We left the snow behind 1/25-2/1 My 1st TR

[newlywed mice]

My name is Katrina(25) and my husband is Drew(25) and we are from New Jersey. We are newlyweds (which you may have figured out from my username).



We got married in May and although we did go on a cruise for our honeymoon, Drew originally wanted to have a disneymoon so we decided that we wanted to go to Disney World “one last time”. Seeing how I am currently looking for employment as a full time teacher, it will be difficult for us to make it back to Disney during the “slow season” again. We also do not see ourselves going again until we have kids, who are “old enough”, meaning out of strollers and no need for naps. So we really wanted to make the most of this trip.

It wasn't our first Disney trip together but it was our first fully planned Disney Trip. We have been together before but it was more of an add on to a Florida vacation and we stayed offsite. This time it was solely all about visiting the mouse and staying at a Disney resort.

We booked this trip in October for end of January. I looked at Josh’s website for the best dates to go. I decided the last week of January was the slowest time and also we would be able to avoid the cheer groups that come in February. We originally booked a room at POP with a dining plan. But a few days after booking we saw a package being sold that would allow us to book a moderate resort with a dining plan for the same price! It was a no brainer. We called and they moved our reservation over to Port Orleans French Quarter.

So we were booked for Jan. 25-Feb.1 (sat-sat) I was very excited; neither of us has ever stayed there. We both stayed at POR when we were younger and it was named Dixie Landings. After reading about POFQ here on the boards I was even more excited about how small the resort was and how it was a “more adult” resort.

Because we booked in October we were pass the 180 days for reservations. So I quickly looked up reviews and looked up times for reservations. I was able to find good times and most of the restaurants that we were interested in eating at. Of course I looked and hunted for a dinner reservation for Be Our Guest. (stay tuned to see if we got it or not).

So with everything booked, all we had left was to....wait. Jan. 25th couldn't come soon enough.
Chapter Links
Day 1: Sat. Jan. 25th
Traveling and the room
Headed to the parks AK/MK

Day 2: Sun. Jan. 26th
Hollywood Studios!
Fantasmic Dinner Pkg/MK Electrical Parade

Day 3: Mon. Jan. 27th
Family Visit
Dinner with the Princesses!

Day 4: Tue. Jan. 28th
Animal Kingdom
Lunch at Sanaa
Mini Golf and Illuminations

Day 5: Wed. Jan. 29th
Magic Kingdom
The Wave & Wishes

Day 6: Thu. Jan. 30th
Epcot Day

Day 7: Fri. Jan. 31st
Headliner at HS! Visiting Coronado Springs. Frozen at Disney!
Dinner at Be Our Guest

Day 8: Sat. Feb. 1
Magic Kingdom/Goodbye

Final Thoughts

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Joining! Congrats on the whole marriage scenario!

POFQ is great in my opinion - hope you enjoyed it.

Can't wait for more!

(though I must say, don't feel you can't go with little kids - we've done it 3 times now and loved each trip - but definitely to each their own and you need to do what is best for you and your family)

 

[newlywed mice]

The day has finally come!
We were watching the weather very closely for Saturday Jan. 25th here in New Jersey. They were calling for snow and rain and we were worried about being able to fly out. Of course during the course of one week the weather forecast changed 10x.(This seemed to be a trend in Florida too) Finally on Friday morning they were calling for late afternoon snow, which was good news for us as; we had the first flight out of New Jersey. Along with the “stress” of watching the weather I was coming down with a cold. (Despite all the precautions I took). The last thing I wanted was to be sick on a plane! And feel lousy in Disney.

So Friday night we headed to bed “early” and after not sleeping at all, we got up at 3:45am, to shower and do last minute packing. My dad was picking us up to drive us to the airport for our 6:30 flight out of Newark. He arrived right at 4:30 and we were on our way! We arrived at the airport about 5:20am and made it very quickly through security, we even were allowed to keep our shoes on! Drew decided that he wanted breakfast so he got a sandwich and coffee from McDonalds. I had water and cold medicine for breakfast.

