Trip Report The tale of two Disney-obsessed Atlantic Canadians, March 27-April 3, 2014

Alrighty, well, let me start off by saying that this isn't officially a trip report yet because we don't leave for another six days, but I have a few spare minutes so figured I'd lay the groundwork here.

This report is for me (Tom, 25) and my mom (Peggy, 40+ ...). Here we are last February in the French pavilion:

It's my fourth trip to WDW and her fifth. We're absolutely WDW obsessed. We love everything about it -- thinking about booking, actually booking, make our ADRs, planning what to pack, booking our Fastpasses (we LOVE the new Fastpass+ system so far -- we'll wait and see how well it works at the parks), etc. We've stayed at POR, CB, and CS, and POR is definitely our favourite. This trip, we'll be at POR again, and we've requested Magnolia Bend for the full seven nights. We really like Alligator Bayou, but we want to give "the mansions" a try. Fingers crossed!

We have been planning the trip since Christmas time, and were actually supposed to be there at the same time as my uncle, aunt, and two younger cousins. We were really looking forward to experiencing Disney with some first-timers, and especially with the kids, but unfortunately my youngest cousin broke her leg badly this week while sledding, so they've had to cancel for the time being.

Back to mom and me. Disney is our thing. We generally get along pretty well anyway, but Disney is a bit of a no-brainer for us. We both love how it's such an easy vacation -- no worries, just relaxed for a week but also filled with our favourite activities, great food, drinks, and lots of fireworks. We also both like to shop so DTD is a big favourite, after Epcot of course. I say pretty often that as long as I can afford it, I'll head to WDW at least once a year for the rest of my life. Friends (and even some family, including my two younger brothers) think we're insane for the way we love Disney so much. When we told people we were considering going again this year, we got a lot of responses like "you're going AGAIN?!?!?" and "just you and your mom -- won't you kill each other?!?" Well, nope, I guarantee we'll have fun and we'll want to go back again this time next year!

So, you may be able to tell from my spelling of "favourite" that we're Canadian. We're from Canada's smallest province, Prince Edward Island, on the Atlantic coast among the Maritime provinces (across the Northumberland Strait from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia). Have you heard of PEI mussels? Well, they come from the bays around our island. Have you heard of Anne of Green Gables? Well, her story was based on the island and she was created by islander Lucy Maud Montgomery. The island is also famous for its beautiful white sand beaches, friendly and generous culture, and pristine world-class golf courses.

That said, we've had a particularly harsh winter. So far, we've had nearly three times the usual amount of snow, and it's been bitter cold since Christmas. It's a bit of a frozen wasteland at the moment, which is in stark contrast to how beautiful it is here in the summer. Proof:

Summer: gorgeous beaches all around the island (this is less than a 5 minute walk from my place)

And beautiful hiking trails in our national park

But then there's winter...still beautiful but completely frozen

So, you could say that we're really looking forward to some Florida sun.

Next Wednesday, March 26, we'll drive the 3 1/2 hours from my parents' place in Stratford, PEI across the Confederation Bridge to "the mainland" (aka New Brunswick), and straight on through to Halifax, Nova Scotia. We'll stay overnight at an airport hotel and hop on an early morning direct WestJet flight to Orlando on Thursday. Then, we'll take the DME to POR, and we absolutely can't wait!!! I bought a new Canon T3 DSLR for the trip, so I guarantee some decent photos of the sights, the food, and maybe even a few good ones of us having fun. This is my first trip report, so be gentle!

If anyone's interested in some live action, I'll definitely be pretty active on Twitter and Instagram during our trip:

@officialtom

@officialtom

Just three more workdays...

 

[Disney Shib]

Great trip report. My mom and I have the same kind of Disney-relationship. I think it's fantastic.

 

[Ella's Mommy]

My mother and I also have that special Disney addiction My father and my hubby HATE it

 

[officialtom]

Day 3: MK cont'd

We decided to head to New Fantasyland to check in with the FP+ folks at the BoG line. We desperately wanted to somehow get in to try the place, and hoped they could do something about our malfunctioning FP+ invitation email. I absolutely love the whole area. Everything is just so new, and clean, and detailed, and authentic-looking. Honestly, I can say that Walt would have been impressed with what they've done.

