Hi everyone!! We just got back from our trip 9/27-10/3. I wanted to try my hand at a trip report. This is my first one and I’m going to do it without pictures for now, I think I’ll re-visit it in the near future and maybe throw a post out there pics only. I’d like to start off by first thanking each and every one of you for reading this but more importantly for answering all of my questions leading up to this trip. You helped with ADR’s, which time of year to go, MNSSHP, park tips, resorts… you literally had a hand in planning how this vacation went, and I thank you. Next I wanted to let you know that I had a great experience with a CM at ASMU, and I wrote an email to Guest Relations singing his praises. I went to get my packet of info (I did the online check in) and the girl who helped me was not pleasant, she was not helpful, gave one-word answers, and just didn’t give me the Disney Magic I wanted to start my vacation with. I came out of line and must have had a bewildered look on my face, a supervisor named Derrick came right over and asked if everything was ok, and if there was anything he could do for me. I had mentioned my unpleasant experience at the desk, and then mentioned I had requested to be close to the buses and cafeteria if possible…. Well they tucked me way in the back on the 3rd floor, the room was not ready (no problem there, I was expecting it). I didn’t want to complain because afterall, I’m on vacation, and it was not a big deal, requests can not always be met, but hey, Derrick asked so I told. Well this guy told me to hang on a second, took my packet, came back with new keys and says; “Here are your new keys, your room is ready right now, you are now in building #2, right next to elevator (Building #2 is Jazz, on the right, directly after Calypso) BRILLIANT! Just the magic I was looking for, and Derrick started my vacation off the perfect way.
The Cast: Myself, Wife, and 1 year old daughter Alexis.
Location: All Star Music
Dining Plan
Day 1. Sunday 9/27:
Flew Air Tran out of Philadelphia International and everything went smooth. We left 50/60 degree weather and rain, and arrived in 95 degree weather with humidity…. Ouch. This ended up being the only day during our whole trip with less then favorable weather, but even then, it was not that bad. A 20 minute storm came and left, but other then that, it was just hot hot hot! We took the time to go shopping and stay cool. We woke up Tink in Tinkerbell’s Treasures, which my daughter just loved, visited the Ye Ole Christmas store, and all shops on Main St. We wanted to go back and freshen up and nap since it was so hot out, and we ate at the resort, simple QS meal, nothing special. Baby was in good spirits so we decided to head back to MK since there were Wishes and EMH this night. I used a snack credit at the Main Street Bakery on an Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich. I’ve heard stories about this behemoth, but never saw it in person, wow, that’s all I can say. I had to split it with the wife. I’m glad we got one this day because we had no idea, but Main Street Bakery would be closed for the rest of our trip for a 2 week refurb? But we enjoyed it while watching Wishes and having a nice Latte`. What a great way to start off our vacation! After Wishes we decided to let the crowds thin out, the baby fell asleep in the stroller and we packed her pajamas, so we were in no rush. We strolled around MK, I rode POTC since it was only 5 minute wait, we people watched, etc.
Day 2 Monday 9/28
We started this day off with a great breakfast at O’Hana. This was our first time at O’Hana, and will definitely return. The pineapple/guava/orange juice was out of this world, same with those eggs, I don’t know what they put in them but wow. We also had Mickey Waffles, sausage, bacon, biscuits and fresh fruit. Lexi (dd) did not like Lilo or Stitch but enjoyed Mickey. Theming was great, service was great…. Thumbs up O’Hana. After breakfast it was Animal Kingdom for EMH in the morning. We arrived and walked onto Safari, did the Pagani Trail, and visited Camp Minnie Mickey. Lexi loved seeing all of the animals, and saw Pocahontas at CMM, but besides FOTLK, what else is this area?? They should do something else with Camp Minnie Mickey in my opinion. We browsed shops; I rode EE solo, took pictures and took in some of the music before leaving at lunch. We headed back to ASMU and ate lunch, swam, and took naps. After this we decided to head Downtown, which was a perfect night. This was also our vote for best Quick Service of the trip, we had QS Dinner at Wolfgang’s Express (on recommendation of these boards of course) Wow, we loved it! I had the bar b que chicken on focachia bread, wife had flatbread pepperoni, we each had the home made parmesan chips, and chocolate cake for desert. Great value here and great food. We did some dancing with Lexi at the main stage, did some more shopping, and headed back to ASMU for ice cream sundaes! Another perfect day!
