Graduation Celebration: HOT days, fun times, and plenty of food

I have only been home for 20 hours, and I am already missing the most magical place on earth, ESPECIALLY the weather. When I left Florida it was 95, and now I'm stuck with a high of 67. What's with mother nature? Anyway, I had an awesome 10 days at WDW, and I am excited to share my vacation with the wdwmagic family!

If any of you haven't read my pre-trip report, you can read it at this link: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=750730

WARNING: There may be some grammar mistakes in this report. I am a very fast typer, and I sometimes skip words or make spelling mistakes. I'm only human. Also, I am no Tom Bricker (WDWFigment), which means my photos aren't fantastic, but I try.

After 5 months of planning, June 11th was finally here. I was supposed to wake up at 4:30 am, but I hit the snooze which caused me to sleep in till 5:30. After getting all of our stuff together, we hit the road. Goodbye boring/cold Illinois! Hello warm/tropical Florida!

Here is a fantastic (sarcasm) photo of me and my disney girls. Don't I just look so alive? At least I'm representing my team.


IMG_0251 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Here is our crazy amount of luggage, but hey were women! We need a lot of stuff!


IMG_0253 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr
At 6 am, we hit the road. Because everyone in our group has their license, we were all able to take turns driving. And guess who drove first? The one who has the least experience driving! My 16 year old sister, Jodi. I will admit, she is a pretty decent driver, but she scares me sometimes. With that said, my mom watched her very closely. She drove about 5 hours. Then, my mom took over until the middle of Tennessee.

AHHHHHHHH

IMG_0255 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Goofing off in the car:

IMG_0958 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Rock on!

IMG_0260 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

I'm so glad Katie was excited for the car ride. Good thing she doesn't know about this website, or she probably would kill me.

DSC_0447 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

YAY for Kentucky!

DSC_0462 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Hello Nashville! Sadly, I fell asleep, and was not able to take a picture of "Welcome to Tennessee!".

DSC_0469 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

After driving through Kentucky and a little bit of Tennessee, my mom needed to rest her back, so I took over. I have a fear of driving in the mountains, and I was a tad freaked out about driving through them. Even though there not that bad, the mountains still freak me out. My mom talked me through, and I successfully drove through them. Phew! That was a relief.

Hello Atlanta! Katie took the picture because I was driving. Yes, I missed the Georgia welcome sign, but I was driving.

IMG_0267 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

After Atlanta, I got tired, so my mom took over. We made it to the border of Georgia at about 11:00. We decided to stay in a hotel for the night. We made our exit in Valdosta, GA. Finding a hotel was a NIGHTMARE. Every hotel was booked because Lady Antebellum was in town for a concert. WOW, we would choose to stay in a town with every hotel booked. It was insane! We were so desperate we even tried staying in this crack motel...


IMG_0959 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

HA! You gotta love the name. Unfortunately, they were booked, but the guy offered that we could stay downstairs... Oh my gosh. I don't even want to know what goes on downstairs. So we got the heck away from that place. Luckily, the sleep inn had one room left. It was a "suite" with a whirlpool. Woohoo! How fancy! You should have seen this place. It was no suite. Jodi and Katie were forced to sleep on the pull out couch, but they survived.

Stay tuned!!!!

 

[Disneygal1]

Typhoon lagoon and dinner at the Captain's Grille

We woke up at about 8:30 and arrived at typhoon at 9:05.

I love typhoon lagoon. I definitely think that typhoon lagoon ranks higher than blizzard beach. My mom hadn't been to typhoon in over 5 years, so she was very excited to go.


IMG_0270 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr


IMG_0273 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr


IMG_0278 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

I just noticed how empty the wave pool was when we got there. It didn't stay like that!

IMG_0279 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr


IMG_0277 by jessicamanning19, on Flickr

Typhoon Lagoon was soooo much fun! I could literally go there everyday. I basically had "sea legs" the rest of the day because of being in the wave pool for so long.