We hurried past 7DMT and were very, very, VERY disappointed to see that they weren't doing soft launches/rider tests yet. I'd been keeping a very close hourly watch on all the 7DMT threads and had been glued to the various rumoured countdowns and progress pics. Maybe it's sad, but yes, I'm a 25 year-old adult male who has always loved the story of Snow White ever since I wore out our VHS copy, and my grandmother's when I was little. To this day, the soundtrack tears me up a little. Even just seeing commercials for the remastered version got me going. Anyway, we had had all of our fingers and toes crossed that we might somehow luck into getting a soft launch ride, but sadly we were a few weeks too early. Despite all that, we did get to have a good look at the visible-from-the-ground portions and were really impressed with the work the imagineers had done. The whole scene looked to be a real life living mountain. Here at the tracks with some temp wiring and sandbags still in place:
IMG_0618 by tommypei, on Flickr

So, despite being sad about 7DMT not being open yet, our stroke of unreal luck continued with Be our Guest. We arrived and were slightly in shock at the length of the standby line. I forget what the posted wait was, but it was definitely over an hour. We strode over to the FP+ counter, phone-with-defective-email in-hand, and were greeted by a terribly busy but very lovely and patient older lady. Her fingers were just flying around her FP+ tablet as she was trying to help everyone out. We explained our situation -- that we had gotten the FP+ trial email, but that no matter what we did, it wouldn't accept our information to allow us to make a reservation. We had tried two different phones, an iPad, and a computer, and even the nice folks at City Hall couldn't help us out. She took one look at the email on mom's phone, handed us two menus, and told us to skidaddle off to the FP line. ARE YOU KIDDING?!?!?!?!?! We were beside ourselves, and thanked her a million times. I honestly think I may have skipped instead of walking.

So we made our way through the FP entrance, bypassing the hundreds of people waiting impatiently in line, and ended up somewhere deep inside the castle. Well, let me just say that if you're impressed with the exterior scenes in New Fantasyland, you'll be blown away by the theming inside BoG -- including the queue! Everything looked so real and authentic... it was perfect and really set the mood for the lunch.
IMG_0621 by tommypei, on Flickr

The majestic high ceilings, with magical portraits and tapestries hanging everywhere, and monster chandeliers...it was all unreal
IMG_0625 by tommypei, on Flickr

IMG_0629 by tommypei, on Flickr

We settled on a table in the room with the dancing Beast & Belle. Well let me tell you, if I was a bit misty from seeing 7DMT and imagining the Seven Drawfs working away inside, I was a real mess from this sight:
IMG_0631 by tommypei, on Flickr
To put it in perspective, you should know that they're both bigger-than-lifesize.

I wasn't exactly a sobbing mess, but the feeling was pretty intense. One of my favourite childhood stories, the tale as old as time, in the flesh. Un-fricking-believable.

A not-so-great shot of a tapestry that I want to hang in my living room:
IMG_0637 by tommypei, on Flickr

I should also mention that orders are taken at self-serve kiosks (with helpful cast members helping) at the last stage of the queue inside the castle. So by the time we sat down and absorbed maybe 10% of what there was to see, a lovely server pushing a grand serving cart came by with our food, hot and fresh. I ordered a turkey sandwich on crispy but soft bread, with fries that turned out to be very salty. Mom had the braised pork.
IMG_0643 by tommypei, on Flickr

Honestly, for a quick-service meal, this just blows the rest right out of the water. The food was great, but the atmosphere is beyond perfection. They did such a great job on the theming, and the whole operation is incredibly efficient. We'll definitely be going back.

Strawberry mousse thing for dessert. DEEEEEEELICIOUS.
IMG_0644 by tommypei, on Flickr

So after our quick meal, we relaxed a bit and recovered from the "magic shock" from the whole experience. We headed back outside and took another good look around NF. Really just blown away by the quality of the work.

IMG_0665 by tommypei, on Flickr

IMG_0668 by tommypei, on Flickr

I want to live there:
IMG_0674 by tommypei, on Flickr

And off we went to Adventureland for our Jungle Cruise FP. Adventureland might be my favourite part of MK (after Mainstreet, of course).
IMG_0679 by tommypei, on Flickr

IMG_0686 by tommypei, on Flickr

The jungle cruise is always a favourite. Some of the displays might need a bit of updating, but really the whole thing is just so well-done. Our guide (I forget her name) was one of the best we've had. The jokes can pretty bad with the wrong guide, but she was really funny and engaged.
IMG_0695 by tommypei, on Flickr

To be continued!...

 

[officialtom]

Day 3: MK (cont'd)

So after the Jungle Cruise, mom out-of-the-blue decided she wanted to try "Labrew's Brew"... close enough? So we headed back over to NF to stop into Gaston's Tavern.

A real stunning resemblance ... right??
IMG_0702 by tommypei, on Flickr

Was I a bit (secretly?) obsessed with Gaston as a kid? Maybe...
IMG_0703 by tommypei, on Flickr

When we got to the counter, mom asked what exactly a "Labrew's Brew" was, and then she decided against getting one. Instead, she got a giant, still-hot cinnamon roll/sticky bun dripping in frosting. It was unreal.

Once again full beyond belief, we headed out to the Little Mermaid for our FP. It's such a cute ride, and yet another favourite childhood story of mine. It's a must-do for us even though it's not one of our favourites.
IMG_0706 by tommypei, on Flickr

Scuttle being his foolish self
IMG_0709 by tommypei, on Flickr

I'd wish I'd been able to get a better shot of my old gurl Ursula
IMG_0725 by tommypei, on Flickr

After surfacing from under the sea, we sauntered by Mickey's Philharmagic and saw that there was only a five-minute wait. As our fifth trip to WDW, we realised we'd probably better do it to check it off our list. We hadn't really heard much about it and nobody had ever recommended it, but with only a five minute wait, who could go wrong? It actually only took about 2 minutes to get through the line and we really enjoyed the show. Very cute and we're glad we finally did it.

Then we decided to head to Tomorrowland for the Peoplemover, my mom's absolutely favourite ride. Only had to wait 2 or 3 minutes.
IMG_0734 by tommypei, on Flickr

Got a real nice view of the train passing by
IMG_0740 by tommypei, on Flickr

To be continued... FoF up next!!!

 

[Maggie Mae]

loving your report!!! can't wait to read more, and your pictures are phenominal!!!

 

[DisSplash]

We love the Peoplemover too! Great shot of the train.

 

[officialtom]

loving your report!!! can't wait to read more, and your pictures are phenominal!!!

Thanks!! I guess it was beginner's luck with my new camera.

 

[AmberFaith90]

I'm enjoying your TR so far! It makes me really want to stay at POR!

 

[Doc Disney]

I love the people mover too! I wish it was open when we where there in June I was overly disappointed that it wasn't

 

[SharonD]

Really enjoying your report!

 

[angieandtrevor]

Awesome review, can't wait to read more

 

[LondonGopher]

OK...can I be the only one that saw you were from PEI and immediately thought, "...with another big load of potatoes"?

Bud the Spud is one of DS's favourite songs and that's what I always think of when I think of PEI (well, that and Anne of GG ). Stereotypes, moi?

Seriously though...my DH isn't much of a theme park chap, but DS and I love visiting them together. I hope we'll still be doing it in twenty years - like you and your mother! How lovely is she?!

 

[officialtom]

OK...can I be the only one that saw you were from PEI and immediately thought, "...with another big load of potatoes"?

Bud the Spud is one of DS's favourite songs and that's what I always think of when I think of PEI (well, that and Anne of GG ). Stereotypes, moi?

Seriously though...my DH isn't much of a theme park chap, but DS and I love visiting them together. I hope we'll still be doing it in twenty years - like you and your mother! How lovely is she?!

Too funny! Of course that's probably the most famous song about PEI. Poor Stompin Tom passed away not too long ago and is missed by a lot of people around the world.

 

[officialtom]

So, it's November, and I've been neglecting this for months. But the snow is falling again outside, and winter is definitely setting in. If it's anything like last year, we'll be dying for our next trip "home" right after New Years. Currently planning a potential Feb-March 2015 trip, and really hoping the pieces fall into place. It's been less than a year, but it's time to go back.

*********************************************************

Day 3: MK cont'd (still more!)

After our meal at BoG, Mickey's Philharmagic, and the Peoplemover, we headed back to the front of the castle just in time for Festival of Fantasy. We were VERY excited to see this new heavily-promoted parade. There had been so much talk on the forums and everywhere else related to Disney that we had very expectations...and we certainly weren't disappointed.

