"Is this the Magic Kingdom?" - A November Trip Report

“Is this the Magic Kingdom?!” - A November Holiday Trip Report

53 rides
36 characters
6 table service meals
5 nighttime shows, fireworks and parades
4 and a half days
3 girls
And 2 resorts
All add up to….

One magical Disney getaway!

Hey everyone! I may be home physically, but mentally I’m still in Disney World. We had a GREAT long weekend (or short week, as some people have called it) For those who have read my pre-trip report, you already know the scoop. For those who haven’t, here’s a little run down:

Who:
-Me: Darolyn (or most people call me D) age 28. Disney enthusiast to the max.

DSC07392 by Derelicte19, on Flickr

-Sister: Ashley, age 26. Loves Disney as well but not quite to the same obsessive level as I.

DSC06321 by Derelicte19, on Flickr

-Mama: Terryn, age 29... Again! I thank her for bringing me to WDW at the tender age of 11 months and getting me hooked. I also thank her for buying our timeshare in Kissimmee so we can enjoy a vacation with Mickey and friends every year J

DSC06942 by Derelicte19, on Flickr

We’re all Disney fanatics!! J

Here’s me and my sister (and friend) in 2006

8131_189995891071_674341071_4381286_4635389_n by Derelicte19, on Flickr

And here we are in 2007

n674341071_2766527_4062959 by Derelicte19, on Flickr

And at Busch Gardens in 2009 (Yes, sometimes we cheat on Disney… sorry!)

n674341071_2824009_4791285 by Derelicte19, on Flickr

Me and Mama on our 2010 trip

155212_10150099410841072_674341071_7868956_7013788_n by Derelicte19, on Flickr

And May of 2011

DSC07059 by Derelicte19, on Flickr

We visited Disney World together this past May and had a great time. We had originally scheduled our next WDW vacation to be fall of next year, for a week, in our timeshare at Vistana. Well, plans changed. None of us wanted to wait a year and a half so a couple schedule changes, a few number crunches and some reservations had us flying into Orlando on Thursday night November 10 and returning home Tuesday night November 15. Yup, a full year ahead of time. Since we wouldn’t be using the timeshare, we decided to stay on Disney property. Much easier doing that than renting a car and staying off-site (though in the long run, that might have ben cheaper!) We’d stayed at the All Stars a couple times but this time we decided we wanted to go big… deluxe resort big. So we booked a courtyard view room at the Wilderness Lodge for 4 nights and 1 night at the All Star Movies (since our flight wasn’t scheduled to arrive into Orlando til midnight, we couldn’t fathom the idea of spending the $300+ nightly rate when we were arriving so late.)

This trip was a trip of many firsts for us: Our first deluxe resort. Our first Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. We added 3 new restaurants to our itinerary and also it would be my sisters first time visiting WDW during the holiday season (my mother and I both visited Thanksgiving week back in 2001 and again last November) Also, our first time experiencing the Magical Express and our first time NOT having a rental car and relying completely on Disney transportation.

Now, onto the good stuff…. Enjoy!!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

(This part doesnt have a lot of pics because my camera is not very cooperative when it comes to nighttime pics so my apologies in advance! We used my sister's camera for the character pics.)

On the way over to MK we met a family from Massachussetts and we talked about the snowstorm on Halloween and how COLD it was. Brrrrrrrr!! The weather wasn't much warmer at MK that night though. I think it was low 40's? Maybe?

As we walked off the monorail, we were a little shocked to hear that the MVMCP was SOLD OUT!! What? It was early November, how was it sold out? Then again it was Veterans Day.. the end of Jersey week... a long weekend for most local residents... It made sense. We had debated between doing the party on the 11th or the 13th.. Looks like we chose the wrong date!! Since there wasn't anything we could do about it now, we went through bag check and headed down Main Street. Ashley took in the MK during the holidays for the first time. The castle looked beautiful with the DreamLights.

We stopped and got a photopass pic taken in front of the castle and headed over to Liberty Square. We wanted our first ride to be a favorite so we hit up Haunted Mansion which was a walk on. I knew we wouldn't do too many rides that night but we were itching to just get one in.

After HM, we wandered over to Adventureland and saw Abu out with no line so we got a picture with him. I was hoping to meet Aladdin as he is my favorite "prince" (tall, dark and handsome is so my type of guy!) but he wasn't there. The CM told me he would be out later on.

Abu was quite taken with my bracelets and kept playing with them so they would make noise. It was super cute!

