Trip Report It’s Raining Pixie Dust!! Full Trip Report- 9/3-9/10 *Complete*

It’s Raining Pixie Dust!! Full Trip report 9/3-9/10

Don’t be sad that it is over- be glad that it happened!

The cast - for those that didn’t read my pre-trip report, or my pitiful attempt at a live one.

Me- Disneyshe
My husband DisneyB

This was our second ever trip without either of the kids.

We always have loved to go to WDW on our anniversary but this was the only trip we were by ourselves. Our actual anniversary was a few days before we left but this was still our Anniversary trip. We have been married 26 years this year!

We booked a standard room at Coronado Springs with free dining-

We headed out around 8:30 pm on September 2, because I am a horrible rider. Seriously am probably worse than a 2 year old. I just hate being in a car and always have. It makes it much easier on not just me but also my husband because he doesn’t have to hear me complain for 8 hours. He sleeps during the day on the day we leave and I at night so we can go straight at it when we get there.

We usually get there right as the sun is coming up but we got there a little early. I had ridden down in pj bottoms, no makeup etc. because I was going to try and sleep. (Which I did, almost the whole way, a first for me) Anyway I was so hoping there was a room ready because I looked like I slept in a car for sure. I stayed in the car while hubby went to see if we could check in- I had told him any section I did not care, if one was available. So he calls and tells me that they have a King Preferred room in Casitas 1, I of course, said take it.

We had never stayed in the Casitas before because we liked the Cabana area so much and usually requested it. So we drive around and go to our room on the second floor. Scan the band and walk in...... to a Living room!

I had looked at the rooms many times, we would have chosen there over Old Key West last year but it wasn’t available with the free dining and a 1 br Villa was a good bit cheaper anyway.

I wish there could have been a hidden camera or something because I thought we had went into the wrong room number. I even said this isn’t right, how could our bands have opened this door. The TVs were on too, and it just threw me even more. I tipped toed around to the bed area, hand over my mouth almost afraid someone was going to yell at me for being in their room. Looked again at the room number on the map- then flat out started bawling!! This was our room!!! We have gotten upgraded from standard view to waterview before but this was nuts. Disney B said no wonder the lady that had checked us in was grinning so big. I don’t know if it was Anniversary pixie dust or luck being so early, or just a really special CM but the trip was off to an amazing start and I will never forget how awesome it felt to stand there in a room that nice that we were basically gifted with. I was and will always be so thankful for the enormous sprinkling of Pixie Dust!


Arrival shot - notice last year’s Lei from Ohana still hanging over my visor?

And our room!

The room-rooms are huge! It was so nice to have 2 bathrooms no waiting while one showers gets ready. I loved that!

See those happy smiling faces kicked back on our couch??

It was still so early so I showered and got ready to head to DHS!

 

[John Dulmage]

I'm really enjoying your report. There at WDW happy to be just the two of you, but still missing the family at the same time. I know how that is.

 

[DisneyGigi]

I'm really enjoying your report. There at WDW happy to be just the two of you, but still missing the family at the same time. I know how that is.

Thank you and thank you for reading! We did have an amazing time. Someone said something to me, that really helped with my mom guilt and made me realize it was okay to just have a good time the two of us. I don’t think anything will ever top the first couple of trips when both kids were little, but this one rates pretty high. I will save all that for my final thoughts though.

 

[DisneyGigi]

Can anyone that has read any of my other reports, guess what I HAD to do at AK?????

Hint...

I start crying almost as soon as I am seated. I love this show, probably more than any single thing at Walt Disney World. I love almost everything to a ridiculous degree, but this show, just gets me every time.
I was pregnant with my son when I went to see the movie. I saw it twice at the theaters. I still to this day, say he knew the movie when he was born, because he could be crying and we could pop the VHS in, put him in his swing, and total silence. He would sway his little feet, to the music and fall asleep. All of the emotions come flooding back to me when I see this show. I cry, but it is a happy cry.

With that said.... Welcome to Festival of the Lion King!!!

 

[DisneyGigi]

Tumble Monkeys!

Be Prepared...

Lunch at Pizzafari, then off to Find Nemo.

 

[DisneyGigi]

We had decided to snack for dinner at Epcot, so wanted a lighter lunch. Would have went back to Flametree, but it so much food.
We got a flatbread shrimp each, I ate the shrimp and greens off top and the side salad. B ate the bread of off both. We had the sweetest CM, come up and tell us Happy Anniversary, and ask how many years, when we told him 26, he said you don’t hear of that much these days. His name was George, and he brought us back a dessert. So sweet!

 

[Zipadeelady]

Maya Grill is now on my must list!! You had me at margarita flight

 

[DisneyGigi]

Maya Grill is now on my must list!! You had me at margarita flight

I love it! All of the margaritas are really good too, the Blueberry Basil one especially. The jalapeño was great but I probably should have went with just the small one. The seeds in the larger one had me digging for Pepcid AC that night.

 

[DisneyGigi]

We saw Finding Nemo. I love this show too and we didn’t do it last year so it was a must this trip. My one and only photo.

On the way out I had wanted to get the AK 20 photopass picture because we have been going to WDW 20 years, it opened just a few months before our first trip. Walked up and a ton of security and management standing there, they said there was dangerous wildlife in the area and we have to come back. Dunno what it was but it was apparently in the bushes. Hopefully it will stay up for our late Nov-Early December trip.

On to Epcot!

My first order of business was to get my AP cutting board.
It is very cute! Small but cute. Probably put it on a little stand somewhere in my kitchen.

Got a Tropical Mimosa while we were in there.

I know Brat got Piggy Wings again but I did not take pictures.

I got the Passionfruit Cheesecake at Hawaii, and B got the Pulled Pork Kaluha Slider. I am assuming the drink was the Lime Sparkling Wine from there but to be honest I forgot. Makes sense though, since it is with those two. I can’t believe I put food on a trash can but there were no empty tables. I did wipe it down with hand sanitizer first tho. Lol

I got a Grand Mariner and we both got the Pork Belly from Brazil. It was just meh.... not cooked long or slow enough, it was chewy.

 

[DisneyGigi]

Even on Sunday, the crowds at F & W were picking up so we decided to call it a day at least as far as the parks went.

I was so hoping this pose meant Figment!!

More pics from Coronado up next!

 

[DisneyGigi]

We got back to the resort and room to freshen up a little, the off to explore. I also had to get a tag for the car at the gift shop before I forgot since ours is still a 2014. We have been all fours years since then. I just seemed to forget every year.
We took the umbrellas because it looked like it may come a storm.

Th Tower is so huge! I really think that the other buildings will still keep some of the remote feel that I always loved about this resort. I hope so anyway, because this will always probably be my favorite. Just so many memories there over the years. The fireworks are going to be gorgeous from up there, that is for sure.

I wanted to get some better views here but I couple were doing an engagement photo shoot and I didn’t want to linger and be in their way.

The Cabana bench where we always used to sit. They are working on them do the refurb and this whole area was completely deserted. B has some pics I will post later.

Now, I have to say I am not afraid of rain, even heavy rain. Lightning bolts from every direction.. ya I was out! We went back to the room for a minute, and it soon calmed down. It was still storming all around but the lightning was not so close.

Trying to capture the lights and sky with an iPhone wasn’t working.

Once I felt safe enough from lightning we ventured back to see if you could still see the fireworks with the Tower.

 

[DisneyGigi]

Nobody was out hardly at all. We stopped by the bar where I got a Long Island Ice Tea and B a Bud Light then headed back to our old Cabana view. I was really sad the hammock was so wet. We spent many an evening at night in that hammock looking out at the water.

Then came the convo and subsequent bet, that if I won... B could not fuss about my two rabbits for 60 days. He is not the animal nut that I am and he hates that as he calls it, I have barnyard animals in the house. In my and their defense, I never met a furry or feathered animal I didn’t love, and they are litter box trained.

And the argument was... where the fireworks would be with the Tower blocking the view.

He thought that they would only be on the front side of the tower and so specifically remember that they went off twice with great views. The first was best viewed at the bench at the Main pool side of the Swinging type Bridge with the lamps and lights. The second view always happened to the left side of where the Tower now is. I remember because we watched one at the bridge, the other we could see from our window at the Cabanas. So I kept saying they would go off on both sides of the Tower from where we were sitting.

Exhibit A....

The storms delayed them I think and to be quite honest I was getting kinda worried that I was wrong. I have a very strong Monica Geller personality and I do not like to lose or be wrong lol.

We headed back and I heard Boom!! On the other side. Bad pic, he took the better ones, but I was right.
Exhibit B-

Couple more night pics, I decided to get one more Long Island Ice Tea but forgot how strong they are when you get them at the resort. It had me quite a bit giggly.

 

[DisneyGigi]

With that our last full day was coming to an end. A very giggly and silly couple enjoying that amazing upgrade of a room one more night.

We had planned on going back to DHS for half a day but after the 15 1/2 hour torture of a drive leaving Irma last year, we decided not to. Also a no go was the beach for a couple of days. Just wasn’t risking being in that nightmare again with Florence traffic. So we packed up and headed out, I stopped at the outlet and found this awesome Dooney on sale and a ton of other stuff. I said bye to my sign, but did not cry! Wow I have really grown up a little. Actually we will be back in a couple of months so no need to cry.

Final thoughts on an amazing, amazing trip up next!

 

[DisneyGigi]

When I started my “live” trip report, I titled it It is a Long Way Down Holiday Road for a couple of reasons. Reason number 1, we are The Griswolds. Those movies are hilarious to us, because they have so many moments in them that we can relate to. Something always has to go wrong, at some point and B is more like Clark than I can even put into words. From putting more Christmas lights on the house every year to the degree that our tiny neighborhood has traffic jams at Christmas- to throwing a fit when they don’t all light up immediately. For me I always worry so much about is everybody getting to do what they want to do, having a good time etc. to the degree that probably isn’t normal. A mixture of Clark and Ellen maybe?

The second reason I chose the title was what a horrible rider I am. I hate traffic and interstates. I am literally a nervous wreck the whole way there and back.

I also, was really struggling with being excited for this trip. I worried about the grand baby missing me and me missing him. I knew I was going to miss my son and had serious guilt in going without the two of them. I even made him a couple of breakfasts to stick in the work fridge because I worried about him not eating a good breakfast while we were gone. (I make a big breakfast every day for him and his dad to heat up at work every morning.)

In short, It really was not like me, to let go and have fun, just for me and B.

My mom had kept telling me, it is okay to do something just for yourselves, because we so rarely ever did. @Tuvalu posted something that basically said “go have fun, enjoy being a wife, you have plenty of time to be a mom and Gigi, when you get home” I even read it to B, I don’t why but that clicked for some reason.... and I went to sleep. I slept all the way past Daytona. I have never done that in my life. I literally woke up right before Orlando.

We got there and not only could we get a room at 6:30 am, but the amazing upgrade we got.
That was a great start for sure, but it really had nothing to do with why it was such a great trip. The low crowds, lack of rain, and everything made it wonderful- but I honestly think it mostly had to do with that for once in my life, an entire week passed that I just lived in the moment. I left all my worries somewhere else. I was a wife enjoying time with my husband. I had fun and I did not feel any guilt about doing it. Sentimental moments, but no sadness.

Memories are awesome and there is no reason to be Sad that any of it is over- be happy that it happened.

Now to get planning a late November or Early December trip! Trying to figure out whether to go the Sunday after Thanksgiving or first week of December (pop warner) anyone with any experience please let me know. I have only done the first week of November and once Thanksgiving week (never again)

See Ya Real Soon...
and thanks for reading!

 

[Tuvalu]

Loved your report and am so happy you had such a great time!

Will Nov/Dec be just you and B again?

Having been at WDW the first weekend of December for the past two years, the Pop Warner crowds are killers. If that first weekend in December is bad (when the Pop Warners are arriving) I can only imagine what the rest of that week is like. That said, I’ll be doing it again thanks to a certain child’s birthday.....

 

[DisneyGigi]

Loved your report and am so happy you had such a great time!

Will Nov/Dec be just you and B again?

Having been at WDW the first weekend of December for the past two years, the Pop Warner crowds are killers. If that first weekend in December is bad (when the Pop Warners are arriving) I can only imagine what the rest of that week is like. That said, I’ll be doing it again thanks to a certain child’s birthday.....

Thank you, and thank you for your words of wisdom at the beginning of our trip.


Just us two for a 3-4 day trip. I am so scared of Thanksgiving type crowds and of Pop Warner. We can’t go in January because of a birthday. My oldest may never speak to me again, if we did that without him.
Maybe we should shoot for after Pop Warner?

 

[Gurt]

Great report I some how missed the start so iv just read the whole thing in 1 go, looking forward to your Christmas report.

 

[Laura Loves Tigger]

We went last year the Sunday after Thanksgiving and stayed for 12 nights. Crowds were low at the beginning of the trip. They definitely started to build over the weekend when the Pop Warners started to arrive. If you are just doing 3-4 days, right after Thanksgiving should be great!

 

[DisneyGigi]

Great report I some how missed the start so iv just read the whole thing in 1 go, looking forward to your Christmas report.

Thank you! Trying to come up with the best days soon, so we can go ahead and book the stay.

We went last year the Sunday after Thanksgiving and stayed for 12 nights. Crowds were low at the beginning of the trip. They definitely started to build over the weekend when the Pop Warners started to arrive. If you are just doing 3-4 days, right after Thanksgiving should be great!

Thanks, I am probably definitely leaning more towards the Sunday or Monday after Thanksgiving and getting the heck out of Dodge when Pop Warner starts. I just want to see the Christmas stuff again. We are doing a long trip in May for F & G.

 

[DisneyGigi]

Booked! For 4 days after Thanksgiving weekend. Hope I don’t regret it with crowds but I want to see the holiday stuff again!

 

[Captain Barbossa]

Enjoyed reading your TR! And especially loved all of the food pics!