Boo to you and you and Whew... It’s too hot for a Halloween parade - A September TR

Hello friends and welcome to my September Trip Report! I’ve only been home a few weeks and I already miss Walt Disney World like crazy! I’m already going through withdrawals and searching for the possibility of any excuse to get back down to central Florida and to my favorite place on earth. Realistically, I’m thinking February or March 2013, but I would love to squeeze a trip in between now and then... Anyway, my last two Disney trips have been one extreme to the other - weather wise. I absolutely froze in December of 2010 and turned right around and melted in September 2011. But you know what? I LOVED every minute of it!

Click here to read my December 2010 trip report

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=718898

Now, on to the details of this trip...

When did we go? September 15-25, 2011
Where did we stay? Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House
How did we get there? We drove 8 and 1/2 hours
Who all went? Just me and my beautiful bride
Why did we go? Our 3 Year Anniversary! (Not that we need a reason to go to WDW)
Any other details to offer up? We had 9 day park hoppers and were on the dining plan

I started planning this trip before we even went on our December trip! Talk about excitement! Planning and thinking about two Disney trips at the same time was awesome!! Of course, with every trip to the World, our plans changed many times... but here is my pre trip report/itinerary so you can see what I planned and compare it to what we actually did.

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=733892

We actually stuck to our plans, for the most part, at least until the end of the week. I was proud.

Ok, I stated earlier that on this particular trip, it was just me and my wife. Here we are...
First up, we have myself, Jon. Tar Heel born and Tar Heel bred. The planner and over the top WDW fanatic.

Next we have my better half, my gorgeous bride, Brittany. The WDW veteran who loves Disney but doesn’t obsess about it 24/7 like her hubby...

Man, she’s hot!!

Anyway, we had been looking forward to this trip for a long time for many different reasons. Since we walked out of EPCOT on that last night in December, we had been longing to get back! I was so pumped that I packed like a week before our trip! I NEVER do that. I’m normally a last minute packer. I was so excited because, yes, I love WDW, but also this trip was going to allow us to experience a lot of firsts. This trip would be our first trip with “just us”; this trip would be our first staying at a deluxe Disney resort; and this trip would be our first time being on the Disney Dining Plan! Wooo Hooo! We were excited! So excited, in fact, that I was up at the crack of dawn 180 days before our check in date to schedule ADRs! Needless to say, we got all the restaurants and times that we wanted. Our departure day couldn’t come fast enough!


Thursday September 15, 2011

This day started like any other day. I got up, did my normal morning routine, and was ready to go to work. The only difference (besides my heart racing from excitement and anticipation) was the fact that we were leaving for vacation in just a few hours...
Having packed a week early and having stayed on Brittany to make sure all of her packing was finished on Wednesday night to avoid feeling rushed or stressed on Thursday morning, we were all set to go the second I got home from work around noon. As I left for work that morning, this was the sight I saw as I headed out the door...

The time crept by at work that morning as it seemed to take forever for lunchtime to come. I was like a kid on Christmas Eve... Finally, it was 12:00 and it was time to start our journey! I flew out of the office and minutes later into my driveway. I ran through the door, changed clothes, and finished packing everything into our Jeep Grand Cherokee. Brittany had most of our stuff loaded up already. God bless her! We jumped in the Jeep and were ready to roll! Brittany wanted to drive because she said she had an anniversary surprise for me... I went along with it.
Our traditional in the vehicle, pre-departure photo...

We were on our way! Brittany immediately handed me a thick envelope and told me to open it. When I did, I found a letter and a CD. The letter got mushy (I’ll spare you guys the details...) and instructed me to put the CD in. Each song on the CD had a special meaning which she explained in detail in my letter. It was the sweetest thing EVER. I love my girl! When we had listened to all of the songs, we pulled off the interstate and swung into a Chick-fil-a to grab a quite bite and got right back on the road. Now, it was my turn to take the wheel... and I had it for the rest of the trip.

