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!
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Day 14 July 18

We headed over to the bus area outside the Magic Kingdom. We were debating taking a Minnie Van to Animal Kingdom because it technically is still Disney transport but hubs was having problems with the Lyft app and we headed to the AK bus. As we were walking to the AK bus stop a bus driver popped his head out of a bus at another stop and yelled out to everyone in the AK bus stop that he was the AK bus and people should come over and board. Weird but perfect timing for us!

We made it into AK with about 15-20 minutes left. As we were walking through the Oasis area we encountered Devine, an attraction we hadn't seen in awhile! Great! Since performances are attractions our attraction was complete now we had to do a photopass.
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Once we got to the Tree of Life area the lines were a little long for photopass and time was almost up on our fast pass for the safaris. But I remembered that the weather guy said there was rain by 1 pm so I looked at the sky and saw a dark cloud and thought we'd better do it now. And within a minute or two we were having our picture taken and headed to the safari.
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As we walked to the safaris the sky was getting more cloudy. We scanned our fastpasses at 11:54 and with our fast pass we were on the safari at 11:59. So really mission was accomplished!

As the safari took off the rain started....drip drip drip....then the deluge! I thought it would make the safari a bust but it turns out some of the animals really love the rain! The elephants and rhinos especially. It was fun to watch them play in the mud and rain.
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The bad part was the rain that was misting us and the really bad part was Brad had decided not to bring his backpack today. And guess what was in the back pack......our ponchos. Since the purse I carry is a Vera Bradley and all cloth I always carry a plastic (Wal-mart) type bag in it so if it rains or my purse and the contents won't get soaked. So I was able to put our phones and my purse in that and keep that nice and dry when the safari was over.

So when the safari was over the original plan was to go to Satuli Canteen for lunch, but it was pouring. We didn't feel like heading over there and eating soaking wet, so we headed out (getting soaked in seconds) to head back to the resort. As we walked towards the front of the park the sidewalks were virtually empty so at least we had a straight shot. Although as we were crossing the bridge from Africa a tween-age boy ran past us and yelled at us "Can't you just feel the magic!?!" it was super funny as he was splashing by us.
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
July 18, Day 14

We finally got to the bus stop and only waited a couple minutes before the bus showed up. Once we got to the resort we were wet but hungry so we decided to eat in the food court before going to the room to dry off.

We both got chicken nuggets, but shared a chocolate mousse cake and cookie dough.
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After lunch we changed into dry clothes and warmed up. Then took a nice long nap!

Once we awoke from our nap it wasn't pouring anymore, but a very light rain. We still headed out to the Magic Kingdom for the night. By the time we got there it had stopped raining and continued to stay away for the rest of the night.

We were going to eat dinner at the Skipper Canteen, but decided on dessert first and I got a Citrus Swirl and hubs got a root beer float.
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Dinner at Skipper Canteen was great and so was our skipper waiter. He was full of puns and might have gotten a slightly higher tip from us because he was so funny.
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I got the chicken (so good, especially the chilli sauce) and Brad got the pork. He enjoyed his meal a lot too.
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
After dinner we headed to the Tiki room and then pirates. Our boat was backed up in front of the pirates in jail which is a favorite scene of mine so I was happy to get some decent shots.

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Then some Philharmagic and just wandering around enjoying the sights and looked at art work we would love to have but it's too expensive for us.. We watched Happily Ever After again and then got some snacks and sat by the Partner's Statue for awhile before heading out for the night.
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
July 19, Day 15

Our last day, we had until 4pm to play before we would have to head back to the resort for the Tragical Express.

Our bags were checked with airline check-in we had our last breakfast of Mickey waffles and were at the bus stop for the Magic Kingdom
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The castle was so beautiful and we took in the castle show while waiting for the park to open and us to head to Peter Pan.

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We did Peter Pan, Haunted, Tea Cups and train. We might have done 7D as well.
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We caught a little of the trolley show minus the trolley.
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Day 15 July 19

Next was Jungle Cruise and I was wearing my backside of water tee shirt so I was hoping to get a good picture of me with the Falls but it was not to be but I did get these.
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It was then time for lunch at the Liberty Tree. We were in the John Paul Jones room, which made me happy because it makes me think of my favorite teacher from high school. He was a really into John Paul Jones.
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It seemed appropriate to drink a Sam Adam's beer.
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And the food! Delicious! Well except for the mac and cheese, it was dry and not very cheesy.
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And then we did some more attractions after lunch, including a last ride on Big Thunder and then I finally got a snow cone. I had been wanting one all trip but the stand was never open or they had stopped selling them for the day. It was the same as the ones that had been "free" at the Christmas party, so that was a good last snack of the trip.
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ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Day 15 July 19

After the snow cone we rode the Peoplemover and while on the Peoplemover it started to rain. Yuck, but by the time we hauled out our ponchos and got to the purple wall by Monster's Inc the rain had stopped. It was time to head to the bus stop but while walking towards the exit we saw these gentlemen head out for a show so of course we had to watch.
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Seeing the Dapper Dan's was a good way to end the trip. As we headed out our hearts were a little sad because this would be the last time we would be at the MK and WDW for awhile. We would not be renewing our WDW annual pass and had no plans to be back until maybe late 2019 or 2020. With Star Wars land opening in Disneyland first and D23 Expo in 2019 it made more sense to make 2019 be a Disneyland year. So while we were sad not to be returning for awhile we/I would still be getting our Disney fix, just on the West coast.