Belle & Beast leading the way. Stunning detail. Love his perma-grumpy-face. Maybe it's the teeth?
IMG_0745 by tommypei, on Flickr

Of course, there was plenty of Frozen to go around...
IMG_0752 by tommypei, on Flickr

Handsome horse.
IMG_0762 by tommypei, on Flickr

Always a pleasure to see Tink!! She was hilarious and a perfect fit for the character.
IMG_0786 by tommypei, on Flickr

And the natural Grand Marshals
IMG_0822 by tommypei, on Flickr

Overall, very impressed with FoF. We knew we wanted to see it again later in the week.

Headed over to It's a Small World for old time's sake. It's mom's second favourite, next to the Peoplemover. I tag along because she loves it so much.

But first, I got locked up for enjoying myself too much.
IMG_0840 by tommypei, on Flickr

I know I shouldn't say it publicly, but some of IASM really does creep me out...
IMG_0864 by tommypei, on Flickr

And just like that, it was time to catch the monorail to Poly for our ADR at Ohana. EXCITED and hungry. On the way, we caught our first glimpse of the new double buses that we were told had started serving AoA, Pop, and CB. POR and some others needed to have some bus stops realigned before they could accommodate the length of the new buses. I have to admit, I was a little bummed to not be able to ride one just for the sake of it.
IMG_0868 by tommypei, on Flickr

Up next, Ohana!!!!

 

[officialtom]

Day 3: Ohana and MK (cont'd)

We took the mono to Poly and hurried to Ohana to catch our reservation. I don't know if we'll ever stay at Poly (it's not really our style), but it's impressive nonetheless. Maybe someday.

IMG_0876 by tommypei, on Flickr

Well, of course, the meal was very impressive. We've eaten there once before and had been looking forward to giving it another try. We had coconut bread to start, veggie noodles, wings, and pork dumplings. Just those apps were enough on their own...
IMG_0877 by tommypei, on Flickr

And holy hell they were good...
IMG_0878 by tommypei, on Flickr

We had a great vantage point for a convoy of kids running around sweeping coconuts in a race of some sort. Lots of fun.
IMG_0883 by tommypei, on Flickr

We had the usual skewered BBQ'd pork, chicken, steak, and shrimp, and yes, it was as delicious as the last time. It's definitely up there on our "most highly recommended" list. Then the traditional bread pudding with vanilla ice cream and piping hot bananas foster sauce dumped over the top. One of the most incredible mix of flavours in the world, and I'm not a big fan of banana-tasting stuff.
IMG_0886 by tommypei, on Flickr

After we recovered from our meal, we walked around Poly for a bit longer checking out the renos and caught the tail end of a movie being shown on the beach. I can't remember what it was ... Lion King maybe? I'd been hoping to catch sight of the electric water parade from the dock but we missed it due to sitting too long after supper. But, our magical luck continued when we hopped on a boat for MK and we cruised right past the floating parade of lights. It's definitely cute and a real somewhat hidden gem. I hope they keep it going.

MK at night is always just plain spectacular. I love just wandering around Mainstreet and exploring the shops, breathing in the cool night air and relaxing a bit after a long day of (enjoyable) running around.
IMG_0905 by tommypei, on Flickr

We caught the Wishes pre-show, and it was a perfect night for it.
IMG_0924 by tommypei, on Flickr

More Frozen...
IMG_0945 by tommypei, on Flickr

And dearest Walt. What an incredible man.
IMG_0950 by tommypei, on Flickr

And Wishes was wonderful, as it always is. May have gotten a little misty once again...
IMG_0984 by tommypei, on Flickr

Then, for the first time ever, we caught the Main Street Electrical Parade. I loved it! The music is hilarious.
IMG_1099 by tommypei, on Flickr

One of the not-to-ugly-but-particularly-grump stepsisters had to pose twice for this shot, and she was quite displeased that I missed it the first time.
IMG_1134 by tommypei, on Flickr

Then, home to POR to bed. Tomorrow, Keys to the Kingdom!!!

 

[officialtom]

Day 4: MK and Keys to the Kingdom!