77 South...

I don’t mind road trips. They are fun for me. I think the anticipation makes my excitement grow higher and higher as I near my destination.
We were making great time! I was only stopping if we had to - for gas, food or bathroom and I had packed a couple of empty water jugs. Just kidding about that last part. For the next several hours, I looked like this...

And Brittany looked like this...

Typical. You get this woman in a moving automobile, and she instantly transforms into an infant. She was out, so I listened to a couple episodes of WDW Today and the Be Our Guest Podcast and of course I had to pop in The Eagles - Hell Freezes Over album. Britt doesn’t like The Eagles, so I have to take advantage of her slumber when I can...
It was around 7:30pm or so when we both started to get pretty hungry. I spotted a sign for our favorite road trip restaurant at the next exit, so we pulled off, fueled up, and filled our bellies...

Love some Cracker Barrel!

We got back on the road and only had a couple more hours of driving ahead of us for the night until we reached our first destination.
Weeks before I had booked a room for $71 at the Holiday Inn Express in Orange City, Florida, which is only about an hour from Walt Disney World. Our plan was to stop there for the night, get up early the next morning, and have just a short drive to WDW so we wouldn’t feel like we were wasting a day of our precious vacation! The more time in the parks, the better, right?!? We pulled in to the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express at exactly 9:30pm.

It had been a long day and we were tired (although I don’t know how Britt was tired considering she slept 90% of the drive), but I still had trouble sleeping because of the excitement of knowing that in the morning we would be at Disney World! I went to the restroom and when I came out, Britt was out again already. After catching a few highlights on SportsCenter, I finally drifted off to sleep...

 

[MrsWhiffo]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this TR!
My husband and me are there the same time as you in 2012 (seems so long away), and it is great to see the crowds are nice and light as we usually go in feb.

Can't wait to read more

 

[MEyeSeeKayEY]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this TR!
My husband and me are there the same time as you in 2012 (seems so long away), and it is great to see the crowds are nice and light as we usually go in feb.
Can't wait to read more

Thank you!! You will love that time of year at WDW! It's hot, but the lack of crowds make up for it. Have fun and thanks for reading!

 

[93boomer]

Yeah, we'll just see about that basketball game, shall we? :ROFLOL:
Unfortunately, my DH and I have never done the 3-D glasses picture. That must be a young people's thing. :lol: Might have to presuade him to do it this time! Oh goodness, I have heard so much about all those yummy cupcakes! We are always good and eat something half-way healthy there. We will have to try one of those! Cute pictures!

 

[MEyeSeeKayEY]

Yeah, we'll just see about that basketball game, shall we? :ROFLOL:
Unfortunately, my DH and I have never done the 3-D glasses picture. That must be a young people's thing. :lol: Might have to presuade him to do it this time! Oh goodness, I have heard so much about all those yummy cupcakes! We are always good and eat something half-way healthy there. We will have to try one of those! Cute pictures!

Yes we will! haha
You have to do goofy pictures! They are so much fun and gives you something to think back about and laugh at when you get back home!
Healthy?!?! You're on vacation!!! Eat whatever you want! You can eat right and exercise when you get home!

 

[Goofy316]

These light crowds became even more evident as we walked past the hat, which I admittedly like, and looked back toward the entrance to the park...

:sohappy:
Finally, another hat lover. I dont know why that thing gets so much hate around here. Loving the trip report, you are getting me pumped for my trip next month.
Thanks for sharing.

 

[switts]

great report so far. definately putting that butterfinger cupcake on my list of must eats when im there in december

 

[MEyeSeeKayEY]

:sohappy:
Finally, another hat lover. I dont know why that thing gets so much hate around here. Loving the trip report, you are getting me pumped for my trip next month.
Thanks for sharing.

Yeah, the hat doesn't bother me and the park needs an icon in the center. What else do people want it to be?
Thank you!

great report so far. definately putting that butterfinger cupcake on my list of must eats when im there in december

Thanks! You HAVE to get one! They are awesome! :slurp:

 

[MEyeSeeKayEY]

How do, people! (In my best Steven Tyler voice)
Sorry about the lack of updates lately... I've got no excuse other than laziness and these TRs take time! :shrug:
I promise to have a few up tomorrow morning/afternoon. Thanks for reading and checking back. Stay tuned...