As soon as we exited, who comes around the corner to join Abu but Aladdin!!! UGH! Really? Just my luck!! Oh well, we'd catch him later.

Now let me point out here that I really wanted to try some of the delicious cookies they were giving away but the line for the cookies and hot cocoa at Sunshine Terrace was soooo long! All the lines for the free snacks were long all night! The place was really busy. We knew we wanted to meet as many charatcers as we could in their Christmas garb, so we meandered over to Fantasyland and saw Donald out in his lumberjack outfit so we hopped in line. While we were waiting, we saw the gang from the Hundred Acre Wood out by the teacups and decided we would hit over there next.

Yes, we continued to wear our leis from 'Ohana around the park. Hey, it added some warmth thinking of a nice Hawaiian island when it was so cold out!!

When we got done with Donald, we went over to see Pooh but they were gone Bummer.... Mom wanted to see Jack Sparrow so we walked back over to Adventureland and rode Pirates first and then met the famous Captain himself. The guy who played him was really good. He had his mannerisms down pat!

After that we headed over to where Abu had been earlier because I wanted to see if Aladdin was back out but alas - he was not. But Genie and Jasmine were there, so we took a pic with them.

The first parade had just started and was winding through Frontierland. I didn't want to see any of it until we were sitting down watching it, so we walked back through Adventureland to Main Street. We wanted to make sure we were on Main Street for MMY and Holiday Wishes, so we hopped into the shops to look around until the parade was over. We debated on buying the Santa hats with the Mickey ears but I couldn't justify spending $20 on it. So instead, I picked up a super cuddly Eeyore plush. He's now sitting happily on my dresser at home!

There was still some time before the fireworks and we decided we didn't want to wait for MMY so we opted for our favorite stand-by when we needed to kill time. It also happened to be one of our favorites.. The Peoplemover! We enjoyed (what we thought would be) a leisure journey around Tomorrowland. Space Mountain was really cool as they had snowflakes projected onto it. And is it just me or does it seem a little bit lighter inside SM? when we went in May you couldn't see ANYTHING but this time I could kind of make out the coaster tracks and stuff. While it was very chilly out, it was a nice ride. The chill in the air just made it feel normal for us, as at Christmas we usually have a foot of snow and below freezing temps!

Now, here's where the "leisure ride" gets interesting: There was just about 10 minutes til Wishes started as we began our return to the station. The "car" in front of began to slow down as it reached the station, however, ours did not slow down much.... And we smashed right into the one in front of us! Not a huge crash, but enough that everyone in our car was a shaken up. The whole ride stopped. We sat there for a few minutes while they made the obligatory "please remains seated" annoucements a few times and then we finally started up.. only to crash AGAIN into the car in front of us. Only this time after we hit, we moved backwards a little and then hit the car behind us! It was like bumper cars!! The ride stopped again and about 5 minutes passed... We were so close to the exit... UGH!! HW was going to start in a couple minutes and I thought for sure we were going to miss it, obviously, since it was what I was most looking forward to that night. Well, a man in the car in front of us decided hey, I've had enough waiting, I'm getting of. So he stood up and climbed over the edge and onto the moving platform (which at this point was no longer moving) and he then attempted to pick a child up and out of the car. The CM came over and demanded him to get back in the car ASAP. The guy pitched a fit for a minute (I couldn't hear him but I'm assuming he was asking why they couldn't get off because they were pretty much at the exit but their doors hadnt opened yet) but then finally got back in.

Honestly people, the CMs aren't telling you to stay seated just to hear themselves talk. They're saying it for YOUR SAFETY! Imagine if the cars had started moving when he was trying to get the kid out and the kid fell or got hurt.. or if they got hit by the car.. HELLO LAWSUIT! We all want to get off the ride buddy! We don't want to be stuck there either. I for one was almost in tears over the fact HW was going to start and I was not going to see it (ok, maybe not really in tears, but close!!) Some people just lack common sense. STAY SEATED!!! OK.. end rant...

The CMs started coming around and began evacuating the vehicles. It seemed like the issue with the ride was not going to be resolved anytime soon. As we were going down the escalator, HW started. I literally sprinted down towards the hub and stopped right under where Tinkerbell flies down. I stood there as she felw overhead and then I wandered over and got a good spot right in front of the popcorn cart between the hub and the ice cream parlor. I lost Ashley and Mom in the madness but we had phones, we'd find each other eventually.

