Trip Report **COMPLETED** Haven't We Already Done Everything? *Gasp* Say What?

Hi everyone! This is my first trip report, and I'm a bit nervous. Perhaps that's why I've procrastinated in getting this done. Reading some trip reports (@Tuvalu @Doc Disney @samantha788 to name some awesome reports), I realized just how little pictures I did take. And I thought I took a bunch (both with my phone and camera)!

But, seeing as how I am home all week due to damage from Hurricane Matthew (I was lucky, no damage or loss of power), this may be a time to start it.

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A little background:

Who: Me, celebrating turning 40 earlier this year. My niece, LaLa, who is 28 and celebrating her first Disney trip. Pic to come, as I haven't uploaded those yet. Oops!

When: September 3 - 9, with MNSSHP on the 8th

Resort: Port Orleans Riverside

Day 1: Saturday, September 3rd
So the day before, there was a list tropical storm Hermione that came through NC dropping wind and rain. I became a Weather junkie that entire week and checked the airlines for updates. Saturday morning, it was all clear and my niece and I made out way to the airport.

This was her fist flight as well. Even though I had tried to prepare her for how to use a carry-on ("How am I to get all my clothes into one bag?") and to pack her 3-1-1 liquids, she didn't put the liquids into a clear bag. Luckily I had packed extra Ziploc bags, shoved all we could in the bag, and we were on our way.

Flight went off pretty much on-time and we landed in CLT and grabbed lunch. This was probably this first time I've landed in Charlotte and not had to run to my next connection.

View media item 1945Ready for the next leg of our trip!

We boarded the flight to MCO and arrived around 4:30. I though we were making good time. Then we hit the waiting for DME. This was my first time taking DME and I thought we had plenty of time. Once we got loaded (we sat in the front), it was onto Disney!

I was so excited to sit in the front, because I wanted my own picture of the entrance sign.....
View media item 1947Yeah, not so much.

The DME dropped off at Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, POFQ and finally Riverside. I had already received the text for the room - Alligator Bayou Building 36. I went to the front desk anyway, so I can see where it was. Yeah, it was a bit of a hike. I believe that we got into the resort, made it to the room, and quickly dropped off our bags by 6:35. Dinner reservations were at 6:45 at Raglan Road. Um, I think we're going to be late.

Next Up: A boat, A walk, and An Irish Party

Thanks for ready thus far. Come back now, ya hear!

 

[LadyBelle]

The GMR tour guides have always left the car to take part in the action. You probably just forgot.

Glad to read more of your vacay!!

It's definitely possible. Twelve years is a long time between trips!

And thanks!

 

[LadyBelle]

After Beauty and the Beast, the clouds started looking a bit rough. We grabbed a snack and headed over to see what one of my favorite part-time archeologists was up to:

I could tell LaLa wasn't too interested in this show, but it was a place to sit down and rest. Once the show was over, we had noticed it was getting ready to rain. I grabbed our ponchos and we walked around a bit, stopping in a few shops before heading to SciFi Dine In for dinner. The place was already packed for a 5:40 ADR. When we were able to get inside for shelter, there was someone complaining about the wait time for walk ups. Guess she never read up on on ADRs!

I ordered the shrimp pasta

And LaLa ordered...steak. We're on Day Two of the Great Steak Adventure of 2016.

Our waitress was lovely and afterwards, gave us both the light up Ariel that you normally buy extra with your kids' beverage. Disney Magic!

 

[LadyBelle]

It was still raining pretty good when we left the restaurant. I checked DME and so far Fantasmic had not been cancelled. We had time to head over to The Voyage of The Little Mermaid, as it was operational. That wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Apparently it wasn't good enough for me to take pictures. LaLa took a few, so I she liked parts of it. She was a year old when this movie came out. #ThatMakesMeFeelOld

When we got out the skies opened up and there was thunder and lightening. Boo! Now, I know that one doesn't usually leave the parks when it's raining, but by checking DME, the wait times were 110+ minutes for ToT and RnRC.

Then I got the notification - Fantasmic was cancelled.