Day 3 Tuesday 9/29
This ended up being a Hollywood Studios day, 85 degrees, not a cloud in the sky! We started out obviously by Fast Passes for Toy Story, we arrived at 9 am sharp and FP’s were already 2 pm return time. Oh well, the important thing is that we got them. We took in the Playhouse Disney show. This was great for the kiddies, my daughter watches it every day and loved it….the girl putting the show on was energetic and interacted great with the kids. After that she met Handy Manny and the Little Einsteins. I took in Magic of Disney Animation while Krissy and Lexi did some characters. Side note, this ended up being a gold mine for characters, we had no idea that this many were there…. Pocahontas again, Mary Poppins, Mulan, Mickey Minnie Pluto, Incredibles, Stitch… short lines and air conditioned too. I rode RNRC, we took in some of the street performances, which were awesome, and browsed more shops. We ate lunch at Mama Melroses at 12 pm. I had eaten here before and it was just ok for me, but with Free Dining we took what we could. Service was great, food was Olive Garden-esque. We hit up our Fast Pass for Toy Story, and decided to head back around 3 pm since Lexi was getting tired and cranky. We ate a quick service dinner at ASMU, swam, and the girls fell asleep. This is where EaglesfanNJ got some “daddy” time!! I boarded a bus solo and headed to Downtown Disney. Marketplace bus station is closed by the way, so all drop offs are in front of Planet Hollywood for the time being. No big deal though, I walked over to Fuego, by Sosa Cigars. Bought a great Opus X cigar, a few Coronas, and had a wonderful evening sitting outside, people watching. I conversed with some great folks from Canada, and another who was an ex-cast member. DTD is certainly different, but I still enjoyed it. There were quiet places I was able to just sit by the water and enjoy my beverage. I walked by Adv. Club, it was certainly weird seeing it like that. I strolled down to Marketplace even though everything was closed, and walked back to West side. Around 1 am I headed back relaxed and rejuvenated.
Day 4 Wed. 9/30
Today was a MK day for the first half, and Epcot for the second. Today my brother in law was meeting us down there for a few days as well. MK was more for Lexi today, we went straight back and got in line for Dumbo which was only 20 minutes, went on Pooh, fast passes Peter pan, and walked back to toon town. She met the princesses there and loved every second of it. A side note, I had no idea how big the Fairies were until I got down there. Every time we went to ToonTown, the Fairies were a 60-75 minute wait….try entertaining a 1 year old for 75 minutes while waiting to meet fairies, no thanks. She was just as thrilled seeing the princesses. We headed back for lunch and naps, and refreshed we met up with my brother in law at Epcot. This was our first food and wine festival and I must say we loved everything about it. We tried the cheese platter, some wines, some deserts. We had ADR’s and Tutto. I’ve read mixed reviews for Tutto and we have eaten there before. I have to be honest; we really enjoyed it this time around. Wife has Lasagna, I had the Veal and Cheese stuffed ravioli, and they gave the baby a bowl of complimentary spaghetti and meatballs. We had the Tiramisu and the chocolate cake. Service was great, food was too, and we would eat here again. I did walk by Le Cellier though and I did give a triple take, I tried my heart out to get in there and with no luck. Oh well, maybe next time. We checked out Crush and rode Nemo, we also Fast Passed Test Track. We took in Illuminations and headed back to our rooms for good night sleep
Day 5 Thurs 10/1
