Trip Report Happiest Retirees in The World

Well, we finally got here, to the most magical place ever and had an amazing vacation. For those that didn’t see the pre-trip report, we are myself Gillian(G) and my sister Christine (C) both of us recently retired on our first trip here after a 15 year gap.This time we did 21 nights, 7 nights at Universals Endless Summer Resort - Surfside, followed by 14 nights at POFQ. Reading your great trip reports and threads on this forum helped us to understand the many changes at WDW and enabled us in lots of ways to have such a fab time.

After a long Virgin Atlantic flight from the UK, we were quickly transferred to our Universal hotel. This is one of the new resorts built on the old site of Wet’n Wild down International Drive, a favourite of ours. Even though it is a cheaper hotel it was lovely and with transport included to and from the Universal Parks. We certainly recommend a stay here.

This was the pool view from our room which was great as we could always see how busy it was.

Universal Studios/ Islands of Adventure. 6th - 11th Sept.
C has never been a big fan of these parks but like most good sisters met me half way, although I do think the Harry Potter experience had something to do with agreeing to visit.

C could not resist trying the cloak on
We found the H.P. experience to be brilliant in both the Studios & IOA. The castle looks so real as did Hogsmead.

We really enjoyed the train journeys on the Hogwarts Express from Universal to Islands & back.
We went on Flight of Hippogriff which was surprisingly rough for us especially C and just did a walk through of Gringotts Bank but exited before ride start. The animatronics were fabulous in the bank and loved the dragon.

So worth waiting for this photo.
We had lunch at the Leaky Cauldron where we both had the shepherds pie pasty which was delicious.

It really does look like the Leaky Cauldron depicted in the film and has a great atmosphere. We would also recommend Florian Fortescue’s Parlour for ice cream which was yummy.

Other rides we went on in the parks were E.T an old favourite, Men in Black, Skull Island Reign of Terror, Jurassic Park, Minions and the Horror Makeup show where I met this fab guy - Beetlejuice. We also came across Marilyn Monroe.

next Volcano Bay.

 

[Wicked Sisters]

We love Cooke’s of Dublin! Such an underrated gem in DS!

We were so pleased it was still there.

 

[Wicked Sisters]

The amount of happiness that radiates from your smiles is infectious.. reading this TR with a LARGE smile on my face!

Thank you so much.

 

[Wicked Sisters]

16th September

Typhoon Lagoon today, which has always been a favourite with us. As with Volcano Bay we’re not interested in the slide rides etc, just the lazy river and enjoying the fab atmosphere.

We thought the possible bad weather forecast might stop us from coming here but it was glorious all day. As always it seems very popular, so arriving early is essential if you want sun beds with some shade. That’s where our luck ran out as there was a delay getting here on the bus. Never mind. In the end we spent as much time in lazy river as we did walking around and on the loungers. Lazy river now have inflatable chair shaped rings for floating along as well as the standard ones. The chairs are very much sought after so you have to be quick to get one.
After such a fab day and a light lunch of strawberries and a donut between us ( they are quite big ) we bussed it back to FQ, showered and decided that we would take a ride to the Contemporary for something to eat. C had been saying, before the vacation that we must go to the Contempo Cafe.
Great choice for quick meals and we both chose the Grilled Cheese and Soup followed by fruit tart to share. Super delicious and certainly filled that gap.

We were happy to see Chef Mickey’s too. We have an ADR for next week, a first for us as we have never been able to get one for previous vacations.

Always a lovely sight to see. Spent some time here before going back to FQ.

17th September

It’s Animal Kingdom day today. We arrived at 9am and it was surprisingly busy ( and hot ). Our priority was the Kilimanjaro Safari ride which had a wait of around 40mins, so not too bad and at least it was in shade the whole time. The ride was fab and we saw quite a few of the residents. We are big Cat fans but could only see slight glimpses of the Lions and Cheetahs and sadly not enough to take photos of them. Maybe next time.

 

[MinnieM123]

Really enjoyed seeing your photos of the animals.

Haven't been to Typhoon Lagoon in years, but I was happy to learn that they have added some inflatable "chair" shaped rings, in addition to the regular rings. I can understand how popular those new ones must be!

 

[Wicked Sisters]

Really enjoyed seeing your photos of the animals.

Haven't been to Typhoon Lagoon in years, but I was happy to learn that they have added some inflatable "chair" shaped rings, in addition to the regular rings. I can understand how popular those new ones must be!

It’s great for people with bad backs and I just relaxed in it and let C pull me around.

 

[Wicked Sisters]

Our next step was The Lion King Festival show. This is a first for us and we couldn’t have enjoyed it more.

It’s Tough to be a Bug was next and a show that we first saw years ago. We laughed as much as we did then. Great show. We took a look around Pandora which was impressive. Would not be doing AFoP and when we checked on the wait time for Na’vi River, we found it much too long at 90mins.
Had lunch at Flame Tree as it seemed very popular in your trip reports and we could understand why. We both chose the St. Louis Rib dinner and we enjoyed it so much that we forgot to take a photo.
We enjoyed just walking around, especially when we started hearing music from these talented musicians.

Looked in a few shops before making our way back to FQ and a bit more pool time to cool off.

18th September

Got up early to get a ILL for Tron, which was 9.15am. We did go early to MK and it’s just as well we did as we were met by huge crowds trying to get through the tapstiles. We can’t remember how long it took but when we did, it was straight to Tomorrowland. Space Ranger was just a 5min wait so we joined Buzz. We also had time for Peoplemover as there was no wait and then went to Tron and guess what, it was down. We found that our Tron booking was good for all day. In the meantime we did Carousel of Progress and then Mickey’s Philharmagic in Fantasyland. At this point we noticed how incredibly crowded it was, so decided that the only way to cope was with Ice Cream which had to be from Plaza Ice Cream Parlour. Many years ago I bought a single scoop of mint-choc chip in a cone, gave one good lick and the whole scoop shot off the cone and rolled all over the ground. I was gutted but C couldn’t stop laughing and we still laugh about it now. This time I has two scoops and was very careful.

We then found out that half of the park was temporarily closed. Cast members wouldn’t say why but we did find out on the news later that it was due to a female bear that had got into the park. Luckily she was safely taken out of the park and other areas opened we think at about 2pm. In the meantime we got our LL changed with a cast member as they had no idea when Tron would be running. She changed it to Jungle Cruise and Pirates at any time which was great for us. As everything was now opened, we went to enjoy Country Bear Jambore.

Next to Pirates and then to Jungle Cruise, again a first for many more years than we could remember but still a great ride.

Another great day, as this photo shows.

We went back to FQ for some rest, relaxation and a light dinner in the Sassagoula Floatworks.

 

[Tiggertoo56]

Looks like you were both having a wonderful time in the parks.

 

[Wicked Sisters]

19th September

We have an ADR for dinner at Chef Mickey’s at 5.05pm today at long last. We had read quite a lot of negative reviews for this restaurant but still decided that we should do it and decide for ourselves. For us meeting the characters was more important.
For the day though, it was the FQ pool along with laundry. We couldn’t make it through this long vacation without clean essentials ! After a very laid back day we made our way to the Contemporary for our dinner date.

We checked in and were called at 5.05 on time. Our server was Kim and she was brilliant, as was the buffet. We couldn’t fault it at all. The only problem we had was choosing what to put on our plates! Then we had the big fanfare as Mickey & Co arrived. This was amazing, even more so when all of the characters visited each and every table to greet you and for photos.

Even at our age, this gave us such a buzz, as it did the other adults around us as well as their kiddies. A cast member even came round to each table to ensure that we had all had a visit from the characters. Anyway, dessert was next and that meant Apple Crisp. We kept reading about this in TR’s and simply had to try it.

It was delightful and we both could have eaten another portion but on seeing the other offerings we had to try a couple of the others.

The cupcake on the right was gifted us each for our retirement celebration by our server Kim which was lovely. Rather than try and eat it on top of our other desserts, she boxed them up for us to take back to our hotel. What a great time we had and even better than we thought it would be.

20th September

Today we’re off to Epcot and to mostly see the World Showcase. After a light breakfast in the room, we made our way over to the park. Had to stop to get these done.

Next to Connections for an Iced Latte and another Cronut and this time, no sharing!

 

[Wicked Sisters]

20th September cont’d

We then made our way to WS and Mexico.

We love the Three Caballeros as much as we love the atmosphere.

Then it was Norway‘s turn and a ride that is new to us, Frozen Ever After. It was quite a long wait but at least mostly inside in the cool. It was so well worth it too.

China was up next.

