Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, It’s Off To Work We Go: An April/July 2011 Trip Report

Yep. It’s me again! And guess what? This report is going to go up soooo much faster than that last one. Well, Part I is at least. No, really. Promise! Here’s the thing, just three short weeks after returning from our Wedding/Disneymoon extravaganza, I found myself back at the World ready to take on another adventure; unfortunately though, without my husband in tow. Yeah that’s right, I’m such a great wife, so great that I left him behind and went to Disney World without him for our one month anniversary! And then, again, in the middle of the summer. Tsk, tsk. Bad wife.

Part I: Saturday, April 16 – Wednesday, April 20 at Port Orleans Riverside
You see, by day (when I’m not trip reporting :lookaroun) I advise, assist, and mentor engineering students throughout their co-op experiences. One of the perks of my job is that I get to travel around and visit students on all these different assignments. Well, lo and behold, after quite a few years of trying, I was able to hook up two of my students with Disney! Guess what this means?! Yes, smart cookies, this means a site visit to Disney World for Hollybelle! The timing of a couple things (the wedding, and work-related events) pretty much dictated when this trip would take place. And it just so happened to be smack dab in the middle of prime spring break time; the week before Easter. This was actually a good thing though, because it meant that my mom, Kim (a teacher), could come along with me for the fun.

Part II: Tuesday, July 12 – Friday, July 15 at Caribbean Beach
I needed to go back to the Central Florida area in July for a site visit with students in Tampa, so of course, being an annual passholder, I couldn't resist combining this short visit with more time at Disney. Unfortunately, Brett couldn't get away from work to join me this time either. So I called up my mom, and she so selflessly gave up a bit of her summer to join me again. :lol: Good thing she got that annual pass.

Because all good reports need an introduction to the cast, here we are slurpin’ down margaritas in the Bahamas:

For the first trip, I initially had Pop booked because there was no way an AP rate would come out for the weekend before Easter, but oddly enough, my mom came across a surprisingly great rate for POR on one of the non-Disney travel sites, so we upgraded! Woohooo! This was my first time booking a Disney resort through a third party and everything worked out perfectly fine.

Just an aside, both parts of this report will likely be more photo driven and have a lot less text than normal… I also have a May trip to report on and an upcoming trip at the end of September so I'm trying my best to get all caught up with the summer reports as quickly as possible. :lol: Yes, I know, it’s already September. How’d that happen?!

 

[HollyBelle]

PART I: PORT ORLEANS RIVERSIDE

Day 1 – Saturday, April 16: Check-in/DTD/MK

On Friday evening I went ahead and made my way to my parents’ house so that my mom and I could get an early start on Saturday. We left before 6am, and arrived at Port Orleans around 1:45pm. Not too bad.

Would you believe, while I have a bazillion and one pictures of the grounds at Riverside, I don’t have any of the interior check-in area?! Oh well… the real beauty of Port Orleans is most definitely outside. Honestly, the resort grounds are easily my favorite of the moderate resorts. In fact, over the course of this trip, my appreciation for Port Orleans multiplied. I can see why so many folks consider it their favorite resort. It's stunning.

Luckily our room was ready when we arrived, so we were able to go ahead and get situated before heading out to play. This was my second stay at Riverside and both times the room has been in Acadian House, a part of the Magnolia Bend section of the resort. No complaints from me on this, as I don’t think I would enjoy Alligator Bayou nearly as much.

We had a standard room, which is something I always book at moderates and values. Mostly because we don’t have a need to access the food courts on a daily basis… and as a bonus, this usually means we get to park super close (always nice when returning from a park in the evening!).

My initial goal for our arrival afternoon was to make it over to the Animal Kingdom in time to catch Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade. But alas, it didn’t play out that way. If we’d tried to make it in time for the parade we would’ve been incredibly rushed. Instead we decided to take a leisurely trip over to Downtown Disney via the boat launch at Port Orleans.

It was a gorgeous afternoon! And quite honestly, Port Orleans was just begging to be photographed.

 

[HollyBelle]

The boats arrive and depart every 20 minutes or so throughout the morning and afternoon. And then from 4pm on, they arrive and depart every ten minutes. For the most part they were right on schedule every time we used them throughout the trip.

 

[HollyBelle]

We stopped at the French Quarter to pick up some more folks before making our way to DTD.

It was a little after four when we finally arrived at Downtown Disney. And we were starving! We hadn’t actually had anything to eat for lunch that day, just some snacks in the car on the way down. To hear mom tell the story you’d think I wasn’t willing to stop for food because it would’ve eaten into precious Disney time :lookaroun - there may be some truth to that! :lol: You’ll notice pretty quickly though that this was an ongoing theme of the trip… my mom and I are both notorious for skipping meals and snacking around. So, when it’s just the two of us, we’re really bad about it. I recall many a marathon dress shopping Saturday spent this way. Anyhoo… all of this is to say that we bee-lined it to the Earl as soon as we got off the boat.

Mmm… deliciousness! This may very well be the place I crave most when not at Disney World. I love the Earl with my whole heart! And being ravenous makes it taste even better.

After a quick bite at the Earl we stopped in at Once Upon a Toy. Oh, hello, Space Ranger!