Started off with breakfast at Chef Mickey’s….I’m sure most of you have done this so I won’t go into detail. Food great as always, service not so good here, but not going to make a big deal of it. Our waitress was rarely seen and not personable, and she didn’t hesitate to mention that tip was not included, and circled the recommendations…which were out of line if you ask me. I was soured but still left adequate tip because I believe in it, and I know they work hard at what they do. This ended up being a full Hollywood Studios day. We made it from open to close and even made Fantasmic, none of which with a break. Now you may be saying to yourself “so what?, I do that every day I’m there without breaks” Well for a couple of first time parents with a 1 year old, it was a great accomplishment for us. Lexi fell asleep for 2 hours in her stroller during nap time….so no need to take her back. We got a lot done during this time, did some rides, shopped, did Indy, watched the performers in the street. Dinner tonight was nothing fancy, we Quick Serviced Pizza Planet. It was quiet in here believe it or not, and the salad was decent. Lexi was also occupied by the noises and sights, so this ended up being a great time to cool down, eat, and re-group. Afterwards we walked right over to Muppets, found the key under the mat, and took the show in. After riding Toy Story, we walked around some more, and I headed in to save us some seats at Fantasmic. This is still our favorite show on property, we did split a few minutes early and glad we did
(We’ve seen it enough times) We got in line for the buses right away, and as we pulled away we saw the line that had formed to get back to ASMU, and immediately knew we made the right choice to leave a little early.
Day 6 Fri 10/2
Another beauty of a day, 85 degrees and not a cloud in the sky, and this day would be the highlight of our trip! It was a full Magic Kingdom day. We caught the rope drop, headed straight back to Dumbo again, and knocked out all of Fantasyland by 11 am. We went back to those fairies again, 75 minute wait, ugh. Lunch was at Pinocchio Haus. I had the meatball parm sandwich and fries, baby had chicken fingers and salad, and wife had pizza. Sandwich was actually really good and was nice change of pace from burgers and chicken. Rode HM twice, did some more shopping and headed over to Crystal Palace for our ADR’s. Something nice they did here that I had no idea they did. I checked in and got a buzzer, the CM said “Take this ticket over the bridge into Adventureland and head inside (next to Aloha isle). We did so, and here it was like a private character meeting all set up. No lines, air conditioned, and had to be let in, it felt quite exclusive. Got pics with Rafiki, and Balloo, headed back over to Crystal Palace and got buzzed right away! Dinner was better then I thought it would be, desert was better, service very good…and my daughter loved characters. SUCCESS! We timed it perfectly so that when we were done, it was time for MNSSHP!!!!!! This again was our first time doing the party and we did it on your recommendations. We loved it! I was Indiana Jones, wife a Greek Goddess, brother in law was a Ghostbuster, and Lexi was Little Mermaid. We did some trick or treating, got pictures with Snow White and all 7 Dwarfs, rode some rides, got pics with Cinderella’s Carriage decorated with pumpkins. We took in the first parade and Hallowishes….. Let me say that both of these blew other parades and fireworks out of the water… well done, rare characters, and perfect length. After Hallowishes the park really emptied and we decided it would be perfect time to use the next 2 hours to ride whatever we could. Again we brought clothes for Lexi to change into her pajamas, and she passed out. Walked onto HM, walked onto POTC, Splash and BTMR. We did our first Monsters Inc show, and did some more shopping. It was midnight and time to head back, but to reiterate, I will do this party again for sure.
Day 7 Saturday 10/3
This was another highlight of our trip, despite being our last day. We had the coveted Cinderella’s Royal Table ADR’s at 9 am. My daughter loved it and we loved the meal. Cream Cheese-stuffed French toast, bacon, fresh fruit, cinnamon rolls, muffins…all dynamite. It was worth the 2 credits used on dining plan…. And it comes with your pictures included, 4 4x6’s and 1 bigger size that escapes me at the moment. We had about 1 hour to shop for last minute gifts before saying our final goodbye!
