Aug 2nd - Aug 7th: First Trip Report

Posting my very first trip report! Had a blast and am still recovering (mainly my feet)!

Players: Myself (31) and DH for the week of his 40th Birthday (he totally doesn't look it or act like it.

Day One - Aug 2nd
We took an early 7:45 flight out of DFW to Orlando! Even though we are up so early, we are not tired! We are so excited and ready to reach our final destination of Walt Disney World!!

We check into our hotel, Contemporary Resort around 1:30. We were both so excited! It was our first deluxe experience and a childhood dream of ours to stay at the Contemporary. The check in service was great and fast! However, we were disappointed to find out we did not get our request of a room with a king bed. Although, we did receive a room on the 11th floor (MK view). The view was gorgeous!

Pictures from our balcony!

After settling into our room, we immediatly headed towards the monorail. I just have to say how much we LOVED having the monorail access during the week! We went straight to Epcot! First mission, stop by Soarin' for a fastpass. By this time, we are both starving (it's around 2:30). We go to the Pub in Rose and Crown. Beer with Fish n Chips. Our first meal in WDW! For us, a great way to start the trip!

We then immediately headed over to Norway. My DH and I are both fans of The Deadliest Catch and my DH's favorite crew is the Northwestern. It was their last day of meet and greet! We arrived just after 3:00 in line. The line was VERY slow moving. Then they stopped at 4:00 for a break and were coming back at 5:30. The group in front of us received fast passes but us along with everyone behind us, had to stay in line and wait. It was a LONG wait! However, we did meet some really nice, cool people who were in line behind us! Two of them were CM's who had just gotten off of work. Was fun talking with them and were really nice. One guy kept going to get drinks and snacks for everyone. Even though we waited a long time, it went fast for we were in great company.

Here we are with the crew of the Northwestern. Got in line just after 3:00 - meet them around 6:00!

Can you tell we are from Dallas and are big Cowboys fans?

While in line, one of our new friends was eatting a school and was saying how it's the best! So, my DH had to stop by Kringla Bakeri og Cafe to try one. Needless to say, he LOVED it! He said he has to have one everytime we go to Epcot!

Here he is enjoying his new found love!

We then went to our favorite ride at Epcot, Spaceship Earth! We actually rode the ride, got off and went back around to ride it again!! I love that ride!!! It was then time for our Soarin' Fastpass time! So off to Soarin' we went! We then decided to call it a night for we were now hungry for dinner and just wanted to relax after a long day!

We went to the Contempo Cafe in the resort and brought our food back up to our room and watch the old Mickey cartoons (I love that channel). It was then time to watch Wishes!!! We have NEVER seen Wished before. We changed the channel on the tv, set up our camera and sat back and watched the fireworks. Immediately fell in love with Wishes!!!!! Favorite fireworks EVER!! I knew I had to see it again!

Here are some pictures of Wishes from our balcony!

More to come soon!

 

[TxNewsies]

Loving the report!! Awesome pictures too!!! Looks like you and the DH had an incredible time!!! Love that you supported your team while in WDW!!! We do the same thing, but just for a different team!!! GO EAGLES!!!! While we maybe rivals, one thing we can agree on and understand, is that T.O. is like a posion to any team he touches!!! :ROFLOL::ROFLOL::ROFLOL: Can't wait for the next installment!

You totally speak the truth! T.O. is poison! While we were in line to meet the crew of the Northwestern, the guy behind us was from Philly and a big Eagles fan and by the end of the 3 hour wait he said, "Look at us! Cowboys and Eagles fans can be friends!"

 

[corey154]

We were VERY happy to see him go! Goodbye - don't come back! We will not miss him at all!!

sounds like all the other dallas fans i know...lol!

I'm glad you guys had a great trip here and can't wait to finish reading the rest!

 

[foreverbelle]

I am getting ready to post my own trip report. It will be my first one as well. I am loving yours though. And since we were there the same week I was caught in a lot of the rain storms as well...

I am glad you guys had such a good time.

 

[tink68]

You totally speak the truth! T.O. is poison! While we were in line to meet the crew of the Northwestern, the guy behind us was from Philly and a big Eagles fan and by the end of the 3 hour wait he said, "Look at us! Cowboys and Eagles fans can be friends!"

:ROFLOL:They can be married too. When hubby and I wear our jerseys his is green and mine is blue. Game time is fun in my house. :ROFLOL:

 

[TxNewsies]

sounds like all the other dallas fans i know...lol!

I'm glad you guys had a great trip here and can't wait to finish reading the rest!

=) Thanks!!!

I am getting ready to post my own trip report. It will be my first one as well. I am loving yours though. And since we were there the same week I was caught in a lot of the rain storms as well...

I am glad you guys had such a good time.

I can't wait to read your trip report!!! Gotta love rain! The good thing about it is it cools down the temp and it usually doesn't rain too long.

:ROFLOL:They can be married too. When hubby and I wear our jerseys his is green and mine is blue. Game time is fun in my house. :ROFLOL:

That's awesome! That would be fun to watch - game time in your house! Go Cowboys!

 

[heartodisney]

Not ONLY are you having my FAV ice cream in your avatar...you have my FAV jerseys on! I want to thank you guys for this post! I have never seen anyone post a pic with the paintbrush, thanks! Keep up the great work on this thread guys!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Yaaayyy! I came just hoping to find another installment and there was lots to read! Thank you! :sohappy:

My hubby is a life-long Cowboys fan, too. During the T.O. years he packed all his Cowboys hats, shirts, jackets, hardhat, etc. away and refused to watch them play. I wasn't even allowed to put the Cowboys ornaments on the back of the Christmas tree. My sons thought it was big fun when they bought him a T.O. bobble head. LOL! My dad & brother are Redskins fans so there's been a lot of hilarity back and forth over the past 16 years. I could care less. I used to love to play football with all the guys in college but never got into watching it so much. :shrug:

I like the dramatic, over-acted poses in your pics. Those are my favorite. I used to try to look nice in pictures but find they are waaaay much better when I'm acting silly. Then it doesn't matter how bad you look because you're acting 'Goofy' plus it's hard to take a bad picture when it's so obvious you're having fun.

Keep it rolling! I love this report!

 

[harveyt0206]

What a fun trip report. Thanks so much for sharing. I am staying at the Contemporary for the first time in Sept. and I couldn't be more excited, so your comments have only increased my excitement. It has been a childhood dream of mine to stay there too. Looking forward to the rest of your report.

 

[TxNewsies]

Day 4 - Aug 5th

Full Epcot day! Epcot is probably our favorite park! We absolutely love it! We grabbed muffins and filled our drinks again at Contempo and enjoyed another relaxing morning on our balcony before heading to the monorail. I loved our mornings! We arrived at Epoct just before 8:45 and I was excited to see another rope drop!!! YAY!! Three parks, in three days! Works for me!

We headed straight to Test Track and rode. DH was disappointed that you walked right through the briefing room without watching the video. I guess they were trying to get the line moving and going before they started that part. I guess. Test Track is so much fun!

We then headed over to Engery. I have never been before! DH loves it. I really enjoyed it!! I loved the storyline with Ellen - so funny!!!

Spaceship Earth time! YAY!! Love this Ride!!! Makes me happy!

Now - this trip has been an interesting one when it comes to my feet. I've never had any problem. This trip however, my feet just were not having it! Especially one of my pinkies. It was messed up which then caused blisters and other problems with my feet. By this point, I was struggling to walk, I was in so much pain! Was very frustrated by that!

So, after SE, I took a seat while DH went and got Soarin' Fastpasses for later. We then went over to Imagination. I struggle getting on this ride. It was my favorite ride as a kid. Everytime we visited, I couldn't wait to get on it! Last time I rode it was '94 with my family. I did not return to WDW until '07 on my honeymoon and I was soooooooooooo excited to ride Imagination with DH for he had never been on it! I talked about it constantly! Rode the ride and was totally disappointed. Ever since then, I just do not want to ride the ride anymore. DH finally talked me back on the ride this year and I still dislike it. Makes me sad. Figment just isn't the same! However, I still cherish my Figment plush I got on my first trip in '86!

It was then time for our lunch ADR for Le Cellier! We had time before our time to watch O Canada. Then lunch! This was the reservation we were most excited about it! We each at the Chef's Favorites, starting with the Cheddar Cheese Soup! OMG - everyone is so right about this soup! Absolutely AMAZING! And dipping the pretzel bread - *sigh* awesomeness! Rest of the meal was a disappointment. I LOVE prime rib. It's one of my favs so I had the sandwich. It was dry and I really wish I could have dipped it in some aju (seriously, I need to learn how to spell!). The coconut ice cream was interesting. DH has the Maple Creme Brulee which he totally loved!!!

After lunch, we headed over to Nemo and watched Turtle Talk which was totally funny this time around. One boy for his question said, "You're DUMB!" Crush was awesome! He said, "Okay. Everyone is titled to their own opinion. Does anyone else have another question, maybe something a little more positive!" Was way too funny!!!

When we left the Seas, it was raining. On came the ponchos! We headed over to meet the characters!!!! YAY!! I just had to meet Mickey! We met Mickey on our honeymoon but our picture was completely blury. =( And we never saw him last year. So I was determined to meet him this year!

It's not perfect but 100% better than two years ago!! YAY!!!!

Due to the hour and a half wait to meet the characters and the ending time of our Soarin' Fastpass, we didnt' have time to meet all the characters. =( So - Off to Soarin' we went. Always a blast!!!! YAY!!

Now it was time to head into the World Showcase!!

England! A friend said when I showed her this picture it looked like I was going to the Ministry of Magic. I told her, wrong park!

We strolled around the Showcase where I met my very first princess ever!! As a child, I never did meet a princess during our Disney trips. =( And I was so excited to meet Belle!! Plus, she's my favorite - I can totally relate to her!! She was so sweet! DH started talking to her like Lumeire (he does it really good! He's played Lumeire in a community theatre production) Belle enjoyed it! She told me, "He must do all the cooking at home." And yes he does. =)

France!

We then stopped by Boulangerie Patisserie for the first time. Here is what I got. I forget the name of it but omg, it was GOOD!!!!!!

We continued strolling around the World Showcase. We love listening to the Voices of Liberty! They are awesome! By the time we were done strolling the Showcase it was 7:30 and my feet were in the worst pain ever and the evening was not done! I had my birthday dinner suprise for my DH!!

 

[TxNewsies]

Not ONLY are you having my FAV ice cream in your avatar...you have my FAV jerseys on! I want to thank you guys for this post! I have never seen anyone post a pic with the paintbrush, thanks! Keep up the great work on this thread guys!

YAY for Mickey Ice Creams!! We took tons of pictures with the paintbrush. The funniest are the ones of my DH! He makes funny poses. One of them, it looks more like he's trying to be a dinosuar to me! LOL!!

Yaaayyy! I came just hoping to find another installment and there was lots to read! Thank you! :sohappy:

My hubby is a life-long Cowboys fan, too. During the T.O. years he packed all his Cowboys hats, shirts, jackets, hardhat, etc. away and refused to watch them play. I wasn't even allowed to put the Cowboys ornaments on the back of the Christmas tree. My sons thought it was big fun when they bought him a T.O. bobble head. LOL! My dad & brother are Redskins fans so there's been a lot of hilarity back and forth over the past 16 years. I could care less. I used to love to play football with all the guys in college but never got into watching it so much. :shrug:

I like the dramatic, over-acted poses in your pics. Those are my favorite. I used to try to look nice in pictures but find they are waaaay much better when I'm acting silly. Then it doesn't matter how bad you look because you're acting 'Goofy' plus it's hard to take a bad picture when it's so obvious you're having fun.

Keep it rolling! I love this report!

Thanks! DH loves to be funny. I grew up in a Cowboys lovin' family and I married a HUGE Cowboys fan! Gotta love rivary! The funniest was one thanksgiving when I was in HS and my cousins lived in Kansas City. They all came down for Thanksgiving (Aunt, Uncle and five cousins all in Chiefs sweatshirts) for it was Cowboys vs. Chiefs for the game! They were out for blood! They kept yelling - Injur Aikman, Get Him!!! Was so excited when they won!

Now that TO is gone, are the Cowboys stuff back out again?

What a fun trip report. Thanks so much for sharing. I am staying at the Contemporary for the first time in Sept. and I couldn't be more excited, so your comments have only increased my excitement. It has been a childhood dream of mine to stay there too. Looking forward to the rest of your report.

One of our main complaints about Contemporary was the noise. Our room was right above Chef Mickeys. It was LOUD every morning and evening. I think if you are on the other end of the hotel, it will be a lot quieter. The hotel is gorgeous!!! And LOVED the monorail access!!!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Thanks! DH loves to be funny. I grew up in a Cowboys lovin' family and I married a HUGE Cowboys fan! Gotta love rivary! The funniest was one thanksgiving when I was in HS and my cousins lived in Kansas City. They all came down for Thanksgiving (Aunt, Uncle and five cousins all in Chiefs sweatshirts) for it was Cowboys vs. Chiefs for the game! They were out for blood! They kept yelling - Injur Aikman, Get Him!!! Was so excited when they won!

Now that TO is gone, are the Cowboys stuff back out again?

Oh no! Can't injure Troy! He's good lookin' w/a nice.... cough-cough-nevermind ....the things I enjoy about watching football when I have to aren't what most people's are. And YES! Now that TO is gone the Dallas stuff has come back out. In fact, the day the news broke that TO was out the door my old man went right out and bought himself a new baseball cap.

I hate that you were disappointed with LeCellier. That's one of our fav's but I don't think I've ever ordered a sandwich there either. I always get the filet mignon w/mushroom risotto cooked medium. Mmmm...yummy goodness. The steak is truly wonderful, tender & juicy. Love it. And the pretzel break with the butter is incredible. You know, as much as I love LeCellier I've been thinking on our next trip we might skip it and try something we haven't done before like maybe the Yachtsman or Coral Reef. Hhmmm...more thinking to do....

 

[DisneyGigi]

Enjoying the trip report, great pictures! I was really glad to hear that you enjoyed Sci-Fi. We have never eaten there and have ressies in November. The kids wanted to try it because of the cars. I had heard some not so good reviews about it before and was kinda worried.

 

[TxNewsies]

Oh no! Can't injure Troy! He's good lookin' w/a nice.... cough-cough-nevermind ....the things I enjoy about watching football when I have to aren't what most people's are. And YES! Now that TO is gone the Dallas stuff has come back out. In fact, the day the news broke that TO was out the door my old man went right out and bought himself a new baseball cap.

I hate that you were disappointed with LeCellier. That's one of our fav's but I don't think I've ever ordered a sandwich there either. I always get the filet mignon w/mushroom risotto cooked medium. Mmmm...yummy goodness. The steak is truly wonderful, tender & juicy. Love it. And the pretzel break with the butter is incredible. You know, as much as I love LeCellier I've been thinking on our next trip we might skip it and try something we haven't done before like maybe the Yachtsman or Coral Reef. Hhmmm...more thinking to do....

We were thinking after eatting at LeCellier, that if we hadn't gotten the sandwich, it probably would have been a lot better. We would love to go back and have a steak.

That's awesome!! Go Cowboys - show your support with the new cap!!

Enjoying the trip report, great pictures! I was really glad to hear that you enjoyed Sci-Fi. We have never eaten there and have ressies in November. The kids wanted to try it because of the cars. I had heard some not so good reviews about it before and was kinda worried.

The shakes looked amazing! They would love those at Sci-Fi! You will totally enjoy it! The food is good and the atomosphere is out of this world!

 

[TxNewsies]

Day 4 Continued

We made it back to CR around 8:00 and I was exhausted. We had an hour to relax and clean up for my surprise birthday dinner ADR for DH! He was totally surprised!! We had 9:20 ADR at the California Grill! He LOVES sushi and was so excited to try some. They were telling us when we checked in that the sushi chef is one of the top 5 in the world! He was REALLY ready to try some sushi!

We were seated around 9:40 in the back, overlooking Bay Lake. Was really pretty! I had this amazing french martini the waiter suggested for me, it was amazing! We ordered our food and went out on to the observation deck to watch Wishes. Was simply amazing!!

We went arrived back to our table, we had a surprise waiting for us!

Not long after we sat down, our dinner arrived!

DH has a spicy sushi roll (I can't remember the exact name) He LOVED it! Said it was the best sushi he has ever had! He would love to back every year and try a different one!

I had the flank steak flat bread with corn and onions. Was SOOOOOOOO good!!!!!!

After dinner was dessert. I tried this amazing chocolate cake with molton chocolate on the inside with homemade cherry ice cream. Wowee - was simply AMAZING!!

Our waiter also surprised DH with a slice of cake for his birthday!!

After our meal, we knew we would have to return again in the future to California Grill. It was simply the best meal we have ever had, anywhere! We must go back!

By this time it's after 11:00 and we are both exhausted! Was time to crash and get some rest for the new day ahead of us tomorrow!

 

[TxNewsies]

Day 5 - Aug 6th

Our plans for the day was to relax! Sleep in, go swimming, walk around the Marketplace to go shopping. Back to the hotel to watch a movie and then off to Hollywood Studios to see Fantasmic.

We woke up and changed our plans!! We were loving Wishes so much we decided to go back to MK!!! So we did sleep in, had a late breakfast and headed out to Downtown Disney to go shopping. We usually do most of our shopping at the most AWESOME Disney store!! We had a list of things we were wishing to buy. So got a basket and went to shopping. Was the fastest shopping trip ever in that store! I totally wanted to keep browsing but DH dragged me out! He said more browsing would have lead me to more buying and we had already spent enough. LOL!!

Went dropped off our newly bought Disney items (I love Disney shopping!) and then went to catch the monorail to MK!!

We arrived around 2:30 and headed straight to El Pirata y el Perico! We ate here last year and I instantly fell in love with this place! I LOVE tacos! And the salad bar is awesome for your tacos or taco salad! Lunch was GREAT!

After lunch, we headed over to Big Thunder Mountain for a Fastpass. We then went to the Hall of Presidents. Much improvement! Then to the HM. Now - everytime time we have riden this ride during this trip, we have gotten the same ghost at the end hitching a ride! Was really driving DH crazy!! On our fourth and final ride on our trip, we finally got a different ghost! He was so excited!!

Time for Thunder Mountain where we got to ride in the front car. Another joy of excited for us! Woot Woot!! We then headed over to Mickey's Philharmagic - I never get tired of this show!!!!! Then over to the Laugh Floor! Everytime I go, I am so scared I'm going to be selected. Last year I was (had to put my fingers on my head and everything!). This year, it was DH's turn! YAY!! He was disappointed though! He is dying to be the "that guy stinks" that they go back to over and over again during the show. Maybe one of these days he will be "that guy"

During our entire trip, DH has been dying for a hamburger, a good, basic hamburger. He had one at the Contempo Cafe at the Contemporary but was very disappointed. After we had eatten tacos and were walking over to Thunder Mountain, we walked into Pecos Bill for the first time ever. DH was in heaven! He saw the Fixin' bar and said "We are totally eatting here tonight!"

So after Laugh Floor, we headed over to Pecos Bill. I'm sold! We have a great place here called Khaki's that I LOVE! They have cheese sauce that I love to dip my fried in! And what do you know!! Pecos Bill had the same thing! I LOVED my hamburger and fries dipped in cheese! A new found love!

DH has been dying to sit up in the train station on Main Street to watch Spectromagic, so we headed over to see if there was any space. We just missed getting the last chair! But we did get a seat up front (on the side) sitting on the ground. Works for me! I then headed over to the Confectionary for a caramel apple! I have never had one in my life and I knew I wanted one during this trip! It was chocolate/caramel with peanuts. OMG, yum yum yummy!!!

After Spectromagic, we decided to go back to our room and watch Wishes from our balcony! Wishes every night! Works for me!!!!

 

[HollyBelle]

Day 4 Continued

Beautiful picture of the two of you!! Funny... last time we were at the California Grill I believe we were seated at the exact same table in that little room in the back. What a fun birthday surprise for your husband.

Can't wait to read more!!

 

[disneygirl1]

You totally speak the truth! T.O. is poison! While we were in line to meet the crew of the Northwestern, the guy behind us was from Philly and a big Eagles fan and by the end of the 3 hour wait he said, "Look at us! Cowboys and Eagles fans can be friends!"

Ha Ha Ha!!! That's great!!! We may hate each other on the field, but I have been to alot of different stadiums to see my Eagles play and I have to say, the Cowboy fans were the nicest! who would have thought :ROFLOL:LOL!!! Totally hoping to get to your new stadium for an Eagles/Cowboys game soon!

Oh... loving the report!

 

[KnK]

Day 4 Continued

After our meal, we knew we would have to return again in the future to California Grill. It was simply the best meal we have ever had, anywhere! We must go back!

We end up going to California Grill at least twice during out vacation. The sushi is wonderful. We have a hard deciding what we want that going twice is our only option!

 

[DznyGrlSD]

Love love love your TR :sohappy:

TR's get me through the day @ work and yours has totally made my day 110% better!!

 

[mousebymarriage]

Great trip report can't wait to hear more!