First of 2 Trips in 9 Months Pre-Trip and Trip Report 5/29-6/7

So this is my first ever pre-trip report, much less trip report. But most definitely not my first trip. I am new to this site and decided to try this out.
Who:

Me, 27, the planner this time around. I booked all the meals and made the itinerary for the trip. Maybe that's why I'm so excited. My co-workers think I'm crazy because all I've been talking about is Disney. I love taking pictures, I'm not the best, but I love it. So my trip report will be filled with pictures.

My Mom, the packer and repacker. She makes sure we have everything we need for the trip. We are celebrating her birthday while in Disney.

My Dad, the camera man. Was hard to find a picture of him, because like me, he is always behind the camera.

My sister, 19, the diva or drama queen, as she calls herself. Tinkerbell freak, as you can tell my the picture. I usually get stuck sitting with her on the rides. Lucky me. LOL.

My brother, 13, the only boy. He is braver than the rest of us, he's been trying to convince me to ride Splash Mountain.

My sister, 13, the baby of the family. But she acts like the boss most of the time. I will NOT ride with her on Tomorrowland Indy Speedway this time around.
What: 8 days in Walt Disney World.
When: May 29th-June 7th.
Where: Pop Century, two preferred rooms. Hopefully connected.
Why: Because three years is too long to go without visiting Disney World. We are also celebrating my mom's birthday while we are there. Also I will be spending some time with a friend that now works at Disney World.
So the meaning behind the title, you ask? My mom and I (and possibly my nanny) will be taking another trip in January. Ever since my friend moved to Florida, he and I have been planning a birthday trip for the two of us. My birthday is in January, his is in February. So we will be going somewhere in between. So for the first time ever I will be going to Disney World twice in less then a year.


Anything else you would like to know, just ask. I will post the itinerary and meals tomorrow night after work.

 

[jesemeca]

On to Animal Kingdom. It was close to 3 by the time we got here. It was hot and muggy, so we weren't sure how long we would stay. I think we were gone by 7 or so. Animal Kingdom always seems so much hotter than the rest of the parks.

The Tree of Life. I tried taking some different angles of the tree, but none came out as good as this one.

More flamingos. Can you tell that I really like them or what?

We made to Animal Kingdom in enough time for me to see the parade. Only problem was as soon as the parade started, the rain started. I mean it poured. I felt bad for the performers in the parade. It was ridiculous. But the parade still went on, in true parade fashion. I'm from New Orleans, so I'm used to waiting in the rain for a parade, just not with new electronics. LOL. This was also the second day in a row that it rained on the daytime parade. At this point, I was thinking to myself, I hope this doesn't become a trend.

Me and Jiminy Cricket. He was the main reason I wanted to go to Animal Kingdom. This was my first time seeing him. We were the first family to see him. He walked us over to his corner of the room, so we could take pictures.

Pocahontas asked if my Mickey Ears helped me hear any better. She said that if they did she wanted a pair for Meeko, then maybe he would listen to her. LOL.

My brother and Rafiki.

Expedition Everest....One ride I will NEVER go on. Me and roller coaster don't mix to well. But I do think it adds alot to the park in general. I love seeing it in the background of this picture. I also enjoy hearing the people screaming. LOL.

Next we saw Festival of the Lion King. I loved it. This was my first time seeing the show and it was awesome. My sister's favorite is the lady bird that flys. My favorite was the monkeys. They were very funny.

After this we left Animal Kingdom as we could tell a storm was coming. While everyone else relaxed at the hotel, my friend and I went to Downtown Disney. And this is when my love affair with Earl of Sandwich started. Tonight, the first of three times I ate here, I had the Full Montagu. And it was absolutely fantastic. I remembered to take a picture this time. Proud of me??

Sadly though, that is the only picture I have from the night at Downtown Disney. I guess I was too busy enjoying myself. I hadn't seen my friend in months, so it was nice to just catch up. Oh, and he turned me on to the make your rice krispie treat. Where has that been all my life? A rice krispie treat dipped in chocolate, covered in peanut butter chips and drizzled with more chocolate, heaven on a stick. LOL. I ate this one too fast, to even take a picture of it.

