Trip Report A Honeymoon Trip Report - September 2019

If you haven’t read my previous Trip/Pre-Trip Reports, my name is Jasmyn (27), and this is my husband Dan (32).

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Our trip was from the 11th-22nd September 2019 – we traveled from Perth Australia (which is 11,375 miles from Orlando) for our honeymoon at WDW!
Hopefully it won’t take me forever to get through this. I’m writing it at work to help me get over my Disney blues.


DAY 1 – 11th September 2019
The first leg of our 3 flights was departing for Sydney at 5:15am.
We decided, because we would need to be up at 2am anyway, we would just pull an all-nighter. We spent the night finishing off our packing, that we hadn’t had a chance to do, playing with our little kittens who are both only 5 months old (and we were going to miss terribly) and hanging out with Dan’s little brother, Liam, who was going to be house/pet sitting for us.

Pulling an all-nighter didn’t work well for me, I ended up falling asleep for about an hour, before Dan woke up me up to get ready to leave.
We ordered an Uber (the first of MANY uber rides this trip) and left for the airport at 3:15am.
When we arrived at the airport, we started check in, and ran into one of my clients who was on the same flight. I have my own business doing Hair Extensions, and found out she was heading to NYC the same day, but didn’t realise she would be on 2/3 flights with us!

We boarded our flight at 5am, and were in the air by 5:30am. The flight was a little bumpy, but nothing that had us worried. We were off that flight, and heading to our international flight by 11:45am (Sydney Time). We were seated close to the back of the plane, in the centre row of 4 seats. Dan and I were next to an older couple. The flight time to Dallas (our next stop) was predicted to be 16hours.
This flight was terrible. Terrible food, bad turbulence, and just not a whole lot of legroom! I would finally doze off to sleep, and a drop from turbulence would wake me up. I was so anxious that I was almost in tears.
I couldn’t wait to get off the flight.
Dallas airport was huge, we quickly grabbed out bags and was trying to rush through customs/immigration as we only had a 2 hours layover. I got a nice big “X” through my paperwork. The guard thought he was hilarious and all he told me was “its because women are always wrong” and let us go with a smile.
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It was a random check for further screening, this wasn’t going to help our time frame for rushing to our connecting flight.

Off we went through Dallas security with our bags in tow. All was fine and we ran to re-check our bags and board our flight. We ran to the gate, as the guard was calling “Last Call for Orlando, if you don’t run you will be missing your flight”
We were the last couple to board. As we were finding our seats we got talking to another couple heading on their Honeymoon, but they were staying at the Polynesian Resort. Unlike us who cheaped out and were only staying at All Star Movies.

The 2.5 hour flight was much easier to deal with. We had seats directly behind business class, which meant a lot extra legroom. I slept for most of the flight, and before I knew it, we were starting our decent to Orlando.

Dan and I practically jumped out of our seats when we touched down. It was now 6.30pm (still on the 11th September… even after 28 hours travelling). The Magical Express was calling our names, so we grabbed our bags, put on our old magic bands from the previous trip, and skipped over to buses.
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We arrived at All Star Movies at 7.45pm. Check in was a breeze. We picked up our new magic bands and headed to our Room – 711 in the Toy Story Building. We had a preferred room. The room had a double bed, and a pull down bed, which didn’t get used. The room size was fine for us, and by the end of the trip you almost couldn’t see the floors with how much stuff we had bought. Oops.

When we got there we had a package waiting. I had ordered a bottle of Red Wine (the same we had at CRT on the night we got engaged last year) snacks, flute glasses and some chocolates to help celebrate our honeymoon and to surprise Dan. This was meant to be to have this first night, but we decided that staying in our room WAS NOT an option on our first night at Disney.
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While Dan was having a shower, and washing that horrible “plane” feeling off him, I checked for some last minute reservations. I was shocked when a ‘Ohana reservation for 9:15pm.
I quickly showered as soon as Dan was out, and let Dan know the plan.
By 8:30pm we were ready, and in as Uber, heading to the Polynesian Resort.
We had a quick look around, taking in the amazing entrance that the Poly has, and headed up to ‘Ohana around 9pm. We we’re still a little early, and there were 2 seats free at the bar at Tambu Lounge. We each ordered a cocktail, and while we were sipping, we couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces, despite how exhausted the last 30+ hours had been.
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Our last name was called, and we were lead to our table right at 9.15pm. She rushed us through because the fireworks had already started at Magic Kingdom and we had a table with a view.
It was so magical. We weren’t seated at the closest table to the window, but still had a decent view while we ate the piles of food that kept coming to our table.
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My favourite dish was the grilled Prawns (or shrimp as we quickly learned). We had seconds, and thirds of everything. When it came to dessert, Dan and I both said “no thank you” as we were just too stuffed! The waiter didn’t listen. He came over with the ‘Ohana Bread Pudding a la mode. He said this is what people come to ‘Ohana for, and you aren’t missing out.
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WOW! I am so glad he at least made us try it. It was amazing, and one of the best desserts I’ve ever tasted!
I swear we almost rolled out of there with the amount of food we ate. I was so happy I was able to find a last minute reservation here.

