Return after 5 years away *now with TR to Marceline, MO!*

[paradesintherain]

The title pretty much says it all! After five long years I will finally be returning to Disney World. My other trips were in 1996 and we stayed at Caribbean Beach, 2001 at Coronado Springs, 2005 at Pop Century, in 2006 I did the fall advantage College Program and worked at the Mara and in-room dining at Animal Kingdom Lodge, and finally in 2008 we stayed at Contemporary Resort and Animal Kingdom Lodge (dream come true).

So about a week ago my dad confirmed a work conference in Nashville and then decided since that was about halfway to Disney World from Missouri to just continue on south! He booked a room at Art of Animation Lion King suites from August 9-17 with 8 days of park hopper tickets with the water parks and more option. On the 8th Dad and I are going to Universal to see Wizarding World of Harry Potter (blasphemy, i know!)

Here's who's going:

Me! My favorite Disney movie is The Lion King (it may actually be my favorite movie ever), and I really don't understand why they can't have a Simba fur character if they can have Marie from Aristocats.
My favorite resort is Animal Kingdom Lodge, and it became even more special to me after doing my CP there and then staying there in '08. I'd really love to stay at Port Orleans French Quarter someday because I'm obsessed with Louisiana.
One of the things I'd like to do most on this trip is have tea at the Grand Floridian, but I'm going with my dad and brother and I really don't think they would enjoy that

My brother!
He's a huge Star Wars fan, clearly. He hasn't been to Disney World since 2001 because he was serving in the Marines.

And my dad, who made it all possible.
He's most looking forward to having a Bodingtons at Rose and Crown and talking to the locals there.

 

[shell8558]

Yay! Can't wait to read all about your upcoming trip! And I'm a Louisiana girl so , I'm pretty partial to POR ! It's my favorite resort.

 

[paradesintherain]

Thanks! Louisiana is just the best!

This will be my first trip report, and I'm not really sure what to do in the pre trip report haha

 

[happybelle]

Joining in. For the PTR tell us about your trip, your plans, what you would do if you were a billionaire.

 

[paradesintherain]

I've been trying to get ADRs at Ohana, I even called the dining line hoping something would be there that I couldn't see, but no luck. There were 9:45-9:50 times which seems really strange to me since they close at 10 and I can't imagine how that'd work.

Anyway today I decided to check through the dates for dinner reservations again and there was a 5:10 for the second day of our vacation (Aug 10)!! I am so happy I checked again!

We have an ADR for Whispering Canyon Cafe the next night (the 11th) so I might want to switch that for later in the trip because it's all lumping up at the beginning.

As far as other meal hopes, I really want to get into Be Our Guest for lunch. The food doesn't really interest me that much but I'm very interested in the atmosphere.

 

[paradesintherain]

Oops, also just made a Fantasmic package reservation at Mama Melrose's for lunch on Aug 15. I don't think I could convince myself to wait in the line for Fantasmic when I think it's inferior to Disneyland's so this will be a good way to see the show and try a new restaurant!

 

[momminnie]

Joining in for you trip for little old South Carolina. I am a Disney nut. Love all things Disney!

 

[Windsor Princesses]

How exciting coming back after so long!! We're staying at POFQ this trip around so I'll let you know how it goes. I can't wait to read all a bout your upcoming trip, sounds like it's going to be a blast!!
Keep trying to get that 'Ohana reservation, I managed to land one just by checking during the day at random times.

 

[shell8558]

Sounds great ! We pick the same restraunts too- our faves are ohanas , whispering canyon , mama melrose VIP and crystal palace breakfast . We didn't get a chance to try BOG when we there in February , so I can't wait to hear about your experience . Oh and don't forget about the ADR cancelation thread - it can help you grab anymore ressies you are looking for!

 

[paradesintherain]

Joining in for you trip for little old South Carolina. I am a Disney nut. Love all things Disney!

Welcome! I hope you enjoy it, it's my first time!

How exciting coming back after so long!! We're staying at POFQ this trip around so I'll let you know how it goes. I can't wait to read all a bout your upcoming trip, sounds like it's going to be a blast!!
Keep trying to get that 'Ohana reservation, I managed to land one just by checking during the day at random times.

Ooh I'm jealous, I'd love to stay there! The last time we went to Disney World we went there two times for the beignets. So delicious.

And I actually did manage to get the reservation to Ohana!

Sounds great ! We pick the same restraunts too- our faves are ohanas , whispering canyon , mama melrose VIP and crystal palace breakfast . We didn't get a chance to try BOG when we there in February , so I can't wait to hear about your experience . Oh and don't forget about the ADR cancelation thread - it can help you grab anymore ressies you are looking for!

Thanks for the ADR cancellation tip, that could end up being very useful!

I've been second guessing the Whispering Canyon ADR. I think I just need to look up more pictures of the food and talk myself back into it!

 

[paradesintherain]

Well, I thought while I wait for my trip to get here I could share some pictures I recently took in Marceline, Missouri. I've lived in Missouri my whole life but never visited Marceline, so a Disney-obsessed friend and I decided to take a day trip there in May. i was trying to get some Disney magic out of my summer-- obviously this was before I knew I'd be going to Disney World!

The town itself is so cute and well-maintained. It isn't hard to see why Walt was so enamored with it. The first thing we did while we were there was visit the Walt Disney hometown museum which is located in the old train depot.

Living so near the trains is said to have fueled his obsession with them.

Our tour guide was absolutely wonderful, and so full of knowledge. Marceline hosted the premiere of the Great Locomotion Chase, and Walt and Roy stood around and shook hands with everyone that night, including our host. We thought that was amazing enough, but then she revealed that Lillian and Walt actually stayed with her and her family on at least one of their visits to Marceline! She and her family were also lucky enough to visit Disneyland as guests of Walt, where they used his apartment as their central command station, and hopped on the rides with no waiting.

