Trip Report Completed We Got No Troubles, Life Is The Bubbles, Down at Disney

Mom@disney · Sep 15, 2014

What a gorgeous day so far! BOG is truly amazing! And I'm so glad that you got to experience it. My oldest daughter is a gigantic fan of Belle. When we finally got to see the New Fantasyland with Enchanted Tales with Belle and the Village and The Beasts Castle, she was in awe. We ate dinner at BOG and kept telling me to take a picture of everything. She didn't want to stop hugging the Beast...too cute. Can't wait to hear more! Hope your work week goes smoothly.

SharonD · Sep 15, 2014

All caught up. Glad you made the opening ceremony AND had lunch at BoG. We have a fastpass for lunch and I am definitely having the Croque Monsieur - it's perfect for an early lunch/ late brunch.

Sad to read this is your last day, but have to say y'all have done really well with the heat and traveling as a larger group.

(As you noticed before, we will be at WDW the end of this month - 2 nights at BLT, then 5 at BWV. Can't wait, and reading reports like yours amps up the excitement).

TheMouseFan · Sep 15, 2014

@LisaBelle , I found this pic from our trip last November. They were definitely misting!

LisaBelle · Sep 15, 2014

Mom@disney said:
What a gorgeous day so far! BOG is truly amazing! And I'm so glad that you got to experience it. My oldest daughter is a gigantic fan of Belle. When we finally got to see the New Fantasyland with Enchanted Tales with Belle and the Village and The Beasts Castle, she was in awe. We ate dinner at BOG and kept telling me to take a picture of everything. She didn't want to stop hugging the Beast...too cute. Can't wait to hear more! Hope your work week goes smoothly.

BOG surpassed my expectations! I want to go there every trip from now on! I was in awe as an adult, I can only imagine how magical it must be for a young girl! What great memories for you!

TheMouseFan said:
@LisaBelle , I found this pic from our trip last November. They were definitely misting!
View attachment 65956

Thank you! I thought we always stopped there to be misted!

LisaBelle · Sep 15, 2014

@SharonD I was trying to quote your message, but for some reason it won't let me

! Anyway, I am jealous that you will be at Disney so soon. I read lots of trip reports to help me pass the time before my trip. Enjoy that Croque Monsieur. It really was a perfect lunch. I am sad to be finishing up my report. It will mean my trip is really over

. We all had a great time. Kara can't wait to go back again. Allie and I have been watching videos of Wishes on youtube and wishing to go back. Are you planning to write a TR?

FlaggNL · Sep 17, 2014

Great great report, but you already know that! Still counting down, but reading TR's like your helps a lot

LisaBelle · Sep 17, 2014

FlaggNL said:
Great great report, but you already know that! Still counting down, but reading TR's like your helps a lot

Thanks for sticking with me! I know what you mean about reading trip reports to get you through! I read every trip report I could before our trip. You are under 30 days now! You will be boarding that plane before you know it. So excited for you & your family!

DisSplash · Sep 17, 2014

LisaBelle said:
Writing this report brings me joy so I am hoping that I will be able to squeeze in some trip report writing in between all the "real world" stuff

... and reading this report (and others) brings me joy! Definitely a calming break from all the "real world" stuff, which can get really hairy sometimes.

But this board is my stress therapy! I don't have a trip on the horizon, but I know I will at some point. We are debating on another Disney cruise next summer ... in the meantime, I have you and your fellow report writers to thank for sanity.

I will be waiting and watching for your update! Good luck with all your work and home activities

FlaggNL · Sep 19, 2014

LisaBelle said:
Thanks for sticking with me! I know what you mean about reading trip reports to get you through! I read every trip report I could before our trip. You are under 30 days now! You will be boarding that plane before you know it. So excited for you & your family!

Thanks, yeah reading TR's really pums up the Disney feelings! In 4 weekls we passed the UK and are above the ocean I guess

And off course I stick in, it's a great report!

LisaBelle · Oct 5, 2014

Sorry I was gone so long. Betcha thought I wasn't coming back to finish this up. No chance of that, I am having way too much fun reliving my trip!
When I left off we had just finished a spectacular lunch at BOG. We had some time before our next FP+, so we wandered around enjoying the MK and checked out some things we'd never seen or done before.
One of the kids noticed this survey marker on the ground. For some reason I think these are really cool.

Believe it or not, our family has never tried to pull the sword from the stone! All the kids tried today, but no luck! Adam had fun looking around trying to figure out who might be controlling the sword.

Hate to admit this, but I just got all teary eyed looking back at these photos. We had such an amazing time and I can't believe it's all over. That is why I love this site. We all understand the joy that a trip to Disney brings and we all love sharing it with other people. So happy I found people who love Disney like I do :happy:

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We wanted to check out Gaston's Tavern so we headed there next. We were still full from lunch so we didn't try any of the food or drinks. We just looked around. As always, Disney has done an amazing job of perfecting all the little details and transporting you right into the movie.

Adam is nothing like Gaston, but he enjoyed relaxing in his chair!

Look who we ran into! The line had been cut off when we noticed that he was out, but we had fun watching him. So true to his movie persona.

We loved looking around the Beauty and the Beast gift shop.
I laughed out loud when I saw these…..

Allie and I loved this painting. We spent a long time taking in all the details.

Then it was time for another Voyage Under the Sea with the Little Mermaid. This ended up being one of our favorite rides this trip.

lostpro9het · Oct 5, 2014

LisaBelle said:
Allie and I loved this painting. We spent a long time taking in all the details.

Nice! We too were interested in a similar painting that was on the Dream:

LisaBelle · Oct 5, 2014

After saying farewell to Ariel, Adam & Kara wanted to get a drink, so they went ahead of the rest of us. When we caught up with them they were sharing their table with another couple. The couple had noticed Kara's Harry Potter shirt and they were filling Adam and Kara in on all the things that Universal put in Diagon Alley. On the one hand we were disappointed that we hadn't gotten to experience that part of Universal, but I am still glad that we didn't give up any more Disney time. As much as I love Harry Potter, I love Disney more!

By now we were really hot and it was almost time for our Splash Mountain FP+. We were really happy with the timing of this FP+, because we figured we could get cooled off on Splash, catch the Festival of Fantasy Parade and head back to the WL for our afternoon rest. Sounds great, right? Well as they say the best laid plans do not always work out the way you think they will.

As we approached Splash we noticed that the clouds had quite suddenly become very dark. Good, we should be able to jump in line and get our ride in before the afternoon rain hits. WRONG! Just as we were entering the queue they shut it down due to lightning

! We checked with the CM and he said we could come back anytime after the ride reopened and they would honor our FP+.

I was so bummed that we didn't make it on Splash and now I was worried that we wouldn't get to see FOF either. The kids decided to head back to the WL for a break. Paul and I really wanted to see FOF because we had only seen part of it on our first day. We hung around and shopped on Main Street, but it kept raining and after about 40 minutes we decided to give up

. By this time I was starting to get really down in the dumps. Here it was our last day and the afternoon was not unfolding as planned. Paul and I didn't really feel like going back to WL. We wanted to squeeze in as much Disney magic on our last day as possible, so we decided to do something we've never done before, ride the monorail to the Grand Floridian! GF is my dream resort. I would LOVE to stay there one day. I was so happy to actually visit it in person that day! The GF is absolutely stunning. Pictures (especially mine!) do not do it justice. You truly need to see it to appreciate it.

Paul and I had a lovely time browsing at Basin. Another first for me. Loved it! Then we took the monorail back to the MK to catch the boat to WL.

Before we boarded the boat to WL I took this photo for Allie. She had tried to get a shot without anyone in front of Mickey earlier in the day, but it was too crowded. We almost didn't get this photo. A tour group of Brazilian teens was hogging the space. A mother and daughter grew tired of waiting for the teens to clear out, so the mother daughter duo went up and stood with the teens and photo bombed a few of their photos. They finally got a clue and cleared out and I was able to get this shot. Thank you to the mother daughter duo who saved this photo op!

After a brief rest back at the WL we were all anxious to head back to the MK for our final few park hours. Here we are heading down to the dock for the final time this trip :cry:

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A final group photo in front of our beloved castle.

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We decided to split up for a few hours so people could get in some of their last minute must dos.
Kara had bought souvenirs for her whole family and had barely bought anything for herself, so I told her that she and Adam should take some time when we first got to MK and finish her shopping for herself. Allie and Sarah wanted to try to ride Space Mountain again. Paul and I wanted to try Haunted Mansion and a few other favorites. I only took a few photos and didn't take any notes, so I am not exactly sure what we did. I think we got in one last ride on BTMR and I took a picture of Splash because I knew it would be too dark when we came back to ride it later.

I took these photos as we walked back toward Haunted Mansion.

I really like this shot because you can see the Riverboat, Rapunzel's Tower and part of the Haunted Mansion all in one shot.

I wanted to check the wait time on Peter Pan so we headed there. It was too long, so I made a quick pit stop at the Rapunzel bathrooms.

Paul and I decided to try Haunted Mansion one last time. As we were walking to the queue we met up with Allie and Sarah who were headed there, too.

They'd had this taken a few minutes earlier.

We had some fun in the interactive queue while we waited.