 

[jesemeca]

Day 3

The Mad Hatter was our entertainment at breakfast this morning, at 1900 Park Fare. He, by far, was the funniest one today. Although Alice did put my brother's face in his grits. LOL. He did it the first time on his own to get out of the way for a picture. So the next time we needed him to move, she did it for him and pushed him all the way in. LOL. He was dying laughing. Back to the Mad Hatter, he was blaiming things on Mary Poppins, who was in the other room. He got mad every time they would sing happy birthday. He didn't like if you looked at him too long, he'd ask what are you staring at?
On to the food, your basic breakfast foods. It was very good though.

Mary Poppins and I. Very prim and proper as always.

Alice and I. Too cute. Very convincing.

Of course, Winnie the Pooh and I. My favorite.

I have always loved this chandelier in the Grand Floridian. I'm not sure why, I've always thought in was quite interesting.

On to Typhoon Lagoon. Today was the 21st Anniversary of Typhoon Lagoon.
Hanging ten with Lilo.

And Stitch.

These are the only two pictures I took the whole time we were at Typhoon Lagoon. I was off playing in the water, not even worried about the camera.

 

[jesemeca]

Here is my pulled pork sandwich I had for lunch. It was okay. Nothing too too special about it.

Once we were back at the hotel I convinced everyone that we needed to go eat at Earl of Sandwich. They agreed. YEA! Tonight I had the Hawaiian BBQ with no pineapples. Delicious, so the love affair continues.

This was another night that my friend hung out with me. We had an awesome time. Walked the whole length of Downtown Disney.
Trend was a cool store. This was the first time I had been to it.

We did ALOT of shopping at World of Disney. I bought the Four Parks, One World cd. And I love it. I never noticed this was up there. Maleficient has always been one of my favorites.

I have a picture of me on this bench from every trip since they put that bench there. As you may have noticed I love Winnie the Pooh. I have so much stuff with him on it. But the one thing I would like, that I can't find is a shot glass. Has anyone ever seen a shot glass with Winnie the Pooh on it?

I LOVE Johnny Depp. No, I really do. LOL. Trust me. You don't want to know how much I love him. LOL.

I like the way this shot came out. I always have trouble with night time pictures, so when I get a good one, I'm all excited. I particularly like that you can see the Rainforest Cafe in the background.

 

[jesemeca]

Next we walked through Pleasure Island. Or at least what is left of it. I had only been once. But I enjoyed the Comedy Club and the Rock and Roll Beach Club. I've never been to the Adventurer's Club, but seeing that so many people love it on here, I took some pictures. It was very eery to see an empty building like that.

This was one of the Entertainers at Pleasure Island. She was very friendly. She even posed for me. LOL. She didn't get to stay out too long, it started raining shortly after they came out.

Okay, so I fell in love with this shelf. LOL. Nope not the items on the shelf, just the shelf itself. Yes, I'm really that weird.

I loved the Candy Cauldron. I bought some Dr. Pepper jelly beans. I love Dr. Pepper, and since Disney doesn't serve it anywhere I had to settle for the jelly beans. This was in the Candy Cauldron.

And finally, home after another long, hot, tiring day of fun.

By the end of this night, I was exhausted. Getting up early, staying out late. It was getting very tiring, really quick. My friend was nowhere near as tired as I was, so he wanted to hang out even later. I felt bad that I couldn't stay up later. But overall, the first three days of my vacation have been wonderful.

 

[disneycouple07]

Great trip report! Keep them coming...

 

[jesemeca]

Day 4

First picture of the morning.

I loved this window. And I loved the fact that my camera could zoom in that much to get this picture.

Today was the day that I was determined to make it rope drop at Magic Kingdom. We made it with time to spare. Rope drop was nice, we kept some of the confetti they shot out at us.

On Main Street I met the Mayor. He even knew about the Saints and gave me a Who Dat. LOL.

I went to the Main Street Bakery for breakfast this morning. I had the Warm Cinnamon Roll. It was very good, but way to big for me to finish. My mom even had some and we still didn't finish it.
Here is the Emporium on a very uncrowded Main Street this morning.

