Trip Report Our Fall 2014 Visit to WDW 9/26-10/4

Hello, everyone. I've been a member for a couple of years, but didn't start posting until a few months ago; I was anticipating our trip to WDW, and really enjoyed reading your Trip Reports and viewing all the photos. Thanks! I'll share some of the photos from our recent trip, in the hopes they might help rekindle memories, or build anticipation.

Brief Intro: My DH and I are retired and are DVC members. We live in South Florida, but spend summers in Maine. This trip took place from 9/26 to 10/4, and was our first visit to the Food & Wine Festival. We stayed at Bay Lake Tower for the first two nights, then moved to The Boardwalk Villas for the last five nights. I completed chemo treatments for breast cancer at the end of June, so my stamina was about 70-80% of normal (note- everything is going great, prognosis is good. I only mention it because you might wonder why we seemed to tour at such a relaxed pace).

Arrival Day - we arrived late Friday afternoon at BLT. After getting settled, we explored the resort and visited the Top of the World Lounge. This was a first for us. We enjoyed a glass of wine and a snack - house made chips with gorgonzola.

Later than planned, I took the monorail to the MK for MNSSHP, and took some photos of the Castle Projection Show and Hallowishes. I had a ticket to the Villain's Soirée, but chose not to go to the dessert party. I was disappointed to miss both Boo to You Parades, but there is always next time. The reserved area for the Parade and Fireworks was more crowded at the 9/26 Party than previous ones because it was sold out. I found a good spot to set up my tripod, and even had a seat on a bench.

The spot was great for the Projection Show, but really too close for Hallowishes photos. It was very immersive, even if the bursts show behind the castle. I'll continue with fireworks photos in the next post.

 

[SharonD]

What a lovely day you had! The WAT looked very adventurous, yet relaxing ( if that makes sense) there is something about Animal Kingdom that I just love. It always feels like you have been transported to a whole new Jungke world. Your dinner view was awesome...makes me want try Rose & Crown one day!

I think that is a good description of the WAT - at least for us. It was an adventure, but it was also about giving you time to enjoy the savannah and the animals. Dinner was a winner

 

[SharonD]

Wow! I'm so glad I found your report! Absolutely fantastic pictures and narration. As another poster said, you've captured so many different images of a familiar place to me, but they all seem new and dynamic! Thank you!

Thanks for the nice comment - I'm glad you are enjoying the photos - more to come.

 

[SharonD]

Wow! Your photos continue to take my breath away. WAT looks amazing. I showed your photos to my daughter and she has decided we should do WAT on our next trip. How nice that you got to stretch out your meal and watch Illuminations from your table. I am looking forward to your next post!

I hope you do get to do the WAT, and enjoy it. From reading your recent report, I know your family will have fun whatever you do. Catching Illuminations from Rose & Crown was a total surprise. Next post coming right up.

 

[SharonD]

Our First Visit to the Epcot Food & Wine Festival

We've been coming to Epcot since it first opened, but this was the first time we would be here for Food & Wine. We were looking forward to seeing what it was all about. Unfortunately, none of the special seminars for our week appealed, but I figured there was plenty to do just with the Festival Booths.

I signed us up for the Premium Package, thinking this would make our touring easier, since I wasn't sure how much energy I would have. The promo made it sound like there would be seating in the reserved areas - I found out this wasn't the case before the trip, but kept the Premium Package anyway. The Package was $199 per person, included a lot of goodies, entrance to the After Hours Party ($79 per person if purchased separately), and - most importantly - reserved (non-seating) areas for the Festival, with runners to pick up your food from the kiosks.

We were given our Premium Package Treat Bag when we checked into the Boardwalk on Sunday afternoon. Some photos follow:

The goodies came in a nice insulated bag, which will be useful for picnics or carrying snacks when we travel - note, we received two of everything, including the bags:

We each received a Limited Edition Food & Wine Festival Magic Band:

And, a $50 gift card (good anywhere gift cards are accepted, not just at the Food Booths):

A Chocolate box with truffles:

A souvenir wine glass, and there was also a bottle of Italian Red Wine (a $16.99 value):

The lanyard/badge for the package is huge - and also shows the valid days for the package reserved seating:

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It may seem like we sign up for every Premium Package and Tour available, but the only special event we've ever done previously was the Candlelight Processional. I did go out of my way to try to make this an easy trip.

