The "HOLY POOHSTICKS I MISSED THIS" TR 03/11 plus PRE-TR for EPIC DISNEYMOON Aug '12

Hello and Hey-Howdy-Hey! (I posted this in the "Introduce yourself" part, so if you read it, skip this part)
After creeping and stalking all of you on this site, reading other people’s trip reports for quite sometime, I have finally decided to create an ID and do a TR myself.
Let’s give a background first. We are Lauren and Chris, a couple of thirtysomethings who love all things Disney. We got the nickname “lovenerds” as sort of mashup of a couple of nerdy lovebirds, affectionately adapted by my mom. Yeah, we’re cute. (AWWWWWWW.)
I (Lauren) will be doing most of the narrating.
When I was 9 years old, my parents had my brother and I come into our kitchen one evening, and asked us “If you could go anywhere in the WHOLE WORLD, where would it be?” The answer, of course, for a 9 year old and a 6 year old, simultaneously was “Disney World!!!” My mother grinned and said “Well let’s go then!!!” My brother and I were speechless for a moment, but realized that she was serious, that we were to leave the following week to stay with our grandmother at Daytona Beach, and we would visit Disney World while we were down there. I remember jumping up and down screaming, I was so excited! We then ended up going to Florida for three subsequent years: ’89, ’90, and ’91. Each year we stayed with my grandmother in Daytona, and visited Disney World and Universal Studios. These are some of the best memories of my life. The very last year, 1991, my other grandma came along. This is a most sacred memory for me, because she passed away a year and a half later. I remember she actually teared up when she saw Cinderella Castle for the first time, saying “All children should see this.” Her favorite ride was the Haunted Mansion, I remember riding a Doom Buggy with her, and how hard she laughed at the hitchhiking ghosts.

SO, fast forward many years. In between 1991 and 2011 (the next time I visited WDW) I managed to go to both Tokyo Disneyland when I was studying in Japan for summer 2002, and EuroDisney (Now Paris Disneyland) in 2006 while on a Teachers Study program (I’m a French Teacher). While both parks were wonderful, neither can compare to WDW, as all of you know I am sure.

Chris, however, has been going to WDW nearly every year since his birth. At first it was just he, his parents, and his older brother and sister, but then his niece and nephew were born. All of them started going together as a family, and his brother felt it necessary to make their trips easier and more affordable, since they had every intention of continuing their trips every year. Chris’s brother bought into the Disney Vacation Club, and now Chris and his family have stayed at nearly every Disney resort at WDW.

Fast forward again. In 2011, Chris and I decided to take a trip alone together to WDW. Thus here we have arrived to our (very delayed) trip report. But before I start, I wanted to tell all my readers that in August 2011 Chris’s family and I decided to take a trip together to London and Paris. I had never been to London, but being a French teacher, I have been to Paris many, many times, so I enjoyed being “tour guide.” On our first night in Paris, Chris proposed to me on the lawn beneath the Eiffel tower, and our wedding is in only two short months, on August 11, 2012. Two days after our wedding we are taking off for a combined 10-day honeymoon at WDW and on the Disney Dream!!!! We will be staying at the Boardwalk Villas for 2 mights, spending 4 nights on the Dream, then 4 more nights at Wilderness Lodge. THAT will be one HECK of a trip report!!!
OK, on with the show...hope the picture posting works.....
 

lovenerds2012

Active Member
Original Poster
In March 2011, Chris and I took a 5-day trip to WDW, our first time there together, and my first trip there in nearly 20 years. We felt early March was a good time to go because I was on spring break, and it was also conveniently my 31st birthday. YAY!
My birthday is March 5 (as is my dad’s) so we spent that day at my parents’ house.
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We left my parents’ house later that evening to go stay overnight at a friend’s house who lives only a few minutes from the airport. The next morning, we woke at around 5:30 to get ready to be driven by our friend to the airport for our 9:05 flight. We made it safely to the Pittsburgh International Airport between 7 and 7:30. (It was kind of scary, my friend drives really fast to begin with, and since it was early March in Pittsburgh, there was snow and slush all over the road). After checking our luggage (with our Magical Express tags attached of course) we headed off towards our gate. Since we had some time to kill, we stopped at McDonald’s to pick up some breakfast to eat at our gate. I got a lovely Sausage Egg McMuffin and Chris has some hash browns. I had also ordered a cup of coffee, and Chris ordered a cup of hazelnut coffee, but he misunderstood that hazelnut was only available in ICED coffee latte form. He was a bit miffed to be handed a cup of freezing cold coffee, so I agreed to trade him because I personally am up for an iced latte any day, even in January at the North Pole.
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We thought that everything was A-OK, because there didn’t seem to be any delay for our flight, even though the precipitation outside had gone from snow to a kind of sleety wet snow.

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lovenerds2012

Active Member
Original Poster
We boarded on time, and were able to taxi out a little ways, but were then informed that our flight would be leaving about an hour late to allow time for the runway to be cleaned, and for our plane to be de-iced. DE-ICED!!! It was actually kind of cool to watch, these guys came in these arm-like things with a kind of pod on the end, with a hose shaped like a laser gun. PEW-PEW-PEW!!!
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After awhile we started getting bored and anticipating takeoff.

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We FINALLY took off, and two short hours (and two episodes of Doctor Who on the iPad) later we were looking at palm trees! YAAAAAY!

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We got off the plane and headed to the fun little tram thingy that takes you to where the Magical Express boards.

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After getting lost and ending up on the wrong side of the terminal, we finally found the ME and got in line to head to Port Orleans-French Quarter. Mind you, this was my first time at WDW in 20 years as it was ALSO my first time staying on-property, so I was virtually bursting at this point. (Even the misplaced apostrophe on the sign was no object.)

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lovenerds2012

Active Member
Original Poster
After a short wait in line, we boarded the Magical Express.

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There's magical fairy dust on the seat!!!

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We got to watch a lovely little video about the parks on the way there which helped pass the time.

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We stopped at some other hotels, as POFQ wasn’t first in the drop-off order. I didn’t really mind, since I had never seen the other resorts before, besides the monorail resorts, from the monorail itself. Chris took some pictures of the other resorts we stopped at, since he had already stayed at most of them. Here’s Old Key West:

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We arrived at Port Orleans French Quarter, and I thought I had stepped into a palace. This was only a moderate hotel and I thought that it was the most beautiful place I had ever stayed. I can’t wait to see the Boardwalk and Wilderness Lodge come August!!!

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We checked in, and were informed that our room wasn’t ready yet, but we would get a text message when it was. I saw a man handing out beads (It was also Mardi Gras this week-perfect for staying in the French Quarter! More on that later.)

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lovenerds2012

Active Member
Original Poster
We were able to leave our carry-ons with the staff, and just carry the little cinch bags we had brought with us containing the essentials. Our checked luggage was to “magically” appear in our room later on. We took the boat on the Sassagoula River to Downtown Disney, where we were to meet Chris’s friend who had driven up from Tampa to join us for dinner at T-Rex.

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I decided that when I retire I want to be a boat driver at Disney World:

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We arrived at Downtown Disney, met up with Chris’s friend, and perused the Downtown Disney area and shops, including the World of Disney Store. I seriously thought I had died and gone to heaven.

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I wanted to go to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique but I apparently wasn't permitted. AGE LIMIT, SCHMAGE LIMIT!! Still, all this cuteness radiated everywhere.

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lovenerds2012

Active Member
Original Poster
After goofing around in the stores for quite awhile, we were pretty hungry so we headed to T-Rex.

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I personally love the Rainforest Café, and knowing that T-Rex was the same company was enough for me to want to go there. We had a lovely dinner amongst roaring dinosaurs, tropical fish, and even experienced the end of the world every 20 minutes.

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lovenerds2012

Active Member
Original Poster
After dinner, since Chris’s friend had to drive back to Tampa he decided to call it a night so we said our good-byes. Chris wanted to show me a little more of Downtown Disney, and after an hour of walking around, we also decided to call it a night. We had received the text that our room was ready hours before, and when we got back to Port Orleans French Quarter, we didn’t have to worry about going back to get our checked luggage, only the carry-ons we had left at the front desk earlier on. When we got to the room, Chris opened the door, and sitting on the table was this:

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I initially thought it was for Chris, something in connection with his brother’s membership in DVC, but after a closer look I realized it was for me!!! Chris had pre-ordered Mickey for me, complete with candy and a birthday candle!! I can’t even tell you how touched I was! After gushing over my present for quite awhile, I finally started taking pictures of our beautiful (and newly refurbished) room.

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Then we decided to get to sleep, we had been up since 5:30, braved an icy tundra and an airplane, and ran all over Downtown Disney. We wanted to get to the Magic Kingdom at rope drop the next morning, so crash we did!
 

lovenerds2012

Active Member
Original Poster
Day 2: Magic Kingdom
We woke up around 7:30 on March 7, and headed to breakfast at Sassagoula Floatworks, the quick-service restaurant at POFQ. It was there that I learned of the magnificence of beignets. If you have never had a beignet at POFQ, I suggest you hightail it over there. Since I have lived in France, I have had beignets over there (beignet is French for “donut”)…however these were mediocre compared to Port Orleans beignets. Deep-fried fluffy goodness sprinkled with powdered sugar…there is nothing better to prepare you for a day at Disney. (Yeah, your sugar high crashes later on, but that’s what Powerbars are for, right??)
Anyway, we each had a delicious Mickey Waffle with our beignet, and filled up our refillable cups with yummy coffee.

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I then took the opportunity to take some photos of the Sassagoula Floatworks.

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If you ever need him, Bacchus is there to stare you down to make sure you finish all your dinner.

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So after breakfast, we made our way back to our hotel room to drop off our refillable cups, get changed into what we should wear for the day, and get our cinch bags packed. It was chilly and rather overcast, so we wore sweatshirts, which proved later on to be a good idea. We boarded the bus and arrived at the Magic Kingdom in plenty of time for what Chris said was something I “had to see.”


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lovenerds2012

Active Member
Original Poster
I knew that there would be some sort of grand entrance, but when people started singing and dancing, and Mickey and friends hopped off the train I about had a coronary. Mickey’s mouth was MOVING and his eyes were blinking!!! WOW. I was blown away. It was the cutest thing EVER. (the next two are videos)





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And so we went in. Of course we must have the ceremonial castle pics.

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The place on the right was apparently being refurbished, I had no idea what it had been when I was at Disney the last time, but apparently it was to become a Mickey meet and greet.

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We walked to the end of Main Street, taking everything in, and up towards the castle. Chris wanted a picture facing main street, since he said most people take pictures of the castle, but not FROM the castle. I couldn’t argue with his logic.

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We decided to head to Fantasyland to ride Winnie the Pooh since the line was short.

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We had a short wait, enough for me to see all the neat stuff in the queue. I had been on Winnie the Pooh when I was in Tokyo Disneyland, and I had loved it. The only difference was that your Hunny Pot actually JUMPS up and down in the Tigger part in the Tokyo one. When I went on it ten years ago, it caught me totally off guard and I found myself laughing hysterically at random intervals the rest of the day. I loved the USA one, too since I love all things Winnie the Pooh. It is a classic that is dear to my heart, I remember my mom reading the A.A. Milne classic to me in our rocking chair. (Last week. No, jk.)
After the ride, I noticed a wall with a big chart on it showing what the new Fantasyland would look like. As I went over, these guys came out:

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ml123_9

Active Member
Great TR. First trip in 20 years and first time staying on property, WOW. That must have been very exciting. Can't wait to read more and welcome to the boards.:wave:
 

lovenerds2012

Active Member
Original Poster
I am so grateful to the photopass people for being nice enough to take photos of us with our own camera. Even though we didn’t purchase any of our pictures this time, we plan on buying the whole CD for our Honeymoon trip.
After visiting with Pooh and Tigger, we walked around a little bit and I took some pictures of the pretty trees all in blossom while Chris called home to tell everyone what we were up to.

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We then went over to It’s a Small World, and as we were in line for it, the clock opened up!

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I loved this ride as a kid, but I most fondly remember it as one of the only rides my brother wasn’t afraid of. I still tease him about it.

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After that, we did Peter Pan (one of my very favorites from when I was little, and my mom’s all-time favorite), Snow White, and Mickey’s Philharmagic.
We then headed off to Tomorrowland because we had gotten fastpasses for Space Mountain earlier on. This is my favorite ride of all time, and I was so happy to be able to ride it again! After Space Mountain we walked around Tomorrowland a little bit, and then rode the TTA (I still feel it necessary to call it the WEDWAY Peoplemover).

No Dancing!!

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About this time the sun came out, zapped away the chilly mist, and warmed everything up, so we weren’t running from ride to ride trying to keep warm. We did Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, which I had gone on at Paris Disneyland and loved. We then did Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor (loved it!), and Stitch’s great escape, which I understand gets a bad wrap but I found it really cute- but that’s just me. By the time we caught the Carousel of Progress, it was getting to be near the time of our ADR’s at Tony’s Restaurant, so we departed Tomorrowland, and a random dude ended up in my picture of Chris. So, random dude, if you are on this board, I am sorry for posting you on the internet, and please don’t sue me.
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As we were making our way back to Main Street, the Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade was going on so I had to stop and watch for a few minutes.

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C.FERNIE

Well-Known Member
congratulations on ur upcoming wedding, we had our disneymoon last october and everyone was super nice to us get ur disney wedding hats hehe! Trip report is awesome so far cant wait to read more and i love your soon to be husbands dalek t-shirt lol :wave:
 

Trouble

New Member
Oh. My. God. You guys are aDORable! Congratulations on your engagement and disneymoon, and happy (belated) birthday!