Earlier we had decided to meet up at the Plaza Ice Cream Shop just before the first Main Street Electrical Parade. We'd sit at a table and watch the parade. Then we'd move to the other side of the passageway by Tomorrowland Terrace to watch Celebrate the Magic and Wishes one last time. Allie, Sarah, Paul and I were hungry, so we decided to make a quick run through Casey's before heading across the way for our ice cream. We called Adam and Kara and they had just eaten so they didn't want anything from Casey's but definitely wanted ice cream. We got 3 orders of corn dog nuggets and some fries and drinks and high- tailed it across the street before they closed it down for the parade. As luck would have it, another family was leaving so we grabbed their table and had an obstructed, but tolerable view of the MSEP

.

Adam and Kara arrived with a gift for me! They had found a Hidden Mickey's book and decided that while it was probably too late to use it this trip, we could use it on our next trip. I may or may not have teared up a bit when they gave me the book! I was delighted that they were looking ahead to "our next trip" :inlove:

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A few people saved the table and the rest of the crew went to get our ice cream. We had a wonderful time talking and watching the parade. Then we moved across the way to the same spot where we'd watched Celebrate the Magic and Wishes on our first night. Celebrate the Magic was magical as always and then it was time for Wishes. The tears began with the music :cry:

. They were a combination of happy tears, because we were having such a wonderful time and sad tears because I knew that our time at the Magic Kingdom was coming to a close. When Wishes ended, I dried my tears and we headed off for one last ride on Haunted Mansion. We had a ball! It was pretty much a walk on. When we were in the stretch room we were all mouthing the words along with our "ghost host". I loved that Kara and Sarah already knew the words by heart at the end of their first trip to Disney. Then we headed for our last ride of the trip, Splash Mountain. We walked right on and had a zippety do da time on the ride. As we floated back in to the station, the CM said we could stay on and ride again, but the kids were relieved that we had not gotten wet and didn't want to push their luck, so we said farewell to Splash Mountain.

We then began the slow walk toward Main Street. I wanted to take my time and say goodbye slowly, because I had no idea when we would be back. I was hoping that the kids would walk with me and Paul and we could all say goodbye to the Magic Kingdom together. I hadn't told them that I was planning to go slowly, so they were all out of the park and heading for the boat before I got them on the phone

. They were fine and ready to head back to the WL. I was a little disappointed, but knew that having them safely back at WL would allow me and Paul to take our time without feeling rushed. I bought a pair of Mickey earrings and a few last minute souvenirs for friends. Then we stood at the end of Main Street with our arms around each other and watched the Kiss Goodnight. The tears really flowed then (and they are now as well!) :cry:

! When it was over Paul and I walked slowly toward the train station. We took one long last look at the castle and headed out the gates to the boat launch.

Up next. Saying goodbye to the Wilderness Lodge and my final thoughts on our trip.

LisaBelle · Oct 5, 2014

lostpro9het said:
Nice! We too were interested in a similar painting that was on the Dream:

Aren't those paintings beautiful? It had so many beautiful details. I wish we'd been able to buy it and bring it home!

lostpro9het · Oct 5, 2014

LisaBelle said:
Aren't those paintings beautiful? It had so many beautiful details. I wish we'd been able to buy it and bring it home!

Yes. Out of about 50ish paintings in the gallery we were drawn to this one despite it almost sitting on the floor of one of the rooms.

LisaBelle · Oct 5, 2014

Monday, July 21st Departure Day

We woke up about 8am in order to finish our last minute packing. The girls and I went down to Roaring Fork for our final Mickey Waffle breakfast! I was so sad to be leaving that I had a hard time swallowing those delicious waffles. I knew it would be quite some time before I would have another one

. We finished packing and took a last stroll through the lodge taking in as many details as possible. Bell services came around 10:30 and we spent a challenging 20 minutes or so trying to stuff all of our purchases into the van

. We headed to Roaring Fork and got some sandwiches, flat bread pizzas and Magic Cookie Bars to go. With one last tearful look at the Wilderness Lodge we said goodbye and emerged from the Disney bubble.

Final Thoughts

We had a FANTASTIC trip. Most things went as planned and everyone got along better than I could have imagined. Loved the Wilderness Lodge. This is our "go to" resort because of the boat transportation to MK. Can't imagine not staying at WL, but there are so many awesome resorts at WDW it is hard to imagine not trying some new places, too. Of course I can't wait to go back no matter where we stay!

New Things we loved:

New Fantasyland, it was our first time at MK since it opened and it did not disappoint!
Journey of the Little Mermaid. This was an unexpected surprise. We did not think we would like this attraction as much as we did.
Be Our Guest, Be Our Guest, Be Our Guest!!! All I can say is WOW! We will definitely be back. We want to eat dinner there and meet the Beast.
Frozen Fireworks and the Snow! How can you not love magic snow in July in Florida?
Spiked Dole Whips at Animal Kingdom
Les Chefs de France at Epcot

New Experiences We Liked

7 Dwarfs Mine Train, very fun but a little short. Will definitely ride it again, but probably wouldn't wait for more than 30 minutes.

