she got us an upgrade to a two-bedroom unit. We told her we did not need a two-bedroom, but she said there were conveniences to it, including two full baths. The two-bedrooms did come in handy due to coughing spells I had during the week. Because we were trying to not spend a lot of money due to some financial things that had come up, we decided to save money and buy the five day - one park per day tickets. This was the first time we did not have park-hopper tickets, but we decided we would just plan accordingly.
Saturday, November 12 we were on our way to Orlando. .. first let me back up. Friday morning as I was leaving the house for work, I tripped down the steps and twisted my left foot. Oh no!! But I picked myself up and went to work. I put some ice on it when I arrived at work, and tried to stay off of it as much as possible. But it hurt when I walked. I left work early and came home about 1:30pm. I did not tell my hubby what I did until I got home. It was a bit swollen, but I could move all the toes. It was not quite as bad Saturday and DH wrapped it for me. I walked a bit slower, but it was not as painful as Friday. Now, back to Saturday. Yeah! We are on our way. To me, the most nervous part is getting to the airport and checking in. Once through security, then I can feel calmer. One interesting thing I noted on the flight, there was lots of overhead bin space. I mean almost empty in some of the bins. Having flown Delta several times this year for work, overhead bin space is rare, especially if you are not the first to board. Nice smooth flight and soon we were landing in Orlando. We have been flying with Allegiant to Sanford for the last few trips, so it had been six years since we were in the Orlando airport. We found the baggage area, then the car rental area, and were soon on our way. We followed the signs to Toll Road 417. At least from Orlando International, it’s only $2.50 total tolls. We stopped at Winn Dixie to pick up some groceries and then to check in. It was after 5pm, there were only two people in front of us. We were assigned to Tower 2, room 443. Since we were hungry, we took the groceries up with us and made some sandwiches before going back down for the luggage. We did notice that the living room area in Tower 2 is much smaller than in Tower 4 or Tower 5. Plenty of room for just the two of us, though. Later that night, I saw fireworks from our bedroom window. I do not know where they were from, since we did not have a MK or Epcot view.

 

[lindsey]

Nov 13 - Sunday morning, we saw some hot air balloons in the distance. After breakfast, we went to the Tower 1 bus stop to go to Hollywood Studios. I knew it was pm EMH, but my goal was to be able to see the Osborne Lights. There was no line, and we walked right in. The first thing was to get fastpasses for TSM. The line to the fastpasses was long, but the CM’s were helping direct people and the line did move quickly. Then we went to the new Star Tours ride. It was about a 10 minute wait. I like the changes in the Star Tours ride. Then we went to Great Movie Ride. We walked right on this ride, I mean right through the queue, right through the doors, right onto the tram! We had a female tour guide, and a female gangster. I always like the part at the end where they show clips of past movies. Then we went to the Backlot Tour. We just missed the cutoff and were first in line for the next group. Even though we have been on this show/ride many times, I still like to see everything. By the time we exited the tour, it was lunch time. We decided to stay at Studio Catering Co for lunch. DH had the Pressed Tuscan Deli and I had the Chicken Caesar Wrap. Both were good. Then we rode TSM with our fastpasses. We went to check out RnRC. The posted time was 30 minutes, but I was in line and off the ride in 15 minutes. DH does not ride roller coasters. Then we rode ToT. It seemed like we had about four or five drops. It is always fun where there are people in the group who have never ridden before, and see the reactions. We decided to leave for a break and return at night to see the Christmas lights. The only negative about WBC busses, there is a lull in pickup times in the afternoon. So we rode a Disney bus to Epcot, and then caught the WBC bus back to the resort. DH had wrapped my foot and it seemed to help a lot. We took a nap and then ate sandwiches before heading back to Hollywood Studios. We were back at the park by 6:30 and went straight to see the Osborne Lights. It was crowded, but manageable. The lights were beautiful and I really enjoyed walking around, listening to the music and taking pictures. We tried to get pictures of each other, but it was so crowded that it was nearly impossible. We walked back to RnRC, but the wait time was long, so we each got an ice cream, sat and people watched for a little while. Then we left to wait for the resort bus. We did not have very long to wait, and then we were back to the resort.

 

[lindsey]

Osborne Lights

 

[lindsey]

