Trip Report COMPLETED (finally!)....Did we move to WDW? Nope just a two week trip!

Hello WDW Magic friends and welcome to my trip report. I have done a few trip reports in the past of both WDW and Disneyland. My most recent report was a Spring Break trip to WDW. So if you've read one of my reports before....welcome back friends! If you haven't read one before....welcome new friend!

A little background information

People going: Me (Amy) and my husband (Brad), you'll see enough of our pictures later.

"People" we are leaving behind to go on our trip: Our miniature schnauzer Kapono, she keeps trying to come with us though. She stays with my sister and her family and Kapono has some fur cousins to play with there and is well taken care of which is a relief for me and Brad too I guess.
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Our travel days July 4 -July 19. The days actually spent in WDW would be the 5th-19th. We live in Wisconsin but very close to Minneapolis/St. Paul so we fly from there. It wouldn't be a bad drive to the airport in the morning, but I like to stay near the airport the night before departure.

Since we were going to be in WDW for so long we got a lot of comments from friends joking with us that we must be moving in, hence the title of the report here.

Our Resort: All Star Movies. We don't spend much time in the room so all we need is a clean place to sleep, shower, and store our stuff. We really aren't pool people, although we do use the pool, but if we built in a lot of pool time we would stay at the Beach Club again! Side note: The first time we ever tried to stay at the Movies we were upgraded upon check in to the Beach Club! We didn't ask for it, the magic just happened, it was the best deluxe accommodations for All Star prices! So now whenever we stay at the Movies we keep our fingers crossed on check in day!

Okay so let's start shall we....

On July 4th we spent most of the day with my sister and her family and left Kapono at her "vacation home" for the next two weeks. We drove up to the Minneapolis airport area by the Mall of America, and made a quick stop at Sam's Club for one more discount Disney gift card. The Sam's Club was closing, actually it was 10 minutes before their posted close time and the lady at the door didn't want to let us in. We literally had to go over to a stand near the register and get a gift card, she even called her manager who said it was okay to let us in. We departed the store 3 minutes before for the posted close time! Take that lady! Anyway, it was dinner time but neither of us wanted to sit in a restaurant we just wanted to relax in the hotel room for the night. So there was a sub place and a Lee Ann Chin (Minnesota based Chinese take out chain), and Chinese won out. So we got our take out and checked into the hotel for the night and ate our take out, and watched a Capital Fourth on PBS. Which was fantastic this year with John Stamos as the host. :inlove:

Us with our Chinese take out!
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Our flight left early, but we are early birds so despite being 5 minutes away from the terminal we got there early. Plus we were too excited to sleep! Funny thing, we flipped on the tv while we were getting ready and the Steve Harvey show was on and it was one of the Epcot episodes from earlier in the year that he was recording when we were there in March. We don't normally watch that show and we didn't go to the recording but we saw it being on as a good sign that the Disney gods were with us!
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We arrived in Orlando after an uneventful flight. We enjoyed some movies and tried to nap but again we were just too excited to sleep!
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Magical Express load went quick and soon we were HOME!
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And despite doing online check in and requesting early arrival our room wasn't ready. But that was fine, we had to stop at the front desk any way. I had lots of gift cards in my purse that we wanted to put on our account, we wanted to decline Mousekeeping, and make sure our room had a good position for the 2 weeks. Now we did decline Mousekeeping but we did have our room serviced twice while we were there. We are fairly neat, and I'm always tidying up the room anyway even with Mousekeeping so we figured we could survive without having it every day. Plus with the extra money we would be able to enjoy a good meal or some good drinks at Trader Sam's. So with all that squared away we put our carry ons with bell services and headed to the bus stop with a quick gander at the gift shop.

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Next up: Disney Springs!
 