With the details of the Premium Package out of the way, let's go to Epcot (finally!). We walked over, since it was a nice (but warm) day. We had a Fast Pass+ for Test Track at 10am and enjoyed our ride.

Mission Space was next on the list, but Lou was fighting an ear infection that was affecting his inner ear, so we decided to skip thrill rides for the week. No problem, we easily substituted Space Ship Earth, and had a fun ride into our future:

As we wandered through Future World, we had a celebrity sighting - Hanson had just finished giving an interview and they were doing an impromptu meet and greet:

I had purchased Memory Maker for the trip (something else we don't do unless we have the kids/grandkids with us), and Lou was surprised when I kept making him stop for a photo - he was especially surprised with this one, when he saw I'd removed my buff - it was just too hot for a scarf the whole time:

We stopped for our first snack, and tried the rib eye and shrimp tacos from Mexico. They were OK, not as good as you get at La Hacienda:

This shows the layout of one of the reserved areas - just a few tables, no seating, and one of the runners is bringing back the tacos from Mexico (later in the week, they skipped using the room service carts). Several of the reserved areas did have benches either in, or nearby, the roped off section.

Another Reserved Area near Norway, where we just had a rest and a cold drink:

We stopped in Germany for a pretzel and a beer, and decided we had sampled enough food - it turned out to be very hot, and very humid, so our Festivaling today was shorter than we originally planned. Before going back to The Boardwalk, we stopped in the American Pavillion to see the Voices of Liberty Show, and we also watched the Movie.

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Up Next: An Evening with Monsieur Paul

 

[SharonD]

Dinner at Monsieur Paul

We spent another relaxing afternoon, enjoying the views from our room. We had an 8pm ADR at Monsieur Paul in Epcot, but first we stopped by the Belle Vue Lounge at the Boardwalk for a cocktail. While we were enjoying a glass of wine, a young couple came into the Lounge. They were dressed in their wedding finery, and had just tied the knot. We congratulated them, and Lou sent over champagne (which they seemed to really appreciate). They were waiting for their wedding planner and their ride to dinner.

We took the launch over to the International Gateway, always a pleasant way to get to dinner:

It was raining lightly as we entered Epcot. We had just enough time to watch Impressions de France before dinner:

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We checked in at the restaurant, and were seated right away. As Bistro de Paris, this has always been a favorite for us. I'd read some spotty reviews for Monsieur Paul, and I'd booked here with some trepidation. We were seated at a table by the side window, and fortunately no one was seated at the four top next to us, as it would have been a bit too cosy:

We needn't have worried - dinner turned out to be a very pleasant experience. The food was excellent, the service competent, and the atmosphere enjoyable. Lou started with the tuna tartare, and I chose the goat cheese ravioli - both delicious:

Lou chose the duck for his main course, and is still raving about it - says it's the best he's ever had. I picked the chicken. I give it an A+ for presentation and a B for taste. No complaints, but not something I would order again:

It seemed a shame not to order dessert after such a nice meal, so Lou chose the white chocolate sphere with berries and ice cream inside. I went with the apple tart - oh my, so good!!!!

Completely satisfied with a wonderful dinner, we walked back to the Boardwalk, where there was still some evening activity.

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We called it a night. Disney's Hollywood Studios was on the agenda for tomorrow.

 

[Mom@disney]

Love your dining choices! That meal is making me hungry!

 

[PMC0849]

Hey there Boardwalk buddy! I think you mentioned on my trip report you were there the same time as us. Wild Africa Trek was amazing when we did it in January, the highlight of that whole trip. I wonder what happened to the Crocodiles, we noticed there was only one when we rode the safari ride during this week. I am glad you liked Monsieur Paul, we ate there in January and loved it, maybe some of the negative reviews had to do with working out some of the kinks for a newer place. Can't wait to read more!

