Trip Report 10 days goes too fast in Disney World! July Trip Report

So.. I debated back and forth on whether or not I should write a trip report! Bringing back all my Disney memories is bittersweet, I wish I was still there! However, I do not want to forget anything about my wonderful, amazing trip so here goes! Hope you enjoy

I went to Disney from July 14-23, got stuck in Orlando so we didn't really leave until the 24th, with my best friend. This is my fourth trip to Disney and this was her probably 14th, haha. We had never been on vacation together, but we are inseparable at home, so we knew we'd have no problems!! I'm an Ariel lover, Disney World obsessed fan, who comes on these forums WAY TOO MUCH My name's Nicole and the girl with the brown hair is my best friend! Her favorite princess is Aurora, and is pretty upset there isn't a sleeping beauty ride, or show, or really anything in Disney World! We had tons of plans, we wanted to do the cupcake challenge, where you eat a different cupcake everyday, we wanted to drink around the world, we had a ton of things on our must do lists. Disney here we come!

Day One:

Our flight to Disney was at 6:00 AM from Newark so we had to be at the airport around 4 AM! We TRIED to go to sleep early, but all our adrenaline and excitement made that impossible! Finally around 10 PM we fell asleep, and set our alarms for 3:15 AM to go to the airport. When my alarm went off, I was a little cranky and wondered why we picked such an early flight, but then the excitement of going to Disney World crept up, and I was fully awake.

I'm the blonde!

Our flight there was super fast, and we arrived at 8:40 AM. We planned this right! We'd have a full day!! Off it was to find the magical express, did I mention, my friend and I are directionally challenged.
We went all the way downstairs and saw a bunch of Disney cruise buses only to find out we were on the wrong side of the airport, the magical express in on the B side just so everyone knows Back up the stairs and off to the other side we went.



We found the magical express area right away, and since it was early, it wasn't crowded at all! I remember when I went to Disney in November the lines being super long, but the lines were really short when we arrived! We hopped right on the bus, and we were off! Driving through the Walt Disney World sign gave me goosebumps, I could not believe I was really here! My level of excitement increased with each big purple sign with Mickey ears on top we passed.

Stop one was Old Key West Resort, stop two was Saratoga Springs, and stop three was our new home, Port Orleans French Quarter! I had never stayed here before, but just seeing the signs saying "Welcome Home" made me all teary-eyed. I'm such a Disney sap.

We checked in immediately, there was no lines at all, and since I had done the online check in, our room was ready! We were in building 4, room 4309, near the bus stop and food court. We had a garden view, and the room was so pretty! We couldn't have asked for a better room!







We quickly unpacked our carry-ons since our luggage hadn't arrived yet, and then began exploring! We each packed all our headwear in our carry-ons, so for our very first day we decided to wear matching minnie-ears. While we unpacked, we watched Stacey! What kind of Disney trip is it if you don't watch her must dos! Unt pretzel, unt beer!





We walked along the Sassagoula River, checked out the pool area, and checked out the food court. This resort is BEAUTIFUL. It's small and easy to get around, and the landscapers were even the friendliest people. They offered to take our picture in front of the fountain. Thanks again!











After we made our way full circle around our resort, it was off to Magic Kingdom! It was around 1130 AM when we hopped on the first Disney bus to the parks! Hearing the themed music, where the horns are blaring to welcome you to the Magic Kingdom, made me instantly emotional! We put our key to world card up to the new Mickey turnstiles, watched Mickey light up green, and were inside! AHHHH!!!

We hurriedly picked up our photopass and continued on. That first walk down main street is still a blur in my mind. As soon as I saw that castle, I realized I was truly here, my happiest place on earth. The tears started welling up in my eyes, I could not believe it! After months of visiting these forums and looking at everyone's pictures, it was finally my turn! I was so happy and overwhelmed and then BAM the "move it, shake it, celebrate it" parade started going on. I swear it's like they were celebrating our arrival We both were laughing and dancing, and waving at every character that passed by. It was the best entrance I've ever had.









