Hot Times in the World: A June 2011 Trip Report!

We’ve been home for a week, I’m back at work, and reality is truly setting in. Time to escape it with a trip report!

The cast includes myself (Shannon, 27) and my husband Will (26) spending 8 days in WDW for our second anniversary!

Since this was an anniversary trip and all, here we are a little over 2 years ago on our wedding day…

…and 2 days later on our honeymoon!

We’ve been together since February 2005, and we met in math class during my junior and his sophomore year in college. NERDS.

This was our fourth trip to WDW together after the aforementioned honeymoon in May 2009 (Boardwalk Inn), a quick Thanksgiving trip with the in-laws in November 2009 (Boardwalk Inn – no trip report! For shame.), and another quick trip in February for the 2011 Princess Half Marathon (Port Orleans – Riverside).

For this trip we decided to rent DVC points for the first time as a way to save some cash. Will suggested we do a split stay (great idea since I couldn’t decide on one resort anyway) and we put our requests in with excellent results. For the first 3 nights we scored a savanna-view studio villa at Kidani. For the remainder of our trip we’d be traveling back to the Atlantic coast, staying in a “preferred/boardwalk-view” studio at the Boardwalk Villas. Woot!

Pretty early on in the planning process we ultimately decided that we also wanted to fit in a one-day trip to Universal, primarily to spend a morning frolicking in HP-land. Of the two of us, I am the giant Harry Potter fan (admittedly, more a fan of the books than the movies), and being the fabulous husband that he is, Will tags along with me to the movies and enjoys them, though I don’t think he fully grasps the awesomeness of HP since he refuses to read the books.

Other than that, we made our ADRs, put down some cash for a tour, changed said ADRs a million times, and had some major face palm moments along the way

Above all else, I was most excited to get to spend some quality time with Will. It seems like we were both (separately) super busy for the entirety of spring, and I was more than ready to put real life aside and have another adventure together in WDW!

Onward!

 

[flipadeeflop]

LOVED reading this trip report! Started last night, then went to bed and woke up looking forward to finishing it. Thanks for sharing!

 

[Ariel484]

LOVED reading this trip report! Started last night, then went to bed and woke up looking forward to finishing it. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks, flipadeeflop! Glad you enjoyed the trip report. And welcome to WDWMagic! :wave:

 

[fractal]

Just took another look at your TR - your pictures are great! :sohappy: You have some serious skills. I can't wait to see what your next trip creates!

 

[Ariel484]

Just took another look at your TR - your pictures are great! :sohappy: You have some serious skills. I can't wait to see what your next trip creates!

Aw, you're too kind Thanks! Hopefully I'll have time to get some decent pictures on the next trip...it'll be a short one (just 3 days) I think I got spoiled by being there for an entire week!

 

[HopLow]

I can't believe I missed this trip report!!! Wonderful job, Shannon! You made my day at work go so much faster... Thank goodness I've booked my next trip, otherwise you would have made me so jealous!

It really is too bad WWOHP is so freaking crowded. I love the fact that they tried to make to feel authentic, but having such small spaces are soooooo impractical when it comes to something so immensely popular. I love, love, love HP, but I just can't see fighting those kinds of crowds to get in there. So thank you for your report - I'm probably only ever going to have a vicarious experience of it! :shrug:

You and HouCuseChickie have me convinced that I need to get a cupcake from Starring Rolls. Last year we grabbed breakfast there, but on this next trip I'll have to remember to make a stop there for a cupcake. They look SCRUMPTIOUS!!!:slurp:

And I was also surprised how much I loved the Animation class. And dismayed by the lack of erasers... But I guess if there were erasers, it would keep everyone there that much longer trying to re-do, when the class just speeds right by. We drew Dopey and I can't wait to get back there to do another one!

Love the story about your Little Green Man keychain!!! One of the many reasons why WDW is so wonderful! Just a little bit of "magic" goes a long way and makes your day that much better!

