Trip Report Back in the World at POR

18 months, 18 long months and we're back at WDW. We promptly left a very soggy Gatwick behind at 11.40am and after a relatively smooth and turbulence free flight we landed at MCO at 4pm local time. The Manchester flight had arrived just before us so the wait time at immigration was a little more than I hoped for. I must say though that the new automated system worked really well and sped up the arduous procedure no end.
Even picking up the hire car was hassle free, normally we expect a battle with the representative at the desk trying to sell us upgrades, but thankfully he didn't bother.
So we exited the airport and no time later arrived at our dream destination, the Port Orleans Resort.
The check in went smoothly thanks to Amber who handled that for us and even made a call and got us a lovely corner room :)
More to come on today's adventure later.
 
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TB4244

TB4244

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
It is currently 5am and I am awake for no good reason so I thought Id continue with my trip report.

Tuesday morning came and after a filling breakfast at the Golden Corral we stocked up on a few essentials, and more than enough non-essentials at Walmart before heading back to POR at midday. We had decided that our first day needed to be as relaxing as possible so that meant leaving the main parks until Wednesday, our solution was Blizzard Beach.
I was a little worried first thing as the temperature wasn't quite as balmy as I had hoped but by late morning it had warmed up nicely. The hire cars temperature gauge informed me that it was 84 degrees outside, but quite how accurate that is I have no clue. Anyway, we hit BB early afternoon and found it pleasantly low on the crowd front. My absolute favourite thing to do there is the cross country creek, just drifting along in a ring is so relaxing I could feel my stored up tension disappearing. 3 laps later and it was time to leave.
We had our evening meal booked at the Trails End at FWR. Not having visited the resort before I had no idea what to expect. It's certaibly called Wilderness for a reason, just taking the bus from the parking lot to the Settlement was an adventure in itself. Unfortunately we had arranged to meet some friends there at 8, which put our arrival time at the same time as the crowds were gathering for the Hoop-Dee-Doo musical revue, which I hadn't expected.
Our friends who also had never visited the resort got very very lost and ended up arriving in the middle of dessert, an hour late so we ended up sitting there for some time talking whilst they ate.
Although I liked the theming of Trails End I found the menu a little limited, but I'm glad it's somewhere I have experienced.
 
ratherbeinwdw

ratherbeinwdw

Well-Known Member
The best way to get to Trail's End, without the time or fuss, is to take the launch from MK. We made the mistake of taking the bus from Trail's End to the Outpost one time to catch a bus to AK. It was one stop after another. We won't make that mistake again.
 
TB4244

TB4244

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Yes so I understand. I wish I knew that beforehand. But now we know, you learn something new every day I guess?
 
TB4244

TB4244

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Original Poster
Wednesday was our first day in the parks and as we stuck with tradition that could mean only one thing - the Magic Kingdom.
We arrived nice and early so we could watch the opening ceremony which was great as it's not something I had seen before. But once that concluded we headed inside. We had FPs for Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan and the Jingle Cruise so that occupied us for a while but the best thing was our reservation for BoG. We were the first ones through the doors that morning, and as we had preordered our food arrived quickly. We decided to sit by the Christmas tree and watch the snow fall outsidethe window, it's really well done. Oh and the grey stuff is indeed delicious.
We took inVoyage of the Little Mermaid, Tiki Room and general store browsing as well as meet and greets with Ariel, Tiana and luckily Aurora as she appeared at the Main Street station while we waited for the 3pm parade, which was spectacular. That steampunk dragon amazed me.
By this point my feet were screaming at me to stop walking (I don't move around much in my job) so we headed back to the resort to rest as we had an evening at Epcot planned...
 