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We wandered over to the Moana Mercantile shop inside the Polynesian, where Dan was able to find a cool Mickey Sweater. By this time it was almost 11pm, and now that we had a full stomach, the tiredness was really starting to creep up on us. Another Uber had us back at All Star Movies around 11:15pm and we headed into the gift shop to pick up our refillable mugs. I choose the Halloween one, and Dan choose a red Mickey Mouse Club House mug. We also got some bottles of water to have in the room, just in case 😊
The lights in our room by 11:30pm and sleep followed shortly after. I was so excited for our first day in the parks!
 

PrincessJasmyn

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Original Poster
DAY 6 – 16th September 2019


It was now Monday morning, and after the long night we had, we were hoping to get a nice sleep in. We didn’t wake up until just after 8am. Even though we wanted to sleep in, we didn’t expect we would, considering how early we had been waking every day prior.

It was already nice and warm, so we got ready and jumped in another Uber. This time we were going back to our favourite park, ANIMAL KINGDOM!

The uber ride was nothing to note, quiet because we were still sluggish from the late night. He had us pulling up to the carpark at 9:30am.

We met Andrew at Creature Comforts for a quick bite. Dan wanted coffee, but it was already too hot, so he settled for an iced coffee with a bacon and egg sandwich. I ordered some berry iced concoction, which was delicious, and a cream cheese bagel to go with it. I can’t remember exactly what Andrew ordered, but we were all happy with our choice! By the time we finished our drinks and food, we had to rush to our first FP, FLIGHT OF PASSAGE!
Our FP window started at 9:25am – and we arrived at FoP at 10:20am… definitely pushing it for time.

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We had another beautiful flight over Pandora.
The flight landed and we were back on solid ground at 10:45am, and we headed over to our next FP… Expedition Everest!
Jas “What pose are we going to do this time…?”
Andrew “LETS BE DEAD”

This is the result.

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When we got off, some very ditzy person asked if we were okay and if we passed our on the ride…..
“No, it was a joke” I said laughing. We must have looked convincing to her hahah! :p:banghead:

On our way out, we checked out the Everest gift shop. When I go away, I love to buy different bottles of alcohol that I can’t get back home. I noticed a cool “Snow Leopard Vodka” behind the register and had to have it. The cast member said some of the profit goes to helping protect the snow leopards in the wild. It was a great investment, so I bought it and had it sent to the front of the park for collection on our way out. I can’t believe they sell bottles of alcohol to be purchased IN DISNEY WORLD!
In Australia, you can only buy alcohol as designated bottle shops/liquor stores. I love that you can get it from almost anywhere in America! Even just at the grocery stores! Blows my mind that its allowed.

Our last FP of the morning was for Kilimanjaro Safaris. A crowd favourite, but unfortunately right in the middle of the day, when it was extremely hot. The animals weren’t doing much, but it was still enjoyable!

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PrincessJasmyn

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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Big sleepy kitty…

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It was an extremely bumpy ride, again. But I love it all the same. We saw lots of baby giraffe roaming around, which is my favourite animal. Kilimanjaro Safaris is one of our favourite things in the whole of Walt Disney World. Our smiles never get wiped off our face the whole drive around the savannah.


We have never been down the Gorilla Trails in Animal Kingdom, so that was where we headed next to burn time before lunch time.
The animals were all trying to stay out of the Florida sun, so we had gorillas and their babies, pressed right up against the glass.

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Baby lying on her mum’s face.

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We didn’t get many pictures because there were so many little kids in front of us trying to see. We let them have the front and hung at the back watching the cute little baby and his mumma from a distance.

We continued on our way, checked out some of the fish and hippos from under water, and then the silver back gorilla! Dan was so exited to see him, scratching his back, even if it was from so far away.

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When we got to the silver back, we started to get really frustrated. There had been a naughty kid running around, a boy aged around 7-8years old. He was walking the trails at the same speed we were, causing an absolute ruckus. But when he got to the gorilla, he started screaming and making horrible noises to get the attention of him. A cast member told him multiple times not to, and his parents, who were smoking vapes, did nothing! We had to walk away before the 3 of us said something. It was so disturbing, the lack of parenting, and the fact they were vaping in the theme park around other guests, kids, and ANIMALS!


We started walking faster, and passed them on the trails and went on our way to lunch, with the boys both giving the parents side eyes as they passed.
 

PrincessJasmyn

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We got to Yak and Yeti for lunch. Presented our laundry card (without a reservation) and waited to be seated. There were a few people ahead of us, so Dan went to buy an “Indiana Jones hat” (it wasn’t but that’s what he called it.)
They called our name about 15 minutes after we arrived, but Dan still wasn’t back so they wouldn’t seat us! We waited another couple of minutes for him to get back, with a HUGE smiles on his face, very happy with his purchase.

We were seated upstairs and against the right side wall as you come out of the lift. I didn’t even realise there was an upstairs!

Our waiter was very attentive and came over to take our drinks order almost instantly.

We ordered way too much to eat. We shared 4 different starters – Firecracker Shrimp (of course!), Egg Rolls (spring rolls) and Pot Stickers (steamed dumplings). The boys also got a won ton soup each.

For the main dish, I had the Crab Cakes. I highly recommend them! They were delicious!
Both the boys had Teriyaki Chicken. Dan said there was too much sauce and pineapple, Andrew said it was perfect. It definitely came down to personal preferences. They both still enjoyed it 😊

With my lunch, I had a delicious frozen margarita! It went down so well that I got myself another. Again, the boys had the same thing and both got a coke.

Lunch had us rolling out of AK. We were so full, it was time to head back to the hotel. We picked up my vodka, said goodbye to our friend, and headed to our separate buses at 2:30pm. It had been a really great morning together.

We arrived at our hotel a bit before 3pm. While on the bus, we got talking to another couple that was also there on their honeymoon and it was their first trip to WDW. It was really fun to swap stories for the ride home.

I had a small lay down, before I stripped off, and jumped into my bathers and headed to the pool where we stayed for about 1.5 hours! It was so nice and hot, obviously, its Florida, so we sent some photos to our friends back home, who were in the middle of winter and dealing with lots of cold rain. Let’s just say we didn’t get very nice replies :p

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Dan left the pool a little bit before I did, opting for some quiet time in the hotel room without me. He was showered and dressed laying on the bed on his ipad when I returned. I did the same, and got ready for our evening at EPCOT.
 

PrincessJasmyn

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Original Poster
We ubered to Epcot, and arrived at 5:30pm.

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Our fastpass for Test Track had already started, so we headed to straight there. We were on a number, ready to go into the design lab when the ride went down! We decided to hang around and wait. We sat there for about 20 minutes, when we started seeing people leave and were receiving fast passes instead. Dan headed over to the Cast Member who directed up a path behind the design lab out a back exit where another cast member was waiting with her scanner to give us a fastpass.

Once we were out, we scored a Soarin FP for 6:30 and headed straight over. By the time we got there, it was time to board our flight over the different wonders of the world! We still had a little big of a wait in the FP line.


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It’s funny to listen to peoples’ reactions when you can tell it’s their first time riding this. The joy and sometimes terror on a person’s face can be very entertaining :)


We started our slow walk to the World Showcase once landing back on our feet from Soarin, taking in all the sights. We had a dinning reservation at 8:30pm, so we still had some time to burn. We got drinks in Mexico, and went to look inside the Mexico Pavilion.
Dan got this horrible margarita that had a “dead ants and black salt” rim. I thought it was just an expression… no, it really had dead ants on it!!

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Dan was trying on jumpers, and we were tempted to buy one, but they were very similar to one he got on Venice Beach 2 years earlier, and for less than half of the Disney price, so we decided to skip it.

The 3 Caballeros is another ride we have never done, and it only had a 5 minutes wait (which was a complete lie, we walked straight through). When we were at the boats, dan was told to finish his drink as it wasn’t allowed on the boats. He skulled it down, putting the empty cup in the bin, and on we jumped.

I’ve never seen the movie, but found myself bopping along for the entire ride.

We had an 8:30pm booking at La Hacienda de San Angel in Mexico. I was only about 8:20pm, but we decided to head over. We had a short wait in the entrance, with 1 other couple, and a group of 4. We were directed to our table, right on our booking time, and were sat 1 table away from the windows. The waiter instructed that when Illuminations started at 9pm, we would have a slightly obstructed view, but should be able to see most of it without moving.

Dan and I both ordered margaritas. Mine was way to strong for me, so I gave it to Dan and ordered a Vodka & Orange Juice instead.

We swapped one of our DDP desserts for an appertisers to share and, we ordered the Guacamole Dip with Corn, Peppers and Pumpkin Seeds.

For Entrees, I ordered the Tacos de Camarones. Which was fried shrimp, cabbage, chipotle-lime aiolo and salsa verde. I wasn’t really a fan of this. I think I only ate 1 of the 3, and left the rest. I felt to guilty telling the server I wasn’t happy, and I got the rest in a take home container (and threw it out once I got back to the hotel). I didn’t want to upset anyone because I didn’t choose something I would like.

From memory (because I didn’t write it down) I think Dan had Alambre de Res. But I cant be sure. He also ordered a bottle of red to have with his meal.

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I ordered the Sorbets for dessert and we shared again. They were so yum!

I’m disappointed I didn’t get any photos of illuminations from the restaurant. It was a perfect view for us, though we had a lot of people standing up around us because they couldn’t see from their own tables. This was slightly annoying, but the lady closest to me had a mental disability and was SO excited for the fireworks, and it washed my annoyance away very quickly!

We enjoyed our drinks and dessert, and when Dan’s wine was finished, we headed out of the restaurant to a deserted Epcot at 10pm. I have never been in any park well after closed and we enjoyed being one of only a few left there.
 

PrincessJasmyn

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Original Poster
I made Dan take lots of photos, of course!

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My sunburnt face and very tired, bloodshot eyes!!

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We didn’t get a chance to use our Multi Experience FP from Test Track going down earlier in the day. So once we got back to the hotel (around 10:30pm), I stopped in at the front desk to ask if it would be at all possible to have it moved to tomorrow instead. She was so kind, and swapped it to the next day for us, to use again at Epcot.
 

PrincessJasmyn

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
DAY 7 – 17th September 2019

It was another early wake up for me, WHY CAN’T I EVER SLEEP IN AT DISNEY?! I was awake at 6am. I got myself up and into the shower. When I was out and ready for the day, I decided I would let Dan sleep in as much as possible. I checked the Disney app, to confirm our plans and FP for today, and noticed the Multi Experience FP from the day before wasn’t loaded on. I headed to reception to check.
The lady at the front desk was lovely. I told her it didn’t need to be a multi, we just really wanted to ride test track as it went down when we went to ride it. She added a test track on for us, and I left more than happy. Being polite and respectful always gets you a lot further than being rude an demanding does. Every Cast Member interaction has been amazing 😊

On the way back to the room I called my best friend back home, Amanda, on facetime. I showed her around the resort a little, and ended up on the phone for 45 minutes! I headed back into the room once we said our goodbyes, and thought 8am was long enough for Dan to sleep, and woke him up.

We were out of the room and in an Uber by 8:30am and were at HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS not long after.
We walked through the turnstiles at 8:45am. The park wasn’t officially open until 9am , but it was extra magic hours for hotel guest, so we got through with no issues.

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Our first stop was Toy Story Land!

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While it was still EMH, we headed to Toy Story Mania. We had a really short wait which was awesome. Unfortunately I lost, again. But this time it was only by 1000 points. I was winning for most of it, but Dan came back with a vengeance at the end and got over the line. I couldn’t believe it!!


On our way out, I found the popsicle wall, and obviously had to get a photo.

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PrincessJasmyn

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Original Poster
We were getting hungry now, and we had already made our mind up where we were going before we got here. Woody’s Lunch Box. We both lined up to order but Dan told me to go scout out a table while he waiting for our food. A family left so I jumped into their seats and waited. As soon as I sat down a young man came over to me, accusing me of stealing his families table. I thought he was from the family who just left so I looked around stupidly and just automatically stood up. Then he just sat down and waited.

By now, Dan was on his way over and asked why I moved. I explained the situation but then told him that he’s definitely not from the previous family and he just kicked me off. Dan was so unimpressed, he went and told him to move. He did, but his crazy mother came over abusing Dan. She was going on and on for ages. Luckily the family next to us saw the whole thing, told the woman exactly what happened from an outsiders view. All over a bloody table. I was so embarrassed and had already left and found a high table to stand at. Dan walked off from her, sick of listening to her being extremely rude and calling him horrible names. He stood his ground for as long as he could but decided he didn’t need to take it and wanted to eat his breakfast instead.
A couple of bites into our meal and she walked back over to us. I was braced for more verbal assaults, but she came to apologise. Apparently the dad from the family at the next table had given her a mouthful. She left the whole area and took off into Toy Story Land. The whole ordeal was really over the top. I couldn’t believe how crazy her and her teenage son were. What a way to start the day!

After everything, we sat back down next to the family at the original table we were arguing over. We had a little chuckle with them, and thanked the guy for helping and sticking up for us. In the end it wasn’t about the table, it was how rude they both were. If they are like that to us, imagine what they are like to cast members when they don’t get their way!!

Our breakfast after that was extremely enjoyable. We both ordered the Turkey & Egg Toasted Sandwich. Dan also got a poptart (which we don’t really have at home), but he said it was way to sweet for breakfast, and only had a couple of bites before putting it in the bin. I had some little cheese wheels, and a Adult Lemonade, which was cherry flavour! It was delicious, and I fought myself from getting a second before 10 in the morning.

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Alien Swirling Saucers only had a 15 minute wait, so we headed over to that. It was sooo hot already, and it was still only early. We new it was going to be a scorcher of a day in store.

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At every turn Dan and I were throwing ourselves into each other. We spent the whole ride hysterically laughing. I think we might have even come off with a couple of new bruises on our hips :p

Time for the main attraction– SLINKY DOG DASH!

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I was so excited when I scored the almost perfect fastpass return time of 10:10am. By the time we got off AS2 and headed to SDD around 10:30am. It was great fun again. A lot more fun than it looks from the outside. Before riding it the first time I thought it was going to be a kiddy coaster.

How the kid behind us is so chill, I have no idea!

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It was getting way to hot inside Toy Story Land, and we had seen all we wanted to see, so we headed to the land next door – Star Wars: Galaxys Edge – to visit Batuu.

We walked around taking in all the small details. We lined up to get a really cool photo! I thought it was the best magic shot of the trip!

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We finally got to try the famous “Blue Milk” – It didn’t taste half as bad as it looked. I wasn’t expecting it to be as sweet as it was. But it has a weird texture, and wasn’t something I would be able to have more than a tiny sip of. Dan finished that, while I got myself a sprite in a super cool bottle.

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PrincessJasmyn

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Original Poster
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Dan was so excited, because it was now time for him to go and build a lightsabre!!

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He choose to make “Power and Control”. They gave him his pin, and told him to take a seat to wait. It was ridiculously hot, and we fought for the 1 tiny spot of shade that was left outside Savi’s Workshop. They definitely need more shade if they want people to wait outside. It was way to hot in the direct Florida sun.


Dan was allowed to bring 1 person with him inside. It was a GREAT experience. I am really glad he got to do it and I think it was worth the $199 price tag. The lightsabres are not “toy-like”, they are extremely heavy, and feel as real as possible.
Dan had a smile on his face during the whole experience. They really put on a show inside, and don’t break character. It is very immersive and captivating. Even for a non- star wars fan, I was so impressed!

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Dan spent longer than most to make his, he wanted it to be perfect.

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PrincessJasmyn

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Original Poster
Before leaving SW:GE, we got a few more photos! We really made the most of our memory maker.
You can see buy the super wide grin how happy Dan is about todays whole experience!

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By this stage it was about 11:40am, and it was way to hot for us in the direct sunlight. Dan decided he wanted to go watch the Muppet Show, but I wasn’t in the mood, so he headed off alone. I went into the Pandora shop, and got myself 2 park exclusive charms. 1 of Cinderella’s Castle, and 1 of the rose gold Minnie ears. I took a seat on the bench outside the shop, and waited for Dan to find me. I really enjoy people watching at Disney, it’s always enjoyable. Especially when it’s hot, it’s a good way to take a break.

He found me around 12:20pm and we were right in front of where the Star Wars stage production was to take place at 12:30pm. We walked up the road, got some popcorn, and parked ourselves under a tree to the side of the main stage. We watched with wide eyes, taking in another attraction we haven’t seen before.

It was about 12:50 when we headed back to the entrance and found ourselves waiting for an uber just outside the entrance to Hollywood Studios!
 

PrincessJasmyn

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Original Poster
It had been a great morning, but now it was time for a swim.

I headed back inside our room and quickly got changed into my bathers, before rushing down to the pool. We didn’t stay to long, just long enough to cool ourselves off. The lifeguard was playing games with the kids in the pool, and it got extremely annoying really quickly, so we headed back to the room and got ready for our afternoon adventures.

We headed back to Epcot around 3:30pm. Our first stop was Test Track to FINALLY use our fast pass. It was such a fun ride again.

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I was hungry, so we picked up our Epcot passports, and decided to either have a drink or eat something at every country.

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List of everything we had (in no particular order – I’m just going through my passport – these also might pop up again through our trip report):

THE WINE AND DINE STUDIO: Seared Scallops w/ truffled celery, root puree, brussels sprouts and wild mushroom. – Amazing! Both of us loved this dish. Dan ate all the brussels sprouts, because they are not my idea of a good time.

HAWAII: Dan got the Kalua Pork Slider, he enjoyed it! I had the pineapple wine. Wasn’t either of our favourites and wouldn’t choose it again.

AUSTRALIA: We shared the Grilled Sweet and Spicy Bushberry Shrimp w/ pineapple, pepper, onion and snap peas – It was very good, but it annoyed me that even at the Australia booth, they didn’t call it a “prawn”

MEXICO: Taco de Puerco w/ shredded pork belly on a corn tortilla with salsa verde. – Another great choice.

CHINA: For me, Kung Fu Punch – Vodka, Triple Sec, Mango Syrup and Orange Juice. For Dan, Year of the Piggy – Light Rum, Triple Sec, Lychee Syrup, Lime Juice and Sprite.
We both preferred each others, so we traded.

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INDIA: Korma Chicken w/ cucumber tomato salad, almonds, cashews and warm naan bread. – This went down perfect with our drinks from China! I managed to get a photo here 😊

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REFRESHMENT OUTPOST: Nigerian Meat Pie – This was nothing like we expected. Its nothing like Aussie meat pies that we get at home. This was more like a samosa.

AFRICA: Piri Piri Skewered Shrimp w/ citrus-scented couscous – I don’t even remember having this, but there is a sticker in my book to say I had something from Africa, and Dan assures me that the shrimp was it!

BREWER’S COLLECTION: Schofferhofer Hefeweizen Pomegranate Beer – This was just for Dan as I do not drink beer. He said it was the perfect choice for the hot afternoon.

GERMANY: Roast Bratwurst in Prop & Peller Pretzel roll – I didn’t like this, Dan was happy that I wasn’t a fan because he got it to himself.

SPAIN: Spanish-Style Paella w/ botifarra and roasted chicken – Delicious!

ITALY: Costine di Maiale, balsamic-glazed and oven-roasted pork ribs – this is yum, but very small portion.

FIFE & DRUM TAVERN: Hanson Brothers Beer Company Mmmhops Pale Ale – This one was strictly for Dan, I’m not a beer drinker. I think we both liked the name more than the beer itself, but it was a must have.

BLOCK & HANS:
McKenzie’s Black Cherry Hard Cider – I think I liked this but I really cant remember!!

HOPE & BARLEY: New England Lobster Roll, warm lobster w/ fresh herb mayonnaise and griddled roll – Both thought this was gross and didn’t finish it.

CANADA:
Le Cellier wild mushroom beef filet mignon w/ truffle-butter sauce.


I was grumpy and just WAY to hot. It felt like the bottom of my feet were burning through the souls of my shoes! Dan had enough of me. It had become a theme of this trip, that I would get to hot (and most of the time hungry, or lacking a sugary snack) and would turn into a “pumpkin” as Dan like to say.
There was a mime in Italy performing tricks, so Dan found me a comfy stool at a table, and continued on to find me something sweet. It wasn’t long before he sent me a message with this picture..

“Do you want one of these” he asked!
OBVIOUSLY I do!! It’s an alcoholic slushie!!

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I think he said he found this in America?

When he came back to drop it off, he said that SmashMouth were playing on the stage in the American Pavillion, he headed back to watch that. Before he found a spot to watch the show, he got himself the mmmHops beer.
He sent me this photo – we both thought it was hilarious!!

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I stayed watching the mime for another 10 or so minutes to cool down. While I was there, I picked up a Frozen FP starting in 15 minutes, so I headed off to find Dan.
He was standing behind the seated section in a group, under a tree.


I caught the last song of their set, then we headed for a slow walk back to Norway.

I was so glad once we got inside the Frozen attraction. I think I would have almost been tempted to wait in the general line for this, just to stay in the aircon :p You would think, being from Australia we would be used to the heat, and we are to some extent, but 12 hours in the sun all day every day in Florida, really gets to me!
 

PrincessJasmyn

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
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The little girl sitting in front of us was SO excited the whole time. It made us smile even more than usual. Every time she saw Elsa, so squealed and shouted – pointing and laughing. She couldn’t believe her eyes. It was nice to experience it with someone so excited and in love. Her grandmother kept turning around to apologise because she could hear us giggling at her grand daughter, we assured her it was just making our experience better! Dan started exclaiming when the little girl did, and the 2 of them acted just as excited as one another every time Elsa popped back up.

We said our goodbyes to the excited little girl, and headed to The Seas! Dan wanted to keep me in the aircon, to make sure I didn’t turn back into a horrible person... It was another ride we could finally tick of our list of things we haven’t done yet.

After the ride we had a walk around, checking out all the underwater animals. We didn’t take many photos, except of this cool guy!

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In the giftshop, we got some “After Sun” cooling gel to put on my burnt arms. It was so expensive, but definitely helped ease some of the burn I was starting to feel come on.

The sun was down, and we headed back to the showcase. Dan was desperate for a Lobster Roll, we got one each from a little booth, and it was absolutely terrible. I had 1 bite and spat it out, Dan finished his, but he wasn’t impressed in the slightest. We ended the night just before the fireworks started. We headed out of the international gateway, and walked over to Yacht/Beach Club.

While we were walking the fireworks started behind us. We stopped on the walk way, overlooking the water, and watched them for 10 or so minutes. It was a nice way to end the evening, after being all hot and bothered all afternoon.

We admired the look of both Yacht and Beach Club. I really love the look of both resorts, and would LOVE to stay there one time. But I think that will only ever be a distant dream unfortunately.

We had a small look around Beach Club and the lobby, before jumping in an Uber and heading back to ASMovies at 9:30pm.
 

k8einwdw

Well-Known Member
By now, Dan was on his way over and asked why I moved. I explained the situation but then told him that he’s definitely not from the previous family and he just kicked me off. Dan was so unimpressed, he went and told him to move. He did, but his crazy mother came over abusing Dan. She was going on and on for ages. Luckily the family next to us saw the whole thing, told the woman exactly what happened from an outsiders view. All over a bloody table. I was so embarrassed and had already left and found a high table to stand at. Dan walked off from her, sick of listening to her being extremely rude and calling him horrible names. He stood his ground for as long as he could but decided he didn’t need to take it and wanted to eat his breakfast instead.
A couple of bites into our meal and she walked back over to us. I was braced for more verbal assaults, but she came to apologise. Apparently the dad from the family at the next table had given her a mouthful. She left the whole area and took off into Toy Story Land. The whole ordeal was really over the top. I couldn’t believe how crazy her and her teenage son were. What a way to start the day!
Ugh, people are the worst. All of this over a dang table?!?
 

Minnie1986

Well-Known Member
We parted way from our tour group at 2:30pm. We were hot and bothered, and really needed a few minutes to sit and collect ourselves after the full day we had. Lightning Mcqueen’s Racing Academy had just opened its doors for the next show, and we decided that would be a great place to rest. With a bottle of water and a pineapple cup, we took our seats in the air-conditioned room.
I thought it was a great show, and a good idea to waste time after a full on day. We loved the animatronics and the story-line. It was cute seeing all the small kids get really excited to see Lightning McQueen!


It was closing in on 3:15pm, we had a show to get to with our friend Andrew!
On the way to Indiana Jones, Dan stopped for a Mickey Bar and I got myself a frozen coke, and we met Andrew at the entrance to the Indiana Jones show.

We were lucky to sit in the middle of the theatre, but unlucky to have a family behind us, with a toddler that was running around screaming behind us. The kid was coughing directly onto our heads, growling at us and hitting our backs. The parents and grandmother did NOTHING until about half way through the show when they finally left. We were constantly giving them eye contact and hinting for them to control him, but they were just letting him do what he wanted. Even a cast member came and told them he needs to stay seated! That’s when they decided to leave.

Once Dan’s favourite show was over, it was time to head back to Galaxy’s Edge for an afternoon reservation at the new Oga’s Cantina. When bookings for this got released, it was the middle of the night in Australia. I woke to the news that bookings were open, but as soon as I checked they were completely full.
I set up alerts with different reservation finders, and by 5pm that day, a heap more times were released for this and build your own lightsabre. Dan was over the moon when I came home from work and told him about the 2 reservations I had scored for him.


We stopped to take a few more photos on the way to Oga’s.

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We had a small wait outside Oga’s until our reservation time. The three of us were stood at a small section of the bar, squashed like sardines with the people next to us. We were advised there is a maximum of 2 drinks per person and a 45 minute time frame.

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First round of drinks. Andrew was boring and got a beer. I had the Fuzzy Tauntaun, Dan had the Jet Juice.

The “Fuzz” on the top of mine made my lips and tongue numb. It had me wondering what the hell was in it! When I asked the bar tender, I got “Look, my boss Oga is very secretive, I can’t go telling her secrets to people who don’t work here, I value my life. Just enjoy”

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Dan’s drink really did taste Jet Juice. Way too strong for me to drink. Lucky it was only small, definitely wouldn’t be able to have more than that as a drink.

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Second round was just as ‘weird’ – Dan had the Outer Rim, which had black salt on the rim and did not look appealing in the slightest. I had the Jedi Mind Trick. It was way too strong for me and I didn’t finish it. Andy liked Dan’s first round drink so much that he got the Jet Juice for him.

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This post makes me worried about the height of my alcohol tolerance. I had two Jedi Mind Tricks back to back and thought they were a bit weak lol
 

PrincessJasmyn

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Trying to get back to finishing this report... I haven't forgotten!!
You'd think I'd have more time with all the virus stuff going on, but I work for the goverment and we have been as crazy as ever.

I hope everyone is keeping safe, i know most of you are from the US and its absolutely mental and extremely scary there. Please keep safe!
This is one time I am very lucky my city is know to be "The most isolated capital city in Australia" :inlove:
 

PrincessJasmyn

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
DAY 8 – 18th September 2019


Today we planned to have a less crazy day than the others. Even though we had another 2 parks planned, we were hoping not to be running around in the sun like mad people, again.

I woke up around 7:30am, and headed to do some more washing while Dan had a sleep in. I put it on and called mum while sitting in the laundry room. We chatted for ages on facetime, until my washing stopped. It was night time there, and she was filling me in on everything back home, and I complained to her how hot Florida always is.

We ended our conversation, I put my washing in a dryer, and headed back to the room to shower. Dan woke us by this stage, and he started getting ready too. When we were both dressed for the day, we headed to the food court for breakfast. I got a cream cheese bagel. Dan got himself a croissant. Both were delicious.
When we had finished, we got our washing and ran it back to our room, dumped it into our suitcases and headed to the bus stop. Today we were heading to Animal Kingdom!

We arrived at 10:15am and made our way straight to Rafiki’s Planet Watch.

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Dan had found an Animation Lesson that was held out there, that he really wanted to try. It started at 11am, and we managed to get there at 10:45. I was surprised how many people were lined up outside waiting for the studio to open. We didn’t even know this existed until the night before.

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The cast member gave us each a pencil and told us to find a seat. On the seat there was a clipboard and piece of paper with a couple of ovals and some lines already drawn onto it.

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It was a really fun experience. I was going to let Dan do it alone, and go and explore something else while he was drawing, but I had a blast and I’m really glad I decided to do it.

The Animation Artist taking us through each step with brilliant. She was a younger girl, maybe around 25 or 26. She walked us through every step of drawing Timon, in great detail, and they had her drawing displayed on a TV at the front of the room.

It was about a 30 minute lesson. These were our final results.

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Dan is already a great cartoon drawer. He studied animation for a while at TAFE. But I think I definitely came in a close second :p

While standing outside at Rafikis Planet Watch, a Family of 5 came out of the lesson behind us. Parents with 3 teenage kids. They were all arguing about who’s drawing was the best and we helped them vote! They were from England and apparently come every year, and do the animation lesson. The dad said they have a collection of pictures from when they first started coming to WDW. It was really nice chatting to them!

