FIVE DAYS IS NOT ENOUGH.... TR and PTR

I am finally getting around to posting this.....

 

[CamiLyn227]

Pre-Trip Report

Sunday April 29, 2012

I have never written a trip report before, but I think it will be a good way to document my trips (yes, trips) this year. This trip report will be focusing on my first 2012 Disney World trip. So here is some background information. I am Jennifer (27). I am traveling with Joe (28), my long-time boyfriend of 6 years (wow, has it really been that long?)! Joe and I have been to Disney World together 3 other times. Before going to Disney World with Joe I had already been there over 10 times with my parents. We went almost every summer when I was a kid with my first trip being when I was 5 years old. I was a Disney World fan from day one! He had been there once before with his family many years ago. He said that it was not a fun trip at all. So, he really wasn’t a Disney World fan because of the one bad experience he had as a kid. My goal was to change that and I think I have been pretty successful. Our first trip together was in July 2008 and we stayed at the Caribbean Beach resort. Our next trip was in July 2009 and we stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter. Our third trip together was in July 2010 and we stayed at Wilderness Lodge. After staying there Joe does not want to stay anywhere else! So, that is where we will call home for a few days next month. I also went to Disney World in July 2011 with my 2 best friends (also Disney World enthusiasts). I had so much fun on that girls only trip last year, but I really missed having Joe there.



We will be leaving on Thursday May 17 and returning on Monday May 21. We will be staying all 4 nights at the Wilderness Lodge. We got free dining with this trip! This will be my third time using the dining plan and Joe’s second. I hope that it is worth it. This trip will be shorter than usual because of Joe’s work schedule. We will only have 5 days in the parks and 2 of them are half days. This makes me very sad. We usually stay for 8 days. This allows us to go to Magic Kingdom 2 days, Epcot 2 days, Hollywood Studios 1 day, Animal Kingdom 1 day and Downtown Disney 1 day. I am hoping that because we are going in May instead of July that the crowds will be less than we are used to and that we will get to do everything we want to without running out of time. I am a little worried though. That’s why I have written out a plan.

 

[CamiLyn227]

Thursday May 17

Our flight leaves Columbus at 7:50 AM. We need to get to the airport at approximately 6:15 AM which means we need to leave home no later than 6:00 AM. Our flight is supposed to land in Orlando at 10:00 AM. We will then take the Magical Express to the Wilderness Lodge. It usually takes us anywhere from an hour to 2 hours from the time our flight lands until we arrive at our resort (we are always so excited that we practically run to the Magical Express line). So I am just making a guess that we will get to the Wilderness Lodge by noon. We will pick-up our folder (we do on-line check-in) drop off our carry-ons and get on the boat to the Magic Kingdom! I am not expecting that our room will be ready, but there still is a small chance that it will be. If that’s the case then we will drop off our carry-ons there and check out the room. We will use our quick service #1 for lunch at Casey’s Corner. We will use our table service #1 at 1900 Park Fare. Our ADR is at 5:05 PM. We will need to leave the Magic Kingdom by 4:15 and take the monorail to the Grand Floridian. After dinner we will return to the Magic Kingdom and try to do as much as we can before we get too tired.

Friday May 18

This is our one and only Epcot day. I plan to arrive before the gates open (9AM). We will do Future World first (well, we have to because the World Showcase doesn’t open until 11:00). I am not sure where we will eat lunch (quick service #2). Sometime on this day I want to go see the artist Larry Dotson at The Art of Disney-Epcot. I have several of his prints and I plan to buy one or two more. We will then take our time in the World Showcase. I love looking at all the details. The Flower and Garden Festival will still be going on. I have never been there for it before and I plan to take lots of pictures. We will use our Table Service #2 at Teppan Edo (Japan) at 6:50 PM. We will again stay as late as we can and maybe go back over to Future World on our way out. I love to take one last ride on Spaceship Earth before we say goodbye to Epcot.

Saturday May 19

Hollywood Studios. This just happens to be one of the Star Wars Weekends. I have never been there for this either. I am not a big Star Wars fan and neither is Joe so we probably won’t be getting any Fastpasses to get autographs. We will, however still plan to arrive before the gates open (8AM). We will use our quick service #3 for lunch. At the moment I am having trouble deciding where to eat lunch. I am not a big fan of any of the quick service restaurant at Hollywood Studios. We will eat dinner at Mama Melrose’s at 5:15 PM and use our table service #3. I book this ADR as a Fantasmic package, but I am not sure if we will see the show. It really just depends on time. If we have seen everything we wanted to then we might go back to our hotel early to take a swim.

Sunday May 20

This will be our second day at the Magic Kingdom. We are going to start the day by taking the Keys to the Kingdom tour. We will need to arrive at the bus stop in front of our hotel at 7:20 AM. We will meet the tour group at 8:15 AM at package pick-up just to the left of city hall. The tour will begin at 8:30 AM and will last 4 ½ to 5 hours. Lunch is included with our tour at Columbia Harbor House. After the tour we may go back to our hotel to go swimming and rest. At 6:15 PM we have an ADR to eat at Kona Café at the Polynesian where we will use our table service #4. After dinner we will return to the Magic Kingdom and do all we can before we have to make a very sad trip back to our hotel. I always feel very sad when leaving the Magic Kingdom for the last time during our trip. I have to fight hard to hold back the tears. We will miss the opening of my most favorite ride, Big Thunder Mountain, by 7 days. There is a possibility of there being a soft opening, but I am not going to count on it.

Monday May 21

This will be a sad day. We will have to return home. But before we leave we will go to Animal Kingdom. We will arrive before the gates open (8AM). We will do and see as much as we can before noon. Around noon or 1:00 PM we will get on the bus to the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We will take a quick look inside because Joe has never seen it before. Then we will get on the bus to go to Downtown Disney. We will do a little shopping, and eat lunch. We will use our quick service #4 at Earl of Sandwich. We will also get our favorite treat, a chocolate milkshake from the Ghirardelli shop. We will need to leave Downtown Disney no later than 4:00 PM to return to the Wilderness Lodge one last time. The Magical Express will pick us up at our hotel around 5:20 PM. Our flight is scheduled to depart at 8:20 PM and will land back in Columbus at 10:30 PM.

 

[CamiLyn227]

We will be very sad to be back at home. It will seem like such a quick trip. 5 days is not nearly enough time for me. But I will be returning to Disney World 45 short days after our return on May 21. Unfortunately Joe will not be able to come with me for my second trip. I will be going back to my happy place on July 5 and returning on July 11. I will be staying at Port Orleans French Quarter for all 6 nights. I will be traveling with 2 friends. Chris and her daughter Taylor (13) are longtime friends. Chris has worked for my mom since I was very young. I have taken care of Taylor since she was only a few weeks old. Now Taylor and I are good friends, too. I used to take dance lessons and go to competitions. Taylor followed in my footsteps and now is a dancer at the same dance studio I went to. The dancers have been given an opportunity to perform at Downtown Disney. I am so excited for Taylor! Chris and Taylor have been to Disney World twice before. They have no expiration tickets with days left on them from a previous trip. I am planning on upgrading my ticket when we are there in May to an annual pass. We will not be on the dining plan for this trip. We will only be eating 2 table service meals. This will be very difficult for me because I am used to eating dinner at a table service restaurant every day while I am at Disney World. I sometimes have trouble finding healthy options at quick service restaurants. But I am going to try to be as flexible as possible!



I have already begun gathering items to pack for my May trip. I have written a list of what I will need. I am going to try to pack as light as I can. I have quite a few things to do before I leave on May 17. I need to clean the house (because I do not like coming home to a messy house), buy one or two more shirts, pre-order the Photopass CD, and make sure that I have everything packed and ready to go! I will complete this trip report when I return at the end of May. Only 18 days to go!

