Trip Report I must have WDW fever!? (completed)

Hey WDWMagic friends! My name is Kim and I've never attempted to write a trip report before. I do read them all the time, and appreciate them so much between trips. I thought I would try and return the favor. It was also a fantastic trip and I would love to relive it once again. I've been home less than 2 weeks and miss it terribly!

I have to explain the title, "I must have WDW fever". I have had a fever for over a year now that just won't go away! I guess the official name would be Fever of Unknown Origin. This trip was first scheduled for January, then moved to April. I kept rescheduling in hopes that I would be fever free in time to visit Mickey. No such luck. I also had a surgery in between and had to recover from that. Our annual passes were set to expire on July 1st and we needed to go before that. That made this trip from June 22 - July 1st. Yep, I waited for summer in Florida to go with a fever.

Trip:
June 22 - July 1st
2 nights at Port Orleans - Riverside (Royal Room) & 7 nights at Pop Century

Who:
My mom (Barb) & I (Kim)

We both look forward to these trips! It is really perfect because we get along so well and pretty much enjoy the same things.

I hope you'll enjoy reading about our time at the Most Magical Place on Earth!

 

[disneypearl]

The pic of you on Dumbo is pretty cool.

I saw Fantasmic for the first time earlier this year. I was blown away! Absolutely loved it! Although I've seen a thread on here where it seems not everyone feels the same about it. I haven't seen any of the other parks shows (just some fireworks) and can't wait to get another chance in November. If they're anything like Fantasmic, I can't wait!

Also loved FOTLK. I thought it was amazing and very well done. Can't wait to see it again.

Thanks for the tip about viewing Wishes from the side of the castle. I'm keeping that in mind. That and the build your own Droid at Tatooine Traders. I love Star Wars but didn't get a chance to explore the shop. Looking forward to it in November.

I'm following along, can't wait to hear more!

Thank you! I think you are going to love the other nighttime shows. The fireworks are amazing!! I don't think you can see Wishes from that walkway. They may have that area closed off during the fireworks. I saw the projection show, Celebrate The Magic, in that spot. There are a lot of good spots to see Wishes though. The bridge to Tomorrowland, Main Street USA, or even Fantasyland is good. All different ways to see them.
Have fun in November! It'll be here soon!

 

[disneypearl]

June 27 continued

We saw the real lions on Kilimanjaro Safaris so it seemed like a good time to go and celebrate with the Festival of the Lion King. This was our only day at Animal Kingdom so we needed to make sure we saw what we wanted to. That meant seeing a few things twice which isn't a bad thing at all. So off the Harambe Theater once again.

Let's hear it for the Tumble Monkeys!

Bye Pumba, see you next visit.

After this we decided to go back and get some of the treats we saw earlier at the new Zuri Sweet Shop. I guess the sweets we saw earlier were popular because they were now sold out. We were so disappointed about this. We had planned on getting a monkey caramel apple and giraffe cookie. Both gone. This just shows how park specific treats are a popular thing! That mistake about getting a good treat later will not happen again.

Now that our minds were on eating we decided that dinner would be good. I know that WDW pizza isn't everyone's favorite but we really enjoy it. With pizza sounding good we went to Pizzafari. The park was close to closing and it was really empty in there so it was so quiet.

After our dinner we left Animal Kingdom. It was our plan to go for a quick swim at Pop and then go to another park. Once we got back to our room we started to feel pretty tired. My mom and I walked to get some Diet Cokes to drink and sat and rested for a little while.

We went to the pool and found it a little too hard to get out. It was a nice night and the pool was too much fun to leave. We ended up staying by the pool much longer than we planned and never made it to another park. That was probably good though because tomorrow was another Magic Kingdom day and we wanted to be ready for it!

 

[KaraJoy73]

Ah, I should have re-read your post and proofread my own. Thanks for the clarification though.
Can't wait to read more!

 

[MRGEFF]

June 27 continued

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We went to see It's Tough to be a Bug and enjoyed it as always. There are so many fun parts to this show. This is one of my favorite Pixar films. I would like to put this picture up in my bathroom but haven't done it yet.
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This is one of the few times during the trip that my fever started to bother me a little. I was happy that there was a little place to sit while I waited for the show to start. It was even okay with me that it was by some of the dung.
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We wandered around a little to decide what we wanted to do next. We saw Russell and Dug on their way to their meet and greet. The line was pretty long so we kept going. Up is another great Pixar movie.
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We figured that Kilimanjaro Safaris would be fun to do again. We started heading that way and stopped for some water before our ride in Africa. I really love how any place you go to will happily give you some ice water. That saved me quite a bit of money this trip.
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Kilimanjaro Safaris in the heat of the day didn't seem too promising but it proved to be a good ride. We got pretty lucky with our animal viewing once again! The wait for the ride was pretty short too!
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I've never seen this Baobab tree with leaves yet!
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Baby Giraffes
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Thirsty Cheetah (or maybe hungry?)View attachment 106861
The lions were awake and enjoying the day.
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We didn't walk the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail or the Maharajah Jungle Trek this trip. I feel a little bad about it but it was just too hot I guess. We always do them but we decided to wait until next time. We did get to see many animals on Kilimanjaro Safaris so we were happy with that.

My favorite animals are the big cats and your pictures of them look great. If you get to meet and greet Russell and Dug next trip,
Dug really gets down with the belly rubs.

 

[disneypearl]

Ah, I should have re-read your post and proofread my own. Thanks for the clarification though.
Can't wait to read more!

Thanks

My favorite animals are the big cats and your pictures of them look great. If you get to meet and greet Russell and Dug next trip,
Dug really gets down with the belly rubs.

Yes, I love them too and was so happy I could quickly get them on camera and focused on time. Beautiful animals.
I will make sure to see Russell and Dug next trip!

 

[disneypearl]

June 28

Today was another Magic Kingdom day! We managed to collect a total of 9 Fastpass+ reservations during the day and even made time for a meet up with some friends of mine from work! It was a busy but very wonderful day! We arrived in typical fashion of just missing the Welcome Show, but maybe next time. I really love the Welcome Show but boy is it hard to get there on time.

Main Street USA was already busy with people looking forward to having a fun day. There were a few of the Main Street vehicles out and about today. We were really lucky and were offered an opportunity to sit in the drivers seat of the Fire Engine. My mom and I were so happy and of course jumped at the opportunity! My mom even honked the horn but I didn't think of it on my turn.

The first ride we went to was Peter Pan's Flight. Now we never do this without a Fastpass because of the long wait but it was early, and we wanted to see the new queue. So off to Peter Pan's Flight we went with no Fastpass. It was worth it! The line was about 30 minutes long but the line seemed to go fast with all the new things to look at. I really thought it was well done! It was fun looking for Tinker Bell shadows and things. Lots of good details.

We enjoyed our ride in our pirate ship. I wish I could have one of those pirate ships in my house!
We decided it was time for one of our favorite breakfasts. Those cinnamon rolls at Gaston's Tavern are so delicious! The LeFou's Brew is really good too! I wish I knew how to make it at home. We took our time eating and enjoyed Gaston's decorating and listened to the music. It does feel like you could be in the movie.

After eating our power breakfast we started off in the direction of Under the Sea - Journey of The Little Mermaid. We stopped into Bonjour! Village Gifts and I saw something that I really would love to have. I don't know why I didn't buy him but I wish I would have. Isn't this Beast adorable!

Maurice had some popcorn for sale. It's too bad I was full because I would have loved some! Disney popcorn is so good and I didn't get enough of it this trip.

We made it to Under The Sea and had another nice time enjoying the scenes from the movie. Such a happy ride that's it's hard to not sing along, so we do.

 

[ColoradoEquestrian]

Awesome drivers seat photos in front of the castle!

 

[disneypearl]

Awesome drivers seat photos in front of the castle!

Thank you!

 

[disneypearl]

June 28 continued

It was time for our first Fastpass+ of the day. It was for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and it was a good Fastpass to have. We really like this ride and am happy I discovered the front is easier for me to enjoy. I asked for a seat near the front and my request was granted with no problem at all. I love how the cast members are so nice and helpful.

Does everyone else sing the Heigh-Ho part in the mine? That part of the ride is so perfect!

We next went to go see Mickey's PhilharMagic. Normally when we see this the wait to get into the concert hall seems long on our tired feet. We discovered a trick quite a few years ago that has become our traditional waiting place. Even though our legs were feeling fine we couldn't break with tradition. This is a perfect leaning/resting spot and I don't mind sharing this with all my WDWMagic friends.

After Mickey's PhilharMagic we walked around a little bit not sure what we really had time to do. We had a lunch reservation scheduled soon at the Plaza that we didn't want to be late for. We slowly walked that way taking in the sight and sounds.

The Dream Along With Mickey castle show was going so we stopped and watched that for a little while. This is a nice show and we enjoyed what we were able to see. I have this show on a CD that when you listen to it, it brings you right back to the park. I love all my WDW CDs and wish they would make more. It would be nice if they made one that had the Festival of Fantasy and Celebrate the Magic on it. Maybe someday they will.

Before our lunch at the Plaza we had one more thing we wanted to do. We wanted to enjoy the new area of the Hub when it wasn't too busy. We both agreed that they did a nice job with the new Hub. The area is very beautiful!

 

[disneypearl]

June 28 continued

It was time for our dining reservation at The Plaza Restaurant. It's always hard to decide which restaurants to make reservations to when planning a trip. We hadn't been to The Plaza in a long time and I was really wanting to get back. My mom is always good with whatever I plan. The Plaza has a great menu and is very pretty inside. It is well worth a reservation.

My mom ordered the Grilled Chicken Sandwich and I had the Angus Chuck Cheeseburger on a Kaiser roll with bacon. The Grilled Chicken Sandwich came with ham and swiss on it. Both very good! I had the homemade chips with mine and my mom went with French fries. The chips were so good that I would go back for just them!

This was our view out of the window. Now, how can a view be better than that? We missed a hard rainfall while we were eating. It was nice to be out of the rain while enjoying a delicious meal. It didn't rain for long however and the temperature didn't get any lower with the rain.

This morning when we first entered the Magic Kingdom we saw a beautiful horse pulling a trolley car. It was such a beauty that I took a picture of it.

After lunch we walked Main Street USA to enjoy the sights. I walked over to the barn area by the barber shop and looked in. I saw the beautiful horse once again, only this time getting some good rest. I love how they take great care of him. He had two fans going on him and seemed to enjoy this. I was actually a little jealous of those fans.

We went to Adventureland so we could ride The Magic Carpets of Aladdin. We hadn't ridden this in awhile so we thought it was time. It was decided that my mom would ride in the front while I took charge of the back. The line was pretty short and it didn't take to long to board our carpet.

 

[disneypearl]

June 28 continued

After riding The Magic Carpets of Aladdin we walked past Pirates of the Caribbean. It was a really weird feeling having this ride down for refurbishment this trip. This is one of our very favorites and we did miss riding it. I am very happy it is getting some maintenance and look forward to hearing about what is different or in better shape. We were on our way to another one of our favorites. Splash Mountain was our next Fastpass+. We got the back seat of the log and were on our way to our laughing place. This is a great ride!

Looks like we had fun and found our laughing place.

We decided that we were ready for a sweet snack so we wandered over to the General Store Candies shop. My mom picked a bag of cotton candy to share while I got some candy bananas. I was only planning on getting a few but they come out fast! That's okay because I'm still enjoying them. I am having them last by only eating about 2 or 3 a day.

We sat on that bench in the corner and enjoyed some of the cotton candy. It was shady and was nice to sit there and relax.

The Liberty Square Riverboat was our next ride. This is something we hadn't done in a few years. The Liberty Bell was so nice and it transports you to another time. This is a peaceful break in the day and makes you slow down. There is so much to see as well.

Is this the ladder you are supposed to swim to if the Liberty Bell goes down? How deep is the Rivers of America?

Staying in Liberty Square we went over to see The Hall of Presidents. It would be hard not to feel patriotic coming out of this.

 

[fractal]

Thanks for the Philharmagic tip! I've never saw where they keep the horses; you're right - beautiful animal.

It's been so long since we've been on the Liberty Belle. Marking it down for next trip.

 

[FlaggNL]

Thanks, your trip is getting really close now!

And it's getting closer by the day Even got the FP+ now

 

[MRGEFF]

June 28 continued

After riding The Magic Carpets of Aladdin we walked past Pirates of the Caribbean. It was a really weird feeling having this ride down for refurbishment this trip. This is one of our very favorites and we did miss riding it. I am very happy it is getting some maintenance and look forward to hearing about what is different or in better shape. We were on our way to another one of our favorites. Splash Mountain was our next Fastpass+. We got the back seat of the log and were on our way to our laughing place. This is a great ride!
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Looks like we had fun and found our laughing place.
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We decided that we were ready for a sweet snack so we wandered over to the General Store Candies shop. My mom picked a bag of cotton candy to share while I got some candy bananas. I was only planning on getting a few but they come out fast! That's okay because I'm still enjoying them. I am having them last by only eating about 2 or 3 a day.
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We sat on that bench in the corner and enjoyed some of the cotton candy. It was shady and was nice to sit there and relax.
View attachment 107525The Liberty Square Riverboat was our next ride. This is something we hadn't done in a few years. The Liberty Bell was so nice and it transports you to another time. This is a peaceful break in the day and makes you slow down. There is so much to see as well.
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Is this the ladder you are supposed to swim to if the Liberty Bell goes down? How deep is the Rivers of America?
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Staying in Liberty Square we went over to see The Hall of Presidents. It would be hard not to feel patriotic coming out of this.
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Continuing to enjoy your TR. Funny you mentioned Disney CD's. When we drive to and from the airport for our WDW trips, we always
play the WDW official album music to get us in the mood (Yeah, like we really need music to get in the mood) .

 

[disneypearl]

Thanks for the Philharmagic tip! I've never saw where they keep the horses; you're right - beautiful animal.

It's been so long since we've been on the Liberty Belle. Marking it down for next trip.

Yes, you should ride the Liberty Belle on your next trip! It is time well spent.

And it's getting closer by the day Even got the FP+ now

Your trip will be here soon!

Continuing to enjoy your TR. Funny you mentioned Disney CD's. When we drive to and from the airport for our WDW trips, we always
play the WDW official album music to get us in the mood (Yeah, like we really need music to get in the mood) .

I love to listen to my WDW CDs when a trip is getting close. Riding to the airport listening is great but on the way home is a little more sad.

 

[disneypearl]

June 28 continued

Our next Fastpass+ reservation was for Peter Pan's Flight. So off to Never Land we went!

After Peter Pan's Flight we went and saw what Fastpass options were left. We saw that there was one for the Haunted Mansion that would be active in 5 minutes. We took it and by the time we got there it was active.

I love the Haunted Mansion. Afterwards we went into the Memento Mori shop to look around. Surprisingly we didn't get anything even though there are so many nice things here. I was amused by the photos you can get of yourself that changes your face into a ghostly spirit. I wasn't sure how I felt about getting one of myself. I decided that I wasn't ready to see that. & It would be an amazing Halloween decoration to hang up though. Maybe next time.

We went back to see about getting a new Fastpass. There was one for "it's a small world" so we went ahead and took it. It was also ready as soon as we walked there. You really wouldn't need a Fastpass but it did help a little with the wait. Good enough.

After our happy cruise we left to see if we would have continued luck with Fastpasses. We did because there was one coming up for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in a little while. We had time to squeeze in another ride before this next Fastpass+ so we went over to New Fantasyland. We went over to get another ride on Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid. It was very close to being a walk on so that was good.

Because we were able to walk on Under the Sea we still had some time. We decided to go and get some ice water to cool off. On our way over I found a pin laying under some bushes. It was pretty dirty but still had it's back attached to it. I cleaned it off and put it on my hat.

It is hot in the summertime at WDW but Disney does a great job with keeping you hydrated. The ice water was very cold and we sat there a little while enjoying our drinks. My mom had 2 cups and I drank 3. It was a good break.

 

[disneypearl]

June 28 continued

It was time for the wildest ride in the wilderness! My mom loves this ride and I like it. I would love it but it gives me a pressure headache feeling after I get off of it. I asked for a set near the front and was once again granted my request. We had fun and I was glad we rode it. We just about laughed the whole time!

The claustrophobic part of the line. Good thing this part is quick!

Our next stop was to get something to eat! We were getting pretty hungry for dinner so we went to Tomorrowland for a visit with Sonny Eclipse.

My mom was trying to express her hunger in this photo but ended up laughing instead.

We both got a kids meal order of chicken nuggets with fries and grapes. They were good and we enjoyed the comedy and music of Sonny Eclipse while we ate.

After dinner we went and got another Fastpass+ reservation. We got one for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. We walked over to it and were able to walk right on. This is a fun ride but my mom always beats me. It's really funny because I always win on Midway Mania and my mom always wins on Space Ranger Spin.

We take this competition seriously! Look at our determination!

 

[disneypearl]

June 28 continued

We stayed in Tomorrowland after riding on Buzz and went over to the TTA PeopleMover. This ride is perfect at all times of the day. I love how it takes you on a nice tour of Tomorrowland.

Everyone else rests their feet on this too, right?

Now approaching Mickey's Star Traders... This always makes me think I want to go shopping.

After our ride on the TTA I got a text from a friend from work. They were park hopping over to the Magic Kingdom to see the Main Street Electrical Parade. This was their first trip to WDW but she had been many years ago. I had talked with her a lot about her questions and plans. It seems like everyone at work knows about my love of WDW so I was happy she asked to talk to me about it. I was really excited to be able to share some Disney time with friends.

We went to Main Street USA to wait for a text from them that they arrived. We got some water in the Main Street Confectionery and wandered around a little while. I love to take balloon pictures so took the opportunity to do so.

I got a text saying that they had arrived. It was getting crowded so they must have passed us by and we didn't see each other. I texted back to find out where they were. They picked an area that was near the castle and my mom and I squeezed in so that we were still in the taped off area. It was so fun to watch the parade with them and we were glad we were able to.

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We said our goodbyes to each other and my mom and I started to make our way back to Tomorrowland. As we were on the bridge to Tomorrowland we heard that Celebrate The Magic was going to be starting. The bridge wasn't crowded so we went up to the railing and decided we would watch.

 

[disneypearl]

June 28 continued

We figured that we might as well and stay on the bridge to Tomorrowland for Wishes. It is another really good spot to see Wishes!

After Wishes we continued on our way back to Tomorrowland. It was time for another ride on the TTA. Like I said earlier there is no bad time for a ride on this. Nighttime can be especially pretty with the lights of Tomorrowland.

After our ride my mom decided she was ready for an ice cream treat and I wanted some more ice water. It had been really hot out today and the humidity and heat were still hanging around. We went to Auntie Gravity's where my mom got a soft-serve cone. She said it was really good and my ice water was perfect as well.

The Mad Tea Party was next. I'd be sitting this one out but my mom was ready for a spin in a teacup. My job was to take a picture of her but it was a little difficult. This one turned out pretty good.

Our next ride was The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. We were happy to see that the line wasn't so bad. This ride is really cute and enjoyable.

We were starting to get tired but weren't ready for the night to end just yet. We picked Splash Mountain for our last ride of the day. On the way over we checked on the progress of the new restaurant in Adventureland. They were working on it even at night!

We made it to Splash and were ready to ride! It looks like we were the only ones still playing in the Magic Kingdom because we were able to walk right on.

 

[disneypearl]

June 29

Today was another Epcot day! I love Epcot and was happy that we had another full day scheduled there. We woke up on time and ate up the last of the breakfast items we had brought with us. I always like to bring things for breakfast because it can be both a time saver and money saver. I do need to get the waffles and cinnamon rolls some mornings though. That would have to be tomorrow.

Hello beautiful Epcot!

It's too hard to pass by Spaceship Earth without riding on it. Fastpass+ has made it easier without having to run to Soarin for them. We had made Fastpass+ reservations for Spaceship Earth. We timed it perfectly because it was our time to ride. We really love this ride.

Hey, my dog Shenzi made it on our Spaceship Earth video!

We thought we might need to do some shopping and our favorite store was nearby. My mom couldn't contain her excitement!

We didn't buy anything but made plans for later. We walked around a little more and enjoyed being there.

We still had some time left to walk around before getting on some more rides. We decided that some free soda would be good. Club Cool is always a good stop to make.