She's Five at Riverside - A September 2014 Trip Report (Completed 2/27)

[RunnerMommyof4]

Awe I'm caught up and super excited since you stayed at POR. What an awesome trip! Your daughter is adorable by the way

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Awe I'm caught up and super excited since you stayed at POR. What an awesome trip! Your daughter is adorable by the way

Great, we are glad that you found us and are enjoying the report. We think she is adorable too.

You should have a great time at POR. Let us know if you have any questions.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

When we left off we had just finished an early dinner at Garden Grill, and were set for an evening of fun in Epcot. Since it was late in the trip, Grandma and Grandpa were getting tired and planned to head to the resort early, so after doing one more penny press at The Land we said goodbye to them for a bit.



Allie wanted to see Mickey and his friends one last time so we walked right through Character Spot.

I can't believe we were able to walk right in. The character interaction was particularly good, probably because they weren't rushed. Allie still remembers Goofy playing with her cape, and she mentioned it today.







After Character Spot we wanted to head to the next JoDee Messina concert. Grandpa wanted us to check to see if they had restocked a shirt that he wanted so I sent Paul to go do that while Allie and I headed to the concert.

I figured I could swing by after market on the way and could catch up with Melissa and Allie. I do particularly enjoy that store, so I'd take any excuse to visit it. Unfortunately they still didn't have the shirt my Dad wanted in his size, so I left a message for him to see if he wanted a different one. Then I ran to catch up to the girls.


On the way to the concert Allie and I walked right by Duffy and he was hanging out without any line. We were a little pressed for time but I couldn't say no. Allie ran right up and gave him a huge hug and told him that he gave the best hugs. It was so sweet and we got some really cute pictures.



We met up at about Germany and were able to get seats before the concert started. Allie was excited to see it, and it was fun to hear Jo Dee talk about playing at Disney. She even made fun of the announcement they make saying that "at the performer's request please no video recording". She laughed and said feel free to record and post on YouTube, she wants to sell some CDs.

It was great sitting and watching the concert in the daylight without rain. Her performance was great, this set was slightly different then the last which made it even better. She is great to see in person.



After the concert we decided we had to pick up an eclair in France. We had one last year and loved it, so we headed to Les Halles.



We get the white chocolate version and it is yummy. It really hit the spot.



We worked our way around clockwise to Canada and stopped for more food and wine treats. We got the soup and the steak, and they both were great. At $7.25, the steak was our most expensive use of a snack credit.

The steak was good but the soup was amazing! I see what all the fuss is about that soup.




Then we stopped by Hawaii for a pork slider. This was exceptional and rivals the empenada for the best Food and Wine item of the trip in my opinion. I only wish I were more hungry because I would have gotten right back in line and bought another one.


Then we had one more stop to make in World Showcase, as Allie wanted to ride the boats in Mexico one more time.


As we were leaving the pavilion Allie saw the kidcot station and wanted to color a Perry and secretly so did I so we sat and colored together.


Since it was getting close to the 9PM park closing time, I headed back to after market to pick up the shirt that Grandpa texted me saying he wanted. After they finished coloring Allie and Melissa met me at Mouse Gear for a last bit of shopping. As we met up, we could see the Frozen Fireworks in the distance.


We watched the fireworks for a minute then headed into mouse gear to shop during Illuminations. We got a few souvenirs and joined the rest of the crowd on our way out of the parks.

Since we left after Illuminations we were right in the middle of the crowd. The bus corral was full when we got there, and the first bus to arrive took the first three rows of people, leaving us in the front row. The next bus came in only about five minutes, and we got on it at 9:38. The bus was totally full, but we made it back to the resort at 9:53.
On the way to the room we stopped for one more magic cookie bar to go with our mug refills.


It was a sweet way to end the day. I love those darned things. We had a lot of packing to do before we could crawl into bed.

Grandma and Grandpa were still awake, so Grandma read Allie her new Olaf book before bed. Then we tucked Allie in with her stuffed animals.


Check back with us in the next update as we spend our final morning at Port Orleans Riverside and try to get our bags checked in.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

That was great that there was no line for the characters - and they do seem to take more time, interact a bit more when lines aren't as long.

Sounds like you got some really good F&WF food - that slider from Hawaii is really good

Sorry they were out of the shirt Grandpa wanted - hope he was happy with the one he wound up with.

