That was the BEST Most Magical Trip EVER!! (A Sept 2011 TR) [COMPLETED]

[katt789]

I just have to jump in here and do a real life update, as we've got some very exciting news overe here!!

From Dec 14-17th, we will be returning to the World!! Now, this time when I saw we, I mean myself, and Sylvia:

We work together at the theatre up here in Calgary, and I had been talking about going down to Orlando to audition for Disney for quite a while, when her and I got talking after I got home from the Sept trip, and once we found the right audition, and realized that there was a room discount for Canadians, we decided to just DO IT.

I waited around to book the trip until I got a confirmation from Sylvia, and when I went to book, I had missed the discount! But today, as I was pricing out my next Sept vacation, I saw that the discount was back! So I jumped on the phone with Disney, and whittled my package price down $60.00! Heck yes!!

So what's the plan for this trip? Well:
Dec 14th: will be our travel day. We'll arrive at Pop late in the evening, grab some food & straight to bed.

Dec 15th: Today will be the audition day, and not much else. If it ends up not taking too long, maybe we'll swing by DTD after to check things out.

Dec 16th: 4 Parks, 1 day!! Starting at Ak, DHS, Epcot, then MK for all our favorite highlights followed by Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party to finish it all off!

Dec 17th: We have a later ish breakfast with some friends at 1900 Park Fare, and then we're back on the plane to head home.

It will be a short trip, but it's for the audition, I just figure I'm not going to spend all the money & time getting to Orlando and not go into the parks. I've been trying to get to an auditon for a while now, but trying to fit one into a trip doesn't work, so I arranged a trip around an audition.

So, here's hoping!! We leave in 2 months!!

 

[katt789]

I wanted to chime in and let you know that I'm enjoying your trip report. I think your friend Amy could play Tinkerbell -- her posture and camera poses look very Tink-like!

Ah! I know, it's honestly something that's always on my mind of all "Oh hey, you could totally be friends with this character. I don't know if she'd ever want to work for Disney. Tink would be my pick of people to be friends with, though I know I'm pushing it for height (though the one we met was way shorter, I've def seen taller!)

What gorgeous art, I'm so glad we avoided that store now... I would have been in BIG trouble!

Oh my goodness, if I had the money my house would be FULL of Disney art, every time I see that Ariel one I just want it more & more

 

[katt789]

The day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios was on the way to wrapping up for us, which was okay. We had managed to see all the shows, and do all of the rides, minus Beauty & the Beast (which was really a shame, as it is SUCH an amazing show!!) and the Great Movie Ride, which I do really like, however, we had some other plans as we left the Animation Bld. After a quick water fountain (I generally buy 1 bottled water a day and would just fill it up over and over again) and bathroom break, we were back to Sunset Boulevard, to this particular beauty!!

For those of you who remember, Tyler had been given a fast pass earlier thanks to the ride shutting down while he was waiting for the front seat. As he was the only one with a FP, and no one else really wanted to go, he jumped in line while the other 3 of us grabbed some seats outside to wait. Nick decided now was the time to lie down, and when he did, the young girl beside him went “HEY! My family was going to sit there” and he either didn’t hear, didn’t realize she was talking to him, or didn’t care . (For those who do care, there was enough room when they all sat down!)

While we were waiting, there was another family sitting across from us (shocking, kids in Disney, I know! Haha) that the small boy, I’d say around 4 or 5, kept climbing up on the ledge beside his mom, then he’d look over at Amy & I, would make sure we were watching, then go “To infinity!!” and jump on the ledge, look back at us, and giggle. We giggled back & would wave, or say hi, and he would give a big smile while running to hid behind his mom’s legs, this continued until his family decided it was time to go. It was just the cutest thing!! Not too long after, Tyler came out from Aerosmith, with picture in hand!!

He said that the picture was so awesome, he had to get it (that, and I just now realized that he was the one on the trip without a camera, so he couldn’t have taken a redneck photo anyway...whoops) Oh well, he didn’t seem too put off by spending the money on it, so I guess we’re all good.