In conclusion I have nothing negative to say about our trip. Disney transportation was great and we had no issues with buses at all. Service for the most part was wonderful. Each and every cast member from wait staff, to janitorial, to mouse keeping, to resorts to bus drivers, made our vacation magical. They are another reason we will return to Disney. Some of you may be reading this and saying “well you didn’t get too many rides done, especially Epcot” And you are right, but this was a different kind of trip for us. This was for our daughter and making memories. We laughed, spent time together, ate meals, and took in the shows and atmosphere…. As opposed to the commando style of the parks. Lexi will not remember the trip, but we will, and I have wonderful photos and video I will cherish forever. We will also be visiting again within the next 3 years or so. We can’t wait to see the new Fantasyland and it gives us more to look forward to next trip. If you read this, I thank you for taking the time out and enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. If you have any questions about wait times, restaurants, or anything in general I saw, please let me know. Thanks again to you all for helping with my planning, have a magical day!
The Cast: Myself, Wife, and 1 year old daughter Alexis.
Location: All Star Music
Dining Plan
Day 1. Sunday 9/27:
Flew Air Tran out of Philadelphia International and everything went smooth. We left 50/60 degree weather and rain, and arrived in 95 degree weather with humidity…. Ouch. This ended up being the only day during our whole trip with less then favorable weather, but even then, it was not that bad. A 20 minute storm came and left, but other then that, it was just hot hot hot! We took the time to go shopping and stay cool. We woke up Tink in Tinkerbell’s Treasures, which my daughter just loved, visited the Ye Ole Christmas store, and all shops on Main St. We wanted to go back and freshen up and nap since it was so hot out, and we ate at the resort, simple QS meal, nothing special. Baby was in good spirits so we decided to head back to MK since there were Wishes and EMH this night. I used a snack credit at the Main Street Bakery on an Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich. I’ve heard stories about this behemoth, but never saw it in person, wow, that’s all I can say. I had to split it with the wife. I’m glad we got one this day because we had no idea, but Main Street Bakery would be closed for the rest of our trip for a 2 week refurb? But we enjoyed it while watching Wishes and having a nice Latte`. What a great way to start off our vacation! After Wishes we decided to let the crowds thin out, the baby fell asleep in the stroller and we packed her pajamas, so we were in no rush. We strolled around MK, I rode POTC since it was only 5 minute wait, we people watched, etc.
Day 2 Monday 9/28
We started this day off with a great breakfast at O’Hana. This was our first time at O’Hana, and will definitely return. The pineapple/guava/orange juice was out of this world, same with those eggs, I don’t know what they put in them but wow. We also had Mickey Waffles, sausage, bacon, biscuits and fresh fruit. Lexi (dd) did not like Lilo or Stitch but enjoyed Mickey. Theming was great, service was great…. Thumbs up O’Hana. After breakfast it was Animal Kingdom for EMH in the morning. We arrived and walked onto Safari, did the Pagani Trail, and visited Camp Minnie Mickey. Lexi loved seeing all of the animals, and saw Pocahontas at CMM, but besides FOTLK, what else is this area?? They should do something else with Camp Minnie Mickey in my opinion. We browsed shops; I rode EE solo, took pictures and took in some of the music before leaving at lunch. We headed back to ASMU and ate lunch, swam, and took naps. After this we decided to head Downtown, which was a perfect night. This was also our vote for best Quick Service of the trip, we had QS Dinner at Wolfgang’s Express (on recommendation of these boards of course) Wow, we loved it! I had the bar b que chicken on focachia bread, wife had flatbread pepperoni, we each had the home made parmesan chips, and chocolate cake for desert. Great value here and great food. We did some dancing with Lexi at the main stage, did some more shopping, and headed back to ASMU for ice cream sundaes! Another perfect day!
