"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

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Oo the infamous limo pictures.... :hammer:haha!



This is great! Haha! It was your birthday D? Happy (belated) Birthday! :)

Thank you! Although I didn't get Kaner wrapped in a big box (haha) it was really good! :)


OK, so I'm hoping to get another entry up today but we're busy at work :fork: lol Soon though....
 

sweetpee_1993

Well-Known Member
Thanks Tammy!! And noooooo, ugh, it must be time for me to upgrade on photobucket..... *sigh* I was hoping to avoid that lol :(

Yeah, my Photobucket renewal processed recently. It makes me think maybe I should get the reports committed to books (instead of continually talking about it) so I can do away with the paid subscription thing. Hhmmmmm...resolution for this year??? :cool:
 

chrissyw14

Active Member
so Tebow is amazing, I was screaming at my TV! lol

you could always just make another photobucket with another email address,
get your photos up soon I want to see! lol
 

PolynesianPrincess

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
so Tebow is amazing, I was screaming at my TV! lol

you could always just make another photobucket with another email address,
get your photos up soon I want to see! lol

Yeah he was awesome! But this week he takes on my Patriots... Let's see how he can do. I'm guessing he will probably fair alright since out defense has been terrible all season.

I never thought of doing that. Good idea since I have 2 email addresses!! :)
 

PolynesianPrincess

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
After Imagination we began making our way over to World Showcase for our ADR. I think Epcot is my favorite park to take pictures in.

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We stopped quickly in France to take a picture with Marie since she didn't have a line. Claws up!!

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We made our way to Les Chefs De France for our ADR and waited about 5 minutes before we were shown to our table. Ashley really wanted to eat here to see Remy but we knew it wasn't guaranteed he would come.. and he didn't. Insert sadface here. We'd heard a lot of mixed reviews about the place BUT - we are glad we ate there as it was REALLy good!

Ashley and I started off with some Riesling which (along with Moscato) is my preferred choice of wine. I'm a white wine gal.

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We both also ordered the half chicken with rissolo potatos. The chicken had a yummy gravy on it and the potatos were DELICIOUS!!

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Mom ordered the crepe florentine I think it was and she said it was very good.

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Our waitress was fairly new and she brought us our check before I could tell her we had TIW and when I put the TIW card in, she came over, looked at it and then said she would give us more time to get everyting straightened out. We had to explain to her we needed the check with the discount before we paid. She seemed very confused by this and had to have someone help her. It was fixed though and we were on our way. She did a really good job otherwise.

When we departed Les Chefs, we wanted to stop at the F&W kiosk to indulge in a beverage. Ashley and I had our eyes on a delicious Parisian Cosmo Slush. It was sooooo yummy!!

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PolynesianPrincess

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Nick and his family had made their way into the park so we headed over to Test Track to meet up with them. WS was PACKED with people. We wanted to stop for some other stuff but the lines were just way too long AND Belgium had sold out of the chocolate seashells I wanted to try. Boooooo for being the last weekend of the festival. We had planned another Epcot day Monday but it would be over by then. This year we're going to try and hit it on a weekday as we are arriving opening weekend.

When we got to Test Track, Nick was just getting off. Mom decided she didn't want to go on, so she gave her FP to Nick so he, Ashley and I went on. It was fabulous as always. We met back up with the parental units over at Innoventions. Nick's parents wanted to go over to the Seas but Nick did not. Us girls were ready to head over to DHS to make sure we got seats for Fantasmic so Nick came with us and we headed towards the International Gateway. I had to stop though first for some dessert. I got the dessert trio and boy was it delish. No pic. I know, shame on me! But it was tasty. I made a quick stop at the restroom. Actualy it was more like a 10 minute stop. That restroom right before Canada is always sooo busy. And someone mentioned something about a peeping Tom in there that day... Hmmmm... Weird.

We got to the International Gateway and decided to take the boat. Not only was this the first time we would take the boat, this was the first time period we had been through the International Gateway.

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When we were on the boat, Nick's parents called to say they were already on the bus headed to the Studios. I think we were stopped at the Yacht and Beach Club stop at that point. So much for getting there before them! It was my long bathroom break that threw us off track... Grrrrrr!!

Anywho, I didn't take many pics that night, sadly. Nick's parents had gone to see the 5:30 showing of Indy so the rest of us headed down Sunset to check on the seating situation for Fantasmic.