I didn't get any pics, but Holiday Wishes was beautiful. I'm a huge Christmas fan so the Christmas music was right up my alley. Not gonna lie, I got a little misty eyed when they played "I'll Be Home For Christmas" because it made me think of my ex boyfriend who is a Marine and is stationed over in Afghanistan right now and won't be home for Christmas. We're still good friends and I miss him dearly. Wishes is still my favorite but this one was really great too.

After the show ended, lots of people began heading for the exit. I walked forward a few steps and plopped down right on the sidewalk to get us some seats for the parade. Mom and Ashley found me and Ashley sat while Mom and I went to the Tomorrowland Terrace to get some cookies and cocoa. At this point I was FREEZING and realized opting for sneakers would have been better than the flip flops I had on. As we walked toward TT, we noticed the Peoplemover was still stopped and the people on it above TT had yet to be evacuated. I would hate to be stuck there for that long but hey, at least they got a good viewing spot for Holiday Wishes!

The next post will have more pics... I promise!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Mama and I got some cocoa and cookies and headed back to wait for the parade. A little while later the sounds of Mickey's Once Upon A Christmastime Parade filled the air!!..

Tigger's bum?

I love love LOVE Duffy!!

Snow white and her man

Pretty white horses

Cinderella and her man

Goofy!!!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

More parade pics....

Ariel and her man

I think this guys name is Clarence? Anyone?

The soldiers were AWESOME! I said to Ashley and Mom as they were approaching "It sounds like they're really playing" and lo and behold.. they really were! So cool.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

And some more parade pics...

Cute little reindeer..

The big man himself.. Jolly old Saint Nick!

I LOVED this parade! Spectro is still my all time fav, but this has jumped to the #2 spot. Although it was really cold while were waiting for it to start, we had an awesome CM who played Pictionary with masking tape on the ground with the kiddos so at least that was entertaining. And there was an interesting NY Giants fan sitting next to me and he kept poking fun at me about how they beat the Patriots the week before. Grrrrrrr.

After the parade, it was about 11:15. All the rides had at least 10+ minute waits so we decided to head down Main Street to go meet and greet with the princesses and also Mr. and Miss Mouse. The wait for the princess room stated 10 minutes so we hopped in line. When we got into the room I was happy to see they were all with their princes and also that Rapunzel and Flynn Rider were there.

Talking about dragon slaying or whatever it is Prince and Princesses talk about...

I just look awkward here...

Rapunzel and Flynn were by FAR the best ones. They interacted well with each other and we actually stayed and socialized with them for a few minutes. Rapunzel liked Ashley's flowers.

Me and Flynn giving each other the eye..?

Rapunzel was hula dancing after Flynn took my Mom's lei and put in on her.

A little bummed Flynn didnt give us the smolder, but I think in one of our photopass pics he is.

I was really disappointed they weren't dressed up in Christmas outfits (Aurora did have some holly in her hair) but I was glad to see the Princes out with them. We never get to meet them, so that was cool.

After we left the Princess room, our plan was to meet the mice but their line was closed off. Booo!! So we decided to head back to the resort. I was freezing and pretty sure I had frostbite on my toes. We hopped on the boats and were back to the WL in like 10 minutes. Love those boats!!

Tomorrow: MGM and MK!

 

[bow0303]

D, very jealous that you are back in the world.

I wish I could visit that often. Hope you had a great time and looking forward to reading the rest of your TR.

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

So I love how you had flip flops on and it was in the 40s Those Floridians must have thought you guys were craaazy!

Aren't Flynn and Rapunzel the best?? Seriously the two of them were the best at interacting with each other and with the guests. They spent so much time with guests no matter if you're a little princess or a big princess like us haha

And that is totally my stud of a man Flynn!! I'm seriously in love (Don't tell my boyfriend haha)

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

D, very jealous that you are back in the world.

I wish I could visit that often. Hope you had a great time and looking forward to reading the rest of your TR.

Thank you!! I truly and grateful to be able to visit as often as I do!

So I love how you had flip flops on and it was in the 40s Those Floridians must have thought you guys were craaazy!

Aren't Flynn and Rapunzel the best?? Seriously the two of them were the best at interacting with each other and with the guests. They spent so much time with guests no matter if you're a little princess or a big princess like us haha

And that is totally my stud of a man Flynn!! I'm seriously in love (Don't tell my boyfriend haha)

Seriously, I thought my toes were going to fall off!! lol It was brutal!

They were the best character interactions we had all weeekend! Well, probably a tie between them and Buzz and Woody at DHS (which I will get to soon!) Rapunzel and I were hula dancing and Flynn was just like "Oi! Women!!" haha He really is a stud!