Since Main Street wasn't very crowded, we shopped a little this morning. Which is something we never do. We always shop at night. But I enjoyed going through the shops and slowly making my way to the Castle.
The Barbershop Quartet. I don't think I had seen them before. I enjoyed standing there and listening for a few moments. A nice way to relax, in the middle of all the chaos.

I love the balloons that the sell on Main Street.

We went over through Fantasyland so I could take a picture of me in front the new sign. After....

I had to take a picture of Cinderella this way. I didn't know about this until reading it online somewhere. It's a nice little touch.

 

[jesemeca]

We went over to Liberty Square and saw Princess Tiana. Her line was way too long, so I took this picture on the sly. LOL. Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen walked right by us on their way to the gazebo. They both told my mom happy birthday.

After this I went off on my own for a little while. I walked through Frontierland and Adventureland, before going to lunch. I had lunch at Columbia Harbour House. I had the fish which was pretty good.

Did you notice my hidden mickey?
On my way through Fantasyland I saw the Queen of Hearts.

Now on to Toontown. I sure will miss this place.

I decided to go a second time, to try and get better pictures. I was hoping for less of a crowd. Today was nowhere near as bad as the first day. The line for the princesses was very short, so I hopped in line. I saw Aurora,

Cinderella

and Belle.

Now we all met back at Liberty Square to watch the parade again.

I love the Fairy Godmother. I tried to get my picture with her, but everytime we saw her the line was way too long. Especially since I was the only one who wanted to meet her.
My friend joined us for dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern. The food was as good as I remember.

 

[jesemeca]

After dinner my friend and I rode Haunted Mansion. I have somewhat of a love/hate relationship with this ride. While I do love riding, there are parts that still scare me.

You can never have too much Pirates of the Carribean in your life, or Johnny Depp for that matter.

I saw these being drawn on the sidewalk in Adventureland. I had heard of them before, but never saw them in person. It was very cool to see them drawing them.
Minnie

Mickey

Buzz Lightyear. My brother's favorite ride.

This was taken on the way to the hub to find a spot for Spectromagic.

We found the perfect spot to watch Spectromagic tonight. Unfortunately, it decided to pour right before the parade was gonna start. So they cancelled Spectromagic, this is why I was never able to tape the parade. And I only have a few pictures from the first night.
So after the quick, but major downpour, Main Street thinned out a little. This was taken maybe 15 minutes after the rain stopped.

We did get to see Wishes. It was very nice watching Wishes with my friend standing right next to me. I liked sharing that moment with someone who felt the same way about it as I do.

Wishes again.

After watching Wishes and getting all emotional, my friend and I went to the little smoking section right by the Plaza Restaurant. I had never noticed this in the window before.

We also saw the Kiss Goodnight. I thought that this was the perfect way to end the night in Magic Kingdom.

 

[jesemeca]

Day 5
We started off the day here....

I love the huge fireplace in Wilderness Lodge.

Breakfast was delicious this morning. M. T. Wallet was our waitress this morning. When it was time for the birthday cupcake, the waitress brought it out, sang to my mom, and then ate the cupcake. She was hilarious.

Wilderness Lodge is a beautiful resort. I would love to stay in this resort. Hopefully one day I will have the money to do that.

On our way to Epcot...

We went on Spaceship Earth first thing. Then we went over to Journey into Your Imagination.

Some scenery along the way...

Another view of Spaceship Earth.

Next we went on Living with the Land.

Another view of the Imagination Pavillion.

 

[jesemeca]

On to World Showcase. Mexico was first. For some reason we always start on this side.

I really love pink flamingos. LOL.

Next up is Norway. I always go on Maelstrom, but it kinda scares me. Not really sure why I still go on this ride.

I have a troll similar to this. My aunt bought it for me from Norway, the country not the pavilion. LOL. I was 8 when she gave it to me, and the troll gave me nightmares for years, now I love it.

As we continue our trip around the World, Mulan was out taking pictures. She wasn't very nice though.

Time to visit the homeland. LOL. My mom's side of the family is German. So of course I had to buy something from here. And I decided on a shot glass.

I love the statues in the Italy pavilion. I can't wait to see the new restaraunt when we go back.

Yet another shot of Spaceship Earth. By this point, the rest of the family had left me. I love to take pictures and always stop too much for them.

Morroco was my next stop around the World.

Next up was France and a restaraunt I will never eat at. LOL. I'm not that adventurous.

 

[jesemeca]

Now here is a place I would love to eat at.

And a band I love to listen to, Off Kilter. I tried to see The British Invasion also, but it started to POUR right before they started.

Just in case you need to make a call.

This would be a shot from underneath the little overhang by the bathrooms in between Future World and Canada. On my way through Canada the wind was so bad a light fixture fell and shattered ten feet from me. Did I mention it was POURING? In case you couldn't tell....

This was taken inside of the room where they take the Visa Cardholder's Photo. I saw the poster of Main Street Electrical Parade and asked if I could take a picture of it. The lady told me of course and Minnie posed for me.

The Tronorail.

Another angle of the Imagination Pavilion.

After the horrible rain storm, I went back to the hotel room to dry off and relax for awhile. My sister and I took the bus back to Epcot for Extra Magic Hours.

I don't remember this being here the last time I was here. But it does make for an interesting picture.

My sister and I in front of Spaceship Earth, in my famous personal shot.

 

[jesemeca]

I always have trouble with night time shots, but I think this one came out pretty good.

My favorite purple dragon, Figment. I have always loved Figment. Now I do love the original Journey into your Imagination, but I will take Figment any way I can get him.

Next we went to the character spot. We met the big man himself, Mickey.

His favorite dog, Pluto.

His best girl, Minnie.

His best pal, Donald.

And his other best pal, Goofy.

Right after we took a picture with Goofy, he told us he was thirsty. So he had to leave for the night. I wish I would have gotten a picture of him showing us he was thirsty.
This is the fountain outside of Spaceship Earth.

And on last shot of Spaceship Earth.

Now two things I want to mention. First of all, yes I did see Illuminations, its just that my pictures did not come out good at all. So I didn't post any, but it was a wonderful show as always. Secondly, while waiting for Illuminations to start, I met this nice couple. During our conversation the girl mentioned that her boyfriend had proposed earlier that day. So, if anyone reading this got engaged on June 3rd in Epcot, and watched Illuminations from in front of the International Gateway. I just wanted to say Congratulations, once again. Good Luck to you. And to the guy, good luck topping this. LOL.

 

[jesemeca]

Day 6

Another early morning. We had breakfast at Chef Mickey's for 7:10 am. Way to early to be getting up on vacation. I really enjoyed the french toast they had here. I ate way too many of them. LOL.

So before Goofy came to our table, he "stole" the baby doll he is holding from a little girl at the table next to us. She watched him like a hawk the whole time he had her doll. She seemed a little nervous that he wasn't gonna give it back, but of course he did.

My sister and I with Minnie. This is one of the few pictures my sister took with any character. So I had to post it. LOL.

Chef Mickey's

This is of the mural in the Contemporary, sorry I don't know what its called.

That's Mickey's ear you are looking through.

 

[jesemeca]

A different perspective of the mural. I like to take pictures of things differently than most people do.

This is me leaving the Contemporary, in the way to Blizzard Beach. Notice the cab in the background, they were all over the parking lot. Is that normal?

So after breakfast, we went over to Blizzard Beach. For the first time this whole trip, I left the camera in the bag and enjoyed myself. I played in the wave pool and lazy river. It was very fun to not have to worry about the electronics. So, unfortunately no pictures from Blizzard Beach today. After swimming we went to Winter Summerland, we did the Summer side this time. Last time we went we did Winter. This is a cute pink bench I saw.

Look what I made. Didn't I do a good job? LOL.

If only it were Chirstmas, maybe I wouldn't be sweating so much.

Ho, Ho, Ho.

After some minigolf, we decided to venture off property for awhile. I know, shame on us. We ate at Golden Corral for lunch. They had Dr. Pepper, which I was very grateful for. LOL. After lunch, we drove down International Dr. I napped while they drove. That was the first of two naps today. I also napped for almost two hours at the hotel.
This evening I went back over to Downtown Disney with my friend. I had forgot that it was Friday. That was why it was soooo busy. I shopped some at World of Disney. I bought some pins to keep and a few to trade. I just got into the pin trading. It was pretty fun. Dinner tonight, was at Earl of Sandwich, of course. This place is slowly becoming a favorite of mine. I wish there was one closer to my house. Tonight I had the Club. It was wonderful, but my favorite is the Hawaiian.