TB4244

TB4244

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Original Poster
Our main reason for visiting Epcot after a day at MK was an ADR at Teppan Edo. It's not somewhere I had considered before, but I'm so glad I did. The strange thing was that in order to save a long walk around WS we took the friendship boat instead. I got chatting to a guy and his daughter in the queue, and wouldn't you believe it, he had a reservation too. So we ended up sitting at the same table and comparing notes and the differences between the UK and USA (he was from Ohio). Between the brilliant conversation, his very well behaved and chatty 7 year old daughter combined with an awesome meal it turned out to be a fantastic evening all round.
Oh we took the opportunity to jump on SSE on the way out too :)
 
TB4244

TB4244

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Original Poster
Thursday brought our first visit to DHS, we got in early as we had FPs for TSMM, ST and ToT. In all my years of visiting I have never been on ToT, but having listened to the ride audio several times via Mouse World Radio and friends persuasion I finally plucked up the courage and went on. I was surprised as it seemed a lot shorter than I imagined and instead of a great big drop we got 4 short ones, so it wasn't too bad all in all.
I did commemorate it with a pin as the occasion warranted it, and pins are always great to have.
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On our way over to Star Tours we took the opportunity to dive into TGMR as the queue was fairly short. It's nice to see the flames return in the bank windows once again.
TSMM was heaving but we quickly bypassed the queue with our FPs. The game was fun as always but it always makes my arm ache...
We stayed at the park until early afternoon before heading back to the resort for a relaxing swim. My feet are killing me, I am not used to so much walking, owwww!
 
TB4244

TB4244

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Teppan Edo was just fantastic, I really can't rave about it enough :)

Yes I thought it was about time I got on ToT, it was still under construction on my first ever visit and this was the first time I've ever ridden. I obviously had to give it some thought first
 
Longers

Longers

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I seem to be following you - just a day behind each time. Glad you are having fun and like the pin collection complete with WDW Magic button
 
TB4244

TB4244

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Original Poster
I saw a couple yesterday who both had waistcoats on which were smothered in pins!
We're hitting Epcot today.
 
TB4244

TB4244

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Original Poster
So Friday morning arrived early and we headed out to AK for our backstage safari tour. We took the Undiscovered Futureworld tour last year and loved it so this was our chance to get backstage at AK. It was a relatively small group which made it easier. We went immediately backstage behind the Rainforest Cafe where two vans were waiting to whisk us off to our first destination. The interesting thing at this point was the road went round the perimeter of the Pandora construction site, although it was all fenced off we could see plenty of movement going on and the land is no longer flattened, they look to be shaping it now. I would have liked a closer inspection but sadly it wasn't possible.
The first stop took us to the pens where the White rhino are kept. The male was out at the time as he's kept separate but the mom and the juvenile male were both there and we got to see them close up with their keeper Alison. Boy are they huge. The other interesting thing was in the building next door was the new hyenas which they acquired from Berkeley recently. They are still in quarantine right now but will be released in to public view in a month or so.
The next stop was the food and nutrition center where all the animals diets are carefully made and prepared. We were taken through the storage areas and into the kitchen to see the piles of fruits and vegetables and lovely bags full of dead mice for the carnivores!
After a quick snack stop we were shown the veteranarian areas where any injured animal is treated (whether they are a resident of AK or not)
The tour concluded with a guided tour of the Kilimanjaro safari where it was pointed out to us where nature and imagineering combine.
Altogether it was a fun 3 hour tour, I'd recommend it if you're a fan of AK or just an animal lover in general.
The only downside to our day was the sheer level of crowds in the park afterwards. I'm guessing it's because of the W&D half marathon which is mainly based around that area. Hopefully it will ease a little after the weekend.
 
Tiggertoo56

Tiggertoo56

Well-Known Member
Loving your report! Blizzard Beach was closed due to weather day we had planned so trying to fit in before we have to leave. Have the remainder of a brilliant trip.
 
TB4244

TB4244

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Minnesota disney fan said:
Thanks for sharing! We go in 10 days and stay at POR too. Can't wait. I am living the Disney dream through your posts. Have a great time!
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It's such a lovely resort, my only disappointment has been that the Christmas tree hasn't appeared yet but it's promised for mid -nov so it should be up by the time you arrive.
Thanks for reading my little reports.
 

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