We stopped in Tren-d, where cuteness abounds…

 

[HollyBelle]

And then we found ourselves in a new store: Little Mismatched. Apparently it had just opened that very day. It was the kind of place that my nieces (8 and 10 years old) would have absolutely loved. They had all kinds of socks and flip flops that coordinated, but didn’t exactly match. Personally, I don’t like the idea of non-Disney related stuff on property, but at least it was original. And that can’t exactly be said for the majority of “Disney” merchandise anymore.

After awhile we decided to head back to Port Orleans and get ready for a late evening in the parks. Seeing as how this was one of the first times I’d ever taken the boat at DTD, I was privy to a completely different view of the Rainforest than I’ve ever seen before. I don't think I've ever seen the outdoor seating before. Didn't even know it was there.

 

[HollyBelle]

Seriously, the boat was incredibly relaxing; my mom mentioned more than once how wonderfully peaceful it was. In fact, this is part of the reason why we decided to book Port Orleans for an upcoming November trip. That and, Port Orleans FQ is the only moderate Brett and I have yet to stay at. Gotta check it off the list!

 

[HollyBelle]

Off the boat, we walked back to our room over in Magnolia Bend. Of course, with all the delicious light, it took us quite a while to get back because we just couldn’t help but keep snapping.

While at DTD I picked out a gift card and loaded it with some cash. You see, normally Brett carries around all our cash/cards in his wallet, but without him I was on my own (and I had no desire to carry a full wallet around the parks). The gift card approach turned out to be super convenient because I didn’t have to worry about keeping and organizing change in my camera bag.

 

[HollyBelle]

Back in the room we unpacked and rested for a bit before taking off to the TTC. The plan was to catch the Main Street Electrical Parade, the Magic, Memories, and You, and then Wishes before heading back to the resort.

We arrived at the MK right around 8:15pm and the place was packed. After some time we found a decent spot on Main Street to watch the parade. Of course, as per usual, some rude people appeared right as the parade was about to start and squeezed their way in front of us. Mom thoroughly enjoyed MSEP, which made me excited for the day when she will see Spectro.

After the parade we inched our way forward on Main Street, looking for a good spot to watch MMY and Wishes. We stopped right at the end of the street between the Plaza and Casey’s. I don’t have much experience picking out Wishes viewing locations (in fact, next to none), seeing as how Brett and I don’t ever take the time to camp out for the fireworks, but I figured this had to be a good spot. And maybe it would have been had we not ended up with a huge “magical gatherings” type group shove their way in front of us at the last minute. Add to that... they wouldn’t shut up. Seriously… I was fuming over this, and so was my mom. I really needed Brett there. He has a way of calming me down when I get all fired up about rude people, and he helps me to see that my focusing on such things only hinders my own enjoyment (and likely his :lookaroun) of an experience, and not that of the folks who are being rude. Instead, being so much alike, my mom and I were just feeding off one another. :lol: Anyway, suffice to say, it put a bit of a damper on the magic.

I think this is partly why Brett and I don’t like fighting the crowds for Wishes. He gets a bit claustrophobic and I just become completely put out by people. Heck, I’ve never really thought of it this way before, but this might add to my love of Illuminations. It’s just so much easier to hold your ground for those viewing spots around the lagoon; hence, making the whole show that much more enjoyable.

Getting back to the resort was surprisingly easy at the end of night. We waited through one monorail load and were back in the room before 11pm. It had been a very relaxing first day to our trip... something that became a theme, and one I really liked.

 

[fractal]

Are you kidding me? How many times in WDW this year?

Thanks for the pictures of POR - it brought back some great memories of our stay there.

Regarding Wishes - it stinks that you go out of your way to not stand in front of someone else, only to have a rude group show up in front of you. That would have drove me crazy. :brick:

 

[Todd L]

Big fan of your Trip Reports! you really have a way with words and I always get excited for my own Disney trips reading about yours!! you rock!!Not sure if your'e a writer by trade but you sure could be.

 

[HollyBelle]

Are you kidding me? How many times in WDW this year?

Thanks for the pictures of POR - it brought back some great memories of our stay there.

Regarding Wishes - it stinks that you go out of your way to not stand in front of someone else, only to have a rude group show up in front of you. That would have drove me crazy. :brick:

I know, right?! :animwink: I'm an incredibly lucky girl. All told, I will have six WDW trips this calendar year (March, April, May, July, October, and November). With the exception of the wedding, they are all either three or four day trips, but I'll take it! Short jaunts to the World are wonderful. Plus, I got extremely lucky with two work-related trips in the area this year. Having some travel and hotel expenses paid for, plus annual passes, made those extremely inexpensive.

Isn't Port Orleans gorgeous!? Brett and I stayed there once before, but I don't think I realized how beautiful it was until my mom and I spent so much time walking around taking pictures. The grounds are immaculate.

Yeah, rude people get under my skin so fast. I try my best not to focus on them, but it kills me. It always amazes me how many people lack basic cognizance of others.

Big fan of your Trip Reports! you really have a way with words and I always get excited for my own Disney trips reading about yours!! you rock!!Not sure if your'e a writer by trade but you sure could be.