LeighM

Well-Known Member
I remember one time I went to the Figment restrooms and the line for the women's was out the door!! I was shocked. I wasn't going to wait in that line when the one behind Innoventions was usually uncrowded. I must have looked really shocked/confused/befuddled because, when I rejoined my husband, he asked if everything was okay LOL. I'm like "nooooo that restroom isn't supposed to have lines like that!!"
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
I remember one time I went to the Figment restrooms and the line for the women's was out the door!! I was shocked. I wasn't going to wait in that line when the one behind Innoventions was usually uncrowded. I must have looked really shocked/confused/befuddled because, when I rejoined my husband, he asked if everything was okay LOL. I'm like "nooooo that restroom isn't supposed to have lines like that!!"

I would have been shocked too if I ever saw a long line there. It is usually very deserted.
 

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
In the sporty shop at the UK hubs likes looking at golf related things and liked this display. He says his dream trip is to go to Germany and walk in the footsteps of Martin Luther (I'm fine with that as long as some of those steps lead to a a Biergarten), but I think he is starting to lead to golfing through the UK. That golfing thing doesn't excite me as much, perhaps he'll golf his way through the UK and I can pub tour.

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Still wandering...
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A look at France, with the gondola poles. Now, I have nothing against the gondolas, I'm looking forward to riding them. I'm just wondering how everything will look when it is all done. I'm sure it will be fine....
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After wandering we were both in the mood for a sweet treat. We considered Ample Hills and even though the Boardwalk is close it seemed easier to go to France. As we went to France though the movie was going to be starting soon so we held off on the treat and had a nostalgic look at France. We decided on Les Halles for our treat and we were lucky to get a table outside. Once we finally got outside, I will just say this....double wide stroller with no kids (kids were running around in the queue for the restaurant) blocking the exit at the register next to us, and both parents ignored repeated excuse me's by us, so we just set our try back down on the counter and waited for them. Then their cast member finally asked them to move the stroller and they looked taken aback and the mom gave me a dirty look.
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Our treats....creme brulee for him and a duo au chocolat for me.
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After treats I wanted to stay to see Illuminations, he did not. So I settled for walking slow as it was starting so I could kind of see most the first part, which is the part I like the best. Then we headed out for the night.
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Coming up Day 5 and a return to Slinky.
Well, if your hubby ever decides he would like to follow in the footsteps of Martin Luther, I'm sure you'll be able to do some beer sampling along the way. When we spent our week in Germany in July, hubby got beer everywhere we went. Granted, he only drinks 0% alcohol beer when he has to drive, but every place has real beer, too.
Just for fun: One of the paintings in....I think it was Hohenschwangau castle, was of Martin Luther, who supposedly took refuge there when he was hiding from church officials. (obviously, he couldn't have taken refuge in Neuschwanstein as it wasn't built yet, but I don't remember where the painting was.) So if you make it down into Bavaria, you can for sure get some great beer.
My mom always wanted to see "Luther country" , too. She was a staunch Missouri Synod Lutheran. The friends we stayed with in Germany in May live not too far (35 miles?) from where Martin Luther was born. Next time we visit them, I plan to see some of the Luther sites.
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Well, if your hubby ever decides he would like to follow in the footsteps of Martin Luther, I'm sure you'll be able to do some beer sampling along the way. When we spent our week in Germany in July, hubby got beer everywhere we went. Granted, he only drinks 0% alcohol beer when he has to drive, but every place has real beer, too.
Just for fun: One of the paintings in....I think it was Hohenschwangau castle, was of Martin Luther, who supposedly took refuge there when he was hiding from church officials. (obviously, he couldn't have taken refuge in Neuschwanstein as it wasn't built yet, but I don't remember where the painting was.) So if you make it down into Bavaria, you can for sure get some great beer.
My mom always wanted to see "Luther country" , too. She was a staunch Missouri Synod Lutheran. The friends we stayed with in Germany in May live not too far (35 miles?) from where Martin Luther was born. Next time we visit them, I plan to see some of the Luther sites.

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I won't mind seeming some of the Luther sites either. I hope you'll share your pictures when you go. I always like seeing your adventures!
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
If Brad ever makes it on his UK golf tour let me know I don't live far from the Royal Birkdale course where they play the Open and Ryder Cup I will happily beer tour with you :)

I showed Brad your message and he was excited! And then asked me when we are going! :joyfull: Probably won't be for awhile, but I would be fun to have a wdwmagic meetup and a beer over there!
 