 

[CamiLyn227]

That conculdes my Pre-trip report. I will post the trip report later.

 

[CamiLyn227]

Trip Report



Our trip began pretty early in the morning. We got to the Columbus airport around 6:30 AM. We checked our bags with the sky cap and made it through security quickly. The wait to board the plane seemed short. Everything was as smooth as it could possibly be. I really like to fly with Southwest, mostly because I get to choose my own seat. We paid for Early Bird Check-in so we were pretty close to the front of the line. I always pick a row in the airplane that is fairly close to the front because I absolutely hate waiting a long time to get off the plane when it lands. I also always like to sit in a window seat. I got my perfect seat and we were off! We took off and landed on time. It wasn’t long after the plane landed that we were in line for the Magical Express. It is unusual that we have to wait very long before getting on a Magical Express bus. This time it took a lot longer than previous trips. After about 20 minutes we boarded our bus. I am pretty sure that we were on a new bus because it had seat belts and bigger TV screens. The bus was pretty full. More full than it usually is for us. The first place the bus stopped was the Polynesian. Then, we stopped at the Grand Floridian before heading to our hotel, the Wilderness Lodge.

 

[CamiLyn227]

It was about 11:30 AM when we arrived at the Wilderness Lodge. I estimated that we would be there by 12:00 PM, so I was happy about the way things were going. As we were walking in a cast member with a clip board greeted us and asked what our name was. She walked with us to the check-in desk and told us to wait while she got our folder. As we were waiting another cast member said, “You did on-line check-in, right?” I replied that we did use the on-line check-in. I assumed that she was working with the first cast member to find our information. The second cast member then asked my last name then disappeared into another room. She returned quickly and directed us to the end of the counter. Moments later the first cast member returned. It turned out that the second cast member, who had already begun finding a room for us, misunderstood my last name and had the wrong information. The issue was quickly resolved. She asked us if we had a request to be close to the bus stop. I told her that we did not request that, but that if possible I would like to be close to the boat dock as that is where we had a room last time. She told us that we wouldn’t want to be over there because they are doing construction over there. So, she asked if a room overlooking the villas would be ok. I said, “Sure!” But by the time she pushed the button on her computer that room was taken. So she found us a room on the 6th floor that was a WATER VIEW! We had paid for a woods view room. I was so happy to have been given an upgrade! It was a beautiful view. Also, the room was pretty fantastic. Everything seemed new and clean. There were new white comforters (the old ones were brown and red with a Native American type pattern). There was new tile in the tub/shower area. On the back wall of the shower there were 4 tiles with Disney characters on them (Chip, Dale, Bambi, and Meeko). They were so cute! I could tell the shower curtain was new because it still smelled like new plastic. Also, there was new flooring in the bathroom area and in the entryway of the room. It looked like wood, but it was some type of laminate. Everything looked very nice. The only complaints I have about the room are that one of the light bulbs was burned out above the sink, the bathroom door lock didn’t work, and the room door didn’t latch properly. I could have fussed about those things but I decided not waste my time dealing with small issues. I was anxious to get to the parks.
(Click on the pictures to make them bigger. I am just posting a few of my pictures. I took about 100 per day.)

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

Hurry for an upgrade!!! LOVE pixie dust the first day!! Look forward to reading about your trip

 

[CamiLyn227]