That was the only picture I took tonight. I was too busy enjoying myself. It was so nice to have time to spend with my friend.

 

[TiggerTime]

Thanks for your report. Over on ebay...they have the Winnie The Pooh shot glasses you are looking for. Just put that in the 'search'....and you'll see them. I know it's not the same as buying them from Disney....but at least you'll have one.

Glad you had a good time.

 

[jesemeca]

Sorry it has taken me so long to finish this report. I didn't quite realize how much time one of these took to put together. I am going to try to finish the last two days today.

 

[jesemeca]

Day 7

Star Wars Weekend, for us at least, was started off with breakfast with Playhouse Disney Characters. Yes, the youngest person in my family is too old to be watching these shows. We just wanted a breakfast buffet, and this one got us into the parks early. Bonus!

Mickey Waffles!!

The only one I was really interested in meeting was JoJo. My godson absolutely loves JoJo, so I texted him a picture of Nanny and JoJo. His mom said he was so excited, but now he wants to meet JoJo.

After breakfast we went over to Toy Story Mania. The line to get fastpasses was longer than the standby line. So we stood in the standby line for the first ride of the day. I really like all the toys they have in the line. This picture should show you the somewhat lack of line at 9 in the morning.

I promise we followed the rules.

I actually still have this Viewfinder reel.

Mr. Potato Head was awesome.

Right before we boarded.

 

[jesemeca]

Sarge telling us where to go.

After this the boys and girls split up. My dad and brother went to do all the Star Wars stuff. My mom, two sisters, and I did the rest. LOL. We walked through One Man's Dream, which I had missed the last time. When I was in school, I would say that at least half of the projects I did had something to do with Walt Disney. I have always been a big fan. (As if ya'll didn't already know that) This one always makes me cry.

We went on the Backlot Tour, saw the Little Mermaid show, and rode Great Movie Ride twice. (If Johanna happens to read this, I did ask if you were working the day I was there. Just to say hi. But unfortunately you were off that day. Maybe next time.)

I was so excited that this came out good.

The underneath of the hat.

We had lunch at Pizza Planet today. No need to do that again, it's the same pizza you get everywhere else on property.

As always I enjoyed MuppetVision 3D. But there were a few problems with it. The bubbles were off cue and the holes in the wall changed back while we were still in the theater.
Block Party Bash, while I did enjoy it, it's not my favorite. If you weren't in exactly the right spot, I felt like you missed out on too much of it.

 

[jesemeca]

My mom and sister decided to leave at this point, so we all met up front to do a little shopping. And here was Malifiecent in the window.

My other sister and I stayed and wandered around a bit. I'm pretending to sing in the rain. LOL.

While taking a rest we had an interesting little show happen in front of us. The Jawa's were trying to steal everything. One tried to take a stroller, while the child was still in it. Both of them took the arrows off of a nearby sign. They were very funny.

Before we had left on the trip I had seen the Hyperspace Hoopla posted online. I HAD to see this, and I don't even care that much for Star Wars. We were pretty far back in the crowd, but it was a great spot. The Ewoks, Jawas, and the Cantina Band walked right in front of us. At one point, an Ewok got mad at me because I was taking picture of someone other than him.

These two were dancing along to the music from the stage.

The reason I'm here, Walt Disney.

Before leaving for the night, we tried to get on Toy Story Mania again, but the line was way too long for us.
Some shots on the way out. Great Movie Ride, up first.

The Darkroom, well cuz, duh, I took almost 2500 pictures in the span of 8 days. LOL.

So we were back at the hotel by a little after 8. This was the stairwell on our building.

We ate dinner at Pop Century. This is the Parmesan Chicken, well my half of it anyway.

Then went swimming for the first and only time in the hotel pool. No pictures of us swimming, we were having a ball.

 

[UberPlannerMom]

I adore your chip n' dale shirt! That is soooo cute!