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The show wasn't for another hour and we didn't want to go up and get seats without the other 2 members of our group so Nick, Ashley and I went on the Tower of Terror while we waited. The line was like 15 minutes or so. Not long at all. When we finished there we decided it'd be smart to head up to the show to get seats. Nick's parents were just getting out of Indy and were heading down our way. We were seted to the left of center but our seats were good. We finally spotted Nick's parents right before they closed off the line due to capacity. WHEW!!!

Fantasmic was magical as always. And I got teary eyed, as always. The only thing that bugged me was Mickey wasn't at the top of the mountain at the end. Just at the bottom. Boooooo. Oh well, it was still great.

After Fantasmic, we joined in the herds of people heading for the exit. We still had a little while before the park closed to regular guests, so we went on the Tower of Terror again (10 min wait) and then the Great Movie Ride (5 min wait) Funny story with this one:

When we got to the gangster scene, a girl took over (we had a male driver initially) and everything was going fine, yada yada until we got to the alien scene, when all of a sudden, about halfway through the scene our car decided to go really slow. I thought at first it was the driver slowing it down. Until it stopped completely. After about 30 seconds it started going again. Then it stopped again a few feet later. Then started again.... Then stopped again right before we got into the Indy scene. She put it in park, then into drive again. Nothing. She tried a few more times. Finally it caught on and we continued on. I'll give props to our guide, she did a good job improvising. She said things like "I steal a car and then run out of gas. Figures!! Guess that's what I get for being in this line of work" and "I'm gonna have to have my fellas come out from the city to get me. This aint lookin good." I probably would have freaked out and totally lost character. lol so props to her!

When we got off the GMR, the park was in EMH. Since there wasn't much we else we wanted to do, we headed back down Sunset to hit up our favs a couple more times. Since Mom doesn't like those thrill rides, she gave her room key to Nick so he could use it (I know, shame on us for allowing a non Disney resort guest to use our key.. So sue us!) We went for RNRC first and waited about 10 minutes. This was Nick's first time on RNRC, and first time ever on an upside down coaster. We had been trying to persuade him to ride it all afternoon and our persistance finally paid off. I let him ride with Ashley as she has a phobia about riding with someone she doesnt know on a roller coaster. She says she doesnt want them to hear her screaming. haha. Whatever. I got to sit with a really nice girl. We sang the song the whole ride. And Nick loved it. YAY!!

One more ride on the Tower of Terror and then Ashley decided she was done for the night. The wait for RNRC had jumped up to about 45 mins and we didn't really want to wait so Nick and I opted for the single rider line. While we were in line Iwas telling him how the back was the best place to sit. When we got to the front of the line, I was placed up near the front and when I looked back, Nick had gotten the very back! haha. When we got off the ride he told me they actually sent 2 single riders to that row, him and the kid behind him in line. Figures!! lol

We decided to call it a night after that. We stopped at Hollywood Scoops and I got my traditional evening treat, chocolate and cookies and cream on a cone (only this time, just chocolate. they were out of the Cookies and Cream) We headed toward the exit and parted ways with Nick and his parents. We nejoyed hanging out with them and hopefully we will get to see them down there again. It was the first time I had met his parents and they were really nice.

We headed to the bus stop, tired from a long day. We were the first people in line. Looking around at all the other resorts that had at least 20 people in line made me thankful we'd had such good luck with transportation this trip. While we were waiting, a bus pulled up to our stop that said "Flynn Rider" on it. Not a resort name, like it usually would say, but "Flynn Rider" when it stopped it changed to Wilderness Lodge. Very bizarre. The bus wasn't full and we got back to the lodge and into bed. Monday would be our last full day at the World.... Booooo!! :(
 

Disneyfalcon

Well-Known Member
Yay, the pictures are back!

I'm so sad your cupcake was dry! I know what it's like to be so excited about a dessert only to find out it doesn't live up to memories. It may have sat in the cooler too long! That's a good tip to get in the morning! I'm all for cupcakes at breakfast!:)
 

chrissyw14

Active Member
yayy your pictures are back!

so I definitely miss dreamfinder, i wasnt at disney at an old enough age to really remember the ride with him but after seeing pictures i remember him so id like to see it again

next time i go to epcot i need to get a Parisian Cosmo Slush!

ToT is my favorite [:
 

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