Nov 14 - Monday my foot was much better and I did not need the wrap. We got up early (we are just early risers), had our coffee, and got ready to go. We had 9:15am reservations at Kona, so we took the 8am bus to Magic Kingdom. Since the WBC is not a Disney resort bus, they have to drop and pick up at TTC. We toke the monorail instead of walking to save a few steps. We were at the Polynesian by 8:45am to check in. I explained we were very early, but she took our info and gave us the pager. It was crowded upstairs, so we walked downstairs to wait. I thought we would probably have to wait until our ADR time, but in about 5 minutes our pager went off. So we hurried upstairs to be seated. Breakfast was great. I had the Tongo Toast with bacon and DH had the Big Kahuna. Service was fast and the food was great. The only negative is that sitting is very close so you hear everything the people on each side of you are saying. We had the O’hana Breakfast last year with the kids and grandkids, and at least you have a little space in there. We like visiting the Polynesian Resort and reliving past memories. We were finished and on the monorail to MK by 9:45am. We went to Tomorrowland and walked right onto Buzz Lightyear, then TTA. TTA has always been a favorite with my whole family. Then we headed toward Fantasyland. We rode Winnie the Pooh, did the 3-d Mickey’s Philharmonic, and then rode IASM. The line for IASM was the longest I had seen in a long time. I picked up fastpasses for Peter Pan (my favorite in Fantasyland), and we went to Liberty Square. We rode Haunted Mansion. Then we found a bench and sat for a while. I needed to rest my foot and it was quite crowded in this area. Then we rode Pirates of the Caribbean. The line was a little longer than we had had in past trips, but still not bad. I love the Captain Jack Sparrow sections. If you have not seen the video of Johnny Depp seeing his animatronic, you should watch. It’s so neat (if you are a Johnny Depp fan). You can search on YouTube on “Johnny Depp at Disneyworld”. DH decided it was time for his Turkey Leg. We arrived at the cart just as they were delivering a fresh batch. I bought a hot dog and we enjoyed a “light” lunch. Afterwards, we went back to Fantasyland to ride Peter Pan. We decided we were ready to leave for a break. It was much warmer today. We made our way back to the front, taking pictures along the way. We rode the monorail back to TTC and waited only a short time for the bus.

 

[lindsey]

After a nice rest, we went back to Magic Kingdom. The Electric Parade was about ½ ways through, so Main Street was very crowded. We walked through the stores to Casey’s Corner, and then walked along a path to find a good spot. We watched the rest of the parade from a distance, and then decided to camp there for the pre-show and fireworks. We were not hungry earlier, thinking we could get something in the park, but it just was not worth it to try to find something. The castle was already lite, and I loved the Christmas lighting. It was not too long before the pre-show, and then we saw Tinkerbell flying, then the fireworks. I love MK fireworks. It was EMH at MK, so that was probably why it was so crowded. We still waited around for the worst of the crowd to leave before trying to make our way out. Once we got all the way out, the line for the monorail was very long, so we took the ferry. It was quite crowded, but still not that long to wait. Then the bus back to the resort. It was 10pm before we made it back to our room. DH made us some grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, and we watched TV for a while. I am not used to eating dinner at 10:30pm. (btw.. DH is retired and the cook at our house).

 

[lindsey]

Nov 15 - Tuesday - I woke up twice coughing during the night so after breakfast we decided to go to Winn Dixie to pick up a few more supplies, cough medicine and cough drops. Once that was completed, and everything was put up, we caught the bus to Epcot. We went straight to the Land and got a fastpass for Soarin. The line for Living with the Land was a walk on, so we rode that. I like this ride because they are always growing different things. We then went to Living Seas. The line was a little long, but not bad, and it is constantly moving. We watched the dolphins and then went to Turtle Talk with Crush. This was our first time to see Turtle Talk and I thought it was very cute. The kids all seemed to enjoy the interaction. After that we went back to ride Soarin. We decided to go to Electric Umbrella for lunch. DH had the Bacon Cheeseburger, and I had a Veggie Burger. Both were good. We were tired, so we decided to go back to rest and return later to the countries. After a nice rest, we ate a bowl of Campbell’s soup and then we went back to the bus stop. We took the bus to Hollywood Studios. Then we took the Disney boat to Epcot. We decided we could save a few steps that way because the boat would drop us off at the International Gateway, and we were not in any hurry. Once at Epcot, we headed over the bridge to France. I bought a chocolate crepe and ate as we walked. The crepe is good, but still not as good as the real thing. If you are ever in Paris, the crepe stand just across from the Eiffel Tower is wonderful. While we were walking, DH started to feel “ucky”. He started on the Rolaids I had in my bag, but just kept feeling bad. We continued walking around World Showcase without stopping, except for a few bathroom stops, and a stop for Diet Coke Float for me. We made it back to the front and he felt his blood sugar was dropping. He is a type 2 diabetic, so he felt he needed some sugar in his system, hoping it would stay down. We bought a Mickey Ice Cream, and he took a few bits. Then it started melting and getting messy. We made it to the bus stop right about 9pm, so we saw parts of the fireworks in the sky. Soon the bus came, and we were back at the resort. DH felt the soup just did not sit right with him – or maybe all of the other snacks he had before and after the soup!

