Halloween, Food & Wine, and a Birthday, Oh My!-A Sept/Oct 2011 Trip Report

I can't believe 2 weeks ago I was in the Magic Kingdom for my first MNSSHP, my how time flies. I hope you all are ready because here starts my first attempt at a trip report!

Introduction:

Welcome to my very first attempt at writing a trip report! I’ve been reading everyone else’s trip reports for some time now, and have been inspired to write one of my own!!! So let’s start with a little introduction!

The cast for the trip:

(Left): Mom (Diane)-The greatest mom EVER because she’s taken me on 13! WDW trips and she got me into this website so if not for her I wouldn’t be writing this right now! Mom's favorites are Mickey, Stitch, and Tigger and her favorite ride is definitely Toy Story Mania I couldn’t tell you how many times we’ve gone on that!

(Right): Me (Jessica)-22 year old Walt Disney World fanatic (thanks to Mom) who is currently seeking a job as a Mechanical Engineer (if you guys know of anything open let me know! Sorry had to put in the little plug there ) My favorite ride is the Tower of Terror and my favorite characters are Ariel, Prince Eric, Goofy, & (newly favorite) Flynn Rider.

As mentioned above this is my 13th trip to the world and Mom's 14th. She went once when she was a little girl in ’74.

Details about the trip:

When: September 26-October 3 This is the first time we’ve ever gone at this time of the year, because I was always in school.

Resort: Pop Century We’ve stayed at this resort many times and have always loved it, even though we talked about changing and trying a different resort, we didn’t. But are looking into it for next trip!

Just a FYI: the pictures in this report are taken by both me and my mom. (There will be many, many pictures in this report since I took over 800!) The ones that I have taken were mainly in Aperture and Shutter Priority mode. I wanted to go manual but realized that I would have a much harder time with it. Av and Tv mode proved successful and I had fun playing around with the settings a bit. Thanks to Tom Bricker (wdwfigment), he has inspired me to take better pictures during my trips and in everyday life! (I was able to tell him this in person as you will read later in the report!)

We also ordered the photopass CD because we knew we would be getting a lot of photopass pictures this trip. We haven't looked at them yet, so I will add in some of those pictures at the end of the report once we go through them and get the CD.

Now let the memories and trip reporting begin!!!

 

[snookie5605]

me personally am loving that Gaston! haha!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Wonderful update and pictures! I'm loving your tour through Wine & Dine - makes me want to go next year.

Yes, if you can definitely go there for the Food & Wine! It's really awesome and there is just sooo much food to try! We didn't even get to everything we wanted!

I am loving your Epcot pictures. I have plenty from Future World, but not so many from World Showcase. I felt like I was rushing too much. We only had one day at Epcot and I wanted to try as many Food & Wine booths as I could. Just another reason to have to go back. :animwink: I am going to have to look for myself in the next sets of pictures. Who knows how many times we passed each other without knowing.

I will be waiting for more!

I just wanted to let you know that I finally started my Trip Report. I decided to just start now, while I am waiting for my Photo Pass CD to come in. I finally talked to them today about the missing pictures. Two of them, they were able to find/fix. The third one, my dad and the 7 Dwarfs, was not able to me fixed. The man on the phone told me they were too blurry to use. Thankfully we took a picture with my dad's camera too. Did you ever find out about your Photo Pass pictures?

See with me it's the opposite, I never get enough pictures of Future World so this time I was determined to take them! lol Especially at night. I would love to go back at this time as well! We went two times and never got to everything we wanted!

I know there was so many people there that we could have passed each other many times. Hopefully it will be up soon, I have to finish writing that day haha I was all good in writing alot of it before hand, but came to a standstill and got to go finish! And can't wait to go read your report! I haven't gotten a chance to read any reports this week, I've had family visiting so tonight I have some time so I hope to get caught up on all the reports I've been reading!

And yes, our pictures were able to be recovered! I was so happy!! And I'm glad they were able to fix at least two of them. It's too bad about the third one, especially since it was the dwarfs but glad you got a picture on your camera!

Love all the pics from Epcot. I think Epcot pics are my favorite!
Glad to see you got to try so many different things at the F&W Fesitval. We definitely want to try the dessert trio and also I want to try the Strawberry Lime margarita. I love tequila so its right up my alley!! :slurp:

Thank you!!
Definitely definitely try the dessert trio! It was the best. and plus its cheaper to get it that way because it was more expensive if you got them all separate. And if you love tequila you will definitely love that margarita!!!