We couldn't decide what we wanted to do first, we had no plan! So we started wandering! We took as many photopass pictures and we could, and then decided to head to new fantasyland. We both had last visited in 2011, so we were excited! On the way, we saw a Tiana, and there wasn't a line, so we had to meet her right away! She was extremely nice, and really pretty!



New fantasyland did not live up to my expectations, I guess because the huge mine train is in the middle of everything. It kind of takes away from the whole immersive experience. I think I may have rathered they open everything up at once, instead of in stages. Don't get me wrong, all the detailing in this area of the park is one the reasons I love Disney World so much.. they truly go that extra mile.

 

[prfctlyximprct]

The show continued while we ate, and I have never had such an exciting dinner! I was clapping and singing along, so out of my comfort zone! YAYYYYYY The performers did such a great job, they had the audience fully involved and were really quite the comedians!







Soon, I was twirling my napkin like a champ. This is the best part of Disney, just letting down all your walls and having fun.









It was then time for dessert, but who has room for that? We tried as we might to eat as much as we could. It was delicious! They had us clap for our waiters and waitresses as they brought it down to our tables.







They sang my favorite song of the night, it goes "Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier." Be careful when you listen to this, it will get stuck in your head! We sang it for the rest of the trip.



They then passed out washboards to each table, along with spoons, so you could join in on the music. I don't think I've ever cheesed so hard!






Even my best friend was having the time of her life!










The show was over too soon, and it was time to leave I was so full I wasn't sure if I could move! But there was a little more room for sangria.. always room for that, haha.



We waddled out of Pioneer Hall and made our way back to the boat.. it was such a fun, memorable night that I will never forget. There's only certain moments of my life where I can remember being fully consumed by laughter, and this is one of them. I had such a blast.



Our boat awaited, and off we were to the MK. We were so exhausted, a happy-content feeling washed over us, and we decided to call it a night and get on the bus back to POFQ right away. I dreamed of the wild frontier.

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Love the "selfies"! I agree on the boat rides - an attraction in itself. Very cool that u got a ride from a cowboy.

Can't wait to hear about HDDR - one of my favorites.

It's now one of my favorites too!!

 

[PineapplePrincess]

We used to camp a lot when I was a kid, and we stayed at Fort Wilderness a couple of times. I remember that it was the cleanest campground we had ever stayed at, including the public bathroom and shower areas. I'm a girly girl too, but I would stay there in a heartbeat!
I keep trying to talk my family into going to the Revue, but DH thinks it's too expensive because our DD15 still eats like a 7 year old! I saw it when I was 12, but I remember not liking it. I probably thought I was too cool back then!

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Loving this trip report! I'll be heading to WDW with my two best friends. We are about the same age as you and neither of them have ever been!

 

[Disney80]

Stayed at FW in 2002, 2005 with my parents and in 2008 with relatives! I loooooved every second of it. We had a RV so we were camping. Now, we don't own a RV anymore so more Disney hotels to choose from

We almost did the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue back in 2005 but scored a dinner at O'Hana instead

Despite what everyone is saying about FW (mainly transportation), to us anyways, it was never an issue after all, we were on vacation, we drove almost 1500 miles to be at WDW!

May consider going just for the Revue if trip in nid-January 2014 is confirmed. *crossing fingers still* I should know by mid-September.

Thanks for the pictures and info about the food (good to know about Sangria (Mom and me) and beer (Dad)

Can't wait to read more soon...

 

[Amy Shelton]

What am I going to do with my life when this trip report is over.....

 

[prfctlyximprct]

We used to camp a lot when I was a kid, and we stayed at Fort Wilderness a couple of times. I remember that it was the cleanest campground we had ever stayed at, including the public bathroom and shower areas. I'm a girly girl too, but I would stay there in a heartbeat!
I keep trying to talk my family into going to the Revue, but DH thinks it's too expensive because our DD15 still eats like a 7 year old! I saw it when I was 12, but I remember not liking it. I probably thought I was too cool back then!

