Trip Report *COMPLETED* 6 Parks, F&W Fest, MNSSHP & One HUGEEE Surprise!!!

Hi everyone! We got back from our Disney vacation two days ago and I am still exhausted and unfortunately sick, but I wanted to jump right into the report because if I don’t do it now, it will never get done!

You can find my pre-trip report here, http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/first-trip-in-6-years-with-a-wdw-first-timer.915675/ but here is a quick recap:

Who: My boyfriend, Mark, and yours truly

What: 5-Day Park Hopper Tickets, Food & Wine Festival, One night at Mickey’s Not-So-Scary-Halloween Party, One day at Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure and one HUUUUGE surprise, but I’m not giving anything away just yet!! You’ll have to follow along J

When: September 26th-October 3rd

Where: POP Century

Why: Mark’s first trip to Disney, and my first time back since being an AP 6 years ago!

Now that we have the particulars out of the way, let’s dive on in!

 

[kimberlymautz]

Following along! Looks like such a fun trip!

 

[DonnaOnTheRocks]

Yachtsman is definitely on my list for next trip! Loving your report!

 

[Second Star to the Right]

Following along! Looks like such a fun trip!

Thank you for following along! It was definitely a fun-filled trip! Lots of eating...I was contemplating using the title "How to walk 14 miles a day and STILL gain weight"

 

[Second Star to the Right]

Yachtsman is definitely on my list for next trip! Loving your report!

Thank you, and thank you for following along! I really can't recommend it enough! I hope everyone who goes has as good of an experience as we did

 

[Second Star to the Right]

Day 2, Animal Kingdom and back to Magic Kingdom for EMH

The alarm felt like it came very quickly that morning since we were both exhausted from yesterday. The adrenaline had finally worn off.

GOOD MORNING! Another beautiful start to the day.

We wanted to get to AK for opening though (or at least close to it) so we forced ourselves out of bed. We got to the bus stops around 8:15 and saw the Magic Kingdom line was absolutely packed! They had EMH going on that day, but they were later hours, but that was the only reason I could imagine it being that out of control.

We did have to wait for a second bus for Animal Kingdom, but we still made it to the park by 8:50 for a 9 am opening.

Again, it felt more crowded than it usually does at this time of year.

I love the entrance to AK. It feels so peaceful.

 

[Trisha Lynn]

Here is my 10 oz. filet with mashed potatoes.

I think it's adorable how they plated the two so separate from each other. I'm used to seeing things plated more closely together, or one thing being on top of all the starches.

We found this fun water-art pad in the gift shop and Mark drew this for me

Your dude is so adorable. You two are lucky to have found each other.

I was very impressed with the show, and (not to get too deep or political) pleasantly surprised that they didn't just skip over the slavery and racism and almost complete eradication of Native Americans in our country's history.

That's good to know. Have you seen the show in the Hall of Presidents? Is it similarly respectful?

I was contemplating using the title "How to walk 14 miles a day and STILL gain weight"

That would have definitely gotten my attention, that's for sure. My hobbit and I are very much into good food and F&W is my lure for him to come with me to WDW.

Also, that was just your first day??? It feels like you did so much!

 

[Second Star to the Right]

As soon as we got to the main walkway leading to the Tree of Life there were CM's announcing the arrival of Doug and Russell for anyone who wanted to be Wilderness Explorers with them. I was literally the first person that saw them and I jumped right in! I love Doug! As my friend said when she saw the following picture: "It was legit a group of children and their guardians and a grown-a$$ adult" That would be me! I'm goofy as it is, forget about when I'm at Disney!!

There's also an embarrassing video to accompany this, but thankfully it's on Mark's phone and that's a good enough excuse not to post it

I'm going to count this as a smile!

Then off to Starbucks to get Mark his life force. On the way we saw Flick!

I do appreciate how the Starbucks at the parks don't actually resemble a Starbucks

Once the caffeine addict got his fix, we headed on over to Kilimanjaro Safaris. I had read from several people that the animals are most active in the morning so I figured we would do this first and not bother using a FP+ for it.

We will see you soon, Yeti!

We caught these performers several times throughout the day and they were awesome! It was a very hot day and they did not stop moving. I can't imagine how exhausted they must be at the end of the day! It's worth sticking around to watch if you get a chance.

We've arrived!

 

[Second Star to the Right]

I think it's adorable how they plated the two so separate from each other. I'm used to seeing things plated more closely together, or one thing being on top of all the starches.