Glad you enjoyed the concert again and that it wasn't the exact same as the first time.

You made pretty good time back considering the crowds!

 

[Vernie822]

I love the picture at the end of Allie in bed with all of her friends. So cute.

You guys got some great pictures at Epcot Character Spot! We were there around the same time and we had great interactions as well. It's so nice when the lines are short and you can spend some time with them.

The soup and steak were two of the best items we tried. Now I feel like we need to make an ADR at Le Cellier to get a big bowl. We loved the Hawaiian pork slider, too. Yum!

 

[kastoney]

That picture of Allie and Duffy is just adorable. "Real" Disney character or not kids just love a giant teddy bear.

How great you got to see JoDee two nights. I saw her years ago and remember she puts on a great show.

I must have missed the Canada pavilion during food and wine. Missed my chance to have that famous soup. But totally with you on the pork. That was my fav dish of the festival.

Looks like you all made the most out of your last night. I had no idea you could see the mgm fireworks from Epcot. What a great treat.

Allie looks like a very content little girl in her bed; )

 

[MissMaryQC]

So glad you got to see Jo Dee again. I looked her up after your previous mention and she's quite good!

The photos from the character spot are very sweet. And I love the photo of Allie kissing Duffy's nose.

Sounds like a lovely way to spend your last evening in WDW. The last night is always so bitter sweet! Looks to me like it was a great way to end a really fun trip!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

That was great that there was no line for the characters - and they do seem to take more time, interact a bit more when lines aren't as long.

Sounds like you got some really good F&WF food - that slider from Hawaii is really good

Sorry they were out of the shirt Grandpa wanted - hope he was happy with the one he wound up with.

Glad you enjoyed the concert again and that it wasn't the exact same as the first time.

You made pretty good time back considering the crowds!

Yeah, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to walk right in to the Character spot.

We really feel like we got to fully experience the food of Food and Wine, which was nice. We'd both like to schedule a trip for the same week to get to experience Epcot both with and without it.

Grandpa did like the Test Track shirt he wound up with, a lighter blue one with Mickey on it. That was his main souvenir for the trip, besides all the pictures

The trip back to the resort was amazingly fast for leaving Epcot at peak time. We couldn't complain at all about that, and it was nice to not be out super late.

I love the picture at the end of Allie in bed with all of her friends. So cute.

You guys got some great pictures at Epcot Character Spot! We were there around the same time and we had great interactions as well. It's so nice when the lines are short and you can spend some time with them.

The soup and steak were two of the best items we tried. Now I feel like we need to make an ADR at Le Cellier to get a big bowl. We loved the Hawaiian pork slider, too. Yum!

Thanks, that seemed like a perfect end of the day (and trip) picture of Allie and her entourage.

It is funny how each visit with the characters can be different, and Allie particularly remembers this one because Goofy played with her cape. Very neat stuff.

We would like to try LeCellier, and would definitely order that soup. We wanted to go when it only took 1 Table Service credit on the meal plan for lunch, but now that it is two it would be a tough call. Perhaps we'll pay out of pocket sometime on a trip where we don't have the dining plan. Or I could just have a few pork sliders for diner and be good to go...

That picture of Allie and Duffy is just adorable. "Real" Disney character or not kids just love a giant teddy bear.

How great you got to see JoDee two nights. I saw her years ago and remember she puts on a great show.

I must have missed the Canada pavilion during food and wine. Missed my chance to have that famous soup. But totally with you on the pork. That was my fav dish of the festival.

Looks like you all made the most out of your last night. I had no idea you could see the mgm fireworks from Epcot. What a great treat.

Allie looks like a very content little girl in her bed; )

Yeah, the Duffy interaction was amazing. The pictures came out cute, and Melissa got some video too. I was a little bummed that I missed it, but Allie told me all about it.

Seeing Jo Dee Messina was great, and so was being able to walk right up and get a seat. The timing was just perfect, and the second time we got to see her the weather was a lot better too.

We had a great night to round out a great trip!

So glad you got to see Jo Dee again. I looked her up after your previous mention and she's quite good!

The photos from the character spot are very sweet. And I love the photo of Allie kissing Duffy's nose.