Day 3 Tuesday 9/29
This ended up being a Hollywood Studios day, 85 degrees, not a cloud in the sky! We started out obviously by Fast Passes for Toy Story, we arrived at 9 am sharp and FP’s were already 2 pm return time. Oh well, the important thing is that we got them. We took in the Playhouse Disney show. This was great for the kiddies, my daughter watches it every day and loved it….the girl putting the show on was energetic and interacted great with the kids. After that she met Handy Manny and the Little Einsteins. I took in Magic of Disney Animation while Krissy and Lexi did some characters. Side note, this ended up being a gold mine for characters, we had no idea that this many were there…. Pocahontas again, Mary Poppins, Mulan, Mickey Minnie Pluto, Incredibles, Stitch… short lines and air conditioned too. I rode RNRC, we took in some of the street performances, which were awesome, and browsed more shops. We ate lunch at Mama Melroses at 12 pm. I had eaten here before and it was just ok for me, but with Free Dining we took what we could. Service was great, food was Olive Garden-esque. We hit up our Fast Pass for Toy Story, and decided to head back around 3 pm since Lexi was getting tired and cranky. We ate a quick service dinner at ASMU, swam, and the girls fell asleep. This is where EaglesfanNJ got some “daddy” time!! I boarded a bus solo and headed to Downtown Disney. Marketplace bus station is closed by the way, so all drop offs are in front of Planet Hollywood for the time being. No big deal though, I walked over to Fuego, by Sosa Cigars. Bought a great Opus X cigar, a few Coronas, and had a wonderful evening sitting outside, people watching. I conversed with some great folks from Canada, and another who was an ex-cast member. DTD is certainly different, but I still enjoyed it. There were quiet places I was able to just sit by the water and enjoy my beverage. I walked by Adv. Club, it was certainly weird seeing it like that. I strolled down to Marketplace even though everything was closed, and walked back to West side. Around 1 am I headed back relaxed and rejuvenated.
Day 4 Wed. 9/30
Today was a MK day for the first half, and Epcot for the second. Today my brother in law was meeting us down there for a few days as well. MK was more for Lexi today, we went straight back and got in line for Dumbo which was only 20 minutes, went on Pooh, fast passes Peter pan, and walked back to toon town. She met the princesses there and loved every second of it. A side note, I had no idea how big the Fairies were until I got down there. Every time we went to ToonTown, the Fairies were a 60-75 minute wait….try entertaining a 1 year old for 75 minutes while waiting to meet fairies, no thanks. She was just as thrilled seeing the princesses. We headed back for lunch and naps, and refreshed we met up with my brother in law at Epcot. This was our first food and wine festival and I must say we loved everything about it. We tried the cheese platter, some wines, some deserts. We had ADR’s and Tutto. I’ve read mixed reviews for Tutto and we have eaten there before. I have to be honest; we really enjoyed it this time around. Wife has Lasagna, I had the Veal and Cheese stuffed ravioli, and they gave the baby a bowl of complimentary spaghetti and meatballs. We had the Tiramisu and the chocolate cake. Service was great, food was too, and we would eat here again. I did walk by Le Cellier though and I did give a triple take, I tried my heart out to get in there and with no luck. Oh well, maybe next time. We checked out Crush and rode Nemo, we also Fast Passed Test Track. We took in Illuminations and headed back to our rooms for good night sleep
Day 5 Thurs 10/1
Started off with breakfast at Chef Mickey’s….I’m sure most of you have done this so I won’t go into detail. Food great as always, service not so good here, but not going to make a big deal of it. Our waitress was rarely seen and not personable, and she didn’t hesitate to mention that tip was not included, and circled the recommendations…which were out of line if you ask me. I was soured but still left adequate tip because I believe in it, and I know they work hard at what they do. This ended up being a full Hollywood Studios day. We made it from open to close and even made Fantasmic, none of which with a break. Now you may be saying to yourself “so what?, I do that every day I’m there without breaks” Well for a couple of first time parents with a 1 year old, it was a great accomplishment for us. Lexi fell asleep for 2 hours in her stroller during nap time….so no need to take her back. We got a lot done during this time, did some rides, shopped, did Indy, watched the performers in the street. Dinner tonight was nothing fancy, we Quick Serviced Pizza Planet. It was quiet in here believe it or not, and the salad was decent. Lexi was also occupied by the noises and sights, so this ended up being a great time to cool down, eat, and re-group. Afterwards we walked right over to Muppets, found the key under the mat, and took the show in. After riding Toy Story, we walked around some more, and I headed in to save us some seats at Fantasmic. This is still our favorite show on property, we did split a few minutes early and glad we did
(We’ve seen it enough times) We got in line for the buses right away, and as we pulled away we saw the line that had formed to get back to ASMU, and immediately knew we made the right choice to leave a little early.
