Trip Report A Not-So-Scary, Food & Wine, Fantastically Fall Week at WDW! *Updated 11/28*

Greetings everyone! Welcome to my very first TR! I am really excited to share our amazing week at WDW with all of you! I was sitting at work this morning thinking of Disney and then thought about how I still have not started my TR! So I quickly signed on to the DIS and then realized...I will not have access to any of my pictures! So I decided, thats OK! I will do a little background on me, since I am still fairly new here. So here it goes...

My name is Dawn and I live in Buffalo, NY. Yes, we do have pretty cold winters, but I love it! The cold is nice and the snow is beautiful, and I love winter clothing! Along with being a Disneyholic, I also play hockey for a Women's team in the area called the Buffalo Regals. We have been to Nationals in California which was a great trip (sadly, I did not have much vacation time so I could not extend my vacation and go to Disneyland). I am married to my best friend, Dan, who puts up with my Disney craziness. Don't let him fool you though, because he is starting to become quite the Disney enthusiast himself!

We took the plunge and are in the process of becoming DVC members! We bought a resale contract with our home resort being AKL! We are super excited at the thought that when we go next year we will be staying in one of the DVC villas! It is very surreal!

The first time I walked down the middle of Main St., USA was in 2001. I was instantly hooked. I may have been fourteen, but I felt like I was a little kid again! All the Disney movies that I grew up with came to life in a way I never even dreamed of! After that, we visited in 2002, 2006, and 2009. Times they were a changing, and WDW would take on a whole new meaning to me and become even more magical in 2012! It was not only my first time staying on property, but my now husband, Dan, proposed to me! We went to the wishing well near Cinderella Castle for what I thought was a photo-op, it turned into the greatest proposal a lady like me could ask for! We then went back in 2014 for our “Disneymoon” in December, waiting six looooooong months after our wedding in June 2014.

My Disney love increased ten-fold that year, as I could not believe how wonderful Christmas time is in the Magic Kingdom! It gave us the feeling that we would never outgrow this magical place, a place we now deem our second home! Every time we are there now, we imagine what it will be like when we have children of our own and are taking them for their first time. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves! We like having our time at the moment!

(Stay tuned for...Introductions)​

 

[lostpro9het]

We took the plunge and are in the process of becoming DVC members! We bought a resale contract with our home resort being AKL! We are super excited at the thought that when we go next year we will be staying in one of the DVC villas! It is very surreal! ​

Excellent choice!

Following along.

 

[DawnaldDuck]

Excellent choice!

Following along

Thank you for joining in! We knew we would be going back every year so DVC seemed like a good fit for us!

 

[DawnaldDuck]

INTRODUCTIONS

Hello everyone! As I had mentioned, this is my very first TR, so feel free to make suggestions and tell me what you think! If you are just joining in on our adventure, I will give a rundown on the particulars of our October 2015 trip!

Who will be staring in this TR?

My Husband, Dan and Me, Dawn!

Dan's Disney Favorites include: Trail's End Restaurant for breakfast, Boo to You Parade, Hallowishes, Star Tours, Toy Story Midway Mania, Sci-Fi Diner, Buzz Lightyear, Goofy, Osborne Family Lights, MVMCP, MNSSHP, and Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade.

Dawn's Disney Favorites include: Donald Duck, The Little Mermaid, Magic Kingdom, MVMCP, Osborne Family Lights, MNSSHP, Trail's End Restaurant for breakfast, Tonga Toast, Mickey Ice Cream Sandwiches, Expedition Everest, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, planning vacations, exploring resorts, meeting fun CM's and people from all over that come together at WDW!

Dan and I stayed at Art of Animation Resort from October 3-9, 2015. We stayed in the Little Mermaid standard rooms.

We enjoyed MVMCP so much last year to get us in the Christmas spirit, so it was time to take a trip during the fall to celebrate my second favorite holiday, Halloween! We attended MNSSHP and ate our way through WS at Epcot for F&W! We had such a great time...despite the lovely head cold I got while there. But I knew I had to "just keep swimming"...I was in Disney after all! All this and more to come!

(Continue to..."Real Life Update")​

 

[DawnaldDuck]

REAL LIFE UPDATE

I interrupt your currently scheduled TR...for a little real life update...that just so happens to be Disney related!

WE HAVE A NEW COUNTDOWN!!! 43 DAYS!!!!!!!

We will be in Disney World December 12 - 14!! Yup! Thats right! We are going to Disney just for the weekend! We couldn't miss seeing The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights one last time before they discontinue it! And while we are there, we will be fitting in another favorite, MVMCP!!!!

We will be staying at POP Century and my mother-in-law and father-in-law are going to be joining us!

We can't wait!

This was Dan and I at MVMCP in December 2014!

(Continue to..."Away We Go!")​

 

[lostpro9het]

WE HAVE A NEW COUNTDOWN!!! 43 DAYS!!!!!!!

We will be staying at POP Century and my mother-in-law and father-in-law are going to be joining us! ​

We'll just miss you! That's my favorite of the values too!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Following along!!!
How wonderful that you get to go back in December!

 

[DawnaldDuck]

Following along!!!
How wonderful that you get to go back in December!

Thanks for joining in! We are super excited, even if it is just for the weekend!

 

[DawnaldDuck]

AWAY WE GO!!!

I woke up with a soundtrack in my head, "Zip - a - dee - do - dah, Zip - A - Dee - Ay, My oh my what a wonderful day"! The day was finally here! We were going to DISNEY WORLD!!! We were all packed up and ready to go. I just had some last minute toiletry items that I needed that morning to add to my suitcase, got dressed, and was anxiously awaiting my mom to pick us up so we could head to the airport.



Buffalo/Niagara Internation Airport is just a short twenty minute drive from our house, and there was not traffic given that it was 5:30AM. Our flight was at 7:50AM so we made sure we were there by 5:50AM because security at our airport can get busy, even so early in the morning. We went to the Southwest desk to check our luggage, and made our way to security. The security line was quite long as a large tour group was headed somewhere and they all come to the security line at the same time as us. I looked at Dan and said, "The first line we will wait in this trip!" He got a good chuckle out of that one! My biggest pet peeve with security is the people who do not take their bins off the belt and just leave them there! I do not understand why it is super imperative for people to dress and repack their belongings in line! Why can't they just take their bin to the lovely tables that are provided and get situated? I guess I will never know! LOL!


We went to a little restaurant in the airport for some breakfast and coffee. Sorry no pictures of the breakfast, at this point I was starving. Dan and I both got an egg and cheese breakfast sandwich on a croissant. It was pretty good, and they had fairly good coffee too.


We waited by the gate until we were able to board. We got "Early-Bird Check-In" where Southwest Airlines will check you in before the twenty-four hour mark and you get "A" boarding most of the time. We liked this a lot this trip because we were able to sit in the fourth row of the plane, making our escape to get to DME that much easier!

AWAYYYYYY WEEEE GOOOO!

I put on my head phones and watched some "Pitch Perfect 2" on my lap top. I also had started "Frozen" and got about half way through when we were starting our descent into Orlando! After we made it to the gate, we were off the lane in not time! Did I mention I LOVE "Early-Bird Check-In"? :smooth: When we got up the ramp we saw the glorious signs for DME! We were out of the gate and made our way to the "Fake - o - Rail"!

Since I now know MCO like the back of my hand...well...at least the route down to DME, we made it effortlessly down to "B" side, Level1!

We waited only about 5-10 minutes. I honestly cannot remember because I was playing along with the trivia on "DME TV". Disney does have a great way of distracting you from the time! We were soon boarding the DME!!

After boarding we were shortly on our way to WDW!! We watched the new and definitely not improved DME video, and soon we were approaching those pearly
gates! You know...those ones...

...The ones I can never get a very good photo of, but this time it was not terrible. Soon after passing the best archway in existence, we were pulling in to AoA!

(Continue to..."We Made It!" Day 1, Part 1)​

 

[DawnaldDuck]

WE MADE IT!! Day 1- Part 1

After not such a long distance under the beautiful gates, we had pulled up at Disney's Art of Animation resort!!

I had done online check-in, so I had received a text message on the bus that our room was not ready yet. No biggie! We decided to hit Landscape of Flavors and have some lunch. I had the create-your-own pasta with penne, chicken and shrimp with Alfredo sauce. I also had a chocolate croissantDan had gotten a burger. We also picked out our Rapid Refill mugs.

It was around 12:30 when we finished and still no room text. We refilled our mugs again and walked around to explore the resort. This was our first time here so we were very excited to take it all in!

We went through to the Cars section...

Then back through the Finding Nemo section...

We made our way over to The Lion King section...

And last but not least, The Little Mermaid Section!

All the details of this resort are just amazing! It is quite unique. We sat by the "Flippin' Fins Pool", since we were staying in The Little Mermaid section, to see if we would get a room ready text, but no luck. I was getting antsy and wanted to get to Magic Kingdom! I changed into my park clothes, we stored our carry-ons with Bell Service, and we headed toward the bus stops! MK Here we come!

(Stay tuned for...."Away we go, it's a Festival of Fantasy" Day 1, Part 2)​

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Can't wait to read more!

 

[EmmieSue]

Can't wait to read more! I do have a question for you though. How is the Buffalo airport? Is it easy to find your way around and such? I'm right between Buffalo and Rochester and usually fly out from Rochester, but Buffalo has better flight times for my upcoming trip. It's my first time flying alone and I wanted Rochester because I knew my way around, but there is only one non stop flight and it's crazy early and I am meeting up with my gf in Disney who will be getting in later at night.

Also you're awesome. Not only do you love Disney, but you love the cold we get in this area and you play hockey. xD

 

[dukeaboy]

That's a great Halloween pic...

 

[DawnaldDuck]

Can't wait to read more! I do have a question for you though. How is the Buffalo airport? Is it easy to find your way around and such? I'm right between Buffalo and Rochester and usually fly out from Rochester, but Buffalo has better flight times for my upcoming trip. It's my first time flying alone and I wanted Rochester because I knew my way around, but there is only one non stop flight and it's crazy early and I am meeting up with my gf in Disney who will be getting in later at night.

Also you're awesome. Not only do you love Disney, but you love the cold we get in this area and you play hockey. xD

Thank you for joining in on the fun! Buffalo airport is very easy to navigate. It is not very big so there are only 2 wings where the gates are. The parking areas are all very close as well!

Thank you! Winter time in our area is just so pretty! Even more so in the North Country...around Lake Placid. We love it up there!

 

[LilWalt]

Following along! And how lucky to be able to get to go right back after only being home for such a short time.

 

[EmmieSue]

Thank you for joining in on the fun! Buffalo airport is very easy to navigate. It is not very big so there are only 2 wings where the gates are. The parking areas are all very close as well!

Thank you! Winter time in our area is just so pretty! Even more so in the North Country...around Lake Placid. We love it up there!

Sounds like Buffalo might be my best bet then! Supposedly we are in for a round of lake effect snow starting Saturday night. Lol. Yes! We always take a weekend trip up there each winter. It is beautiful!

 

[DawnaldDuck]

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

"Away We Go, It's a Festival of Fantasy!"
October 3, 2015
Day 1 Part 2

We made it to the bus stop outside of AoA and got into the MK line. We did not have to wait long, because a bus was approaching after about 5 minutes. We were the only ones in line for the bus and we found it kid of strange, but it was 2PM after all. When we got on the bus and since nobody was on the bus but us, the driver waited for a little while. NO ONE CAME! We had our own private chariot to escort us to MK on our first day in WDW!

it was crazy! Just empty! Hmmm...would this be the only time this trip?

In a few minutes, we were pulling up into the MK bus stops. The famous big band sound of "Mickey Mouse, Mickey Mouse" signaled that we were finally there! I always get super excited when the play the little melody for each park on DTS, but it is magnified about 10 times when we are approaching MK!

We made our way to the front of the park and soon we were gazing at the train station. Oh my goodness! WE ARE HERE!!!

We made our way through bag check, touched Mickey to Mickey at the tapstyles, and proceed past this wonderful sign.

After we left the real world behind and stepped forward towards yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy, we took a slow walk in and up Main Street taking in all the sights and sounds. There is nothing quite like being in MK and hearing the music. It transports you. And then you see the majesty that is Cinderella Castle and you know that no other view will compare to this. Not only does it bring on a slew of memories, but it is the hope for more memories! We stopped and took a few PP+ photos with a really great Main Street photographer.

With 3:00 approaching, I knew that there was something on my to do list...or "Disney Bucket List" for this trip that was coming up! Last year we did not see Festival of Fantasy so we were excited to finally check it out! We scoped out a spot in front of The Bakery....erm....Starbucks and Dan saved our spot while I went on a mission for a tasty, frozen, caffeinated beverage. Nothing like enjoying a delicious mocha frapp on Main Street!

We finished our drinks and soon after the Grand Marshall of the parade was coming by. I absolutely loved FoF and I am so glad that we made sure to see it this trip! The floats were very imaginative and amazingly magical. Every single one! I would post a bunch of FoF pictures...since a took A LOT! But i will spare you a bit by posting my favorite float of them all. The most well thought out and creative...

LOOK AT THAT!!! The spinning wheel is the driving force behind the Maleficent float! Now that is amazing! Disney Imagineering at its finest!

(Continued in Next Post..."Meet Sulley...He is Super Nice I Swear")​

 

[DawnaldDuck]

"Meet Sulley...He is Super Nice I Swear!"
October 3, 2015
Day 1, Part 3

After shedding tears of magical joy at FoF, I gathered myself and we made our way towards the hub. We explored some of the new gardens and made our way into Tomorrowland. We had a FP+ for Space coming up at 4:50, so in the mean time we headed to Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor!

I love this attraction. It is super cute, corny, and funny! All good attributes in my book! They did not use the joke I had text in...again...but Dan was chosen to be the part of Sulley when Sam and Ella (the two headed monster) told the story of Monstropolis! It was super funny! I didn't even snap a picture of Dan on the screen because I was laughing so much! :rotfl:I told him that it was because he has a fuzzy face, and we laughed about it for the rest of the night. I now call him Sulley sometimes out of the blue! (hmm...would he be Sulley just once this trip?)

After laughing it up with Mike Wazowski, we headed for our travels through space!

I love Space Mountain! There is something about not knowing where you are going and being whipped around like crazy that makes me giggle the entire time! Dan always laughs at me.

After an exhilarating journey through space, we decided to hop on the People Mover. Such a relaxing view of the park.

"Paging Mr. Marrow. Mr. Tom Morrow."

After taking a stroll around Tomorrowland, we decided that since we had some time before our Peter Pan FP+, we would take a spin on the Teacups at a Mad Tea Party with Alice. Dan does not do much spiny rides because he gets a touch of motion sickness, so it was a slow spin. I don't want a sick hubby on my hands!

After having a spot of tea, we went deeper into Fantasyland and headed to Philharmagic. I always love this show because not only does it go through about 5 Disney classic films, but it also features Donald Duck! My favorite! He is super cute and funny! After traveling through some classics to help Donald retrieve Mickey's Sorcerers hat, we went to Peter Pan. I still did not get to see the new queue since we had FP+, maybe next time we can go through earlier in the morning. Neverland was awesome as usual, and Peter Pan prevailed!

We were thinking it would be a good time for a snack so we went back into Tomorrowland for one of these babies...

Yummy!

We then decided that we would go and pick up our "Death Certificates" and Gracie Manor.

We made our way back towards Fantasyland stopping to observe the Tangled Inspired restrooms.

We do not discriminate against classic rides, so we hopped on It's a Small World. Then, it was off to work we go...in the mines (in the mines)! Our Seven Dwarfs Mine Train FP+ was here. We like riding it much better at night.

By this time we were super, super tired! We had been up since 4AM and we were running low on energy. It was EMH this night to, and shamefully we headed back to the bus at 11PM...instead of staying until 3AM. I was really upset that I could not just get it together and last the rest of the night, but we had another night at MK with EMH and did not want to start off the trip exhausted. So we headed back to our room. It took forever to get on a bus back to AoA and it was not until 12:30AM that we made it to our room door.

I went to open the door...red blinky light! WHAT!! NOOOOOOO!
Dan went to open the door....red blinky light! WHAT! NOOOOOOO!!!!

So we began the trek back to the main building from The Little Mermaid section. We were good to go within moments and then had to trek all the way back.

I went to open the door....GREEN LIGHT! WE ARE IN!!!

We quickly explored the room, but very soon after, we were falling asleep to Stacey telling us the "Must Do's".

(Stay Tuned for Day 2..."There Doesn't Seem to be Any Track")​