Sounds like a lovely way to spend your last evening in WDW. The last night is always so bitter sweet! Looks to me like it was a great way to end a really fun trip!

Neat, we're glad that our TR could lead to her having another fan. We got a lot of neat photos, which we love looking through now that we're home.

We did have a great trip and a wonderful evening. It was bitter sweet, but we really felt like we had done a lot and accomplished what we wanted, so we didn't have to rush and run around too much on the last night. We also still had a whole morning at the resort to look forward to...

 

[SimplyGoofy]

What great luck between Character Spot and meeting Duffy! All of your photos with the characters are great - especially the shot of Allie with Duffy.

I do love that Cheddar Cheese Soup. Your other treats look good, too!

I always hate the last night of packing, finding things, etc. I hope your last morning in Disney is a good one!

 

[ach222]

Sounds like a great evening. Fun to see Jo Dee in EPCOT I'm sure. I saw her years ago and seem to remember that she's a good good performer. I think I would head straight for Canada if I ever make it to food and wine, always hearing so much praise for the soup! Great pic of Allie tucked in with all of her stuffs!

 

[DisneyJo]

Loving your TR, Allie is incredibly cute and it looks as though she had an amazing Birthday trip

 

[ElsasMom]

I love the character spot very early and late in the day. Last Spring there was no line and Goofy gathered Minnie & Mickey into a group shot with us it was amazing!

I agree the food & characters at Garden Grill are great.

I've never done the concerts, but I really like Jo Dee Messina. Do they usually do one artist a few nights in a row?

Packing up is the worst. Thanks again I really enjoyed your report.

 

[Wood Nymph]

We met up at about Germany and were able to get seats before the concert started. Allie was excited to see it, and it was fun to hear Jo Dee talk about playing at Disney. She even made fun of the announcement they make saying that "at the performer's request please no video recording". She laughed and said feel free to record and post on YouTube, she wants to sell some CDs.

Those concerts were a lot of fun. I'm glad you had a nice, rain-free evening so you could enjoy your last evening.

After the concert we decided we had to pick up an eclair in France. We had one last year and loved it, so we headed to Les Halles.

The white chocolate one is definitely the best one.

At $7.25, the steak was our most expensive use of a snack credit.

This was the one time I wish we were on the dining plan.

Then we stopped by Hawaii for a pork slider. This was exceptional and rivals the empenada for the best Food and Wine item of the trip in my opinion.

The pork slider was one of my favorite foods at the festival. It was really good.

As we met up, we could see the Frozen Fireworks in the distance.

That was really cool. I didn't know you could see them from Epcot.

By the way, I just discovered how wonderful the new quoting feature is now. I just need to highlight a section and it quotes it with the identification included. Now if I could just get used to the smilies.

 

[WDWKOOK]

That photo of Allie kissing Duffy's nose really is the cutest thing. And, how cool (and smart) of Jo Dee to tell everyone to take all the footage they want. F&W looks like lots of fun and I can't wait to go after DD graduates and our vacation time is more flexible. Walking up to meet all the characters is a rarity so it's good you took advantage of it since Allie was so inclined. You got some nice family shots with Mickey and Minnie, but I still miss her house, it was fun for the kids to walk through, especially her kitchen.

This was the one time I wish we were on the dining plan.

I was thinking the same thing, but we always use TiW.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

What great luck between Character Spot and meeting Duffy! All of your photos with the characters are great - especially the shot of Allie with Duffy.

I do love that Cheddar Cheese Soup. Your other treats look good, too!

I always hate the last night of packing, finding things, etc. I hope your last morning in Disney is a good one!

Yeah, we lucked out with the characters this evening. We did great with food too, but were just too full to eat any more.

The last night is a pain, collecting everything and getting ready to move out of the room we'd been in for 9 days, but we did pretty well with it amd were able to get a lot in the suitcases that evening so we didn't have a rushed morning the next day. Having a portable luggage scale makes this go so much easier, since we can pack each bag to near capacity and know that we won't have to do any re-arranging later.

Sounds like a great evening. Fun to see Jo Dee in EPCOT I'm sure. I saw her years ago and seem to remember that she's a good good performer. I think I would head straight for Canada if I ever make it to food and wine, always hearing so much praise for the soup! Great pic of Allie tucked in with all of her stuffs!