That is one of my favorite, favorite shows and it didn't look like we'd be able to make it back at this park any time else, so I'll add that to my list of things to do next time.

LaLa didn't want to walk around any further or wait for those rides. So we trudged through the pouring rain towards the bus stops and headed back to the resort. Once we got there, we had a visitor:

This was the first and last that we got during our stay.

Looking at the radar, they were calling for rain Monday afternoon. Instead of going to AK we'd be going to EPCOT during the day and dinner at MK.

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

Following OP. Don't worry, you are doing great. I've always wanted to do a trip report, but don't really take many pictures any more, so.....
I'm with you on the boat/cars at DS; they freak me out too for some reason. Can't wait to hear more

 

[LadyBelle]

One addition for DHS: To escape the heat, we sat in For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along. We somehow managed to get on the front row. Not sure if LaLa liked this part, but it was A/C and the snow at the end was pretty cool. After the show was over, a dad turned to me and said "That wasn't bad at all."

Monday, September 5 - EPCOT

With the threat of thunderstorms late in the afternoon, plans were changed to come to EPCOT.

We hit Club Cool and I desperately tried to get LaLa to try the Beverly. I almost had her until someone next to us said out loud how it tasted.

Our first FP+ was due and off we went!

I liked the silhouette that I made while waiting.

This was my first time riding Soarin' (as it wasn't there last time), so I can only talk about Soarin' Around the World. I thought it was fantastic. The sights (curvy Eiffel Tower notwithstanding), the *smells*....Love, love, love. One regret was that we didn't ride this again.

We meandered around a bit then headed over to our next FP:

I did not try to speak whale though. LaLa might have left me.

LaLa was a bit amazed at the clam shell transportation that we rode. I believe I heard a soft "Whoa" escape.

We then spent some turtle time with Crush. That was so terrific watching the kids interact with Crush and as an adult, found some of the responses hilarious. He kept coming back to the city of one kid, dropping it into conversations whenever he could. Memory lapse, I can't remember the name, but it was a city in Florida. #OldAge #LateTripReport

Next stop, the World Showcase

Hello America from Future World!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Nice report so far. I like your pictures of Spaceship Earth with the palm trees. It sounds like you had a good time with your niece!

 

[LadyBelle]

Who wants to go around the world in a few hours?

Oh, Canada!

As a side note, my last trip I went with my friend from VT. While perusing the gift shop in Canada, I picked up a maple leaf shaped bottle of syrup. My friend looked at me and said "PUT THAT BOTTLE DOWN." She may have even scared the CM. I wasn't going to buy it, it looked neat. I know that pure maple syrup comes from Vermont.

Great Britain

Close, but not the TARDIS

One of two times I missed getting a picture with Mary. So, not practically perfect in every way.

We were wandering through the shop that had family crests and LaLa and I looked ours up. Hers is super awesome. It's like a Stork holding an axe, which the CM hadn't seen. The CM asked if my background was English or Scottish. I only thought
there was one, so after a quick text to my mom, we found the right one and I picked up a history of my name for my dad. We went across the way and I picked up a necklace for my mom.

We strolled through France, on the way to Japan for lunch.

I had the garlic shrimp and LaLa had the Chicken Teriyaki

This shrimp was the best shrimp that I have ever tasted. I thought I'd be tasting garlic the rest of the afternoon, but I didn't. Best QS lunch....so far.

 

[LadyBelle]

After lunch, we did a bit of strolling through the rest of the countries:

You can see the clouds start to roll in...

Hello Future World from America!

Our final stop was to visit the Three Amigos. My pictures didn't turn out so well. This is the only one that's decent enough:

After we left Mexico, the clouds really got dark. We stopped to check the radar and saw that the rain would be coming soon. So we decided to head for the monorail to go to MK and wander around before dinner.

We *almost* made it.

We got to as far as Spaceship Earth. That came in real handy as a shelter from the complete downpour. We decided to take some time and go through the standby line as people hadn't quite decided to seek shelter inside the attraction just yet. I was so into the relaxation of sitting down and being dry, I didn't pull out the camera.