She also told us that when she was old enough Walt secured a job for her at Disneyland, but before she got there he died and she was unsure about going until Roy called her and told her to get her butt out there! It was so amazing to hear her stories and well worth the trip to the town.

These were given to Walt's parents on their wedding anniversary by Roy and Walt.

Amazing Disney letterhead. The museum had tons of letters written by Walt and Roy, mostly to their sister.

On the top floor of the museum there was a room with a model of parts of Disneyland made by a fan and donated to the museum.

Probably one of the coolest pieces is this original ride vehicle from the Midget Autopia.

After the museum we drove to the town's main street (Kansas Ave, I think). There was a cute little fair going on that day, and it seemed like a really nice place to grow up.

This building on the main street is supposedly what Walt based Coke Corner on. There was an add on to the building that recently burned and then an old painted Coke wall was revealed, so the connection may be more obvious.

The Uptown theater was also on main street

After main street we headed to Walt Disney Municipal park in search of the remains of Midget Autopia!

For those who might not know, Midget Autopia was a miniature version of Autopia specifically for very small children at Disneyland. When Marceline built a new city park they let Walt know that they wanted to name it after him, which he thought was great and he also donated Midget Autopia to the city. He was supposed to be there for the dedication of the park and ride, but he was too sick to travel and died a couple months later.

The ride ran for a few years, but it was expensive to maintain the cars so eventually it was closed, but the track and loading station still remain.

This is the loading station/queue for Midget Autopia. It now has a few picnic tables in it.

The tunnel of the ride (and yes we did walk the entire track several times!)

Looking down from the top of the tunnel at all the curves.

I really enjoyed seeing what was left of Midget Autopia, way more than I thought I would! We went and saw the elementary school afterwards, which is named after Walt and used to have a Disneyland themed playground custom built. That playground was long gone though, sadly. On the way out of town we stopped at what used to be Walt's family's property.

This is what's left of Walt's dreaming tree. Apparently he used to lay under the tree and draw, and whenever he'd come back to town he would request time alone under the tree. Lightning has been a little unkind to it, but there's still something magical about it.

Lastly we visited a replica of the barn that Walt spent a lot of time in as a kid putting on shows. It was such a gorgeous place. Guests to the barn are invited to sign their name on the inside of the barn, but asked to leave the outside alone and surprisingly I didn't notice a single signature on the outside of the barn.

All in all it was well worth my time and I highly recommend stopping in Marceline if you get the chance!

 

[shell8558]

WOW! I knew nothing about this! How amazing! Makes me want to take a trip to Missouri. Thanks for all the pics.

 

[paradesintherain]

WOW! I knew nothing about this! How amazing! Makes me want to take a trip to Missouri. Thanks for all the pics.

It was pretty neat, I especially liked talking to our tour guide because she personally knew Walt.

 

[paradesintherain]

Since my brother hasn't been to Disney World since 2001 today I was thinking up all the things that will be new or changed for him.

1. Philharmagic
2. Expedition Everest
3. Monsters Inc Laugh Floor
4. Journey of the Little Mermaid
5. Mission: Space
6. Captain EO (though I made him watch it at Disneyland)
7. The Seas with Nemo and Friends
8. Soarin' (though he's ridden it several times at Disneyland)
9. Turtle Talk
10. Toy Story Mania (rode it at Disneyland)
11. Primeval Whirl (this surprised me)
12. Stitch's Great Escape
13. Crush n Gusher at Typhoon Lagoon

and then there's the attractions that have been changed since he visited
1. Barnstormer
2. Dumbo
3. Haunted Mansion
4. Pirates of the Caribbean
5. Gran Fiesta tour with Three Caballeros
6. Spaceship Earth
7. Test Track
8. Star Tours (he rode this multiple times at Disneyland and I'm sure he'll ride it multiple times here)
9. Kilimanjaro Safari

And of course our hotel is brand new!

 

[momminnie]

Enjoyed the pictures. I never knew all that. I'd like to go there some time.

 

[paradesintherain]

In exactly one month I will be checking into Art of Animation and enjoying Tonga toast for the first time ever!

 

[paradesintherain]

I just found out that the reason Tiki Room was returned to normal was because a fire in the attic badly burned Iago! That could be very common knowledge around these parts, but I had no idea.

 

[paradesintherain]

My brother texted me this morning asking if we could go to the beach so he could dive while we're in Florida. Unfortunately we have tickets for every day that he's there, and wouldn't want to waste a day. But I told my dad what my brother wanted to do and we ended up booking Epcot DiveQuest for him on August 13! He seems super excited, and I hope it satisfies his desire to dive again!

 

[ABCastillo]

My brother texted me this morning asking if we could go to the beach so he could dive while we're in Florida. Unfortunately we have tickets for every day that he's there, and wouldn't want to waste a day. But I told my dad what my brother wanted to do and we ended up booking Epcot DiveQuest for him on August 13! He seems super excited, and I hope it satisfies his desire to dive again!

I can't wait to hear how he likes DiveQuest! That is a wonderful idea and will be so unique and special.

Love your report so far!

 

[paradesintherain]

I can't wait to hear how he likes DiveQuest! That is a wonderful idea and will be so unique and special.

Love your report so far!

Thank you! I'll be sure to include his thoughts on DiveQuest.

10 days until my vacation starts! On the 3rd I'll be seeing Taylor Swift at the Sprint Center, and then my dad and I leave early on the 4th for Nashville. I can't wait to be on the road!