Trip Report Everything is Satisfactual - 4 Brits do Disney!

Welcome, ladies and gents, to my brand spanking new (and first ever) trip report!

I have been so excited to write this after reading some awesome ones on here

We got back from Disney World a few days ago so, even though I am still recovering from jet lag, I have a major case of the Disney Blues! I’m hoping that this report will relieve some of those.

Let’s begin:

Who: Hello, this is us. There were 4 of us on the trip - 2 couples and 2 sisters We are all in our twenties.

From left to right:

Kit, my boyfriend. He’s Canadian but has lived in the UK for most of his life.
Me, Stevie! I have lived in London my whole life, and my family are also from here.
My younger sister, Lisa. Isn’t she a beaut?
Lisa’s boyfriend, Wing. He’s Chinese but has also lived in London since forever

Lisa & I have been to the World twice - once when I was 9 and again when I was 16. Kit and Wing had never been to WDW before (this is actually a lie - Kit went when he was 3/4, but doesn’t remember a thing about it!).

This trip actually came about because my family were reminiscing about our previous trips and remembering what a great time we had. I then had a lightbulb moment - “hey, why don’t we go again?!” - and lo and behold, this trip was booked! Luckily we had some savings, because we booked it pretty last minute (booked in April and flew in July) and it took every last penny I owned (but still so worth it!).

When: We went from July 29th - August 8th. 10 nights. Unfortunately, our jobs prevented us from going at a quieter time!

Where: We stayed at All Star Movies and all shared one room. Yep - we were on a bit of a budget. Eeek! Find out how that went down a bit later

All in all, we had a brilliant trip. It wasn’t perfect by any means, and I’ll try and write as honestly as I can. This trip report will include the good, the bad and the ugly. Since we hadn’t been to WDW for 10 years, in many ways it felt like the first time, and we had so many fresh and new experiences!

I also took a million pictures, so I’ll be posting lots of them here. They will be a mixture of iPhone, DSLR and Photopass shots!

Here’s hoping you’ll join us for the ride!

 

[Doc Disney]

I am really enjoying your TR! I really like seeing your outfits, you and your sister are giving me clothes envy...such cute outfits!

 

[Disney-leaf]

When we got back to All Star Movies, Kit remarked how we hadn’t used the pool yet, and that we really should, so we attempted to have a quick swim before our shower.

This did not go to plan, lol.

Firstly, I was wearing a brand new bikini that I’d never worn before (rookie mistake) and the bottoms were a little bit too big! So, when I got into the water, they weren’t as tight as I’d hoped, and I spent a good part of the time in the pool holding onto them for dear life, for fear of indecently exposing myself!!

Secondly, the water was freezing!! It was a fairly mild and cloudy day, so the cold water didn’t feel as refreshing as it probably usually does. It was NOT fun!!

So, all in all, it was freezing, I was tired and my bikini kept falling down. Not the most successful swimming session ever! I think we got out after literally 10 minutes.

I had a quick shower and we all got ready to go to our dinner reservation for the evening - Sci-Fi Dine in Movie Theatre at Hollywood Studios!

The temperature had really dropped once the sun went down, and I remember feeling very chilly this evening - a first for being in Florida! Because of this, I was wearing quite a bizarre combination of clothing as I didn’t really pack anything warm. Black and white leggings, a grey t-shirt, a yellow cardigan and a pink scarf! Don’t judge me, please!!

As we got to HS, DJ Chill was playing and lots of people were dancing. It was brilliantly bizarre - we felt like we were in a nightclub! It was funny! We had a little dance before trying to find the restaurant.

We were a little bit early for our reservation (which was at 9.05) so we went into a little coffee shop next door to browse their books. This place was absolutely lovely and I wish I could remember the name of it! They had lots of really fab Disney books to browse. If I close my eyes I can imagine myself sitting on one of those comfy chairs reading all about Walt. It was fab!

When we got into Sci-Fi, we were blown away by the theming. It was incredible! You really feel like you’re sitting outside in a Drive-In Movie theatre (something I’ve never actually done in real life!!)