Shame on you for skipping out on Tonga Toast!!! You don't know what you're missing!!!!!! It's heaven on a plate. That's it. I can't talk about it any more. It makes me too hungry just thinking about it...:slurp::slurp::slurp:

Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us!! Happy Anniversary to you and Will and happy planning for the next one! I'll be there in January too, you never know, our paths might just cross! Oh, and good luck training for the marathon!!!!

 

[Ariel484]

I can't believe I missed this trip report!!! Wonderful job, Shannon! You made my day at work go so much faster... Thank goodness I've booked my next trip, otherwise you would have made me so jealous!

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

It really is too bad WWOHP is so freaking crowded. I love the fact that they tried to make to feel authentic, but having such small spaces are soooooo impractical when it comes to something so immensely popular. I love, love, love HP, but I just can't see fighting those kinds of crowds to get in there. So thank you for your report - I'm probably only ever going to have a vicarious experience of it! :shrug:

Yeah, I mean, I know we were there right at the beginning of summer, but out shuttle driver was telling us that it is crowded there all. the. time. At least if we were there in a cooler time of the year it would have been a bit more bearable. I'm sure you can find more reports from people here that have gone to WWoHP if you need more pics to live vicariously!

You and HouCuseChickie have me convinced that I need to get a cupcake from Starring Rolls. Last year we grabbed breakfast there, but on this next trip I'll have to remember to make a stop there for a cupcake. They look SCRUMPTIOUS!!!:slurp:

Yes, you must! Completely delicious :slurp:

And I was also surprised how much I loved the Animation class. And dismayed by the lack of erasers... But I guess if there were erasers, it would keep everyone there that much longer trying to re-do, when the class just speeds right by. We drew Dopey and I can't wait to get back there to do another one!

That's true, I never thought about people staying behind with the erasers. I sure would have stayed to fix my Minnie!

Love the story about your Little Green Man keychain!!! One of the many reasons why WDW is so wonderful! Just a little bit of "magic" goes a long way and makes your day that much better!

That stands out as one of my favorite memories from the trip. Unfortunately the eyes have started to rub off of my LGM

Shame on you for skipping out on Tonga Toast!!! You don't know what you're missing!!!!!! It's heaven on a plate. That's it. I can't talk about it any more. It makes me too hungry just thinking about it...:slurp::slurp::slurp:

Ugh, I know! Someday I'll taste that deliciousness...some day.

Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us!! Happy Anniversary to you and Will and happy planning for the next one! I'll be there in January too, you never know, our paths might just cross! Oh, and good luck training for the marathon!!!!

Thanks for the anniversary wishes! We'll only be there for marathon weekend, so hopefully we'll see you! :wave: I'll be one of many limping around the parks afterward....

 

[jhoff3405]

What...its over already?
I had read your report about a week ago, clicked on it now and see that you have wrapped it up. Bummer!

Thanks for sharing all the good & bad. We have never eaten at any signature restaurant, so I enjoyed hearing about your experiences.

Training for the marathon...excellent! Best of luck and I look forward to that report from you!

 

[Ariel484]

What...its over already?
I had read your report about a week ago, clicked on it now and see that you have wrapped it up. Bummer!

Yep...it's over

Thanks for sharing all the good & bad. We have never eaten at any signature restaurant, so I enjoyed hearing about your experiences.

One thing that came out of this trip is a realization of how much we LOVE signature restaurants. Out of all the experiences we had on this trip, we talk about the Segway tour and our meals at Jiko, Citricos and Sanaa (which we thought was borderline signature material) the most. I'm hoping to try Artist Point and Narcoossee's on our next longer trip, whenever that may be.

I highly suggest trying a signature restaurant sometime. It's totally worth it!

Training for the marathon...excellent! Best of luck and I look forward to that report from you!

Thanks for the luck...I am going to need it! :dazzle: Hopefully I will survive to write that report! :lol: :lookaroun