It was a lot of fun to see Jo Dee in person. We considered hanging around for another show this evening, but twice was enough since we had other fun stuff we wanted to get to, like Canada for that soup...

Loving your TR, Allie is incredibly cute and it looks as though she had an amazing Birthday trip

Thank you so much. We are glad that you are enjoying it, and we are sure having fun writing about the trip and reliving it. We think Alie had a great time, and she still says Mickey's house is the best palce ever, and we tend to agree.

I love the character spot very early and late in the day. Last Spring there was no line and Goofy gathered Minnie & Mickey into a group shot with us it was amazing!

I agree the food & characters at Garden Grill are great.

I've never done the concerts, but I really like Jo Dee Messina. Do they usually do one artist a few nights in a row?

Packing up is the worst. Thanks again I really enjoyed your report.

Yes, timing seems to be the key for Character spot. We have seen crazy lines there, and were glad to have a fastpass earlier in the trip, but were able to walk right in at night.

For the Food and Wine concert series it looked like each performer played for two or three nights in a row. It just worked out perfectly for us that Jo Dee's were while we were there.

Packing wasn't that bad, but not booking the bounceback made leaving a little harder. We will be back sometime though. Thanks, we are glad you enjoyed following along.

Those concerts were a lot of fun. I'm glad you had a nice, rain-free evening so you could enjoy your last evening.

It was nice, and unlike previous trips we didn't fgeel as rushed on the last day. It was nice to hang out one more time in Epcot, then get back to the resort before too late.

The white chocolate one is definitely the best one.

Oh good, we don't need to btoher with trying all the others, we'll just stick with what we love.

This was the one time I wish we were on the dining plan.

Yeah, we made great use of the dining plan this trip. All of our F&W treats were covered by snack credits, since we had three a day to use now that Allie is on the plan too.

The pork slider was one of my favorite foods at the festival. It was really good.

Yeah, it was amazing. I did really love the empenadas too, but my mouth waters thinking about the slider.

That was really cool. I didn't know you could see them from Epcot.

Yeah, we had watched them from Boardwalk earlier in the trip, and never wound up watching them from HS, but we saw them a few times.

By the way, I just discovered how wonderful the new quoting feature is now. I just need to highlight a section and it quotes it with the identification included. Now if I could just get used to the smilies.

Yeah, I need to get used to it too, but the functionality is impressive. I am really glad that they were able to migrate everything into the new system and have it all work, while adding new stuff too. Nicely done.

That photo of Allie kissing Duffy's nose really is the cutest thing. And, how cool (and smart) of Jo Dee to tell everyone to take all the footage they want. F&W looks like lots of fun and I can't wait to go after DD graduates and our vacation time is more flexible. Walking up to meet all the characters is a rarity so it's good you took advantage of it since Allie was so inclined. You got some nice family shots with Mickey and Minnie, but I still miss her house, it was fun for the kids to walk through, especially her kitchen.

As cute as the photo is, the interaction in person was even better. She was genuinely excited to hug Duffy and talk to him. So magical.

We are fortunate to have Mickey and Minnie's houses out here in Toontown at Disneyland. We never experienced them at WDW, but they are a hit here, especially with the really little kids. Allie hasn't been in a while, maybe we should do that...

We were glad to get to see Food and Wine. We wouldn't consider it a must-do, but we really enjoyed having the extra snack options. We like Epcot so much though that it was nice to experience it without the extra crowds of F&W, so timing the trip like we did worked out great so we got to experience it both ways.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

I got up about 6:45 AM, took a shower, then headed out for mug refills. Along the way I took a few more morning pictures of POR.






When I got back Melissa got up and ready, and I got a text from Grandma and Grandpa saying that they were packed and ready for breakfast. Allie had other plans though, as she was still asleep.

It was a little tough to get Allie going but we got her up and dressed and packed a few more things before heading down for breakfast.

Grandma and Grandpa headed out for breakfast at 8, but Allie wasn't quite ready yet so we finished packing and getting her ready and headed out about 8:30.


We headed down to the Mill and used 3 QS meals, leaving 2 remaining.


It was nice to not have to worry about saving credits, so we each got a full breakfast. I had an omelete, and Melissa and Allie each got meals with Mickey Waffles.