Dreaded rain in the forecast, but we weren't about to let it get the best of it. We had our $1 ponchos (from home) packed, and our running sneakers on to tackle whatever the tour would bring.

Well, as you may or may not know, you can't take cameras on the behind-the-scenes tours. So my DSLR stayed behind at POR, but I did catch a few iPhone shots for instagram before the tour started:

Hitting MK at rope-drop sure makes for some pleasantly empty streets. We were some of the first into the park!


Dearest Minnie


The Partners and me


Quick stop into the Main Street Starbucks for a very good coffee. Haters gonna hate... I love Starbucks in the parks.


And then all of a sudden, the gates opened and the crowds flooded in (quick video):


A quick shot of my KTTK nametag!
http://instagram.com/p/mILIK0DtZ6/

So thinking back now, KTTK was a little overwhelming. We were both very excited for it, and I'm definitely glad we did it. But you know, we'd read that some people feel that it takes away from the magic, and part of me might agree with that. Maybe it's just my subconscious not wanting to know exactly how things work, and where the food comes from, and where the CMs get changed and rehearse. But overall, it was worth it. Julie from Chicago, IL was our tour guide, and we found out at the end that it was her very first solo tour. A plainclothes CM had been walking along with us taking notes of her performance, and he told us that she did a great job, and we all agreed. She had been at Disney for just two years but she was able to answer every single question the group had. A real pro.

The tour took us on Jungle Cruise and the Haunted Mansion, and thanks to the nifty little listening things, we got some behind-the-scenes info on each. We had lunch in a private upstairs room at Columbia Harbour House. I had a delicious club sandwich. We got rained on a bit after the haunted mansion, but only for 20 minutes or so. Our ponchos kept us dry, and we ended up underground anyway.

KTTK is well worth the money as long as you don't mind learning some things that certain people would probably rather not know. I'd recommend it for anyone who's been to WDW 3-4 times or more and is craving just a little something more. Everything from how the garbage system works, to where the service trucks drive, to where they store the parade floats, to witnessing a live parade rehearsal (without costumes!) -- really neat stuff for the Disney addict to witness and learn.

We headed back to POR to regroup, did some quick laundry, and then grabbed a bus back to MK and a boat to GF for our ADR at Citricos.

All aboard!
IMG_1172 by tommypei, on Flickr

Magestic.
IMG_1197 by tommypei, on Flickr

Royal.
IMG_1207 by tommypei, on Flickr

Not the only time we'd see PEI (Prince Edward Island) mussels on the menu this trip:
IMG_1226 by tommypei, on Flickr

Did I forget to take pics of our meals? Yes. Were they simply too delicious to wait for pics? Definitely. We got the cheese course trio and it was DIVINE. I had a West Coast IPA (beer) from California and really enjoyed it. It tasted somewhat like an IPA that we get here locally. I had the chicken and short ribs, and man were they worth all of the anticipation we'd had for Citricos. Tiramisu and coffee for dessert. Delectable!
IMG_1228 by tommypei, on Flickr

End Day 4. A great day.

Tomorrow, Hollywood!

 

[officialtom]

Day 5: Hollywood!

But first...a couple more pics from GF last night

A highly talented and entertaining brass group who started during our supper at Citricos, and we stayed a bit afterwards to listen:
IMG_1232 by tommypei, on Flickr

An incredible and colourful mini ferris wheel circa 1890
IMG_1242 by tommypei, on Flickr

And another little creature waiting for us from Mousekeeping when we got home:
IMG_1245 by tommypei, on Flickr

Okay. Back to business. Day 5:

We hopped on a bus to MK and grabbed the mono to the Contempo for our breakfast ADR at The Wave. No wait whatsoever - we were seated immediately. We always do one breakfast reservation.

To be honest, it was slightly disappointing compared to the breakfast buffet at the Boardwalk last year. They were out of syrup for the waffles, there was no ketchup to be found (A TRAGEDY!!!), and the service just wasn't what we've grown to expect at Disney. Coffee was slow, and we hardly heard from our server (though this is a bit understandable since it's a buffet, but still...).

We got some delicious mini Mickey waffles, and I had eggs, bread pudding with vanilla sauce, fried mixed potatoes, toast with pecan butter (OH MY GOD AMAZING), a raspberry danish, fresh fruit including central Florida watermelon, and fresh strawberry yogurt. We were certainly satisfied.
IMG_1253 by tommypei, on Flickr

After enjoying another cup of okay coffee, we headed out and grabbed a bus for Hollywood (via Poly and GF).