We headed to our gate where they were going to start loading at 5:55am. They were making announcements about being overbooked and looking for people to take the 7:30 flight for $200/ticket. Not us, we were on our way to DISNEY WORLD! We boarded without a problem. I had a window seat, and Drew sat in the middle with a small child next to him who slept the entire time.

The flight was smooth with no problems. Of course me being sick the descent was terrible! My ears were so clogged; they were very painful. I have never had that happen to me before while flying. We landed on time, 9:20am and made our way off the plane to the Magic Express.

We scanned our MB and got in line, waited about 5-10 mins before bus showed up. It took about 10-15 mins for the bus to fill up. Once we were full, we were on our way to the resort.



We were the 3rd stop out of four stops. We first stopped at Old Key West and Saratoga Springs first. Only a few of us got off at FQ and check in was a breeze. Our room was already ready. We were assigned 5123 which had a king size bed; 1st floor, on the corner, and had a river view. I would have preferred not to be 1st floor but I didn’t want to ask for a change because I rather have the room that was ready.



Yes that is my DH being very happy!




We unpacked our carry on luggage then we headed over to Sass. for lunch. I got a make you own salad. Drew got meatball sandwich, both were good. We picked up our soda cups and found out that we get drinks too with a QS meal so drew picked up a bottle of water for me for the park and a monster energy drink for himself. For dessert we had Mickey ice cream sandwiches which we could go back for after having lunch so they didn’t melt. We dropped the cups back to room and walked 3 mins to the bus stop. Waited about 5-10 mins for a bus to AK. The bus went to POR too, and we got to AK around 12:50.

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[newlywed mice]

Made it to a Park. Let the vacation begin!



Before heading into AK we had to stop and pick up our Memory Maker at will-call. It was no problems getting the card at the window but we were told we had to head to magic services in park to link the card to our MB. Ok no problem, off we go. We had to stop for a picture of course!



We got to Magic Services and we tried added our MM to our MB but the computer glitched and screen froze. A CM came over and helped us right away! She was very fast and friendly, she was able to link us without any problems.

Now we had our MM on our MB so we headed up to the safari but with 50 min wait we passed and headed over to Everest and stopped for a photo.



With a 40 min wait, we got in on line. (The line was a little long in my opinion but it was mid-afternoon and we had FP for later in MK)



After Everest which we loved we head over to dinosaur with a 45 min wait, so NOT WORTH it, and we had another day planned at AK.

It was 2:45 and we had a FP+ for BTMRR at MK at 3 so we left AK and the bus was there heading to MK. He hopped on and had to stand but no big deal. (It was only the first day, we would feel differently about standing later in the week

We got to MK at 3:05 and through the gates at 3:10. I noticed walking in that Taking Mickey at Town square only had a 15 min wait so we jumped in line real quick! We were really impressed with how many phrases he knows and how well he interacts with the guests!



After Mickey we quickly headed over to Big Thunder Mountain but first had to take a picture!



We tapped our MB about 3:50 for BTM. The FP line took about 20 mins! but most of that was waiting for people to scan their bands. (That is one glitch that we noticed a lot. We thought FP was nice and we liked using it but there was a lot of back up at the scanners.) and we were back out front around 4:15.

We grabbed a quick drink and headed over to Space Mountain were we had a FP for the 4-5pm slot. We got in line and waited about 10mins. When we got out everything seemed so busy, the people mover had a line! So we walked through the new fantasy land just to get a feel for it, and head up to our dinner reservation for Liberty Tree Tavern at 5:40. We arrived about 5:20 and told them we knew were earlier and would just sit and wait It was very busy in the lobby lots of people standing waiting to be called. At 5:41 we got called for dinner.

Our waitress was nice and she explained we didn’t need to order anything that everything came out and we could have as much as we would like! The salad and bread came out. The salad was good but I couldn’t taste much with the cold but Drew said the dressing was really nice. Dinner came out and it was really good! I would have loved some cranberry sauce with my turkey but I never asked, so my own fault.