I heard mixed things about hoop-dee-doo but I'm so glad I went with my gut instinct and went! It was really fun! When your DD eats more, you should definitley go! All you can eat, you can't go wrong!!
One day, if I'm brave enough, I will stay at Fort Wilderness. Disney makes everything amazing, I bet their campground is incomparable to anything I've ever experienced.

Loving this trip report! I'll be heading to WDW with my two best friends. We are about the same age as you and neither of them have ever been!

Enjoy!! It will be a great time! I love going with people for the first time; I went last year with my boyfriend who had never been, and it was so cool to watch his eyes light up at everything. He was blown away by everything. Going with your best friends will be such a memorable experience! I can't wait to read your trip report.

Stayed at FW in 2002, 2005 with my parents and in 2008 with relatives! I loooooved every second of it. We had a RV so we were camping. Now, we don't own a RV anymore so more Disney hotels to choose from

We almost did the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue back in 2005 but scored a dinner at O'Hana instead

Despite what everyone is saying about FW (mainly transportation), to us anyways, it was never an issue after all, we were on vacation, we drove almost 1500 miles to be at WDW!

May consider going just for the Revue if trip in nid-January 2014 is confirmed. *crossing fingers still* I should know by mid-September.

Thanks for the pictures and info about the food (good to know about Sangria (Mom and me) and beer (Dad)

Can't wait to read more soon...

Thanks for reading along I hope you get to go in January!!! You have to try Hoop-dee-doo! I did Ohana my first trip, and while that was amazing in it's own way.. the Hoop-dee-doo show just made it my favorite Also, I'm more a country meal type of gal, so while Ohana had be stuffed with meats, I was craving carbs I wish I had an RV, I'd go to Disney all the time!!!!!!!

 

[prfctlyximprct]

What am I going to do with my life when this trip report is over.....

I'm not even on the 5th day yet, so you have time to find a new hobby!! Haha! I took way too many pictures, I hope I can finish this thing up sometime this year! LOL

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Day 5, the halfway point! Now I like to look at things as glass half full, rather than glass half empty! All my other trips to Disney were only 6 days, so the fact that I made it to day 5 and tomorrow wasn't the last day blew my mind! 5 more days left in the world! All my co-workers and friends back home kept asking if I'd go to Universal. "No," was my constant answer. This was a Disney only trip, there was too much to do in Disney to leave! I've never been to Universal, and I'm sure it's awesome in it's own right, but that day of passage will come when I'm ready. I still haven't even dulled my thirst for what the Disney parks have to offer. If I was there for more than 10 days, then who knows!

We woke up very early today, we wanted to get to the Magic Kingdom right when it opened because I had never seen the opening ceremony. Do other parks have opening ceremonies? We were always there early but I think MK is the only one I ever hear about, so I made sure we were extra early! The alarms went off and we got up. It's so easy to not hate the alarm in Disney! Waking up at 630 AM is nothing when your going to a Disney park! Plus, we had to be up early, we had ADRs for the Crystal Palace, another first for me!


Gotta love the morning selfies, had to capture all my headwear in photos!


Thar she blows!



Oh bald man, you ruined my photo! LOL





We took some photopass pictures as we waited and watched the clock inch it's way to 8:00! Time always seems so rushed in Disney, but this is one point where I felt time went slow! Let us in!!! The masses are here!!









Some of the turnstiles were getting their mickey conversions, so I snapped a picture of this quote I love! The mickey heads that light up green really are so cute, it's such a happy way to enter the park. Everything has to have that Disney signature on it, even if it's just going through a turnstile!









Here come the characters! On the train! I was tearing up at this point. You just can't get any better than this. There was no where in the whole world that I would have rather been! You can feel the Disney love to your core, maybe I'm just crazy but I don't know how else to describe it! I was waving like a kid, so excited to be where I was.






Notice Mickey's blinking!! He was sleepy too! Poor Mickey needs some coffee, these AM Extra Magic Hours are a killer!





The opening ceremony was something I am glad I got to experience. There's no better way to start your day, in my opinion. I don't know how you cannot smile and be happy watching it. I'm not a morning person by any means.. but this made me lose all of my would be crankiness! Everyone has to watch this at least once! It's a Disney tradition. It's what Disney is all about

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Into our kingdom we went, and it was a busy morning inside! So many of the main street vehicles were out. I guess the early bird really catches the worm. It was nice to see everything ready for a new day of magic. We didn't ride anything, but I hope one day I do! I'll have to add it to my list! We were a little rushed because we had breakfast to get to, but we enjoyed what we could!













We saw some long lost friends were meeting right as we entered, and we still had about 10 minutes before our reservation, so we stopped. I wish they had more characters out all the time! But it's nice to catch up with friends from the past. I'm not sure the exact name, but I remember meeting that monk from my first trip and he wrote in my autograph book "Hello, Princess!" It's crazy what your mind chooses to remember!







We continued our trek down main street, taking in all the sights and sounds. We stopped for some photopass photos as well.You can take as many as you want.. and we sure did!






















It was so nice being in the Magic Kingdom so early, before the crowds really started to build up. It was a a beautiful morning, not too hot, not too humid, and not raining! We were prepared for a wonderful day! First up, breakfast! We rounded the corner to the Crystal Palace and waited to fill our tummies.

 

[tare]

This is an awesome trip report. Thx for sharing.

 

[tanya venables]

Another excellent installment! You have a real talent for capturing the spirit of Disney and making me feel as if i was joing along in person! Definitely inspired me to try as many cup cakes as possible on my next trip. I have never been convinvnced about trying the Hoop Dee Doo Revue but your experience and photo's may well change my mind. thanks again and keep posting

 

[prfctlyximprct]

This is an awesome trip report. Thx for sharing.

Thank you for following along! It makes me smile to get positive feedback.

Another excellent installment! You have a real talent for capturing the spirit of Disney and making me feel as if i was joing along in person! Definitely inspired me to try as many cup cakes as possible on my next trip. I have never been convinvnced about trying the Hoop Dee Doo Revue but your experience and photo's may well change my mind. thanks again and keep posting

I'm glad I can make it feel as though you are there as well! I love vicariously living through other people's trip reports so it's nice to share my story as well! Cupcakes are to die for, and Hoop-dee-doo was awesome, it is definitley worth a try!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

The monk is Friar Tuck!! Awwww, I loved the Robin Hood characters when I was younger! I wish they were out all the time, too!! Actually, I wish that when the princesses move to Fairytale Hall that they keep their room in Town Square as a mystery room and just have random characters in there. 3 different characters each day and you never know what 3 you will meet!

Hoop Dee Doo is one of my FAVORITES!! It's soooo much fun!!! You're right, it is super corny, but how can you not laugh the whole time? 6 Bits is a RIOT!!!

Yes, that picture you took was of River Country. It was to the right of the boat docks, kind of set back a bit? It makes me sad to see how it's just deteriorated over the years That was the first waterpark I ever went to and I used to LOVE it!

And you're only at the halfway point?!? That means lots more to go!! I really should be finishing my TR before I leave in 30 days for my next trip but I can't help reading this! It keeps pulling me back in!! haha

 

[prfctlyximprct]

The monk is Friar Tuck!! Awwww, I loved the Robin Hood characters when I was younger! I wish they were out all the time, too!! Actually, I wish that when the princesses move to Fairytale Hall that they keep their room in Town Square as a mystery room and just have random characters in there. 3 different characters each day and you never know what 3 you will meet!

Hoop Dee Doo is one of my FAVORITES!! It's soooo much fun!!! You're right, it is super corny, but how can you not laugh the whole time? 6 Bits is a RIOT!!!

Yes, that picture you took was of River Country. It was to the right of the boat docks, kind of set back a bit? It makes me sad to see how it's just deteriorated over the years That was the first waterpark I ever went to and I used to LOVE it!

And you're only at the halfway point?!? That means lots more to go!! I really should be finishing my TR before I leave in 30 days for my next trip but I can't help reading this! It keeps pulling me back in!! haha

Thank you for his name! I know I can always count of my wdw magic friends vs google anyday! Your idea about rotating characters is great! You need to tell Disney! I heard at MGM there's something called characterpalooza and they supposedly bring out rare characters and multiple characters all at the same time.
Characterpalooza takes place next to Echo Lake and on the Streets of America. I heard it used to occur in the Art of Animation building.. I'd love to see it one time!

