Trip Report I am Jack's raging excitement

Merry Christmas to all my WDW Magic friends! We just returned from a wonderful 9 days at Disney that was jam packed with fun, food, and of course....these little beauties,

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We truly had many wonderful experiences and of the many trips we have had at WDW , this was one of our most memorable ones. I was eager to get this reported started as soon as we got home, but shortly after our return I was in a pretty bad car accident which slowed me down a bit.

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Thankfully I am ok, aside from a mild/moderate concussion when my head slammed into the steering wheel. The drivers of the other cars were ok as well. But lets rewind to appx two weeks ago when my radiator was not lodged into my engine and C and I were heading off to the warmer temperatures of Orlando!

As usual, we left the house early in the am in an effort to beat Atlanta traffic. We left around 6 am and within minutes there was an update on the radio that the highway was completely shut down due to an accident. We took an alternate route, but so did everyone else who had exited the expressway.

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It normally takes us about 20 minutes to get to Atlanta once we got on the highway, but with the hwy shut down it took a little over an hour. But once we got passed the accident and got back on the expressway, we cruised the rest of the way. A few hours later were in Fla!

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We stopped out or favorite breakfast spot in Gainesville, Maple Street Biscuit, for a quick meal.

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We got our food to go so we would not loose to much time. I'll say this, an ooey-gooey chicken bacon gravy biscuit is even better when its served in a small bowl.

As we got in the car, we noticed this man walking around the parking lot for someone to flash?

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We think he was looking for Phyliss from "The Office", haha.

We like stopping at Gainesville not only for the amazing biscuits, but also because its a little under two hours from WDW so it helps make the last leg of the drive feel pretty short. We take the 429 toll to Apopka becuase there is an awesome Publix we stop at to grab stuff for the room.

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We always get some our our "go to" beers (New Belgium) and I also get an experimental brew as well. Last trip in July I tried the Bimini Row and I was not pleased. This trip I went with Funky Buddha "Top Gun". I shall report on it later...And please note the Vitamin Water. Those who read my last TR may remember my nocturnal IBS and I was not about to let it happen again, lol!!! And C always gets lots of healthy fruits and snacks too!

We also take the 429 so we can exit off Western Way and take the back entrance to WDW which spares us from driving through Orlando traffic and is a much more peaceful drive, IMO.

For the holidays, some prefer to to be beneath the mistletoe, but we prefer to be under these...

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Up next... checking in to our resort!
 

wdisney9000

Truindenashendubapreser
Premium Member
Original Poster
Day 1 continued...

We had originally booked 8 days at BWV and wanted to add an extra day to the beginning of the trip but there was no availability at BWV or basically anywhere except SSR. After weeks of checking with no luck anywhere, I opened the DVC app one morning and there was a 1br villa at Grand Floridian DVC. Not wanting to risk it being taken and being stuck with SSR, we booked it! So after driving under the arches, we made our way towards MK and soon we were at GFV.

Quick check in at the security booth...

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and... welcome home!!!!


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Our room was not ready, so we figured going to MK for awhile would be best so we could stay close to the room. But first, a proper start to the trip was in order...

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A few Organic Blonde Ales were a great way to get things started. We enjoyed the lounge and had a nice seat by the window.

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After our drinks we headed to the Monorail and took in the lobby.

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up next... MK
 

Zipadeelady

Well-Known Member
So sorry to hear about your accident. Glad you weren't to terribly injured.

On one of our many road trips to Disney when the kids were younger, maybe in 2010, somehow we ended up entering what must've been the "backway". It was crazy, we were the only car on the road for what seemed like miles. I was a little confused at the time and honestly forgot all about it until you just mentioned it.
 

MinnieM123

Premium Member
So sorry to hear about the car accident, and hope you are recovering without too much difficulty. (Even "mild"concussions can be tricky, so please pace yourself accordingly.)
 

wdisney9000

Truindenashendubapreser
Premium Member
Original Poster
Looking forward to reading this TR. Hope you are doing better after your accident. Merry Christmas 🎄
Merry Christmas and thanks for following along!
So sorry to hear about your accident. Glad you weren't to terribly injured.