After Typhoon, we went back to pop to get ready for dinner. We decided to eat at the Captain's Grille, which is at the Yacht & Beach Club, because we had never been there before, and it would be nice to try something new. Before dinner, we decided to visit the Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness before dinner. I have no idea why haha. I just can't remember, but here are some pictures!

HAHA

Do you see the hidden mickey?

 

[Disneygal1]

This is one of my favorite resorts.

The lawnmower tree!!

After visiting Ft. Wilderness, we went back to the Wilderness Lodge, again, because our car was parked there. I tried to take some good shots.

Notice the temperature?

We got to the Captain's Grille about 45 minutes before our ADR. We checked in, and only waited about 5 minutes. We did this a lot during our vacation, and never waited more than 20 minutes.

The bread was very good.

The steak was decent, and the mash potatoes were awesome!

I got another surprise dessert. It was delicious!

Toffee Cheesecake (YUM)

Overall my meal was very good. Jodi and Katie got the pasta, and they didn't like it. Their portions were small, and they sauce wasn't good. I can't remember what my mom got, but she like it. Her and I got lucky. Our waiter was so sweet. He made sure our table was always clean. He also gave us lemon poppy seed bread to go, the bread was amazing! I definitely thought the restaurant was good. Would I go there again? Ehh maybe on the dining plan, but that's it. The restaurant isn't anything unique and it somewhat lacks ambiance (I'm a but of an ambiance freak), but if you don't care about ambiance, I would recommend it.

 

[Ariel484]

Great report so far! We were there the same time as you guys (13th - 20th)...and yes, it was HOT.

I can't believe you guys drove from IL...you're champs!

 

[Disneygal1]

After dinner, we headed to the boardwalk, and managed to see part of illuminations.

Jodi and Katie also have somewhat an obsession with the pearl factory. They both bought a clam and opened them.

In this photo, you can see Jodi's phone on the counter. After Jodi and Katie were done opening their clams, Jodi somehow knocked her blackberry in the bucket of clams! The cast member immediately grabbed Jodi's phone, and took out her battery to try to dry it out. Wow! Way to go sis! She has done this before. Last time she did it, she dropped it in a cup of water. Luckily, after letting it dry for a few hours it worked.

After some shopping, we headed back to pop. We were going to have a very busy day ahead of us. Next, Magic Kingdom!

 

[Disneygal1]

Great report so far! We were there the same time as you guys (13th - 20th)...and yes, it was HOT.

I can't believe you guys drove from IL...you're champs!

I couldn't believe the heat! I saw at least three people in the parks who got the paramedics because they fainted

And thank you! It is definitely a long drive!

 

[Disneygal1]

June 14th: Magic Kingdom & Dinner at Tony's Town Square Restaurant

I have a case of insomnia at the moment. I might as well write some more!

We woke up at about 6am. Magic Kingdom had early extra magic hours that started at 8. We initially planned on getting there right before the extra magic hours started, but we didn't. We always found ourselves running late, fashionably late. We got to the Magic Kingdom at 8:20, which isn't that late. When we got there, I managed to take some pictures with Jodi & Katie before they took off to get fast passes and go on some rides. While I am mentioning the rides, I am terrified of roller coasters. I know it's kind of pathetic. A teenager hating roller coasters, but I am just not a fan of them. I won't even go on splash mountain! I know I can handle it, but I always seem to freak myself out, and end up not going on it. No worries though, I have been on all Disney roller coasters at least once (except mission space). My parents made me, but I'm glad I had the experience of going on them and knowing what they are like. Okay enough with my fear of roller coasters!

He looks so happy.

Them rushing to the rides, as usual. I just like to take everything in and be slow, but this is peek season.

I managed to convince my mom, Jodi, and Katie to go on the Haunted Mansion before Splash Mountain. They gave in. There was no wait. We also took the new scenic route. I love it! This was my first time seeing it. I love the idea of interactive queues.

 

[Disneygal1]

When we hopped into our buggy (Is this the right word for them? Ha I'm not sure), the ride stopped. It was broken down for a good five minutes or so. Then, about ten minutes into the Haunted Mansion, it broke down, again, but it was only for a minute or so. This would happen to us A LOT that day. Not a big deal, but I believe rides breaking down is a reoccurring thing during the summer at Disney.

After the Haunted Mansion, the rest of the girls rushed to Splash Mountain. The wait was only 30 minutes, so they decided to wait in line. Me, being the chicken, I hung out in Briar's Patch, a cute little shop right next to Splash Mountain. Then I went outside, and the heat was really getting to me, so I used my snack credit and bought a popsicle. YUM! It felt so good to have something so cold on such a hot day. It was only 10 o'clock and I'm pretty sure the temp was pushing 90. After the popsicle, I went back inside Briar's Patch and checked my phone, I realized that I had been wait for 50 minutes. Then, Katie calls me letting me know that they were still waiting in line. Splash Mountain kept on breaking down (what a surprise). I walked around the store and looked for a spot where I could sit. I basically sat in the corner of the store haha, but it was WAY nicer than sitting out in the blazing heat. 30 minutes later, they were finally out of there. We were all starving, so we decided to eat at our favorite quick service restaurant, Peco Bill's. If any of you haven't been there before, I HIGHLY recommend it. They have a bar or condiments with mushrooms, pickles, lettuce, onion etc. Thinking about it makes me hungry. Jodi, my mom, and I got the burger. Katie had the taco salad. Everybody liked their food.

I took this picture while I was waiting (nothing special).

Jodi's chocolate cake. She loved it. I also had a bite, it was really good.

 

[Disneygal1]

She really enjoyed it. Hahahaha. I'm really glad she doesn't about this picture.

A picture of my mom! She hides from the camera.

After lunch, we headed over to Adventureland to go on Pirates of the Caribbean. It's one of our favorite rides at wdw. Right before we were about to go on our boat, the ride broke down. See! I told y'all that this would be happening a lot! We waited about 10 minutes for it to start back up. It was really funny though because this guy in front of us had hopped on the boat right before it broke down. It so happened that his friends couldn't go on it while the ride was down. When it started back up, the boat went along and the guy was without his friends. It was pretty funny. We went on our boat, and luckily had no technical difficulties.

After POTC, Jodi and Katie ran over to Tomorrowland to go on Space Mountain. My mom won't go on it because it doesn't support her neck, and she has neck problems. So, her and I did our favorite thing, people watching! We love to sit down and watch other people around the park. I know, it sounds cheesy, but it's fun. She also got some ice cream at that pineapple dole whip place in Adventureland. After she was done with her ice cream, we went over by Casey's Corner, and watched Dream Along with Mickey. I also took some pictures.

After my little photo shoot, we did some shopping on main street.

Alright, I'm tired now. I will write later. More to come!

 

[plaz10]

Loving the all girls trip! Makes me want to go on a trip w/me, my mom and sister! Can't wait to read the rest!

 

[blackthidot]

The picture from behind Roger Rabbit is AWESOME. If you took that be proud of yourself because its a pretty cool shot! Never seen that before!

Also what is up with your burger here? Did you get a single burger with a triple bun?

Anyhow all your pictures are great and keep the food pictures coming!

 

[disneygirl1]

Just read thru your entire TR that is posted so far!!! Loving it! It is getting me super excited for our trip at the end of August! We are staying at POP too! We requested connecting rooms in the 50's or 70's... My fingers are crossed that we get our requests!

We are eating at Captain's Grille for the first time this trip! Good to know about the pasta! We be sure I avoid that! I'm more of a steak and potatoes girl. I'm leaning towards beening the bourbon maninated NY stip! YUM!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[Disneygal1]

Loving the all girls trip! Makes me want to go on a trip w/me, my mom and sister! Can't wait to read the rest!