(Also, many nerd points for the Dalek shirt =)
 

lovenerds2012

Active Member
Original Poster
When we got to Tony’s, we were a few minutes early so we sat down on some benches outside and waited. We were taken to our seats pretty quickly, and I was surprised to see this:

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Chris had put on the ADR’s that it was my birthday so I was treated with some confetti! It was completely charming and adorable. I felt so special! And they even leave a little baggie to put your confetti in to take it home. I could see myself eventually becoming a Mickey confetti hoarder, then I would end up on COPS for running around stealing little baggies of sparkly confetti...so that I can decorate my fiancé with it. He's so pretty!

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The meal was great, we both got a big flatbread pizza, and I ordered Tiramisu for dessert. Only Disney...

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On our way out, we struck up a conversation with a couple that both worked at Tony’s, they were retired and from Pittsburgh, and came down here to spend the winter. Both worked part-time and loved it. The man took our picture for us.
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We said goodbye to Tony's and headed out into the sunshine. The Main Street Band was playing and I got such a huge feeling of happiness and well-being, it is a moment I'll never forget. Disney World, with my own Prince Charming. SIGH.

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lovenerds2012

Active Member
Original Poster
It was late afternoon, and we headed off towards Frontierland and Adventureland. There we tackled Splash Mountain, which was actually being built when I was at WDW last, when I was 11. We also tackled some of my old favorites- Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Haunted Mansion. Chris showed me the Pet Cemetery after we rode HM, where there is an old statue of Mr. Toad from Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride- a ride he sorely misses. You can see him in the back, by the bricks. He is darker than the other statues, he must be made of metal instead of stone.

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It was dark by the time we got onto the Jungle Cruise, which actually made it even more fun. Our tour guide was particularly funny, and made for a great time.
We were getting hungry again when the first round of the Electrical Parade passed, so we went into Pecos Bill’s and I had a particularly good BBQ pork sandwich, with lots of fixin's. Listening to the music from the Electrical Parade brought back lots of memories for me. Since the park was open until midnight, we had decided to go to the second showing of the EP, which was to be at 10:00, after the Wishes fireworks show. We then headed over to the Hall of Presidents and to walk through the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, which I loved when I was a kid. Then it was time for Wishes!!!
Sorry the video quality sucks, I recorded it on my camera, and we were standing on a bridge that was pretty far away.





After the fireworks, we went over to get a good spot to watch the next Electrical Parade. We got a great spot, just where the parade goes in a circle in front of Cinderella Castle.

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It had been an awesome, amazing, spectacular day. We were really, really tired, so we meandered through the shops until just before closing time, and stumbled onto the bus. On the busride back, I saw the cutest thing I had seen in a long time. A little boy, maybe 3 or 4 years old was sitting on his mom’s lap, and his daddy was standing up holding one of the rails. The little boy looked exhausted, but he was absolutely beaming. He looked up at his daddy, and he said “Daddy! I LOVE you!!!” THIS, to me is the best kind of Disney Magic.
 

lovenerds2012

Active Member
Original Poster
Rest. (Well, not really)
Day 2 was Tuesday, March 8-Mardi Gras! A little birdie had told us that there would be a MARDI GRAS PARADE taking place at our resort around lunchtime. We had no idea what to expect, but we stuck around anyway. We slept in, and had another great breakfast at Sassagoula Floatworks. We decided that the weather was a bit nippy for swimming, so we instead took a dip in the hot tub. We got cleaned up, and then we walked around the resort for awhile and took pictures.

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We were told that the “parade” would take place along the roads inside the resort, and would be stopping at Riverside first, so we had a bit of a wait. It turns out that alot of people from New Orleans (especially those with little kids) aren't into the whole beads and thing. So, since they are all on vacation that week, they head out in hordes to other places, like WDW! Along with our new Louisiana friends, we saw this coming down the street:

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It was Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen from the Princess and the Frog!!!! SO COOL!!! It turns out that all of the various departments (i.e. housekeeping, maintenance, food service, etc.) had made “floats” out of golf carts, and were VERY creative about it.

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Remy from Ratatouille is on a tray:

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lovenerds2012

Active Member
Original Poster
Russell and Mr. Fredrickson from “Up”

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My name is Dug. I am a good dog. I just met you and I love you!

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I was guessing that the real White Rabbit was busy, probably playing croquet again with the Queen of Hearts (she can be SO demanding), so the “Scary Deranged Mall Easter Bunny” came instead.

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The Seven Dwarfs mine cart actually moved up and down along the track!

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