Once the ride was done, we quickly made our way to Innoventions and checked out the Colortopia. That was pretty fun. I liked how the scenes changed when you painted them a different color. Somehow, the image that we created didn't make it to my email box. It was a scene of a farm, I think.

It was a bit sad to look around Innoventions and see it mostly empty. I hope Disney turns it into something usable quick.

Once we finished, the rain had stopped and we were able to make our way to the monorail. One day, I hope to stay at a monorail resort. My dad always wanted to stay at the Contemporary. Maybe, Dad. Just maybe!

Next up: Dinner with a bunch of characters!

 

[LadyBelle]

Nice report so far. I like your pictures of Spaceship Earth with the palm trees. It sounds like you had a good time with your niece!

Thank you! Every once in a while I can take a good picture. That pic was with my iPhone 6s.

 

[LadyBelle]

Good grief! When real life gets in the way....I was afraid it would take me until my *next* trip to WDW before I could finish this.

I'm sneaking in a quick trip report from work because I have some pics here that I can upload.

After a lovely monorail ride, we arrived at TTC and took the monorail to MK. The last time I was here, my friend and I went and road the ferry to MK (partially because I forgot you could take the monorail )

When we got there, we saw the end of the Festival of Fantasy Parade. We then perused some of the shops on Main Street. We had a bit of time before dinner, so we decided to head over to ride Pirates, as the standby time wasn't too bad.

Hey, look! NO crane!!

This was my first time riding pirates since they made the changes and added Captain Jack. Evidently, there were some in the boat ahead of us that weren't expecting the drop, so screams were heard. I enjoyed it; Pirates has always been one of my favorite rides. I tried to take a pic of Captain Jack, but they were too blurry.

By the time we exited the ride and toured the gift shop, it had started raining again. We were close enough to head over to my *favorite* attraction of all time, The Enchanted Tiki Room. We managed to hit it at the right time and enjoyed the pre-show and then head in. Again, my photog skills are less than stellar with both my phone and PHS (Point Here Silly) camera so - again - no pics. But, I wanted to enjoy the original show, especially to get the bad taste of the "Under New Management" out from my last visit. I will be utterly devastated if Disney decides to close that down.

Now it's time for dinner!!

We had reservations at the Crystal Palace, another childhood memory. As an aside, with my last visit, I wasn't able to enjoy the meals because I was too price conscientious and hadn't realized the price of the table service meals. This time, I purchased the dining plan so that while at the park, I could really enjoy it. I don't really know if it was economical for me, but I know it was for my niece, and I wanted her to have a worry-free experience.

I must say, the buffet was delicious. The flank steak was a little undercooked for me as far as appearances, but it was super delicious. I'll post a pic later, because that was taken with my regular PHS camera.

After a while, it was time to meet some folk:

Tigger - fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!!

Willy, Nilly, Silly Ol' Bear!

My mom's favorite - Eeyore (because he reminds her so much of my dad )

The only one we missed was Piglet.

There was a mom at the table in front of us who was so insistent that they hadn't seen any character and when they did arrive, she took forever with them and pictures. The poor CM had to move them along so that they could come see our table and the ones after us.

Up Next:Nighttime at the MK!!

 

[MegRuss626]

So, so, so sorry guys! Just when I think I can sit back and actually work on my trip report, pesky real life steps in. I feel embarrassed that I'm still on day one, so I'll condense the rest of that trip:

Next stop was Muppets 3D. My favorite perhaps it's because it's one of the last things Jim Henson was involved in.
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After that, we went to the gift shop. I was tired of being the Sherpa of the day with my smaller backpack. So they were having a special of a backpack for $20 if you bought $40(?) worth of items. I snapped up a Christmas gift for my BFF, pick up a Marry Poppins Pin and voila! backpack purchased.

We then headed to lunch over by Star Tours. They were giving a Jedi Training when we went by.
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LaLa and I both ordered the Chicken Fingers. LaLa made the comment that she thought she would lose weight from all this walking, but the food wasn't helping!
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After lunch, we went on Star Tours. I like the new additions to the ride. A little more bumpier than I remember, but still awesome. After Star Tours, the wait time for the GMR was minimal, so we headed over there. As we were walking towards the queue, I was unaware that the Star Wars event was ending and...

