Trip Report *Completed* The Rain Filled Graduation and Cancer Free Celebration Trip

Hey everyone!
First off let me start by saying this is my first trip report and I am very excited to share my trip with all of you! Secondly, I am going to freely admit that this TR will take me forever to finish since I start residency on Monday haha

For those of you interested in seeing my PTR its here: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/graduation-and-cancer-free-celebration.883163/#post-6056949

Just a quick introduction to the trip:
When? June 6th - June 16th 2014
Where? Port Orleans French Quarter, our recent favorite hotel
Why? My mom is one year cancer free and I just graduated from medical school!
Who? In order of the picture below: My dad, myself (Megan), my mom, my sister Jill's boyfriend Nick, my sister Jill, and my sister Betta

Ok so Day 1 My Dad and I were very excited to be in the airport!

Our flight was pretty terrible actually. We had a lot of turbulence, so much so that I fell over in the bathroom on the plane haha. However, if you ask my Dad it was smooth sailing (mainly because he slept through the whole thing). Seriously though, I don't think I ever landed so hard haha but it was all good because we made it to Florida!!!
I put my Magic Band on as soon as we landed

Ok so I mentioned this in my PTR but we have always rented a car in Disney, but this year we decided not to so going on DME was a first for us!
Here is our DME family selfie (my sisters didn't come until the next day)…it was super popular on Facebook haha

Anyway so I thought DME was pretty great, we barely waited at all and got to the hotel by 11:30 am. I didn't really mind the video…but I also never saw the old one. I will also admit that I was only half paying attention because I was answering some phone calls for residency stuff. I missed the Disney sign because I was on the phone I did get a picture of our hotel though!

Oh, and on a side note at a red light we saw this sign and all three of us thought it said gourmet walk in medical care instead of gourmet pizza haha

Ok so anyway, I am already rambling. When we got off the bus the most unexpected thing happened! The one cast member was standing there with our name on an iPad! I NEVER EXPECTED IT! I almost walked right past her! So she said because we did online check in our room was already ready AND she surprised us by giving us "I'm Celebrating" pins! My sister Betta called ahead and told them I was celebrating graduation and my mom was celebrating cancer free and they already had the pins made for us (although to be fair they got confused and made my moms a graduation pin too haha but so much Disney magic already)!

We saw this beautiful sight when we walked into our room

Basically we spent like 2 seconds in our room, just long enough to get changed (into the clothes I insisted we pack in our carry ons even though my parents thought I was insane) and off to the Magic Kingdom we went! First I had to pose with my new pin!

Here are my parents at the Magic Kingdom…let me say thank goodness I was wearing sunglasses because I was tearing up I was so excited. Let me also say it was hot…probably because I'm from Buffalo and we had an especially horrible winter but boy was I grateful for that change of clothes

We got inside and took some obligatory pictures with the Memory Maker

Then…we were starving. Since we usually had a car we rarely ate on Disney property except for breakfast so this trip was our first chance to try new restaurants. I was standing there suggesting things to eat (since I did a disturbing amount of research) and we ended up just going to Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant because it was close and we were hungry. (We did initially look at Casey's Corner but I have a weird thing about only eating a certain brand of hot dogs from home and my mom doesn't even like them so we said no to that).

My mom and I got kids nuggets and mac and cheese and my dad got the adult nuggets. I thought it was all really good! (also, so much food comes with kids meals its insane!)

On a side note my family really got into me taking pictures of food (although as you will see usually there was at least one bite out of it because we were always starving haha). My dad would always be like "we need to get a picture for the blog!" haha (blog was the term I used because trip report would have confused everyone)

Ok…next up is our actual day at MK and then dinner at the California Grill! Hopefully I can squeeze it in tomorrow before my graduation party

 

[LisaBelle]