We absolutely love this view across the lake.

 

[Wicked Sisters]

Looks like you were both having a wonderful time in the parks.

We were enjoying every moment.

 

[BigDis]

Late to the festivities but enjoying your TR. Can't wait to read more!

 

[Wicked Sisters]

Late to the festivities but enjoying your TR. Can't wait to read more!

Pleased to have you here.

 

[Wicked Sisters]

20th September Cont’d

When we arrived at the American Adventure Pavilion we caught the end of the beautiful singing from Voices of Liberty, then went into the theatre for a history lesson with the American Adventure.
After making our way to France, I did Ratatouille without C as she felt she would get nauseas.

This was an amazing ride and C made the right decision not to go on. We had a lovely light lunch in France at the Boulangerie, then continued our way around the Showcase ending at Canada. We decided this time to go back to FQ but via a different route to try out the Skyliner just for the fun of it.

We rode to Pop Century via Caribbean Beach, then it was onto the waiting MK bus and then to FQ. So easy. When we got back it had become very stormy and this was the result, taken from our room.

Whilst we do get storms in the UK we would rarely see one like this in our part of the country.

21st September

Going into MK later on today to see HEA for the first time. We know this is a big favourite of so many of you, so we had to see it for ourselves. First though another trip to DS for a bit more shopping, which was mostly presents for friends. Lunch was at Earl of Sandwich ((again). After relaxing in our room for awhile we made our way to MK and the first ride had to be the Walt Disney Railroad.

 

[cgersic]

So Much Fun seeing your smiling faces together!!!

 

[Wicked Sisters]

So Much Fun seeing your smiling faces together!!!

We were so happy to be there at last.

 

[Wicked Sisters]

21st September cont’d

We enjoyed a full circle ride and as always, fab. Then it was off to visit Ariel and friends, another first time for us.

We also did the wave to them.
Haunted Mansion our fave was next with a shorter wait than the last time we rode. Since we were peckish it was decided we should eat at Caseys, which we did frequently years ago. Sadly this time a bit of a let down as most of it was almost cold and not very appetising. Still, at least we’d eaten some of it. We wandered down Main Street for a bit, taking in the great atmosphere. We love being at MK in the evening. Then, at long last HEA began and what an unbelievable show it was.

One of the best we’ve seen at MK.

22nd September

Back to MK today and with an ADR for 1.05pm at Liberty Tree Tavern. We have always gone to LTT every time we visited Orlando and was looking forward to the feast. I had also got myself a ILL for Tron at 11.05. Hopefully it will be running this time.
Our first ride was Space Ranger.

I must say, we are both quite competitive.
Then off to Peoplemover. This ride never gets boring. Then it was time for my ride on Tron. C was giving it a miss, so it was Jeffrey’s Iced Coffee & a wander for her.

Loved this ride and it was longer than I thought it would be.
We still had a bit of time before our ADR so visited Pooh and then Small World before making our way to LTT for our fine lunch and what a lunch it was!

 

[Wicked Sisters]

This was the best meal that we’ve had during this vacation. Our server was fab and explained the three courses to us. After getting our drinks, he first bought out the salad and rolls, then after a while the feast itself. Whilst there was no way that we could have eaten all the food in front of us we at least did it some justice and ate quite a bit. Everything was so tasty and the meats so tender and those mashed potatoes! Wow. Luckily our server gave us some time before he bought out the Sticky Toffee pudding.

At least we could finish this dish.
After we went on Bear Jamboree and looked in the shops, especially Ye Old Christmas shop. We noticed that Thunder Mountain had a short wait time so made our way over and that short wait was quite a long one. That was fine by us.I think it took about 40mins before it was our turn. Thunder has always a regular ride for us, sometimes going on a 2nd time straight after the first, so neither of us had expected it to feel rougher than it used to be. When we got off C felt so queasy. We have noticed that as we have got older we can’t seem to tolerate these rides so much especially C.

 

[Swissmiss]

The pure joy in your face in this photo

 

[Wicked Sisters]

View attachment 748074

The pure joy in your face in this photo

Happy you liked this photo, just wish it was all pure joy on my face.

 

[Swissmiss]

Happy you liked this photo, just wish it was all pure joy on my face.

Really? You were also scared? Because the photo makes it look like you were having the time of your life! (Full disclosure: not sure I am brave enough for Tron)