BOOM!!!!!

Off went the fireworks! I jumped and screamed a little.

Our Tour Guide through the GMR was awesome. I don't remember them ever getting off the ride and get involved in any of the scenes from my last visit, but they added that little bit which was cool, yet predictable as to when they would return. Sometimes being an adult and suspending disbelief can be hard.

I DID THE SAME THING when we were there in September. I was strolling through minding my own business checking something on my phone when BOOM!!! I almost threw my phone and peed my pants!! HORRIBLE! lol

 

[LadyBelle]

Some additional pictures from Monday:

No crane! The last time that I'd see the castle during the day without it.

I love these decorations. I wish I could order one for my door.

Look @Tuvalu - I got the magic Red Card! This one was at The Magic Carpets of Aladdin. My niece got three during our trip. LaLa also loved maneuvering the joystick up and down - a lot - during this ride. And the camel got us while it was raining.

Some of the buffet from Crystal Palace. Again, while the steak was tender and delicious in the end, it looked too red for what I normally order. LaLa loved it; it was as close to a steak as she could get here. The Great Steak Tour of 2016 lives on!

I agree with those who say this restroom is awesome. I love this part of new Fantasyland.

A little night time spin on the tea cups

We wandered over to Tommorowland to catch the People Mover. While we were cruising around at a pretty good pace, my niece saw Stitch's Great Escape. I casually told her that it wouldn't be worth going into. I think she may have been a little disappointed.

We next went to Buzz Lightyear. I need to remember to keep my cellphone out because I didn't get any quality pics with my regular camera. Round One went to LaLa. I tapped my magic band on the wrong photo and didn't get our ride pic this time. Instead I got a pic a kid making the oddest facial expressions. I'll get you next time LaLa!!

Monsters Inc. was next on our list and I was unsure of how I'd feel about that. After we got seated (front row) and the show began, it turned out pretty great. Mike singled out this one guy and his "terrific" dance moves and this one family with matching shirts. LaLa had a blast - it was the first time I had seen her laugh this much in a while.

Once that was finished, we were walking back to the castle just in time for Wishes. We got to the bridge just as Tinkerbell took flight. I didn't take too many pics as I was just soaking it all in. Turns out that would be the only fireworks show I would see my entire time there.

 

[LadyBelle]

Last pics from Monday:

That was one delicious cake pop

And a couple of obligatory room shots:

Our one and only towel animal.

That was a lot of walking between EPCOT and MK.

 

[LadyBelle]

Tuesday, September 6

The switcheroo continued with a trip to AK:

First stop was the Safari. We were loaded into the last seat in the vehicle. The safari was cruising along, our guide was quite hysterical, when all of a sudden we hit a bump. It tossed me up in the air a little bit. The landing was not soft. They should really put some type of cushion in that vehicle.

Hey, look @samantha788 - our trek got really close to the giraffe. Absolutely coolest moment ever. I hope you got to see some on your trip!

Hmm...Office meeting perhaps?

While on the safari, the guide stopped to point out something (maybe the cheetahs?). LaLa leaned over me a bit to try and take a pic, while at the same time I went to point something out. I nearly knocked her phone out of her hand! That would've been really, really bad.

Zebras are my second favorite animal after the giraffe.

The zoo in my state is the largest "natural habitat" zoo in the country (per their website). But there's something special about being able to ride through this and be so close to these animals.

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Loving your report and how you are seeing everything after so many years. It's like the old memories come flooding back and you get to create brand new ones. You look like you are having so much fun, and so does your niece! What an awesome trip!!

 

[LadyBelle]

We had a bit of time before our next FP, so we decided to check out some other animals:

What a cutie!

Who wouldn't want a meerkat?

Giving us his 'best' side....

This little guy was hysterical! He was running all over the place, picking up straw, grass, etc. and throwing it all around. Everyone watching loved it. I could've watched him all day being a little imp.

Mmmm....yummy....