New Things We Won't Do Again

Finding Nemo Show at Animal Kingdom. I know lots of people will disagree with me, but we did not enjoy this.

As always, there were things we didn't get to do. I wish…

we could have ridden ToT at night. Kara & Allie really wanted to do that, but we ran out of time on our HS day.
we had seen the entire Festival of Fantasy Parade.
we had visited One Man's Dream at HS. This was on my must do list this trip, but I totally forgot about it when we were at HS.
we'd had time to go to Downtown Disney

I know that there were a few other things we didn't get to do, but they are not coming to mind at the moment. There's always next time!

As always, the trip flew by too fast and I have had a huge case of the Disney Blues since returning. Writing this TR has helped, but as everyone always says, the best cure for the Disney Blues is planning another trip…..

I am not sure when the family will be returning, but my sister and I are planning a Disney trip for late 2015 or early 2016!! I will turn 50 in January of 2016. My sister loves Disney almost as much as I do and she suggested that we do a Disney trip to celebrate my 50th birthday :happy:

! We decided to give ourselves a bit of a challenge and we are planning to run a 5K race at Disney while we are there. We are researching the runDisney events and any input you all may have would be greatly appreciated. We don't want to do any more than a 5K at this point because I am not a runner by any stretch of the imagination & she runs, but her longest distance has been a 5K. I will probably do a pre-trip report and will definitely do a trip report.

So until next time my friends, I hope you have enjoyed reading my trip report. I had a great time writing it!

mrdrift · Oct 6, 2014

It's sad that you trip report is coming to an end, I would like to say thank you for sharing your family trip with all of us. Everything turned out really nice and all of you seem to always have smiles in all the pictures. Thanks again. Until next time.

Doc Disney · Oct 6, 2014

So sad your TR is over

You picked the most appropriate picture for the end of it though! So happy I could follow along with your report..I was so sad when you were missing for awhile haha

A W Reezy · Oct 6, 2014

Haven't read the TR yet... Just wanted to stop by and say "GO BIG BLUE!" Ok... Back to the beginning for me... LOL

LisaBelle · Oct 6, 2014

mrdrift said:
It's sad that you trip report is coming to an end, I would like to say thank you for sharing your family trip with all of us. Everything turned out really nice and all of you seem to always have smiles in all the pictures. Thanks again. Until next time.

Thank you for reading. I am so happy that you enjoyed it. The smiles were genuine, we had a great time and can't wait to go back!

akayw0718 said:
They're actually the exact same. That's Thomas Kinkade's Dream series, the last Disney set he painted before his death. If you're looking for a way to incoporate them in decor without spending a bundle, they make them as puzzles. BaTB is available all over, I got mine at Target. There are 10 in total, 6 individual puzzles and a 4 pack. There is also a painting of the castle, available only from Disney directly as a puzzle.

Thought maybe I should add the list of them:

Full size puzzles/prints:
Cinderella
Bambi
Pinnochio
The Little Mermaid
Beauty and the Beast
Sleeping Beauty

4 Pack:
The Jungle Book
Peter Pan
The Princess and the Frog
Tangled

There is talk that the other images will be available soon, I believe there are 12 in all, since there was a calendar.

Thanks for the info about the painting. I think Kara actually bought one of the puzzles for her sister! Great suggestion about how to get the painting on a budget!

akayw0718 said:
Loved your report! I hope your kids are excited to go again, but it is definitely hard to fit around college. Hopefully Adam and Kara are loving Kentucky!

Thanks for reading. Looking forward to yours. Your trip will be here soon! Hope to get back to Disney with the family soon, but paying for college puts a big dent in the Disney budget! Adam & Kara are enjoying UK

Doc Disney said:
So sad your TR is over You picked the most appropriate picture for the end of it though! So happy I could follow along with your report..I was so sad when you were missing for awhile haha

I'm sad to see my TR end, too. It means my trip is over for the second time

. We had a blast and Kara is now a true Disney lover! So glad you followed along. It was fun reading your report and then having you read mine!! I felt terrible to put the report on hold for so long, but my life has been crazy busy. Lots of volleyball games for Allie and school stuff for me. Thanks for sticking with me! Saw your post about you staying at WL! Incredibly excited for you!

Mom@disney · Oct 6, 2014

I really enjoyed reading your trip! Thank you for sharing it with all of us. It shows in the pictures and your words how much you love your family and Disney.
Now get to planning your next trip so you can make many more magical memories!

Trip Report *Completed* We Got No Troubles, Life Is The Bubbles, Down at Disney

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Trip Report Completed We Got No Troubles, Life Is The Bubbles, Down at Disney