On one of our many road trips to Disney when the kids were younger, maybe in 2010, somehow we ended up entering what must've been the "backway". It was crazy, we were the only car on the road for what seemed like miles. I was a little confused at the time and honestly forgot all about it until you just mentioned it.
It is definitely different the first time you take tthe back entrance but very peaceful. Especially since we stay at BW often it's an easy route to get there without too much traffic.
Wow glad you’re okay! Looking forward to reading all about your trip, especially the full story of your Epcot monsoon experience. 😂
That day was crazy. We've been there on rainy days but never saw in person how flooded it can get. I got lots of pics and some video to share tho.
A not so magical end to your trip, but glad to hear no permanent damage. Cars can be fixed! Looking forward to reading all about your trip!
Thanks for joining in. There will be beer!
So sorry to hear about the car accident, and hope you are recovering without too much difficulty. (Even "mild"concussions can be tricky, so please pace yourself accordingly.)
Definitely pacing myself! I can't move too fast anyway, lol.
 

wdisney9000

Truindenashendubapreser
Premium Member
Original Poster
Day 1 cntd...

Most of our trips begin visiting Epcot first so it was a good change to be at MK for our first park. And a quick ride on the monorail had us there in no time. And it's very convenient to have your bag checked at the resort so you can just enter the park when you get there and skip security.

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We had FP for Pirates and Jungle Cruise so we firgured we would enjoy some park time while we waited for the room ready text.
 

krisri18

Well-Known Member
Day 1 cntd...

Most of our trips begin visiting Epcot first so it was a good change to be at MK for our first park. And a quick ride on the monorail had us there in no time. And it's very convenient to have your bag checked at the resort so you can just enter the park when you get there and skip security.

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We had FP for Pirates and Jungle Cruise so we firgured we would enjoy some park time while we waited for the room ready text.
That's a well timed photo with castle show fireworks!
 

wdisney9000

Truindenashendubapreser
Premium Member
Original Poster
Day 1 cntd...

Apologies for the last being so short, I was using my phone and accidentally pressed the send button and it posted what I had typed.

Back to the report...

When we were leaving the resort , we had joked about how we would probly get the room ready text as soon as we got to MK. So far we had made it to MS USA and were headed to Pirates with no text. And right as we got to Pirates, we got the text, lol. Since we were only staying at VGF for one night and it was 1 br villa we really wanted to enjoy the room as much as possible so we agreed to ride Pirates then head back. Only thing that was odd, was the app was not showing a room number, but instead it had what appeared to be a code the system uses. It had something like, "1BR-VGF-HCWASH-ACCESS". We figured we would just get the number when we got back.

In line for Pirates, I noticed the man behind us had on a vest with lots of cool Disney patches. We struck up a conversation with him and his wife and I asked to get a picture of his vest.
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They were a nice couple and we had a fun time in line with them. His vest was most impressive.

Pirates was par for the course. No fog effect of course, just their voices. But all else seemed to be normal.

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After the ride we were going to head back to the room but we figured since JC was right there and we had a FP we should do it. C was bit hungry so we grabbed some popcorn first.

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As we got close to the dock, some ducks were bouncing around a CM standing there and it was pretty funny show.

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For our cruise we had a skipper that was extremely energetic. He was a bit loud for our taste and his delivery of the jokes felt like he was trying a bit too hard. It was still enjoyable and we figured it was better than skippers we have had in the past that were quiet and had no delivery at all. The Jingle Cruise decorations were very fun.

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As we exited the ride, we noticed the FP line was stretched all the way out to the walkway.

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We were glad we made it on the ride before that line had formed.

we headed out to the monorail and We stopped at the confectionary to grab a snack for the Monorail ride.

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C got a gingerbread man and absolutely loved it. It would not be her last of the trip. C took a few bites and said she wanted to save the rest for the later but by the time the monorail had disembarked, it was gone, lol. I got a marshmallow on a stick (my favorite) and was able to not devour it.

Up next...checking in at VGF
 

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