 

[switts]

Thanks! You HAVE to get one! They are awesome! :slurp:

I think i will have to go with getting a few for the trip home and not just one in the park

 

[93boomer]

How do, people! (In my best Steven Tyler voice)
Sorry about the lack of updates lately... I've got no excuse other than laziness and these TRs take time! :shrug:
I promise to have a few up tomorrow morning/afternoon. Thanks for reading and checking back. Stay tuned...

Hey we understand! I don't see how a person has time to do these things. Yours has been a pleasure to read and vicariously live through! That being said, I won't be able to catch up for another week, since we are leaving for our trip!! We are so excited that we can't stand it! Thanks for all the tips! Take care you guys! Will check back in with you in a week or so!

 

[MEyeSeeKayEY]

Hey we understand! I don't see how a person has time to do these things. Yours has been a pleasure to read and vicariously live through! That being said, I won't be able to catch up for another week, since we are leaving for our trip!! We are so excited that we can't stand it! Thanks for all the tips! Take care you guys! Will check back in with you in a week or so!

That's the best reason I've ever heard for not being able to read a trip report! You guys have fun!!!

 

[ashley_marie]

Thanks!! And yes, those are Toms.

They're pretty much the only shoes I wear anymore :ROFLOL:
I love seeing other people wearing them

 

[MEyeSeeKayEY]

They're pretty much the only shoes I wear anymore :ROFLOL:
I love seeing other people wearing them

Haha. :animwink:
They are pretty darn comfortable! I wore Toms, Rainbows and Crocs during the week and my Toms were BY FAR the most comfortable.

 

[MEyeSeeKayEY]

Saturday September 17 Continued...



We made it back over to Pixar Studios and were more than ready to use our FastPasses for Toy Story Midway Mania. This ride is so much fun, but the wait times are so ridiculous that you can only ride it a few times a trip. I’m already looking forward to going back to WDW and Disney’s Hollywood Studios just so I can ride this again and try to beat my high score.
It wasn’t such a mad house entering Pixar Studios this time...

I checked the time on my phone and it was 10:49. Our FastPass return time was 10:45, so we were ready to ride. Looking up at the stand by wait time makes me wonder how or why anybody would wait in such a long line when FastPasses are available. 80 minutes?!? You’ve got to be kidding!

Toy Story was great, as always, and I set my personal best score with 150,500 points. Brittany, unfortunately, was getting worse with each ride...

I have no strategy on this ride. I don’t search the internet for ways to score a million points. I go go in and fire away and hope for the best. Haha. Maybe before our next trip, I’ll do my homework and REALLY get a high score!
After Toy Story, I grabbed two more FastPasses for later while Brittany checked our show times guide and saw that the next showing of the Beauty and the Beast stage show was starting shortly. So, we high tailed it over to the Theater of the Stars to catch this show, which is one of our favorites! We always see Beauty and the Beast at least once per trip. We love it.

f

Sorry for so many Beauty and the Beast pictures, but like I said before, this show is one of our favorites, so deal with it! Haha. Just kidding.
After the show, we had to ride Rock’n’ Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror again, you know, since we were in the area... (Like we really need a reason to ride these two attractions) Just like earlier in the day, the wait times were practically non existent - just how we like it.

 

[MEyeSeeKayEY]

Saturday September 17 Continued...




We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to ride two of our favorite attractions in all of Walt Disney World again, you know, since we were in the area and the wait times for both were like 10-15 minutes! We did Rock’n’ Roller Coaster first, because the wait times are usually longer than for Tower (we always get in the single riders line though). Every time I ride RRC, I enjoy it even more! It is such a good ride! The speed, the music... It’s just awesome!

Next up was yet another walk on for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror! This attraction is my very favorite in all of WDW! I love everything about this ride. The theming and detail blow my mind every time I walk through the queue. This ride never gets old, and if I could, I would ride it over and over all day long.