This is Drew being very excited about all the food! I forgot to take a picture before we started.

Dessert was just okay, I didn’t really like the cherry apple mix but Drew ate way more than he should have. We finished at 6:30.


Again I was a little late on the picture

The original plan was to stay in the park a little longer for FP at Buzz at 7:40 and wait for the Electric parade and wishes but I was so tired and not feeling well we abounded ship. (Which was a mistake, as you will see why later in the week)

We did stop in the Christmas story and saw a really cute ornament of Wall-e and Eve that we decided we would go back for. We headed to the exit and grabbed a couple of photos in front of castle.



Then we saw the balloon guy and I have wanted a balloon now for years! So Drew bought me a balloon for the hotel room. The balloon guy was funny, he said it is going to be a busy night, I agreed and told him that is why we are leaving now. He told us we were smart and for us to come back later in the week, which we were planning for anyway. (MK was an non-recommended park by Josh but I figured we would try to see the night time show because I didn't know what the rest of the week would be bring.)



We only waited 3 mins for bus to FQ and were back to resort by 7:30. We stopped in gift shop and looked around and bought milk for the cereal the next day and headed back to the room. Our luggage was magically there, and we unpacked and headed to bed. I was feeling sick and hoping that a good night sleep will help. We would be up at 6:45 am for HS the next day.

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[maryr1oz]

Great start - can't wait to read more!

 

[newlywed mice]

Hollywood Studios! For Favorites and New experiences!

I woke up Sunday morning after a wonderful night sleep and was feeling much better! Before heading to the park this morning we needed to stop at the front desk and ask about a parking pass. I had family coming in the next day (Monday) and wanted to find out if they could park at our resort while we toured around Disney. They were very helpful and printed us out a pass with no problem. Afterwards we headed to the bus stop at 745am. We waited about 5 mins for a bus to come for Hollywood studios, we made stops at POR and at 8:05 we were on our way to the park. It was a quick 10 min ride and we got to park at 8:15. We stood to the right and waited for them to open up the gates. There was a very large Brazilian tour group there taking up the middle gates but they were quite and no bother to anyone. We didn’t see them again all day, it was pretty easy to avoid the large groups through out the week.

They opened the gates at 8:50 and we headed straight to TSM. We walked right on and were outside at 902. This was our first time on the ride and it was fantastic!!!! I even beat Drew…by A LOT!!!! I was very impressed with myself lol. By the point we got out of the ride, the posted wait was 45 min wait. We saw that the Toy Story characters were out across the street, so we jumped in line. It only took 10 mins to get through. I could not believe how tall these characters were! They were fun and we got a cute pic.



After meeting the characters we headed over to Rockin Rollar Coaster,and stopped for a picture!



We were in line for RnR at 9:20, and the posted wait said 20 mins but really was a walk-on, after the quick show we headed to the back area where there was only a slight line. We were back out front at 9:40.




We headed to Tower of Terror, where it posted a 10 min wait. We walked into the next tv showing, and there was about a 10 min wait for the elevator. We had a great sequence of drops and it was very fun!


We don't look like we are having fun but we are having a blast! It is one of our favorite rides!

After tower of terror we decided it was a good time to head to the hat area and look for some characters. We saw Goofy, Chip/Dale, and Donald was just replaced with Pluto. We waited about 5 mins for Goofy, he was fantastic and had a lot of energy.



Then we got in line for Pluto and waited about 10 mins for him. He was also great with lots of energy! The photographer's scanner wasn't working with the bands at a moment so he gave us a card with the pictures on it. But of course now we don't know where the card is.

After this meet and great we went over to Magic of Animation, where there was NO WAIT for MINNIE!!! We walked right in to see her. She signed my photo frame and we took a picture.



Then we decided we didn’t need to see the other characters there (Sorcerer Mickey, and the characters from Wreck-it Ralph) So we headed over to One Man’s Dream. We took our time strolling through the exhibits as we never did this before. Then we enjoyed the film at the end of the attraction.