We headed back to the train station with our pictures in hand. While we were on our ride back, we decided to check out the next Lion King show, which started at 12pm. Dan and I both got a Minute Maid frozen cup and walked over to the show.

It never disappoints!

The tumble monkeys are always our favourite.

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When the cast members get people up to make animal noises, its always funny when the crowd don’t know what noise a Giraffe makes, but this time there was a young boy, around 4 or 5. When she explained the giraffe made a “low bleeping sound, like a sheep” the young boy made the most monotoned “BAH” so loud into the microphone, Dan and I lost it laughing. We still, to this day, randomly “BAH” at each other at random times :D

We left with huge smiles on our faces, and headed to the next place on my list to try – Nomad Lounge!

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We walked into Nomad Lounge and were seated outside, overlooking the water.

I ordered us some Satay Chicken and the Bread Service. Dan wasn’t interested in eating, until he saw the food come out. We were both really impressed with the bread service – so many delicious flavours. I highly recommend stopping here for a midday break. Especially if you don’t have kids. Dan and I really enjoyed the quiet atmosphere, but still being able to look over to the people of Animal Kingdom enjoying their time at the park.

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We of course had to get a cocktail each with our food!
I got “Jenn’s Tattoo” and Dan choose a “Spice Trader Classic” – The cocktails here were super yum, just like the food.

We finished up our food, in no real rush, and said our goodbyes to our favourite park.

Today we decided the bus would be find a suitable means of transport to get us back to the hotel. We arrived back to our room around 2:30pm and got ready for our evening adventures.
 

PrincessJasmyn

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Showered, dressed up, and ready to go, I ordered us a Uber, and we arrived at the Ticket and Transportation Centre. We bordered the Monorail and were pulling up to the Magic Kingdom Station at 4:10 – just as an afternoon shower starts. Our dinner reservation was for 4:30pm, so we hurried straight up Main Street, heading towards Cinderella’s Castle.

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The weather got too much for my hair and I succumbed to putting my poncho on so the rain didn’t ruin it too much.

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*looking back on this photo, I really miss the old colouring of the castle (I haven’t seen the new colours in person yet), but I loved the subtle pastels so much!!*

We made it right on our reservation time, and were invited straight inside to meet Cinderella, before our meal. Being back inside the castle brought back some beautiful memories of getting engaged here 16 months earlier.

I also made sure I showed Cindy my tattoo of her.

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Our names were called for our table as soon as we were finished our meeting with Cinderella.

I LOVE the stained-glass windows while going up the stairs to the dining room.
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PrincessJasmyn

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We noticed that coming to dinner earlier, was a lot louder and there were a lot more “little” kids. I think I preferred the later dinning time we had last year as it didn’t feel as crazy, and had a little bit more magic to it.

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We ordered a glass of Rosa Regale each. A delicious sweet sparkling red wine, the same we had last year when we got engaged. Of course, we had to order it again.

We placed our orders for our starters, mains and desserts. Our waiter wouldn’t let us place them separately, which we thought was strange. Maybe so guests can’t drag out their reservation time (which was exactly what we were trying to do :p )
Dan ordered the Charcuterie Meat Plate for starters, Tenderloin of Beef for the main meal and The Clock Strikes Midnight for dessert.

I ordered the Scallops for starters, which were unbelievable, but there just wasn’t enough there, I wish there was more as it was so tasty. I also got the Tenderloin of Beef for mains, we both really enjoyed it and would choose it again if we ever went back, and the Jaq & Gus, which was a deconstructed cheesecake for dessert.

Dan was very impressed with his sword, but not so happy that it wasn’t sharp enough to eat his food with.

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While we were waiting for our main meals, the princesses started coming around one by one. I made a point to ask every princess I met, where her prince was. Just to have more than the basic “do you want a photo” interaction. I was really impressed with the answers they each came up with.

Rapunzel was the first princess to come to our table.
When asked the question, she replied “Oh, Flynn is busy at the Snuggly Duckling organising a talent show for everyone there. I am going to join him after our feast! Do you have any special talents? We could enter you into the talent show!”

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Next came Jasmine.
“Aladdin is off on another magic carpet ride!”

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Princess Ariel bounded around next with a huge grin on her face. She was the only princess who had to take a second to think of a response to give. It was funny to watch her have to think of something on the spot. I think we caught her off guard.

“Eric, is, um, sailing with Max this afternoon!”

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PrincessJasmyn

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
The beautiful Aurora was the last to visit our table.
“Oh, Phillip is off fighting dragons.. again! I hope he will be home in time for supper.”

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Dan’s Dessert – The Clock Strikes Midnight.

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And my dessert – Jaq & Gus – deconstructed cheesecake.

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I didn’t remember to take photos of the rest of the food – I was too busy stuffing my face!

We left dinner at roughly 6pm. We checked the app to see what we wanted to ride and what fastpasses were available. We still had a multi FP each to use, and decided the 70min Splash Mountain line was where we should use it.
 

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