 

[lindsey]

Nov 16 - Wednesday, DH woke up feeling ok again. Between my foot, my coughing spells, and his previous night, we decided to just take our time. We took the bus back to Epcot about 11:30am. There was no line for Spaceship Earth, so we hopped on. There was a very unhappy child about three rows back who cried through the whole ride. Then we headed for the Land. The wait for Soarin was only 20 minutes, so we rode it, and then decided to have lunch while we were in the Land Pavilion. DH had the pork chop with potatoes and I had a Rueben Panini. Again, both were very good. We left the Land and headed toward the countries. We went to the show in Canada, and the show in France. I wanted to get an Advent Calendar in Germany for my niece. Then we slowly walked the countries browsing in some of the shops. We stopped at the American Adventure to take pictures of the large Gingerbread House and buy a soft drink. We sat outside and people watched for a little while. The workers were getting the theater ready for the Candlelight Procession. We rode the Norway ride with no wait. And DH even agreed to watch the video after the ride. Usually he does not want to stop for the video. We bought a snack in the Norway shop. I like seeing all of the shows and pictures of other countries. Then we made it all the way back to Future World. Test Track was listed as 20 minutes, so we got in line. I don’t think we have ridden this in the dark in a long time. The outside part was fun in the dark. We made a quick stop at the Coke Station, then we made our way out and to the bus stop.

 

[lindsey]

Nov 17 - Thursday was our no-parks day. After sleeping in late, and having breakfast, I read for a while, and then took a very long nap. Once I was awake, we were hungry and we decided to go to Downtown Disney. We headed straight for Earl of Sandwich for lunch. This was the shortest line I have ever been in for this restaurant. I tried the Holiday Sandwich, and DH had the Montague. We only ate half of our sandwiches so we could have room for dessert, so we wrapped them up and took them back with us. We stopped at a few shops to buy souvenirs for the grandkids and a few ornaments for my Christmas Disney Tree. Then we stopped at the Ghiradelli shop and shared a banana split. It was very good. Once we were quite full and packages bought, we went back to the resort. Later we walked all the way around the lake at the resort taking pictures. We ate the remaining half of our sandwiches for dinner later. It was a very restful and relaxed day.

 

[lindsey]

Nov 18 – Friday, was our last park day, so we decided to go back to Magic Kingdom. We took the ferry over from TTC. It was interesting to ride the ferry almost empty as opposed to the very very full ride several nights ago. We started by riding the train all the way around. We could see a little behind the boards in the Fantasyland expansion. It will be exciting to bring granddaughter back to the new section. She loves all princesses. Then we headed to Adventureland. We rode the Jungle Cruise first, and then went to Pirates of the Caribbean. We stopped for lunch. I had the taco salad and DH had the beef burrito. Then we went to the Hall of Presidents. It’s been a long time since we have watched this show. Since the parade was going on, we decided to avoid the crowd and walk through Fantasyland to Tomorrowland. The wait for Buzz was 30 minutes, but the fastpass time was only 40 minutes away. We grabbed fastpasses and rode TTA. Space Mountain was closed and the lights were on. I have only seen this a few times. Carousel of Progress was open, so we went on that next. By then it was time for Buzz. When we got in line, the time was 40 minutes stand-by and with a long line even for fastpass. While in line people were leaving, saying the ride was temporarily down. We decided to wait and it was only about 5 more minutes before it began again. I don’t do very well on this ride regarding points, my aim is not good, but it’s still fun. We walked back toward the Castle to see the end of the current show. We had thought we could stay for the castle lighting, but it was still over an hour away. I wanted a Pineapple Float, so we walked back to Adventureland. We sat and shared the float. Ariel and Eric’s area was next to this area and they were out signing autographs. The Fairies were inside the building where we sitting. There were lots of children waiting to get autographs. We walked back to the front, taking more pictures. We made one last stop at the Candy shop for sweets to take home. We took the monorail to TTC, and then took the monorail to Epcot for one more view and to catch the bus back to the resort. We did not have to wait long for the bus. Back at the resort, we used what food was left for dinner, packed, and cleaned the rooms.

 

[lindsey]

Nov 19 - Saturday morning we only made coffee, took all the trash out and left about 8am. We drove straight to Orlando International and turned in the rental car. We checked in, and found a McDonalds for breakfast. Loading for Southwest is really very efficient with the no seat assignment and the way they line you up according to your boarding pass numbers. Soon we were on our way home.
Next trip in two years with son, daughter-in-law, and two grandkids.
Overall:
It was more crowded than I expected, but still very manageable. We used fastpasses when we needed them, and were able to time any other rides so that we did not wait any longer than 15-20 minutes. We used our new apps on our phones some, mostly just to see what all the times were listed and if they were accurate. The one ride I skipped was Mission: Space. I love this ride, but since I had been taking cough medicine, cold medicine and pain medicine, I decided to skip this time.
We skipped Animal Kingdom this time, to spend two days at Magic Kingdom.
The five day – one day per park ticket worked fine for us.
DH cooked breakfast each morning, except for Monday and Saturday. He enjoys this and it helped us not be hungry too soon. It was convenient to have sandwich makings, chips, cookies, water, and soft drinks at the resort.
My goal was to see the Osborne Christmas Lights and the Castle Christmas Lights and I planned that for the first two days just to be sure. Unfortunately, they were EMH days – but I knew that and was prepared for it.
We had fun with just the two of us (this was our 4th time alone), but we missed the family – especially since our grandchildren love Disney and we had such a great time last year with them and their parents.
The bus system at Wyndham Bonnet Creek was always on time. There is a lull in the afternoon pickup times, but we worked around it. There were only two times during the whole week when people had to stand.