Cesar R M

Well-Known Member
Continuing on with day 4....

After winning on Mania I was ready to be cool and have my picture taken with the new Popsicle wall.
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These guards made me giggle with their pizza spear!
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It was time to drop in.
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After Tower we shared a Joffrey's doughnut but the coffee was all mine!
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Time for Star Tours!
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Then we had to visit our Muppet friends
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Without a doubt, these guys make the show with their quips!
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We caught up with a few old friends before heading out of the park.
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After Mickey it was time to head out of the park. We were headed for brunch at the California Grill!
The new background for Sorcerer Mickey, looks really nice!
A def upgrade from the older painted background thingie.
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Continuing Day 5....

Walking into Toy Story Mania


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I'm the winner again!
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In the bathroom...don't worry just a look at the decor. I thought the "crayons" in the tile work above the sinks was cool and I liked the dominoes on the entry wall and the checker board on the floor.
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Soldiers are ready to play games!
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The smores breakfast sandwich from Woody's Lunchbox. It was okay.
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The wall was up in front of Pixar Place, but there was enough of a gap to get a few last pictures.
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We spent some time with Ariel.
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And Hubs renewed his acquaintance with Chewy.
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And had a little Tower of Terror time!
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
More of Day 5:

We hadn't watched the Indiana Jones show in awhile so we decided to take it in, we also got a seat under a big fan so we were very comfortable while watching.
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Then we headed out of the park and to Disney Springs via Saratoga Springs. We checked out the Aerophile again hoping to use that voucher, but nope it was down. So we continued on to our lunch destination of Maria and Enzo's.
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As you can see the place wasn't very busy. We liked the design of the decor and the food was good too.
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The view from our table.
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The restaurant offered a lunch menu that offered a starter and an entree and we both went with that.

We started with bread and I had a drink off the non-alcoholic menu. It was a Sicilian something, it tasted fantastic.
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We both got the ceasar salad.
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B got the pizza, it was very good, he let me have a taste. In the picture the crust looks dry but it was very crisp on the outside but soft on the inside. The pepperoni was very good quality and had a nice flavor.
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I had the chicken parm, and I enjoyed it.
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We both enjoyed our meal here a lot. It was a little disappointed in a way that it wasn't busier, hopefully it was just the day or maybe that it was lunch because the food was good.
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
And more day 5:

We didn't have dessert at Maria and Enzo's, we decided to try Il Vivo Gelato. We got peanut butter and chocolate hazelnut, it was fine gelato. Then I might have gotten a lot of coffee beans to bring home at Joffrey's, let's just say they threw in a Tervis mug because I bought so much. :cool:
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Then we headed to our resort for nap before heading back to the Magic Kingdom for the evening.
We had a visit to the Country Bears.
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And then we walked out to a street party.
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Then we watched the Muppets, hilarious!
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Then we had the WORST Jungle Cruise skipper ever, seriously! His name was Jermaine, if he is ever your skipper get out of the boat! Not joking! He acted bored the whole time and told very few jokes. In fact he barely spoke, by the time we hit the African veldt he hardly said anything more after that. He almost missed the backside of water, he said something out it when we were 3/4's past it and when we got to the hippo pool he said, "this is the hippo pool." Nothing about Trader Sam at all. WORST Cruise ever! And I've even had a skipper earning her ears that was better.
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Then we decided to get a snack/supper and camp out in a good spot for Happily Ever After, it was about an hour and 10 minutes before the show.
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Of course we had someone come up with her family about 10 minutes before showtime who got mad at all of us sitting by the fenceline. Something about how we shouldn't be sitting there and she needed a spot. I ignore her and actually tried to spread out more. Of course she wedged her and her family in between us and the people next to us. I didn't give up one inch but the family next to us did, very disappointing. The woman's kid kept nudging me but he was already at the rail what more did he want. I also think the family thought there was a stage show too because the kid kept asking when the people were coming out on stage. No one answered him so I finally did, and maybe I scared him by talking to him because he stopped nudging.
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