 

[SharonD]

Love your dining choices! That meal is making me hungry!

It turned out to be a great meal! Thanks for following along.

Hey there Boardwalk buddy! I think you mentioned on my trip report you were there the same time as us. Wild Africa Trek was amazing when we did it in January, the highlight of that whole trip. I wonder what happened to the Crocodiles, we noticed there was only one when we rode the safari ride during this week. I am glad you liked Monsieur Paul, we ate there in January and loved it, maybe some of the negative reviews had to do with working out some of the kinks for a newer place. Can't wait to read more!

Hi there! I heard the Crocs have been moved to a different area temporarily, but not sure. One of the reasons we did the Trek this time is, I was worried it could change or be temporarily discontinued while they were working at Ak. I'm enjoying your report.


Should have the next trip update posted today.

 

[SharonD]

Day 5; Hollywood Studios and The Littlest Jedi

Tuesday was our day to visit DHS. We left for DHS sometime after 9am, catching the launch for a leisurely ride. Lou had never been to DHS. He always opted to skip previous trips to the Studios, so he really didn't know what to expect.

The Crowd Level for today at DHS was predicted at 1, and that seems about right. Even arriving at 9:30, there was no wait to get in:

Our first FP was for Toy Story Midway Mania. Since this was Lou's first visit to DHS, he had never seen (or heard about) this ride. He was quite taken with the toys in the line, even though you only see a few in the FP queue.

Obviously, we need to focus less on accuracy and more on hitting some targets!!! We both enjoyed the ride.
The scores are particularly embarrassing, because I am an enthusiastic gamer - currently in the process of slaying orcs in The Shadow of Mordor on the Xbox One.​

Next up, we spent quite a bit of time in One Man's Dream, and also watched the movie. We had a FP for Tower of Terror, but agreed to save the thrill rides for next trip. Instead, we walked to the short stand-by line for The Great Movie Ride. I know some find this snoozeville, but I enjoy all of the movie references:

The cast member actually walked down to the ride vehicle and chastised this guy, who had been taking video with his phone the whole ride, with the flash on:

All of the photos from today were taken with the Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 (a new bridge camera I was testing) - I was pleasantly surprised with how well it did, even in darker spots - especially considering I really wasn't yet familiar with all of the controls:

Back outside, the sun was still shining, and it was getting warm, but wasn't too uncomfortable. Star Tours was next, and we had time to watch The Littlest Jedi train before our FP was ready:

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Continued in next post ...

 

[SharonD]

Continuing...

It was now lunch time, and we got to The Brown Derby just before noon. We were able to watch the opening ribbon cutting ceremony, and were seated right away. I'd been here once, a long time ago, but it was another first for Lou. We had an enjoyable lunch - the ambience of the restaurant is nice, the food is good, and the service excellent. Will definitely plan to go back for dinner.

We could see it was raining while we were eating lunch, as the servers for the outside seating area were wearing their rain ponchos. Fortunately, the rain stopped before we ventured outside:

After lunch, we just walked around, did some shopping, and enjoyed the low crowd levels. I knew it was going to rain again, so we didn't attempt any of the outdoor shows.

The boat was just leaving as we arrived to go back to The Boardwalk, and it also started raining again. After a short 7 minute wait, another boat arrived and we were on our way.


Duffy had to sit by himself out in the rainy back seat of the launch:

Duffy enjoyed seeing the Swan & Dolphin, and was happy to see it had stopped raining:

Duffy waved goodbye to the folks getting off at the Yacht & Beach Club:

We had a nice visit to DHS. After exploring the Boardwalk area, we just relaxed for the afternoon, watching it rain off and on from our balcony.


Up Next: Dinner at La Hacienda

 

[kels650]

You are an amazing photographer! I wish I could take pictures like that! AMAZING! Your trip looks like a lot of fun, and you inspired me to surprise my mom with a Wild Africa Trek reservation on our next trip! I have loved reading this trip report! Thank you for sharing!