With our last thrills out of the way, and some rumblies in our tumblies, we headed to get some dinner, stopping first at Fairfax Fare to check out the menu. This is where things got a little confusing, I had read somewhere recently that it was covered by the dining plan, but I know that in some guide books, it says that there will be a dining plan logo beside what is covered. It appeared, by the second statement, that only snacks at Fairfax Fare were covered, though I was 99% sure that everything was, not wanting to bother arguing with anyone in the group, Tyler, Amy & I went with Catalina Eddies. I had the chicken ceaser salad, I believe Amy had the same thing, Tyler, I’ve got no clue, while Nick stayed in line at Fairfax Fare & got the chicken & rib combo.

(My salad)

Beside us, back on the main street area, the line for Fantasmic was already building! We had missed this show last time we were here, and I refused to miss it this time, although I think that for a first timer, yes, it’s a must do. Once you’ve seen it, you’ve seen it, and I would much rather do the dinner package, as to not have to wait as long. I knew the line was going to get nothing but worse, so I insisted we jump in, the show started at 8:30, and I’m pretty sure it was only 6:45, 7:00 by this time. Basically right after we jumped in line, everything starting moving forward, and let me tell you, it’s not a pretty sight!!

As we oh so slowly made it into the arena, wow, it was worse than bumper to bumper traffic on a scorching day! Gross, but, worth it, as most waits at Disney are! Once in the arena, we got pretty good seats, very center, and not too far back, I know Nick had wanted to go all the way to the front, which I maybe would have liked, but figured I’d rather watch the show from farther back & be able to take in everything. And now…the waiting begins….and just keeps going and going and going. This is the point in the trip I wish I had had one of the games I had brought! Right before leaving for Disney, I bought Disney Apples to Apples to play either in the airport, or after a day in the parks at the hotel, but we ended up never opening the cards at all. I will advise you, if you have small kids, and you’re a single parent, or you plan on staking out a spot early and not moving from that spot, make sure you have something to entertain them. During the wait, I got up once to use the bathroom, and once to grab some popcorn, but the others stayed seated most of the wait. One thing that REALLY bugged me during this wait was that there were two girls waiting beside us, obviously saving spots, I figured, “it’s probably two parents, and maybe 1 more sibling, they’ve definitely got enough room.” Was that the way it worked out? Heck. No. About 8 people sat down with them, squeezing themselves into not enough room, the woman that was beside me was pressing up against me, giving me no “personal bubble” space whatsoever, even though the group of them had enough space to breathe. When I went to the bathroom, I made sure to leave my bag to make sure I had a spot when I came back, and she was sitting on top of half of it! Rude! ANYWAY, the wait wasn’t too bad, they started doing the wave at one point. We started talking about hockey games, haha. I can imagine it could be far worse, especially when Fantasmic doesn’t run more than once a week! Our group was excited….and tired….

As you can kind of tell from the pictures, I wasn’t really around, I just kept getting up (until the giant group sat down beside us, I was afraid I’d lose my spot, luckily they sat down not long before the show began!)

 

[ronnmel]

I'm here! Followed you over from my TR.

It's so true that being Canadians we are used to being out in a t-shirt in much cooler temperatures. I still LOVE the Florida heat though.

I love meeting characters, so I can't wait to read all about it.

POP is a GREAT resort, and so worth the price of staying there. and the 50s is such a nice location too.

Magic Kingdom rope drop show is so magical.

How lucky that your friend got to take a picture with Chip just strolling down Main Street AND you got FPs out of it!

I did not even see the Fairy Godmother on my last trip, would have loved to meet her.

Big Thunder Mountain doesn't really slow down much, maybe it wasn't working well that time?

I'm glad you had a great time meeting Ariel and that you had a nice conversation.

I too love that Vidia has a sort of mean streak to her. Fun!

I'm really enjoying all the pictures of you guys being super excited. It's great to see young adults letting go and having so much fun!

I'm jealous of your pics with Stitch. They're great! I love him, I want him to be swooning over me too.

I *think* Winnie and friends meet behind the Tea Cups now, but I'm not sure as I haven't actually seen them there.

Ok, gonna stop reading for tonight, and come back later this week to finish getting caught up.

 

[shan23877]

I think that you're wanting to be a character right? Just not sure exactly what you're auditioning for. I wish you good luck though! You seem very positive and enthusiastic--very Disney to me .

Great updates, I don't have the patience to sit for 2 hours to wait for any show. We also encountered some confusion withe DDP icons. I found that as a general rule, if they have the icon next to a snack, they also do the meals.

 

[mike the canuck]

Oh man! What an awesome TR! Reading it has helped killed most of my day at work today And im not even done reading yet. Very in depth

 

[katt789]

I'm here! Followed you over from my TR.

Yay! More friends!

It's so true that being Canadians we are used to being out in a t-shirt in much cooler temperatures. I still LOVE the Florida heat though.

From the second I get off the plane I'm just in heaven!! I spent 3 months in Australia, and have loved it since! Living in Vancouver *almost* satisfied me, but I moved back
I love meeting characters, so I can't wait to read all about it.
Characters are def. my favorite part! In the end, we met all of them that are out doing greets on a regular basis (and some extras!)


I did not even see the Fairy Godmother on my last trip, would have loved to meet her.
We were lucky to meet her! Just around the corner of the castle, the opposite side of CRT, right in the morning. I'm pretty sure the Tremaines greet there sometimes too, but we never found them

I think that you're wanting to be a character right? Just not sure exactly what you're auditioning for. I wish you good luck though! You seem very positive and enthusiastic--very Disney to me .

Yes! We're going down to a character/parade performer & character look alike audition. Both of us have dance backgrounds, so that might help with the parade portion It's an exciting process! Thanks!

 

[katt789]

Oh man! What an awesome TR! Reading it has helped killed most of my day at work today And im not even done reading yet. Very in depth

Yeah Canada!!! Haha, I do what I can to give as much info as possible, I love reading TRs, and using them to kind help plan what to do. I definitely discovered a lot of food things I had to try from other ones! (Tye dye cheesecake, dole whips, school bread!) Glad you're enjoying!!

 

[katt789]

Alright, so I’m going to summarize/talk at the very beginning of this post, and then probably a sentence at the end, and the rest will all be pictures!! Yay!! I do like Fantasmic, though I feel like I liked it a lot more when I was at Disney Land in 97. Maybe I like that show better, maybe it’s because I was only 7 years old, and was easier to satisfy & amaze with special effects & fireworks? And, as I said earlier, I think it’s a definite must do, but really, once you’ve seen it, you’ve seen it, and with the wait, I wouldn’t wait again for it, and especially not during a season when it’s only running once a week and the crowds are horrendous, but it is an awesome show.

Right before the show was ending, the boys realized how long we had waited to get in here, then how many people were in the theatre, and how long it would take to get out. Add in the fact of anyone in the park who wasn’t at the show, getting to the buses was going to be an all our gong show. So, they took off, and made it back to the busses & hotel relatively calmly & had a nice wind down while they waited for us. Amy and I made a plan to walk over to the Boardwalk and check it out while we waited for the crowds to die down. On the way out of Fantasmic, we tried to run up to Tower of Terror to ride it one last time (and at night, I really wanted to!!) but they were turning people away, we had *just* missed the final group going in. So close!! But now, we were leaving the park, and headed somewhere new!

 

[katt789]

We had raced, trying to get into the last elevator ride on ToT, but were too late, so we slowly headed out of the park, trying to avoid the monsterous crowd that had just left Fantasmic! We took some photopasses with just us (and commented on the fact that when the boys saw our photopass cd, they were going to wonder where so many of these pics came from ) On the way out we chatted that last year I had walked from DHS over to Boardwalk when the group went to dinner one night, and we decided to do that, kill some time, and avoid the large groups of people, so there we went!

Boardwalk is SOOOOO pretty, and even prettier at night! I love it (although some of the pictures didn’t really turn out, I was still figuring out my settings) We kinda just wandered around, checking everything on the boardwalk out, taking in the sights. We half stopped at the first street performer/magician guy we saw, who took notice to how far back we were standing, asked where we were from, and then when we backed away, he made fun of us, saying “The Canadians know what they’re doing, staying so far back there!” It was interesting, Amy & I also discussed that the next time someone asked us where we were from, we should really say “Hogwarts” and just see what kind of reaction we got! We never ended up doing it though (and I definitely just remembered about it now!)