After we checked out our room we quickly boarded the boat to the Magic Kingdom at about 12:15 PM. We rode on the boat that is usually used for the Pirates fireworks cruise. One of the regular boats was not working. A few minutes after the boat left the dock I noticed that all of the guests on the boat were adults and we were the youngest ones! It was then that I realized that I picked a great time for our trip. Most schools were still in session. We usually go to Disney in July or August so I knew this trip would be just a little bit different from what we were used to. We walked through the gates at around 12:30 PM. My goal was to be at the Magic Kingdom by 1:00 PM. I was happy that everything was going so smoothly. I upgraded my ticket to an annual pass when we got there. I was so excited to have an annual pass! We walked down Main Street U.S.A. and then headed toward Adventureland. Our first stop was to get a Dole Whip! Oh, so good. Next, we walked through the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. Joe had never seen this before and it had been quite a long time since I had seen it. The weather is usually so hot when we are there in July, and because it was mid-May the temperatures were pretty cool (in my opinion) which made the climb comfortable. Joe was not that impressed with this “attraction”, but it is something that I think everyone should experience at least once. I also try to do something new each trip and this was new for one of us. Next, we rode Pirates of the Caribbean. After that we headed around toward Frontierland. Joe stopped and got a quick snack at the Golden Oak Outpost. We didn’t eat lunch that day because we had early dinner reservations. We checked the wait time for Splash Mountain. It was a little long so we got Fastpasses. Big Thunder Mountain was closed for refurbishment and it reopened just 5 days after we left! I was pretty sad that I had to miss one of my favorites. While we waited for our Fastpass time we went to the Haunted Mansion. After that we only had about 30 more minutes until we could ride Splash Mountain so we looked through a couple stores before heading back over to Splash Mountain. We went quickly through the Fastpass line, got into the gates and we were ready to board the next boat when the cast members directed everyone to evacuate the ride. We heard other guests asking cast members if they could get a replacement Fastpass. The cast members all seemed frustrated. It was a little chaotic. We had a 5:15 PM dinner reservation at the Grand Floridian so we didn’t really have time to wait around. It was already about 4:00 PM and I wanted to leave the park by 4:15. So, I had an idea! On our way out of the park we stopped at Guest Services. I politely told the cast member what had happened and asked if we could get a replacement Fastpass. She gave us a “ticket” to use at any Fastpass attraction that day. I believe strongly that the best way to get what you want is by being friendly and polite. A good attitude can go a long way! I am guessing that also helped to get our room upgrade. We took the monorail to the Grand Floridian and checked in for our dinner reservation at 1900 Park Fare about 15 minutes early. We were seated almost immediately. The food was great! Some of my favorites were the mashed potatoes, the corn chowder, and the white rice. When we were finished we looked around in a few gift shops at the Grand Floridian before getting back on the monorail to return to the Magic Kingdom. After we got back to the park we rode the train around to Frontierland. Then, we used our “ticket” to ride Splash Mountain. I love that ride! I did notice a few things that were not functioning properly but the biggest and most obvious issue was the turtle scene just before the lift hill. None of the water effects were working. This made me sad. Next, we took a walk over to Tomorrowland and rode the People Mover. After that we rode the Mad Tea Party, Dumbo, and the Barnstormer. This was our first time on the new (old) Dumbo after it moved to its new location. I just love the new water feature and because it was getting dark the lights in the water were making it look so pretty. Neither of us had ever been on the Barnstormer. I wasn’t really sure that Joe would fit since he is 6’5” tall. But we tried it anyway and he did fit and I rode next to him. It was a very short ride but it was worth doing once so that we could see what it is like. We were getting pretty tired but we decided to keep going since Fantasyland was not very busy. We also made the decision not to watch the Electrical Parade or Wishes so that we could see other things. We knew we would be back at the Magic Kingdom later in the week to see both of those. We rode Winnie the Pooh and had about a 3 minute wait. I don’t think I have ever got on that ride that fast. Ever! Then we rode Snow White. Same thing no wait. I was a little sad because I knew that it was going to be the last time that we ever rode that ride. Then we went over to see Mickey’s Philharmagic. I am not 100% sure, but I think after that we rode Pirates of the Caribbean and the Jungle Cruise before calling it a night. Because I was so tired it is hard for me to remember exactly what we did after Philharmagic.