Thanks, Todd! You're way too kind - while I'm not a writer by trade, I would love that profession so I really appreciate you saying that.

 

[HollyBelle]

Day 2 – Sunday, April 17: DHS/AK

So there’s something I’ve always kind of been aware of, but noticed more so on my most recent three trips (this being the first report of those). One park always tends to reign supreme, and that park is rarely ever the same two trips in a row. I love all the parks, and for different reasons, so it’s nice to come away from a trip with a different “top park” just about every time. Does this make sense to anyone else? For this particular trip, the Studios brought its A-game and easily took the crown. We had an absolutely fabulous morning there, and then topped it off with an evening watching Fantasmic. For those of you who recall my mom’s first trip in June 2010, our time spent at DHS was really lacking, due to many factors, so it was especially cool to see my mom fall just the teensiest bit in love with Hollywood on this trip.

Okay, back to your regularly scheduled reporting…

We got up early, as per usual, and left the resort around 7:30am bound for the Studios. It’s been a while now and I didn’t write it down, but I’m pretty sure the 8am opening that day was on account of the spring break crowds and not EMH. This made for an incredibly enjoyable morning; with next to no crowds. And the weather couldn’t have been more gorgeous: warm, low humidity, nice breeze. Ahh… perfect.

Would you believe that we strolled (yes, I said strolled) down Hollywood Boulevard, took some pictures, grabbed fastpasses for TSMM, and STILL made it into the standby line while there was only a 10 minute wait for the ride? Exactly. How about a shout out to all those folks who like to sleep in?! Keep it up, my friends, I’m grateful to you.

 

[HollyBelle]

Piglet and Stitch were both out, with no lines mind you, so we just had to stop on our way back to Starring Rolls for some breakfast.

For some reason, every time my mom meets Stitch, he’s always super playful with her. On this particular day, he decided to pet her! :lol:

We grabbed some pastries at Starring Rolls and spent some time enjoying the small courtyard in front of the place. Seriously, I love leisurely mornings like this in the parks; it’s just so nice taking time to enjoy the little moments instead of racing off to the next ride.

 

[HollyBelle]

Every once in a while you’ve just gotta take the time to photograph a duck!

And her baby ducks!

We meandered down Commissary Lane and eventually found ourselves in the Muppet Courtyard. In fact, meandering is the perfect descriptor for our morning. We simply enjoyed wandering about and taking pictures.

 

[HollyBelle]

Anyone up for some cheap 3D tricks?! Ab-so-lutely!

I’ve got to say the stylish purple frames may just be the best part about these free, non-prescription, 3D lenses!

As we browsed around the Stage 1 Company store, we came across some pin lanyards we liked… we decided that, with a little bit of work, they’d make for GREAT camera straps. Hooray! You’ll see the finished product in my next trip report!

 

[HollyBelle]

Back on Hollywood Boulevard we walked on the Great Movie Ride, which mom thoroughly enjoyed. We were on the far right side of the ride vehicle and our “gangster” scared the bejeebus out of mom when he hopped off the cart and walked past her in the Indy scene, with a quick “What’re you lookin’ at, lady!?” It was classic. :ROFLOL:

We initially thought we would watch Voyage of the Little Mermaid, but the times were all out of whack so we headed over to see Beauty and the Beast instead. I probably don’t need to mention it, as I’m sure I’ve made it known loud and clear in my trip reports at this point, but I’m more than just a little bit in love with Gaston (!) and his sheer vanity. :kiss: Please, oh please, let him be doing meet and greets when the new Fantasyland opens! All the recent concept art is working in my favor… have you seen the images of the fountain outside of Gaston’s tavern! Sigh!

 

[HollyBelle]

The Beast is looking a bit rough. And bedraggled!

He cleans up pretty well though. :king:

It was right around lunchtime when the show ended, and we decided to head back to the resort for lunch and an early afternoon break. So we made our way down Sunset and back to the car via tram.

Love that first row of each tram car!

 

[Kristia]

Yay! A Hollybelle trip report! I have to live vicariously through you until we can get back in November!

 

[HollyBelle]

Yay! A Hollybelle trip report! I have to live vicariously through you until we can get back in November!

Woohooo... you know, November really isn't all too far off! :sohappy:

 

[HollyBelle]

Back at Port Orleans we parked the car and started walking towards Acadian House. This is when I saw the nefarious steps that nearly defeated Brett and I when we got back to our room after running the marathon in 2009. Hmm… I remember them being sooooo much more daunting that day! I can almost feel every wince and twinge just looking at those steps. :lol:

We grabbed some lunch at Riverside Mill. In fact, we split a sandwich, which was more than enough food for the both of us. And the chips! The chips were mouthwateringly good. Mmmm… if only I could get my hands on some of those right now!

Would you believe that is one meal, split onto two different plates?! Well, it is! It was actually the perfect amount.

After lunch, we spent some time relaxing in the room. We always say we’re going to go to the pool, but never actually go to the pool. Oh well. We knew we wouldn’t have a lot of time for the Animal Kingdom, but we decided to make the trek anyway, if only to see Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade!