Trip Report A very Happy 40th Birthday to me!

Hello everyone! My name is Tammy and I have been creeping on this site for about 2 years now but I finally decided to sign up and write my 1st trip report. This was the 3rd trip to Disney World for both my husband (Brian) and I. Our 1st trip was in Sept 2011 for our 10 year anniversary and I was hooked . I convinced Brian that we had to go back for his 40th in 2013 and we decided to go for the Star Wars week-ends in May that year. We are both geeks so it was right up our alley . I had actually written up a trip report for that one but I was too shy to post it . Before we had even gone on our 2nd trip I had already planned to go to Disney for my 40th in 2014 and luckily we were able to make it happen .

So since I am on stay-cation this week I think it is a good time to relive our wonderful Disney memories. Also I need an escape from our crazy weather. We are from New Brunswick, Canada and winter has been brutal for the Maritimes .

Here I am crawling across the snow to try and get to our car after one of our many storms this winter .



Here is a pic of Brian also trying to get to our car that same day



So without further delay (this report is late enough already) on with the trip report:

Day 1 - Tuesday, Oct 28th

We arrived at the Orlando airport about 1:30pm and caught the Magical express to the All Star Sports resort.







Check in went smoothly and we were on our way to Downtown Disney for dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express.




Sorry for our messy looking plates but we started eating before I remembered to take
the picture .





After dinner we did a little shopping and then decided to go explore the Fort
Wilderness Campsites because I heard that some of the campers decorate for Halloween. I also had another motive - Gary and Carol Cruise happened to be vacationing in Disney at Fort Wilderness at the same time and I was hoping to meet them. I follow their trip reports whenever they go to Disney and apparently according to Brian I am officially a stalker . I casually passed by their campsite - ummm about 3 times but did not see them out so we continued along. Here is a pic of their campsite...



And a few other pics from that night







We got back to our resort, unpacked and were in bed about 11pm.

 

[Beastly74]

Day 13 - Sunday, Nov 9th

Today we were lazy . We slept in and decided to go for lunch at our favorite restaurant in...




Yummy . Brian got his usual.

After another excellent meal and a little shopping we decided to take the boat to Port Orleans and then catch the bus to HS.




Sleepy-heads .







Such a pretty resort. I would love to stay here.

We finally got to try the scrumptious cupcakes at Starring Rolls...Yes we were eating again .



So much goodness!
Finally it was time for some rides. We used fastpasses for Star Tours and TSMM.
The At At Walker is awesome! I remember when we 1st saw it back in 20ll we were in awe.
This guy was trying to sneak up on Brian and I was trying to sneak up on the both of them to capture a pic of the moment when the soldier turned around and ended up being scared by me...oops .
Then we got seats to watch the Beauty and the Beast show...a must see for me. May 2013 I watched it 3 times...lol.
I will leave you with this pic...the result of too much sugar in Brian's system?

 

[mrdrift]

That was a wonderful conclusion to Magic kingdom, it was like the park was empty except for you two and a couple people to take your pictures. Let Brian know that we love all the facial expressions which brings tons of humor to your report. Following along.

 

[Beastly74]

That was a wonderful conclusion to Magic kingdom, it was like the park was empty except for you two and a couple people to take your pictures. Let Brian know that we love all the facial expressions which brings tons of humor to your report. Following along.

Thanks for following along . I ♥ rainy EMH's...they are the best. I passed your comment on to Brian...he laughed and said "Thank-you". I am thankful to have a husband who is not afraid to act a little silly sometimes .

 

[Beastly74]

Some pictures from the Beauty and the Beast show...






























I love the one of Belle and the Beast on the stairs...just wish it came out a little better.

 

[Beastly74]

After enjoying the show we were off to use our last fastpass of the day.









Such an amazing ride. The attention to detail is phenomenal.

Then we took some time to explore some of the stores and stopped for a photo op.





Now it was time to see the Osborne lights again but not before a detour to meet Mike and Sulley .






Not too often that I can actually look down at someone...lol.


♥
So glad that Brian likes to do meet and greets .



















The crowd was much lighter this time so Brian was able to relax more. But in the excitement I forgot to look for the black cat .

On our way out of the park we took one last ride on RNRC


We finished the night at WPE in DD...again . But I have no idea what we ate because I forgot to take pictures . We must have been extremely hungry...lol.