I feel ya, buddy.

I know this picture is blurry, but I was trying to zoom in on this silverback, to no avail. This guy was huge. He could've easily replaced the Yeti on Everest.

Up Next: Climbing that mountain...

 

[LadyBelle]

Happy Thanksgiving week everyone! May your bellies be full, your hearts full of joy, and your work week be short!!

Tuesday, Continued

After our visit with the animals, we headed towards our next FP:

I really wasn't looking forward to this, but I took one for the team because LaLa loves thrill rides. And because I am a chicken, I took my glasses off. I didn't feel comfortable on this ride about keeping them on, either because they felt a little loose on me or I just didn't want to see the drops.

As LaLa said after we picked up the ride pic: "I look like I'm having a great time. You look scared to death."

Yep. She was right. However, the Dude behind us was having a ball!

We headed over to DinoLand and rode Primeval Whirl (another Magic Red Card for LaLa!) and TriceraTop Spin. Then a QS lunch at Restaurantosaurus. Chicken Fingers for the both of us. No need to take a picture - once you've seen one chicken fingers you've seen them all, right?

After lunch, we made our way back to Kali River Rapids. I don't think I planned my FPs out that very well. LaLa isn't up for doing a lot of walking and I made her traipse from one end of the park to the other. Truthfully, I didn't plan it out for me either....

We put our stuff into lockers and headed to the FP queue. It was a bit of a wait for the FP line, but once we were on board, we were with a group who kept talking about how they got the perfect seat and that the waves from the raft would barely touch them because of how the raft was turning.

Well.....let's just say that those particular girls were completely drenched after the first drop and we barely got wet. Oopsy!!

After picking up our stuff from the locker, we headed over to A Bug's Life because the standby time wasn't too bad. Again, I took one for the team. I absolutely do NOT like this - give me Philharmagic any day. But I wanted her to experience as much as possible during our stay here.

That was pretty much the last thing we did at AK. Both of us were wiped out from the heat and adrenaline rush from
Everest that we decided to head back to the resort to rest before heading to EPCOT for dinner. I definitely needed it as I fell asleep on the bus ride back!

Tuesday, Dinner at EPCOT

After our little naps, we got ready and headed to dinner at EPCOT. We had ADR for one of my favs: Coral Reef. We were seated near the tank and we got to watch the sharks, turtles, stingrays, and diving crews swim by. I love this place!

Our (My) appetizer - Crab Spinach Fondue. Delicious! LaLa tried it, but wasn't to her liking.

I had the Seafood Scampi. LaLa had - surprise, surprise, the Steak.

Turtle Cheesecake for dessert, with a little celebration thanks to the CM. This was too adorable and bit too sweet for me to finish. LaLa had the Chocolate Wave.

Next: A little Vroom Vroom!!

 

[Longers]

Loving your trip report you are doing great for your first one. I just returned from Disney and did mine live which isn't easy but after writing one you appreciate how much time you need which makes you appreciate them even more.
Riverside is my home and I love it. Also I totally get what you mean about a wonky Eiffel Tower we said the same thing!
Loving all the pictures too, despite taking loads myself I always find others interesting.
I am following along.. Keep it coming it's helping the Disney blues

 

[LadyBelle]

After dinner, we headed over to Test Track

(Well, apparently there's some type of error and I can't upload my ride photo, so picture us having a great time at TT!!)

Dear Santa, please put this in my garage on Christmas. Thank you!

Goodnight, EPCOT!

 

[LadyBelle]

Wednesday

I managed to get LaLa up early, because we had a breakfast reservation:

We, and several of our closest friends, were eating at BOG! I was completely excited. I adore this movie and couldn't wait to see how it was designed.

We sat ourselves in the Ballroom. So pretty!

@prfctlyximprct and I have the same taste in seating.

OMG. This was amazingly delicious!!! LaLa's Feast a la Gaston didn't look too bad either.

We ate some of these additional pastries and I packed up the rest to go. Sadly, they didn't survive being mushed in my backpack for an afternoon treat.

Thanks for breakfast, Belle and Adam. See you *soon*