Your dude is so adorable. You two are lucky to have found each other.



That's good to know. Have you seen the show in the Hall of Presidents? Is it similarly respectful?



That would have definitely gotten my attention, that's for sure. My hobbit and I are very much into good food and F&W is my lure for him to come with me to WDW.

Also, that was just your first day??? It feels like you did so much!

I am definitely lucky I found him. He is a great guy, and a perfect match for my goofiness since he is just as goofy!

I have seen the Hall of Presidents show but not in YEARS! We didn't get around to it this trip even though it was on my list. I'll have to defer to other members of the forum here...

I'm still contemplating changing the title to that lol. We averaged 10 miles a day with 14 being our peak I think.

Yes, that was Day 1! You can see that I get progressively more and more tired as the trip goes on because I feel like there are less pictures, but I'll try to recount everything as I tried to take some notes along the way.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

We loved BOG, too, and ate in the ballroom. I loved the atmosphere, but always wanted to try the West Wing. Maybe next time
Also, noticed your slip on blue sketchers! I have a pair just like them and they are very comfortable. Never worn them in WDW, though, and wonder how they held up for you???? thanks

 

[steviej]

I do appreciate how the Starbucks at the parks don't actually resemble a Starbucks

I think the MK one looks like a starbucks. Just my opinion though.

Oh, 1 more thing, CAN'T WE GET THE SURPRISE ALREADY!?!? lol

 

[Second Star to the Right]

Time for animal pictures, but first...

Minifig pictures!

Okay, onto the safari pictures. We were in the first row of the safari truck and I thought that would be awesome, but turns out those are not the best seats. When the driver spots an animal he pulls forward so the middle of the truck is head-on with the animal. That makes sense now and I wouldn't have changed our seat, just a bit of advice for anyone who wants some really good pictures of the animals.

Okapi. Looks like they are wearing awesome stripped leggings and I WANT them!

White Rhino

We were super close!

Hippo! This was cool to see them so close

Hungry, hungry hippos!

Caught this guy sunbathing!

Gators

 

[Second Star to the Right]

We loved BOG, too, and ate in the ballroom. I loved the atmosphere, but always wanted to try the West Wing. Maybe next time
Also, noticed your slip on blue sketchers! I have a pair just like them and they are very comfortable. Never worn them in WDW, though, and wonder how they held up for you???? thanks

Thanks for following along! Yes, I agree I would definitely want to eat in the West Wing next time. It was so cool in there!
My skechers worked great for me! I have incredibly flat feet so even sneakers don't do the trick sometimes, but I found these to be very comfortable. I did have to break them in at first, and I'm glad I did because I got a huge blister on he back of my ankle from them the first time I wore them for a 5 mile walk. Other than that, no issues!

 

[Second Star to the Right]

I think the MK one looks like a starbucks. Just my opinion though.

Oh, 1 more thing, CAN'T WE GET THE SURPRISE ALREADY!?!? lol

The MK one definitely looks more like a Starbucks vs. Animal Kingdom for sure, but it doesn't scream Starbucks to me, especially from the outside.

Hint, the surprise doesn't happen on day 2 either

 

[steviej]

on Kilimanjaro, was your driver's name Chris by any chance? Big guy with a shaved head?

 

[Second Star to the Right]

These next posts will be mainly pictures

Termite hill

Dangerous bridge crossing!

 

[Second Star to the Right]

More rhinos

Napping

Hard to make out clearly, but there is a lioness in the picture. She blends in with the rocks.

Pumba and Pumba Jr. grazing

 

[Second Star to the Right]

We're nearing the end of our Safari tour

These guys blocked the road for a solid 5 minutes and wouldn't move for us to pass.

We did get a good view of their eggs though! They're ginormous!

And this ends our Kilimanjaro Safari tour; I hope you all enjoyed!

 

[Second Star to the Right]

on Kilimanjaro, was your driver's name Chris by any chance? Big guy with a shaved head?

Yes, I'm pretty confident his name was Chris!

 

[steviej]

Yes, I'm pretty confident his name was Chris!

lol "it's a small world after all"

He's one of my best friends. Was in my wedding party

 

[Princess Leia]

I have seen the Hall of Presidents show but not in YEARS! We didn't get around to it this trip even though it was on my list. I'll have to defer to other members of the forum here...

It's been over a decade for me (yikes), but I watched the latest version on YouTube, and I'd say it's still pretty respectful.