 

[xStephSaysRawr]

I had Michael for my Keys to the Kingdom tour! Loved him!

 

[SharonD]

La Hacienda - Returning to a Favorite


We had a 7pm ADR for La Hacienda, so left the room at 6pm to catch a launch to Epcot. We usually took the boat over, and walked back. There was still some blue sky peeking out over ESPN:

The sky looked ominous in the other direction, and only got more threatening as we motored to the International Gateway:

The rain held off as we walked into the park. Even though it was the dinner hour, the Festival Kiosks didn't seem too crowded. I snapped a quick shot as we walked towards the UK - I always say I'm going to spend time exploring the back section, but I've yet to do so:

Just as we approached the restaurant, it started to rain. We checked in quickly and waited just a few moments for a table. Dinner was once again very good, and we had a great server - Andie (short for Andrea), made sure we had everything we needed. We had the Queso Fundido appetizer to start, which comes with flour tortillas. We both followed this with the Taquiza Appetizer. This is a selection of three tacos - pork, steak, and chicken, and is one of the best buys at Epcot for under $12.

It was no longer raining when we left the restaurant after another satisfying meal. We strolled through the World Showcase and back to the Boardwalk. Once in our room, I heard fireworks in the distance. I could see some of Wishes to the left, and Illuminations to the right. I quickly propped my camera up on the ledge of the balcony, and took a few photos of Illuminations. It was fun seeing it from our room.

We'd had a good day - a nice visit to Hollywood Studios, a good dinner, and a glimpse of fireworks. We had two more full days left to the trip, so early to bed was the perfect way to end the day.

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Up Next: Back to Epcot
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[SharonD]

You are an amazing photographer! I wish I could take pictures like that! AMAZING! Your trip looks like a lot of fun, and you inspired me to surprise my mom with a Wild Africa Trek reservation on our next trip! I have loved reading this trip report! Thank you for sharing!

Thank you - I bet your Mom will enjoy the Trek!

I had Michael for my Keys to the Kingdom tour! Loved him!

I imagine Michael is an excellent guide for the Keys to the Kingdom tour.

 

[Mom@disney]

Wow! What an amazing view of the fireworks from your balcony. Never knew that existed. Can't wait to hear more

 

[SharonD]

Wednesday, the second to last full day of the trip:


We slept in today, and grabbed some breakfast snacks from the Boardwalk Bakery. It rained during the morning, but started to let up at noon, so we ventured out to Epcot. The arrow in the photo below shows our room location:

We made it on the launch, but as we entered at the IG and headed to France, it started to rain - hard:

The rain let up enough for us to try to get something to eat. We each decided to get the braised beef tips on the potato and leek waffle from Belgium - I should have picked the waffle with whipped cream and chocolate! This was just okay - perhaps the rain dripping on it didn't help the soggy texture.

It's sunny across the way:

You can see how the rain helps to thin the crowds. I think being in the parks in the rain can be a lot of fun at times; wanting to get something to eat at the Festival wasn't the easiest thing for us to do in the rain (but, still kinda fun).

Our next stop was Italy & Poland. One nice thing about the Premium Package was, it made it easy for us to order from different booths. I had the Cheese Ravioli from Italy. Reviews are so so on this, but I really enjoyed it. Lou wanted to try the Kielbasa from Poland - he said this was probably the best item he tried.

Lou waits for his food, and chats with one of the CMs - as I mentioned before, they were all friendly. This photo also shows how some areas had one of the preexisting benches incorporated into the reserved area - it was nice to have a place to sit down.

We moved on to Germany, where Lou had the bratwurst, and I had the donut thingy with apricot filling (it was light and delicious).

I took some more photos as we completed the circle of the World Showcase, but finally put the camera away as it was raining off and on. We said a brief hello to China, Norway, and Mexico, before walking back to the exit. It was raining hard, so I decided we would wait for the launch, and as we waited ... it stopped raining again.

I had Lou take my photo as we waited for the launch. I ordered a couple of Frogg Togg rain ponchos before we left, and they worked great (although Lou just used his Disney umbrella).