 

[chrissyw14]

I love the drink pictures! I really want the pineapple one looks sooo good!

oh and that Halloween snowstorm was craaazzyy, I actually went to the Rutgers WVU football game that day, baddd idea, we were soaked and left before the first quarter ended

I also love Duffy! it makes me sad when people hate on him!

 

[blackthidot]

I love how you dorks are all bundled up but have on flip flops.

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

I love the drink pictures! I really want the pineapple one looks sooo good!

oh and that Halloween snowstorm was craaazzyy, I actually went to the Rutgers WVU football game that day, baddd idea, we were soaked and left before the first quarter ended

I also love Duffy! it makes me sad when people hate on him!

The Lapu Lapu is delicious. Pricey ($13.25) but delicious lol

Snow on Halloween = NOT OK!! It was so cold!!!

Duffy is super cute. I love him. I have a little Duffy on my workstation

I love how you dorks are all bundled up but have on flip flops.

Bundled up is right!! 40 degress temps!! My feet are cold just thinking about it.... dork.

 

[Ariel484]

Love the report so far! Such a fabulous view at the Lodge.

So glad that you liked 'Ohana...we tried it for the first time in June and it's now a must-do for us. I'm hoping to enjoy a Lapu Lapu for the first time in January! :slurp: I guess I'll have to start saving up for it now...$13.25?! Yikes!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Love the report so far! Such a fabulous view at the Lodge.

So glad that you liked 'Ohana...we tried it for the first time in June and it's now a must-do for us. I'm hoping to enjoy a Lapu Lapu for the first time in January! :slurp: I guess I'll have to start saving up for it now...$13.25?! Yikes!

Thank you! Our view really was awesome! And surprisingly, it wasn't really loud either. When the sliding door was closed we couldn't hear much down by the pool, so that was good.

And definitely try the Lapu Lapu.. I mean, how many times can you drink out of a pineapple in your life? lol It goes down easy too.. Taste just like juice! :slurp:

 

[WDW_Princess24]

Just jumping on board!! Loving the report so far! Lucky you getting that Ohana reservation, I tried every day for months on our last trip and no luck! I am waiting for my 190 mark to make them! You should have stolen Flynn, so cute..swoon!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Just jumping on board!! Loving the report so far! Lucky you getting that Ohana reservation, I tried every day for months on our last trip and no luck! I am waiting for my 190 mark to make them! You should have stolen Flynn, so cute..swoon!

Thanks hun!! Definitely make sure you get 'ohana this time! Soooooo good!! lol

And yeah Flynn was a cutie.. I'm more of an Aladdin kinda girl though :lol:

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Saturday 11/12/11: DHS and Magic Kingdom!

I awoke Saturday bright and early (around 7am) We knew Saturday was going to be a LONG day because not only did MK have EMH til 3am, but MGM had morning EMH beginning at 8am. If we wanted to do TSM, we knew we'd have to get there early.

Morning at the Lodge...

So peaceful this time of day... There was no one out.

Our balcony

So we were all up and ready and out the door by 7:30. We got to the bus stop just as the DHS bus was pulling away... Waaaaiiiiiit for us!! and they did. The nice bus driver stopped and let us on. I think there were only like 5 or 6 other people on the bus. After a quick swing by Fort Wilderness (where no one got on) we made it to DHS shortly after rope drop. Mom made the hustle to TSM while Ashley and I went down and pretty much walked on RNRC. We had the back row and lemme tell ya... the back row is the BEST! During the launch you feel like it's never going to end. Good stuff I say!

Tower of Terrow said a 15 minute wait so we hopped in line and ended up waiting like 10 minutes. My favorite ride in all of Disney, for sure! Also think this might be my favorite queue, too.

Ohhh the big hat...

Speaking of the big hat, I wanted to get some pics with the characters around the hat because A - I love their outfits and B - We have zero pics with them. So we headed over to the hat and realized they were all heading in for a bit. Bummer.... But Stitch was out with no line! YAY!!

Stitch was hilarious. Ashley walked up to him first and he got all cute on her. He put his hand up under his chin like he was resting on it and just stared at her. The photopass photographer got the best picture of it (will post it when we get the CD!)

He took a liking to me as well

I'll admit that I've never seen Lilo and Stitch and I never was a fan of Stitch but he's growing on me. And how could he not? Look at how cuuute he is!!

 

[Pooh'sBuddy]

After a quick swing by Fort Wilderness (where no one got on) we made it to DHS shortly after rope drop. Mom made the hustle to TSM while Ashley and I went down and pretty much walked on RNRC. We had the back row and lemme tell ya... the back row is the BEST! During the launch you feel like it's never going to end. Good stuff I say!