You should go on a girls trip! They are so much fun!

The picture from behind Roger Rabbit is AWESOME. If you took that be proud of yourself because its a pretty cool shot! Never seen that before!


Also what is up with your burger here? Did you get a single burger with a triple bun?

Anyhow all your pictures are great and keep the food pictures coming!

Thanks! And yes I did take that picture. The lighting was perfect for that shot.

I'm pretty sure I ordered the triple bun with the single burger... Haha. I noticed that when we got our burgers. It was insane. It's almost a waist. I also wasn't a big fan of the whole grain bread... On the bright side, the meat was good!

Just read thru your entire TR that is posted so far!!! Loving it! It is getting me super excited for our trip at the end of August! We are staying at POP too! We requested connecting rooms in the 50's or 70's... My fingers are crossed that we get our requests!

We are eating at Captain's Grille for the first time this trip! Good to know about the pasta! We be sure I avoid that! I'm more of a steak and potatoes girl. I'm leaning towards beening the bourbon maninated NY stip! YUM!

Can't wait to read more!

Thank you! Pop is definitely a fun resort. I believe the 50's & 70's are way closer to everything. I bet you will get the rooms you want since you put in a request.

I liked Captain's Grille. I thought my steak was awesome. And if you like potatoes, make sure you get the mashed potatoes. They were awesome. I'm getting hungry thinking about them.

 

[grwnupprincess]

hey there fellow chicagoan...great report so far! my mom and I did a girls' trip in September 2008 and I'm trying to rally my girlfriends for a girls' trip in the future!

looking forward to reading more...and congrats on the graduation!

 

[Disneygal1]

hey there fellow chicagoan...great report so far! my mom and I did a girls' trip in September 2008 and I'm trying to rally my girlfriends for a girls' trip in the future!

looking forward to reading more...and congrats on the graduation!

Hello there! I love seeing Chicagoans on here! Cubs fan? Anyway, definitely do a girls trip. They are well worth it. And thank you!

 

[Raven66]

I'm loving the trip report and pictures. It looks like you all are having so much fun. When my husband and daughter go on a ride I don't care for (RnRC or Misson:Space) I love to people watch. And if you look around there is tons of people doing the same thing. Can't wait to read more.:wave:

 

[Disneygal1]

After my little photo shoot, my mom and I went shopping. We are shopaholics, especially in Disney. After some shopping, her and I sat down on center street, right next to the crystal arts. I have heard of it being called center street. I'm not sure if that's right. I have only been to Disney around 30 times, and I don't even know what it is called! As we were sitting there, I heard tap dancing and singing lessons going on. I read about this on a list of hidden disney secrets on the wdw secrets forum. Luckily, I had printed out a list, and I had it in my bag. So I took out my list, and checked it off. It became some kind of game. Walking around MK and looking for hidden secrets. I totally recommend doing it, it's so much fun to find all the little secrets throughout the park. Here is a picture of "center street". It's not a great picture, but it's good enough.

As we were sitting on the bench, it began to rain cats and dogs. Good thing our bench was under a canopy so we didn't get wet. My mom was so hot, that she decided to go out in the rain and just stand there. I insisted on staying dry. After she cooled off, we ran into Crystal Arts.

How he is not burning his hand? Just a newspaper is keeping him from getting burnt. I am scared looking at this picture!

After the rain stopped, Jodi and Katie met up with us in the shop. I told her about the secrets list, and we decided to scope out some more hidden Disney secrets on main street.

We ended up finding the gossip phone, which is located in the Chapeau store. I have heard of this before, but have never seen it. It's pretty neat.

The only window on main street that has Walt Disney on it. It faces the castle.

We found Lady & Tramp's paw prints outside of Tony's Town Square Restaurant.

When we found the paw prints, we realized that we wanted to eat earlier than our ADR. Our ADR was for 7:55, and we knew we couldn't wait that long. It was only 4 o'clock. We went into Tony's Town Square Restaurant, and asked a cast member if we could get in there any earlier than 7:55. The cast member told us to come in around 5ish and we would be most likely to get in. After that, we decided to do some rides and take some pictures in front of the castle.

 

[Disneygal1]

We then went over to Tomorrowland to go on one of my favorite rides, The Tomorrowland Transit Authority (aka people mover). I really miss the old narration. I wish they could mix the new one with the old one. It's just not the same. They also butchered my favorite line, which is my signature. Anyway, while we were on, it stopped. What a surprise! Another technical difficulty! It was broken down for only 5 minutes. After the people mover, we went over to Buzz's Space Ranger Spin, and guess who got the most points... This girl!!!! Oh yeah! I beat all three of them. I got around 100,00 pts or maybe it was a little over. We also did the laugh floor, which I have never done before. I have to admit, I thought it was really cute. The jokes were also pretty decent.

After Tomorrowland, it was almost 6. So we went back to Tony's Town Square. We got seated within 10 minutes, which was awesome since we had gotten there so early than our ADR. When we got seated, we realized there is two parts of the restaurant, part 1: faces main street and feels like you're in a cafeteria and part 2: the main area which feels like a restaurant. And of course we were seated in the cafeteria looking part. As I said before, I am an ambiance freak, so is my mom. She asked for a different table. We felt bad, but we simply wanted the main area! The cast member told my mom how people do that all of the time. I'm glad we're not the only ones!

Now to the meal. No, I am not Italian, nor do I have an Italian grandmother who makes amazing Italian food. So I don't know what real authentic Italian food tastes like, but I know what good Italian food is. At least I think I do. I thought my meal was very good, so did the rest of the girls. My mom and I got the Chicken Parmigiana. Jodi got Tony's Lasagna, and Katie got Shrimp Scampi. Oh, we also were bad and decided to get appetizers, and pay extra. The appetizers were well worth it. We got tomato & mozzarella salad and toasted cheese & garlic bread. On to the photos!

Tomato & Mozzarella Salad (LOL at Katie's face in the background)

Toasted Cheese & Garlic Bread

Chicken Parmigiana

Tony's Lasagna

Shrimp Scampi (While taking this picture, Katie on accidentally spilled some of her sauce haha. It looks kind of cool though.)

Dessert: I got the Tiramisu, Jodi had the Chef's Signature Cheesecake (key lime cheesecake), and my mom and Katie had Chocolate Gelato. We all thought our dessert was very good.

Tiramisu (For Lady & the Tramps' anniversary, Tony's has a chocolate image of Lady & the Tramp on the dessert plates. It will only be there for a limited time.)

Chef's Signature Cheesecake

Chocolate Gelato

YUM! I am getting so hungry writing about Tony's. Everything was good there from the waiting staff to the food.

Next up: Ending the day with the electrical parade and fireworks!

 

[Disneygal1]

I'm loving the trip report and pictures. It looks like you all are having so much fun. When my husband and daughter go on a ride I don't care for (RnRC or Misson:Space) I love to people watch. And if you look around there is tons of people doing the same thing. Can't wait to read more.:wave:

I am glad you are enjoying it. I love people watching! It's so fun to watch people enjoy their vacation.

 

[dixiegirl]

Ok , after eating my oh so boring oatmeal (bathing suit season, stinks eating healthy crap!) I cannot wait to go and have that taco salad at Peco Bills's ! I forgot they have that there and I so miss the one they use to have at POR dining hall!!! Although all your pics are making me Hungry!!!!!Great pics by the way!!!

 

[grwnupprincess]

Hello there! I love seeing Chicagoans on here! Cubs fan? Anyway, definitely do a girls trip. They are well worth it. And thank you!

despite the fact that they aren't the most talented team...I do love the cubs (we live about 8 blocks away from Wrigley)...the games are much more a social event than a sporting event for me