6 bits was definitley our favorite. I think my friend developed a crush!

I want to go to River Country! Idk why I have such a weird obsession learning about it. I guess because it still sits there abandoned it makes me sad! I read once they were going to use it for Ft. Wilderness guests, but I think it's too far gone now to ever come back.

Keep up with your report! I love reading it!

 

[pumpkin7]

Thank you so much! I think I took about 100 pictures a day, making it 1000 photos! Plus we had almost 300 photopass pictures! SO MANY PHOTOS! LOL

My total photo count was 3300 over 14 days. There's just too much to photograph in the World!
I'm loving your report. I'm not surprised you couldn't find a decent Muppet Plush. They're all pretty bad! Especially the ones that are long and gangly like the Miss Piggy one. I would have had Kermit. Sorry I've only got that far in your trip report, you may have found one by now!

And you got to meet the cast of Robin Hood! I am so jelous! That is my favourite movie and it's just been forgotten by Disney. Although I think Robin has let himself go a bit... lol.

The Alien has always been there on the ceiling as far as I know, but he wasn't working when we went for our honeymoon, but was this time. I think the one in the wall needs to come out sooner because we almost missed him this time.

River Country is a place I'm fasinated by as well. They've just left it to rot. I've never even been there but it's still exciting. You want to youtube AdamtheWoo. He went into River Country a few years back and its so creepy because all the lights are still on, and the loop music is still playing.

 

[PineapplePrincess]

One of my dreams is to get my picture with the Robin Hood characters! I especially love Prince John.

 

[cetta28]

I think you just convinced me to drag my husband to the Hopp De Doo Revue when we visit in February!! I love your trip report by the way....I wish I had a girl friend that I could visit WDW with and do all the girlie things my husband doesn't want to do. I am 27 and absolutely love Hannah Montana (do you are not alone) haha

 

[Tinkerbella16]

This is an awesome TR!!!! Love it!!! You guys look like you had the best time. I am going with my best friend in November and her daughter (my god-daughter) and we are staying at POR Royal Room... this TR made me even MORE excited than I already am for this trip! Like you guys, we are also inseparable so I know a whole week we will be fine.

Are you wearing Tom's in your pics? Are they comfortable enough for the parks? I ordered a pair of Disney World hand painted Tom's so that I can wear them on my trips and I really hope they don't destroy my feet.

 

[prfctlyximprct]

My total photo count was 3300 over 14 days. There's just too much to photograph in the World!
I'm loving your report. I'm not surprised you couldn't find a decent Muppet Plush. They're all pretty bad! Especially the ones that are long and gangly like the Miss Piggy one. I would have had Kermit. Sorry I've only got that far in your trip report, you may have found one by now!

And you got to meet the cast of Robin Hood! I am so jelous! That is my favourite movie and it's just been forgotten by Disney. Although I think Robin has let himself go a bit... lol.

The Alien has always been there on the ceiling as far as I know, but he wasn't working when we went for our honeymoon, but was this time. I think the one in the wall needs to come out sooner because we almost missed him this time.

River Country is a place I'm fasinated by as well. They've just left it to rot. I've never even been there but it's still exciting. You want to youtube AdamtheWoo. He went into River Country a few years back and its so creepy because all the lights are still on, and the loop music is still playing.

Ahh!! It's so nice to meet another fellow Disney World obsessed photographer! I swear I could have taken more but my friend restrained me! Atleast I'm not as bad as the people with their ipads videoing everything through the huge screen!

And no, I never got a muppet plush.. they were all too stiff and skinny! I need something comfy to cuddle with at night! What else are stuffed animals for!

The alien must not have worked on my other trips, I don't remember him at all! I wouldn't be surprised tho if I just wasn't paying attention. And there's an alien in the wall? WHAT?!?!?

Thanks for the Youtube hint! I will def go check it out! I wish River Country could come back in some way