Day 6 Fri 10/2
Another beauty of a day, 85 degrees and not a cloud in the sky, and this day would be the highlight of our trip! It was a full Magic Kingdom day. We caught the rope drop, headed straight back to Dumbo again, and knocked out all of Fantasyland by 11 am. We went back to those fairies again, 75 minute wait, ugh. Lunch was at Pinocchio Haus. I had the meatball parm sandwich and fries, baby had chicken fingers and salad, and wife had pizza. Sandwich was actually really good and was nice change of pace from burgers and chicken. Rode HM twice, did some more shopping and headed over to Crystal Palace for our ADR’s. Something nice they did here that I had no idea they did. I checked in and got a buzzer, the CM said “Take this ticket over the bridge into Adventureland and head inside (next to Aloha isle). We did so, and here it was like a private character meeting all set up. No lines, air conditioned, and had to be let in, it felt quite exclusive. Got pics with Rafiki, and Balloo, headed back over to Crystal Palace and got buzzed right away! Dinner was better then I thought it would be, desert was better, service very good…and my daughter loved characters. SUCCESS! We timed it perfectly so that when we were done, it was time for MNSSHP!!!!!! This again was our first time doing the party and we did it on your recommendations. We loved it! I was Indiana Jones, wife a Greek Goddess, brother in law was a Ghostbuster, and Lexi was Little Mermaid. We did some trick or treating, got pictures with Snow White and all 7 Dwarfs, rode some rides, got pics with Cinderella’s Carriage decorated with pumpkins. We took in the first parade and Hallowishes….. Let me say that both of these blew other parades and fireworks out of the water… well done, rare characters, and perfect length. After Hallowishes the park really emptied and we decided it would be perfect time to use the next 2 hours to ride whatever we could. Again we brought clothes for Lexi to change into her pajamas, and she passed out. Walked onto HM, walked onto POTC, Splash and BTMR. We did our first Monsters Inc show, and did some more shopping. It was midnight and time to head back, but to reiterate, I will do this party again for sure.
Day 7 Saturday 10/3
This was another highlight of our trip, despite being our last day. We had the coveted Cinderella’s Royal Table ADR’s at 9 am. My daughter loved it and we loved the meal. Cream Cheese-stuffed French toast, bacon, fresh fruit, cinnamon rolls, muffins…all dynamite. It was worth the 2 credits used on dining plan…. And it comes with your pictures included, 4 4x6’s and 1 bigger size that escapes me at the moment. We had about 1 hour to shop for last minute gifts before saying our final goodbye!
In conclusion I have nothing negative to say about our trip. Disney transportation was great and we had no issues with buses at all. Service for the most part was wonderful. Each and every cast member from wait staff, to janitorial, to mouse keeping, to resorts to bus drivers, made our vacation magical. They are another reason we will return to Disney. Some of you may be reading this and saying “well you didn’t get too many rides done, especially Epcot” And you are right, but this was a different kind of trip for us. This was for our daughter and making memories. We laughed, spent time together, ate meals, and took in the shows and atmosphere…. As opposed to the commando style of the parks. Lexi will not remember the trip, but we will, and I have wonderful photos and video I will cherish forever. We will also be visiting again within the next 3 years or so. We can’t wait to see the new Fantasyland and it gives us more to look forward to next trip. If you read this, I thank you for taking the time out and enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. If you have any questions about wait times, restaurants, or anything in general I saw, please let me know. Thanks again to you all for helping with my planning, have a magical day!