We had a FP+ for Muppets and the Great Movie ride, but naturally we first took a walk around to check out the familiar sights. Hollywood ranks 4th on my favourite parks list, but it's still quite enjoyable.

The Tower
IMG_1256 by tommypei, on Flickr

Time for the Muppets. Miss Piggy will forever be mom's favourite.
IMG_1264 by tommypei, on Flickr

Some silliness from the hilariously talented Steve Martin
IMG_1266 by tommypei, on Flickr

A relaxing ride on the Great Movie Ride
IMG_1270 by tommypei, on Flickr

Stopped by the ABC Commissary for an angus burger and a chicken club. I had the chicken and it was very VERY tough. Didn't eat much of it. Mom loved the burger, though. This is the second time we've eaten here and I don't think we'll try it a third.

We decided to check out the standby line for the Backlot Tour, and luckily there was no line! Maybe an indication of why they shut it down? Anyway, we really enjoyed it (it was our second time), and I think it's a bit sad that it's gone. But maybe the great Igor has plans for something better. Who knows??

Ye Olde Water Tower
IMG_1287 by tommypei, on Flickr

A quick shot of the hat (mixed feelings about hearing that it's being torn down, but hopeful they'll erect some awesome new park icon), and time to head back to POR via POFQ for some pool time.
IMG_1282 by tommypei, on Flickr

 

[officialtom]

Day 5: Hollywood (cont'd)

Hopped on a bus back to Hollywood after some recuperation by the pool and a quick nap. Treated to yet another cute little creature from Mousekeeping:
IMG_1296 by tommypei, on Flickr

Now you may have gathered from my earlier posts that I absolutely love Illuminations at Epcot. The music, the fire, the lights... it's such an incredible show. But that said, Fastasmic at HS is probably my favourite show, with so many old favourite characters making appearances, and Mickey showing the power of good over evil. Then, the steamboat tops it all off and I always get slightly emotional at the classic Disney sight.
IMG_1309 by tommypei, on Flickr

Mirror Mirror on the Mist
IMG_1372 by tommypei, on Flickr

Steamboat Mickey and some goofy drawfs. Hiya, Pal!
IMG_1431 by tommypei, on Flickr

Spent the rest of the evening browsing the shops, grabbing a few cookies, and just wandering with the thinning crowds.

M&M mmmmm
IMG_1462 by tommypei, on Flickr

We headed back to POR and called it a night a bit early. We're both pretty big sleepers...like mother, like son.

Tomorrow, Animal Kingdom!

 

[officialtom]

Day 6: Animal Kingdom!

Quick breakfast at POR. Bagels and cream cheese, I think. Hopped on a bus to MK. No wait... so efficient!
IMG_1465 by tommypei, on Flickr

The mysterious vine lady. A favourite of my dad's, though he wasn't with us this trip.
IMG_1472 by tommypei, on Flickr

A real nice man took a quick shot of us on a lookout point across the river from the Tree of Life. Mom had gotten some kind of margarita slush. She got carded and was quite happy about it.
IMG_1479 by tommypei, on Flickr

Think I was getting the handle of my new camera
IMG_1480 by tommypei, on Flickr

Gorillas!!! The father was 33, and came to AK with the mother when it opened back in '98. He was in a pretty good mood and showed off a bit for the cameras.
IMG_1525 by tommypei, on Flickr

The cute little baby! Hard to believe how gigantic he'll be someday soon.
IMG_1536 by tommypei, on Flickr

I'm not ashamed to admit that we're both a bit too nauseated by roller coaster to ever do Everest, but here's a shot of the mount nonetheless.
IMG_1543 by tommypei, on Flickr

The Yeti Palace Hotel. Wonder if it'll ever open?
IMG_1552 by tommypei, on Flickr

A quick coffee break next to some long abandoned farm machinery
IMG_1554 by tommypei, on Flickr

Hi there!
IMG_1563 by tommypei, on Flickr

 

[abzoo]

Great pictures! I especially like the ones from Festival of Fantasy (the one with Flynn on the Tangled float is an awesome shot) and the gorilla photos are great as well!