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Anyway, we made it back to the Movies about 15 minutes before the Tragical Arrived and it was only us and two other people on the bus. That was kind of nice so I could weep in private. Just kidding I didn't cry, but it was nice to have our own space and not have someone kick the back of my seat.

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Goodbye All Stars and Walt Disney World.....

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Well, obviously we made it home and the journey home was luckily uneventful. It is now November and our AP officially expired on October 25, so that was a little sad. But first world problems right. The friend that I took a Florida & 2 day WDW trip with this past June decided to take her family to WDW the week before Christmas (I knew she would catch the Disney bug) has asked me to plan her trip so that has helped me get over the no-WDW blues. I'm having fun planning her trip, and it is nice to plan a trip I don't have to pay for!

But like I said we will not be without our Disney fix. Our D23 Expo tickets are purchased, an Anaheim hotel is booked for June, thoughts of an Easter solo trip in Disneyland for me are forming, and more importantly in about 16 days we will be on our way to Disneyland!!!

We will be spending Thanksgiving in Disneyland!!! We will miss the WDW decorations (and Jingle Bell Jingle Bam) but we are excited to see Disneyland Christmas decorations and entertainment again (we went during the 60th). And they recently released the Festival of the Holidays food for California Adventure and we are ready to feast!

So anyway, thanks for reading my report and I hope you enjoyed it!!!!!!!! I'm sure I will do a report from Disneyland but I am contemplating doing it live! (Yikes!)


Anyway...see ya real soon pals!
 

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
Wow....I can't believe you won't be back to WDW for like...a year!! No offense, but I hope a lot of people do what you're doing and skip WDW in the Summer and go to DL for Star Wars land, OR postpone their regular WDW trips until SW:GE opens. That will make WDW less crowded when we go in the Summer of 2019. But I hope DL isn't too crazy busy when you're there! I am just selfish enough to want the less crowded parks when I'm there.:angelic:
 

Minnesota disney fan

Well-Known Member
Hope you have a great time at Disneyland. It is on our bucket list to do. Maybe in a year or 2. Meanwhile, like you, we are taking a year off from WDW d/t the opening of Star WARs land. We think it will be a madhouse at WDW for a while.
Thanks for your report and hope to hear how you enjoyed Disneyland.
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Sad that you won't be back to the World for awhile, but Disneyland is exciting! Please report on everything!!!

Every once in awhile I think that maybe I could squeeze in a WDW in March but I think I'll stick to my guns and just do Disneyland this year.

Your 4 parks by noon day stressed me out! :happy: Thanks for sharing.

Sorry I stressed you out. It was fun to do though, although when that darn ferry was so slow in crossing 7 Seas Lagoon I got a little stressed too!

Wow....I can't believe you won't be back to WDW for like...a year!! No offense, but I hope a lot of people do what you're doing and skip WDW in the Summer and go to DL for Star Wars land, OR postpone their regular WDW trips until SW:GE opens. That will make WDW less crowded when we go in the Summer of 2019. But I hope DL isn't too crazy busy when you're there! I am just selfish enough to want the less crowded parks when I'm there.:angelic:

I'm thinking a few people might postpone their WDW vacations or do Disneyland. I hope you have low crowds!

Loved reading your report!

Thanks so much!:)
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Hope you have a great time at Disneyland. It is on our bucket list to do. Maybe in a year or 2. Meanwhile, like you, we are taking a year off from WDW d/t the opening of Star WARs land. We think it will be a madhouse at WDW for a while.
Thanks for your report and hope to hear how you enjoyed Disneyland.

We really love Disneyland a lot. Our first trip to Disneyland was in 2007 and it was the first Disney park that we experienced together for the very first time, so it seems a little more special to us because of that. WDW always seems like my home park and going there with Brad on our honeymoon just felt like a natural way to bring him into the family. But Disneyland was new for us both. Anyway, Brad is really looking forward to seeing Star Wars in Disneyland although he keeps saying that it will be nice in DLand but better in WDW, as far as I know they are supposed to be the same but whatever....;)
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
Great report Amy!
Appreciate you taking the time (a very long time) to tell us about your adventure.
Looking forward to your DLR report


Love the books in Skippers Canteen
Shout out to Hong Kong Disneyland!!
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Someday I'll make it to Disneyland Hong Kong. We are thinking 2022, I'll have to keep my SEA shirt in good condition so I can wear it for this attraction.
 

MinnieM123

Premium Member
You outdid yourself with some outstanding photos--I really liked the evening castle pictures with the fireworks going off--wow!! And lucky you, to get two really good photos of Devine. She's very hard to photograph because she blends in so well with all the green and foliage (which is the point of her character . . . I know, LOL).

Your TRs are so much fun and I always learn new things from your experiences. Love the food photos too!!

Very happy you and Brad are going to D23 again. AND, you're also going to spend Thanksgiving in Disneyland?! You go, girl !!! :joyfull:
 

DisneyGigi

Well-Known Member
Loved the report! I will be a little bit jealous that you are in Disneyland around the same time we will be at WDW. Just kidding, I will be so glad to be going back again so soon...but oh, what I would give to finally talk my B into going to Disneyland with me. I by chance, got a half day there in 2002. Been begging him to go since then. 😞 Can’t wait to read your report.
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
Original Poster
From the picture it just looked like a bowl of noodles!


Thank you for the report... I really enjoy them... I hope we are in the parks at the same time some time... I would love to meet you guys!

It really was just a bowl of noodles.

I'm glad your enjoyed my report. It would be fun to be in the parks at the same time, it would be awesome to meet up!
 

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