It started raining again as we landed at the Boardwalk, and continued off and on for the next few hours:

Once again, we did not set any records. But, visiting 3 different Kiosks is about my limit for food at one mealtime. We were planning on visiting Epcot again the next day for lunch at the Festival.


We had a nice dinner at The Flying Fish, since we decided not to brave the rain on another expedition to Epcot. No photos from dinner - once in a while I give my dining partner a break. Lou had a steak, and I had the crab cake appetizer as my main course - both were delicious.


Up Next - Our Last Day

 

[SharonD]

Our Last Full Day - What Will We Do?

Today was our last day. Epcot with more Food & Wine was on the agenda, but that might change. I started the morning with coffee on the balcony, watching the boats:

I wanted to check out the infamous Clown Pool that creeps out so many people - it was innocuous in the morning sun, and I found it hard to believe the stories of it consuming entire families:

After consultation with my travel partner, we decided to skip Epcot today and go to Magic Kingdom instead. I had hoped to get there yesterday afternoon, but the rain put a damper on that plan. We waited a short time for a bus, and were at the Magic Kingdom before noon:

We spent some time watching the boats (of course!) before entering the park. I was able to secure a lunchtime ADR as we were traveling to the park, so that worked well.

Tony's was a first for us, and I didn't have high expectations. It turned out to be a good choice - it was air conditioned, our server (Anthony) was excellent, and the meals were fine - not exceptional, but good.


I was concerned when we entered because there were lots of people waiting, and Lou wandered over to the shop next door and made a purchase. We were actually seated right away, so that was nice.

What did Lou buy? Could have knocked me over with this - it seems he was developing a fondness for his Magic Band:

Here are some food pics - salad was good, calamari was "ok," and the flatbread hit the spot:

We will most likely go back to Tony's. The convenience of the location and the ambience made it a winner for us. We might be partial to the theme (we have two Cocker Spaniels):

After lunch, we visited the shops along Main Street. The treats at the Confectionary were tempting, but we resisted:

It was a bright, sunshiny day:

 

[SharonD]

Our Last Day - Part II at The Magic Kingdom

The afternoon parade was in progress as we walked down Main Street.

Our first (and probably last ) Memory Maker Castle Shot (we are wearing the same clothes we had on for our Epcot photo - I did do laundry during the week - another advantage of DVC )

We had a FP+ for The Haunted Mansion, and I did want to ride this, since we'd missed out at MNSSHP. As we were walking to the Mansion, we passed the new Gift Shop - they were reportedly doing soft openings, but not while we were there:

We had some time before our next FP+, so it was time to take a cruise on the river.

The next FP+ was ready, and we made our way to a very important meeting. Standby was only 90 minutes, but I was glad we had our FP+:

This pic cracks me up - Lou has NO idea what we are doing, and is trying to figure what lies around the corner. You can also see there was no one else in the FP+ line:

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I am finally going to get some time with Elsa. We had a short wait as a large family was in the process of getting their photo taken in every possible family combination. It was entertaining, because Elsa reached for the hand of the little boy (about 3, I'd guess), and he went screaming from her - trying to run out the door. Once it was our turn, Lou stayed back to take photos. I had a nice chat with Elsa (something about chocolate in the Kingdom - no idea what she was talking about). I asked if she would show me the Ice Power Pose, and she did:

It's the little things that matter, and this completely made my day (also happy to report I've had a hair growth spurt since returning, so Elsa's magic is working).
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We had originally planned to stay for the Festival of Fantasy Parade, but it was hot, hot, hot at this point. I decided Lou had been such a good sport, I would release him from his supervisory duties, and we would go back to the room. We had a 20+ minute wait for the bus.

Going to The Magic Kingdom on our last day cut short our Food & Wine time, but we had fun, so that's what counts.

Up Next: Wrapping it up

 

[pumpkin7]

I am jealous of your photos in the GMR. Try as much as I did, I couldn't get a clear one at all. I gave up in the end and just enjoyed the ride.
Brilliant report though!

 

[Mickey2006]

Still enjoying your beautiful photos!