DSC00838 by Cami Lyn, on Flickr

 

[CamiLyn227]

The next morning we got up and left our room at about 8:45 AM. We went straight to the bus stop to go to Epcot. We walked through the front gate at about 9:25 AM and went directly to the Land. We got Fastpasses for Soarin’ and then ate breakfast at Sunshine Seasons. The French toast was really good! Then we rode Living with the Land. We didn’t have a whole lot of time before we could get on Soarin’ so we just waited on a nearby bench until we could get in line. After we rode Soarin’ we went over to the Art of Disney store. I have been collecting Larry Dotson prints and I had read on his website that he was going to be there. While I was there I got a new print to add to my collection. It is a picture of Epcot during the Flower and Garden Festival. I had Larry personalize it for me. Next, we picked up Fastpasses for Mission:Space and then went to check out the Flower and Garden Festival Center. I had not been in the old Wonders of Life building for a really long time. It was defiantly a trip down memory lane. Joe had never been in there before so he had no idea why I was so excited to be in there. I told him about the two things I remember most about that pavilion which was Body Wars -a motion simulator ride taking guests on a trip through the blood stream, and the wonder cycles - Stationary bicycles with a television attached. The faster riders pedaled, the faster the video played. There wasn’t very much to look at in there as far as the Flower and Garden Festival goes. Next, we saw Ellen’s Energy Adventure. After that we made a quick stop at the Cool Club before using our Fastpasses to ride Mission: Space. Test Track was closed for refurbishment so we headed over to the World Showcase. We always travel clockwise around World Showcase Lagoon so Mexico was our first stop. We took a relaxing ride on the Gran Fiesta Tour and then I bought another Mexican pot for my southwest themed bathroom at home. It was then on to Norway. The standby time for Maelstrom was 30 minutes. That’s more than we would usually wait for that ride, but they were doing a short 2 week refurbishment of the Fastpass queue which meant no Fastpasses so we decided to wait. We didn’t stop in China, Germany or Italy because we were hungry and wanted to eat at the Liberty Inn. The food was pretty good, but the best part was the chocolate dipped Mickey Mouse rice krispy treat I got for dessert. For the past few years my favorite snack at Disney has been the rice krispy treats, and the pineapple popsicles. After lunch we caught the very end of the fife and drum corps in front of the American Adventure. As soon as that was over we went inside to listen to the Voices of Liberty. I love to listen to them sing! Then, we were ready to go upstairs to see the American Adventure show, but it was broke down that day. I was sad that I missed it because I really enjoy that show. From there we wondered around Japan and Morocco. Then, we watched the Impressions de France show. We continued walking in the same direction around World Showcase just taking it all in and taking a lot of pictures. We stopped at the United Kingdom and Canada to buy a few things that friends requested and I bought myself another necklace and bracelet from the bead stand by the Outpost. By the time we got back around to Japan it was almost time for our dinner so I quickly bought some Japanese candy (so good) from the Mitsukoshi store before heading up to Teppan Edo. We were seated quickly and we had a great dinner. Teppan Edo is always a must-do on our list of restaurants. We shared our table with a really nice family from Tennessee. I just love meeting new people while I am at Disney! After dinner we went to find place to watch Illuminations. It was already pretty full everywhere! I am not as excited about this show as I used to be. I prefer the Main Street Electrical Parade and Wishes. When it was over we went back over to Future World to ride Spaceship Earth before going back to the Wilderness Lodge. We made it back to our room sometime after 11:00 PM.

DSC00859 by Cami Lyn, on Flickr
DSC00882 by Cami Lyn, on Flickr


562432_648309356225_754933860_n by Cami Lyn, on Flickr

 

[Weather_Lady]

Sounds like a great trip so far! Thanks for your super-specific descriptions of where you went and in what order, where you ate, etc. It's giving me some great ideas of how to tackle the parks when my family goes later in the fall.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Nice TR so far!! Loving the refurbished rooms at the WL. We stayed there in November and then again at the villas last month. That is our "home" Expensive, but we love it there!!