Wandering around to the other side of the boardwalk, we stopped to watch another magician/street performer for a bit, actually watched him, and enjoyed it. He was good! Then I wanted to check out the bakery, I had gotten a snack from there last time while waiting for a reservation, and now that it had been a bit since we had eaten, it was time to grab a snack. Hooooly, there are TOO MANY good looking things, I really wanted to try the one that said specifically it contained alcohol (it was like, margarita cupcake or something, I have NO clue now what it was though). We settled on the smores cupcake, and WOW, it was TAAAASTY, we decided to grab a little table right on the water while we took in the atmosphere, talked about how nice it would be to stay at a Boardwalk resort one day.

Deciding that it had been long enough since DHS had closed, and our cupcake needed to be digested, we started to walk back over to the park to grab a bus and head back to Pop for some sleep before the next day. Throughout the day, the humidity, mixed with my flip flop had started to give me a blister, and it had now ripped open a bit, so the shoes came off for this leg of the journey! (I’m one of those people who hates shoes & socks. My mom would always tell me that I need better running shoes, that flip flops or flats will ruin your feet because there’s not enough support, well, poo! I honestly don’t believe it, think about when we didn’t have shoes, we wandered barefoot, and we were fine, right?!)

ANYWAY, we made it back to DHS in no time, and started to loop around to where the Pop bus stop was, and noticed a serious lack of busses. Uh-oh. I hadn’t done a whole lot of research for this trip, aside from the disboards, so I was just going on older information, that told me the busses ran up to 3 hours after the park closed. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t quite midnight, but I guess they figured everyone was gone. Well, here’s the magical part, we asked a random bus if they were all done for the night (there were still busses there, but they all said things like “Rapunzel” and were for cast members), and the bus driver asked us where we were going, chatted on his little radio for a second, and then told us to climb aboard! We had our own *private* bus back to Pop!! Whoot Whoot! And he was really cheerful & chatty with us, not grumpy at all, magic!!

We got back to the room, expecting to find the boys out for the night, and found it empty! Quickly getting ready for bed, and writing in my trip journal, and we were out! Well…sort of…and here (along with the beginning of the next update) is where some sugar coating will come into play. Why, you may ask? Well, I know that sometimes kids will read TR’s with their parents, and hey, nothing bad’s supposed to happen at Disney, right? (Not to mention, my fellow travel companions do read this as well)

SO, about half an hour after Amy & I had gone to bed, Tyler & Nick came back to the room, being kind of loud, they talked for a bit, then went out to the “balcony” to eat and hang out some more. They had been down at the pool, and finished off the bottle of rye that Tyler bought duty free on the way here. After a bit, they were off to bed like us. How would this affect tomorrow? You’ll have to wait and see!!

DHS SUMMARIES


Food Reviews:
Breakfast: Pop Century food court: good, regular greasy breakfast food. Next time I’ll get some fruit & a bun or something instead.

Lunch: NEVER ORDER SANDWICHES IN DHS. Lesson learnt. Burgers or chicken fingers are the way to go. Counter Service over in DHS just isn’t that great.

Dinner: Salads, another good option for DHS counter service.

Snacks: I recommend the Boardwalk Bakery to ANYONE, it’s absolutely delcious!!

Highlights of the day: The amount of times we got on all the rides
-Character palooza!
-Fantasmic!
-Getting our own private bus back from Dhs

Lowlights of the day:- Missing B&B
-Missing the beg. Of the Indiana Jones Show
-The horrendous wait for Fantasmic

 

[iheartdisneyxoxo]

Hey! I'm lovin' your trip report... all the pics and details make me wish I was there right now lol I'm a fellow Canadian, from Manitoba though and I'm also 22 haha Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip

 

[katt789]

Hey! I'm lovin' your trip report... all the pics and details make me wish I was there right now lol I'm a fellow Canadian, from Manitoba though and I'm also 22 haha Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip

Yay!! Canadians all over the place! Heck yes!! Glad you're enjoying it!!

 

[katt789]

The morning of our 4th day had reached us, and Amy & I were up and at ‘em, the boys…surely but slowly making their way to get ready. We had an early, prior park opening ADR at Tusker House for breakfast, and thus, didn’t have that much time, especially if we ended up waiting around at all, so Amy & I said “we’ll meet you at the bus stop” to the boys, knowing that they were already at the sunscreen stage, they would be right behind us (as they said they would). Well, we waited down at the bus stop, waited before getting on the bus, waited on the bus, and eventually, the bus left for Animal kingdom. The boys….searching the resort for us, as they couldn’t find us. And I’m going to leave it at that, you guys can imagine the rest of that story. Amy & I took some pictures on the way in, as did the boys.

But we had a breakfast with our favorite duck, and didn’t want to be late, or end up missing it! (We all know, he has quite the temper! ) Slowly but surely, Amy & I made our way through the park to Africa to check in. I really do like that they were doing the new system where only 1 person from your party is allowed to stand in the check in line, everyone else has to wait at the tables. It takes the clutter down, and makes the line look its actual size (although I do imagine it being a major problem for single parents with small kids). I checked in and we were given the pager, and we waited some more. Then they called my name, and we explained we were missing two of our party, and we were then told we were not allowed to go in until they were here. Well…this was certainly pushing our morning back further (so much for finishing breakfast before the park was opened), but we obviously waited for the boys to get there before just saying “oh they’re not coming” that would push the limits too far! Luckily, they showed up not too long after we had been called, they explained that they didn’t know where we had went, and had spent half an hour or so searching the resort for us. Lesson learnt: communication…and listening…is key. I approached the cm, saying that our party was all here now, and we were taken back to the line to meet Donald, thank goodness it wasn’t that long. Last year we had been caught in this line for half an hour alone! Too long to wait when you’re a hungry camper! Making sure to grab a pic on our camera (as they charge you for this character picture, LAME) we were quickly seated and brought drinks and told how the whole buffet thing works.

Amy was nice enough to grab a brother – sister pic before we all dug in, Thanks Amy! (we aren’t *actual* siblings, just act like it a lot) and we began to try and fill our tummies before our animal friends came along. My plate: clockwise starting at the top (from what I can remember)
-Grapes, cornbread, some kind of bread pudding, ham, deep fried/sweet plantain, RICE! A banana, and some cream cheese filled pastry with a peach sauce. Can you tell I like the rice?! It’s probably my favorite part of the meal, SO TASTY. Last year it’s all I wanted for the rest of the day, so I knew to save lots of room for it this time. I took the banana with hopes of sticking it in my bag to eat later, as I knew I’d be hungry, but not enough for a meal (It mildly exploded later while we were on the run from some prehistoric friends..oops).

We all had the juice, and coffees and waters to drink, nothing too fancy. I’m not a huge fan of the juice, but I really only like apple & orange, I’m not big on anything mangoey or papaya-ey or anything, but it is good. Then some of our friends came around to say hi!

Tyler got up for seconds, and as I didn’t want to miss any of the characters, I asked him to grab me some more rice! Haha, it’s THAT good! The characters were great, they all came around, were patient for multiple pics, and made their way on. I feel like character meals are a great way to get meets out of the way, but sometime they’re more fun out in the parks, I dunno. I like Tusker House though, and I’d definitely do it again. It gets the fab 5, in their safari gear, and it’s great food, one of the best things is that it’s not just your regular breakfast foods. (I will admit, I do miss the chocolate mickey waffles over at Crystal Palace!)

 

[ronnmel]

I'm finally caught up with all your updates.

How awesome that you will audition for characters this December! I wish you the best of luck!!

You are very patient waiting that long for Fantasmic! Was there only one show that evening?

 

[shan23877]

Another good update! I think that you'll find that boys of any age lack communication skills. Glad you guys made it in for breakfast!

 

[katt789]

I'm finally caught up with all your updates.

How awesome that you will audition for characters this December! I wish you the best of luck!!

You are very patient waiting that long for Fantasmic! Was there only one show that evening?

Heck yes! We're getting really excited! I've been reading as much as I can about auditions on the college board, and watching a ton of character video interactions online. It's going to be exciting!! I'm pretty sure there was only 1 show for Fantasmic! that night, but I'm not positive

Another good update! I think that you'll find that boys of any age lack communication skills. Glad you guys made it in for breakfast

Haha! it's oh so true!!

 

[katt789]

We ate our meal and met our characters as quickly as we could without getting indigestion (SO. MUCH. RICE.) I threw my extra banana in my bag, Amy grabbed an apple & banana, and I’m sure Nick grabbed an apple for the road as well. Our first stop, of course, was the safari!! Being as we were in Africa, and wanted to hit it up right away, it was definitely our first stop of the day.

Did you laugh at that one?! I sure did, haha, I’m not sure what was going on, we were all aware that the picture was being taken, and for some reason just made ridiculous faces!! I love the safari, I really do, lots of animals, and some fun effects as well. Although, I do think that the whole aspect of the “playing” like, “radio-ing to other trucks” and the poacher bits, go over a lot of people’s heads. I LOVE the bridge too! Haha, good times!!

I adore giraffes, I got an obsession with them when I travelled to Australia 4 years ago (I went to a lot of zoos, they have a lot of big zoos) and since then, have just loved them, they’re so majestic. We also got to see the baby elephant on this safari too! Sooooo cute!

We successfully saved our stolen baby elephant from the poachers, and finished up our visit with our furry friends in Africa, and knew where we were heading next…it was time to BRAVE THE YETTIE!!

 

[katt789]

After leaving Africa with one more elephant safe, and the poachers defeated, we knew our next destination was over in Asia, we had a mountain to conquer, and I was going to ride it this time! EEEKKK. As we made our way over, we definitely had to stop for some friends along the way! We managed to see DeVine!

Making our way around her, we headed for the little path with some of our monkey friends on it to go and say hello, there was a small line up formed already, maybe, 1-2 families ahead of us!

The girls got one, and then Nick jumped in there too, I love the first picture with him, ‘cause Terk’s kissing him on the cheek, but kinda looks like she’s strangling him!

Further down the path, Baloo & King Louie were hanging out as well, but these pictures appear to all be on the photopass, as I don’t have any in our collection! Everest was our next stop, something that Tyler was *very* excited about!

Just look at that drop! GUH! My verdict: LOVED IT!! There were moments when the scary-ness was well, scary, obviously, it’s bigger than the other mountains in the parks, but I love, love loved it! (I was becoming quite the thrill rider this trip! Haha) We walked right on the ride, there wasn’t any wait until we hit the loading dock, and even then it was quick. The boys are in the very back of the redneck photo, can’t really see them, but Tyler, loved it as well. Nick on the other hand…while…when you mix a bottle of rye the night before, with motion sickness, and throw Everest in there…it doesn’t end too well.

Nick chose to sit the next ride out (and yes, we walked right back onto it), and this time, asked to sit in the front. While we were going through the cue, this younger guy (probably around 13?) and us started talking, and he jumped in the front with us as well. The front row was a little too much for me to try and conquer this early, but I settled for the second row, good deal. Wow, let me tell you, if there is one coaster to ride in the front, it’s this one!! You get some killer views, right before the drop, you can actually see the track flip over, and while going backwards, you’re obviously at the back of the train, and are really getting whipped around. It’s totally awesome.

The yeti had been defeated, multiple times, and we knew that now was the time to head into the past, and see some prehistoric friends. That’s right, it was time for Dinosaur! This is probably my least favorite of the rides, I’m not a fan of the dark, or of things jumping out at me, and I find this ride to be really jerky and bumpy. I do like it, it’s just, not on the top of my list. Nick, still not feeling too great, decided he’d better sit this one out, maybe ride it later.

We made it back alive!! Yay! Tyler of course, wasn’t scared at all, and the bit where there’s one dinosaur eating another, he simply went “om nom nom nom nom nom” which had really become the trademark saying of our trip. When Nick, Tyler & I went to the Calgary stampede, one of the biggest things to do is eat, so that saying was said, a lot. Throughout the trip, it started annoying the boys (they just said it too much) but it rubbed off on Amy & I (more-so in the, “I’m going to get some om noms” when hungry type of thing.)

Wow…off topic! I checked the times guide for the next Festival of the Lion King, and there was one starting in about half an hour or so, so we headed over to Camp Minnie Mickey, browsing through the shops on the way.

 

[northeast_minnie]

loved the trip report - keep it coming - brought back lots of very happy memories at the World. we are leaving in 5 days and taking our DS 6 on his first trip to the World - cannot wait to experience it with him.

tracey

 

[Mini Minnie :)]

i finally caught up with all your updates and i'm loving it so far! you guys look like you had so much fun! it is so exciting that you are auditioning in december! good luck! i can't wait to read more!