We finished at 11:25 and we were hungry so we decided it was time for lunch. We decided that the studio catering was about to open and it was close so we walked over there, they were just opening. I decided on the Tuscan sandwich and Drew got the Caesar salad wrap.



We were glad we got there early and ordered because right behind us came a very large Brazilian tour group. But we already had our food and were at a table. Lunch was just okay. My sandwich was a bit too “spicy” for me. (I think black pepper is spicy ) I think it was the pepperoni that was giving it the kick. Drew finished my sandwich for me. Drew was slightly disappointed with his wrap. He doesn’t think it was very fresh; meaning they make them ahead of time and stick them in the fridge because it was all one temperature. He was hoping for warm chicken in the cold salad. We both got the same dessert, which was vanilla cake with a chocolate mouse. I only thought it was okay. The cake had a weird texture.

We headed down the street with the city scenes, got in line to get our picture with the characters from cars. It was quick because there is no interaction other than standing there for a photo.




Then we headed to the Muppets where we walked right into the next show. There was a family behind us who talked the entire time…I find it hard people just cant sit quietly for 15 mins. We were out at 12:40 and walked around the gift shop a bit.

Then headed to Tower of Terror FP that ended at 1:15. (Standby was posted at 30 mins.) We were back out front at 104 (we had a blast again!) and headed to our FP at the great movie ride that started at 1:15 but when we got there I asked the CM what time it was and he told me 1:11, but then he asked what time our FP was and I told him, and he said that we should still be able to scan, and we could! We only had to wait about 3 mins in the screen room which was great because we definitely passed people who were in there before we were and we were one of the last people through the doors.



We were out at 140 and we quickly hustled over to the Indiana show that was starting at 145. The tryouts for the extras was just finishing up when we found a seat. We didn’t have the best seats, we were in the section all the way to the left but luckily we had an aisle seat so we could still see pretty good. The show was good, as always.




We quickly got up when it ended and dashed for the exit. We wanted to make it to Star Tours before the Indiana Jones crowd did. Star Tours had a posted wait of 20 mins, we go in line at 2:20 and were waiting for our pod at 2:30 and we were back outside by 240. Star tours kind of makes us sick, I don’t know if it the 3d or the simulator but we both felt a bit ick afterwards.

We headed over to the Beauty and Beast show that was starting at 3pm. I always love this show and you will find me singing along.






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[newlywed mice]

Dinner at Mama Melrose and MK for Electrical Parade

After the show we headed over to dinner at Mama Melrose where we had a reservation at 350 but we stopped for a picture.



We also stoped at the star wars gift shop to pick up a gift for my brother. We got a really cool mug with yoda on it. I wish I took a pic of it but I forgot. It took awhile to check out. I am not sure why the line was moving so slow but we got to our reservation at time. We were sat 5 mins later.

We were on the fantasmic! package so we got an app, entrée, and dessert to share. I decided that a Bellini sounded delish. I don't drink much or often but I do love champagne but I never really have a good reason to drink it. lol So I thought Disney World was a perfect opportunity to drink champagne! It was very good and refreshing.



I had a mix green salad with grilled artichoke harts, which I was not a huge fan of but Drew really like his caesar salad salad.




For dinner Drew got Strip Steak which he thought was really good and cooked perfectly. I had penne vodka with shrimp.




I thought it was good but I am kind of a penne vodka “snop” because I LOVE the penne from the place I work. Drew tells me I shouldn’t ever order penne vodka out because it never measures up. Dessert was a sampler of 3 items to share between the two of us. It contained chocolate cheesecake, which was our favorite, chocolate mouse with raspberry filling, and mango panna cotta.



We tried to leave in time for the next Ariel show but we missed it by a couple of mins. It rained while were at dinner so we missed most of the rain but it was still drizzling. We did some “shopping” until out FP for TSM at 550 to kill time and to stay out of the rain. TSM had 70 min standby when we got in line. This time drew got a hang of it and beat me by 100 points. We were done and back out front at 610, and missed the next show for little mermaid again! (It is a attraction that we have not yet experience)

We headed fantasmic! And after a quick bathroom break we walked in at 630 and the dinning section was still pretty empty but the rest of the amphitheater was filling up fast. The threat of rain threatened to postpone or cancel the show, but 15 mins prior to the show they announce that they would be starting on time! The show is great! I really like this production. I think it unique and fun.




When walking out of the theatre the skies opened up and we had to pull out our ponchos. (Who knew that our ponchos were going to be a daily accessory) It continued to rain while we waited for a bus to MK. Of course this stop is not covered and it just kept on raining. We got on the bus at 7:58 and were in MK at 8:15. We could see wishes was ending from the bus as we arrived to the park.

To avoid the major exit of people leaving after wishes (because there was a parade before wishes) we ducked into the stores to move up main street. We headed to tomorrow land simply because that was the side that we were on and didn’t want to fight our way across the hub. We went on the people mover to allow more time for more people to exit and clear the paths. We made our way over to frontier land, where we wanted to watch the parade. We hit the bathroom and road pirates (it was a walk on) and then grabbed a spot right by the bridge by Splash. The parade was great like always.




We got right behind the parade and went straight to thunder mountain which as only a 5 min wait. When we got off it was up to a 20 min wait because of everyone going after the parade. We headed up to HM and had about a 10 min wait. I think we got out about 10:15. We head towards tomorrow land again and got on space where they were scanning MB because we now had entered the the EMH. The wait was less than 5 mins but that was because they were looking for 2 riders so we got to jump the line by about 25 people. Then we headed over to buzz and walked on. I am terrible at buzz and drew crushed me.



When we got off of buzz it 10:55 and we were tired and headed out but first we need a picture.



we also stopped and got huge ice creams from ice cream shop on main street which were worth a snack credit.



We wish we only got one and split it because we both ended up throwing it away because neither of us could finish ours. Bus took awhile but after a quick and full buss ride back we were back at the resort in our room by 11:40. Tomorrow we get to sleep in a bit because we don’t have to be up to be at a park.

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[newlywed mice]

Family visit!
Now I don't know how exciting this post is going to be. A few of my family members came to visit us this day and we didn't do too much. I also didn't take notes this day so my thought may seem jumbled. Hey! You have been warned in advanced

We got up around 8am because my family was going to arrive at 9am. We got ready and headed to the food court for a quick breakfast. We decided on splitting 3 beignets for breakfast (hey we are on vacation!) Around 9 am I got a phone call from my grandma saying that they got a flat tire and probably wouldn’t be there for another hour. Okay no problem, Drew and I wanted to take a walk over to POR to check out where we both stayed as kids a million years ago.


There are the riverside mansions. Is this were the royal rooms are located?

We walked over it look no more than 20 mins. We walked around and checked out he lobby, store, and pool. I picked up some cute mickey earrings from the store and put them on. I got lots of compliments on them through out the week. After checking out everything we wanted we took the walk back to FQ where my grandparents and cousin arrived shortly after 10.

We decided to head to DTD to shop and have lunch. So we went down to the dock to get a boat. We waited what felt like a long time, I think 15-20 mins for a boat to show up. It was a nice boat ride and we were dropped of at the marketplace. Our first stop was the Christmas store shop and had fun looking around. We continued our walk and stopped in Disney store and had fun looking at the girls getting all dressed up. Then we did a quick stop at the Lego store.





We made our way further down DTD and decided it was time for lunch. We ate at Bongo Cuban Café express, which is a quick service lunch window. The food was really good!!! It was large portions and could have shared it with Drew but now we know for ‘next time” lol. After lunch we headed up to the buses to take a bus to the boardwalk. We waited about 10 mins for a bus. It stopped at Typhoon lagoon before heading over. We got out at the swan hotel and walked around the boardwalk. The surreys looked like fun so we decided to rent on, we got a big one, enough for 6 people. So we went and soon found out they are a lot of work!! And wow what hills!!! We made two loops before deciding that was enough for our legs.

Then we hopped on a boat to HS so that Drew and I could get the rest of them on a bus back to the resort and leave. We thought it made more sense that Drew and I would go directly to Epcot from HS instead going back to resort with them because we had a dinner reservation at Epcot. So after getting them safely on a bus at HS to FQ we grabbed our own bus to Epcot.

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[newlywed mice]

Dinner with the Princesses!!



It was probably about 3:30pm when we got Epcot. We went right on Space Ship Earth which had no wait, I always love his ride and I think the new interaction at the end is kind of fun. Afterwards we walked over to the seas and rode the Nemo ride, which was new to both of us. I was not impressed! I felt like most of it was on a screen. I thought they would have done more with this ride. Afterwards we checked out the aquarium for a while which was actually really cool, we saw a lot of animals. This was the first time we did this because our previous Disney trips were right after new year years and it was so busy we didn't really have the time to stop at the aquarium.

Then we went to the land and rode living with the land, which we walked right on to. It is always fun and informative. Years ago with my family we did the behind the seeds tour and it was REALLY good. Would recommend it to anyone!


"Do you want to build a 'sandman'?"

It was about 4:45pm and I was a bit hungry and dinner was not for another 2 hours so I grabbed a soft pretzel with our snack credit and headed over to Test Track for a 5pm FP. It is the first time we have been on it since the remodel. I was impressed with the new queue line. I never really liked the crash dummies and the ‘cages”. The new look is more modern and up to date. We walked right into the design room and Drew let me make the car. It ended up looking like a small lime green smart car. It actually got pretty good scores though. The ride is pretty similar to the one before. It is set up a bit different but same overall.

After the ride we headed into showcase. We rode the boat ride in Mexico which was a walk on and without really looking around we headed over to Norway and since we still have about 20 mins until dinner at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall we did Malstorm boat ride which had a 15 min posted wait. When the ride finished we decided to skip the video since we had dinner soon.





We got in line to check in, we waited about 5 mins to be called in. When we got in we were directed to Belle. She signed my photo frame and we took a picture. Drew was taught how to take pictures with a princesses; they told them to be a gentlemen and offer his arm to the princesses.



Then we were brought to our table which was actually right by where we took the picture and really close to the buffet. The room that we were sat in was pretty empty but in about 10 mins the room was full. I think they must seat the restaurant sections in waves so the princess know where they have to go, because everyone in that section is new instead of going around and around again and trying to figure out who they have seen already.

The way Akershus works is that the waitress takes your dinner order and then you can go up and help yourself to the cold buffet. The cold buffet included "regular stuff’ and traditional Norwegian food. It included a green salad, bread, different cheeses, couple a different cold salads (they were actually really good), and then there was a cold fish station. The only thing I got from there was the shrimp cocktail. Drew did try some of the funky cheeses that I was too scared to try; he liked them.


not a great picture but this is what I got from the cold buffet...plus what I already ate

For dinner I got the Traditional Kjøttkake Norwegian Meatballs served with Mashed Potatoes, Seasonal Vegetables, and Lingonberry Sauce; it was really good! Drew got Mushroom-stuffed Pasta with Swiss Chard, Shiitakes, and Parmesan Cream; he said they were really good too. For dessert was a trio to share, rice pudding, chocolate mouse cake, and I think it was an apple pie thing. I really liked the rice pudding it was really like and airy.







Drew who was not really interested in the princesses (he went because I wanted to) took the photos for me. I had a great time talking to the princesses, it was nice that they were all in one place too because I meant that I didn’t have to stand in line for them else where. They all signed my photo frame, and actually were really interactive with me, which I was kind of surprised because we of course had no kids with us. The Snow White at dinner was FANTASTIC!!! She looked great and sounded great, she was really in character, she was a blast! I had a great time at dinner and I think Drew had fun too.






After dinner it was about 8:20 we walked the showcase and made our way to the bridge at France. That is where I wanted to watch Illuminations but when we got there, there was NO spots!! I was surprised, Josh’s website to be there 40-30 mins early on non busy day. So we decided we would come back another night to watch. So we slowly made our way out of the park. We stopped in a few stores and made our way to the buses.




We got on an empty bus but he waited about 5 mins for more people to get our of illuminations so he could leave with a full bus. We got back to the room and found a really impressive towel animal!



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[newlywed mice]

Joining! Congrats on the whole marriage scenario!
Thankyou very much!

POFQ is great in my opinion - hope you enjoyed it.
It was fantastic! Would love to always stay there!

Can't wait for more!
Thanks for following

(though I must say, don't feel you can't go with little kids - we've done it 3 times now and loved each trip - but definitely to each their own and you need to do what is best for you and your family)
It just looks like A LOT of work! but maybe we will change our minds when the time comes and I don't want to wait any longer

,

 

[newlywed mice]

Great start - can't wait to read more!

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy

 

[Luv0fDisney]

I'm another New Jersey-ian signing in to follow your trip report.
I love your trip report so far and looking forward to the next chapter(s). I love trip reports with the bigger font as it makes it easier to read.

Love the pictures!

 

[newlywed mice]

Animal Kingdom

Today was the best weather of all week, it was 80 and sunny!! Little did we know this was the last time we were going to see the sun for the rest of the week.
We headed out to the bus at 7:50 and were on our way at 7:56. We went straight to park and did not stop at POR. We got there and were in line by 8:18. We were first behind the scanners.



They opened the gates at 8:45 and we headed straight for the safari. We walked by Tusker House and saw a few people making there way out into the park. We were the first people to get to the safari at 8:52 and a CM told us that they were not quite open yet, so we waited and a line formed behind us. They let us in around 9 but still had us wait to get on trucks for a little bit. Even when we loaded the bus I think we waited 5 mins before we got the all clear to go out into the safari. We had a great experience!! We saw lots of animals and the giraffe were very active and very close. And we even saw two lioness “fighting” each other for a few seconds.



The baby




It took a while though, we were back out front at 9:30 and headed to Everest but stopped for a photo



At 9:40 Everest was only a 5 min wait, but we were in the station waiting for the next train at 941 and back out front at 9:48 and it was still only 5 mins so we went again. After 2 times on Everest Drew was feeling a bit dizzy.








We slowly made our way over to Dinosaur, which posted a 15 min wait. It took about 15 mins to get to the vehicle. I have to say with not being on for a while I didn’t really remember the ride and it was a bit scary! I am sure the picture came out great but my face was covered!!! So we didn’t scan for it.  So after dinosaur we headed back to see Flights of Wonder at 10:30am (yes I know a lot of walking, should have planned that better). The show was pretty good and fun. It you haven’t seen it you really should go, and see some pretty cool birds. It’s a 30 min show so it was 11am when we were done so we went looking for characters. We found the UP characters at 11:07 and they were great, they were a lot of fun. Dough was licking Drew and looking in his bag for snacks. When Drew was leaving Dough even ran after him for one last hug.




At then we went over to Pooh and Tigger around 1120. There was a bit of a line and they took a 5 min break with two families ahead of us. But Pooh was fun, he saw my old sweatshirt that has pooh on it looking at a tiger asking the tiger “is that you tigger?” And acted very scared of the tiger. We got a picture and headed over to Tigger. He didn’t have much of a reaction. He just hugged us and took a picture.





After the characters we had another safari ride with a FP that ended at 12:15. We were in line at 11:45. The safari was good again but with the temperature climbing most of the animals were in the shade and resting.




baby again




We were out at 12:20 and had to head for the exit because we had a lunch reservation at Sanaa at AKL.

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[newlywed mice]

Off to lunch!

There was a bus at the bus stop so we ran! We made the bus and since AKL is so close we pulled in 7 mins later at 12:45.