They played lots of shorts on the big screen - our particular favourite being Tom & Jerry.

Cuties! (I mean the couple behind Lisa & Wing ... )

Selfie! (And I think we are being photobombed too?!)

The waitress was really lovely, but the restaurant was busy and therefore the service was slow. There was a 50 min period between arriving and getting our food, and by the time it arrived I was feeling exhausted. I think it was a combination of being in MK since early that morning, being 5 days into our holiday with no rest, eating dinner late (almost 10pm now!) and sitting in the dark!

I ordered chicken pasta, and a milkshake, which was really nice, but I remember the boys not being too impressed with their food. I can’t remember why! As I was eating, I couldn’t stop yawning and felt my eyelids getting heavier and heavier, and then …

....

I fell asleep. In a restaurant. Not just a little micro-sleep - I had a good 20 min nap on the table, my head resting on my arms. I couldn’t help it! I woke up when the waitress came back with our bill, and half of my food was still sitting on my plate. So embarrassing! Haha. I must have really needed it - I’m not sure this would have happened in any other place than Disney!!

We originally planned to do some exploring of HS this evening because it was open until midnight, but we soon realised that wasn’t going to happen.

Suffice to say, I dived straight into bed when we got back to All Star Movies that night - we all did! ... zzzz ....

Coming up … one of my favourite days of our trip … EPCOT!


(Thanks so much to all who have stuck with me and made it to the half-way point of my TR! It’s great to know that people are reading and enjoying it)

xxx

 

[Figgy1]

Thank you so much for getting back to us!

 

[Epcot-Rules]

Thanks for posting. I'm leaving Wednesday morning hauling my travel trailer to Ft Wilderness. Your report has got me really excited lol. Is it wrong for a 43 year old man to enjoy Disney as much as me? I live 7 hours away, every opportunity I can find I make an excuse to go.

 

[Disney-leaf]

I am really enjoying your TR! I really like seeing your outfits, you and your sister are giving me clothes envy...such cute outfits!

Thank you! Disney is definitely a good place to experiment with different outfits! I loved picking all of the dresses to take!

Thank you so much for getting back to us!

There will hopefully be some more today! Just have to organise all of my EPCOT pics (and there's A LOT ... )

Thanks for posting. I'm leaving Wednesday morning hauling my travel trailer to Ft Wilderness. Your report has got me really excited lol. Is it wrong for a 43 year old man to enjoy Disney as much as me? I live 7 hours away, every opportunity I can find I make an excuse to go.

Ohhh, exciting!! I'd LOVE to go to Ft Wilderness! It's not wrong at all! If I lived 7 hours away I'd be there at least once a month I'm sure!

 

[Disney-leaf]

Day 6: EPCOT

Yay, we’ve made it past the half-way point!!

We had a bit of a lie-in on day 6, and didn’t end up getting to Epcot until about 9.30. I’d not had the best of mornings as I was wearing a white dress and had managed to spill coffee down myself (typical) but it was a beautiful blue-sky day, and much warmer than it had been yesterday, so nothing could spoil my mood! (Plus, the stain doesn’t actually show in any of the pictures … result!)

Anyways, after yet another healthy Disney breakfast, we had made it!

We headed straight to Test Track, which already had a 75 minute wait! At 9.30am! Luckily, the single rider queue was only 20 minutes so we decided to split up. This was a very wise decision as we really didn’t wait very long at all. I ended up in a car with a random family, who were extremely friendly and congratulated me on my car coming first!! I’ve no idea how this happened - beginners luck?! Test Track was super fun and I’ll definitely be doing it again one day!

We then found a PP photographer lurking near Spaceship Earth, so stopped to have another little photoshoot with the photographer giving us some cheesy pose ideas! This service is just amazing - I love it! Not quite sure why they added the random Inside Out filter on the first picture though! Haha. (Side note - I watched this film for the first time like 3 days ago … how great is it?!)

Just look at that sky behind the Earth!! <3

We then headed over to Soarin’ for our first FP of the day. I am SO GLAD we had a FP, because when we got there (at 11.17) there was a 145 minute wait!! Which is just insanity!! Even with the FP, we still had to queue for about 20 minutes, but that was totally cool compared to all the other poor souls! We had a really funny incident in the queue, too! As we took this selfie:

We noticed that the mum and dad of the family behind us jumped in for a photobomb! Their teenage children were absolutely mortified, but the mum and dad (and us!) could not stop laughing! The mum in particular found the whole thing hilarious, and she kept setting us off with her infectious laugh! And, just like that, we had made some friends in the queue!

Soarin’ was absolutely wonderful, as always. I think it had only recently been built the last time I went to WDW, and it was definitely one of my favourite rides ever. It is so relaxing yet exhilarating at the same time, and I loved the smells! I sat next to two women who had never been on it before, and their reaction was brilliant! They kept gasping: “Oh my god! Oh wow! This is amazing!! Ahhhh!!!” which made the ride even more enjoyable for me! There’s nothing quite like seeing people having the time of their lives!

After Soarin’, we went on Living with the Land. I loved reading all the quotes in the queue. As an International Development Graduate and now a primary school teacher, things like this really appeal to me:

 

[Disney-leaf]

I really enjoyed this ride and found it really interesting! I also thought it was a good length - its so sad when a ride feels like it’s over in seconds!

I really want to try a Winter Melon!

I did find the fish farm a little bit depressing, though! I think that’s because deep down I want to become a vegetarian but I’m not quite ready to commit yet!

After the ride, we went to get a snack from Sunshine Seasons. I opted for a cookie and a smoothie, but the boys went for full meals! What is it about Disney that makes you want to eat all. the. time?!

Our next FP was for the Epcot Character Spot. At this point, Lisa told us she wasn’t feeling too well - she was tired, she’d had too much sun and her stomach was really hurting. She talked about going back to the hotel to rest, but I told her that our next two FP’s were really soon and it would be good if she could stick it out for another hour or so. She agreed, and luckily so, because meeting the characters (Mickey, Goofy and Minnie) really cheered her up!

 

[Disney-leaf]

I loved meeting these characters and we had lots of time to interact with them! They took so many photos that I actually had to cut a lot down for this TR … otherwise you’ll get bored of our faces!

First up was Mickey:

What a gentleman!

Lol, this one makes me laugh:

Kisses on the hand are always welcome!

 

[Disney-leaf]

(And a couple more altogether)

Then it was Goofy, who was hilarious … I love him!! I think he’d had a couple of beers before meeting us ...

Group hug!! Look at his mouth!

And then Minnie, who got lots of attention from Kit & Wing!

Hey, I wanted a kiss too!!

 

[Disney-leaf]

And here's a final couple of group shots of us all with Minnie!! What a sweetheart!

 

[Figgy1]

Thank you I've always loved the Land and am even planning to do Behind the Seeds next trip to see even more of it. I also agree fish are friends not food LOL

 

[Disney-leaf]

Thank you I've always loved the Land and am even planning to do Behind the Seeds next trip to see even more of it. I also agree fish are friends not food LOL

Hahaha!! Exactly!!

 

[Disney-leaf]

Hello all! Sorry again for my long absence … my workload for my teacher training is currently insane … but now I have two weeks off for Easter (woohoo! ) and I am determined to get this TR finished!!

After meeting the characters, we had a FP for Mission Space so we headed over there. We went on orange, and I thought this ride was absolutely incredible! Definitely one of mine and Kit’s favourites. I was a little bit worried before getting on because I can feel quite claustrophobic in certain situations but I was fine on this ride.

All 4 of us went on together, and Kit was the commander, Lisa was the pilot, Wing was the navigator and I was the engineer. It really made us laugh that I was the one in charge of putting everyone to sleep because I love naps! (Remember my falling asleep in the Sci-Fi Dine In the night before?!)

Now that we had used up our pre-planned FP’s, Lisa and Wing headed back to the hotel for some rest. We had been going at 100 miles an hour this whole trip, so we knew this would happen at some point! Next time, I will definitely slow down my pace a bit.

When they had gone, Kit and I wandered over to Club Cool. I had read so much about this place and was excited to sample the drinks!

Of course, we couldn’t wait to try Beverly and, to share our opinion of it, I’ll let the pictures do the talking …

After we had tried them all, a random dude came up to me and said: “which one should I check out?” I told him my favourite, which I believe was the Fanta Melon Frosty from Thailand, so he took a bit gulp before exclaiming “eurgh, no!!”. I wish I could have seen his reaction from Beverly if he thought THAT was bad, but we just walked away laughing.

I also snapped this t-shirt that I saw in the store … I can’t remember why now! I doubt I was homesick at this point … having way too much fun!

After Club Cool, we grabbed a FP for the Seas for later on, and then went on Turtle Talk with Crush. It was so funny! Great experience, and so clever.

We decided to have a little break, and I also wanted to get changed into a different dress. Btw, I don’t usually walk around theme parks with different clothing options, lol, but when I put my white dress on that morning it felt very heavy and warm (it’s made from a really thick material) so I had a feeling that the weather might be too hot for it later on! And yep, I was right.

We then went to Starbucks and bought whey protein smoothies and cake pops. The smoothies were goooooood, and I was surprised to find that the cake pops tasted like an actual birthday cake and not a light fluffy cupcake.

 

[Disney-leaf]

We then decided to head to the World Showcase, which I was so excited about! I remembered very little about it from our last trip, and travelling the word is my hobby and passion, so having lots of ‘countries’ a few steps away from each other was a dream!

We first went to Canada, and got a bit confused, haha. Where did it begin and end?!

I got my DSLR out to take some pictures, and then we headed inside to watch O Canada! I have to admit, we both got a bit teary watching it! Kit is Canadian, and he took me to visit the country in 2014, and I fell in love with it. We both came out of there saying: “we MUST go back!”

The Victoria Gardens were just beautiful:

 

[Disney-leaf]

Then it was time to go to the UK! <3

I thought they did an absolutely amazing job with it - I almost felt like I was at home, although the weather was much nicer in Florida, and we don’t often see these little guys wandering around …

I would never pose in one of these back home!! When in Disney, though …

There was a rock band out playing Blur, the Kinks and Queen, and they were great too.

If only that damn lamppost would move out of the way!

We had a little listen before looking in some shops. It seems I have a thing for London/UK based t-shirts. I didn’t realise this, but looking through my pictures now, I can see a lot of them cropping up!

 

[Disney-leaf]

As we were browsing, I overheard someone say that Mary Poppins was around! She is one of my absolute FAVOURITE characters, so I raced out of the shop and found her in the gardens. Thanks to the tip-off, we were third in line.

I nervously walked over to meet her, and she made me laugh by saying: “Come along now, spit spot!”

She complimented my hat and asked if I wanted to fly away with her, which I graciously accepted:

Best meet & greet ever!!

 

[Disney-leaf]

I was floating on air a little bit at this point, and Kit asked if he could use my camera to take some pics. We somehow ended up doing mini photoshoot in the UK gardens, and it was really fun!

Pure joy!!! This was definitely one of my favourite moments of the whole trip - exploring the world showcase and meeting Mary!

We then went back in the UK shop to finish looking around. I loved all the little reminders of home.

I found tea!!!! Proper tea!!!

 

[Disney-leaf]

The one thing I was desperately missing from home .. a proper cup of tea!

I HATE marmite ... but it makes for a nice photo!

Woot, hey Royals!

Curiouser and curiouser ...

 

[Disney-leaf]

Outside the shop, Kit decided to have a photoshoot of his own, with the lamppost!

Honestly, he is a hoot!

Whoever knew that a lamppost could be so much fun?

 

[Disney-leaf]

We finally left my beloved UK (we would be heading back there for dinner anyway, heh) and moseyed on down to France.

It was beautiful!!

Such a charming little place!