After our drops on ToT, we were starting to get pretty hungry. So, our dilemma was where did we want to eat? We had an idea, so we left Hollywood Blvd and headed back toward the middle of the park. As we walked, we both agreed that we wanted to eat at Pizza Planet! Yes, the pizza is greasy, but we think you get a good value here because you get a caesar salad with your pizza. Not a bad deal.
On our way, we had to stop for a photo opp...

As we collected our Photo Pass card and our camera back form the cast member, I glanced behind the hat and asked Britt if she wanted to ride the Great Movie Ride really quick before we ate, if the line wasn’t too long. (I knew it wouldn’t be) She agreed so we headed that way...

GMR was a walk on, as it normally is, so we were in and through the line and on our ride vehicle in a matter of minutes. GMR is a classic, and even though it might be a little cheesy, it’s still a good attraction. I really think your guide makes or breaks your experience. Luckily for us, we had a good, enthusiastic guide!

After our journey into the movies was over, we were about to starve, so we headed directly to Pizza Planet. Britt went to get us a table upstairs while I waited in the very slow moving line to order and get our food.

After about 15-20 minutes (I kid you not), I finally got through the line and got out food! It seems like the longest wait times of our trip, other than for buses, came in the lines for counter service food! Crazy! Anyway, I got our food, found Britt and we were ready to chow down! We both got the Pepperoni Pizza with caesar salad and coke. I got a chocolate chip cookie while Brittany got a cappuccino cupcake.

After we were finished eating, we decided to make our way over to the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular to catch yet another one of our favorite shows at WDW and to let our food settle a bit. I snapped a few pictures as we made our way over toward that area of the park...

It was HOT and we were sweating profusely as we arrived at the Indiana Jones stunt show area. They had just started letting people in, so we went on inside where it was at least shaded and a little cooler...

 

[MEyeSeeKayEY]

Saturday September 17 Continued...

There was still about 20-30 minutes to show time, but we were enjoying sitting in the cool shade. There was a nice breeze coming through the arena also, which was nice. The seats started to fill up quickly and before we knew it, the place was packed and it was time for the show! Like many other things at WDW, I love the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. I’ve seen it a hundred times, and I love it every time. The show never changes, but the action is entertaining and the jokes/gags are corny, but they’re still funny.

After the show, we let the crowd thin out a little a little before making our way to the exit. Once we exited, I saw something hat I had heard about on these message boards that I had to try. I never follow directions, or do I...

I pulled several times and nothing happened. Maybe I’ll try again and have better luck on my next trip.
We had done everything at Hollywood Studios that we wanted to do except for Lights, Motors, Action and we knew we wouldn’t make it there on this day because of our ADR that we had for dinner a little later. That’s ok though, we would be back to DHS plenty of times during our trip. We would catch it later.
Next, we decided to head back over and ride Tower of Terror again. This is our favorite ride and we just can’t get enough of it. We ducked into a store to cool off for a second before heading down Hollywood Blvd. We saw Steamboat Willie hanging out in the store...

When we got back to the ToT, the stand by line was only a 10 minute wait, so we jumped in line (which didn’t really become a line until we gathered outside of the library). The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is the best themed attraction at Walt Disney World. Period.

After Tower, we still had a little time before we would be able to use our Toy Story FastPasses, but there were a couple of things we wanted to do in that area, so we headed that way. The first thing we came to was the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and the next show was about to start, so we went on in.

This is a good attraction/show. It’s a lot like Finding Nemo the musical over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, but with the lights out. If you look closely, you can see the people working the puppets... Overall, I would say we like Voyage of the Little Mermaid better than Nemo.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

I love your TR so far!! We will be there this exact time next year and were really looking forward to going to MNSSHP and seeing the autumn decorations! It looks beautiful.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I'm still following along and eating up the details....'specially those cupcakes! I, too, made Starring Roles a must-do during our trip and I wasn't disappointed. So stinkin' good! The stuff if dreams! Ask Britt how her capuccino cupcake was from Pizza Planet. It looked fabulous so it's need-to-know info! LOL!