Yay that picture of us from F&W turned out great! That was such a fun day, my mouth is totally watering for the dessert trio right now! I'm really glad we got to hang out on Sunday too though, that day was even better :sohappy:



I just about died when I saw this picture, I TOTALLY took the exact same picture on the last day of our trip! I love the sign "Have a Magical Day!" That's too funny! I think maybe we really are sisters but some sort of Parent Trap nonsense happened to us

I know :sohappy: I love it too! I'm so glad we met up on Sunday as well, seriously the best day of the trip, I'm not even kidding, got to meet great people and hang out with the two best all day

That's so funny because I took the picture for that reason! I love that sign! And I have to agree! Maybe we should look through all of our pictures see if we have one cut in half :lol:

me personally am loving that Gaston! haha!

haha oh yes!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Hooray, Diane's getting in on the mirror shot action! I know you're lurking out there somewhere... so might I just say, LOVE the haircut!

Great update, Jess!

She says Thank you!!! She'll join soon enough! She's trying to think of a good username.

And thank you! I somehow forgot to quote you in the above post lol

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Sorry everyone, still in the process of writing Saturday's day of events so I should be finished for an update on Monday evening!

 

[jhoff3405]

Great report. You and your mom look to be having such a great time together!

ME major? Geez, I would have thought you would have had many opportunities out there...but who knows with today's job market. I will keep my fingers crossed something comes your way.

 

[kstella]

I totally love the hair cut with pink gel and pixie dust! I must have it when we go in January. My fiance and daughter will think that I am crazy but I don't care. I can totally see me with it!

 

[WDW_Princess24]

Your mom looked adorable with her pink glitter tips, she looks like so much fun to be with!! Cannot beat breakfast at CP, it's the only place I've ever seen chocolate Mickey waffles!

Hooray for meeting up with newlyweds! :sohappy:

 

[plaz10]

Hi Jess...I'm Jess too!

I am finally all caught up on this fabulous TR. I should have taken notes or something!

I love the idea of a mother/daughter trip. Between you and your mom and Holly and her mom...it just seems like SO much fun. It's in the planning stages for April 2012...but we all know how many Disney trips never make it past the planning stage (at least 10 a year for me..haha!)

I simply MUST try Beaches n Cream. Not just for the ice cream but the burgers look amazing. Plus I love the whole beach club scene. We were there for an ADR at Cape May Cafe and I fell in the love the resort.

And how can you not love Boardwalk? Gorgeous! It's also on my 'must stay' list when the fiance graduates med school. Any resort when you can wake up and see SSE = win.

And meeting Shelley and Jason - I must say that they really do make an adorable couple. And their bride and groom ears - very cute.

Keep up the awesome job! Loving this TR!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Great report. You and your mom look to be having such a great time together!

ME major? Geez, I would have thought you would have had many opportunities out there...but who knows with today's job market. I will keep my fingers crossed something comes your way.

Thank you!!!

Yes, there are actually are a pretty good amount of job openings, but a lot are looking for experienced engineers. I hardly have any experience, and I believe that is what is hurting me. I have gone for a few interviews but no such luck so far. And thank you again!

I totally love the hair cut with pink gel and pixie dust! I must have it when we go in January. My fiance and daughter will think that I am crazy but I don't care. I can totally see me with it!

Definitely, I know my mom would recommend it. I thought she was crazy too, but it's all in good fun and I didn't mind being seen with her! :lol:

Your mom looked adorable with her pink glitter tips, she looks like so much fun to be with!! Cannot beat breakfast at CP, it's the only place I've ever seen chocolate Mickey waffles!

Hooray for meeting up with newlyweds! :sohappy:

She says thank you! And yes she is alot of fun to be with! After all, she was the one who got me hooked on Disney! So we're a perfect match for trips!!

And the newlyweds were so much fun!!!

Hi Jess...I'm Jess too!

I am finally all caught up on this fabulous TR. I should have taken notes or something!

I love the idea of a mother/daughter trip. Between you and your mom and Holly and her mom...it just seems like SO much fun. It's in the planning stages for April 2012...but we all know how many Disney trips never make it past the planning stage (at least 10 a year for me..haha!)

I simply MUST try Beaches n Cream. Not just for the ice cream but the burgers look amazing. Plus I love the whole beach club scene. We were there for an ADR at Cape May Cafe and I fell in the love the resort.

And how can you not love Boardwalk? Gorgeous! It's also on my 'must stay' list when the fiance graduates med school. Any resort when you can wake up and see SSE = win.

And meeting Shelley and Jason - I must say that they really do make an adorable couple. And their bride and groom ears - very cute.

Keep up the awesome job! Loving this TR!

Yay for the name Jess!!! :sohappy:

Thanks so much for reading!!! And I hope that trip pans out for you because it will definitely be a fun one!!!

Oh yes you HAVE to go for the burgers. We haven't even tried the ice cream there yet (besides a float and wow was that vanilla ice cream in there amazing!) we always go for the burgers!!! They are just so juicy and yummy!!

Some more love for the Boardwalk! Glad I'm not the only one who has it on their must stay list!