Never been to Teppan Edo. We have a hibatchi place near our house and it's awesome! I fear TE wouldn't compare because I haven't heard great things about it. You may have changed my mind though!! lol

 

[ExtinctJenn]

Great report! We got a chance to stay at the WL in a 2 BR Villa a few years ago (mother is DVC and surprised us) and I just absolutey fell in love with the property. Wish we could afford it on our own (even a normal room)! LOL

 

[CamiLyn227]

Day number three was Hollywood Studios day. We got to the bus stop a few minutes after 8:00 AM. We waited quite a long time for a Hollywood Studios bus to come. It was the only time we waited for more than 5 to 10 minutes for a bus or boat. It was the first Star Wars Weekend so I figured there would be some extra buses to accommodate a slightly larger crowd that day, but that was not the case. We walked through the gates at about 8:55 AM. We went directly to Toy Story Midway Mania to get Fastpasses. We did the Backlot Tour after that. I am so saddened by that attraction. I just wish it was half of what it used to be. My biggest issues with the ride is that there isn’t a live speaker anymore and they don’t play up the Catastrophe Canyon seen like the used to. Next, we rode the Great Movie Ride and I still love it! After that we went to the Magic of Disney Animation and took the drawing class. This was new for Joe and he really liked it. We drew Stitch and Joe’s drawing was really great. Mine was trash before the class was even over! Then, we went to see One Man’s Dream. This was also new for Joe. I really liked to see the miniature replica of the new Fantasyland. It was then time to ride Toy Story Midway Mania. After that we went over to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster to get Fastpasses. While we waited for our time to ride we saw the Beauty and the Beast show. This was another new thing for Joe and I had not seen it since 1992. It was a really nice show. We rode Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster via the Fastpass line. I love this ride! Then, we went over to Star Tours to get Fastpasses. While we waited for our time to ride we decided that we would go back to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster to ride via the single rider entrance, but it was closed for a little bit while the line caught up. So, we went back over to ride Star Tours. When we got there the clock on the Fastpass sign said that it was 5 minutes until our Fastpass window started. I had read that you can get in 5 minutes before and 15 minutes after your window. I showed the cast member our Fastpasses and he looked at a different clock that he had and said that we were too early. I told him that I thought I could get in 5 minutes early. He said yes that we could but that it was 6 minutes early. So, we stood there in front of him for a minute and then he said to come on in. Are you kidding me? Oh, well. It makes me laugh now. It was Joe’s first time riding Star Tours since the refurbishment and my second. After that we went back to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster again and that time we did ride via the single riders line. Next, we saw the Lights, Motors, Action show. As soon as that was over we had to hurry over to Mama Melrose’s for our dinner reservation. Everything was great except for the dessert. The waiter didn’t even give us a choice of what we wanted. He just brought out something and we didn’t like it. After dinner we watched the Indiana Jones show and rode Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster two more times before going back to our hotel.

319729_648310339255_842842417_n by Cami Lyn, on Flickr

 

[CamiLyn227]

Our last full day had arrived. We got up extra early because we signed up to take the Keys to the Kingdom tour at the Magic Kingdom. We got to the park a few minutes after 7:30 AM. I wanted to make sure that we were not going to be late! It was really fun to be in the Magic Kingdom when it was practically empty. The tour was awesome!
DSC01176 by Cami Lyn, on Flickr