I've been wondering about that extra stop... Did it add much time overall in the trip to the park?

Thanks for the tip on the back row. Were there alot of people waiting for the back row?

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

I've been wondering about that extra stop... Did it add much time overall in the trip to the park?

Thanks for the tip on the back row. Were there alot of people waiting for the back row?

I think it added on maybe an extra 5-7 minutes.. No one ever got on when we stopped though so it was kind of a waste! When we went to Epcot, it stopped at Grand Floridian. Not sure why it changes based on which park you're going to. It would make more sense to stop at Contemp or FW and have the Poly stop at GF.... right?

Most people were waiting for the front. We got put in the back and I think going forward we will always ask for it. Super awesome!

 

[Ariel484]

Ooh, you gotta see Lilo and Stitch. It's definitely a "different" kind of Disney movie, but it's really adorable.

I'll second the Tower of Terror Love...BEST RIDE EVER!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

There was still some time before the rest of the characters came back out so we decided to hit up the Great Movie Ride. Now, I don't care what anyone else says, I LOVE this ride!! Even though some of the movies might be outdated, it's still a must do for us every trip. The Cms you get can really make it or break it though.

After the GMR we headed outside just as the characters were making their way back to the hat. We hopped in line for Daisy and Donald and I think we were the 3rd group lined up. While we got our picture with them, Mom went over to get in Chip N Dales line.

We scooted over and got in line with her. Normally I HATE people who do this, but we really wanted to see the munks in their ties and hats!

Goofy had a long line as did Piglet and Pooh (plus we would get to see them during our ADR at Crystal Palace) so we got in line for Minnie. I just love her pretty pink dress!!

Figuring out what pose to do..

After our meet and greets we decided we were hungry. So it was off to the one and only...

There was a line inside but we knew what we wanted. I made a bee line right for the baked goodies in the cooler. After a little debate in my mind, I decided on a brownie with white and milk chocolate chips on top. I got an iced Mocha with it and it was so good. Disney has the BEST iced Mochas. I'm drinking one right now (well, a hot mocha) and it doesn't even compare to Disneys:

Ashley got a cinnamon roll:

While we were in line, Mom went down and grabbed us FP for RNRC and we got her something to eat. She got the same brownie as me. It was great but really sweet. I have an incredible sweet tooth and this was even almost too sweet for me. Lots of chocolate!! We sat outside and watched as the High School Musical parade came by for the 1st of about 5,238 times that day. Everytime we passed by Hollywood/Sunset and the hat, that flippin show was out!

After our breakfast, we headed over to the Animation building because we wanted to see if we could get into the drawing class and also to see if there were any rare characters out. Holly (Hollybelle) had told us to check there later in the afternoon but we figured since we were heading that way anyway that we would check then.

Well, we got there as the next drawing class was starting but we were the first group cut off. There was no room for us. Booooo!! Since we didn't want to wait half an hour, we headed down to see the big cheese...

After that we played around on the voice recorder thingys they had where you can record your voice over scenes from the movie. We did the BatB one and also one from the Lion King. I wanted to sing but Mom and Ashley convinced me to spare the other guests ears and skip that one. haha

 

[Pooh'sBuddy]

I think it added on maybe an extra 5-7 minutes.. No one ever got on when we stopped though so it was kind of a waste! When we went to Epcot, it stopped at Grand Floridian. Not sure why it changes based on which park you're going to. It would make more sense to stop at Contemp or FW and have the Poly stop at GF.... right?

Most people were waiting for the front. We got put in the back and I think going forward we will always ask for it. Super awesome!

There was still some time before the rest of the characters came back out so we decided to hit up the Great Movie Ride. Now, I don't care what anyone else says, I LOVE this ride!! Even though some of the movies might be outdated, it's still a must do for us every trip. The Cms you get can really make it or break it though.

There was a line inside but we knew what we wanted. I made a bee line right for the baked goodies in the cooler. After a little debate in my mind, I decided on a brownie with white and milk chocolate chips on top. I got an iced Mocha with it and it was so good. Disney has the BEST iced Mochas. I'm drinking one right now (well, a hot mocha) and it doesn't even compare to Disneys:

WL, FW and GF? No, that doesn't make sense. It doesn't sound very efficient.

My hubby loves GMR, too. That's a must do for us, too.

And good to know - iced mocha! Thanks again. :slurp:

Cute pic with Minnie!