We arrived at the restaurant 10 mins early for our reservation, but they seated us right away. Unfortunately we did not get sat at a window but there didn’t look to be any tables open. After only sitting for 5 mins a table did get up that was by the window. I wonder if we had asked or waited if we could have gotten a window seat. We could still see from our table so it wasn’t a total lost.



We started with the bread service even though it was not included in our dinning plan. We picked the traditional naan, spiced naan and Pappadum naan and all 9 sauces. It was really good. I enjoyed the mild/savory dips and Drew really liked the spicy ones.



For lunch got the Trio meal, which included rice and a choice of two meats cooked in gravy. He picked the beef spare ribs and the buttered chicken. He really enjoyed his meal. I got a sandwich (I know daring). It was a turkey, bacon, avocado on a ciabatta bread. It was good but not very exciting but I wasn’t sure I would like and of the more traditional meals.




For dessert Drew got the dessert trio; Tanzanian Chocolate Mousse, Coconut Cheesecake, and Chai Cream and he thought it was really good. I got Warm Bamboo Rice Pudding with Tropical Fruits and Pistachio Tuile. I really disliked it, I only had two bites. It was more like warm rice with very sweet mangos underneath.




After lunch we went to the observation deck and watch the animals. Lots of zebras and giraffes were out.





Then we headed back to the park and got back around 3pm. He had a FP for dinosaur but decided to skip. Instead we found Pocahontas and got a picture



Then we did the Tough to be a Bug show. I forgot how “scary” the ride was. Quite a few kids left in the middle of the show in tears. When we got out of the ride it was 3:42 and the parade was coming soon. We didn’t want to see it so we quickly dipped out of the way and into Asia. We watched the rafts from the rapids and the monkeys for a little awhile until our FP for Everest for one last time at 4pm.



It had a posted wait of 30 mins but with our FP we waited no more than 5 mins.



After the ride we headed out to the buses and waited for a bus to the boardwalk. We were off to play mini golf!

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[JAMIESMITH]

Subscribing! Great report so far

 

[newlywed mice]

Mini Golf and Illuminations

Drew and I LOVE mini golf. We dabble in "real" golf but I enjoy mini golf more.

We took a bus to the Swan resort and got off and walked over to Frantasia mini golf. We arrived at 5:15 and the course was pretty busy. We had fun but I played terrible and we were done at 6:20.










We walked over to the Dolphin before I remembered that you can't catch a bus from the Dolphin to Epcot. So we took a bus and got off at the Yacht club and then took the boat over to Epcot. Yes I know walking would have been the fastest way but we were tired and our feet hurt. So we just relaxed and waited for the boat. We arrived at international gate at 7:10 and since we had time before staking a claim on the French bridge for Illuminations we walked around England and saw Marry Poppins. I stopped for a quick picture.


A bit blurry. There was not a photopass photographer there. And Drew had a hard time with the light and making the picture look good.

Then we walked around France and grabbed a French baguette to share as we sat of the bridge and wait for fireworks.



We got to the bridge about 8:10 and Illuminations started right at 9. Illuminations is my least favorite nighttime show but it was good and I got some good pictures and video.





When it was done instead of rushing out with the masses we took our time and stopped by the bathroom before jumping on the bus. We were back at the resort at 9:40. We were a bit hungry so shared a quick service from the resort. We got baked chicken alfredo pasta with a side salad and bread. For dessert we got a cookie. Then headed off to bed.

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[newlywed mice]

I'm another New Jersey-ian signing in to follow your trip report.
I love your trip report so far and looking forward to the next chapter(s). I love trip reports with the bigger font as it makes it easier to read.

Love the pictures!

Hello fellow New Jersey-ian

And I too loved the reports with bigger front. The small prints hurt my eyes lol

Thank you for following

 

[newlywed mice]

Subscribing! Great report so far

Thank-you very much!

 

[Credit Man]

Enjoying your report. Thanks for posting.

 

[newlywed mice]

Sorry I have not posted anything in a while! Life can get in the way sometimes. I hope to knock out the rest of my report asap.

Enjoying your report. Thanks for posting.

Thanks!