10 days of Magic, Mickey, and Memories

Hi all!

And so it has come to an end. All the months of planning and preparing resulted in the best 10 days for my husband and I! Here are the basics:

Who: My DH and I
What: 10 days of Memories and Magic at Walt Disney World
Where: Port Orleans Riverside
When: September 13 to the 22
Why: A trip for resting and relaxing after a very long and hard year and in preparation of starting another personal journey.

Some background: My DH and I have traveled to Disney every year since we were married. So this marked our 8th trip in a row. Now the last two trips, I went solo. I went to Disneyland in 2010 and went for a girls getaway with my mom in May 2011. Since we started going to WDW together, a lot has happened. We moved twice, went through some very hard times, and have struggled with infertility. So this trip was focused on reconnecting and putting all of that "stuff" behind us. In the past, we have stayed either offsite (in 2005 and 2006) and then onsite at Deluxe Resorts. Since 2007, we have been able to drive to WDW since we lived only 4 1/2 hours away from the World. Okay, we are pretty much up to speed so now, on with the show! Or as Peter Pan would say...Here we go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was the first time we stayed at POR as well as using DME. I will say to both, I would definitely recommend and stay/use again. We left very early on Thursday, September 13 and flew AirTran. It was a great flight and we got exceptional prices! We will definitely fly with AirTran again! The flight was smooth and on time so we arrived around 10 am at MCO and DME was ready and waiting for us! We did not have the fancy blue and cream DME bus which I was a tad disappointed about as I had never ridden on one! But we had a Mears bus and we were just ready to get to WDW!

Excited to get to WDW!

Super happy!

We arrived!

Arriving at POR!

We went ahead and did the online check in which didn't seem to make a difference. It was not busy, we still had questions, and we still talked to an agent. I will do it again, but didn't really notice that it made that much of a difference. We had called and requested a corner room on a higher floor and paid for garden view Royal Room. We got everything we asked for, except, our corner room faced a parking lot and was as far from everything as possible. So immediately called the front desk and I explained that I paid for garden view and would like garden view. We were moved to another room, that was near the pool, and a good location. It was not a corner room. The reason for the request for the corner is that I understand that the rooms can be quite dark so a corner room would let in more natural light. It would have been nice for that corner room but it didn't really bother us much at all.

View from the room

We first ate lunch since we were starved! We headed down to Riverside Mill. The DH tried to the pasta bar with cheese cake and I the burger and red velvet cake! All were delicious!!!!

The Royal Rooms were so nice! We really liked them a lot! They were beautiful!!

Yep, that's Stacy! The Must-Do's! Unt Beer???

 

[acrab3t]

To France! We walked through the shops and wished we were hungrier! But we were getting so full! We strolled around and then watched Impressions de France. After that, we headed to a bench we found and I got us a chocolate crepe, champagne and of course, the grand marnier slushie!

I will be honest, I was not impressed with the crepe. I felt that it was chewy and a bit dry. I was disappointed b/c everything else that I got in France was amazing. We should have gone to Boulangerie Patisserie instead. But at least now I can say I have had a crepe in france!

Two more countries to go! Can we make it? Did we do it???

How is the Grand Marnier slushie? I have been wanting to try it. Last time I went I was too stuffed from dinner to try it. I am putting at the top of the list for our trip in January.

 

[acrab3t]

I like the new entrance into FL

My DH and I hadn't ridden Tomorrow Land Speedway since we were probably 8 years old! So we went for a spin. DH drove - I was afraid to!

Views from the track

After TLSW, on to Space Mountain

And Buzz again...you thought we were serious before???

We had a FP for Jungle Cruise so headed back to AL

Stopping for a Dole Whip!

we have a new favorite pass time - we love to watch the camel spit water at people. So we took our Dole Whips and sat on a planter and watched for about 15 mins people getting stunned and spit on! Hilarious!

After Jungle Cruise and Magic Carpets, we did Pirates again

On a side note - if you would like the nicest bathroom and best themed one, stop at the restrooms here. We were shocked at how nicely themed they were and they were not heavily trafficked! A nice find! Also - we peeked inside Pirates League - let me say I have zero desire to become a pirate, however, this place looked SOOO cool! It looks awesome in there!!!!!

Some Main Street fun

We had earlier reservations for Plaza. I had not been there since I was a kid. It was super yummy!

And while we were waiting, the dance party came down the street! SO FUN! I will be honest, I like the parties better then parades now. I was disappointed with the parade this year.

Did you notice the bathrooms behind Aloha Isle smell like pineapple? Talk about marketing!

 

[nngrendel]

How is the Grand Marnier slushie? I have been wanting to try it. Last time I went I was too stuffed from dinner to try it. I am putting at the top of the list for our trip in January.

I have tried a little that my wife had on our trip and they were pretty good. Wife enjoyed it too.

 

[Tuvalu]

Gertie's does not have milkshakes, but Min and Bill's (the white boat) does!

 

[clee687]

I've only read through page 1 so far but I already have a lot of comments so thought I better post them before I forget! I followed a lot of your planning so I was excited to see your report arrive but it made me a little sad. You planned and planned and finally you went and BOOM you were back. I hate how fast WDW vacations go by!!!! I will try and be positive though and just focus on how wonderful it is to be able to take the trip!

As I saw the first few pics of your room (lovely btw) I thought to myself "I wish she had close ups of all the pics and details in the room" and I scrolled down....AND YOU DID! Thank you! I think the Genie lamp faucet was my favorite.

Don't you just loooooove when you can walk on a ride? Or have a big multi-person ride vehicle practically to yourself? It reminds me of of our first trip in 1994...so magical!

I adore your bow ring! I just put it on my reminder list under "gotta have".

I think the fall/MNSSHP decor is my favorite at WDW. My sister in law argue about that a lot. I feel like you can find Christmas decor EVERYWHRE at the holidays. It is already popping up at Wal Mart now! Although it's beautiful at WDW (and that's what we'll be seeing in 72 days), I guess I'm just not as impressed by it because it's not as unique. Fall decor gets skipped over though!!! I love it!

Glad you posted a warning about weekend party...I haven't ordered our MVMCP tix yet and will now make sure order for a weekday!

Your pix are gorgeous! I really love the Halloween parade photos! The last time we went to that party, my son was 22 months and had ZERO interest in doing things anything that kept us in one spot over 2 minutes! No shows, parades, bench rests, etc. I can't wait to go back and see that parade!

Lastly, I'm so sorry about your toes!! I have always worn my Nikes (and Disney crocs one year) but I vowed that this year I would wear cute (but comfy) shoes with cute outfits. But I am concerned now. It is A LOT of walking! Comfy for a trip to the mall and comfy for WDW may be too different???
I feel so bad for you! If you were already having trouble with them hurting on day 2, you must've been just miserable by the end! I hope you have healed.

Gotta hush now and get back to reading!

 

[luv]

I have really enjoyed this. I feel like I gained 5 pounds just looking at the pics, lol. Made me hungry.

I always say that hotel has the best food court and ITA re: pasta bar.

 

[Britt]

I LOOOOOVE your outfits! That green and white stripped dress with the blue top? LOVE IT

The food looks awesome and makes me miss it.

The bus fiasco definitely doesn't make me miss it....HAHA

 

[disneygirl76]

Day 9 part two (pesky work got in the way )

So we left DHS and headed to Epcot. This was to be our last night at WDW and we always end the last night the way we started, at Epcot.

We headed to Future World and walked right onto Nemo.

Mine.

We then did a ride on Soarin'. We love this ride so much! And it was a bit of a bummer that the family next to us on the ride - a father and his children - talked loudly the entire time! It wasn't English so I have NO idea what needed to be discussed the entire ride SO loudly. Assuming none of them was having a heart attack or bleeding from the head, I can't imagine what needed to be discussed the entire ride! grrrrrr.... (the rest of the row noticed it to). We pulled a fast pass so we could ride it one more time.

We then did Space Ship Earth and Mission Space and then hopped on over to Canada.

We grabbed a Canadian Beer and then...the wind began to switch - the house to pitch and suddenly the hinges started to unhitch. It must have dropped about 10 degrees in about 10 minutes. And this rather large dark cloud started to move over Epcot. Something like the Nothing from the Neverending Story. So we checked in earlier to our 6:20 ADR at Le Cellier. Everyone was checking in early b/c we all saw it coming! We met some lovely people out side and it did feel amazing out! It was cool and windy and really comfortable! The first time in 9 days!!!

It was clear I have been wearing my back pack too long. (nice tan lines!)

We decided that there is a story behind the spoon in the pond. The great mythical spoon of Canada. We were called to our table before we could conclude our story.

Dinner Time!
(the pics are all going to have that golden hue to them b/c I didn't want to use the flash)

DH started with the whiskey flight

mmmm....bread and pretzel

Cheese Soup! MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmm....................

This soup was as delicious as it always was!! Truly amazing!

Mushroom Filet for our entree! The best filet ever!!!

Poutine Fries! A- MAZE - ING!!!!!!!!!!!

DH had the Prime NY Strip

and the Grand Finale!
Maple Creme Brulle! I will say - I like the creme brulle better here then in France!

At the end of our meal, we had hopes of watching Illuminations and strolling through the countries and taking one more flight on Soarin. However, the skies had other plans. When we walked out of Canada, it was like we were walking into a closed park! Hardly anyone was around! There were streams of water flowing down the paths and it was raining. So we headed out of the park. My shoes were full of water. Lesson 3 learned from the trip...when its rain, remove shoes and walk barefoot. There is no way to avoid blisters and hurt tootsies when water and shoes are involved. And mine were floating! So we slowly made our way to the buses. Like the night before, this wasn't how I expected to spend my last night at WDW. Its just the amount of water coming down was fast and furious. And the line to the buses was the same at MK the night before. Only this time, Epcot had 2 buses loading at the same time. We didn't make it on the first two but in less then 10 mins, 2 more buses arrived and loaded us up. It was awesome!

We got to the resort, finished packing and prepared to say goodbye to WDW.

 

[disneygirl76]

Last Day

We were up early to check in with DME. Our first time using DME and it was AWESOME! Seriously, they are amazing! I should have made arrangements with bell services the night before to bring our luggage down. But we managed and the whole check in process took about 15 mins! So great! We left what we were taking on the plane with us with bell service, said goodbye to Mr. Birdie and grabbed a cab and headed to the Magic Kingdom. We do the same tradition each trip. We end our last day at MK with breakfast at the Castle. We knew from the past 10 days, the fastest way would be via cab. We were hoping for some pics in front of the Castle with no one behind us, however, the lovely crane was up for install of the holiday lights so we did something else we never did before. And that is take the car up Main Street! It was SO great! I don't know why we never did that before! A great way to start the morning!

Once inside Cinderella's Castle, it was hard for me to contain my emotion. This trip was all about wishes. We made on on the bridge at POR and we made another one during the wish ceremony and another, over a birthday cupcake from Cinderella. I pray, and wish, that this wish comes true.

Here's our breakfast recap at CRT!

Gus Gus

Breakfast Bread

I got the cream cheese stuffed french toast

Hubby got steak and eggs

With Snow

with Aurora

with Aerial

My bday wish

With Belle

I don't know if you can see, but Beasts Castle lines up in perfect view of Cinderella's Castle! I'm sure Disney planned it that way! HA!

To be continued tomorrow. Night night!

 

[real mad hatter]

Whoo Hoo.Great report,love the pics,and fingers x for a happy ending.

 

[Blueskyze]

Once inside Cinderella's Castle, it was hard for me to contain my emotion. This trip was all about wishes. We made on on the bridge at POR and we made another one during the wish ceremony and another, over a birthday cupcake from Cinderella. I pray, and wish, that this wish comes true.

I'm sad that your TR is coming to an end, I've really enjoyed it. And I really, really hope that your wish comes true!!

 

[OswaldTheRabbit]

Omg.... You look so cute in those ears! Being very sympathetic (sadly...sigh) to your wish I will cross all my fingers and toes for you. We can only get pregnant through IVF-icsi and are in the process of deciding if we will try again. I will send positive vibes to you that for your next TR I will see pics of you on dumbo!

I loved seeing all your pics and they have me so excited for my own trip in Novemeber! You did a great job!

 

[disneygirl76]

Okay - I have 10 mins before I leave for work! Here we go

Here is the pic of the Castle view - look close - haven't had time to edit photo to zoom it in yet.

We then went to Fantasy Land and hopped on - walked on Peter Pan for the first time ever! WOO HOO (It was like 9:10 so the park had barely been open!)

We then headed to Mickey's Philharmonic and thought we were going to have a solo performance!

But a few people came in! But when the theater is silent, you can hear more of the details of the theater - like people talking and papers rustling and footsteps! Its really cool!

We exited and look who I saw!!

We wandered through FL

I love that there was like no one here!

On to Haunted!

We headed to Frontier Land

See - no one!

Big Thunder was not working. and we didn't feel like getting wet on Splash, so we headed to Pirates.

And then on to Jungle Cruise

Have you ever noticed how stuff in the que is tagged and says "send to the Adventures Club" !!!!!! Bring back Adventures Club!

We rode Magic Carpets

Saw Peter Pan running by

Ok - more at nap time!

 

[disney1077]

Really enjoyed reading your trip report. Glad you had such an amazing time. Your pictures are great, my favorites are you and the characters. BTW, love your outfits. Keeping my fingers crossed that your wishes come true!

 

[ddrongowski]

Awesome trip report. Glad you had a great time. Sorry it had to end.

 

[JIMINYCR]

There is some epic seriousness going on in this picture

Enjoying your TR thoroughly. But we need scores. Did you beat him on Buzz?

 

[disneygirl76]

Enjoying your TR thoroughly. But we need scores. Did you beat him on Buzz?

Just wait! that is coming next!

 

[JIMINYCR]

The nicest man! This guy was super nice too! Don't know his name but he was fun!

[/quote]

Thats Arneil, the doorman. We stay at POFQ , We've had many many conversations. He's got a great personality.

 

[disneygirl76]

We wandered in front of the Castle and I took some pics!

We headed to Tomorrow Land and rode Space Mountain

Then tomorrow land transit

And then we rode Astro Orbiter. We had never rode this before. I'm not the tippy tummy type - however, this made me sick. We each had our own rocket and it went in such a small circle around, I couldn't focus my eyes on anything and was getting dizzy. Also, the whole elevator thing - that is such a long process to load and unload the ride. It was great views but after it started spinning and then it kind of tilted at an angle, *shudder*, I don't think I will be going on any time soon.

We pulled a fast pass for buzz and then headed over to Jungle Cruise again.

We then rode pirates one more time, only this time, it was SO busy that we actually had to share a row! I don't think I have ever had to share a row before!

Also, there was someone on the speaker repeating over and over that there was no flash photography - also in the que. I have never heard that before. That you can't take pics in line. I of course know on the ride, but not in the que too?

We stopped for a snack - got our Mickey Pretzels! In full disclosure, we are obsessed with the jalepeno cheese pretzel. And we were hoping for one at MK but I believe they are only found at Epcot and AK these days.

We rode Haunted one last time, and then had time for our last spin on Buzz. We had been scoring some pretty low numbers. The picture thingy wasn't working on the ride...but I did get pics of the scores!

This is mine:

Pathetic, right? I don't know what happened! I used to be good at this! I think I was over thinking it!

And this...was my hubbys!

Yeah - he smoked me!!!

We headed on down Main Street, saying goodbye to Walt and Mickey.

And then headed to the bus. Only a few tears were shed. I will say, I was ready to come home. A 10 day vacation was fabulous but I was ready to come home. We left the park at about 1:15. We got to the resort at 2:15 for our 3 pm DME pick up. It was super easy and they were so great! I can't say it enough, DME is the way to go! At the airport, we grabbed some lunch and waited for our plane. The flight home was pretty rocky but we made it, ahead of schedule.

We had a magical and memorable 10 day Disney Extravaganza! We felted rested and happy and just content. For the first time ever, I don't have the Disney blues! My DH and I had a chat while we were there. Everyone goes to Disney and loves Disney for different reasons. Each trip we have taken, it has been for a different reason. Some times to celebrate, some times to escape. This time, we just went because we wanted to go. We could have picked anywhere. We were not celebrating anything or escaping from anything. But we did notice one thing. Niles and I have come to terms that what ever will happen will happen when it comes to us and having a family. We are blessed in so many ways and if we get this blessing, it will be a true dream come true. The past few times we have been to Disney, we have used language like "when we bring our kids here" or "next time the trip will be with our kids". This time, we didn't do that. We wanted this trip to be all about us. And not what could be or what isn't. And we decided that we will not be back until we either have our family, or have come to terms with not trying anymore. We already planned to go to Disneyland next year with my brother and his girlfriend (they are in San Fran now and we have never traveled to Disney with another couple before) and we had already planned that the year after that, we would take a cruise since I have never been on a cruise before (of any kind). In 2 years time, I will be 38 and my DH 43. Not giving myself any kind of time line, but knowing me and what we have already been through, I can only last another one or two years going through the treatments and emotional roller coaster. So in 2015, either we will be coming to Disney again as new parents, or just the two of us. But either way, we will be content and happy with what ever He had planned for us.

Thank you to everyone for all the well wishes and pixie dust! I hope that you have enjoyed reading this trip report as much as I have enjoyed sharing out trip with you all! Thank you for all the support and advice during the planning process!!!!

To all of you going to Disney - have a magical trip! And to all of you dreaming of going - may your dreams come true!

****An after effect of all the magic update ****

At the airport on the way home, I started to not feel well. I was really hot and just felt dehydrated. Also, I had a terrible blister on the ball of my right foot, right under my toe. This made it nearly impossible to walk. So I took a lot of Advil! A lot! Eating and having some water helped but I still didn't feel right. I got my shoes off when I got home and my toe was totally purple black and blue! I thought that I had broken it from walking on the blister!!! The blister did open and that was extremely painful but it helped relieve the pressure and I could walk again. Almost a full week later, I am just now able to walk on my toe and the swelling is down so its almost normal size. But the bottom is still black and blue and purple. And in another strange turn of events...I got heat rash. Aka Prickly Heat. From the tops of my ears to below my knees, its been itchy and red and bumpy and itchy...and did I mention...itchy! It feels like i took a bath in poison ivy!!! Its finally going away! I went to the doc and he said it was b/c when we left DC, it was relatively cool weather and I went right into hot and humid. And I did get dehydrated down there. And then coming back to cool weather, my skin just got mad at me. Not the souvenirs I wanted to bring home but for the most part, back to normal! Oh - and if you ever get heat rash/prickly heat I have a great solution!!!

 

[disneygirl76]

How is the Grand Marnier slushie? I have been wanting to try it. Last time I went I was too stuffed from dinner to try it. I am putting at the top of the list for our trip in January.

They are amazing! I get one every trip!