Thanks all for joining in! I'm excited to get started and relive what was really a wonderful trip.
As usually happens our dates changed from original booking (thanks JetBlue for changing our flights!) so instead of arriving early on the 30th we arrived early on the 29th! At first I thought to do just DS today but in the end I decided I wanted to be in the MK before the 50th, anticipating the huge crowds on the 1st. I figured going to MK today we'd be able to walk around and see the statues and just enjoy and I'm glad we did! It was a nice relaxing day beginning with that walk into Wilderness Lodge and feeling of peace washing over me; that feeling of being "home" ♥
I promise I'll stop the mushy stuff, it's not really my style but this trip brought up some feels!
As you saw in my intro pic I was representin' the NYC on arrival day:
I mean nobody needs to know we really live 90 minutes north of the NYC right? So Nnyc? Either way I like my shirt. We went straight to our lunch at the Plaza which was "eh" and will continue to be so until they bring back my fried green tomato sandwich but the sangria was good. I had the loaded Plaza fries and Steve had the Roast Beef Au Jus. My fries were ok but could have seriously used more plastic cheese; then we found a good # of the 50th statues and walked on Big Thunder and Splash. Splash! At 1:30 on a hot day! The crowds were extremely light and we started wondering when the crowd bomb would drop but were happy it wasn't today.
I did a little Emporium shopping and I'll tell you what, I was REALLY happy I did come the 1st because that was CRAZY what happened! We left around 3:30; we had a dinner we were looking forward to but were kind of losing steam after being up at 3am for our flight.
This plaque is under the Mickey and Minnie statues
By now you've all probably seen lots of the statues so I won't post them all but we did go in and check out the new Confectionary! It had been open a few days at this point but still quite a few bigwigs hanging around. There's an icee station there now and some different treats! It's really cute inside and overall I think they offer a larger selection.
Once back at Wilderness Lodge we unpacked a little and took a power nap; we were going to eat at a restaurant we'd tried for the first time in August that instantly became a favorite!
As usually happens our dates changed from original booking (thanks JetBlue for changing our flights!) so instead of arriving early on the 30th we arrived early on the 29th! At first I thought to do just DS today but in the end I decided I wanted to be in the MK before the 50th, anticipating the huge crowds on the 1st. I figured going to MK today we'd be able to walk around and see the statues and just enjoy and I'm glad we did! It was a nice relaxing day beginning with that walk into Wilderness Lodge and feeling of peace washing over me; that feeling of being "home" ♥
I promise I'll stop the mushy stuff, it's not really my style but this trip brought up some feels!
As you saw in my intro pic I was representin' the NYC on arrival day:
I mean nobody needs to know we really live 90 minutes north of the NYC right? So Nnyc? Either way I like my shirt. We went straight to our lunch at the Plaza which was "eh" and will continue to be so until they bring back my fried green tomato sandwich but the sangria was good. I had the loaded Plaza fries and Steve had the Roast Beef Au Jus. My fries were ok but could have seriously used more plastic cheese; then we found a good # of the 50th statues and walked on Big Thunder and Splash. Splash! At 1:30 on a hot day! The crowds were extremely light and we started wondering when the crowd bomb would drop but were happy it wasn't today.
I did a little Emporium shopping and I'll tell you what, I was REALLY happy I did come the 1st because that was CRAZY what happened! We left around 3:30; we had a dinner we were looking forward to but were kind of losing steam after being up at 3am for our flight.
This plaque is under the Mickey and Minnie statues
By now you've all probably seen lots of the statues so I won't post them all but we did go in and check out the new Confectionary! It had been open a few days at this point but still quite a few bigwigs hanging around. There's an icee station there now and some different treats! It's really cute inside and overall I think they offer a larger selection.
Once back at Wilderness Lodge we unpacked a little and took a power nap; we were going to eat at a restaurant we'd tried for the first time in August that instantly became a favorite!
Nice you were able to enjoy MK before the craziness began! WL is still my sentimental favorite - staying with our family in 2 Ft Wilderness cabins in March. One day I hope to get back to the Lodge!
nice to see you again! Yes I was happy with my decision as it was a nice day and so easy to get there and back from the Lodge. 
the smells, the ceiling, the people milling around and then walking out back to all that beauty! Not like walking into any other resort IMO!
It stinks to have to carve out DIS time lol but life always gets in the way!
Over the years we've been privileged to meet some incredible Cast Members at restaurants and such; take for instance Rony at Citricos whom you've probably heard me talk about if you've read any of my previous reports:
of flavor on top- a light brown coffee, dark brown chocolate, yellow lemon and red raspberry. I looked for pictures online but only see one that also has a white dollop so that must be an old version; anyway the flavors were perfection and while usually not a big lemon fan it was my fave! We're booked here again in December with friends and I may be going next month when I return for "work" 