It was a great breakfast and Allie got to color a bit after we were done eating.


Then we left about 9:20 to go back to the rooms and finish up our checked bags.


Once they were all packed we walked the to the resort airline checkin area with Grandma and Grandpa.


We had a weird issue where Melissa had a boarding pass and had been checked in, but Allie and I had not. At first the CM suggested we take two of the bags with us and check them in at the airport, but his coworker got a manager who figured out to put all three bags under Melissa since we shared the same record locator.


We still needed boarding passes, but he explained that the hotel concierge could print them for us.


It was a little crazy trying to get it figured out but luckily the concierge was able to print our boarding passes and check us in just fine so we didn't need to stop once we got to the airport. It didn't go as smoothly as it has in the past but they got it figured out.

We were back at the room with our boarding passes all figured out by 10:00. Before leaving the rooms I snapped a few more pictures as we packed the last items in our carryons (including a couple of stowaway birds) and then went to drop the bags off with Bell Services.






We headed back to the front of the resort to drop our carryons off with Bell Services so we didn't have to lug them all around the resort because we still had things to do on our agenda!




With our bags stored, we headed through the lobby and towards Old Man Island so that Allie could play on the playground. She enjoyed playing on the equipment while we sat and relaxed. It was nice to have some down time to relax at the resort on our last day, and we were glad we weren't rushing to or from a park.










She enjoyed having time to climb and play and I figured it'd be good for her to get some energy out before we had to fly for 6 ish hours.


Check back in the next update as we spend our last hour at POR before heading for that dreaded DME bus ride...

 

[SimplyGoofy]

What a nice, relaxing morning! I'm glad they were able to solve the problem with the checked bags.

It was also nice that you had a few hours before your flight so you could soak up a bit more POR before you left!

 

[ach222]

Great morning - we also had a stowaway bird come back with us. Good timing that Allie was able to burn off some energy pre-flight!

 

[Wood Nymph]

POR is really a very pretty resort. Your room doesn't look very much different in size from your WL room.

Your airline check in was really strange. I'm glad the concierge got it all straightened out, but it must have taken a lot of extra time.

She enjoyed having time to climb and play and I figured it'd be good for her to get some energy out before we had to fly for 6 ish hours.

Our daughter let Samantha run around an empty waiting area at the airport in order to burn off some energy before their flight to Denver. It worked, too. The deluxe resorts need playground areas like this for the kids.

 

[GrandCalifornian]

What a nice, relaxing morning! I'm glad they were able to solve the problem with the checked bags.

It was also nice that you had a few hours before your flight so you could soak up a bit more POR before you left!

Yes, we absolutely loved just staying at the resort on our last day. Two years ago we went over to MK and had to rush back to WL to catch our DME bus, and it was far too much of a rush for us. Besides, POR is so beautiful that it was a perfect place to spend some time.

Great morning - we also had a stowaway bird come back with us. Good timing that Allie was able to burn off some energy pre-flight!

Yeah, it was funny, Allie started carrying the birds around with her when we took the luggage to drop it off and then became attached.

The playground was really nice, and I'm surprised it took until our last day for us to visit it.

POR is really a very pretty resort. Your room doesn't look very much different in size from your WL room.

Your airline check in was really strange. I'm glad the concierge got it all straightened out, but it must have taken a lot of extra time.


Our daughter let Samantha run around an empty waiting area at the airport in order to burn off some energy before their flight to Denver. It worked, too. The deluxe resorts need playground areas like this for the kids.

We really enjoyed the grounds at POR. The room really wasn't that much smaller than WL. We did notice the lack of the dresser (because of the fold down Murphy bed) but by having hanging organizers we had plenty of storage space.
I was concerned about the room layout compared to WL, with the bathroom in the back, but it worked great and was really nice. Room for room we rate it right up with WL. Where WL excels is with the covered hallways and ability to stay inside, and of course being on beautiful Bay Lake.

The airline checkin thing was really weird. Everything was perfectly fine for Melissa's ticket, but Allie and I didn't exist in the system. All three tickets were purchased together and had the same record locator. I am just glad that the CM decided to try harder so that we didn't have to deal with hauling two extra bags to the airport to check them.

Allie had plenty of energy to burn off, and some more opportunities for it coming up.