Would you believe we did NOT participate in the TSMM stampede this trip? Not even once. No-sir-ee-Bob! I said I was done with that insanity and I am. Stuck to my guns on that one. The ride is fun but not at all worth the stress or insane standby wait. I think we rode it once late at night. That was it. Glad y'all got 2 spins. So much fun!

Sooooo, DH & I have been discussing Britt's super-cool hairdo. I just don't know that I'd be brave enough to do it. In 2006 I cut my hair to just above my shoulders and cried for 2 days. Silly, I know, especially considering how much I loathe taking care of my long hair. Isn't it funny, tho, that your TR has sparked such interest in something as trivial as girls hairdos??? :hammer:

Don't sweat your slow updates on your TR. I haven't even started typing the text for mine! LOL!

 

[MEyeSeeKayEY]

I love your TR so far!! We will be there this exact time next year and were really looking forward to going to MNSSHP and seeing the autumn decorations! It looks beautiful.

Thank you!! Oh, how cool! Hope you guys have a great trip! I know you will.

I'm still following along and eating up the details....'specially those cupcakes! I, too, made Starring Roles a must-do during our trip and I wasn't disappointed. So stinkin' good! The stuff if dreams! Ask Britt how her capuccino cupcake was from Pizza Planet. It looked fabulous so it's need-to-know info! LOL!
Would you believe we did NOT participate in the TSMM stampede this trip? Not even once. No-sir-ee-Bob! I said I was done with that insanity and I am. Stuck to my guns on that one. The ride is fun but not at all worth the stress or insane standby wait. I think we rode it once late at night. That was it. Glad y'all got 2 spins. So much fun!
Sooooo, DH & I have been discussing Britt's super-cool hairdo. I just don't know that I'd be brave enough to do it. In 2006 I cut my hair to just above my shoulders and cried for 2 days. Silly, I know, especially considering how much I loathe taking care of my long hair. Isn't it funny, tho, that your TR has sparked such interest in something as trivial as girls hairdos??? :hammer:
Don't sweat your slow updates on your TR. I haven't even started typing the text for mine! LOL!

Britt loved her cappuccino cupcake and she says she definitely recommends it!
Thanks for being patient with me and reading!

 

[MEyeSeeKayEY]

Saturday September 17 Continued...



After Voyage of the Little Mermaid, we headed right next door do One Man’s Dream. I love this “museum”, as I call it because that’s exactly what it is. It is a tribute to Walt and I make sure I never miss it when I’m at DHS. You have to watch the movie too. It is so inspiring.

Thank you, Walt, for being the imagination, inspiration and motivation behind this wonderful place we all love so much!
After One Man’s Dream, it was time to use our Toy Story Midway Mania FastPasses! Back to Pixar Studios we went.
I saw this sign and thought it was cool...

Ahhhh, nothing like having a FastPass for Toy Story! I will never wait in that stand by line unless the wait is less than 15-20 minutes. On our way through the queue, Britt had the bright idea to switch seats because she claimed that’s why I kept beating her... Ok. I said, “Sure, why not.” I’m sure it will make a big difference.

For the first time this trip, Britt was Player 1 and I was Player 2...

*** crickets ***




Yeah, she got me. I think it was a fluke though and I would have my revenge later in the week...

We walked out of Toy Story and as Brittany gloated, I hung my head in shame and embarrassment... Haha.
As I was looking down, I checked the time on my phone and we had about an hour until our 6:30 dinner reservations, so we decided to walk around for a little while and check out some of the sights in the back of the park. First, we came to the Streets of America, so we walked down them and checked out all of the details. They were already starting to install the Osborne Family Christmas Lights! Wow, that’s even earlier than Wal-Mart...

The Streets of America are ok, but with today’s technology, I think they are a bit outdated. Disney could use this space in a number of different ways that might actually draw people to this part of the park and take some heat off of Pixar Studios.
Next we headed over toward Muppet Vision 3D. We don’t really like this attraction. Maybe because neither of us really watched the Muppets as children, but maybe because it’s just not that good of a show in our opinion. We had about 45 minutes to kill before our dinner reservations, so we decided to go on in anyway and see Muppets.
Good photo opportunities in this area though...