I can’t say enough great things about it. While we were on the tour we got to ride Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the Haunted Mansion. I could go on and on about all of the interesting things we learned. Someday soon I hope to take that tour again. The tour ended at 1:30 PM and we returned to the Wilderness Lodge to relax by the pool for a little bit. After that we took the boat back to the Magic Kingdom. We rode the train around to Frontierland to ride Splash Mountain another time. We then walked over to Tomorrowland to get Fastpasses for Space Mountain, to ride the People Mover and to see Carousel of Progress. That is all we had time for because we had our last dinner reservation at Kona Café inside the Polynesian. We took the monorail over to the Polynesian and arrived a few minutes early so we browsed through the gift shops. The food was not quite as good as I remember it being the past 3 times I have been there. My salad was great and the dessert was great, but the rest was just ok. After dinner we went back to the Magic Kingdom for the last time. So sad! We used our Fastpasses for Space Mountain, and we rode Buzz Lightyear and Astro Orbiter. This was Joe’s first time on Astro Orbiter. I wasn’t sure if we would fit in one rocket together so I asked one of the cast members. He told us that we would be fine. Wow! I don’t think we will be riding that together again. I have no idea how we both got into one rocket, but we did. As I said before Joe is 6’5”, and he barely fit it the rocket alone. It gave us something to laugh about for a long time.


DSC01211 by Cami Lyn, on Flickr.
We went back to Splash Mountain for one last ride before watching the Main Street Electrical Parade and Wishes. I am always extremely sad when I leave the Magic Kingdom.

 

[CamiLyn227]

Our last day had come and we were both pretty sad that our trip was almost over. We packed up all of our stuff and checked-out of our room before heading over to Animal Kingdom. There were extra magic hours that morning so we got to the park at about 8:30 AM. We went directly to Expedition Everest. We rode 4 times in a row with practically no wait. It was wonderful! Our plan was to go ride Kilimanjaro Safari if the wait was no more than 30 minutes, and then go ride Dinosaur before going to Downtown Disney. Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safari, and Dinosaur are the only 3 rides that I feel like I can’t miss. So, when we got over to Kilimanjaro the wait sign said 25 minutes. I know that the wait times are not always going to be perfectly accurate, but I was hoping that it was pretty close. After waiting for an hour and 15 minutes we finally got on. If there would have been an easy place get out of line I would have. I was already a little cranky because it was our last day, and this irritated me even more. I was officially in an awful mood. It really wasn’t worth it because we can see the same animals and have the same safari experience at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and at The Wilds here in Ohio. I have to say that I don’t really care for that ride anymore. At that point we did not have any time to ride Dinosaur so we quickly headed for the bus stop. We took the bus from Animal Kingdom to Animal Kingdom Lodge, and then from Animal Kingdom Lodge to Downtown Disney. We had a great lunch at Earl of Sandwich and then did a little shopping. I knew what I was looking to buy so it didn’t take me very long. We then got chocolate milk shakes at the Ghirardelli shop. We have been planning and waiting to have those since the last time we were there together in July 2010. They are really good! We sat by the water while we drank them an enjoyed our last few minutes at Disney. It was then time to get on the bus and go back to the Wilderness Lodge for the last time. We had just a little bit of time to sit and enjoy the fabulous lobby before the Magical Express picked us up. It was a sad ride back to the Orlando airport. We sailed through security and our flight was exactly on time. We arrived in Columbus around 10:30 PM.

554377_648311317295_387809625_n by Cami Lyn, on Flickr

DSC01301 by Cami Lyn, on Flickr

DSC01324 by Cami Lyn, on Flickr

Overall our quick 5 day trip was pretty fantastic. I am very happy with how smooth everything went. We really didn’t have any real disasters. I didn’t include all details of our trip mostly because it would make an already too long trip report even longer. I always have a little bit of post vacation blues when I come home from Disney. This time, though, it was a little easier because I already have my 15th trip planned for July. Only 21 more days until I am back in my happy place. I just cannot stay away!

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

Great job!! I really want to to Keys to the Kingdom tour!!! I have to agree with you on Kona for dinner, I love, love, love Kona for breakfast, but just didn't feel the "wow that was so good" vibe when we ate dinner there.

 

[ExtinctJenn]

Love the Simba shot... I've never seen that one before!