Yes they do and I love them so much! The ear hats were sooo adorable!

and thank you!!! :wave:

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Saturday October 1-Happy 40th Magic Kingdom!!

This morning our alarm went off at 5:45 am! We were up, dressed, out the door and the first ones at the Magic Kingdom bus stop at 6:20!

Look at how dark it was!

The bus is here!!

After a short bus ride, with a lot more people than I expected, we arrived at the Magic Kingdom at 6:50! As we entered into the MK turnstile area they were handing out 40th Anniversary buttons!!!

We decided to get in line to see if we could get a wristband to buy merchandise. Unfortunately, they ran out of wristbands as we were three people away from getting one :fork:. Oh well. We ended up being the first people at the turnstiles!

Beautiful sunrise looking sky

As you can see in the background of the above picture, in front of the Main Street station, there was a banner in celebration of the 40th Anniversary. This got me really excited!

This one is my favorite because I managed to get the Mickey and the sign in the picture perfectly:

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

While we were standing at the turnstiles, we had the Disney Moms (and a few Dads) panel keeping us entertained. And we spotted a few of the celebrities out there such as Lou Mongello from WDWRadio and Deb Willis from Allears.net!!

Finally it was time to be let in! Well up to the entrance at least. We were right in the front too!
Here are some pictures I took while waiting.

Beautiful sign

The crowd behind us:

My view of the opening show:

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Once it was time to let everyone in, we grabbed a bunch of the special park maps and made a bee-line straight to the castle to snag good spots for the show at the castle at 10 am. If I were smart, I would have sent either me or my mom to grab a pin we wanted or a shirt and the other would have gone to the castle. Oh well, we didn’t end up getting any special souvenirs that were only available on that day. But we had great spots for the show and that definitely made up for it.

The super cool awesome park maps for the 40th:

I wish this banner could have stayed up the whole day

The crowd behind us:

Podium

At this point I just started taking a few random pictures since we were standing around waiting for an hour but I wouldn’t want to wait anywhere else. I couldn’t stop staring at Cinderella’s Castle. It was just a great feeling that I can’t even begin to describe to you being there on the 40th Anniversary. And the best thing was: they took the crane down for the day!!!

To kick off the special presentation at around 9:45 the Main Street Philharmonic Band came out and played a melody of songs.

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Once 10 o’ clock rolled around the ambassadors came out (I apologize I forgot their names..bad I know) and the character cavalcade began and the Fairy Godmother came out! I couldn’t believe all the characters they had out for this occasion. The coolest thing was when they played the different music from the many parades over the years at the Magic Kingdom. Once the characters came onto the stage, a former cast member, Phil Holmes, from 1971 who had worked at the Haunted Mansion spoke for a few moments, and then followed by President Meg Crofton. I apologize I do not remember anything they said, I was too caught up in the moment. I will post video on my youtube after posting this trip report and will let you know when it is up. Enjoy the pictures that will ensue:

OMG! It’s Flynn from Tuesday night! Sorry, I was obsessed with him this trip

Cue Smolder….SWOON

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

One of the fairies from Sleeping Beauty popped a balloon and all the characters started laughing. It was really cute!

Phil Holmes

Meg Crofton

Once the speaking was over, the Dapper Dans came out to lead everyone in a sing-a-along of “When You Wish Upon A Star” and it was a beautiful and very moving moment. I’m tearing up just writing this thinking back to the feeling of that day.

After the show ended, the hub was a madhouse! You couldn’t walk anywhere!!! We finally started to make our way down Main Street opposite of everyone else. And I happened to run into Jessica (jesemeca) from here on WDWMagic! It was pretty awesome she happened to be there just as we were walking down.

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

She invited us to watch Wishes with her and her dad later if we wanted, so we decided we would try to find her. (Later you will find out that it was pretty much impossible)

After meeting with Jessica, the crowd seemed to disperse from the hub. So we headed back that way and who do we run into…well none other than Shelley and Jason! They were giving an interview on Lou’s WDWRadio’s live 40 hour broadcast I believe. Once they were done we stopped to say hi and chat a bit, then we parted ways and headed onwards to Fantasyland via Liberty Square. And I took some pictures along the way.

Our first ride of the day was It’s a Small World! The wait wasn’t long at all. Now I’m going to mention here, that I noticed throughout the day the rides that were there in 1971 had longer lines than normal, because I guess everyone had the same idea of riding things that people would have ridden on Oct. 1, 1971!

Once we toured the world of laughter and dreams, we grabbed fastpasses for Peter Pan since it was an early return time. To kill the short amount of time we had, we went into Mickey’s Philarmagic! This is my favorite 3D show in Walt Disney World. I love all the scenes from the Disney movies and Donald Duck of course is a hoot.