 

[Beastly74]

Day 14 - Monday, Nov 10th - Our last day in Disney .

Today Brian really wanted to try breakfast at WPE so we were off to DD again.


Coffee-time .


It was your typical breakfast - I would save my meal credits for lunch/dinner there.


Too cute .







After a quick look around DD we hopped on the bus to the Boardwalk and then walked to Epcot.





We took the friendship boat for the 1st time .


Can you see us?


Semi-normal pic of Brian...lol.







We stopped in Japan for a light lunch...



The ice-cream was better than I thought.





Before we left Epcot (for the final time this trip ) we went on Soarin and then took a spin on Test Track single rider line-twice.




The kid in the back looks like he thought Brian was hilarious...lol.


We ended up in the same car for this one . Brian blocked the poor kids face beside him...oops. The two boys I was sitting with asked me to sit in the middle so they could both be on the sides...fine by me.

Next up is another exciting 1st for us

 

[Beastly74]

For our last night we had tickets for...


A sold out party...uh-oh.

Brian wanted one last run on Splash Mountain and the wait time was only 10 minutes. Don't get me wrong I think this ride is great...but that 50 foot drop at the end terrifies me . Plus I didn't want to risk getting soaked so I sat out the ride. Well I waited...and waited...I forgot how long it was! Finally he came out and we were on our way again.


Where is he? LOL

It was raining a little so Brian cheated and wore a poncho...


Then we stopped for some hot chocolate and cookies .





I have to backtrack now...I had one very important goal for this party...meet and greet with the 7 Dwarfs. As soon as we arrived at the party about 5pm we found out where they were scheduled to be and went to find the area. When we got there I noticed about a 1/2 dozen people already in line so I thought maybe they would be coming out early like Jack and Sally for the Halloween Party. The photographer was just starting to set up so we asked him and he said no they were not coming out until 7pm when the party officially started. So being the trusting newbies that we were the decision was made to come back at 6 to get in line. I figured that even if we had to wait in line for an hour the party would just be getting underway by the time we were done. So that is when Brian went on Splash and we got our snack and made our way back to the meet and greet area about 10 after 6. Well guess what ...they were already out and the line was insane. We had to ask a cast member where the end of the line was and she was not even sure . While she was helping us I mentioned to her what had happened and she asked which one had given me the wrong information but I told her I didn't remember. I did but I really did not want to get anyone in trouble. I was just upset so it felt better to tell someone. We ended up waiting in line for 1 hour and 45 minutes!!! Luckily we chatted the entire time with a really nice couple in front of us so it helped pass the time and kept me from focusing on that negative incident. Whew sorry that was so long-winded

What is important is we got to meet the 7 Dwarfs ...




Brian said he was trying to impersonate Grumpy in this pic .


I asked if he was imitating Dopey in this one .

We would have liked to watch the Christmas show in Tomorrowland but we did not have enough time because it was already time to find seats for the fireworks.








The castle seems to be on fire!





The show was phenomenal. We did not get any good pics but we enjoyed it immensely .

 

[Beastly74]

After the fireworks we staked out a place to watch the parade. We enjoyed this parade but we prefer the Halloween one. For some reason we had a difficult time getting any good pictures.






Creepy looking Duffy


Blurry Olaf














Brian wants to try and make one of these for our City's Christmas parade .











Wow only one more post and I will have this trip report completed. That makes me a little sad...lol.

 

[myhappyplace]

Me too! I don't want it to end!

 

[mrdrift]

Even if the pictures were a little difficult to get, thanks for sharing them since I have never seen this parade before. Sorry to hear about the seven dwarfs wait time issue but you did get to meet them after all. Following along.

 

[Beastly74]

Me too! I don't want it to end!

Thanks so much .

 

[Beastly74]

Even if the pictures were a little difficult to get, thanks for sharing them since I have never seen this parade before. Sorry to hear about the seven dwarfs wait time issue but you did get to meet them after all. Following along.

Yes I was very pleased that we were able to check that meet and greet off our Disney bucket list. The photographer did not capture the moment but Bashful kept kissing my hand as we were leaving .

Thanks for following along .

 

[Beastly74]

It actually snowed here in New Brunswick again. Yes it SNOWED on April 28th and the roads were horrible this afternoon. Unfortunately there were quite a few car accidents because most drivers have already taken their winter tires off .

Ok on to something more positive (really wishing I was back in Disney right now!)

Once the parade was over we still had some time left so we went looking for more characters back in New Fantasyland. We came across Jack Skellington dressed as Santa but his line was already closed (sorry the picture we took did not come out ). Then we noticed Scrooge McDuck but his line was closed off just as we approached but he acknowledged us and let us take his picture before the next person came to see him. He really is a nice guy!



Luckily for us Minnie Mouse was out and her line was still open...score! This turned out to be the best meet and greet of the entire trip .

1st she danced with me...




And then with Brian...He looks so happy...lol.








What a wonderful experience .

We took one last spin on the Seven Dwarfs ride...







Then it was time to make our way out...very slowly .


All by myself .















Even though we had a little set back at the beginning of the party it ended up being an amazing night and a great way to end our vacation. We were very fortunate to celebrate both Halloween and Christmas at Disney plus enjoy some time at the Food and Wine Festival in Epcot.

Tomorrow I will finish this report with some final thoughts. Thanks to everyone for following along and for all of the great comments - I really appreciated the feedback .

 

[mrdrift]

What a wonderful end to the party, dancing with Minnie is really cool. The pictures with the castle in the back ground was really great. I can't believe that your trip report is coming to an end. Following along to the end

 

[Raven66]

I enjoyed your trip report. And your pictures were AMAZING!! Looks like you had a complete blast.

 

[Beastly74]

What a wonderful end to the party, dancing with Minnie is really cool. The pictures with the castle in the back ground was really great. I can't believe that your trip report is coming to an end. Following along to the end

Minnie was fantastic...so happy that we stopped to see her. Thanks for sticking with me .

 

[Beastly74]

I enjoyed your trip report. And your pictures were AMAZING!! Looks like you had a complete blast.

Thank-you . We had a wonderful time and I have been dreaming about going back since the day we got home...lol.

 

[Beastly74]

This is the only picture I have from Nov 11th - our departure day...

"You know that feeling you get when you are ready to go home after vacation...I don't have it."

Not positive but I think this was taken at the airport. A sad sad day. Once home I was happy to see our 2 cats (fur babies ) but after that I was ready to go back...lol.

Just a few last comments about the trip...

All Star Sports resort - this was not my 1st choice but Brian ended up liking it the best. We have stayed at All Star Movies (Sept 2011), Pop Century (May 2013) and now All Star Sports. I prefer Pop Century - mainly because we could walk to AOA. I would love to stay at AOA someday but not until they offer some discounts...not just on the family suites. The bus system at Sports was better than expected and we loved the football area. Brian's father passed away in Aug 2013 and he was a huge sports fan...football was one of his faves so we knew he would have loved it.

I mentioned earlier in the report that it was busier than expected. I knew before we went that we would be there for Jersey week but even one woman we spoke with from New Jersey commented that in all the years she had been coming to Disney on that same week she had never seen it that crowded. I am quite sure it felt even more crowded because of all the construction. Thank goodness we had 2 full weeks to enjoy the magic so we could take it easy and not stress about missing anything. I forgot to mention that the Food and Wine Marathon was taking place on our last week-end there. That made things even more interesting...lol.

I feel so fortunate that in the past 4 years we have been able to take 3 amazing trips to Disney but I have to be honest...I still want more . I started saving again as soon as we got home and I already have a tentative plan for May 2016 for Star Wars week-ends again but not sure if we can make it happen this time. Sometime life can throw unexpected challenges your way but I am still hopeful and with the new Star Wars movie coming out Brian is on board 100%...lol.

I thought I would end with my favorite quote by George Bernard Shaw...
“We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”
Words of wisdom .

Oh and for anyone who enjoys Brian's crazy faces. Here is one from our May 2013 trip...

Apparently he found Dumbo to be quite the thrilling experience...lol.

Thanks for letting me share my memories with all of you and for the kind words of encouragement. Now I will return to living vicariously through other people's trip reports .

 

[popcenturylover]

Thanks for sharing your report. It was excellent & your pictures were some of the best I've seen! By the way, your life must not get too boring because your husband seems pretty entertaining!

 

[Beastly74]

Thanks for sharing your report. It was excellent & your pictures were some of the best I've seen! By the way, your life must not get too boring because your husband seems pretty entertaining!

Thanks for taking the time to read my report and I am thrilled that you enjoyed our pictures so much. Brian can definitely be the life of the party sometimes...lol.

I hope you have an amazing vacation!