That sounds like a really fun trip! I wouldn't worry about the newbies, since your kids are vets I'm sure they can lead them down the right path! I felt that way about Nick on my trip but in the end he was just happy to be there and just did what he wanted to and didn't do what he didn't want to (he doesn't like roller coasters so sat out on Space Mountain, but didn't mind at all). I actually really like the new Fast Pass system. I would definitely not worry about changing Fast Passes around, except for certain things like the Mine Ride and Toy Story. I did a lot of adjusting the day before or even the day of and still could get spots. I asked my sister about tips for the FP plus and she had some good ones so I will share: 1. We tended to do our Fast Passes mostly in the morning which worked out well if we wanted to add some later in the day or in another park. When you Park Hop you have to be in that park to add Fast Passes (actually any additional Fast Pass selections have to be made at the kiosks but don't worry they are all over). So if you want some for later at Hollywood Studios you have to be there to do it. If you wanted some at MK and you are already at MK you just go up to a kiosk there. The only park we had trouble getting more Fast Passes for when we did not spend the morning in that park was Epcot…basically because they have the least number. In MK we ended up using like 7 Fast Passes in one day without any problems (so thats how open most Fast Pass times are). I used the app/kiosks a little to change Fast Passes on the fly. For example, my Dad and I went on Tower of Terror in the morning one day and so we ended up changing that Fast Pass for something else at that time with no problems. 2. Another tip she had was if the weather if iffy and you are at Epcot try to get a Fast Pass for Test Track at the end of the day (like preferably last hour). If Test Track closes due to weather you will get a free Fast Pass for the next day that you can use any time any park. This happened to us so we used it for the Mine Ride. 3. The last thing we would say is to us the Fantasmic FP wasn't worth it…if you want good seats you have to get there early no matter what so its kind of a waste of a Fast Pass. If anything I would suggest the Dining Package if you didn't want to get there early. Lastly just a heads up if you haven't seen it yet you can use any Fast Pass 5 minutes early and 15 minutes late too (I learned that on this site and it was very useful). Don't worry if your app doesn't work (mine didn't) like I said there are plenty of kiosks…just make sure they change the whole group of Fast Passes if thats what you want…once they only changed me haha. Believe me I understand the anxiety of planning, thats the burden that comes on the planner haha I worried about everything too but it all worked out and we had a great vacation.

Thanks so much for the tips! I feel much better now!

 

[LisaBelle]

Still loving your report. Glad you went to Les Chefs de France. I've always wanted to eat there and we finally have an ADR there this trip! It was great to see your food pics & read your opinions about the food.

 

[Doc Disney]

Yum! All the food looks so amazing!!

I haven't dined in France in several years (making an effort to experience all of the WS's offerings) but all the food pics make me want to circle back through!

Wow that is quite the challenge to try them all. I think I would circle back too much haha

 

[Doc Disney]

Still loving your report. Glad you went to Les Chefs de France. I've always wanted to eat there and we finally have an ADR there this trip! It was great to see your food pics & read your opinions about the food.

You will like it for sure! I may not have given it the highest rating but its still pretty good!

 

[RubyLee]

Wow that is quite the challenge to try them all. I think I would circle back too much haha

Well we've been doing this for about 5 years for this very reason!

We always try to experience new WS restaurants (as well as new resorts restaurants etc.) but old favorites keep getting in the way!!!

 

[Allie_Marie]

Loving your Trip Report!!! Congratulations on Graduation, that's amazing! Also, congratulations to your mom and Betta as well. I cannot wait to continue reading about your adventures!

 

[Doc Disney]

Loving your Trip Report!!! Congratulations on Graduation, that's amazing! Also, congratulations to your mom and Betta as well. I cannot wait to continue reading about your adventures!

Thank you so much!! Hopefully, it doesn't take me too long to finish this TR haha

 

[roydavid7771]

Looks like you're having a great time! I just had to post because if your dad's shirt is any indication of where you graduated from med school, two of my dearest friends graduated from that very same school! Must be a great school then!

 

[Billy6]

Excellent updates!

I noticed that you were there at the same time as my parents and sister. That is usually the time my family has our annual vacation but only they went this year. My wife and I had a baby, or a new Disney fan, depending on how you look at it and we weren't able to go.

Keep it going!

 

[Doc Disney]

Alright onto Day 4:
So we had Crystal Palace reservations at 8:05 am. I made these on purpose because MK wouldn't be open until 9 and last time we were there before it opened it was so cool. Well, I wanted to leave at 7 am and even though my mom agreed with me she said to Jill and Nick we would meet at 7:15 (which apparently really meant 7:20). We just missed the MK bus (as usual I saw it from my walk to the bus station) so I was nearly about to lose it haha. Everyone told me to calm down and we will make it in time, but I was actually just more disappointed I wouldn't have time to get the pictures I wanted in the nearly empty MK. Of course, MK isn't easy to get to from the bus stop either…you have to go all the way around down that hill and such. Needless to say we made it in the park at 8:00 and at least had time for a Memory Maker picture. I eventually cheered up, it is Disney after all haha.

After we checked in I did basically sprint past all the construction walls so I could snag a few pictures

It turns out we couldn't even go near the castle anyway because they were taking wedding photos! I thought that was so cool! I basically creeped on them and took this picture haha How cool is it that the O is Mickey ears!

So they took us fairly close to our reservation time, which was nice. Last time we waited a good 15 minuets. I personally love the Crystal Palace. I think its so cute inside and the food is really good (at least the breakfast food is). I always get the omelet where they make it fresh for you. This time here seemed pretty slow in terms of the characters coming around. Last time, we got through pretty quickly but this time it took awhile.
The girls with Eeyore

My Mom with her fav character!

Nick meeting Piglet (warming up to characters a bit, but still calling him Pig Man instead of Piglet haha)

I find this pic to be so cute and funny

The family with Tigger

So after Crystal Palace I had the naive idea that we could go right to the Mine Train since it was just park opening and the line wouldn't be too long….needless to say even though we finished eating around 9:10 that was never going to happen. The line was already 90 minutes so we decided to move our plans around. We ended up heading over to Astro Orbiter first.

bahaha Nick's face is the best

After Astro Orbiter we decided to go on Space Mountain. It was only a 10 minute stand by so we decided to go on once then go back and do our Fast Pass
Nick doesn't like roller coasters so opted to sit out and my mom had decided to sit out the 2nd time. These Space Mountain pics are among my favorites haha

Ok splitting up this day because I am posting too many pictures! haha

 

[Doc Disney]

Looks like you're having a great time! I just had to post because if your dad's shirt is any indication of where you graduated from med school, two of my dearest friends graduated from that very same school! Must be a great school then!

Oh goodness its so funny you point that shirt out because it drives my mom and I crazy that he wears it all the time (and yes I did go there). It was nice at first but then after 2 years of constant wear and tear it's getting pretty ratty. haha Thats definitely awesome that you have friends who went there!! Its definitely a great school…crazy but great!

 

[Doc Disney]

Excellent updates!

I noticed that you were there at the same time as my parents and sister. That is usually the time my family has our annual vacation but only they went this year. My wife and I had a baby, or a new Disney fan, depending on how you look at it and we weren't able to go.

Keep it going!

Oh my goodness? Really? Its so funny to think about all the other people there at the same time. I would say a baby/Disney fan is definitely a good excuse to miss the trip. Congratulations to you and your wife that is very exciting! I'm assuming by your signature that its a boy! I bet you guys are so excited to bring him to Disney

 

[LisaBelle]

I would have been disappointed to not get in on the empty MK pictures, too! Sadly I've never made it in the park that early. No early morning ADRs this trip. Maybe some day!

 

[Doc Disney]

Alright so after our spin in Tomorrowland we thought we would hit up some of the classics. First we headed to the Haunted Mansion. I don't know if you guys do this, but I make it my mission to get out of that chamber the quickest way possible. Betta followed my lead so we got out first and my whole family was way behind us haha. Anyway, when we got out I made Jill, Betta and Nick make a scared face…apparently Nick wasn't scared.

After HM we were planning on going to Pirates but it was down pretty much all day so we headed to Its a Small World

I love Penguins

After this we headed over to Town Square for our next Fast Pass….MICKEY! The Main Man himself! So this Meet and Greet area was super cute and well themed. When we walked into the room I NEVER expected Mickey to be talking (ok, I guess in all fairness I slightly expected it since I had read it on here but it was still a shock). I think Mickey talking may have put Nick over the edge a bit with the meeting the characters thing haha

Oh on the way to Mickey we passed Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It! and it happened to be Donald Ducks actual birthday!

Everyone is like, ehh he talks? Then he said hot dog and I nearly died laughing.

He was super sweet he was saying we looked like we were related to him with our ears and then kept moving around the room to see if we could still hear him haha

After Mickey Jill and Nick left to go get some drinks at the Polynesian. We still had some time to kill before our next Fast Pass at Thunder Mountain and Pirates was still down so we walked over to see the wait time for Thunder Mountain. It was like 40 minutes which was about the time before our Fast Pass. While we were deciding what to do I noticed the wait for Splash Mountain was like 45 minutes so my Dad and I decided to do that while Betta and my Mom decided not to.
My mom and Betta ended up going to Tom Sawyers Island which was apparently super hot and not super exciting haha As my mom put it when I verified with her that that is what they did she said yes we went to "Tom Sawyers friggen ungodly hot island" hahahaha

Meanwhile my Dad and I ended up waiting for nearly an hour and a half for Splash and we realized the line was much longer too late to get out of line. On the plus side we met these super nice people in line and their little girl was so cute and was talking to me about being a doctor because she wants to be a vet! My Dad and I got seated in the last row and didn't get wet at all! I was so disappointed haha It was so hot I could have used some wetness and we waited so long. I also just now realized the Splash Mountain picture never showed up on my Memory Maker. So luckily my Dad and I made it off Splash Mountain with 7 minutes to spare for our Thunder Mountain Fast Pass so we ran over and got on it. Betta and my Mom went back to the hotel (fortunately my Dad had his phone in the Splash Mountain line and we could communicate with them and tell them we were going to be longer and to go on TMRR without us). Ironically, my Dad and I got wetter on TMRR than on Splash Mountain thanks to the water mist you get when going down the first hill haha. It was seriously so hot out my Dad and I were too tired to walk back to the opening so we decided to take the train. Believe it or not it was our very first time on the train! It was really neat, I really enjoyed it

When we got back to the hotel we met up with Betta and my Mom and decided to go to Downtown Disney to eat and do some shopping.
PS. I kept leaving MouseKeeping envelopes every day and hoped they would do something with the stuffed animals Betta and I brought along (yes we are small children in adult bodies). FINALLY they did! I came back in they were all sitting in a home made swing I was so excited!

Betta and I on the boat down

To be continued…

 

[Doc Disney]

I would have been disappointed to not get in on the empty MK pictures, too! Sadly I've never made it in the park that early. No early morning ADRs this trip. Maybe some day!

It was super disappointing! If you ever get the chance do try and make early ADRs (I made ours like almost 180 days out) its so neat to see! And you feel special because they let you in early

 

[Mom@disney]

Haha! Cute picture here. I love Crystal Palace too! Breakfast, lunch, or dinner you can never go wrong. I hope you got to ride the mine train sometime on your trip.

 

[mrdrift]

Great report with some great pictures. Looks and sounds like everyone is having a magical time. Loving the food pictures although they are making me very hungry and its only 7:30 in the morning. Keep them coming, I can fill my food needs through your pictures, helps the diet thing I guess. Will be watching for more.

 

[Doc Disney]

Haha! Cute picture here. I love Crystal Palace too! Breakfast, lunch, or dinner you can never go wrong. I hope you got to ride the mine train sometime on your trip.

haha thanks! We were just talking about going to the Crystal Palace for dinner sometime. The food is good then too? And we did go on the mine ride thank you for reminding me I totally forgot to mention it!

 

[Doc Disney]

Great report with some great pictures. Looks and sounds like everyone is having a magical time. Loving the food pictures although they are making me very hungry and its only 7:30 in the morning. Keep them coming, I can fill my food needs through your pictures, helps the diet thing I guess. Will be watching for more.

The food pictures make me hungry all the time too…haha Thanks for reading!

 

[Doc Disney]

Happy 4th of July everyone! Sorry its been awhile, I've been working 12 days in a row and towards the end was too tired to squeeze in trip reporting haha (oh the joys of residency)

Before I move onto Downtown Disney big thanks to Mom@Disney for reminding me about 2 things I forgot to mention earlier. The first is that on Sunday night when we went back to Epcot Betta and I got Fast Passes for Test Track for after dinner. Since it was raining they got canceled…so they gave us Fast Passes for anything we wanted, anywhere, for the next day. We got so lucky that we could use them at the Mine Train! I really enjoyed the Mine Train ride…but I am not sure I would be willing to wait 90 minutes for it. I think everyone was a little disappointed with it, but I did have to remind them that it is Fantasyland and Disney so its not like it was going to be some intense roller coaster. In general, I thought the theming was awesome and the ride was fun even if designed more for little kids.

Ok so I personally love T-Rex, I think the theming is super fun and their food is usually pretty good so this is where we decided to eat dinner.
They told us it would be like a 15 minute wait but we didn't wait at all. One tip is if you don't really eat lunch and eat an early dinner/late lunch instead you can generally avoid the crowds.
This is supposed to be out best dinosaur faces..not sure what I was actually doing.

During the storm

For dinner my mom got the T-Rexadillas, which were good. My dad had the Paleozoic Chicken Sandwhich which he said was good but also said it was way too much bread since its made with pizza bread. Betta had the Pork-Asaurus Sandwhich which she said was good and I had the Footprints Flatbread. The Flatbread is the only picture I have because I forgot until half way through dinner and mine was the only one that wasn't gross to take a picture of this late in the game haha. I thought the Flatbread was ok…it had red sauce on it which didn't say it did on the menu and I pretty much hate red sauce but I powered through haha.

After dinner we did some shopping and such. In our family we like to pick a name before we go on a trip and buy something nice for that person, so we did some of that shopping. This name picking is supposed to be a secret but as usual I had it all figured out beforehand because some of my family members depend on me to do their shopping (*cough my dad cough*) and others just tell me haha. I really like that new co-op thing they have there, its super nice and a lot of the goods are unique and you don't see everywhere else around Disney.

I did spend a disturbing amount of money to buy my penguin Petey a Duffy outfit, but how could I not its so cute!

After shopping it was, as usual, too hot for us so we went back to the hotel and did some swimming. Betta and I really wanted to go back and see Wishes so we told our parents we were going and my Dad said he wanted to stay back so it was just us girls. On the way to MK it started raining but it stopped as soon as we got there.
When we got in the park we still had a lot of time before the Main Street Electrical Parade so we went to a Fast Pass Kiosk and got a Fast Pass for Pirates since we missed that ride during the day. Did you ever look at the "pirates" in the eyes? Its so creepy its like they are looking at you haha. After that we headed over to Tomorrowland and got Fast Passes for Buzz Lightyear again.
On the way there

I look like this because I had some major concentration going on. I ended up with an all time high score (for me) of 435200 somehow

After this we went and scoped out a spot for the parade. It was probably poor planning that we kind of waited until last minute to do this so instead of getting a spot that would be good for both the parade and Wishes we kind of just hung out on Main Street. I did run over to Starbucks for water before the parade started but it was kind of funny because I kept getting told I was going the wrong direction and couldn't cross the street but I am little so I was able to sneak across haha. I actually really enjoy MSEP but I did also like SpectroMagic. I just thought it was cool they added new floats this year.

New Float

'Merica, for some reason it makes me laugh that this float exists

After the parade we went more towards the castle. Due to the construction walls we couldn't stand where we usually do, but this spot was ok. I do also love Celebrate Magic and I enjoyed that they added Frozen to it. I was, however, super annoyed by the amount of people ramming into me with strollers or pushing their way through because they had a stroller (which was usually empty).
Wishes!

After that all of us were exhausted to headed back to the hotel to meet up with my Dad and go to bed!

Next up…Typhoon Lagoon