We still had a bit more time to waste, so we wandered over to see how long the wait was for the Haunted Mansion. Well that was a 40 minute wait! And that’s where it pretty much stayed all day. There was no way I was waiting that long. So I took some pictures to pass the time.

Where the old skyway station used to be..I loved that ride.

Finally time for Peter Pan’s Flight!

Next on the agenda was one last ride on Snow White’s Scary Adventures before it closes up for good. I really wish they would keep this here it’s a cute dark ride. They could keep it along with the mine coaster. Oh well.

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

We had ADR’s at Tony’s at 1:30 and decided we had just enough time to take a spin on the ol’ Walt Disney World Railroad. We made it to Main Street just as the train was about to pull out of the station!

We were enjoying the ride, when I realized that they did not have scrims against the fence once we left the former ToonTown Station. I quickly took out my camera and was able to get one shot.

Once finished with our trip around the Magic Kingdom I stopped to take some pictures inside the train station since it was empty.

We also went to take some pictures of the Castle and around Main Street from up top of the train station. While I was up here, I took the time to just stand there and stare out at all the people and the castle. It was a nice peaceful moment where I was able to just soak everything in. Oh how I wish I could be standing in that exact spot right now.

So my pictures are always crooked from up here…I guess I can just never hold my camera straight. Oh well at least they still came out good!

Tons of people!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

I could stare at this all day

Finally, it was time for our ADR’s at Tony’s! Our waiter was excellent, but the food was okay. Wasn’t bad by any means it was good, but it wasn’t anything exciting. So we probably won’t go back for a while now. It had been awhile before these ADR’s since we had been here so we wanted to come back.

Waiting to be seated with a menu

We got an awesome table outside! It was great because it wasn’t hot and humid outside it was just right! Even though it was in the shade when we took the picture by the end of the meal we were fully in the sun. But it was alright because the sun felt nice Also, it was a great table for people watching.

Appetizer: Toasted Cheese and Garlic Bread..best part of the whole meal!

Mom had Tony’s Flatbread. She ended up picking off the sausages because she didn’t like them but other than that it was pretty good.

I had the Chicken Parmigiana and to me there wasn’t a lot of flavor to it and they gave waaaay too much Spaghetti with it.

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

I love this on the windows

After our lunch at Tony’s we decided to stay in the area to watch the parade in hopes they might add something special for the 40th. Well, unfortunately they didn’t but it was still a great parade, except is it just me or does it keep getting shorter and shorter??

After the band passed through I went inside for a little AC break, it was hot sitting in that sun! And I saw this cute lil guy that I never noticed before

Parade time!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Finally, after the parade we made our way over to Tomorrowland! First up was our favorite ride in Tomorrowland…The TTA!!! Now, you know it’s a busy day at the Magic Kingdom when there is a winding line for it. Unfortunately, I didn’t grab a picture but it was crazy!

Up next was..well not much because the lines for everything were horrendous. But we didn’t mind. There was still fastpasses available for Space so I grabbed one and we headed off towards the Haunted Mansion hoping the line had died down. Taking pictures along the way.

Tea anyone??

Well we arrived at the Haunted Mansion to discover it was still a 40 minute wait. And the line was almost near the Liberty Belle entrance.

We decided to skip it, and waited instead for a float along the Rivers of America on the Liberty Belle! We hadn’t done this in a while and thought it would be a nice break!

I didn’t take too many pictures, because I really just wanted to enjoy the ride and we were lucky to get ourselves a bench on the 3rd level. Love the view from up there.

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Once the nice relaxing ride was over, we headed back towards Tomorrowland to cash in my fastpass for Space Mountain. It was great as always. Definitely the longest I saw that line the whole trip though.

After this we really didn’t have a clue what to do because the stand-bys on all the rides were still pretty long. So, I decided to check my twitter and low and behold the retro-day meet was happening over in Adventureland, so we decided to head over there and check out what people were wearing. Plus there were some people over there that I was hoping to meet!

Grabbed a picture of this little guy on the way over:

We made our way over as they were ending the meet and taking a group picture. Some people went all out to dress from 1971 and it was pretty cool. And who happened to be taking the picture…well Tom Bricker of course!

I was sort of nervous to go over to him, and didn’t want to interrupt him at all, but I finally worked the courage to do so and tapped him on the shoulder which probably wasn’t the best way to get his attention as I think I might have startled him. And Tom if you are reading this, I apologize if I interrupted you or anything. And thanks to you and Sarah for being super nice! After telling Mr. Bricker that I loved his photography and I love their blog we grabbed a picture together.

We would also see them in a few days over in EPCOT, over at the Touring Plans meet!
Next it was time for us to experience the new (but old) Tiki Room!!! And I must say I prefer this version over the Under New Management one.

After visiting our Tiki friends, we headed over towards Frontierland with hopes on getting on Splash Mountain or Big Thunder but that was a no go..got some pictures though!

My favorite from this area: