Trip Report It Is What It Is... Our Journey To The Dark Side...Sept 2023 (Completed)

Hey there everyone!

We are back! I have to say, it was a Disney trip that was VERY different from those in the past. I am happy and excited to share it all with you all, as long as you are patient with me. Lol. You know – me -the one that takes 4 plus years to finish up a report!

That being said, I need to take care of some unfinished business before I start this epic tale. If you don’t know what I mean…. Here is the link to September 2019 trip which I am desperately trying to wrap up.

https://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/from-droids-to-toys…-texting-the-boy-and-can-we-just-blame-it-on-captain-hook-our-september-2019-disney-journey-including-another-ross’-return.960569/

Thanks to all of you who helped get me excited for this trip and gave me such good advice and tips for our journey!

Here we go…

 

[Figment Forever]

Then we went to Pirates. There was a little kid behind us with a family who would not stop chattering away. At one point when we passed the skeletons, he announced his mom….are those real?

Another "great" ride photo - NOT!

We went to visit the Tiki birds – it’s a very cute show – and the AC was greatly appreciated! Ross took another nap.

When we walked out of the show, we all decided it was time for ice cream! A Dole Whip was in order! I was surprised you couldn’t mobile order, but then again, there was no line. Everyone enjoyed it. I got the tropical serenade. It was really good! I love coconut, so it was a great surprise! Well, except for the cake pop on top -It just doesn’t seem to belong there. I just ended up tossing it.

We walked back to Tomorrowland, because it was time for Hope’s first ride on space mountain. She loved it!

That girl in front of Nick was HILARIOUS!!!

 

[Figment Forever]

After that, since our boarding group for Tron was nowhere in sight, we went to Phillharmagic , and then Small World.

We stayed in Fantasyland and rode Seven dwarfs mine train. There was announcement that inclement weather was heading in and it might shut down. I was more concerned with Tron shutting down due to bad weather. I knew if our boarding group didn’t get called, there was no riding it.

The weather held up and we raced through the mine.

Our Tron boarding group was inching up closer and closer, but we still had time, so we went on Ariel.

And we got stuck!! I was a little worried that Hope would start freaking out. But she did OK.

And, of course, while we were stuck, our boarding group got called!

I really thought we were going to be evacuated, but nope after about 20 minutes, the ride started again. And then we hurried over to Tron!!

 

[Figment Forever]

We changed our queue to a lightning lane and rode. I will admit - it was an awesome ride. Not as good as guardians, but it was awesome. And it was doubly awesome, because we got to do it in the dark!

 

[Figment Forever]

After Tron, Nicolas was pooped so he went back to the hotel. He was a trooper, but the heat and exhaustion won out. It was early in the trip, so I figured it was best for him to get some rest. Would he?

The rest of us went to watch HEA. It was almost starting so we just grabbed a spot on the bridge leaving Tommowland to watch. It was amazing. And yes - I teared up! Lol

 

[Figment Forever]

After HEA, we rode Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan. It’s funny because Peter Pan was always our first or second ride and this year it was the last one we did! It’s one of my favorites still!

Hope was thrilled to have Julia all to herself. I love my girls!

We got a photo before we said goodnight to MK.

Then came the dreaded, waiting for the bus back to POP. I was excited, because even though it was mobbed, 5 POP buses came up one right after the other.

When we were the next ones to board, that’s when the busses stopped coming! Lol. Oh well, it is what it is. No big deal.

Of course, Julia was starving and was hoping we’d get back in time to get something to eat. I told her to text Nicolas and tell him to get her something and bring it back to the room. She did. Finally a bus came – the only downside was it was freezing cold!

When we got back, I was able to get ice tea, but they closed the other machines down so Ross couldn’t get any lemonade. No big deal. We still have a ton of stuff in the room.

However, Nicolas had a little bit of a problem… Apparently after he got Julia‘s pizza, he walked back to the room and realized he took his magic band off and couldn’t get in the room! So, when we got back, he was standing outside the room leaning against the door with a Pizza in his hand. The bright side as they messed up his order, and gave him a free pizza, which was good, because he gave it to us which was awesome because we were starving too!

I fell asleep again within seconds. Up Next animal kingdom.

 

[rshell68]

it was time for Hope’s first ride on space mountain. She loved it!

View attachment 756598View attachment 756597

YAY Hope!!!!! Glad she loved it!!

Um, it looks like Nick is getting held up LOL

 

[fractal]

After that, since our boarding group for Tron was nowhere in sight, we went to Phillharmagic , and then Small World.

View attachment 756620View attachment 756621View attachment 756622

We stayed in Fantasyland and rode Seven dwarfs mine train. There was announcement that inclement weather was heading in and it might shut down. I was more concerned with Tron shutting down due to bad weather. I knew if our boarding group didn’t get called, there was no riding it.

The weather held up and we raced through the mine.

View attachment 756616View attachment 756617View attachment 756618View attachment 756619

Our Tron boarding group was inching up closer and closer, but we still had time, so we went on Ariel.

And we got stuck!! I was a little worried that Hope would start freaking out. But she did OK.

View attachment 756623

And, of course, while we were stuck, our boarding group got called!

I really thought we were going to be evacuated, but nope after about 20 minutes, the ride started again. And then we hurried over to Tron!!

Was Ross also taking a nap during 7 Dwarfes?

 

[Figment Forever]

Guys... I had such HUGE intentions of finishing this TR before my next trip but alas...

If anyone is heading down and sees us - PLEASE say hi!!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a Happy New Year to everyone!!

 

[fractal]

Have a great trip!

 

[Elizabeth Swann]

Guys... I had such HUGE intentions of finishing this TR before my next trip but alas...

View attachment 758066

If anyone is heading down and sees us - PLEASE say hi!!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a Happy New Year to everyone!!

Have a magical trip!!!!!!!

 

[mpaulam]

Have a great time!

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Glad to read you are using your annual passes! Hope you’re having a great time!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Just catching up!! I'll echo what everyone else has said, Hope became GROWN all the sudden!! Oh my goodness It happens way too fast! Loving your report so far, and so glad to hear you got passes and have already gone down there again.

who is trying to show him the bread route business

I didn't know Ross was a bread man! My husband's step-dad worked for Wonder Bread for years. When they went under he had to find something else. He does mostly ordering now and isn't on a route anymore, but his son is! I've loved being in a bread family. The other day I forgot to get burger buns at the store and we happened to be visiting with them and he had some for us to take home

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

Now as we were trying to get ready for our trip, I was reading some older trip reports. One in particular from @gwhb75 from several years back. As I was reading, he wrote how his family upgraded their 10-day tickets to an annual pass. Annual pass??? Would it be cheaper? Would that work for us? No way, I thought.

The wheel was in motion. I made some phone calls to Disney and did some math. As crazy as it sounded, this could be an option for us. But I quickly dismissed the lunacy from my brain. What was I thinking? I didn’t even want to go on this trip to begin with and now I was considering getting an annual pass for a year?

As crazy as it was, I threw it out to Ross and we talked about it. Ross was concerned we would lose our free dining credit for this trip, but I called and found out it would not. Then he was certain that we would have to pay full price and not have a credit for what we’ve already paid, but nope, they would deduct the price of our tickets. It would also open up the possibility of getting a room only with a passholder discount. I still tried to push it out of my head telling myself it was crazy then I thought about this…

So glad you are back! Those girls look so grown up! I am glad they are thriving and happy! Yes, we are from CO and if we want to go twice in a year, we've realized the math makes more sense for AP's than just two big ticket purchases. Small trips would be great but with a teacher's schedule, it's near impossible.

A bus showed up quickly and we were soon at the Magic Kingdom. Again, there was really no lines to get in so walking and was a breeze.

THIS. This is why I'm not a park-open person. The lack of lines to get there and in is a small blessing.

Hope knew exactly where hat box ghost was going. It was fun to ride without Hope being scared. She announced she conquered her fear of omnimovers. But oh my... our pictures were soooo sad...

Yay! So happy she enjoys HM now!

I hope your second trip was magical!!

 

[fractal]

So if my math is correct, you owe us 1 1/2 trip reports.

 

[Katiekitten]

Just catching up now!
I think Fractal is correct and you owe us 1 and 1/2 trip reports, I hope you had a great trip in December.

 

[Figment Forever]

Okay… Let’s see if I can do this…

Thursday, September 14th 2023 - Animal Kingdom

I did have every intention of being out of the room by about 9:30, but that plan flew out the window…

Allstate called so I had to take care of that. The thought of that tree in my backyard kept getting in my head and making me worry. Thankfully, Allstate was great to work with and I was calming down a bit.

Julia and Nicolas were up and ready and waiting for us because they wanted us to go together. They had decided to hang out together today. Nick was excited for FoP. Julia thought that if there was one park that Nick would enjoy – it would be AK.

Ross and I walked to the food court so I could get some coffee. We weren’t hungry so we skipped breakfast. Hope had some snacks from the room stash. We had ‘Ohanna tonight, so I wanted my stomach to be ready.

There was an Animal Kingdom bus as soon as we walked outside.

We entered the park and had our picture taken.

Then we made our way to Africa to ride the safari. One day, I would love to see a lion roar!

 

[Figment Forever]

After our safari, we headed to Pandora.

We had some time before FoP, so we perused the gift shop. Both girls decided they wanted banshees.

I did my best to discourage Hope. I am happy to report, there were no new additions to our household… at least not today. lol

We all got Night Blossoms - YUM. Nick got the boozy one. And we all enjoyed some of the cream cheese/pineapple spring rolls. YUM X2.

When it was time for our flight, Nicolas had no problem and it was a great ride.

We managed to walk by the Banshees one more time and all of us made a pit-stop before our next adventure…

 

[Figment Forever]

While we were waiting for the boys, the girls and I stumbled upon this creature…

Dinosaur was great, but honestly, this is one change I won’t mind. I never really liked dinosaur land. They could’ve done so much more with it. And yes, I’m one of those who still wish they did the mystical creature section.

I do, however miss primeval whirl. That was a pretty fun coaster. imho

 

[Figment Forever]

We decided to do Dumbo dinosaurs.

We shopped the gift shop for a little bit and Julia & Nicolas bought a few pins.

We decided to head to see the newish Nemo show, but before we went, and we picked up some ice cream for Nicolas and frozen lemonade for Hope.